The mystery of Easter island; the story of an expedition

Preface

As I sit down to write this preface there rises before me, not the other side of this London street, but the beautiful view over the harbour of St. Vincent, Cape Verde Islands, as seen from the British Consulate. It was a hot afternoon, but in that shady room I had found a fellow-woman and sympathetic listener. To her I had been recounting, rather mercilessly as it seemed, the story of our experiences in the yacht, including the drowning of the tea in Las Palmas Harbour. When I had finished, she said quietly, ‘‘ You are going to publish all this I suppose ? ”’ I hesitated, for the idea was new. ‘“‘No,’’ I replied, ‘‘ we had not thought of doing so; of course, if we have any success at Easter Island we shall make it known, but this is all in the day’s work.” “I think,” she said, ‘‘that there are many who lead quiet stay-at-home lives who would be interested.” Times have changed since 1913, there are now few who have not had adventures, either in their own persons, or through those dear to them, compared with which ours were but pleasant play ; but I still find that many of those who are good enough to care to hear what we did in those three years ask for personal details. After a lecture given to a learned society, which it had been an honour to be asked to address, I was accosted by a lady, invited for the occasion, with the remark, “‘ I was disappointed in what you told us. You never said what you had to eat.”” This, and many similar experiences, are the apology for the trivialities of this work. . | ,

No attempt has been made to write any sort of a guide book to the varied places touched at by the yacht, neither space nor knowledge permitted; all that has been done either by pen or pencil is to try to give the main impression left on the mind of a passing dweller in their harbours and anchorages. It has, however, been found by experience that, in accounts of travel, the general reader loses much of the pleasure which has been

vil vii THE MYSTERY OF EASTER ISLAND experienced by the writer, through knowledge being assumed of the history of the places visited; a knowledge which the traveller himself has absorbed almost unconsciously. Without some acquaintance with past events the ‘present cannot be understood; at the risk, therefore, of interrupting the narrative, a few notes of such history have been included.

In dealing with the main topic of the work, an endeavour has been made to give some idea of the problem of Easter Island as the Expedition found it, and also of its work there. With regard to this part, some appéal is necessary to the understanding kindness of the reader, for it has not been an easy tale to tell, nor one which could be straightforwardly recounted. The story of Easter is as yet a tangled skein. The dim past, to which the megalithic works bear witness—the island as the early voyagers found it—its more recent history and present state, all of these are intermingled threads, none of which can be followed without reference to the remaining clues.

For those who would have preferred more scientific and fewer personal details, I can only humbly say wait, there is another volume in prospect with descriptions and dimensions of some two hundred and sixty burial-places on the island, thousands of measurements of statues, and other really absorbing matter. The numerical statements in the present book, dealing with archeological remains, must be considered approximate till it has been possible to go again through the large collection of notes.

It is fairly obvious why the writing of this story has fallen to the share of the sole feminine member of the Expedition. I had also, what was, in spite of all things, the good fortune to be fourteen weeks longer on the island than my husband. They were fat weeks too, when the first lean ones, with their inevitable difficulties, were past; and the unsettlement towards the end had not arrived. He has, I need hardly say, given me every assistance with this work. Generally speaking, all things which it is possible to touch and handle, buildings, weapons, and ornaments, were in his department ; while things of a less tangible description, such as religion, history, and folk-lore fell to my lot. Those who know him will recognise his touches throughout, and the account of the last part of the voyage, after my return to England, has been written by him.

The photographs, when not otherwise stated, are by members

PREFACE ai Oe of the Expedition. The drawings are from sketches made by the Author ; those of the burial-places are from notebook outlines made in the course of work. The diagrams of the houses and burial-places are by my husband.

We are deeply grateful, both personally and on behalf of the Expedition, for all the aid, both public and private, extended to our work in the interests of science. We hesitate to allude to it in detail in connection with what may, it is to be feared, seem an unworthy book, but we cannot refrain from taking this, the earliest, opportunity of acknowledging our obligations. The Admiralty lent the Expedition a Lieutenant on full pay for navigation and survey. The Royal Society honoured it by bestowing a grant of {100, and the British Association by appointing a committee to further its interests accompanied by a small gift. Valuable scientific instruments were lent by both the Admiralty and Royal Geographical Society.

