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diff --git a/old/69807-0.txt b/old/69807-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 364f0bf..0000000 --- a/old/69807-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,18061 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The mystery of Easter island, by Mrs. -Scoresby Routledge - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The mystery of Easter island - the story of an expedition - -Author: Mrs. Scoresby Routledge - -Release Date: January 15, 2023 [eBook #69807] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF EASTER -ISLAND *** - - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - EASTER ISLAND - - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF EASTER ISLAND - THE STORY OF AN EXPEDITION - - - BY - - MRS. SCORESBY ROUTLEDGE - - HONOURS MOD. HIST. OXFORD; M.A. DUBLIN - - JOINT AUTHOR OF - “WITH A PREHISTORIC PEOPLE: THE AKIKUYU OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA” - - - PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD. - - LONDON AND AYLESBURY - - AND SOLD BY - - SIFTON, PRAED & CO. LTD., 67 ST. JAMES’S ST. - LONDON, S.W.1 - - - - - TO THE MEMORY - - OF - - MY MOTHER - - TO WHOM THE LETTERS WERE WRITTEN WHICH - - HAVE FORMED A LARGE PORTION OF THE - - MATERIAL FOR THIS BOOK, BUT WHO - - WAS NO LONGER HERE TO - - WELCOME OUR RETURN - - - - - 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 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 -appeal 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 archæological 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 of the -Expedition. The drawings are from sketches made by the Author; those of -the burial-places are from note-book 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, 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._ - -[Illustration: Katherine Routledge] - - - - - 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 is, -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 -archæological 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 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 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. - - K. R. - - _April 1920._ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PART I - _THE VOYAGE TO EASTER ISLAND_ - - CHAPTER I - PAGE - THE START 3 - 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 34 - Pernambuco—Bahia—Cabral Bay—Cape Frio—Rio de Janeiro—Porto - Bello—A Pampero. - - CHAPTER IV - ARGENTINA 52 - The River Plate—Buenos Aires, its Trade and People. - - CHAPTER V - PATAGONIA 65 - Port Desire—Eastern Magellan Straits—Punta Arenas—Western - Magellan Straits—Patagonian Channels. - - CHAPTER VI - CHILE 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 111 - The Island—Selkirk—Anson—Fate of the _Dresden_. - - CHAPTER VIII - LIFE ON BOARD 115 - - - PART II - _EASTER ISLAND_ - - CHAPTER IX - ARRIVAL AT EASTER ISLAND 124 - First Impressions—The Story of the El Dorado—_Mana_ - despatched. - - CHAPTER X - CONDITIONS OF LIFE ON THE ISLAND 131 - Description of the Island—Accommodation—Climate—Food—Labour. - - CHAPTER XI - A NATIVE RISING 140 - A Declaration of Independence—Cattle-raiding—A Mission which - failed—Bad to Worse—Arrival of a Chilean Warship. - - CHAPTER XII - A GERMAN BASE 150 - 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 165 - 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 175 - 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_) 236 - Religion—Position of the Miru Clan—The Script—The Bird - Cult—Wooden Carvings. - - CHAPTER XVII - CAVES AND CAVE-HUNTING 272 - Residential Caves—Caves as Hiding-Places for Treasure—Burial - Caves. - - CHAPTER XVIII - LEGENDS 277 - 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 - PITCAIRN ISLAND 305 - A Kind Welcome—Religion—Administration—Economic - Problems—Physique—Native Remains—A Glimpse of Rapa. - - CHAPTER XXI - TAHITI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, SAN FRANCISCO 316 - Tahiti—Voyage to Hawaiian Islands—Oahu, with its capital - Honolulu—Visit to Island of Hawaii—San Francisco—The - Author returns to England. - - - PART IV - _THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE_—Continued - _SAN FRANCISCO TO SOUTHAMPTON_ - BY S. R. - - CHAPTER XXII - SAN FRANCISCO TO PANAMA 335 - Catching Turtle—The Island of Socorro and what we found - there—The tale of a Russian Finn—Quibo Island—Suffering of - the Natives from Elephantiasis—A Haul with the Seine. - - CHAPTER XXIII - PANAMA TO JAMAICA 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 373 - Jamaica, and the Bahamas—Bermudas—Azores—Preparing for - Submarines—Southampton once more. - - EPILOGUE 389 - - ITINERARY OF THE EXPEDITION 392 - - INDEX 395 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - AN EASTER ISLAND IMAGE (_Photogravure_) _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - - PORTRAIT OF AUTHOR (_Photogravure_) x - - - PART I - FIG. PAGE - - 1. _MANA_ 3 - - 1A. _MANA_, SECTION OF DECKHOUSE AND SALOON 6 - - 2. PORTO SANTO 18 - - 3. LAS PALMAS, GRAND CANARY 22 - - 4. PORTO GRANDE, ST. VINCENT, CAPE VERDE ISLANDS 27 - - 5. A GROUP ON DECK 32 - - 6. BAHIA DE TODOS OS SANTOS 38 - - 7. THE NATIVE CART, ACO COVE, PORTO BELLO 49 - - 8. S. AND AN OSTRICH 71 - - 9. PUNTA ARENAS 74 - - 10. RIVER SCENE, ST. NICHOLAS BAY 79 - - 11. CAPE FROWARD, MAGELLAN STRAITS 80 - - 12. THE GLACIER GORGE, PORT CHURRUCA 81 - - 13. MAP OF MANA INLET 85 - - 14. CANOE CORDUROY PORTAGE 86 - - 15. PATAGONIAN WATERWAYS 87 - - 16. ENCAMPMENT OF PATAGONIAN INDIANS 90 - - 17. INDIANS OF BRASSEY PASS 91 - - 18. CANOE IN INDIAN REACH 91 - - 19. HALE COVE 96 - - 20. JUAN FERNANDEZ: AN IMPRESSION 111 - - 21. CUMBERLAND BAY, JUAN FERNANDEZ 112 - - 22. SELKIRK’S CAVE, JUAN FERNANDEZ 113 - - - PART II - 23. EASTER ISLAND FROM THE SOUTH (PANORAMIC VIEW) 122 - - 24. EASTER ISLAND FROM RANO KAO (PANORAMIC VIEW) 123 - - 25. MANAGER’S HOUSE, MATAVERI 128 - - 26. A GROUP OF EASTER ISLANDERS 140 - - 27. HANGA ROA VILLAGE 141 - - 28. BAILEY, THE COOK, ON GUARD 144 - - 29. EASTER ISLAND WOMEN 144 - - 30. ANGATA, THE PROPHETESS 145 - - 31. STATUE AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM 165 - - 32. AKAHANGA COVE AND NEIGHBOURING AHU (PANORAMIC VIEW) 166 - - 33. AHU TONGARIKI, SEAWARD SIDE (PANORAMIC VIEW) 166A - - 34. AHU TONGARIKI, LANDWARD SIDE (PANORAMIC VIEW) 166B - - 35. AHU VINAPU (PANORAMIC VIEW) 167 - - 36. DIAGRAM OF IMAGE AHU 169 - - 37. AHU TEPEU 170 - - 38. METHOD OF EXPOSING THE DEAD 171 - - 39. A SEMI-PYRAMID AHU 172 - - 40. DIAGRAM OF SEMI-PYRAMID AHU 172 - - 41. AHU MAHATUA, SEAWARD SIDE 173 - - 42. AHU MAITAKI-TE-MOA, SEAWARD SIDE 174 - - 43. AHU RUNGA-VAE 174A - - 44. PLAN OF RANO RARAKU 174C - - 45. RANO RARAKU FROM THE SEA 174D - - 46. „ „ FROM THE SOUTH-WEST .... 174E - - 47. „ „ INTERIOR OF CRATER (_line engraving_) 175 - - 48. DIAGRAM OF RANO RARAKU 177 - - 49. STATUE IN QUARRY, PARTIALLY SCULPTURED 178 - - 50. STATUE IN QUARRY ATTACHED BY KEEL 179 - - 51. „ „ „ READY TO BE LAUNCHED 179 - - 52. STONE TOOL 180 - - 53. „ „ 180 - - 54. HEAD OF A STATUE AT MOUTH OF QUARRY 180 - - 55. LARGEST IMAGE IN QUARRY 181 - - 56. STATUE CARVED ON EDGE OF PRECIPICE 182 - - 57. STANDING STATUES 183 - - 58. STATUE SHOWING LOBE OF EAR AS A ROPE 184 - - 59. „ „ „ „ „ CONTAINING A DISC 184 - - 60. EXTERIOR OF RANO RARAKU (DIAGRAMMATIC SKETCH) 184B - - 60A. „ „ „ „ (KEY TO ABOVE) 184A - - 61. DIGGING OUT A STATUE 185 - - 62. EXCAVATED IMAGE, PEG-SHAPED BASE 186 - - 63. „ „ SHOWING SCAMPED WORK 186 - - 64. BACK OF AN EXCAVATED STATUE 187 - - 65. BACK OF STATUE AT ANAKENA 187 - - 66. STATUE WITH UNMODELLED BACK 188 - - 67. „ „ MODELLED BACK 188 - - 68. „ „ BACK IN PROCESS OF BEING MODELLED 189 - - 69. STATUE WEDGED BY BOULDERS 189 - - 70. TWO IMAGES ERECTED IN QUARRY (FRONT VIEW) 190 - - 71. „ „ „ „ „ (BACK VIEW) 191 - - 72. STATUE SHOWING FORM OF HANDS 192 - - 73. PROSTRATE STATUES, SOUTH-EAST SIDE, RANO RARAKU 193 - - 74. MAP OF ANCIENT ROADS 194 - - 75. STATUE ON SOUTH ROAD (UNBROKEN) 195 - - 76. „ „ „ „ (BROKEN) 195 - - 77. DIAGRAM OF CEREMONIAL AVENUE, HANGA PAUKURA 196 - - 78. AHU PARO 197 - - 79. CRATER FROM WHICH HATS OF IMAGES WERE HEWN 198 - - 80. AN UNFINISHED HAT 199 - - 81. A FINISHED HAT 199 - - 82. MONUMENTS IN EASTER ISLAND—CAPTAIN COOK 204 - - 83. PORTRAITS OF EASTER ISLANDERS 212 - - 84. CANOE-SHAPED HOUSES, STONE FOUNDATIONS 215 - - 84A. „ „ „ ENTRANCE AND PAVED AREA 215 - - 85. „ „ „ DIAGRAM 217 - - 86. HOUSE FOR CHICKENS 218 - - 87. TOWER USED BY FISHERMEN 218 - - 88. DESIGN USED IN TATTOOING 219 - - 89. PORTRAIT OF MAHANGA OF PAUMOTU 220 - - 90. AN OLD WOMAN, WITH DILATED EAR-LOBE 220 - - 91. MAP OF EASTER ISLAND (POLITICAL) 222 - - 92. OBSIDIAN SPEAR-HEADS 224 - - 93. AHU, HANGA MAIHIKO, WITH PAVED APPROACH 229 - - 94. DIAGRAM OF AHU POE-POE (CANOE-SHAPE) 230 - - 95. AN AHU POE-POE (WEDGE SHAPE) 232 - - 96. MIRU SKULL, WITH INCISED DESIGN 240 - - 97. ANAKENA COVE 241 - - 98. INCISED TABLET 244 - - 99. tomenika’s script 252 - - 100. CRATER LAKE, RANO KAO (PANORAMIC VIEW) 254 - - 101. ANA KAI-TANGATA (CANNIBAL CAVE) 254A - - 102. PAINTINGS ON ROOF OF ANA KAI-TANGATA 254B - - 103. ORONGO, END HOUSES AND CARVED ROCKS 255 - - 104. CENTRAL PORTION OF ORONGO VILLAGE 256 - - 105. PAINTED SLABS FROM HOUSES AT ORONGO 257 - - 106. BACK OF STATUE FROM ORONGO, AT BRITISH MUSEUM 258 - - 107. CARVED DOOR-POST, ORONGO 259 - - 108. RANO KAO FROM MOTU NUI 260 - - 109. MOTU NUI AND MOTU ITI 261 - - 110. ROCK AT ORONGO, WITH FIGURES OF BIRD-MEN 262 - - 111. BOUNDARY STATUE FROM MOTU NUI 263 - - 112. STONE, WITH FIGURE OF BIRD-MAN HOLDING EGG 263 - - 113. POROTU 266 - - 114. BIRD-CHILD IN CEREMONIAL DRESS 267 - - 115. OBJECTS CARVED IN WOOD, “REI-MIRO” 268 - - 116. „ „ „ „ “RAPA AND UA” 268 - - 117. „ „ „ „ “MOKO-MIRO” 268 - - 118. „ „ „ „ “AO” 268 - - 119. WOODEN IMAGES (FRONT) 269 - - 120. „ „ (BACK) 270 - - 121. BIRD DESIGN ON WOODEN IMAGE 271 - - 122. AHU OROI, FORMED OF OUTCROP OF ROCK 277 - - 123. EASTERN HEADLAND AND ISLAND OF MAROTIRI 284 - - 124. ANA HAVEA 285 - - 125. BIRD AND HUMAN FIGURES IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS AND - EASTER ISLAND 297 - - - PART III - 126. PITCAIRN ISLAND FROM THE SEA 306 - - 127. „ „ CHURCH AND RESIDENCE OF MISSIONARIES 306 - - 128. „ „ BOUNTY BAY 307 - - 129. RAPA 315 - - 130. A TAHITIAN PICTURE POST-CARD 319 - - 131. MARAE MAHAIATEA, TAHITI 320 - - 132. CHARLES AND EDWIN YOUNG 321 - - 133. HEIAU PUUKOHOLA, HAWAII 327 - - 134. SAN FRANCISCO 331 - - - MAPS AND PLANS - MAGELLAN STRAITS AND PATAGONIAN CHANNELS 65 - - MANA INLET (FIG. 13) 85 - - EASTER ISLAND (PHYSICAL) 120A - - PLAN OF RANO RARAKU (FIG. 44) 174C - - EASTER ISLAND, ANCIENT ROADS (FIG. 74) 194 - - EASTER ISLAND (POLITICAL) (FIG. 91) 222 - - THE PACIFIC OCEAN 293 - - PANAMA 359 - - JAMAICA; CUBA AND BAHAMA ISLANDS 372 - - BERMUDA ISLANDS 378 - - - - - PART I - _THE VOYAGE TO EASTER ISLAND_ - - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 1. - - _MANA._ - - Charrua 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 Easter 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 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. - -Search for a suitable vessel in England was fruitless, and it became -clear that to get what we wanted we must build. The question of general -size and arrangement had first to be settled, and then matters of -detail. It is unfortunate that the precise knowledge which was acquired -of the exact number of inches necessary to sleep on, to sit on, and to -walk along is not again likely to be useful. The winter of 1910–11 was -spent over this work, but the professional assistance obtained proved to -be incompetent, and we had to begin again; the final architect of the -little yacht was Mr. Charles Nicholson, of Gosport, and the plans were -completed the following summer. They were for a vessel of schooner rig -and auxiliary motor power. The length over all was 90 feet, and the -water-line 72 feet; her beam was 20 feet. The gross tonnage was 91 and -the yacht tonnage was 126. - -The vessel was designed in four compartments, with a steel bulkhead -between each of the divisions, so that in case of accident it would be -possible to keep her afloat. Aft was the little chart-room, which was -the pride of the ship. When we went on board magnificent yachts which -could have carried our little vessel as a lifeboat, and found the -navigation being done in the public rooms, we smiled with superiority. -Out of the chart-room were the navigator’s sleeping quarters, and in the -overhang of the stern the sail-locker. The next compartment was given to -the engines, and made into a galvanised iron box in case of fire. It -contained a motor engine for such work as navigation in and out of -harbour and traversing belts of calm. This was of 38 h.p. and run on -paraffin, as petrol was disallowed by the insurance; it gave her 5½ -knots. In the same compartment was the engine for the electric light: in -addition the yacht had steam heating. The spaces between the walls of -the engine-box and those of the ship were given to lamps, and to -boatswain’s stores. - -Then came the centre of the ship, containing the quarters of our -scientific party. The middle portion of this was raised three or four -feet for the whole length, securing first a deck-house and then a -heightened roof for the saloon below, an arrangement which was -particularly advantageous, as no port-holes were allowed below decks, -leaving us dependent on skylights and ventilators. Entering from -without, two or three steps led down into the deck-house, which formed -part of the saloon, but at a higher level; it was my chief resort -throughout the voyage. On each side was a settee, which was on the level -of the deck, and thus commanded a view through port-holes and door of -what was passing outside; one of these settees served as a berth in hot -weather. A small companion connected the deck-house with the saloon -below: the latter ran across the width of the ship; it also had -full-length settees both sides, and at the end of each was a chiffonier. -On the port side was the dinner-table, which swung so beautifully that -the fiddles were seldom used, and the thermos for the navigating officer -could be left happily on it all night. Starboard was a smaller table, -fitted for writing; and a long bookshelf ran along the top of the -for’ardside (fig. 1^A). - -On the afterside of the saloon a double cabin opened out of it, and a -passage led to two single cabins and the bathroom. The cabins were -rather larger than the ordinary staterooms of a mail steamer, and the -arrangements of course more ample; every available cranny was utilised -for drawers and lockers, and in going ashore it was positive pain to see -the waste of room under beds and sofas and behind washing-stands. My -personal accommodation was a chest of drawers and hanging wardrobe, -besides the drawers under the berth and various lockers. Returning to -the saloon, a door for’ard opened into the pantry, which communicated -with the galley above, situated on deck for the sake of coolness. -For’ard again was a whole section given to stores, and beyond, in the -bows, a roomy forecastle. The yacht had three boats—a lifeboat which -contained a small motor engine, a cutter, and a dinghy; when we were at -sea the two former were placed on deck, but the dinghy, except on one -occasion only, was always carried in the davits, where she triumphantly -survived all eventualities, a visible witness to the buoyancy of the -ship. - -While the plans were being completed, search was being made for a place -where the vessel should be built; for though nominally a yacht, the -finish and build of the Solent would have been out of place. It had been -decided that she should be of wood, as easier to repair in case of -accident where coral reefs and other unseen dangers abound; but the -building of wooden ships is nearly extinct. The west country was -visited, and an expedition made to Dundee and Aberdeen, but even there, -the old home of whalers, ships are now built of steel; finally we fixed -on Whitstable, from which place such vessels still ply round the coast. -The keel was laid in the autumn of 1911; the following spring we took up -our abode there to watch over her, and there in May 1912 she first took -the water, being christened by the writer in approved fashion. “I name -this ship _Mana_, and may the blessing of God go with her and all who -sail in her”—a ceremony not to be performed without a lump in the -throat. The choice of a name had been difficult; we had wished to give -her one borne by some ship of Dr. Scoresby, the Arctic explorer, a -friend of my husband’s family whose name he received, but none of them -proved to be suitable. The object was to find something which was both -simple and uncommon; all appellations that were easy to grasp seemed to -have been already adopted, while those that were unique lent themselves -to error. “How would it do in a cable?” was the regulation test. Finally -we hit on _Mana_, which is a word well known to anthropologists, and has -the advantage of being familiar throughout the South Seas. We generally -translated it somewhat freely as “good luck.” It means, more strictly, -supernatural power: a Polynesian would, for instance, describe the -common idea of the effect of a horseshoe by saying that the shoe had -“mana.” From a scientific standpoint mana is probably the simplest form -of religious conception. The yacht flew the burgee of the Royal Cruising -Club. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 1ᴬ.—_MANA._ SECTION OF DECKHOUSE AND SALOON -] - -From the time the prospective expedition became public we received a -considerable amount of correspondence from strangers: some of it was -from those who had special knowledge of the subject, and was highly -valued; other letters had a comic element, being from various young men, -who appeared to think that our few berths might be at the disposal of -anyone who wanted to see the world. One letter, dated from a newspaper -office, stated that its writer had no scientific attainments, but would -be glad to get up any subject required in the time before sailing; the -qualification of another for the post of steward was that he would be -able to print the menus and ball programmes. The most quaint experience -was in connection with a correspondent who gave a good name and address, -and offered to put at our disposal some special knowledge on the subject -of native lore, which he had collected as Governor of one of the South -Sea islands. On learning our country address, he wrote that he was about -to become the guest of some of our neighbours and would call upon us. It -subsequently transpired that they knew nothing of him, but that he had -written to them, giving our name. He did, in fact, turn up at our -cottage during our absence, and obtained an excellent tea at the expense -of the caretaker. The next we heard of him was from the keeper of a -small hotel in the neighbourhood of Whitstable, where he had run up a -large bill on the strength of a statement that he was one of our -expedition, and we found later that he had shown a friend over the yacht -while she was building, giving out he was a partner of my husband. We -understand that after we started he appeared in the county court at the -instance of the unfortunate innkeeper. - -After much trouble we ultimately selected two colleagues from the older -universities. The arrangement with one of these, an anthropologist, was, -unfortunately, a failure, and ended at the Cape Verde Islands. The -other, a geologist, Mr. Frederick Lowry-Corry, took up intermediate work -in India, and subsequently joined us in South America. The Admiralty was -good enough to place at our disposal a lieutenant on full pay for -navigation, survey, and tidal observation. This post was ultimately -filled by Lieutenant D. R. Ritchie, R.N. - -With regard to the important matter of the crew, it was felt that -neither merchant seamen nor yacht hands would be suitable, and a number -of men were chosen from the Lowestoft fishing fleet. Subsequent delays, -however, proved deleterious, the prospective “dangers” grew in size, and -the only one who ultimately sailed with us was a boy, Charles C. -Jeffery, who was throughout a loyal and valued member of the expedition. -The places of the other men were supplied by a similar class from -Brixham, who justified the selection. The mate, Preston, gave much -valuable service, and one burly seaman in particular, Light by name, by -his good humour and intelligent criticism added largely to the amenity -of the voyage. An engineer, who was also a photographer, was obtained -from Glasgow. We were particularly fortunate in our sailing master, Mr. -H. J. Gillam. He had seen, while in Japan, a notice of the expedition in -a paper, and applied with keenness for the post; to his professional -knowledge, loyalty, and pleasant companionship the successful -achievement of the voyage is very largely due. The full complement of -the yacht, in addition to the scientific members, consisted of the -navigator, engineer, cook-steward, under-steward, and three men for each -watch, making ten in all. S. was official master, and I received on the -books the by no means honorary rank of stewardess. - -Whitstable proved to be an unsuitable place for painting, so _Mana_ made -her first voyage round to Southampton Water, where she lay for a while -in the Hamble River, and later at a yacht-builder’s in Southampton. The -steward on this trip took to his bed with seasickness; but as he was -subsequently found surreptitiously eating the dinner which S. had been -obliged to cook, we felt that he was not likely to prove a desirable -shipmate, and he did not proceed further. We had hoped to sail in the -autumn, but we had our full share of the troubles and delays which seem -inevitably associated with yacht-building: the engine was months late in -the installation, and then had to be rectified; the painting took twice -as long as had been promised; and when we put out for trial trips there -was trouble with the anchor which necessitated a return to harbour. The -friends who had kindly assembled in July at the Hans Crescent Hotel to -bid us good speed began to ask if we were ever really going to depart. -We spent the winter practically living on board, attending to these -affairs and to the complicated matter of stowage. - -The general question of space had of course been very carefully -considered in the original designs. The allowance for water was -unusually large, the tanks containing sufficient for two, or with strict -economy for three months; the object in this was not only safety in long -or delayed passages, but to avoid taking in supplies in doubtful -harbours. Portions of the hold had to be reserved of course for coal, -and also for the welded steel tanks which contained the oil. When these -essentials had been disposed of, still more intricate questions arose -with regard to the allotment of room; it turned out to be greater than -we had ventured to hope, but this in no way helped, as every department -hastened to claim additional accommodation and to add something more to -its stock. Nothing was more surprising all through the voyage than the -yacht’s elasticity: however much we took on board we got everything in, -and however much we took out she was always quite full. - -The outfit for the ship had of course been taken into consideration, but -as departure drew near it seemed, from the standpoint of below decks, to -surpass all reason; there were sails for fine weather and sails for -stormy weather, and spare sails, anchors, and sea-anchors, one-third of -a mile of cable, and ropes of every size and description. - -As commissariat officer, the Stewardess naturally felt that domestic -stores were of the first importance. Many and intricate calculations had -been made as to the amount a man ate in a month, and the cubic space to -be allowed for the same. It had been also a study in itself to find out -what must come from England and what could be obtained elsewhere; kind -correspondents in Buenos Aires and Valparaiso had helped with advice, -and we arranged for fresh consignments from home to meet us in those -ports, of such articles as were not to be procured there or were -inordinately expensive. The general amount of provisions on board was -calculated for six months, but smaller articles, such as tea, were taken -in sufficient quantities for the two years which it was at the time -assumed would be the duration of the trip. We brought back on our return -a considerable amount of biscuits, for it was found possible to bake on -board much oftener than we had dared to hope. As a yacht we were not -obliged to conform to the merchant service scale of provisions, our -ship’s articles guaranteeing “sufficiency and no waste.” The merchant -scale was constantly referred to, but it is, by universal agreement, -excessive, and leads to much waste, as the men are liable to claim what -they consider their right, whether they consume the ration or not; the -result is that a harbour may not unfrequently be seen covered with -floating pieces of bread, or even whole loaves. The quantity asked for -by our men of any staple foods was always given, and there were the -usual additions, but we subsisted on about three-fourths of the legal -ration. We had only one case of illness requiring a doctor, and then it -was diagnosed as “the result of over-eating.” It was a source of -satisfaction that we never throughout the voyage ran short of any -essential commodity. - -There were other matters in the household department for which it was -even more difficult to estimate than for the actual food—how many cups -and saucers, for example, should we break per month, and how many reams -of paper and quarts of ink ought we to take. Our books had of course to -be largely scientific, a sovereign’s worth of cheap novels was a boon, -but we often yearned unutterably for a new book. Will those who have -friends at the ends of the earth remember the godsend to them of a few -shillings so invested, as a means of bringing fresh thoughts and a sense -of civilised companionship? For a library for the crew we were greatly -indebted to the kindness of Lord Radstock and the Passmore Edwards Ocean -Library. We were subsequently met at every available port by a supply of -newspapers, comprising the weekly editions of the _Times_ and _Daily -Graphic_, the _Spectator_; and the papers of two Societies for Women’s -Suffrage. - -In addition to the requirements for the voyage the whole equipment for -landing had to be foreseen and stowed, comprising such things as tents, -saddlery, beds, buckets, basins, and cooking-pots. We later regretted -the space given to some of the enamelled iron utensils, as they can be -quite well procured in Chile, while cotton and other goods which we had -counted on procuring there for barter were practically unobtainable. -Some sacks of old clothes which we took out for gifts proved most -valuable. Among late arrivals that clamoured for peculiar consideration -were the scientific outfits, which attained to gigantic proportions. S., -who had studied at one time at University College Hospital, was our -doctor, and the medical and surgical stores