We are indebted to Sir Hercules Read and Captain T. A. Joyce, of the Ethnological Department of the British Museum, for the initial suggestion and much personal help. In our own University of Oxford the practical sympathy of Dr. Marett has been fully given from the time the project was first mooted till he read the proofs of the scientific part of this work; we owe more to such encouragement for any success attained than > perhaps he himself realises. Mr. Henry Balfour has placed us, and all who are interested in the subject, under the greatest obligation for his work on our results which has thrown a flood of light on the culture of Easter Island, and has, in perhaps greater degree than anything else, made the Expedition seem ‘‘worth while.” Dr. Rivers, of Cambridge, kindly undertook the position of Correspondent in connection with the committee of the British Association, and has put at our disposal his great knowledge of the Pacific. Dr. Haddon has also been good enough to allow us to avail ourselves of his intimate acquaintance with its problems. Dr. Corney has rendered constant and unique assistance with regard to the accounts of Easter Island as given by the early voyagers, a line of research most important in its bearings. Our thanks are due to Dr. Seligman for kind interest, to Professor Keith for his report on the two Pitcairn Islanders who returned with the yacht, x THE MYSTERY OF EASTER ISLAND and his examination of our osteological collection; to Dr. - Thomas of the Geological Survey for his report of the rocks brought back; and not least to Mr. Sydney Ray, who has given most valuable time to our vocabularies of the language.

With regard to our journeyings and labours in the field, we are under great obligation to Mr. Edwards, the Chilean Minister in London, through whose representations his Government were good enough to grant us special facilities in their ports. The Expedition owes.«much to Messrs. Balfour &. Williamson of London, and the firms connected with them in Chile, California, and New York ; most especially to Messrs. Williamson & Balfour of Valparaiso for their permission to visit Easter Island and help throughout. We are also very grateful to the manager of the ranch, Mr. Percy Edmunds, for his practical aid on the island ; since we left he has obtained for us a skin of the sacred bird which we had been unable to procure, and forwarded with it the negative of fig. 65, taken at our request.

It has been impossible in the compass of this book to express our gratitude to all those who gave help and hospitality on both the outward and homeward voyage. We can only ask them to believe that we do not forget, and that the friendship of many is, we trust, a permanent possession.

For professional help in the production of this book it is a pleasure to acknowledge the skill and patience of Miss A. Hunter, who has assisted in preparing the sketches, and of Mr. Gear, President of the Royal Photographic Society, who has worked up the negatives; also of Mr. F. Batchelor, of the Royal Geographical Society, who has drawn all the maps.

It has not, as will be readily understood, been always an easy matter to write of such different interests amidst the urgent claims and stupendous events since the time of our return; but if any soul rendered sad by the war, or anxiously facing the problems of a new world, finds a few hours’ rest surrounded by the blue of the sea or face to face with the everlasting calm of the great statues, then it will give very real happiness to

THE STEWARDESS OF THE MANA,

February 1919,

Preface To The Second Edition

THE second edition of a book affords opportunity to tender grateful thanks for the interest which has made it necessary. It is also one of the occasions when fate allows, in some measure at } any rate, a chance to repair shortcomings. |

It was felt in writing this volume that it was best to leave the work of the Expedition to tell as far as possible its own tale. Life, however, is short and books are many. Outside the circle of those with special scientific knowledge, this method seems, in spite of Chapter XIX, to have led too often, with even the kindest of readers and reviewers, to a certain vagueness as to what has, after all, really been accomplished. Some express

‘disappointment that the problem is “‘ unsolved if not insoluble ”’ ; others state, not without lingering regret, that “there is no longer any mystery.” Neither view is, of course, correct. It 1s, therefore, perhaps worth while, even at the cost of repeating what may be implicit elsewhere, to add a few more definite words. | _ It was never anticipated that any Expedition could settle once and for all the past history of Easter Island. In dealing with any scientific problem, the first step naturally is to find out all that can be discovered about the material in question; while the second is to co-ordinate that material with similar examples elsewhere, so that knowledge which may fail from one source, can be supplied from another.

The Expedition, therefore, as one of its primary undertakings, made an archeological survey of the island. It was a lengthy work, for not only are the figures and ruins very numerous, but it was found that not till after some six months’ study could they even be seen with intelligent eyes. We believe the survey — to be, however, as far as possible accurate and complete. It is illustrated by some hundreds of sketches and negatives.

The only account of this kind which has so far been available

x1 xii THE MYSTERY OF EASTER ISLAND is the rough, and naturally often erroneous, description given by the United States ship Mohican after a thirteen days’ examination in 1886. Speaking of this part of our labours, a high authority has been good enough to say, “‘ We now know for the first time in what the remains on the island really consist ; its photographs alone would justify the Expedition.” This record will, we venture to think, hold increased value in the future, as there is a constant tendency for the remains to suffer deterioration at the hands of nature and man.

The Expedition, however, found other and unexpected matter to secure from oblivion—work which was of even greater, because of more pressing, importance. We had been informed that not only had all knowledge of the origin of the great works disappeared from the island, but that all memory of the early native culture before the advent of Christianity, which might possibly have thrown light upon them, was also gone. Happily this proved to be not altogether the case. When we arrived, such knowledge and tradition were expiring, but they were not altogether dead. It was our good fortune, in spite of language and other difficulties, to be able with patience to rescue at the eleventh hour much of high value, more especially that which points to a connection between the only recently expired bird cult and that of the images.

The facts now before us make clear that the present inhabitants of the island are derived from a union of the two great stocks of the Pacific, the Melanesian and Polynesian races, and that the Melanesian element has played a large part in its development. All the evidence gathered, whether derived from the stone remains, through the surviving natives, or in other ways, points to the conclusion that these people are connected by blood with the makers of the statues; this is, of course, the crucial point.

Now that this stage is reached, the problem at once falls into its right category, and we enter on the second phase of scientific quest. Easter Island is no longer an isolated mystery, there is no need to indulge in surmises as to sunken continents, it becomes part of the whole question of the culture of the Pacific and of the successive waves of migration which have passed through it.

On this large and difficult subject many able minds are at work, and some striking results, already drawn from the labours © of the Expedition, are included in this volume. When we have

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION - xiii more definite knowledge as to the nature and date of these migrations which have come from the west by such stepping-stones as Pitcairn Island, or by the Marquesas and Paumotu groups, then we shall be able to deduce still further information about Easter Island. When more is ascertained of the stone works scattered throughout other islands, we shall speak with greater certainty as to whether a first or second wave of immigrants, or both combined, are responsible for its monoliths, We have a very fair idea now, when, and perhaps why, the cult of the statues ended: even if there are no further discoveries on the island, we hope in these ways to learn when and how it began.

' There is much we shall never know—the thoughts which passed through the minds of those old image makers as they worked at their craft, the scenes enacted as their humbler neighbours toilsomely moved the great figures to their place, the weird ceremonies which doubtless marked their erection, not least the story of the persistence which erected and re-erected the burying-places after again and yet again they had been destroyed—such things are gone for ever. But the broad outlines and events of the story, with their approximate dates, to these there is every prospect we shall attain with reasonable certainty, and that before very many years have elapsed.

Ky R.

April 1920.

Part I The Voyage To Easter Island Chapter I | Page

Why we went to Easter Island—The Building and Equipping of the Yacht—The Start from Southampton—Dartmouth—

Falmouth, CHAPTER: II THE VOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA . ° ° ° . 14 A Gale at Sea—Madeira—Canary Islands—Cape Verde Islands— Across the Atlantic, CHAPTER III BRAZIL es s e 2 ® e « e e 34

Pernambuco—Bahia—Cabral Bay—Cape Frio—Rio de Janeiro —FPorto Bello—A Pampero,

CHAPTER IV ARGENTINA . Be Bice a ; : , ; : Mi 82 The River Plate—Buenos Aires, its Trade and People, CHAPTER V PATAGONIA . . : : . : : : - 605

Port Desire—Eastern Magellan Straits—Punta Arenas— Western Magellan Straits—-Patagonian Channels, xV xvi THE MYSTERY OF EASTER ISLAND

CHAPTER VI

: * PAGE C HILE e ® e e © e ® e e e 99

Refitting at Talcahuano—Trip to Santiago and across the Summit of the Andes—Valparaiso—To Juan Fernandez— Typhoid on Board—Back to Chile— Juan Fernandez again.