were imposing: judging from -the quantity of bandages, we were each relied on to break a leg once a -month. Everybody had photographic gear; the geologist appeared with a -huge pestle and other goods; there was anthropological material for the -preserving of skulls; the surveying instruments looked as if they would -require a ship to themselves; while cases of alarming size arrived from -the Admiralty and Royal Geographical Society, containing sounding -machines and other mysterious articles. The owners of all these -treasures argued earnestly that they were of the essence of the -expedition, and must be treated with respect accordingly. Then of course -things turned up for which everyone had forgotten to allow room, such as -spare electric lamps, also a trammel and seine, each of fifty fathoms, -to secure fish in port. Before we finally sailed a large consignment -appeared of bonded tobacco for the crew, and the principal hold was -sealed by the Customs, necessitating a temporary sacrifice of the -bathroom for last articles. - -This packing of course all took time, especially as nothing could be -allowed to get wet, and a rainy or stormy day hung up all operations. -Finally, however, on the afternoon of February 28th, 1913, the anchor -was weighed, and we went down Southampton Water under power. We were at -last off for Easter Island! - -We had a good passage down the Channel, stopped awhile at Dartmouth, for -the Brixham men to say good-bye to their families, and arrived at -Falmouth on March 6th. Here there was experienced a tiresome delay of -nearly three weeks. The wind, which in March might surely have seen its -way to be easterly, and had long been from that direction, turned round -and blew a strong gale from the south-west. The harbour was white with -little waves, and crowded with shipping of every description, from -battleships to fishing craft. Occasionally a vessel would venture out to -try to get round the Lizard, only to return beaten by the weather. We -had while waiting the sad privilege of rendering a last tribute to our -friend Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, the author of _Italy and her Invaders_, who -just before our arrival had passed where “tempests cease and surges -swell no more.” He rests among his own people in the quiet little Quaker -burial-ground. - -It was not till Lady Day, Tuesday, March 25th, that the wind changed -sufficiently to allow of departure; then there was a last rush on shore -to obtain sailing supplies of fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables, and to -send off good-bye telegrams. Everything was triumphantly squeezed in -somewhere and carefully secured, so that nothing should shift when the -roll began. The only articles which found no home were two sacks of -potatoes, which had to remain on the cabin floor, because the space -assigned to them below hatches had, in my absence on shore, been -nefariously appropriated by the Sailing-master for an additional supply -of coal. - -It was dark before all was ready, and we left Falmouth Harbour with the -motor; then out into the ocean, the sails hoisted, the Lizard Light -sighted, and good-bye to England! - -“Two years,” said our friends, “that is a long time to be away.” “Oh -no,” we had replied; “we shall find when we come back that everything is -just the same; it always is. You will still be talking of Militants, and -Labour Troubles, and Home Rule; there will be a few new books to read, -the children will be a little taller—that will be all.” But the result -was otherwise. - - - - - CHAPTER II - THE VOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA - - A Gale at Sea—Madeira—Canary Islands—Cape Verde Islands—Across the - Atlantic. - - -The first day in open ocean was spent in shaking down; on going on deck -before turning in it was found to be a clear starlight night, and the -man at the wheel prophesied smooth things. It was a case of— - - “A little ship was on the sea, - It was a pretty sight, - It sailed along so pleasantly, - And all was calm and bright.” - -But, alas! the storm did soon begin to rise; by morning we were in -troubled waters, and by noon we were battened down and hove to. We had -given up all idea of making progress and were riding out the gale as -best we might. All the saloon party were more or less laid low, -including Mr. Ritchie, for the first time in his life. The steward was -not seen for two days; and if it had not been that the under-steward, -who shall be known as “Luke,” rose to the occasion, the state of affairs -would have been somewhat serious. He not only contrived to satisfy the -appetites of the crew, which were subsequently said to have been -abnormally good, but also staggered round, with black hands and a -tousled head, ministering with tea and bovril to our frailer needs. The -engineer, a landsman, was too incapacitated to do any work, and doubt -arose as to whether we should not be left without electric light. More -alarming was the fact that the place smelt badly of paraffin, arousing -anxiety as to the effect the excessive rolling of the ship might have -had on our carefully tested tanks and barrels; happily the odour proved -to be due merely to a temporary overflow in the engine-room. - -We now found the disadvantage of having abandoned, owing to our various -delays, the trial runs in home waters which had at one time been -planned. The skylights, which would have been adequate for ordinary -yachting—which has been described as “going round and round the Isle of -Wight”—proved unequal to the work expected of _Mana_, and the truth -appeared of a dark saying of the Board of Trade surveyor that “skylights -were not ventilation.” Not only could they of course not be raised in -bad weather, but those which, like mine, were arranged to open, admitted -the sea to an unpleasant degree; such an amount of water had to be -conveyed by means of dripping towels into canvas baths that it seemed at -one time as if the Atlantic would be perceptibly emptier. When in the -midst of the gale night fell on the lonely ship the sensation was eerie; -every now and then the persistent rolling, which threw from side to side -of the berth those fortunate enough to be below, was interrupted by a -resounding crash in the darkness as a big wave broke against the -vessel’s side, followed by the rushing surge and gurgle of the water as -it poured in a volume over the deck above. Then the hubbub entirely -ceased, and for a perceptible time the vessel lay perfectly still in the -trough of the wave, like a human creature dazed by a sudden blow, after -a second or two to begin again her weary tossing. I wondered, as I lay -there, which was the more weird experience, this night or one spent in -camp in East Africa with no palisade, in a district swarming with lions, -and again recalled the philosophy of one of our Swahili boys. -“Frightened? No, he eats me, he does not eat me; it is all the will of -Allah.” - -By morning the worst was over, and it was a comfort to hear Mr. Gillam -singing cheerfully something about “In the Bay of Biscay O,” a -performance he varied with anathemas on the seasick steward. When I was -able to get on deck, the waves were still descending on us—if not the -proverbial mountains; at any rate hills high, looking as if they must -certainly overwhelm us. It was wonderful to see, what later I took for -granted, how the yacht rose to each, taking it as it were in her stride. -It was reported to have been a “full gale, a hurricane, as bad as could -be, with dangerous cross seas”; but the little vessel had proved herself -a splendid sea-going boat, and “had ridden it out like a duck.” For the -next little while I can only say in the words of the poet, “It was not -night, it was not day”; neither the clothes people wore, nor the food -they took, nor their times of downsitting and uprising had anything to -do with the hours of light and darkness. By Saturday, however, the -weather was better, meals were established, and things generally more -civilised. We had another bad gale somewhere in the latitude of -Finisterre, being hove to for thirty hours, but were subsequently very -little troubled with seasickness. The second Sunday out, April 6th, we -experienced a short interlude of calm, and I discovered that not only -does a sailing ship not travel in bad weather, but that when it is -really beautifully smooth she also has a bad habit of declining to go. -Anyway, we held our first service, and “O God, our help” went, if not in -Westminster Abbey form, at any rate quite creditably. - -Mr. Ritchie had decided to take two sides of a triangle, first west and -then south, rather than run any risk of being blown on to Ushant or -Finisterre; a precaution which, in view of the proved powers of the boat -to hold her own against a head wind, he subsequently thought to have -been unnecessary. After we left the English shores we only saw two -vessels till we were within sight of Madeira, and some of our Brixham -men, who had never been far from their native shores or away from their -fishing fleet, were much impressed with the size and loneliness of the -ocean. “It was astonishing,” said Light, “that there could be so much -water without any land or ships,” and he expressed an undisguised desire -for “more company.” - -Somehow or other we had all come to the conclusion that we would put -into Madeira, instead of going straight through to Las Palmas, for which -we had cleared from Falmouth. The first land which we sighted was the -outlying island of the group, Porto Santo. This was appropriate on a -voyage to the New World, as Columbus resided there with his -father-in-law, who was governor of the place; and it is said that from -his observations there of drift-wood, and other indications, he first -conceived the idea of the land across the waters, to which he made his -famous voyage in 1492. Our mate entertained us with a tale of how he had -been shipwrecked on Porto Santo, the yacht on which he was serving -having overrun her reckonings as she approached it from the west; -happily all on board were able to escape. The wind fell after we made -the group, so that we did not get into the harbour of Funchal for -another thirty-six hours, and then only with the help of the motor. It -was most enjoyable cruising along the coast of Madeira, watching the -great mountains, woods, ravines, and nestling villages, at whose -existence the passengers on the deck of a Union-Castle liner can only -vaguely guess. The day was Sunday, April 13th, and later it became a -matter of remark how frequently we hit off this day of the week for -getting into harbour, a most inconvenient one from the point of view of -making the necessary arrangements. As we entered, a Portuguese liner, -coming out of Funchal, dipped its flag in greeting to our blue ensign; -out came the harbour-master’s tug to show us where to take up our -position, down went the anchor with a comfortable rattle, and so ended -the first stage of our journey. - -The voyage had taken eighteen days, and averaged about sixty miles a -day, as against the hundred miles on which we had calculated, and which -later we sometimes exceeded. A man who crosses the ocean in a powerful -steam-vessel, as one who travels by land in an express train, -undoubtedly gains in speed, but he loses much else. He misses a thousand -beauties, he has no contact with Nature, no sense of the exultation -which comes from progress won step by step by putting forth his own -powers to bend hers to his will. The late veteran seaman Lord Brassey is -reported to have said that “when once an engine is put into a ship the -charm of the sea is gone.” All through our voyage also there was a -fascinating sense of having put back the hands of time. This was the -route and these in the main the conditions under which our ancestors, -the early Empire builders, travelled to India; later we were on the -track of Drake, Anson, and others. Some of Drake’s ships were apparently -about the size of _Mana_.[1] The world has been shrinking of late, and -to return to a simpler day is to restore much of its size and dignity. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 2.—PORTO SANTO. -] - - - MADEIRA - - Madeira was settled by the Portuguese early in the fifteenth century. - With the exception of an interlude in the Napoleonic wars, when it was - taken by England, it has ever since been a possession of that country. - -Funchal, with its sunshine and its smiling houses, is well known to all -travellers to South Africa. The season was just over, but the weather -was still pleasantly cool, and flowers covered the walls with great -masses of colour. We were there three days, and occupied our time in the -usual way by ascending the hill above the town in the funicular railway, -but instead of descending in the picturesque toboggans we came down on -foot. The walk took about two hours down a path which is paved the whole -way, representing a very large amount of labour. We regretted that we -were unable to stay longer and see something of the life in those lonely -cottages among the mountains, which we had seen from the sea, where the -women are said to add considerably to their income by the embroidery for -which the island is famous. Since our visit Funchal, as belonging to one -of the Allies, has suffered in the Great War through enemy action, -having been shelled from the sea and the shipping in the harbour sunk by -a German raid. - - - GRAND CANARY - - The Canary group consists of some nine islands, of which the most - important are Teneriffe and Grand Canary. They have been known from - the earliest times, but European sovereignty did not begin till 1402, - and it was the end of the century before all the islands became - subject to the crown of Castile. This prolonged warfare was due to the - very brave resistance offered by the original inhabitants, known as - Guanches. These very interesting people, who are of Berber extraction, - withstood the Spaniards till 1483, and the name of Grand Canary is - said to have been obtained from their stubborn defence. The final - defeat of the natives was largely due to the terror inspired by their - first sight of a body of cavalry which the Spaniards had landed on the - island. The Guanches of Teneriffe held out till 1496. The Canaries - were thus subdued just in time to become a stepping-stone to the New - World. The horses of the cavalry were carried to America, and formed - part of the stock from which sprang the wild American mustang. - -On quitting Madeira we caught the north-east trade wind at once, and had -a capital run to the Grand Canary, doing the 197 miles in 51½ hours. - -The aspect of our new harbour, Puerto de la Luz by name, was somewhat -depressing. On its south side is the mainland of the island, which -consists of sandhills, behind which are bleak, arid-looking mountains, -whose summits during the whole of our three weeks’ stay were -continuously veiled in mist. The west side is formed by the promontory -of Isleta, which would be an island save that it is connected with Grand -Canary by a sand isthmus washed up by the sea, much after the manner -that Gibraltar is united to the Spanish mainland. The remainder of the -protection for the harbour consists of artificial breakwaters. The only -spot on which the eye rests with pleasure is a distant view of a cluster -of houses, above which rises a cathedral; this is the capital, Las -Palmas, which lies two or three miles to the south. The effect made on -the new-comer, especially after leaving luxuriant Madeira, is that of -having been transported into the heart of Africa. - -The port, if not attractive, is at any rate prosperous. The Canaries are -still a stepping-stone to the New World, and in accordance with modern -requirements have turned into a great coaling station. In Puerto de la -Luz six or seven different firms compete for the work. The British -Consul, Major Swanston, gave us a most interesting account of his duties -during the South African War in revictualling the transports which -called here. Mention should not be omitted of the delightful new -institute of the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society, with -billiard-room, reading-room, and arranged concerts, to which our men -were very glad to resort; but indeed we met similar kind provision in so -many ports that it seems invidious to particularise. - -This was my first experience of life in a foreign port as “stewardess,” -for our stay at Madeira was only an interlude. To passengers on a mail -steamer the time so spent is generally concerned with changing into -shore clothes, and making up parties for dinner on land to avoid the -exigencies of coaling. To those in charge of a small boat its aspect is -very different. Much of it is not a time of leisure, but to be an acting -member of a British ship in a foreign port is distinctly exhilarating. -It brings with it a sense both of being a humble representative of one’s -own nationality, and also of belonging to the great busy fraternity of -the sea. First, as land is approached, comes the running up of the -ensign and burgee; then the making of the ship’s number, as the -signal-station is passed, which will in due course be reported to -Lloyds; next follows the entry into port, and the awaiting of the -harbour-master, on whose fiat it hangs where the vessel shall take up -her berth. He is succeeded by doctor and customs officer to examine the -ship’s papers; and all these are matters not for some mysterious -personages with gold braid, but of personal interest. - -As soon as the yacht is safely berthed the Master goes on shore to visit -the consul, and obtain the longed-for letters and newspapers. In the -food department the important question of food at once arises. My hope -had always been that we should have found a steward capable of taking -over this responsibility, but though we had various changes, and paid -the highest wages, we were never able to get one sufficiently reliable, -and the work therefore fell on the Stewardess. We at first used to go on -shore and cater personally, which is no doubt the most satisfactory -method, but in view of the time involved we subsequently relied on the -“ships’ chandlers,” who are universal providers, to be found in all -ports of any size, and who will bring fresh stores to the ship daily. A -very careful examination and comparison of prices is necessary, for one -of the annoying parts of owning a boat is that even the smallest -yacht-owner is considered fair game for extortion and dishonest dealing. -The variation in the cost of commodities in different harbours requires -a very elastic mind on the part of the housekeeper, both as to menus in -port and purchases for the next stage of the voyage. It puts an -extremely practical interest into the list of exports, which formed so -dreary a part of geography as taught in one’s own childhood. At Las -Palmas prices were much as in pre-war England; at our next port, in Cape -Verde Islands, the best meat was sixpence a pound, and fish sufficient -for four cost threepence, but the cost of bread was high. At Rio de -Janeiro and elsewhere in South America, though most things were ruinous, -we obtained enough coffee at very reasonable prices to carry us home; -while in Buenos Aires, with mutton at fourpence a pound, it was a matter -of regret that the hold was not twice as large. - -On arriving in port after a long voyage, work is generally needed on the -vessel or her engines: if so, the name of the right firm has to be -obtained, the firm found, an estimate obtained and bargain made. Then -the work has to be done and frequently redone, all of which causes delay -it seems impossible to avoid; a fortnight may thus easily be spent in -getting a two days’ job accomplished. In Las Palmas we were fortunate in -finding a capable firm, who took in hand such alterations as our -experience in the Bay had shown to be necessary. The offending skylights -were fastened down, and ventilating shafts substituted, with the result -that we had no more trouble. We had a good deal of extra work on board -to do ourselves from a tiresome mishap. In inspecting the stove -connected with the heating apparatus, it was noticed that there was -water under the grating; this was at first thought to be due to skylight -drip, but on lifting the grating there was seen to be quite deep water -in the hold almost up to the outside sea-level. The pumps were at once -rigged to get it down, but it was found still to be filling; and it was -then discovered that there was a serious leakage, due to the fact that -the pipe through which the water came to cool the engine had been -defectively jointed. It meant days of work to go through the stores -affected. Happily nothing was lost except about twenty pounds of tea, -and some sweets intended for gifts; but if the accident, which was -entirely due to careless workmanship, had happened at sea the results -might have been disastrous. - -We were glad when we were at last able to see something of the country. -If the harbour of Luz is not beautiful, the road from it into Las Palmas -is still less so. It runs between the sea and arid sandhills, and -abounds in ruts and dust; as there is also no street lighting, “the -rates,” as S. remarked, “can hardly be high.” Half-way along this road -there stand, for no very obvious reason, the English Church and Club, -also a good hotel, the Santa Catalina, belonging to a steamship company; -otherwise it is bordered by poor and unattractive houses of stucco, the -inhabitants of which seem permanently seated at the windows to watch the -passers-by. Happily the distance is traversed by means of trams, owned -by a company with English capital, which run frequently between the port -and the city and do the journey in twenty minutes. - -Las Palmas itself is not unpicturesque. Its main feature is a stony -river-bed, which runs down the centre of the city and is spanned by -various bridges; it was empty when we saw it, but is no doubt at times, -even in this waterless land, filled with a raging, boiling current from -the mountains. In the principal square, opposite the cathedral, is the -museum, which contains an admirable anthropological collection, -concerned mostly with relics of the Guanches. When we were there the -city was gay with bunting and grand stands for a _fiesta_, in -celebration of the anniversary of the union of the islands with the -crown of Castile; a flying man, a carnival, and an outdoor cinema -entertainment were among the chief excitements. At one of the hotels we -discussed politics with the waiter, who was a native of the island. He -had been in England, but never in Spain; nevertheless, he seemed in -touch with the situation in the ruling country. There would, he -declared, be great changes in Spain in the next fifteen years. The King -did his best in difficult circumstances, but anti-clerical feeling was -too strong to allow of the continuation of the present state of things. -In Grand Canary there was, he said, the same feeling as in Spain against -the constant exactions of the Church. The women were still devout, but -you might go into any village and talk against the Church and meet with -sympathy from the men. He himself was a socialist, and as such “had no -country; countries were for rich people who had something belonging to -them, something to lose; for those who had to work all countries were -the same.” He only lived in Canary, he said, because his people were -there. We pointed out that the bond with one’s own people was precisely -what made one country home and not another, but the argument fell flat. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 3. - - _From a photo._ - - LAS PALMAS, GRAND CANARY. -] - -The great charm of the island lies in the mountainous character of the -interior region. Three roads radiate from the capital, one along the -coast to the north, another to the south, and the third inland. Along -all these it is necessary to travel some distance before points of -interest are reached, and we were at the disadvantage of never being -able to be more than a night or two away from the ship without returning -to see how the work on board was progressing. On all the main routes are -run motor-buses, which are chiefly characterised by indications of -impending dissolution, and inspire awe by the rapidity with which they -turn corners without any preliminary easing down. The natives, however, -appeared to think that the accidents were not unreasonably numerous. - -In addition to motors there are local “coaches” drawn by horses, after -the manner of covered wagonettes; they will no doubt be gradually -superseded by the motors, but still command considerable custom. Both -types of vehicles are delightfully vague in the hours which they keep, -being just as likely to start too soon as too late, thus presupposing an -indefinite amount of time for the passengers to spend at the -starting-place. - -Our first expedition was by the inland or middle road, which winds up by -the bleak hillside till it reaches a beautiful and attractive country. -To those unaccustomed to such latitudes, it comes as a surprise to see -fertility increasing instead of diminishing with elevation, due to the -more constant rain among the hills. Monte and Santa Brigida may be said -to be residential neighbourhoods and have comfortable hotels and -boarding-houses. There are two principal sights to be visited from -there. One is the village of Atalaya, which consists of a zone of cave -dwellings, almost encircling the summit of a dome-shaped hill. The -eminence falls away on two sides to a deep ravine, over which it -commands magnificent views, and is connected with the adjacent hills by -a narrow coll. The rock is of consolidated volcanic tuff, in which the -dwellings are excavated. The fronts of the houses abut on the pathway, -which is about four feet wide, and are unequally placed, following the -contour of the ground. Each dwelling consists of two apartments, both -about twelve feet square, with rounded angles and a domed roof, the -surface of the walls shows the chisel marks. The front apartment is used -as a bed-sittingroom, the back one as a store; and in some cases a -lean-to outhouse has been built of blocks of the same material, in which -cooking is done and the goats kept. Doors and window-sashes are inserted -into the solid stone. Both dwellings and surroundings are beautifully -clean and neat; the first one exhibited we imagined to be a “show” -apartment, till others proved equally neat and orderly. Flowers were -planted in crannies of the rock and around the doors and windows, being -carefully tended and watered. The industry of the village is making pots -by hand without a wheel, the sand being obtained in one direction and -the clay in another: the shapes coincide in several instances with those -taken from native burial-grounds and now to be seen in the museum at Las -Palmas. The occasion of our visit was unfortunately a _fiesta_, and -regular work was not going on: an old lady, however, made us a model pot -in a few minutes; it was fashioned out of one piece of clay, with the -addition of a little extra material if necessary: the pottery is -unglazed. Various specimens of the art were obtained by the Expedition -and are now in the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford. - -About half a mile from these troglodyte abodes, and adjoining the coll, -is an extraordinarily fine specimen of an extinct crater or _caldero_. -Its walls are almost vertical and unclad by vegetation: about two-thirds -of the circumference is igneous rock, and the rest black volcanic ash, -which exhibits the stratification in the most marked manner. The crater -is about 1,000 feet deep, the floor is flat and dry, and the visitor -looks down on a house at the bottom and cultivated fields. - -We returned to _Mana_ for a night or two, and then made an expedition by -motor along the north road, sleeping at the picturesque village of -Fergas, and from thence by mule over the beautiful mountain-track to -Santa Brigida. We changed animals _en route_, and the price asked for a -fresh beast was outrageous. We were prepared under the circumstances to -pay it, when the portly lady of the inn, who was obviously “a -character,” beckoned us mysteriously round a corner, and, though we had -scarcely two words of any language in common, gave us emphatically to -understand that we were on no account to be so swindled, she would see -we got another. This, however, was not accomplished for another hour, -with the result that the last part of the journey was traversed in total -darkness, and the lights of the hotel were very welcome. - -_Mana_ being still in the hands of work-people, we made our next way by -the south road to the town of Telde, near which is a mountain known as -Montana de las Cuatro Puertas, where are a wonderful series of caves -connected with the Guanches. The road from Las Palmas skirts the -sea-coast for a large part of the way, being frequently cut into the -cliff-face and in one place passing through a tunnel: the town lies on -the lowland not far from the sea. We arrived late in the afternoon, and -endeavoured to make a bargain for rooms with the burly landlord of the -rather humble little inn. As difficulties supervened a man who spoke a -little English was called in to act as interpreter. He turned out to be -a vendor of ice-creams who had visited London, and to make the -acquaintance of the exponent of such a trade in his native surroundings -was naturally a most thrilling experience. He expressed a great desire -to return to that land of wealth, England, though his knowledge of our -language was so extremely limited he had obviously, when there, -associated principally with his own countrymen. - -We went for a stroll before dark, noticing the system of irrigation: the -water is preserved in large tanks, from which it is distributed in all -directions by small channels, and so valuable is it that these conduits -are in many cases made of stone faced with Portland cement. They are -now, however, in some instances being replaced by iron pipes, which have -naturally the merit of saving loss by evaporation. Canary is a land -where the owner of a spring has literally a gold-mine. This is the most -celebrated district for oranges. After our evening meal we joined the -company in the central _plaza_ of the little town. The moon shone down -through the trees; young men sat and smoked, and young girls, wearing -white mantillas, strolled about in companies of four or five, chatting -gaily. The elders belonged to the village club, which opened on to the -square; it was confined seemingly to one room, of which the whole space -was occupied by a billiard-table; this, however, was immaterial, as the -company spent a large part of the time in the _plaza_, an arrangement -which doubtless had the merit of saving house rent. A little way down a -side street the light streamed from the inn windows. Nearer at hand the -church stood out against the sky; it was May, the month of the Virgin -Mary, and a special service in her honour had just concluded. One felt a -momentary expectation that Faust and Marguérite or other friends from -stage-land would appear on the scene; they may of course have been there -unrecognised by us. - -We discovered after much trouble that a motor-bus ran through the -village early next morning, passing close to the mountain which we had -come to visit, and could drop us on the way. We passed a fairly -comfortable night, though not undiversified by suspicions that our beds -were occupied by earlier denizens; and had just begun breakfast when the -bus appeared, some time before the earliest hour specified. We had to -tear down and catch it, leaving the meal barely tasted; the kind -attendant following us and pressing into our hand the deserted fried -fish done up in a piece of newspaper. Such hurry, however, proved to be -quite unnecessary, as we had not got beyond the precincts of the small -town before the vehicle came to an unpremeditated stop, through the fan -which cools the radiator having broken. We waited half an hour or so in -company with our fellow-passengers, who appeared stolidly resigned, and -then, as there seemed no obvious prospect of continuing our journey, -grew restless. Here again the ice-cream man acted as _deus ex machina_: -he was standing about with the crowd which had assembled, blowing a horn -at intervals, and distributing ices not infrequently to small infants, -whose fond mammas provided the requisite penny; he told us he generally -made a sum equal to about one-and-sixpence a day in this manner. -Grasping our difficulty, he delivered an impassioned address on our need -to the assembled multitude, which after further delay resulted in the -appearance of a wagonette and mules. The Montana de las Cuatro Puertas -rises out of comparatively level ground near the coast and commands -magnificent views. The top is honeycombed with caves, and one towards -the north has the four entrances from which the mountain takes its name. -It is said to have been the site of funeral rites of the inhabitants. -The place is both impressive and interesting, and would well repay more -careful study than the superficial view which was all it was possible -for us to give it. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 4 - - PORTO GRANDE, ST. VINCENT, CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. -] - -We decided to return to Las Palmas in the local coach, as we had -previously found travelling by this means both cheap and quite -comfortable. This time, however, our luck was otherwise. The vehicle -could have reasonably held eleven, but one passenger after another -joined it along the route, one new-comer was constrained to find a seat -on the pole, another stood on the step, and so forth, till we numbered -twenty, of all ages and sexes. The day was hot, but the good-natured -greeting, almost welcome, which was given to each arrival by the -original passengers made us hesitate to show the feelings which consumed -us. The sentiments of the horses are not recorded, but we gathered that -they were more analogous to our own. - -All on _Mana_ was at length ready. There were the usual good-byes and -parting duties: the bank had to be visited, all bills settled, and -letters posted. Last of all a bill of health had to be obtained from the -representative of the country to which the ship was bound, certifying -that she came from a clean port and that all on board were well. - - - CAPE VERDE ISLANDS - - The Cape Verde Islands are a collection of volcanic rocks, rising out - of the Atlantic, some 500 miles from the African mainland. There are - nine islands, with a total population (1911) of 142,000. The group was - first discovered by Europeans in 1446, through the agency of one of - the expeditions sent out by Prince Henry the Navigator. Unlike the - Canaries, the Cape Verde Islands when found were uninhabited; but - there were monolithic remains and other traces of earlier visitors, - all of which have unfortunately now disappeared. The Portuguese - settlers almost immediately imported negro labour, and the present - population is a mixed race. For a long time the Leeward Islands, or - southern portion of the group, attracted the most attention, and one - of them, St. Jago by name, is still the seat of government. St. - Vincent, however, which belongs to the Windward or northern section, - and was at one time a convict settlement, is now the more important - from a commercial point of view, as its magnificent harbour, Porto - Grande, forms a coaling station for steamers bound to South America. - The British consul removed there from St. Jago during the middle of - last century. It is also the centre for the East and West Cable - Company. - -The next stage of our outward voyage the conditions were again pleasant -and satisfactory. - -We left Las Palmas on Saturday, May 10th; the trade wind was still with -us, the weather delightful, and we did the distance to St. Vincent, Cape -Verde Islands, in seven days. We had heard nothing but evil of it. “An -impossible place;” “another Aden;” “a mere cinder-heap.” It was -therefore a pleasant surprise to find ourselves in a most beautiful -harbour. Rugged mountains of imposing height rise on three sides of the -bay, Porto Grande, and the fourth is protected by the long high -coast-line of the neighbouring island, San Antonio. Standing out in the -entrance of the bay is the conical Birds’ Rock, looking as if designed -by nature for the lighthouse it carries. The colouring is indescribable: -all the nearer mountains are what can only be termed a glowing red, -which, as distance increases, softens into heliotrope. On the edge of -the bay and at the foot of the eastern hills lies the town of Mindello. -A building law, made with the object of avoiding glare, forbids any -house to be painted white, and the resulting colour-washes, red, yellow, -and blue, if sometimes a little crude, tone on the whole well into the -landscape. - -If beauty of form and strange weird colouring are the first things which -strike the new-comer to St. Vincent, the next, it must be admitted, is -the marvellous bleakness of the place. Hillsides and mountains stand out -bare and rugged, without showing, on a cursory inspection at any rate, -the least sign of vegetation. One of the characteristics also of the -place is the constant tearing wind. During the whole of our visit of -some ten days we were never able to find a day when it was calm enough -for Mrs. Taylor, the wife of the British Consul, to face the short -passage from the harbour and visit _Mana_. This wind is purely local and -a short distance off dies away. How, one is inclined to ask, can it be -possible for English men and women to endure life in a tropical glare, -with a perpetual wind without any trees, any grass, any green on which -to rest the eye? And yet we found over and over again that, though the -comer from greener worlds is at first unhappy and restless in St. -Vincent, those who had been there some time found life pleasant and -enjoyable and had no desire to exchange it. - -There are several coaling and other English firms, and local society -rejoices in as many as thirty English ladies. The cable company has over -a hundred employees, of whom the greater number are English. The -unmarried members of the staff live together in the station, each having -a bed-sitting-room and dining in a common hall. There is an English -chaplain, and also a Baptist minister, who is the proprietor of the -principal shop. The chaplain had the experience, which everyone must -have felt would happen some time to someone, of being carried off -involuntarily on an ocean-going steamer. He was saying good-bye to -friends, missed the warning bell, and before he knew was _en route_ for -a port in South America, to which he had duly to proceed. For recreation -St. Vincent possesses a tennis-court and cricket-field: the last is in a -particularly arid spot some distance from the town, which is however -already planned out on paper by the authorities with streets and houses -for prospective needs; in the design the pitch is left vacant and named -in Portuguese “Game of Cricket,” the remainder of the field being filled -in anticipation with a grove of trees. - -Some of the residents have villas among the hills or by one of the -scarce oases. We made an excursion to one of these last resorts which is -a famed beauty-spot, and found it a narrow gulch between two mountains, -with a little stream and a few unhappy vegetables and woebegone trees. -It was difficult to imagine, while traversing the road along one -hillside after another, each covered with nothing but rocks and rubble, -on what the few animals subsisted; it was remarked that the milk could -not need sterilising, as the cows fed only on stones. The rains occur in -August, after which the hills are covered with a small green plant. We -were told that some of the valleys higher up are comparatively fruitful, -and certainly it is possible to obtain vegetables at a not unreasonable -price. The women who live in the hills carry back quite usually, after a -shopping expedition, loads of seventy to eighty pounds for a distance of -perhaps three miles, with a rise of 900 feet, making the whole journey -in two and a half hours. - -The British Consul, Captain Taylor, R.N., has with much enterprise -established a body of Boy Scouts among the youthful inhabitants. An -attractive member of the corps, wearing a becoming and sensible uniform, -accompanied us as guide on two occasions, when we made excursions on the -island, giving the whole afternoon to us. He declined to accept any -remuneration, as it was against the principles of his order to be paid -for doing a good turn. Other youthful natives are less useful and more -grasping. One small imp, with a swarthy complexion and head like an -overgrown radish, became our constant follower. The acquaintance began -one day when S. was carrying a large biscuit-tin from the post office, -in which some goods had just arrived from England: he followed him down -the pier, beseeching, “Oh, Captain Biscuit-Tin, give me one penny.” -Every time after this, when S. went on shore for business or pleasure, -“Biscuit-Tin,” as we in our turn named the boy, was there awaiting him. -Once, in stepping out of the boat on to the rusty iron ladder of the -jetty, his toe almost caught on a small round head as it emerged from -the water uttering the cry, “Oh, Captain, where is that penny?” A crowd -had surrounded the landing-stage, so the boy had dived into the water as -the easiest way of approach. He expressed the desire to come with us to -Buenos Aires, undeterred by the information which S. gravely gave him -that “all the boys on board were beaten every day, with an extra beating -on Saturday.” The avocation which he proposed to fill was that of cook’s -boy, as he “would have much to eat.” He followed us for the whole of one -expedition, eventually obtaining “that penny” as we shoved off from the -pier for the last time, an hour before sailing. He clapped it into his -cheek, as a monkey does a nut, and held out his hand to me for another; -but I was already in the boat, and a coin was not forthcoming; so that -the last which we saw of “Biscuit-Tin” he was still demanding “one -penny.” - -We brought away from St. Vincent a permanent addition to our party, a -Portuguese negro of fine build, by name Bartolomeo Rosa. The rest of the -crew accepted his companionship without hesitation and naturally -christened him “Tony.” Later we found, with sympathy, that he was -wearing goloshes, in a temperature when most of the party were only too -happy to go shoeless, because Light, who had more particularly taken him -under his wing, said “the sight of his black feet puts me off my food.” -Rosa remained with us to the end of the voyage. He learnt English -slowly, and would never have risen to the rank of A.B., but was always -quiet, steady, and dependable. He drew but little of his wages, and had -therefore a considerable sum standing to his credit when we returned to -Southampton. He proposed, he said, to go back to his old mother at St. -Vincent and there set up with his earnings as a trader. He would get a -shop, stock it, and marry a wife, and she would attend to the customers, -while he would sit outside the door on the head of a barrel and smoke. -When it was suggested that such a course would inevitably end in drink, -he added a boat to the programme, in which he would sometimes go out and -catch fish. - -We were detained at St. Vincent awaiting the arrival of a spare piece of -machinery, and occupied the time by watering the yacht at the bay of -Tarafel in the island of San Antonio. A stream from the high ground -there finds its way to the sea, and supplies the water for the town of -Mindello. The lower part of its banks are fertile, forming a beautiful, -if small, spot of verdure amid the arid surroundings. Light, with the -green hills of Devonshire in mind, remarked, “It is very nice, ma’am, -what there is of it—only there is so little.” - -When we brought up, the men went into the shallow water and shot the -trammel in order to obtain some fresh fish. This brought on board an -elderly gentleman, Señor Martinez, the official in charge of the place, -who was not unnaturally indignant at what he imagined to be a foreign -fishing vessel at work in territorial waters. We were able to explain -matters, and were much interested in making his acquaintance. He had -never visited England, but spoke English well, kept it up by means of -magazines, and was greatly delighted with the gift of some literature. -He welcomed us as the first English yacht which had been there since the -visit of the _Sunbeam_ in 1876, of which he spoke as if it had been -yesterday. - -Having got our package from England, we finally quitted the friendly -harbour of Porto Grande on Thursday afternoon, May 29th, sailing forth -once more, this time to cross the Atlantic, with the little shiver and -thrill which it still gave some of us when we committed our bodies to -the deep for a long and lonely voyage, even with every hope of a -resurrection on the other side of the ocean. After we sighted St. Jago, -the capital of the Cape Verde group, on the following day, we saw no -trace of human life for thirteen days; so that if mischance occurred -there was nothing and no one to help in all the blue sea and sky. The -self-sufficiency needed by those who go down to the sea in ships is -almost appalling. - -Instead of making direct for Pernambuco, we steered first of all due -south, carrying with us the north-east trade, in order to cross the -Doldrums to the best advantage, and catch the south-east trade as soon -as possible on the other side. The calm belt may be expected just north -of the Equator, but its position varies with climatic conditions, and it -was therefore a matter of excitement to know how long we should keep the -wind. In the opinion of our authorities it might leave us on Sunday and -could not be with us beyond Tuesday. The engineer, whose duty had so far -been light, had been chaffingly warned by the rest of the crew that his -turn would come in the tropics, when he would have to work below for -twenty-four hours on end. - -On Sunday S. gave orders that the engine was to be started by day or -night, whenever the officer in command of the watch thought it -necessary; but still the north-east trade held good. On Monday all hands -were at work stowing the mainsail, for as soon as the calm came the -squalls were expected which are typical of that part of the world. On -Tuesday evening, when according to calculation we should have been out -of its zone, we were still travelling before the wind, and we began to -congratulate ourselves with trembling, that our passage would be more -rapid than we had ventured to hope. All Wednesday, however, the breeze -was very light, and we kept our finger on its pulse as on that of a sick -man. By Thursday it had faded and had died away, the sails hung slack, -the gear rattled noisily, the motor was run. The air was hot, damp, and -sticky, with heavy squalls, and the nights were trying. It is impossible -to sleep on the deck of a small sailing ship, with so many strings about -and someone always pulling at something, so we roamed from our berths to -cabin floors and saloon settees and back again, “seeking rest and -finding none.” The thermometer in the cabin never throughout the voyage -rose to more than eighty-three degrees, but, as is well known, it is -humidity and lack of air rather than the absolute height of temperature -which determine comfort. Friday afternoon increased air roused our -hopes; but, alas! it soon subsided, and during the night we again relied -on the engine. Saturday morning was still squally, with a grey sea and -heavy showers, but there was really a slight breeze. Was it or was it -not, we asked under our breath, the beginning of the new wind? By ten -o’clock there was no longer room for doubt: the south-east trade was -blowing strong and full, and the ship, like some living creature -suddenly let loose, bounding away before it for very joy. It felt like -nothing so much as a wonderful gallop over ridge and furrow after a long -and anxious wait at covert-side. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 5. - - A GROUP ON DECK. - - A. Light; Steward; B. Rosa; Under-Steward; C. Jeffery; W. Marks; F. - Preston (Mate); H. J. Gillam (Sailing-master). -] - -We crossed the Equator in glorious weather about 9 p.m. on Monday, June -9th. None of the forecastle had been over before: Father Neptune did not -feel equal to visiting them, but some addition to the fare was much -appreciated. I was the doyen of the party, with now seven crossings to -my credit. Flying-fish came at times on board from the shoals through -which we passed, “Portuguese men-of-war” floated by the ship, and -schools of porpoises played about her bows. The wind on the whole stood -our friend for the rest of the way, and during the last week of the -voyage the average daily run was 147 miles on our course, the highest -record being 179 miles on June 14th. We continued, however, to have -squalls and rain at intervals, as we were running into the rainy season; -and it was through a mist that on Sunday, June 15th, after a passage of -seventeen days, we strained our eyes to see the South American coast. It -dawned at last on our view, a flat and somewhat low land; then came into -sight the towers and coconut palms of Pernambuco, and the passage of the -Atlantic was accomplished. - - - - - CHAPTER III - BRAZIL - - Pernambuco—Bahia—Cabral Bay—Cape Frio—Rio de Janeiro—Porto Bello—A - Pampero. - - - After the discovery of the New World its possession was contested by - five sea-going nations of Western Europe—the Spanish, Portuguese, - French, English, and Dutch. Of these the Spanish and Portuguese were - first in the field, and the Portuguese established themselves in that - part of the southern continent now known as Brazil. Their acquisition - of this particular territory was largely due to accident: the - Portuguese navigator Cabral, sailing in 1500 for the East Indies, via - the Cape of Good Hope, shaped his course so far to the west, in order - to avoid the calms off the African continent, that he hit off this - part of the coast. An important Portuguese settlement grew up on the - bay known as Bahia de Todos os Santos (All Saints’ Bay). Further south - French Huguenots were the first to discover and colonise the bay of - Rio de Janeiro, but the Portuguese finally succeeded in expelling them - in 1567, when Rio became the capital of the southern portion of their - territory, Bahia retaining its pre-eminence in the north. - - In the seventeenth century Portugal, and consequently her overseas - possessions, fell for a while under the dominion of Spain; with the - result that the settlers acquired a new foe in the young power of the - Dutch, with whom the Spaniards were at war. The Dutch West India - Company was formed with the especial object of capturing Brazil: the - first fleet, which sailed in 1623, gained for a time possession of - Bahia, and in 1629 the Dutch conquered Olinda and the neighbouring - town of Recife, or Pernambuco, where they established themselves under - the able leadership of Prince Mauritz of Nassau. In 1640, however, the - Portuguese threw off the Spanish yoke, and, as the quarrel of Holland - had been with the latter, she allowed herself to be bought out of her - conquests in Brazil; an arrangement due in part to the intervention of - Charles II of England, who had married a Portuguese princess. There - was an old alliance between this country and Portugal, and when in - 1739 war broke out between England and Spain, occasioned by the wrongs - of a certain Captain Jenkins whose ear the Spaniards had cut off, - Commodore Anson selected a Brazilian harbour in which to revictual his - ships on his way to harry the Spanish in the Pacific. - - During the Napoleonic wars the history of Europe again affected - Brazil. In 1808, when the French were on the point of entering Lisbon, - the royal family escaped overseas, established their court at Rio de - Janeiro, and made Brazil a kingdom. In 1820 King João VI returned to - Portugal, leaving his son Pedro in command, and the mother country - sought to reduce Brazil once more to the provincial status. This was - resisted by the colonists, who had tasted the sweets of authority; - they declared themselves independent, and made Pedro, who was - personally popular, into Emperor of Brazil. Pedro was succeeded by his - son, who reigned till 1889; in that year a revolution occurred, due - partly to defects of government, partly to the discontent caused by - the emancipation of the slaves. Pedro II left for Europe, and Brazil - was declared a republic. - -Pernambuco, or Recife, has been built on low land at the junction of two -rivers, and has the advantage of a good harbour, protected by a natural -reef, which has been improved by artificial means. The town has -grandiosely, but not altogether inaptly, been called a “modern Venice”; -the business quarter, or Recife proper, is built on a peninsula formed -by one of the rivers, while the windings of the other divide the -remaining part of the town into sections, which have to be crossed and -recrossed by bridges. Otherwise the place is not attractive, the site -has originally been a quagmire, and the roads have been made by merely -levelling the ground and covering it with rounded stones; they now -consist principally of shallow lakes and crevasses. The streets, with -the exception of a few new thoroughfares, are little more than lanes and -just wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Most of the traffic is done -by mule trams, and any other vehicles, except when they can get on the -tram lines, are obliged to move at a snail’s pace. It is difficult to -understand how the motors contrive to exist, but they are fairly -numerous. The houses are of stucco and outrival those of St. Vincent in -brilliancy of colouring. The authorities at the time of our visit had -been seized with the laudable desire to reconstruct the town on a large -and ambitious plan, the object being to rival the larger towns further -south, and, in view of their growing prosperity, to keep a place also in -the sun for Pernambuco. This form of civic