CHAPTER VII

JUAN FERNANDEZ ‘ ; 5 _ 5 ‘ Ape Omg The Island—Selkirk—Anson—Fate of the Dresden,

CHAPTER VIII

LIFE ON BOARD . A : : : : : Pye & Ge)

Part II Easter Island

CHAPTER IX ARRIVAL AT EASTER ISLAND . ° ° ° ° wee | First Impressions—The Story of the El Dorado—Mana despatched.

CHAPTER X CONDITIONS OF LIFE ON THE ISLAND ° ° ® e I3r Description of the Island—Accommodation—Climate—Food— Labour, CHAPTER XI A NATIVE RISING . ° ° ° ° e ° »* “40

A Declaration of Independence—Cattle-raiding—A Mission which failed—Bad to Worse—Arrival of a Chilean Warship.

CONTENTS Xvii

CHAPTER XII

PAGE A GERMAN BASE . . . ‘ ° ms ee « 50 A Visit from Von Spee—First news of the War—S. R, goes to Chile—The Prinz Eitel Friedrich—Return of Mana—Departure of the Expedition.

CHAPTER XIII PREHISTORIC REMAINS AHU OR BURIAL-PLACES : LONE ; i “LOS Form of the Easter Island Image—Position and Number of the Ahu—Design and Construction of the Image Ahu—Reconstruction and Transformation—The Semi-pyramid Ahu— The Overthrow of the Images and Destruction of the Ahu. CHAPTER XIV PREHISTORIC REMAINS (continued) STATUES AND CROWNS . ° aun ° ° ° stow? 5 Rano Raraku, its Quarries and Standing Statues—The South-east Face of the Mountain—Isolated Statues—Roads— Stone Crowns of the Images, CHAPTER XV NATIVE CULTURE IN PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES . ‘ » 200 Sources of Information: History, Recent Remains, Living Memory—Mode of Life: Habitations, Food, Dress and Ornament—Social Life: Divisions, Wars, Marriages, Burial Customs, Social Functions, CHAPTER XVI NATIVE CULTURE IN PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES (continued) o0°2360

Religion—Position of the Miru Clan—The Script—The Bird Cult— Wooden Carvings. b xvii THE MYSTERY OF EASTER ISLAND

CHAPTER XVII

PAGE CAVES AND CAVE-HUNTING . . ° ° . » 272

Residential Caves—Caves as Hiding-Places for Treasure— Burial Caves,

CHAPTER XVIII

LEGENDS . ; ; : ; : : ; fnery

First Arrival on the Island—The Long Ears exterminated by the Short Ears—The Struggle between Kotuu and Hotu Iti.

CHAPTER XIX

THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE PROBLEM ° ° « 290

Part III The Homeward Voyage Easter Island To San Francisco

CHAPTER XX

A Kind Welcome— Religion— Administration— Economic Problems—Physique—Native Remains—A Glimpse of Rapa.

CHAPTER XXI

TAHITI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, SAN FRANCISCO ° e ° 316

Tahiti— Voyage to Hawaiian Islands—Oahu, with its capital Honolulu—Visit. to Island of Hawaii—San Francisco— The Author returns to England,

CONTENTS XIX

Part IV

THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE—Continued _SAN FRANCISCO TO SOUTHAMPTON Bose I.

CHAPTER XXII

Catching Turtle—The Island of Socorro and what we found there—The tale of a Russian Finn—QuiboIsland—Suftering - of the Natives from Elephantiasis—A Haul with the Seine,

CHAPTER XXIII

PANAMA TO JAMAICA . ‘ : oe 4 ° « 359

Navigation of the Gulf of Panama—Balboa and the City of Panama—Through the Canal—Cristobal—An Incapable Pilot—The Education of a Cook—A Waterspout—A Further Exciting Experience.