patriotism plays a noticeable -and unexpected part in various South American towns. The result at the -moment was to make the place appear, in certain districts, as if it had -suffered by fire or bombardment. - -It is impossible not to be struck when walking the streets with the -great varieties of type, and consequently of colouring, among the -populace. The original races have been the native Indian, the European -who conquered the land, and the Negro imported for his services, and -there are now, in addition to their pure-blooded descendants, every -shade and mixture of the three. The colour of a man’s skin is however of -little or no social concern, and there is an absence of race prejudice -which to the Anglo-Saxon mind is very astonishing. We had the pleasure -of visiting the opera on a gala night at the kind invitation of the -British Consul and his sister, Mr. and Miss Dickie, and saw much mixture -of colouring among the upper classes. The subject of the opera was -romantic and dealt with the early Portuguese era, the heroine being -carried off by Indian raiders. Women of all shades have a very proper -idea of the consideration due to them, though there would seem to be no -reason even to the most advanced of us why, as was said to be the case, -a negress should consider it beneath her dignity to carry a message -across the road. - -The political situation is apparently liable to surprises. At the -principal music-hall, just before our visit, an accident occurred to the -driving-chain of the electric light, causing a certain amount of -clatter; the audience immediately sprang to their feet, the women -shrieked, and there was a general stampede. It had been immediately -concluded that the noise was caused by pistol shots and heralded a -revolution. - -The economic standing of Pernambuco and the why and wherefore of its -existence are a puzzle to the stranger. There is no appearance of any -considerable quantity of trade or wealth, indeed, to judge by the -notices displayed, the inhabitants live principally on mutual doctoring -and pulling out each other’s teeth. The cost of living is nevertheless -very high, owing largely to the fact that everything seems to be brought -from overseas. Stone for building is conveyed all the way from Northern -Europe, and a Norwegian barque, which lay beside us, was busy unloading -timber at the door of the forests of Brazil. Even the common articles in -use are brought from the Old World, and the tables of the restaurants -are crowded with imported products, in spite of almost prohibitive -tariffs, which raise the price of a ham, for example, to four or five -times its original value. In addition special prices are at times -reserved for strangers: the yacht’s steward was allowed to depart -without purchasing a packet of cigarettes for which eightpence was -asked; Rosa, with his dark skin, got the identical article for a penny. - -We followed one of the rivers in the launch almost as far as it is -navigable, a distance of some nine miles. The banks are low, and were at -first covered with mangrove; later the land was cultivated after a -fashion, and there were a certain number of country houses, but in a -state of dilapidation and decay. - -Anyone who wishes to leave the prosaic present and be transported back -to the old times of colonisation should visit Olinda, the ancient seat -of government, which lies three miles to the north of Pernambuco. The -remains of it to-day are a little group of houses standing picturesquely -on a wooded promontory, which rises high above the low-lying coast. The -old street, winding up to the top of the semi-deserted city, along which -must have passed gay cavalcades, sober monks, and captured Indians, is -still the high way, but it is now carpeted with grass, kept short, not -by traffic, but by the sheep which browse upon it. From the highest -point, the view extends in one direction to the sea and in the other to -the forests of the interior. The most arresting feature is the number of -churches and religious houses: everywhere the eye turns these great -buildings rise among the luxuriant foliage, from one standpoint we -counted ten such edifices. Some are deserted; some are still inhabited. -The Franciscan establishment, where a fraternity still occupy the -conventual buildings, is said to have been the first of its kind in -Brazil, but we could arrive at nothing more definite as to date from the -brother who acted as guide than that the place was “three hundred years -old.” The church contained some particularly good Dutch tiles -representing scenes from the life of the Virgin and St. Ann; similar -ones are to be seen in the cathedral, which was undergoing repair, and -where no means were being taken to preserve them from injury at the -hands of the workmen. These edifices were presumably rebuilt after the -capture of the place by the Dutch; for Olinda is said to have been so -utterly destroyed by the fighting, of which it was the centre, that -Prince Maurice of Nassau gave his attention instead to the improvement -of Recife. - -Our regrets at leaving Pernambuco on Saturday, June 21st, after a stay -of six days, were mitigated by the heat of the docks and by the fact -that for some nights the mosquitoes had been unceasingly active. As soon -as we left S. started an exterminating campaign, and killed sixty -straight away in his own cabin and the saloon. For weeks afterwards, Mr. -Gillam could be seen daily going on his rounds with a bottle of quinine -tabloids, the lambs obediently swallowing the same. His medicinal doses -were under all circumstances magnificently heroic, some of his remedies -being kept in quart bottles, on the principle, as he explained, that it -was “no use spoiling the ship for a halfpennyworth of tar.” It was -doubtful in this case if the enemy were really of the malaria-carrying -type; they did not appear to stand on their heads in the correct -manner—anyway, we all escaped contagion with one slight exception, -though I myself had had a bad attack shortly before leaving England, -brought on by influenza, after six years’ complete immunity. - -We had now before us a voyage of some 3,000 miles down the eastern coast -of South America before the Magellan Straits were reached. It was -marvellously impressive sailing day after day along the coast-line of a -great continent, although at the moment the said coast was sandy and -flat, the only diversity being occasional lights at night from some town -on the shore. Bahia de Todos os Santos, more generally known simply as -Bahia, was our next destination. Some fine Portuguese houses are said to -survive from the days when it was the old capital, and it may be -remembered as the locality where Robinson Crusoe was engaged in planting -tobacco, when he was induced to go on the slave-raiding voyage which led -to his best-known adventure. The bay, which runs north and south, -extends for twenty-five miles, and the situation of the town on its east -side is distinctly fine; part of it has been built on the shore, and -part on the top of rising ground immediately above it. The funicular -railway which connects the one with the other is to be seen from the -sea. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 6. - - BAHIA DE TODOS OS SANTOS. -] - -This unfortunately is all that circumstances allow us to record. The -anchor was dropped at midday, Wednesday, June 25th, and orders given for -luncheon to be served at once, so that we might go on shore as soon as -we had got our pratique. The health officer, when he came on board, was -found to speak nothing but Portuguese, which made communication -difficult; the same had been the case with the pilot at Pernambuco; and -as half the vessels visiting those ports are English it might perhaps be -suggested, without insular pride, that a smattering of that language, or -at least of French, might be desirable in such officials. We produced -the bill of health from Pernambuco in ordinary course: this, however, -did not satisfy the doctor. He asked for that from St. Vincent, then -from Las Palmas, and finally from Falmouth, though we pointed out that, -as this had been granted three months ago, it scarcely had a practical -bearing on the case: the virgin health of Bahia must, we felt, indeed be -immaculate to require such protection. Finally the bill was stamped and -passed. Then the officer handed in a marvellous paper of directions -given in English, which stated that “if the captain went on shore all -boats’ crews were to return immediately to the ship; that no one was to -be on shore after 7 p.m.; no fruit was to be bought from hucksters, and -none was to be eaten till it had been in a cool place for three days.” - -We felt that it had become our turn to inquire after the health of -Bahia, and it was reluctantly admitted that yellow fever was raging. -Upon hearing this we metaphorically gathered our skirts around us, and, -although greatly disappointed to miss seeing the town, naturally decided -that we would not land. A quaint position then arose, as the doctor, -with an eye probably to the fee involved, stated that the ship could not -leave unless S. went on shore and obtained a new bill of health, a -proceeding at which, as may be supposed, he drew the line. As the -official had no means of enforcing authority, victory remained with -_Mana_, but, even so we were left wondering whether the stain on our -moral character of the Bahia endorsement of our certificate would secure -us quarantine at our next port. We spent the night in the bay some -distance from shore, in order that Mr. Ritchie might test the compass by -swinging the vessel. - -After we left Bahia the coast-line was at times broken by islands, and -varied inland by hills which rose behind wooded banks and sandy shores. -We had plenty of time to make notes of any features of interest, for the -landmarks on the shore became quite old friends before we parted -company. The weather became cooler, the cabin thermometer ranging from -75° to 80°; but we met with an unexpected and persistent head wind; long -tacks seemed to bring us but little forward, and _Mana_ presented the -pathetic spectacle of a good ship struggling against adversity. The log -day after day gave the depressing chronicle of only some twenty to -thirty miles of progress, and the 700 miles to Rio de Janeiro began to -appear interminable. After some five days of this weary work, making -eleven since we had left Pernambuco, S. decided that it would be in the -interests of all to obtain a change by making the shore along which we -were sailing. He therefore, after careful study of the Sailing -Directions, selected a spot where health officers would not be -found—Cabral Bay. Our Navigator thought the entrance somewhat risky, and -requested written orders before going in: as, however, rashness is not -one of my husband’s sins I awaited the result with equanimity. It is the -small bay where Cabral landed on April 24th, 1500, two days after -discovering the continent. He erected a cross on the site of the present -village, took possession of the land for the King of Portugal, and -christened it Santa Cruz, a name which was changed in the middle of the -sixteenth century to Brazil, from _brasa_, the term applied by the -Portuguese to the brilliant red wood of its forests. The village and -northern part of the bay continue, however, to bear the name of Santa -Cruz, while the southern portion is called after the great navigator. - -The land which forms the bay consists of a low ridge, two miles or so in -length, covered with brushwood and undergrowth; it is arrested suddenly -to the north by the course of a river, which has here made a passage to -the ocean, and ends abruptly in a steep white cliff. Between the cliff -and the river nestles the small village of Santa Cruz, and on the height -stands a church which forms the landmark for ships entering the bay. Up -the hillside winds a little white path where the grass has been worn -away by the feet of worshippers ascending to the house of prayer. At its -southern end the ridge dies gradually away in a little promontory, on -which stands a tall cross of wood with an inscription stating that it -was erected by the Capuchins on the date 22.3.98, but whether that was -yesterday, or one hundred, or two or three hundred years ago, there is -nothing to show. In front of the bay is a coral reef, so that only baby -waves break over the sandy beach, and hard by the cross is a stream, -with low reaches and dark shady pools overhung by mangroves. - -Here we spent two days, watered the ship from the stream, bathed, -fished, and revelled in the wind and sunshine, feeling like prehistoric -men, and at one with all creation, from amœbas to angels. The men from -the village, dark and lithe, came to visit us in dug out canoes, -hollowed in true Robinson Crusoe fashion from the trunks of trees, and -lent us a hand in our work, after which we had out the launch and gave -them a tow back to the village. There we found the kindest welcome and -walked up the little white path to the church. It was tattered and -dirty; but old women with interesting faces, who came in to see the -strangers, knelt devoutly at the altar-rails before putting out a hand -to greet us. When we departed the inhabitants came to the river-side, -where also stands a cross, though whether it is that erected by Cabral -or not this history cannot say; they gave us presents, fired rockets, -and waved us adieu to the last. Life might be hard at Santa Cruz, but at -least it seemed quiet and peaceful. As _Mana_ went out of the bay there -was a stormy sunset over the church and a wonderful rainbow in the east; -gradually the cross on the promontory faded away, the breaking waves on -the coral reef could no longer be heard, and so, as John Bunyan would -say, “we went on our way.” - -On leaving Cabral Bay we stood out to sea as the best chance of -obtaining a fair wind, and the weather gradually became more favourable. -One particularly clear evening, July 8th, at sunset, we were able to see -a peak on the mainland which is just under 7,000 feet in height at a -distance of ninety-six miles. Altogether it was a pleasant run, occupied -by the Stewardess in reading geology and darning stockings. We had not -been able completely to fill our water-tanks at Santa Cruz, and it was -now decided to procure the remainder at Cape Frio, which was seventy -miles this side of Rio de Janeiro, rather than risk the quality which -might be obtainable in the city. As we returned to the coast we found -that its low character had given way to a region of hills, cliffs, and -islands. Cape Frio itself is a bold rocky promontory, or rather island, -for it is separated from the mainland by a narrow passage, and shelters -behind it a romantic basin consisting of a series of small coves. In -places the surrounding mountains recede sufficiently to allow of little -sandy beaches, elsewhere sheer cliffs covered with verdure come down to -the margin, and trees and ferns overhang the water. We entered by -moonlight, and the dark shadows and sparkling sand made a striking and -effective contrast. - -In one cove is a fishing village, with a church and small store. Here -for the first time oranges were valued as a native product, so far they -had been no cheaper than in England, and at threepence a dozen the -forecastle and midships bought them by the bathful. The facilities for -obtaining water next day proved not so good as had been hoped. I left S. -superintending the crew, as they staggered through the surf to the -cutter with bags of water from the village well, and ascended 300 or 400 -feet to a signal station on the landward side of the gorge which cuts -off the outlying island. This commanded a magnificent view of a wide -stretch of blue Atlantic and the adjacent coast; in the direction of Rio -was a panorama of low lands and lagoons, bordered by ranges of rugged -mountains which rose tier upon tier as far as the eye could reach. On -the way down I gathered a spray of bougainvillea from a shrub in full -bloom. - -S. had meanwhile made acquaintance with the storekeeper and general -village factotum, who we had already found, to our surprise, spoke -English well. He turned out, as might have been expected, to be a -German. The history of his life would probably be interesting. His -experiences included at any rate residence at Bonn University and the -post of steward on the yacht of the late Mr. Pierpont Morgan, but who or -what had brought him to this spot did not transpire. He had at one time -become naturalised as a citizen of Brazil, but had subsequently laid -down his rights, preferring to keep out of public concerns, for, as he -naïvely remarked, “they never talk politics here without killing a man.” - -The lore of Frio was as romantic as its appearance, and worthy of the -pen of Stevenson. Not only have traces come to light on a neighbouring -promontory of Indian burials consisting of bones and pottery, but more -valuable treasure finds were of not infrequent occurrence; buried -Spanish coins turned up at intervals, and an ingot of silver had lately -been discovered. There was no doubt, in the opinion of the storekeeper, -that considerable treasure was hidden among the islands along the coast, -but hunting for it was forbidden by the government. Not far from the -village itself there was a cave, which was obviously the work of man, -and said to connect two coves, but no one dared to explore it. Nothing -was known of its history, but, according to tradition, it was the work -of the Jesuits: why a religious order should have made such a resort our -informant was unable to explain, but he evidently considered that it -would be quite in accord with their usual underground and mysterious -methods of procedure. Thirty years ago he himself, with the owner of the -cave and one other, had taken up a barrel of wine and had a drinking -bout at its entrance, a scene which some old painter of the Dutch school -would surely have found congenial: he had then penetrated some twenty or -thirty yards into the interior; it was at first, he said, narrow, then -became wider, but since that time no one had entered it. - -S. was naturally fired with a desire to explore this hidden cavern; Mr. -Gillam responded to the call for an assistant, and they set out for the -place, accompanied by our informant. There proved to be some difficulty -in discovering it, even with his assistance, owing to the dense -vegetation which had arisen since it was last visited. Mr. Gillam’s -thoughts not unnaturally turned to snakes, and the information given in -reply to a question on the subject lacked something in reassurance: -there were a great many about, it was said, and of a dangerous kind, but -they only struck when trodden upon, and as it was now getting late in -the day it might be hoped that they had retired to their lairs. When the -cave was at length found, bushes and undergrowth had to be cut down in -order to effect an entrance, and a cloud of bats flew out of the -darkness within. The walls were examined by the light of a ship’s -signalling lantern, and the statement that they had been artificially -made was proved to be true. The party proceeded for ten or twelve yards, -but then found that the way had been blocked by a comparatively recent -fall of débris, and the enterprise had therefore to be abandoned. We -commend it to fellow-voyagers and anthropologists. - -We sailed the next morning at daybreak and our navigator, instead of -taking the eastern road, by which we had come in, and going round the -island, decided to attempt as a short cut the much narrower exit on the -west, which lay between the precipitous cliffs that separated the cape -proper from the mainland. By the soundings recorded on the chart there -was everywhere sufficiency of water for our draught, but, while -approaching the coast to take a direct course through the gorge, we were -suddenly aware that the stern of the vessel had taken the ground. There -was a moment of anxiety as to whether she had hit on an outlying rock, -but happily she had only come in contact with a bank of drifted sand. We -were, however, very near a rocky coast, and it was not far from high -water. As much weight as possible was taken into the bows, a kedge was -carried out astern, and she was hove off the way she came on. - -The next morning we were at the entrance to Rio de Janeiro. There was, -however, not a breath of wind, and the engine was giving trouble; it -refused to run more than a very short distance without becoming -dangerously heated—a state of things subsequently found to be due -entirely to improper installation. We sat, therefore, for twelve hours -gazing at the tumbled mass of blue mountain-barrier, through the narrow -opening in which the sea has found its way and formed the great sheet of -water within. In front of us was the well-known conical form of the -Sugar-loaf, to the west Corcovado, the Hunchback, with its strange -effect of a peak which is bending forward, and beyond it Gavea with its -table-top. The night fell, lights came out within, we still waited like -a Peri at the gate of Paradise. The evening breeze, however, wafted us -nearer, and at midnight we passed silently between the dark heights -which guarded the entrance and dropped anchor in Botafogo Bay under the -shelter of the Sugar-loaf, there to await the dawn. - -It is an entrancing experience to wake on a sunny morning and find -oneself for the first time among the soft and glowing beauty of Rio -Harbour. We went up the bay in the early light, with a man posted at the -flagstaff to exchange greetings with the Brazilian men-of-war which lay -at anchor; it was always our duty to dip first to warships, as it was -the place of merchantmen to take the initiative with us. We finally took -up our position some three miles higher up opposite to the old city. - -It is the suicidal fate of each visitor to try to describe Rio de -Janeiro, and fail in the attempt; but with every warning to refrain the -present chronicler must likewise rush on her doom. The first impression -is that there is so much of it. It is not merely an enormous and -beautiful bay, with a city upon it—it is a huge expanse of water, of -which the whole margin, as far as the eye can reach, is used by man for -his dwelling. To compare it with the bays of Naples or Palermo, or with -the cities of Edinburgh or Athens, is, as far as size is concerned, to -speak in the same breath of some picturesque manor-house and of Windsor -Castle. There are many places with wilder charm or more historic -interest; but for what can only be termed “sleek beauty” Rio is -incomparable. Every portion of the scenery is right, there are no parts -of it which the eye consciously or unconsciously omits, and in whichever -direction the gazer looks his æsthetic sense is satisfied. The shore -line disdains monotony and breaks itself into bays and islands. The -great mountains, though they may lose in quiet dignity, range themselves -in weird and striking shapes which attract the eye, while the verdure -fulfils its purpose of showing off their beauty, here clothing a -hillside with forest, there leaving bare a towering cliff. The white -buildings which wander up hill and down dale are clean and prosperous, -neither too new nor too old; they surround bays and stretch out to -islands, not in oppressive continuity, but broken with the surface of -the ground, while the gardens and boulevards with their tropical foliage -know just how to intersperse themselves at the right intervals. The sun -and air also appreciate their share in the situation, and flood mountain -and water, verdure and the work of man, with wonderful transparent -light, till the whole shines pure and soft, blue and green, like an -opal. The night is not less beautiful; then the summits of the mountains -show dark against the sky, myriads of lights outline the near bays, -shine out from the islands and twinkle irregularly up the hillsides, -while from the further shore another galaxy are reflected half-way -across the still dark water. The whole gives the impression of some -magic scene in the _Arabian Nights_ lit up for a great _fiesta_. Rio is -wonderful, marvellous; it leaves one like the Queen of Sheba; and -yet—when I am dead I hope that I may return and visit the little bay of -Santa Cruz, I know I shall pass by Rio de Janeiro. - -The old part of the city is composed of narrow and noisy lanes, but the -new boulevards are fine and broad. We did the usual sightseeing, with -the details of which it is not proposed to trouble the reader. We had -the pleasure of enjoying the hospitality of our Minister, Sir W. -Haggard; but to my disappointment, for I had been looking forward for -weeks to some feminine society, Lady Haggard was in England, and -everyone else seemed to be a bachelor. By the most kind care of the -British Consul, Mr. Hamblock, we had a memorable motor drive of some -seventy miles through the mountains to the west of the bay, including -the tract of forest reserved for the public by Dom Pedro. It has left us -with a bewildered impression of roads winding below great crags, amongst -tropical vegetation, and opening at intervals on vistas of rocky coast -and deep blue sea. We visited the botanical gardens, admiring their -marvellous avenue of palms: similar ones, and but little inferior, may -be seen in many directions, rising amongst streets and houses like the -pillars of a Greek temple. We ascended the Sugar-loaf by aerial railway, -and gained a panoramic view of the harbour. Finally, a day was spent at -Petropolis, a small place among the mountains at the head of the bay, -which is reached by a railway with cog-wheel gauge and is the special -resort of the diplomatic colony. We lunched at an inn of which the walls -were adorned impartially with portraits of the Hohenzollerns and French -Presidents, the host turned out to be an Alsatian. - -If at Rio every prospect pleases it is not altogether free from -drawbacks: sanitary conditions have improved; but the pride the city -takes in its public gardens and boulevards does not extend to the water -of the harbour, which is repulsively dirty, and ships are warned in the -Sailing Directions against using it even for washing their decks. When -the American fleet visited Rio they consumed so much from the shore for -that purpose, that there is said to have been almost a fresh-water -famine in the city. When we left the bay our bill of health stated that -the previous week there had been two cases of yellow fever, both dead, -and two of bubonic plague, who were still alive. Even with our -experience at Pernambuco the prices charged at Rio left us breathless: -engineering work cost from four to five times as much as in England; -even a poor man on the docks complained to our Sailing-master that he -could not get a meal under 2s. 8d. One Englishman, professionally -employed, calculated that the cost of his passage home every three years -was met through the saving effected on buying his clothes in England. -Finally, the Stewardess of the _Mana_ was of the opinion that the limit -was reached, when one shilling was charged for washing a pair of -stockings. - -The Brazilians of Rio appear to have more European blood than those who -live further north, though a mixture of Indian or Negro is viewed with -the same equanimity. The idea of government is democratic, and in theory -at any rate the President will give an audience to the humblest -Brazilian. The senators are paid £7 a day while sitting, so that an easy -way of defraying debt is to prolong the session. The Central Railway -belongs to the Government, and is regarded as giving billets for its -supporters: engine-drivers, for example, are paid at a rate of from £700 -per annum, the consequent large deficit on the working of the line being -made good by the Treasury. There had been no political excitement very -recently at Rio, but one old man was pointed out to us who, as governor -of a northern state, had held his position by force and fraud until -about a year previously, when he had been escorted by armed men on board -ship and told that if he returned he would be shot. - -We left Rio Harbour at daybreak on Wednesday, July 23rd, after a visit -of nine days, and to our relief found a good sailing breeze outside. As -Buenos Aires, at which we were bound to call for stores and letters, was -still some 1,100 miles distant, it was decided to break the voyage, and -the Sailing Directions were studied for some out-of-the-way -stopping-place _en route_. We had found by experience that little -anchorages were preferable: not only was there more confidence in the -water supply than in the case of big towns, but there was no trouble -with authorities, and bills of health, and the temptations of a big port -were avoided. The smaller places also, if in some ways less interesting, -were more attractive. The little bay of Porto Bello was selected, but -when its neighbourhood was reached the following Sunday the weather had -become rather thick and there was some difficulty in finding our way. At -tea-time our Navigator came down somewhat amused to tell us that, during -our afternoon siestas, _Mana_ had wandered in and out of a wrong bay, -about twenty miles north of our destination; a small steamer in front of -us had also obviously been in need of a signpost or kind policeman. - -On Sunday afternoon we dropped anchor safely in a sheltered part of -Porto Bello Bay known as Aco Cove. Our previous halts, the town of -Pernambuco, the coral bay at Santa Cruz, the rocky basin of Cape Frio, -and the world-famed harbour of Rio de Janeiro, bore little resemblance -to each other, but they had one point in common, that they were all -obviously South American. Porto Bello had nothing South American about -it save its very unoriginal Spanish name; it might, as far as general -appearance went, have been a loch imported straight from the west coast -of Scotland: the accent of our Glasgow engineer became unconsciously -more homelike, as he remarked that it was “just like the scenery near -Oban,” and to add to the illusion the weather, though warm, was a “wee -bit saft,” with the nip in the air associated with Scotland in August. - -The town of Porto Bello itself lies at the foot of the bay. It will be -found marked in the atlas of the infallible Stieler, but it is nothing -more than a hamlet, consisting of a few small houses, with a church and -one little store; there was no inn visible, but it is apparently -connected with the outside world by telegraph or telephone. Shanties, -surrounded with banana groves, wandered up the hillsides or clustered -round such sandy coves as Aco; some were made of wattle and daub, others -of wooden planks roofed with banana leaves or rough red tiles. We made -friends with a family who occupied a cottage near the stream which -supplied our water, and some of the party, a grandfather, father, and -small daughter, came off on their own initiative to pay us a visit on -board. They brought presents of eggs and molasses, and three special -shells as an offering for me. The gifts which we on our side found were -most appreciated, both here and elsewhere, were tobacco, sweets, and -ships’ biscuits; the last were specially prized, being often preferred -to money. We showed our visitors over the vessel, and expected that such -fittings as electric light would produce a mild sensation, but it was -proved as usual that the eye can only take in what it has sufficient -knowledge to appreciate. The greatest success was achieved by the supply -of carpenters’ tools, which excited much admiration, while the -pier-glass in my cabin came in a poor second. A rather embarrassing -situation arose when the old man, who was getting a little imbecile, -found the yacht so attractive that he sat down in the deck-house and -declined to depart. - -The quiet lives of these people, surrounded by agricultural holdings -with tropical produce, reminded us much of the existence of some of the -natives in East Africa. They were apparently not above the belief in -charms, for opposite our friends’ door was a dried bush about four feet -high, which had on the extremity of each bough an eggshell, some fifteen -in number; we never succeeded in finding out its precise meaning, for -unfortunately our ignorance of the Portuguese language made any real -conversation impossible. The appliances of life were simple: an ox-cart -had solid wooden wheels, after the manner of an ancient British chariot, -the noise made by which was portentous; and the anchors of the boats -were of wood, the shank being formed of a frame of sticks, into which -rocks were packed. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 7. - - THE NATIVE CART, ACO COVE, PORTO BELLO. -] - -The business of watering the ship being ended, we tried to continue our -journey, only to find that a dead calm reigned outside, and there was -nothing to do but to return. Two or three days of detention passed very -pleasantly exploring hill-tracks, photographing, and sketching. We were -able to buy poultry, eggs, and oranges, and the men were very successful -with the seine, getting quantities of delightful mullet. One afternoon -we took our tea in the launch to the other side of the bay, but here for -the only time we found the people a little suspicious and not quite -friendly. - -Saturday, August 2nd, we again made our way out of Porto Bello. Our -course lay in the direction of the island of Sta. Catharina, some twenty -miles to the southwards, and the whole of the next day we drifted along -in sight of its beautiful mountainous coast-line. This was the -rendezvous appointed by Anson for his fleet on his outward voyage, as it -possessed an excellent reputation for stores. He sailed there direct -from Madeira, arriving in December 1740; his voyage took forty-five -days, as against our forty-eight days at sea to Porto Bello, by Cape -Verde Islands and Pernambuco. Anson was, however, disappointed in his -reception, as the governor proved himself unfriendly, and sent a -messenger to communicate the presence of the squadron to the Spanish -admiral, who lay with his ships in the River Plate. We occupied the time -in endeavouring to check from the yacht the sketches given of the coast -in the contemporary account of his voyage. Later on we more than once -found ourselves on Anson’s track. - -The following days afforded great variety of weather, but it grew -rapidly colder, and warm clothes which had been stowed since Madeira had -to be brought out. The wind, which for a time was strong and fair, later -veered round to the south-east and subsequently to the south-west. Our -navigators were early anxious about the indications, fearing a -_pampero_, the name by which the particular gales are known which sweep -down from the Andes over the _pampas_ or great plains of the mainland, -and on Monday, August 4th, the mainsail was stowed. Thursday we had a -strong wind, accompanied by a most extraordinary display of lightning; -from midnight till 5 a.m. the place was lighted up almost without -intermission, and there were reported to be at times as many as five to -eight flashes visible at once; at first there was no thunder, but -subsequently it became audible. The next two days we beat against a head -wind. - -On Saturday evening we were placidly seated at dinner when the cry came, -“All hands on deck.” Suddenly, without at the last a moment’s warning, -the _pampero_ was upon us. A half-finished meal was left to hurry up the -companion and join in stowing sails. All night long the gale raged, -straining at the rigging, tossing the ship from side to side, rattling -everything in her above and below. The waves swept over the deck until -it seemed as if their force might at any moment carry away the boats or -burst in the door of the deck-house; notwithstanding the heavy -storm-boards with which it was always barricaded at such times. There -was no sleep for anyone on board. The steward was up all night making -cocoa for those on deck, for it was bitterly cold. As to the watch -below, “a man,” as Mr. Gillam said, “who could care so little what was -going on above as to be able to sleep on such a night, simply because he -was off duty, was no sailor worth the name.” Four a.m. found two of us -engaged in meditating on the “wet sea boy” who managed to have his -eyelids sealed on the giddy mast during “the visitation of the wind,” -wondering whether he was an Elizabethan product or if we only owe his -creation to the fact that Shakespeare was a landsman. I believe, from -continued observation, that a good crew really like a gale, it has the -“joy of battle.” As to the Stewardess, her journal, which is not given -to soliloquising, runs, I find, as follows in connection with the -_pampero_: “It has been made painfully clear to me that my presence on -deck when things are bad is an added anxiety; this is humiliating, and -will not, I trust, apply to the next generation of females.” - -When I came up next morning the wind was still raging fiercely, but -there was a pale blue sky flecked with white clouds, and bright sunshine -sparkled on the countless white crests of foam which covered a dark blue -sea. I looked, with an instinct which during all these months had become -second nature, to see who was at the wheel, and found, with a shock, -that it was deserted—the helm was lashed! It felt for a moment as if the -ship were some dead thing, with all power of spontaneous movement, all -volition gone. For the time being she was vanquished by the elements, or -at least reduced to armed truce; we were hove to and drifting slowly -eastward, undoing all the work of the last two days. “Rough on us, -ma’am,” as Light said with a jovial laugh. At noon we had lost ground by -24 miles, and were now 373 miles from Buenos Aires instead of 349. - -Monday, 7 a.m., we began to sail, beating against the wind, but by -midday we had lost still further, being now 402 miles away from the -haven where we would be. We envied the cape pigeons, twenty or thirty of -which followed the vessel, as she was towing bags of heavy oil to -windward to prevent the waves from breaking, and the smoother water made -it easier for them to see the small fish below. They seemed to enjoy the -gale, and swept round the yacht gracefully, showing off their white -bodies and dark wings barred with white. They trod the water at -intervals as they ran along it on the tips of their feet, and rode in -the troughs of the waves securely sheltered from the wind. On August -12th we signalised the day by making a bag, one gull, but it came as a -guest and was entitled to hospitality. It was apparently tired out, and -perched on one of the boats; but when S. began throwing some meat -overboard, with the object of attracting and photographing the cape -pigeons, it joined in the scramble. The pigeons, however, would have -none of the stranger, and set upon it, whereupon, worsted in the fray, -the gull again sought refuge on the vessel: there it stayed all night, -sleeping quite low down in the folds of some canvas and allowing itself -to be stroked and fed by any passer-by. With the morning, being rested -and refreshed, it flew away. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - ARGENTINA - - The River Plate—Buenos Aires, its Trade and People. - - The Argentine Republic is the modern representative of the Spanish - colonies on the east coast of South America, as Brazil is that of the - Portuguese. Fifteen years after the landing of Cabral, Spanish sailors - first sighted the entrance to the Rio Plata, and in 1535 Mendoza - established a settlement on the site which later was Buenos Aires. No - gold or silver, however, was to be found, and the Spaniards looked on - their holdings on the South Atlantic merely as a back door to their - richer possessions on the Pacific. Till the eighteenth century all - their South American territories were under the Viceroy of Peru, and - in order to suit the convenience of that colony no ship was allowed to - trade direct with Buenos Aires; all the merchandise from Europe had to - be fetched over the Andes. It was not till the first richness of the - mines was exhausted that attention was drawn to the grass-covered - plains of the east. - - The Napoleonic wars, which turned Brazil from a colony to an empire, - ultimately led to the establishment of republican rule in the Spanish - colonies. Pitt, however, made a mistake in judging in 1806 that the - discontent felt by the younger nation with the rule of their - mother-country would make them unite in the war against her. He sent - an armed force to the River Plate, but his full expectation that there - would be a local rising was grievously disappointed; Buenos Aires was - captured, but the British were subsequently heavily defeated and - obliged to return home. The anniversary of the “reconquest” is yearly - celebrated, and the newly arrived Briton, who probably never heard of - the occurrence, finds that in Argentina his country is regarded as a - defeated nation. - - The loyalty of the colonists to the Crown of Spain was not, however, - of long duration. Seeing that in the old country all authority was in - the melting-pot, a secret society was formed in Buenos Aires, of which - Belgrano was a leading member, to work for representative government; - popular desire for freedom became too strong to be resisted, and on - May 25th, 1810, the viceroy resigned. From that date the independence - of Argentina is officially reckoned. The Argentines then successfully - assisted the revolutionaries of Chile. Disputes subsequently arose as - to the boundary between the two countries; these differences were - referred, at the beginning of this century, to the Crown of England, - which appointed a commission to deal with the matter, and a treaty was - agreed upon in accordance with its recommendations. - -On Friday morning, August 15th, land became visible, and by 2 o’clock we -were off Flores Island, the entrance to Rio Plata, where we took up a -pilot for its navigation. The river is there about a hundred miles -across, but narrows rapidly, and two hours later we were opposite Monte -Video, where it is only half that width. Of Monte Video itself we could -see only the outline. We proposed visiting it later by one of the -steamers which run there every night from Buenos Aires, but were -discouraged from doing so by the report that there was nothing whatever -to see except an inferior Buenos Aires, and that the seaside resorts in -the neighbourhood, which were filled in the summer by the Argentines, -would be closed at that time of year. The Plate River is dull and -dreary, having the charm neither of a river nor of the open sea; it -consists of a vast expanse of turbid yellow water, marked by buoys and -the wrecks of ships which have gone aground on its dangerous shoals. The -western bank only was visible, and that was low-lying, with a -suspicion—was it only a suspicion?—of tall chimneys. We felt that as far -as beauty went we might as well be at the mouth of some English -mercantile river, and certainly, as was remarked, we had much better -have been there from the point of view of getting the needed work done -on the ship. A number of insects of all sorts appeared on the yacht when -we were at least four miles from the shore, suggesting that, if so many -could land on one small ship, many millions must be blown out to sea. - -At noon the following day we anchored for a short time, as the current -was too strong for us, and at evening anchored again, apparently in the -middle of nowhere, though with twelve large vessels as neighbours. We -were in reality at the entrance to the Dredged Channel, where artificial -means have had to be employed to make the river navigable for ships of -large draft. Here it is necessary to pass the quarantine authorities and -obtain a fresh pilot, which formalities being duly complied with, we -proceeded next day on our journey. As it nears the city the Dredged -Channel divides into two; one branch leads to the basin at the north end -of the docks, the other to that at the south end. The docks at Buenos -Aires, instead of being stowed away as an undesirable excrescence in -some remote part of the town, as is the case in most large seaports, -form a frontage of some three miles to the most important part of the -city, and appeal strongly to both the eye and the imagination. There, in -ordered sequence, not by units—as, for example, at Southampton or -Marseilles—but by hundreds, lie great vessels of all descriptions from -almost every country in Europe; the outward sign of the great carrying -trade between the old country and the new. They have brought their human -freight and cargo of manufactured goods, and are waiting to return with -a food-supply of livestock and grain. Even these docks are not equal to -cope with the demand for accommodation, for in the grain season as many -as a hundred may be seen in the outer roadstead awaiting admission, and -large extensions were in progress. Argentina is one of those new lands -which stand in the position of rural estate to older and manufacturing -Europe; the supply of food, which in the earliest stages of the world’s -development lay next each man’s dwelling, and then outside the towns, is -now brought across 7,000 miles of ocean. - -Little _Mana_ was most kindly welcomed by the port authority, and -awarded a place of honour by the entrance to the North Basin, which is -generally reserved for men-of-war. Here she appeared elegant but minute, -and not being a battleship felt her position somewhat precarious. The -next berth was occupied by a large emigrant ship, which was German, -French, and Italian by turns, and as the yacht was immediately under the -stern it looked as if, with the least motion, she would be crushed out -of existence. Every time a huge ship went out of the entrance to the -harbour, all on board rushed to the yacht’s deck to see if her bowsprit -was about to be carried away. The manœuvring of the big vessels by tugs -in a limited space is, however, wonderful, and though we had one or two -narrow escapes, either the position was not so perilous as appeared, or -we became accustomed to alarms, for we finally lived there quite -comfortably. We landed either by boat across the docks, or by scrambling -up a wharf like a houseside by means of a lengthy and somewhat shaky -ladder. I have a vivid mental picture of His Majesty’s Minister, Sir -Reginald Tower, when he was good enough to come and see us, standing on -the top with a little dog, and not unnaturally wondering how on earth he -was expected to descend. - -We lay at Buenos Aires for over a month, refitting and stowing, before -facing the next part of the voyage. We grudged the delay, but even with -the kind help we received there is, as has already been explained, much -time inevitably lost in a new port, and New Spain, like its European -prototype, is essentially a country of _mañana_. In the end we had to -leave without getting the trouble with the engine put right. The stores -sent ahead from England arrived safely, and through the courtesy of the -Legation we received them custom free, but on some articles, which were -unluckily ordered to come by post—a serge suit, linen coat, and two -washing blouses—we had to pay £4 duty. I spent a portion of the time in -luxury at an hotel while _Mana_ had a much-needed spring-cleaning. S. -lived on board, and I found on my return had had a good many visitors, -whom he appeared to have enjoyed showing over the yacht with her hatches -up and the floor covered with packing-cases; maintaining, in reply to my -chagrined comments, that the public were shown over the _Terra Nova_ in -just such a condition. - -In such time as could be spared from the work of the Expedition we saw -what we could of the life of the country, and our observations are given -for what they are worth. Unlike Pernambuco there is no doubt as to the -economical _raisons d’être_ of the Argentine; they are, of course, grain -and meat. The area under cultivation, which we did not see, is steadily -increasing, but the grain export is still far below that of the United -States. The greater part of the mutton supplied to Great Britain comes -from Australia and New Zealand, but the Argentine provides 72 per cent. -of the beef which we receive from abroad, and we were much interested in -seeing something of the cattle industry. We visited, by the courtesy of -the owner, Señor Pereyra, an _estancia_ about an hour’s journey from -Buenos Aires. The train traversed first the suburbs of a great town, -then low country often under water, and we alighted at a little railway -station, from which we immediately entered the park of the _estancia_. -The estate was large, though there are others which exceed it; it covers -fifteen square miles, a portion of which is, however, undrained. It has -been in the occupation of the same family for about ninety years, during -which time continual planting has been going on. The road which led -through the park to the house passed under several fine avenues; the -eucalyptus trees of older growth were most beautiful, and a revelation -of what that tree can attain, to those who have only seen it in -temperate climates or in the villages and towns of South Africa. - -The dwelling of the owner proved to be a most charming country house. -The dining-room was panelled with oak, displaying the magnificent -collection of silver cups gained by the stock of the _estancia_. Our -host was in the proud position of having just won at the cattle show, -then being held at Buenos Aires, the highest awards for both Herefords -and Shorthorns. The competition for such prizes lies in the Argentine -between a limited number of noted breeders, and it is felt well to bring -in a judge from the outside. That year an English gentleman, well known -in connection with the Royal and other shows, had been requested to act. -Eighty thousand Argentine dollars, or over £7,000 sterling, were paid at -this show for a champion bull, being the highest price yet given for -such an animal. After luncheon we inspected the large farm buildings -where the most valuable of the stock were housed. The remainder of the -cattle, some 7,000 in all, lived in different large enclosures in -various parts of the estate, with a cottage near by for the caretaker. -The owner was assisted by an English and a French manager, and 260 -_peons_ or labourers, mostly Italian, were employed on the _estancia_. -They earn £3 10_s._ a month, with practically no expenses, being housed -in a row of buildings with a mess-room in common. There was no lack of -labour, applicants having continually to be turned away. - -Our education was continued by a visit to the market at Buenos Aires, -where anything up to 5,000 head of cattle are disposed of daily. These -are brought from all parts of the Argentine, and were formerly driven -across country. Now, however, owing to the prevalence of wire fences, -they are generally brought by train. They are confined in open pens, and -sold by auction or otherwise. The cattle auctioneers are men of high -position, and regard themselves as the aristocracy of the city. The -animation of the scene is increased by the number of roughriders who -career on spirited ponies up and down the alley-ways, looking after the -stock and lassoing refractory beasts. No man connected with the “camp,” -as the open country is termed, ever thinks of walking at any time. The -Argentine saddle has special characteristics, and consists of a pad each -side of the spine of the horse, above and below which rugs are placed, -the whole being covered with a piece of leather and kept in place by -girths, thus forming a most comfortable cushion. The stirrup is so made -that only the toe can go into it, and the whole is calculated to allow a -man to fall clear if he is thrown, a wise precaution in a land of -unbroken mounts. It has also the advantage of providing excellent -bedding, but is of course adapted for a flat country only, and would be -out of place in a mountainous one. A kind acquaintance, seeing the -interest S. took in the saddle, made him a present of one, which proved -invaluable in Easter Island. - -The majority of the beasts sold at the cattle markets are for local -consumption: those going to the freezing manufactories are generally -bought by private treaty. We were taken over one of the largest of these -_frigorificos_, as they are called, where some 1,200 cattle and 3,000 -sheep are killed daily. Each animal is inspected from a sanitary point -of view on arrival, and every beast is again examined after it has been -killed. It is skinned and cleaned at the same time, and in fifteen -minutes, from the moment of being slain, is ready in two sides to hang -up in the chilling or freezing chamber. Each of the sides is -subsequently enclosed in a muslin covering ready to be shipped. The -hides are, of course, also a most valuable commodity, and the fat is -subjected to pressure, the oil being used for cooking purposes and the -solid residue for candle-making. The unused portion of the beast is -turned into guano. Some of the meat is reserved for canning, and the -tinned goods are particularly attractive. Each tin is closed save for -one small hole at the top, and is then passed into a vacuum pump, which -extracts the air and closes the hole with an electric needle. - -A very determined set was being made to bring all the Argentine -_frigorificos_ into the American meat trust; those which, like the one -we visited, are determined to resist have to fight hard to hold their -position. There was a loud outcry with regard to the increase in the -price of meat, which had gone up retail to about sevenpence a pound; but -buying through a ship’s chandler, who could obtain it for wholesale -prices, we were able to purchase at a lower rate. The prices for tinned -meat were much the same as in England. Salt meat we were warned to -avoid, as it could not be guaranteed for more than two months, though -the remainder of our stock that had been put on board in England, ten -months before, was still in excellent condition. Every attempt, we were -told, had been made to discover the reason for this failure, which is -common to all meat south of the Equator; the services of experts from -Europe had been requisitioned, the method, the meat, the salt, and the -water had all been carefully examined, but so far without