CHAPTER XXIV

JAMAICA TO SOUTHAMPTON . ° ° ° . ee 78"

Jamaica, and the Bahamas—Bermudas—Azores—Preparing for Submarines—Southampton once more,

EPILOGUE . : : : ; : ; : - 389 ITINERARY OF THE EXPEDITION . : : : = 302

ILLUSTRATIONS

AN EASTER ISLAND IMAGE (Phofogravure) . ; Frontispiece PAGE

PORTRAIT OF AUTHOR (Photogravure) . ° ° . . x

Part I

FIG. PAGE I. MANA 'e : : ° P - : : 3

IA. MANA, SECTION OF DECKHOUSE AND SALOON 4 ; 6

2. PORTO SANTO. : : a ke ; he eee 3. LAS PALMAS, GRAND CANARY ‘ : . : ee 7

4. PORTO GRANDE, ST. VINCENT, CAPE VERDE ISLANDS 5 2629

5. A GROUP ON DECK : ; : ; . ; eee

6. BAHIA DE TODOS OS SANTOS 5 - : at Mes 38

7. THE NATIVE CART, ACO COVE, PORTO BELLO . : ee,

8. S. AND AN OSTRICH . A : is : s toes |

Q. PUNTA ARENAS . : - : 2 ; ‘ mega Ft

10. RIVER SCENE, ST, NICHOLAS BAY . ‘ , : aie II. CAPE FROWARD, MAGELLAN STRAITS ; : ‘ sO VGO: I2. THE GLACIER GORGE, PORT CHURRUCA . : : SEN Es | I3. MAP OF MANA INLET . : : ° . : » . 185 I4. CANOE CORDUROY PORTAGE . : ° ° : a= 60 I5. PATAGONIAN WATERWAYS. : : : : re ts 16. ENCAMPMENT OF PATAGONIAN INDIANS . : : «= OG I7. INDIANS OF BRASSEY PASS . ; : : : Pee 18. CANOE IN INDIAN REACH . a s ; : ; QI IQ. HALE COVE. : 4 : 4 : Ss : : 96 20. JUAN FERNANDEZ: AN IMPRESSION i : . ee Sh 2I. CUMBERLAND BAY, JUAN FERNANDEZ . : ; «" 12 22. SELKIRK’S CAVE, JUAN FERNANDEZ ° = 5 - 413

XxX

FIG,

23,

ILLUSTRATIONS

Part II EASTER ISLAND FROM THE SOUTH (PANORAMIC VIEW) EASTER ISLAND FROM RANO KAO (PANORAMIC VIEW) MANAGER’S HOUSE, MATAVERI : : : : A GROUP OF EASTER ISLANDERS . : a : HANGA ROA VILLAGE . : : : : : BAILEY, THE COOK, ON GUARD. . : : EASTER ISLAND WOMEN ; : ‘ - ; ANGATA, THE PROPHETESS . : ‘ : : STATUE AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM . : : : AKAHANGA COVE AND NEIGHBOURING AHU (PANORAMIC VIEW) . , : : : ! ‘ : AHU TONGARIKI, SEAWARD SIDE (PANORAMIC VIEW) . AHU TONGARIKI, LANDWARD SIDE (PANORAMIC VIEW) . AHU VINAPU (PANORAMIC VIEW) . : ° : DIAGRAM OF IMAGE AHU : : : : ; AHU TEPEU Z : ; : : x : . METHOD OF EXPOSING THE DEAD . ; 3 ; . A SEMI-PYRAMID AHU . : : ° - : DIAGRAM OF SEMI-PYRAMID AHU . ; < : AHU MAHATUA, SEAWARD SIDE. : ; AHU MAITAKI-TE-MOA, SEAWARD SIDE . - ‘ AHU RUNGA-VAE. - a : . ; ‘ PLAN OF RANO RARAKU ° ae a a) et RANO RARAKU FROM THE SEA P : - : a ~ FROM THE SOUTH-WEST . A r ye INTERIOR OF CRATER (line engraving) | DIAGRAM OF RANO RARAKU . : - A = . STATUE IN QUARRY, PARTIALLY SCULPTURED. - . STATUE IN QUARRY ATTACHED BY KEEL s p a se ae READY TO BE LAUNCHED ‘ STONE TOOL seolwuante : : s : a 3 : : ae ‘ rue HEAD OF A STATUE AT MOUTH OF QUARRY . 4

XX1

PAGE I22

Xxil ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG. 55. LARGEST IMAGE IN QUARRY. . : : :

56. STATUE CARVED ON EDGE OF PRECIPICE : : 57. STANDING STATUES . : é - : : 58. STATUE SHOWING LOBE OF EAR AS A ROPE ‘ : 50." 44 »s 1 9 8, | CONTAINING Disc mae 60. EXTERIOR OF RANO RARAKU (DIAGRAMMATIC SKETCH) GOA. oe Baas. js (REY TO ABOVE) : 61. DIGGING OUT A STATUE : : ieee ; 62: EXCAVATED IMAGE, PEG-SHAPED BASE . > : 63. é 5 SHOWING SCAMPED WORK ; 64. BACK OF AN EXCAVATED STATUE . : - : 65. BACK OF STATUE AT ANAKENA . 66. STATUE WITH UNMODELLED BACK . ; : ty peer » MODELLED BACK . ° . .

GOP tales », BACK IN PROCESS OF BEING MODELLED 69. STATUE WEDGED BY BOULDERS . : . : 70. TWO IMAGES ERECTED IN QUARRY (FRONT VIEW) . PTT ens 5; . 4 aN (BACK VIEW) . 72. STATUE SHOWING FORM OF HANDS : , . 73. PROSTRATE STATUES, SOUTH-EAST SIDE, RANO RARAKU 74. MAP OF ANCIENT ROADS Se : ; ; 75. STATUE ON SOUTH ROAD (UNBROKEN) . : 70. i Ss be », (BROKEN) : : : 77. DIAGRAM OF CEREMONIAL AVENUE, HANGA PAUKURA . 78. AHU PARO . :

79. CRATER FROM WHICH HATS OF IMAGES WERE HEWN 80. AN UNFINISHED HAT . 2

8I. A FINISHED HAT.

82. MONUMENTS IN EASTER ISLAND—-CAPTAIN COOK : 83. PORTRAITS OF EASTER ISLANDERS . °

84. CANOE-SHAPED HOUSES, STONE FOUNDATIONS . . OLA. 4, s ENTRANCE AND PAVED AREA 85. » 9 4 DIAGRAM . ; SR 86. HOUSE FOR CHICKENS .

87. TOWER USED BY FISHERMEN ; : :

PAGE 181

FIG.

I0o.

ILLUSTRATIONS

DESIGN USED IN TATTOOING, : - PORTRAIT OF MAHANGA OF PAUMOTU . : A AN OLD WOMAN, WITH DILATED EAR-LOBE , : MAP OF EASTER ISLAND (POLITICAL) ; OBSIDIAN SPEAR-HEADS : : ; : ‘ AHU, HANGA MAIHIKO, WITH PAVED APPROACH . DIAGRAM OF AHU POE-POE (CANOE SHAPE) . : AN AHU POE-POE (WEDGE SHAPE) . : : : MIRU SKULL, WITH INCISED DESIGN. : : ANAKENA COVE , : : : : , : INCISED TABLET . . : : , : - TOMENIKA’S SCRIPT . F : ‘ : : CRATER LAKE, RANO KAO (PANORAMIC VIEW) ‘ ANA KAI-TANGATA (CANNIBAL CAVE) . : ; PAINTINGS ON ROOF OF ANA KAI-TANGATA , ; ORONGO, END HOUSES AND CARVED ROCKS . : CENTRAL PORTION OF ORONGO VILLAGE ; hs PAINTED SLABS FROM HOUSES AT ORONGO . ; BACK OF STATUE FROM ORONGO, AT BRITISH MUSEUM CARVED DOOR-POST, ORONGO : ; ’ , RANO KAO FROM MOTU NUI : ; ; - MOTU NUI AND MOTU ITI . : ; : ‘ ROCK AT ORONGO, WITH FIGURES OF BIRD-MEN . BOUNDARY STATUE FROM MOTU NUI , , 4 STONE, WITH FIGURE OF BIRD-MAN HOLDING EGG

POROTU.. ; ; ; - * a ; BIRD-CHILD IN CEREMONIAL DRESS ; : A OBJECIS CARVED IN WOOD, ‘‘ REI-MIRO” ., 7 a2 f 2 i ae *“ RAPA AND UA r ie f us: ‘* MOKO-MIRO” , A

. Y Pe to oe AO saris . ° WOODEN IMAGES (FRONT) . A F E a 8 5 (BACK) . . ° ° ° BIRD DESIGN ON WOODEN IMAGE ‘ i i AHU OROI, FORMED OF OUTCROP OF ROCK . P

XXIV ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG.

PLAN OF RANO RARAKU (FIG. 44) _—..

123. EASTERN HEADLAND AND ISLAND OF MAROTIRI . é ‘124. ANA HAVEA aa . . . : . . . 125. BIRD AND HUMAN FIGURES IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

AND EASTER ISLAND . . ‘ ‘ ; ;

Part ITI 126. PITCAIRN ISLAND FROM THE SEA , ; A 2 é Ae Be ome ,, CHURCH AND RESIDENCE OF MISSION- : ARIES : ; : , : 128. oa re BOUNTY BAY . - ; 3 si . 129. RAPA < 5 Peet eta A : : ; ‘130. A TAHITIAN PICTURE POST-CARD . : * Siete I3I. MARAE MAHAIATEA, TAHITI °°. °° . ° . : 132. CHARLES AND EDWIN YOUNG... : . : 133. HEIAU PUUKOHOLA, HAWAII os ae : : 134. SAN FRANCISCO . . : A ‘ ° ° MAPS AND PLANS

MAGELLAN STRAITS AND PATAGONIAN CHANNELS . Ss ; MANA INLET (FIG. 13) ; ‘ ; tuo eee ° : EASTER ISLAND (PHYSICAL) eit Ss : : : ;

EASTER ISLAND, ANCIENT ROADS (FIG. 74) . ot er

EASTER ISLAND (POLITICAL) (FIG. 91) .

THE PACIFIC OCEAN . : X : ‘ ; : é PANAMA . , ‘ ‘ : PERS AO by . 5 JAMAICA ; CUBA AND BAHAMA ISLANDS : : 4 : BERMUDA ISLANDS . 2 , } : ‘ : :

PAGE

284 285

TRACK CHART OF MANA. , : “ : : (END)

PART I

THE VOYAGE TO EASTER ISLAND

Sm ty

MANA.

Charua Bay, Patagonian Channels.

Chapter I The Start

Why we went to Easter Island—The Building and Equipping of the Yacht—The Start from Southampton—Dartmouth—Falmouth.

“ ALL the seashore is lined with numbers of stone idols, with their backs turned towards the sea, which caused us no little wonder, because we saw no tool of any kind for working these figures.”’ So wrote, a century and a half ago, one of the earliest navigators to visit the Island of Easter in the South-east Pacific. Ever since that day passing ships have found it incomprehensible that a few hundred natives should have been able to make, move, and erect numbers of great stone monuments, some of which are over thirty feet in height; they have marvelled and passed on. As the world’s traffic has increased Faster Island has still stood outside its routes, quiet and remote, with its story undeciphered. What were these statues of which the present inhabitants know nothing? Were they made by their ancestors in forgotten times or by an earlier race? Whence came the people who reached this remote spot? Did they arrive from South America, 2,000 miles to the eastward? Or did they sail against the prevailing wind from the distant islands to the west? It has even been conjectured that Easter Island is all that remains of a sunken continent. Fifty years ago the problem was increased by the discovery on this mysterious land of wooden tablets bearing an unknown script; they too have refused to yield their secret.

When, therefore, we decided to see the Pacific before we died, and asked the anthropological authorities at the British Museum what work there remained to be done, the answer was, ‘“‘ Easter Island.”’ It was a much larger undertaking than had been contemplated; we had doubts of our capacity for so

-

A THE START important a venture; and at first the decision was against it, but we hesitated and were lost. Then followed the problem how to reach the goal. The island belongs to Chile, and the only regular communication, if regular it can be called, was a small sailing vessel sent out by the Chilean Company, who use the island as a ranch; she went sometimes once a year, sometimes not so often, and only remained there sufficient time to bring off the wool crop. We felt that the work on Easter ought to be accompanied with the possibility of following up clues elsewhere in the islands, and that to charter any such vessel as could be obtained on the Pacific coast, for the length of time we required her, would be unsatisfactory, both from the pecuniary standpoint and from that of comfort. It was therefore decided, as Scoresby is a keen yachtsman, that it was worth while to procure in England a little ship of our own, adapted to the purpose, and to sail out in her. As the Panama Canal was not open, and the route by Suez would be longer, the way would lie through the Magellan Straits.