result. - -The city of Buenos Aires itself, of which the docks have already been -described, is simply a glorified port for this trade, and for the -produce of a wealthy hinterland. The old part of the town, in which all -business is transacted and which most impresses itself on the memory, is -a labyrinth, or rather chess-board, of terribly narrow streets. The -thoroughfares are at right angles, and the houses, which are in regular -blocks, are all precisely similar in appearance; nothing, therefore, but -an exact knowledge of the names and orders of the numerous streets as -they lie in each direction of the chess-board can enable a stranger to -find his way. The same street extends for miles, and he who forgets the -number of his destination may as well give up the search. So narrow are -these thoroughfares that two persons can only just pass on the pavement, -and there is imminent danger of being pushed under the trams which run -within fifteen inches of the curb. Traffic is only allowed in one -direction. - -In a town which has never been walled, and where space was no object, -such a state of things is surprising; the original construction is said -to have been due to the desire to obtain a maximum of shade, and any -alteration now is of course fraught with much difficulty. Great efforts -are, however, being made to render the Argentine capital worthy of its -wealth and position. An imposing avenue, with the House of Congress at -one end, has been cleared at great cost. The more recent portion of the -town boasts good squares and parks, for the network of streets is but -the hub of a huge and quickly growing city. Underground railways are -being constructed, but so rapid is the extension of Buenos Aires that it -is said they will only relieve the traffic for eleven years. The general -impression of a bustling sea port with a southern element recalls -Marseilles, but it has not the same beauty of situation. Buenos Aires -has been called “a horrible travesty of Paris,” but perhaps the most -correct description is that which styles it “a mixture of Paris and New -York.” - -Of what description are the people in whose hands lie the development of -this country, with its growing influence on the destinies of the world? -The new-comer arriving from the north is at once struck with the -distinction between Brazil and the Argentine. Rio, with its strain of -dark descent living in the midst of a dream of sleepy beauty, is still -perhaps partly mediæval and undoubtedly tropical; Buenos Aires, on its -flat plain and dreary river, is awake, twentieth century, and wholly -European; but it is to the south of Europe that the Argentine is akin -and not to the north. A Latin race was the first to colonise the new -land, and successive waves of the same are still reaching its shores. In -1911 the immigrants from Spain, Italy, and France numbered nearly -2,000,000, as against 13,000 from Britain and 7,000 from Germany. Many -Italians, it is true, come only for one harvest, or possibly for two, -returning for the busy season in their own homes. The wages earned are -such that the more idle are in a position to disdain all other work, and -a crowd of loiterers round the docks, who appeared to us to be -unemployed of the usual character, turned out to be agricultural workers -living on their own resources till the next harvest. Many, however, of -these immigrants settle in the new land, by the law of which every child -born in the country becomes _ipso facto_ an Argentine subject. It is -perhaps because of this comparatively uniform origin that an Argentine -type seems to be already developing. It is fundamentally that of -Southern Europe, but it is moulded by a new environment, is wide-awake -and energetic, with an absence of all mystery and tradition, but alive -to the finger-tips. The practical aspect of life is the dominant note, -whether for the native or temporary resident. “We are all here to make -money,” the stranger is frankly informed, “and we talk of nothing else.” -No apology shall therefore be made for once more referring to the -question of pounds, shillings, and pence, for in South America it is -impossible to get away from it. - -The cost of living in Buenos Aires is two or three times as high as that -of London in normal times. At the best hotel, usually frequented by -European travellers, the smallest bedroom cannot be obtained under -eighteen shillings a night, and even at the less dear hotels, resorted -to by those to whom expense is an object, the ordinary price for dinner -is five dollars or 8_s._ 9_d._ “One thinks a good deal in England of a -£5 note,” was the remark to us of one Argentine; “here one never goes -out without a fifty-dollar note (between £4 and £5) in one’s pocket.” -Rents are enormous, and a would-be purchaser told us ruefully that he -could not obtain in the suburbs a house with three sitting and four -bedrooms, on a plot of ground some thirty yards square, under £15,000. -All this falls hardly on the visitor or foreign official, but it affects -the resident but little; an 8 per cent. investment is looked upon as -reasonable and cautious, and for the working classes wages are -proportionately high. The temporary immigrant who wishes to go back to -Europe saves most of the money by living under very meagre conditions; -thus two or three Italians frequently join together in one room at about -half the rate paid by less thrifty workmen. Most visitors to Southern -Europe are acquainted with the little mansions, built in the villages of -their birth, by natives who have returned with modest fortunes from the -Argentine, and this is the process by which that wealth is accumulated. -More rapid roads are occasionally found to success. Our Sailing-master -was acquainted with a former gaol-warder who went out as an emigrant -from Southampton; his wife joined him, but came back before long, saying -little but that her husband was also returning. In less than two years -the man was back with a competency for the rest of his days, the source -of which continued to be veiled in mystery. - -Science, literature, and art do not as yet thrive very largely in -Argentina, though exception must be made for the very interesting museum -at La Plata, whose director was most kind in affording information to -the Expedition. The great recreation is racing, in addition to which the -inhabitants are all born gamblers. Sir Reginald Tower, to whose kind -arrangements for us we owe much of the interest of our time in Buenos -Aires, was good enough to take us to a race meeting, and we were greatly -impressed with the lavish arrangements for the comforts of the -spectators. It was also most pleasant to be spared all cries of the -bookmakers—the betting system is that of the _pari mutuel_. The Jockey -Club is the most important social club, and with an entrance fee of -nearly £300 is naturally extremely wealthy; its existing premises are -palatial, and even so the removal to larger ones was under -consideration. We were kindly entertained there by a distinguished -representative of the early Spanish stock, Señor Calvo, to whom we were -introduced while he was practising his profession of auctioneer at the -cattle-market. His ancestor was a viceroy of the Court of Spain, and he -is by descent on both sides a pure Spaniard; the cosmopolitan influences -of to-day have, however, been too strong for the continuance of this -tradition in the family, and he himself and other members of it have -allied with outside nationalities. His father, who was responsible for -the conduct of a public journal, had his life attempted three times by -his political enemies, and finally sought refuge in England. There the -son was born and educated, but later on, going out to the Argentine, he -too entered public life and became a member of Congress, whose buildings -it was most interesting to see under his guidance. - -The life of Argentine women is almost that of the East. The men go their -own way, make their own acquaintances, live their own life. They ask -strangers but little to their homes, and it is possible to be on quite -intimate terms with an Argentine and unaware whether he is married or -single. Country house hospitality scarcely exists, and even on the large -_estancias_ in the neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, a week-end party is -unknown. A lady does not walk out alone, and never, even in her own -home, receives a male guest without the presence of her husband. We have -been credibly informed of a wife who boasted that during her husband’s -absence in Europe, of over a year, she never went out of the house. -There is no higher education for women except for those training -professionally, and the interests of the majority, like those of a -certain set at home in pre-war days, consist mainly in bridge and dress. -Forty years ago all women wore the mantilla, but to-day fabulous sums -are spent on clothes. One charming Argentine lady told me that £30 was -quite a usual sum to give for a smart but simple hat. At the seaside -resorts the expenditure on clothes is so lavish, that it is cheaper to -take the trip to Europe than to procure the necessary garments in which -to be seen among your friends. In appearance the women are pretty and -effective, but spoilt to the eyes of a European by the inordinate amount -of powder. I was told by one present at the dinner-party in question of -an amusing scene witnessed in the ladies’ cloak-room; a daughter -arriving with her mother called out, “Oh, Mother, you have not nearly -enough powder on,” and made a dash for the powderpuff to remedy with two -or three large splashes the supposed defect. It is said that the wave of -female emancipation is reaching South America, but doubt was expressed -by a keen observer whether it would necessarily take its European form -of a demand for political and legal rights, or whether the Argentine -woman would not begin by desiring the same social and matrimonial -liberty as is assumed by her husband. At present, unfortunately, with -the vicious circle in which such customs move, much of the precaution -taken to guard women appears to be necessary, and I was sadly informed -by more than one English girl employed in the business houses of Buenos -Aires, that the freedom with which young women can move and conduct -themselves at home was not only conventionally but actually impossible -in their new surroundings.[2] - -Argentina, as the depository of much that is undesirable from other -nations, can hardly hope to escape the blackguard element. Assassination -is the only thing which is cheap in the South American continent. The -head of one of the seamen’s missions at Buenos Aires told S. that it was -possible at any time to procure the murder of a man by paying five -dollars, not quite ten shillings, in the right quarters: this was -somewhat less than at Rio, where the price was stated to be thirteen -shillings and fourpence. The scenes which occur nightly about the docks -are incredible; hence returning to _Mana_ after dark was always a matter -of some anxiety. Our steward received a typewritten letter saying that -he had been mentioned as a suitable man for a desirable situation, and -giving an appointment after dark at a certain house in a certain street. -On inquiry the address turned out to be that of a low street in the new -part of the town, where much land is still waste, and there was no house -yet built of the number given. With regard to the said steward, one -Sunday evening he left the yacht and never returned. All anxiety about -his fate was set at rest by the fact that he had cleared his cabin of -all his goods. He may have been homesick and arranged to work his -passage back, or he may have been enticed by a more substantial offer, a -very usual occurrence where trained servants are difficult to obtain. As -he had of course signed the ship’s articles for the trip, his desertion -was reported to the consulate and the police, but we were told that to -get him back would be practically an impossibility; while, scruples -apart, nothing would have been gained by the simpler method of -assassination. The man himself we did not regret, but after the manner -of his kind he had waited till we were on the point of sailing, and -therefore left us in the lurch. - -In spite of the fact that personal safety still leaves a good deal to be -desired, the Government of Argentina is one of the purest in South -America; the result, it is said, of the wealth of her officials. She is -already proudly conscious of her strength, and, in some quarters at any -rate, is anxious to rely upon it alone for her position among nations -rather than on any such external aid as the Monroe doctrine. Throughout -the whole continent it is necessary in speaking of the citizens of the -United States to term them carefully “North Americans,” avoiding the -usual and more abbreviated form. - -Religion is not a powerful factor in Argentina either in public or -private life. Roman Catholicism is officially recognised, but it does -not strive to be a political force, and meets therefore with general -toleration; even when it is not practised it is neither hated nor -feared. Many women and some men are devout, but the majority of men -simply ignore it. - -A Briton in leaving Argentina not unnaturally asks what is the share of -his own countrymen in the development of the new republic. Our -connection with it through trade is considerable. The railways are in -British hands, and 61 per cent. of the shipping flies the Union Jack. In -addition to young men who may wish to take up life in “the camp,” or -country, a certain number of Englishmen are employed in offices and -professional positions, while in connection with retail trade, it is -homelike to see the shops and advertisements of such firms as Harrod and -Maple. A pleasing bond exists throughout the British colony in -Freemasonry, which is a most living force, with many adherents, amongst -whom our Minister is included. S. being one of the elect, we had, -through the kindness of Mr. Chevalier Boutell, the Deputy Grand Master -for South America, the pleasure of being present at a ladies’ banquet, -which proved a very brilliant and enjoyable entertainment. - -While the English commercial position is still good, it is said that -forty years ago our proportion of the trade was even greater. An old -inhabitant told us that he knew personally of not less than twenty-five -British firms who had gone under during that period, owing to the dogged -incapacity of the Englishman to supply what his customer wanted, instead -of what he himself chose to provide. Such failures leave, of course, the -door open for German penetration. A reputation for the same want of -adaptability, and also for being given to drink, makes Englishmen -unpopular as employés. With regard to our women kind, certain posts in -the town which are open to English girls are well paid, but they should -be taken up in every case with the greatest caution, and the -remuneration offered carefully compared with the increased cost of -living. A woman who marries on to an _estancia_ is necessarily -comparatively isolated, and accounts differed as to the amount of help -she is able to obtain in domestic labour. The 30,000 British subjects -who form the whole of those resident in Argentina are, in any case, but -a drop in the ocean, and they but seldom identify themselves with the -country of their abode. It is not unusual for parents to arrange that -their children shall be born in England, in order that they may avoid -registration as citizens of the Republic, with its consequent liability -to military service. It has been proposed in high quarters that suitable -accommodation might be provided in the Falkland Islands, as nearer and -more convenient British soil. Failing some such arrangement it is -possible to register a child of British parentage which is born in -Argentina, at the national consulate, and it is then _ipso facto_ a -British subject, except when actually in the land where it first saw the -light. Whatever share Britain may have in developing the wealth of -Argentina, that country never has been, and never will be, connected -with us by blood; for that bond with new lands we must look to our own -dominions over the seas. - -[Illustration: MAGELLAN STRAIT AND PATAGONIAN CHANNELS] - - - - - CHAPTER V - PATAGONIA - - Port Desire—Eastern Magellan Straits—Punta Arenas—Western Magellan - Straits—Patagonian Channels - - The most southerly portion of the South American continent, called - Patagonia, first became known in the endeavour to find a new way into - the Pacific. Magellan was commissioned by Charles of Spain to try to - find by the south that ocean passage to the Indies which Columbus had - sought in vain further north. He sailed in August 1519, and began his - search along the coast at the River Plate; on October 21st, the day of - the Eleven Thousand Virgins, he came in sight of a large channel - opening out to the west: the promontory to the north of this channel - still bears the name he bestowed of Cape Virgins. He proceeded - cautiously, sending boats ahead to explore, and on November 28th - entered the Pacific. When he saw the open sea he is said to have wept - for joy, and christened the last cape “Deseado,” or the “Desired.” - - The sea power of England, which had been negligible in the time of the - first voyages to the New World, was growing in strength; and, though - she had attempted no settlement on the southern continent, she saw no - reason to acquiesce in the edicts of the King of Spain, shutting her - off from all trade with the New World. In 1578 Drake took Magellan’s - route, with the object of intercepting galleons on the Pacific coast, - and passed through the Straits in sixteen days. On entering the - Pacific he was blown backward towards Cape Horn, and was the first to - realise that there was another waterway, yet further south, from the - Atlantic to the Pacific. Up till this time the land had been supposed - to extend to the Antarctic. - - A hundred years later Charles II of England sent an expedition under - Sir John Narborough to explore this part of the world and trade with - the Indians, which wintered on the eastern coast of Patagonia. - - Anson’s squadron avoided the Straits, taking the way by the Horn. - - The Chilean and Argentine Boundary Commission divided Patagonia - between the two countries, giving the west and south to Chile and - bisecting Tierra del Fuego, 1902. - - -We left Buenos Aires on September 19th, achieving the descent of the -river without a pilot, and for the next fortnight had a varying share of -fair winds, contrary winds, and calms. Our chief interest was the man -who had taken the place of the absconding steward, who shall be known as -“Freeman”; we heard of him through a seamen’s home, and arranged that he -should go with us to Punta Arenas, to which place he wished for a -passage. He was a clean-looking “Britisher,” who for the last seven -years had been knocking about South America. He brought with him a -gramophone, and a Parabellum automatic pistol, with which he proved an -excellent shot, and he made it a _sine qua non_ that we should find room -on board for his saddle; thus was my knowledge increased of the -necessary equipment of an indoor servant. We paid him at the rate of -£100 a year, and though we found that he could neither boil a suet -pudding nor lay a table, so enlightening were his accounts of up-country -life that we did not grudge him the money. - -We flatter ourselves our experience in detecting mendacity would qualify -us as police-court magistrates, but we never saw any reason to doubt the -substantial accuracy of Freeman’s stories. His experience dated back to -the time when mares of two or three years old were sold for ten -shillings, or were boiled down for fat, as, after the Spanish fashion, -no man would demean himself by riding one. He had at one time ridden -across the continent from the Patagonian to the Chilean coast, a journey -of six weeks, half of which time he never saw a human being; he was -followed all the way by a dog, though the poor animal was once two or -three days without water; it got left behind at times, but always -managed to pick up his trail. He was most candid about the means by -which he had made money when at one time employed on the railway, for -honesty was not in his opinion the way that the game was played in South -America, and therefore no individual could afford to make it part of his -programme; it did happen to be one of the rules on _Mana_, and we never -knew him break it. He was once running away after some drunken escapade, -when a policeman appeared and took pot-shots at him with a rifle. -Freeman turned and dropped him with his revolver; he did it the more -reluctantly as he knew and liked the man. Happily the shot was not -fatal, and he felt convinced that he himself had not been recognised. - -After, therefore, carefully arranging an alibi elsewhere he returned, -condoled with the victim on the lawless deed, and gave him what -assistance he could; he felt, however, that that part of the country had -become not very “healthy,” and subsequently moved on. Even our -experiences of the ports had scarcely prepared us for the cynical -indifference to human life which his experiences incidentally revealed -as an every-day affair in “the camp.” In sparsely inhabited districts, -with their very recent population, the factors are absent through which -primitive societies generally secure justice, clans do not exist, -families are the exception, and in almost every case a man is simply a -unit. The more advanced methods of keeping the peace have either not -been formed or are not effective, for crime is often connived at by the -authorities themselves. The result is that the era of vendetta and -private revenge seems civilised in comparison with a state of things -where no notice is taken of murder, and the victim who falls in a brawl -or by fouler means simply disappears unknown and unmissed, while the -murderer goes scot-free to repeat his crime on the next occasion. - -Freeman had, _inter alia_, been employed on one of the farms in -Patagonia, along the coast of which we were sailing, and told tales of -the pumas, or South American lions, which abounded in a certain -neighbourhood. This district had railway connection with a little -anchorage known as Port Desire, and as one of our intervals in harbour -was now due S. arranged to turn in here, and go up-country with him to -try to get a shot at the animals. We therefore put into the port on -October 3rd. It is a small inlet, of which the surrounding country is -covered with grass, but flat and dreary in the extreme, the only relief -being a distant vision of blue hills. Sir John Narborough, who spent -part of the winter here in 1670, said he never saw in the country “a -stick of wood large enough to make the handle of a hatchet.” - -The human dwellings are a few tin shanties. In a walk on shore we were -able to see in a gully, a few remains of the walls of the old Spanish -settlement. As to the puma, fortunately from its point of view, the -railway service left a good deal to be desired. We arrived on Friday, -and there turned out to be no train till the following Tuesday, so it -lived to be shot another day—unless indeed it met a more ignominious -end, for the South American lion is so unworthy of its name that it is -sometimes killed by being ridden down and brained with a stirrup-iron. -We took three sheep on board, as mutton at twopence a pound appealed to -the housekeeping mind, and were able to secure some water, which is -brought down by rail; it was a relief to have our tanks well supplied, -as the ports further down the coast are defended by bars, and would have -been difficult of access in bad weather. Drake, on whose course we were -now entering, selected St. Julian, the next bay to the southward, for -his port of call before entering the Straits of Magellan; it was there -he had trouble with his crew, and was obliged to hang Doughty. - -We sailed from Port Desire on Monday morning, but were not to say -good-bye to it so speedily. We soon encountered a strong head wind, with -the result that Wednesday evening found us fifteen miles backwards on a -return journey to Buenos Aires, and the whole of Thursday saw us still -within sight of it. We amused ourselves by discussing the voyage, which -had now lasted more than seven months. One of the company declared that -he had lost all sense of time and felt like a native or an animal: -things just went on from day to day; there was neither before nor after, -neither early nor late. It did not, he said, seem very long since we -left Falmouth, but on the other hand our stay at Pernambuco was -certainly in the remote past, and so with everything else. We had now, -in fact, done about three-quarters of the distance from Buenos Aires -towards the Straits of Magellan, and had 300 miles left before we -reached their entrance at Cape Virgins. - -Ever since the Expedition was originally projected the passage of the -Straits had been spoken of in somewhat hushed tones; but now, when with -a more favourable wind we began to approach them, instead of going into -Arctic regions, as some of us had anticipated, the weather improved, the -sun went south faster than we did, and the days lengthened rapidly. Our -numerous delays had at least one fortunate result—they secured us a much -better time of year in the Straits than we had expected would fall to -our lot. The feeling in the air was that of an English April, bright and -sunny, but fresh; we kept the saloon cold on principle during the -daytime, living in big coats; in the evening we had on the hot-water -apparatus, so as to go warm to bed. It was quite possible to write on -deck, and the sea was almost too beautifully calm. We had a great many -ocean callers, who seemed attracted by the vessel: porpoises tumbled -about the bows till we could nearly stroke them, a whale would go round -and round the yacht, coming up to blow at intervals, while seals reared -their heads and shoulders out of the waters and looked at us in a way -that was positively bewitching; once a whale and seal paid us a visit at -the same time. One night S., who was keeping a watch for one of the -officers who was indisposed, was interested in watching the gulls still -feeding during the dark hours. - -At 10 p.m. on October 15th the light of Cape Virgins was sighted, and we -woke to find ourselves actually in the Straits of Magellan. The Magellan -route, as compared with that by the Horn, is not only a short road from -the Atlantic to the Pacific, cutting off the islands to the south of the -continent, but ensures calm waters, instead of the stupendous seas of -the Antarctic Ocean. For a sailing ship, however, the difficulties are -great; the prevailing wind is from the west, and there is no space for a -large vessel to beat up against it, nor does she gain the advantage that -can be derived from any slight shift of wind; outside the gale may vary -a point or two, but within the channel it always blows straight down as -in a gully. The early mariners could overcome these obstacles through -the strength of their crews; in case of necessity they lowered their -boats and towed the ship, but the vessels of the present no longer carry -sufficient men to make such a proceeding possible. Sailing-ships -therefore take to-day the Cape Horn route, in spite of its well-known -delays, trials, and hardships. When later the German cruiser turned up -at Easter Island with her captured crews, the great regret of the latter -was that they had been taken just too late, after they had gone through -the unpleasantness of the passage round the Horn. - -The first sight of Tierra del Fuego is certainly disappointing. The word -calls up visions of desolate snowy mountains inhabited by giants; what -is seen are low cliffs, behind which are rolling downs, sunny and -smiling, divided up into prosaic sheep farms. A reasonably careful study -of the map would of course have shown what was to be expected, as on the -Atlantic coast the plains continue to the extreme south of the -continent, while the chain of the Andes looks only on to the Pacific. -Nevertheless, if not thrilling, it was at least enjoyable to be in a -stretch of smooth water, with Patagonia on the north and Tierra del -Fuego on the south. The land on either hand is excellent pasture for -sheep, and there is said to be sometimes as much as 97 per cent. -increase in a flock. The largest owners are one or two Chilean firms, -but the shepherds employed are almost all Scotsmen, and indeed the -scenery recalls some of the less beautiful districts in the Highlands. -When sheep-farming was established, the Indians, not unnaturally from -their point of view, made raids on the new animals, with the result that -the representatives of the company were consumed with wrath at seeing -their stock eaten by lazy natives; they started a campaign of -extermination, shooting at sight and offering a reward for Indian -tongues. Our friend Freeman had worked on one of the farms, which had a -stock of 200,000 sheep, and the information he gave on this head was -fully confirmed later in conversations at Punta Arenas. The destruction -of the Indians was spoken of there as a matter for regret, but as -rendered inevitable by circumstances. - -The navigation through the straits of a craft like ours makes it -necessary to anchor in the dark hours: the first night we spent off the -Fuegian coast, in sight of one of the pillars which define the boundary -of Chile and Patagonia; the second we lay in Possession Bay, which is on -the Patagonian side. We had time at the latter anchorage to examine the -pathetic wreck of a steamer, which had gone aground. She was a -paddle-boat, which was being towed presumably from one lake or river -area to another, and had to be cut adrift. Even in such an unheroic -vessel it was touching to see the sign of departed and luxurious life -cast away on this lonely shore, stained-glass doors bearing the -inscription of “smoking” or “dining-room,” and good mahogany fittings -such as washing-stands still in place. It is said that the outer coast -is strewn with wrecks containing valuable articles which it is worth no -one’s while to remove. S. walked up to the neighbouring lighthouse, and -was presented with three rhea eggs. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 8. - - IN THE MAGELLAN STRAITS. - - S. and an ostrich. -] - -The next morning we were under way at 5 o’clock, in order to pass with -the correct tide through what are known as the First Narrows. The -current here is so strong that it would have been impossible for us to -make headway against it; as it was, the wind sank soon after we started, -and we only just accomplished the passage, anchoring in St. Jago Bay. -The following day, Sunday, we negotiated successfully the Second -Narrows. From our next anchorage we saw from the yacht several rhea, or -South American ostriches, on a small promontory. S. went ashore on the -point and shot two of them, while Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Gillam, who had -landed on the neck of the promontory, endeavoured to cut off the retreat -of the two remaining birds. The one marked by Mr. Ritchie went through -some water and escaped him; the onlookers then viewed with much interest -a duel between Mr. Gillam on the one hand, running about in sea-boots -armed with a revolver, and the last ostrich on the other, vigorously -using its legs and wings and on its own ground. Victory remained with -the bird, which reached the mainland triumphantly, or at least -disappeared behind a bush and was no more seen. Seven miles south-west -of the Second Narrows lies Elizabeth Island, so named by Drake. We took -the passage known as Queen’s Road on the Fuegian side of the island, and -reached Punta Arenas next afternoon, Monday, October 20th. We had -intended to be there for two or three days only, but fate willed -otherwise, and we sat for weeks in a tearing wind among small crests of -foam, gazing at a little checkered pattern of houses on the open -hillside opposite. - -It will be remembered that the motor engine, to our great chagrin, was -practically useless through heated bearings, and that all our endeavours -at Buenos Aires to diagnose and remedy its ailment had been ineffectual. -We had consequently to rely on passing through the Straits either under -sail, or, as the late Lord Crawford had suggested to us before starting, -through getting a tow from some passing tramp by means of a £50 cheque -to the skipper, a transaction which would probably not appear in their -log. However, in mentioning our disappointment to the British Consul, -who was one of an engineering firm, he and his partner hazarded the -suggestion that the defect lay, not in the engine, where it had been -sought, but in the installation; that the shaft was probably not “true.” -They bravely undertook the job of overhauling it on the principle of “no -cure, no pay,” and were entirely justified by the result. The alteration -was to have been finished in ten days, but there were the usual delays, -one of which was a strike at the “shops,” when a piece of work could -only be continued by inducing one man to ply his trade behind closed -doors while S. turned the lathe. It was six weeks before the anxious -moment finally came for the eight hours’ trial, which had been part of -the bargain, but the motor did it triumphantly without turning a hair. -We found what consolation for the delay was possible in the reflection -that we had at least done all in our power to guard against such -misfortune. The engine had been purchased from a first-class firm who -had done the installation; the work had been supervised on our behalf by -a private firm and passed by Lloyds; nevertheless it was peculiarly -aggravating, for not only did it involve great money loss, but it -sacrificed some of the strictly limited time of our navigator and -geologist. We had the pleasure at this time of welcoming the said -geologist, Mr. Lowry-Corry, who now joined the Expedition after -successfully completing his work in India. - -Punta Arenas, with which we became so well acquainted, is a new and -unpretentious little town, but it is the centre of the sheep-grazing -districts, and its shops are remarkably good. Anything in reason can be -purchased there, and on the whole at more moderate prices than elsewhere -in South America. The beautiful part of the Straits is not yet reached, -and save for some distant views the place is ugly, but it gives a -sensation of cleanliness and fresh air, and our detention might have -been worse. There is indeed, on occasion, too much air, for it was at -times impossible to get from the ship to the shore or _vice versa_, and -if members of the party were on land when the wind sprang up they had to -spend the night at the little hotel; the waves were not big, but the -gales were too strong for the men to pull against them. I was with -reluctance obliged to give up some promising Spanish lessons, with which -I had hoped to occupy the time, for it was impossible to be sure of -keeping any appointment from the yacht. Punta Arenas boasts an English -chaplain, and Boy Scouts are in evidence. The chief celebrity is an -Arctic spidercrab, which multiplies in the channels and is delicious -eating, but we never discovered anything of much local interest. - -I made one day a vain attempt to find the graves of the officers and -crew of H.M.S. _Dotterel_, which was blown up off Sandy Point some -thirty years ago. The cemetery overlooked the Straits; it was desolate -and dreary, the ground being unlevelled and the tufted grass, with which -it was covered, unkept and unmown. Most of the graves were humble -enclosures, some of which gave the impression of greenhouses, being -covered with erections of wood and glass; but here and there were small -mausoleums, the property of rich families or corporations. It is the -custom with some Chileans so to preserve the remains that the faces -continue visible; an Englishman at Santiago told us that after a funeral -which he had attended, the mourners expressed a desire to “see Aunt -Maria,” whereupon the coffin of a formerly deceased relative was taken -down from its niche for her features to be inspected. The police of -Punta Arenas had their home together in a large vault, which was -apparently being prepared for a new occupant; while the veterans of ’79 -(the war between Chile and Peru) slept as they had fought, side by side. -There was apparently no Protestant corner, for the graves of English, -Germans, and Norwegians were intermingled with those of Chileans. The -resting-places of all, rich and poor alike, were lovingly decorated with -the metal wreaths so prevalent in Latin countries, but unattractive to -the English eye. Whilst I wandered among the tombs a storm burst, which -had been gathering for some time amongst distant mountains, and chilly -flakes of snow swept down in force, with biting wind and hail. I -sheltered in the lee of a mausoleum, on whose roof balanced a large -figure of the angel of peace bearing the palm-branch of victory, and the -inscription on which showed it to be the property of a wealthy family, -whose name report specially connected with the poisoning of Indians. The -landscape was temporarily obscured by the driving storm, not a soul was -in sight, and the iron wreaths on hundreds of graves rattled with a -weird and ghostly sound. Presently, however, the tempest passed and the -sun shone out, while over the Straits, towards the Fuegian land, there -came out in the sky a wonderful arc of light edged by the colours of the -rainbow, which turned the sea at its foot into a translucent and -sparkling green. - -But if there was not much occupation on shore, the unexpected length of -our stay provided us unpleasantly with domestic employment. We had on -arrival parted from our friend Freeman, his object in coming to Punta -Arenas was, it transpired, to collect the remainder of a sum due to him -in connection with the sale of a skating-rink, which he had at one time -started there and run with considerable success: we were proud to think -that service on an English scientific vessel would now be added to his -experiences. Life below deck was then in the hands of Luke, the -under-steward, who, as will be remembered by careful readers, had been -the salvation of the inner man during our first gale in the North -Atlantic. We had engaged him at Southampton on the strength of a -character from a liner on which he had served in some subordinate -capacity, and he signed on for the voyage of three years at the rate of -£2 10_s._ a month. Though never what registry offices would call “clean -in person and work,” he plodded through somehow, and again in the -Freeman episode rescued the ship from starvation; we accordingly doubled -his wages as a testimonial of esteem. My feelings can therefore be -imagined when one morning, after we had been some weeks at Punta Arenas, -I was told that Luke was not on board and his cabin was cleared. He had -somehow in the early morning eluded the anchor watch and had gone off in -a strange boat. A deserter forfeits of course his accumulated wages, -which, by a probably wise regulation, are payable to Government and not -to the owner; but there is nothing to prevent a man who is leaving a -vessel recouping himself by means of any little articles that he may -judge will come in handy in his new career. The one that I grudged most -to Luke was my cookery book, to which he had become much attached, and -which was never seen again after his departure; it was really a mean -theft, from which I suffered much in the future. - -S. offered, through the police, a reward for his detention, and enlarged -his knowledge of the town by going personally through every low haunt, -but without success. A rumour subsequently reached us that a muffled -figure had been seen going on board one of the little steamers which -plied backwards and forwards to the ports in Tierra del Fuego, and we -heard, when it was too late, that Luke had been enticed to a sheep farm -there, with the promise of permanent employment at £10 a month, with £2 -bonus during shearing-time, which was then in progress. The temptation -was enormous, and I have to this day a sneaking kindliness for Luke, but -for those who tempted him no pardon at all. The condition in which the -successive defaulters had left their quarters is better pictured than -described, and so stringent is the line of ship’s etiquette between work -on deck and below, that, as the simplest way and for the honour of the -yacht, the Stewardess did the job of cleaning out cabin and pantry -herself. The moral for shipowners is—do not dally in South American -ports. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 9. - - PUNTA ARENAS. -] - -Now began a strange hunt in the middle of nowhere for anything that -could call itself a cook or steward. The beachcombers who applied were -marvellous; one persistent applicant was the pianist at the local -cinema; our expedition, as already discovered, had a certain romantic -sound, which was apt to attract those who had by no means always counted -the cost. Mail steamers pass Punta Arenas every fortnight, once a month -in each direction, and these we now boarded with the tale of our woes. -Both captain and purser were most kind in allowing us to ask for a -volunteer among the stewards, but the attempt was only temporarily -successful; the routine work of a big vessel under constant supervision -proved not the right training for such a post as ours. - -Finally, we were told of a British cook who had been left in hospital by -a merchant ship passing through the Straits. The cause of his detention -was a broken arm, obtained in fighting on board; this hardly seemed -promising, but the captain was reported to have said that he was “sorry -to lose him,” and we were only too thankful to get hold of anything with -some sort of recommendation. On the whole Bailey was a success. He too -had knocked about the world; at one time he had made money over a -coffee-and-cake stall in Australia, and then thrown it away. We had our -differences of course; he once, for instance, told me that as cook he -took “a superior position on the ship’s books to the stewardess,” but -his moments of temper soon blew over. I shall always cherish pleasant -memories of the way in which he and I stood by one another for weeks and -months in a position of loneliness and difficulty; but this is -anticipating. - -As departure drew near, provisioning for the next stage became a serious -business, as, with the exception of a few depots for shipwrecked -mariners, there was no possibility of obtaining anything after we -sailed, before we reached our Chilean destination of Talcahuano. S.’s -work was more simple, as he had only to fill up to the greatest extent -with coal and oil, knowing that at the worst the channels provide plenty -of wood and water. - -The next few weeks, when we traversed the remainder of the Magellan -Straits and the Patagonian Channels, were the most fascinating part of -the voyage. The whole of this portion of South America is a bewildering -labyrinth of waterways and islands; fresh passages open up from every -point of view, till the voyager longs to see what is round the corner, -not in one direction, but in all. It has, too, much of the charm of the -unknown: such charts as exist have been made principally by four English -men-of-war at different periods, the earliest being that of the -_Beagle_, in the celebrated voyage in which Darwin took part. A large -portion of the ways and inlets are, however, entirely unexplored. The -effect of both straits and channels is best imagined by picturing a -Switzerland into whose valleys and gorges the sea has been let in; above -tower snow-clad peaks, while below precipices, clothed with beautiful -verdure, go straight down to the water’s edge. The simile of a -sea-invaded Alps is indeed fairly accurate, for this is the tail of the -Andes which has been partially submerged. The mountains do not rise -above 5,000 feet, but the full benefit of the height is obtained as they -are seen from the sea-level. The permanent snow-line is at about 1,200 -feet. The depths are very great, being in some places as much as 4,000 -feet, and the only places where it is possible to anchor are in certain -little harbours where there is a break in the wall of rock. These -anchorages lie anything from five miles to twenty or thirty miles apart, -and as it was impossible to travel at night it was essential to reach -one of them before dark. If for any reason it did not prove feasible to -accomplish the necessary distance, there was no option but to turn back -in time to reach the last resting-place before daylight failed, and -start again on the next suitable day. On the other hand, when things -were propitious, we were able on occasion to reach an even further -harbour than the one which had been planned. - -The proceeding amusingly resembled a game, played in the days of one’s -youth, with dice on a numbered board, and entitled “Willie’s Walk to -Grandmamma”: the player might not start till he had thrown the right -number, and even when he had begun his journey he might, by an unlucky -cast, find that he was “stopping to play marbles” and lose a turn, or be -obliged to go back to the beginning; if, however, he were fortunate he -might pass, like an express train, through several intermediate -stopping-places, and outdistance all competitors. The two other sailing -yachts with whose record we competed were the _Sunbeam_ in 1876 and the -_Nyanza_ in 1888: the match was scarcely a fair one, as the _Sunbeam_ -had strong steam power and soon left us out of sight, while the -_Nyanza_, though a much bigger vessel, had no motor, and we halved her -record. - -It will be seen that it was of first-rate importance to make the most of -the hours of daylight, which were now at their longest, and to effect as -early a start as possible, so that in case of accident or delay we -should have plenty of time in hand before dark. We therefore, long -before such became fashionable, passed a summer-time bill of a most -extended character, the clock being put five hours forward. Breakfast -was really at 3 a.m., and we were under way an hour later, when it was -broad daylight; but as the hours were called eight and nine everyone -felt quite comfortable and as usual, it was a great success. The -difficulty lay in retiring proportionately early. Stevenson’s words -continually rose to mind: “In summer quite the other way—I have to go to -bed by day.” The greatest drawback was the loss of sunset effects; we -should, theoretically, have had the sunrise instead, but the mornings -were often grey and misty, and it did not clear till later in the day. - -One of the charms of the channels, is the smoothness of the water: we -were able to carry our cutter in the davits as well as the dinghy. It -also suited the motor, which proved of the greatest use, entirely -redeeming its character, there is no doubt however, that to become -accustomed to sailing is to be spoilt for any other method of -progression. The photographers accomplished something, but the scenery -scarcely lends itself to the camera and the light was seldom good. The -water-colour scribbles with which I occupied myself serve their purpose -as a personal diary. - -We speculated from time to time whether these parts will ultimately turn -into the “playground of South America,” when that continent becomes -densely populated after the manner of Europe, and amused ourselves by -selecting sites for fashionable hotels: golf-courses no mortal power -will ever make. On the whole the probability seems the other way, for -the climate is against it; it is too near to the Antarctic to be warm -even under the most favourable conditions, and the Andes will always -intercept the rain-clouds of the Pacific. One of the survey-ships -chronicled an average of eleven hours of rain in the twenty-four, all -through the summer months. We ourselves were fortunate both in the time -of year and in the weather. It resembled in our experience a cold and -wet October at home; but there were few days, I cannot recall more than -two, when we lost the greater part of the view through fog and rain. On -the rare occasions when it was sunny and clear the effect was -disappointing, and less impressive than when the mountains were seen -partially veiled in mist and with driving cloud. The last hundred miles -before the Gulf of Peñas it became markedly warmer, and the steam -heating was no longer necessary. - -It was far from our thoughts that exactly one year later these same -channels would witness a game of deadly hide-and-seek in a great naval -war between Germany and England. In them the German ship _Dresden_ lay -hidden, after making her escape from the battle of the Falkland Islands, -while for two and a half months English ships looked for her in vain. -They explored in the search more than 7,000 miles of waterway, not only -taking the risks of these uncharted passages, but expecting round every -corner to come upon the enemy with all her guns trained on the spot -where they must appear. - -We left Punta Arenas on Saturday, November 29th, 1913, spending the -night in Freshwater Bay, and the next afternoon anchored in St. Nicholas -Bay, which is on the mainland. Opposite to it, on the other side of the -Straits, is Dawson Island, and separating Dawson from the next island to -the westward is Magdalen Sound, which leads into Cockburn Channel; it -was in this last that the _Dresden_ found her first hiding-place after -escaping from Sturdee’s squadron and obtaining an illicit supply of coal -at Punta Arenas. St. Nicholas Bay forms the mouth of a considerable -river, the banks of which are clothed with forests which come down to -the sea; near the estuary is a little island, and on it there is a -conspicuous tree. Mr. Corry and I went out in the boat, and found -affixed to the tree a number of boards with the names of vessels which -had visited the place. Jeffery scrambled up and added _Mana’s_ card to -those already there. This was our first introduction to a plan -frequently encountered later in out-of-the-way holes and corners, and -which subsequently played a part in the war. At the outbreak of -hostilities the _Dresden_ was in the Atlantic, and had to creep round -the Horn to join the squadron of Von Spee in the Pacific. She put into -Orange Bay, one of the furthest anchorages to the south; there she found -that many months before the _Bremen_ had left her name on a similar -board. Moved by habit someone on the cruiser wrote below it “_Dresden_, -September 11th, 1914”; then caution supervened, and the record was -partially, but only partially, obliterated; there it was shortly -afterwards read by the British ships _Glasgow_ and _Monmouth_, and -formed a record of the proceedings of the enemy. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 10. - - RIVER SCENE, ST. NICHOLAS BAY. -] - -On Monday, December 1st, we started at daylight and made our way with -motor and sail as far as Cape Froward, the most southerly point of the -Straits; but the sea was running too high to proceed. We had to retrace -our steps, and cast anchor again in St. Nicholas Bay. This time S. and I -were determined to explore the river, so, after an early luncheon, in -order to get the benefit of the tide, we made our way up it in the -cutter. It was most pleasant rowing between the banks of the quiet -stream, and so warm and sheltered that we might almost have imagined -ourselves on the Cherwell, if the illusion had not been dispelled by the -strange vegetation which overhung the banks, amongst which were -beautiful flowering azaleas. Every here and there also a bend in the -course of the river gave magnificent views of snow-clad peaks above. A -happy little family of teal, father, mother, and children, disported -themselves in the water. Later in the voyage, as the mountains grew -steeper, we had many waterfalls, but never again a river which was -navigable to any distance. Some of the crew had been left to cut -firewood, and we found on our return that they had achieved a splendid -collection, which Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Corry had kindly been helping to -chop. Burning wood was not popular in the galley, but we were anxious to -save our supplies of coal. - -Tuesday, December 2nd, we again left the bay, and this time were more -fortunate. It was misty and sunless, but as we rounded Cape Froward it -stood out grandly, with its foot in grey seas and with driving clouds -above. We had now definitely entered on the western half of the Straits -and were amongst the spurs of the Andes. As the day advanced the wind -freshened, the clouds were swept away, and blue sky appeared, while the -sea suddenly became dark blue and covered with a mass of foaming, -tumbling waves; on each coast the white-capped mountains came out clear -and strong. This part of the channel, which is known as Froward Reach, -is a path of water, about five miles wide, lying between rocky walls; -and up this track _Mana_ beat to windward, rushing along as if she -thoroughly enjoyed it. Every few minutes came the call “Ready about, lee -oh!” and over she went on a fresh tack, travelling perfectly steadily, -but listed over until the water bubbled beneath the bulwarks on the lee -side. It would have been a poor heart indeed that did not rejoice, and -every soul on board responded to the excitement and thrill of the -motion: that experience alone was worth many hundred miles of travel. As -evening came the wind sank, and we were glad of the prosaic motor to see -us into our haven at Fortescue Bay. - -The next day the wind was too strong to attempt to leave the harbour, -and we went to bed with the gale still raging, but during the night it -disappeared, and before dawn we were under way. As light and colour -gradually stole into the dim landscape, the grey trunks and brown -foliage of trees on the near mountain-sides gave the effect of the most -lovely misty brown velvet. Rain and mist subsequently obscured the view, -but it cleared happily as we turned into the harbour of Angosto on the -southern side of the channel. Rounding the corner of a narrow entrance, -we found ourselves in a perfect little basin about a quarter of a mile -across, surrounded with steep cliffs some 300 feet in height, on one -side of which a waterfall tore down from the snows above. Our geologist -reported it as a glacier tarn, which, as the land gradually sank, had -been invaded by the sea. We left it with regret at daylight next -morning. - -The Straits became now broader and the scenery was more bleak, the great -grey masses being scarcely touched with vegetation till they reached the -water’s edge. It was decided to spend the night at Port Churruca in -Desolation Island, rather than at Port Tamar on the mainland opposite, -which is generally frequented by vessels on entering and leaving the -Straits. We passed through the entrance into a rocky basin, but when we -were at the narrowest part between precipitous cliffs the motor stopped. -It had been frequently pointed out, when we were wrestling with the -engine, how perilous would be our position if anything went wrong with -it in narrow waters. I confess that I held my breath. S. disappeared -into the engine-room, the Navigator’s eyes were glued to the compass, -and the Sailing-master gave orders to stand by the boats in case it was -necessary to run out a kedge anchor and attach the yacht to the shore. -It was a distinct relief when the throb of the motor was once more -heard; the difficulty had arisen from the lowness of the temperature, -which had interfered with the flow of the oil. The ship, however, was -luckily well under control, with the wind at the moment behind her. In -an inner basin soundings were taken, “twenty-five fathoms no bottom, -thirty fathoms no bottom,” till, when the bowsprit seemed almost -touching the sheer wall of rock, the Nassau Anchorage was found and down -went the hook. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 11 - - CAPE FROWARD, MAGELLAN STRAITS. - - Looking East. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 12. - - THE GLACIER GORGE, PORT CHURRUCA. -] - -We grew well acquainted with Churruca, as we were detained there for -five days; Saturday through the overhauling of the engine; Sunday, -Monday, and Tuesday by bad weather; of Wednesday more anon. The position -was not without a certain eeriness: we lay in this remote niche in the -mountains, while the storm raged in the channel without and in the peaks -above; at night, after turning in, the gale could be heard tearing down -from above in each direction in turn, and the vessel’s chain rattling -over the stony bottom as she swung round to meet it. The heavy rain -turned every cliff-face into a multitude of waterfalls, which vanished -at times into the air as a gust of wind caught the jet of water and -converted it into a cloud of spray. Although the weather prevented our -venturing outside, it was quite possible to explore the port by means of -the ship’s boats. It proved not unlike Angosto, but on a larger and more -complicated scale. Beyond our inner anchorage, although invisible from -it, was a further extension known as the Lobo Arm, and there were also -other small creeks and inlets. - -Even the prosaic Sailing Directions venture on the statement that the -scenery at Port Churruca is “scarcely surpassed,” and one of the fiords -must be described, although the attempt seems almost profane. In its -narrow portion it was about a mile in length and from 100 to 200 yards -in width; the sheer cliffs on either hand were clothed to the height of -many hundreds of feet with various forms of fern and most brilliant -moss. Above this belt of colour was bleak crag, and higher again the -snow-line. The gorge ended in a precipice, above which was a -mountain-peak; a glacier descending from above had been arrested in its -descent by the precipice and now stood above it, forming part of it, a -sheer wall of ice and snow as if cut off by a giant knife. There was -little life to be seen, but an occasional gleam was caught from the -white breast of a sea-bird against the dark setting of the ravine. In -one part, high up on the cliff, where the wind was deflected by a piece -of overhanging rock, was a little colony of nests; the mother birds and -young broods sat on the edge in perfect shelter, even when to venture -off it was to be beaten down on to the surface of the water by the -strength of the wind. Some of our party visited the fiord on a second -occasion to try to obtain photographs; it was blowing at the time a -severe gale, and the effect was magical. The squalls, known as -“williwaws,” rushed down the ravine in such force that the powerful -little launch was brought to a standstill. They lashed the water into -waves, and then turned the foaming crests into spray, till the whole -surface presented the aspect of a fiercely boiling cauldron, through -which glimpses could be caught from time to time of the dark cliffs -above. - -While S. and I were visiting the glacier gorge, the two other members of -the party were exploring the last portion of the inlet named on the -chart the Lobo Arm. It terminated on low ground, on which stood the -frame of an Indian hut, and pieces of timber had been laid down to form -a portage for canoes. A few steps showed that the low ground extended -only for some 160 yards, while beyond this was another piece of water -which had the appearance of an inland lake, some three miles long and a -mile wide. The portage end of the water was vaguely shown on the chart -of Port Churruca, but there was no indication of anything of the kind on -the general map of Desolation Island. Our curiosity was mildly excited, -and we all visited the place; one of our number remarked that “the water -was slightly salt,” another that there “were tidal indications,” a third -that “from higher ground the valley seemed to go on indefinitely.” At -last the map was again and more seriously examined, and it was seen -that, while there were no signs of this water, there were on the -opposite side of the island the commencements of two inlets from the -open sea, neither of which had been followed up: the more northerly of -these was immediately opposite Port Churruca. “If,” we all agreed, “our -lake is not a lake at all, but a fiord”—and to this every appearance -pointed—“it is in all probability the termination of this northern -inlet, and Desolation Island is cut in two except for the small isthmus -with the portage.” Then a great ardour of exploration seized us, Mr. -Corry fell a victim to it, Mr. Gillam fell likewise, and we refused to -be depressed by Mr. Ritchie’s dictum that it had “nothing to do with -serious navigation.” We wrestled with a conscientious conviction that it -had certainly nothing to do with Easter Island, and we ought to go -forward at the earliest possible moment, but the exploration fever -conquered. We discussed the possibility of getting the motor-launch over -the portage, and were obliged reluctantly to abandon it as too heavy, -but it was concluded that it would be quite feasible with the cutter. - -The next day proved too wet to attempt anything, but Wednesday dawned -reasonably fine, though with squalls at intervals. Great were the -preparations, from compasses, notebooks, and log-lines, to tinned beef -and dry boots. At last at 11.30 (or 6.30 a.m. by true time) we sallied -forth. The launch towed us down the Lobo Arm, and then came the work of -passing the boat across the isthmus, at which all hands assisted. It was -the prettiest sight imaginable; the portage, which had been cut through -the thick forest undergrowth, had the appearance of a long and brilliant -tunnel between the two waters, it was carpeted with bright moss and -overhung by trees which were covered with lichen (fig. 14). The bottom -was soft and boggy, and I at one time became so firmly embedded that I -could not get out without assistance. In less than half an hour the boat -was launched on the other side, and Mr. Corry, Mr. Gillam, our two -selves, and two seamen set forth on our voyage. Soon after starting the -creek divided, part going to the north-west and part to the south-east. -We decided to follow the latter as apparently the main channel. - -We rowed for an hour and a quarter, taking our rate of speed by the log. -The mountains on each side were of granite, showing very distinct traces -of ice action. At 2 p.m. we landed on the left bank for luncheon. It -was, it must be admitted, a somewhat wet performance; the soaked wood -proved too much even for our expert campers-out, who had been confident -that they could make a fire under all circumstances, and had -disdainfully declined a proffered thermos. Enthusiasm was, however, -undamped. Mr. Corry ascended to high ground and discovered that there -was another similar creek on the other side of the strip of ground on -which we had landed, which converged towards that along which we were -travelling. After rowing for an hour and a half we reached the point -where the two creeks joined; here we landed and scrambled up through -some brushwood to the top of a low eminence. Looking backwards we could -see up both pieces of water, while looking forward the two fiords, now -one, passed at right angles, after some four miles, into a larger piece -of water. This was where we had expected to find the open sea, and some -distant blue mountains on the far horizon were somewhat of an enigma. As -we had to row back against a head wind, it was useless to think of going -further, unless we were prepared to camp out, so all we could do was to -make as exact sketches as possible to work out at home. - -The return journey was easier than had been expected, for the wind -dropped; we kept this time to the right bank, and stopped for “tea” by -some rocks, which added mussels to the repast for the taking. The -portage was gained four hours after the time that the rest of the crew -had been told to meet us there; and it was a relief to find that they -had possessed their souls with patience. _Mana_ was finally reached at -11 p.m. It was found by calculating the speed at which we had travelled -and its direction, that our creek had led into the more southerly of the -unsurveyed inlets, and not as we had expected into that to the -northward. The distant blue hills were islands. Like all great -explorers, from Christopher Columbus downwards, our results were -therefore not precisely those we had looked for, but we had undoubtedly -proved our contention that Desolation Island is in two halves, united -only by the 160 yards covered by the portage on the Lobo Isthmus. - -A knowledge of the existence of this channel, connecting the Pacific -Ocean with the Magellan Straits, might be of high importance to the crew -of a vessel lost to the south of Cape Pillar, when making for the -entrance to the Straits. Instead of trying to round that Cape against -wind at sea, her boats should run to the southward until the entrance to -the inlet is reached; they can then enter the Magellan Straits without -difficulty at Port Churruca. With the consent of the Royal Geographical -Society, it has been christened “Mana Inlet.”[3] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 13. - - MANA INLET. -] - -The next morning, December 1st, we left Churruca with a fair wind, so -that the engine was only needed at the beginning and end of the day; but -the weather was drizzling and unpleasant, so that we could see little of -Cape Pillar,[4] where the Magellan Straits enter the Pacific Ocean. Our -own course was up the waterways between the western coast of Patagonia -and the islands which lie off the coast. It is a route that is little -taken, owing to the dangers of navigation. Not only is much of it -uncharted and unsurveyed, but it is also unlighted, and its passage is -excluded by the ordinary insurance terms of merchant ships; they -consequently pass out at once into the open sea at Cape Pillar. We -turned north at Smyth’s Channel, the first of these waterways, and made -such good progress that, instead of anchoring as we had intended at -Burgoyne’s Bay, we were able to reach Otter Bay. It is situated amid a -mass of islands, and the sad vision of a ship with her back broken -emphasised the need for caution. The general character of the Patagonian -Channels is of the same nature as the Magellan Straits, but particularly -beautiful views of the Andes are obtained to the eastward. The next day -Mount Burney was an impressive spectacle, although only glimpses of the -top could be obtained through fleeting mists; and the glistening heights -of the Sarmiento Cordillera came out clear and strong. We anchored that -night at Occasion Cove on Piazzi Island; and on Saturday, December 13th, -had a twelve hours’ run, using the engine all the way. Here there was a -succession of comparatively monotonous hills and mountains, so -absolutely rounded by ice action as to give the impression of apple -dumplings made for giants. The lines show always, as would be expected, -that the ice-flow has been from the south. Later a ravine on Esperanza -Island was particularly remarkable; its mysterious windings, which it -would have been a joy to explore, were alternately hidden by driving -cloud or radiant with gleams of sun. Glimpses up Peel Inlet gave -pleasant views, and two snowy peaks on Hanover Island, unnamed as usual, -were absorbing our attention when we turned into Latitude Cove. - -On December 14th the landscape was absolutely grey and colourless, so -that Guia Narrows were not seen to advantage. Later the channel was -wider and the possibility of sailing debated, but abandoned in view of -the head wind. We had been struck with the absence of life and fewness -of birds, but we now saw some albatrosses. In slacking away the anchor -preparatory to letting go in Tom Bay, in a depth stated to be seventeen -fathoms, it hit an uncharted rock at eleven fathoms. It was still -raining as we left Tom Bay, but when we turned up Brassey Pass, which -lies off the regular channel, the clouds began to lift, and Hastings -Fiord and Charrua Bay were grand beyond description. From time to time -the mists rose for an instant, and revealed the immediate presence of -reach beyond reach of wooded precipices; or a dark summit appeared -without warning, towering overhead at so great a height that, severed by -cloud from its base, it seemed scarcely to belong to the earth. Then as -suddenly the whole panorama was cut off, and we were alone once more -with a grey sea and sky. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 14. - - CANOE CORDUROY PORTAGE BETWEEN PORT CHURRUCA AND MANA INLET. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 15. - - PATAGONIAN WATERWAYS. - - Showing water near the land smoothed by growing kelp. -] - -As we approached Charrua, we caught sight among the trees on a -neighbouring island of something which was both white and nebulous; it -might, of course, be only an isolated wreath of mist, but after watching -it for a while we came to the conclusion that it was undoubtedly a cloud -of smoke. Our hopes of seeing Indians, which had grown faint, began to -revive. As soon as we were anchored, orders were given that immediately -after dinner the launch should be ready for us to inspect what we hoped -might prove a camping-ground. This turned out to be unnecessary, as the -neighbours made the first call. In an hour’s time S. came to inform me -that two canoes were approaching full of natives “just like the -picture-books,” whereon the anthropologists felt inclined to adapt the -words of the immortal Snark-hunters and exclaim: - - “We have sailed many weeks, we have sailed many days, - Seven days to the week I allow, - But an Indian on whom we might lovingly gaze - We have never beheld until now.” - -The crew, however, were fully convinced that the hour had arrived when -they would have to defend themselves against ferocious savages. They had -been carefully primed in every detail by disciples of Ananias at Buenos -Aires, and by the bloodcurdling accounts of a certain mariner named -Slocum, who claimed to have sailed the Straits single-handed and to have -protected himself from native onslaught by means of tin-tacks sprinkled -on the deck of his ship. The canoes were about 23 feet in length, with -beam of 4 to 6 feet and a depth of 2 feet. Six Indians were in one and -seven in the other; all were young with the exception of one older man, -and each boat contained a mother and baby. Their skins were a dark -olive, which was relieved in the case of the women and children by a -beautiful tinge of pink in the cheeks, and they had very good teeth. -Their hair was long and straight, and a fillet was habitually worn round -the brow; the top was cut _à la brosse_, giving the impression of a -monk’s tonsure which had been allowed to grow. The height of the men was -about 5 feet 4 inches. Most of the party were clad in old European -garments, but a few wore capes of skins, and some seemed still more at -home in a state of nature. They had brought nothing for sale, but begged -for biscuits and old clothes. I parted with a wrench from a useful piece -of calico, in the interests of one of the infants, which was still in -its primitive condition; it was accepted, but with a howl of derision, -which I humbly felt was well merited when it was seen that the rival -baby was already wrapped in an old waistcoat given by the cook. One of -the Indians talked a little Spanish, and was understood to say he was a -Christian. - -After dealing with them for a while we offered to tow them home, an -offer readily understood, and accepted without hesitation. It was a -strange procession amid weird surroundings; the sun had shown signs of -coming out, but had thought better of it and retreated, and we made our -way over a grey sea, between half-obscure cliffs in drizzling rain, -taking keen note of our route for fear of losing our way back. Truly we -seemed to have reached the uttermost ends of the earth. The lead was -taken by that recent product of civilisation a motor-launch, containing -our two selves and our Glasgow socialist engineer; then at the end of a -rope came the dinghy, to be used for landing, the broad back of one of -our Devonshire seamen making a marked object as he stood up in it to -superintend the towing of the craft behind. The two canoes followed, -full of these most primitive specimens of humanity, while the rear was -brought up by a seal, which swam after us for a mile or so, putting up -its head at intervals to gaze curiously at the scene. S. had brought his -gun, and as we approached the camp thought it well to shoot a sea-bird, -for the double reason of showing that he was armed and giving a present -to our new friends. The encampment was situated in a little cove, and -nothing could have been more picturesque. In front was a shingly beach, -on which the two canoes were presently drawn up, flanked by low rocks -covered with bright seaweed. In the background was a mass of trees, -shrubs, and creepers, which almost concealed two wigwams, from one of -which had issued the smoke which attracted our notice (fig. 16). - -We returned next morning to photograph and study the scene. The size of -the shelters, or tents, was about 12 feet by 9 feet, with a height of -some 5 feet. They were formed by a framework of rods set up in oval -form, the tops of which were brought together and interwoven, and -strengthened by rods laid horizontally and tied in place: the opening -was at the side and towards the sea. Over this structure seals’ skins -were thrown, which kept in place by their own weight, as the encampments -are always made in sheltered positions in dense forests. With the -exception that they do not possess a ridge-pole, the tents, which are -always the same in size and make, closely resemble those of English -gipsies, the skins taking the place of the blankets used by those -people. No attempt was made to level the floor, the fire was in the -middle, and in one the sole occupant was a naked sprawling baby, who -occupied the place of honour on the floor beside it. In some of the old -encampments, which we saw subsequently, there were as many as six huts, -but it was doubtful if they had all been occupied at the same time. The -middens are outside and generally near the door. Some of the Indians -were quite friendly, but others were not very cordial, the old women in -particular making it clear to the men of the party that their presence -was not welcome. The old man, whose picture appears (fig. 17), was -apparently the patriarch of the party, and quite amiable, though he -firmly declined to part with his symbol of authority in the shape of his -club; in order to keep him quiet while his photograph was taken he was -fed on biscuits, which he was taught to catch after the manner of a pet -dog. The staff of life is mussels and limpets, and we saw in addition -small quantities of berries. A lump of seal fat weighing perhaps 10 lb. -was being gnawed like an apple, and a portion was offered to our party. -The dogs are smooth-haired black-and-tan terriers, like small heavy -lurchers; they are, it is said, taught to assist their masters in the -catching of fish.[5] - -The company presently showed signs of unusual activity, and began to -shift camp; the movement was not connected, as far as we could tell, -with our presence, and, judging by the odour of the place, the time for -it had certainly arrived. It was interesting to see their chattels -brought down one by one to the canoes. Amongst them were receptacles -resembling large pillboxes, about 12 inches across, made of birchwood, -which was split thin and sewn with tendons. In these were kept running -nooses made of whalebone for capturing wild geese, and also -harpoon-lines cut out of sealskin: at one extremity of these last was a -barbed head made of bone; this head, when in use, fits into the -extremity of a long wooden shaft, to which it is then attached by the -leather thong. The possessions included an adze-like tool for making -canoes, the use of which was demonstrated, and resembled that of a -plane; also an awl about 2 inches long, in form like a dumb-bell, with a -protruding spike at one end. There were small pots made of birch bark -for baling the boats, and some European axes. We did not see any form of -cooking utensil. When all the objects, including the sealskin coverings -of the huts, had been stowed in the canoes, the company all embarked and -rowed off towards the open sea. - -On leaving Charrua and returning to the main channel we obtained -magnificent views of the Andes. Penguin Inlet leading inland opened up a -marvellous panorama of snowy peaks, which can be visible only on a clear -day such as we were fortunate in possessing; this range received at -least one vote, in the final comparing of notes, as to the most -beautiful thing seen between Punta Arenas and the Gulf of Peñas. A white -line across the water showed where the ice terminated, while small -pieces which reached the main channel, looked, as they floated past us, -like stray waterlilies on the surface of the sea. We anchored at Ring -Dove Inlet, and went on next day through Chasm Reach, where the channel -is only from five hundred to a thousand yards in width. Our -expectations, which had been greatly raised, were on the whole -disappointed, but here again no doubt it was a question of lighting; the -usually gloomy gorge was illuminated with the full radiance of the -summer sun, leaving nothing to the imagination. - -Chasm Reach leads into Indian Reach, in which sea, mountain, and sky -formed a perfect harmony in varying shades of blue, with touches of -white from high snow-clad peaks. Suddenly, in the middle of this vista, -as if made to fit into the scene, appeared a dark Indian canoe with its -living freight, evidently making for the vessel. We stopped the engine, -threw them a line, and towed them to our anchorage in Eden Harbour. The -weather had suddenly become much warmer, and the thermometer in the -saloon had now risen to the comfortable but scarcely excessive height of -64°; the crew of the canoe, however, were so overcome with the heat that -they spent the time pouring what must have been very chilly sea water -over their naked bodies.[6] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 16. - - ENCAMPMENT OF PATAGONIAN INDIANS, BRASSEY PASS. _From sketch and - photos._ -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 17. - - INDIANS OF BRASSEY PASS. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 18. - - CANOE IN INDIAN REACH. -] - -The party was conducted by two young men; a very old woman without a -stitch of clothing crouched in the bow; while in the middle of the boat, -in the midst of ashes, mussel-shells, and other débris, a charming girl -mother sat in graceful attitude. She was, perhaps, seventeen, and wore -an old coat draped round her waist, while her baby, of some eighteen -months, in the attire of nature, occupied itself from time to time in -trying to stand on its ten toes. A younger girl of about fourteen sat -demurely in the stern with her folded arms resting on a paddle which lay -athwart the canoe, beneath which two shapely little brown legs were just -visible. Her rich colouring, and the faded green drapery which she wore, -made against the dark background of the canoe a perfect study for an -artist, but the moment an attempt was made to photograph her she hid her -face in her hands. The party was completed by a couple of dogs and a -family of fat tan puppies, who were held up from time to time, but -whether for our admiration or purchase was not evident. - -The belongings were similar to those seen at the encampment and there -were also baskets on board. The young mother had a necklace which looked -like a charm, and therefore particularly excited our desires: in -response to our gestures she handed to us a similar one worn by the -baby, which was duly paid for in matches. When we were still unsatisfied -she beckoned to the young girl to sell hers, but stuck steadfastly to -her own, till finally a mixed bribe of matches and biscuits proved too -much, and the cherished ornament passed into our keeping. The young men -readily came on deck of the yacht, but the women were obviously -frightened, and kept saying _mala, mala_ in spite of our efforts to -reassure them. After we had cast anchor, the party went with our crew to -show them the best spot in which to shoot the net, and on their return -ran up the square sail of their canoe, the halyard passing over a mast -like a small clothes-prop with a Y-shaped extremity, got out their -paddles, and vanished down-stream. - -At Eden Harbour a wreck was lying in mid-stream, where she had evidently -struck on an uncharted rock when trying to enter the bay, a danger from -which no possible foresight can guard those who go down to the sea in -ships. English Narrows, which was next reached, is considered the most -difficult piece of navigation in the channels: a small island lies in -the middle of the fairway, leaving only a narrow passage on either side, -down which, under certain conditions, the tide runs at a terrific rate. -It was exciting, as the yacht approached her course between the island -and opposing cliff which are separated by only some 360 yards, to hear -Mr. Ritchie ask Mr. Gillam to take the helm himself, and the latter give -the order to “stand by the anchor” in case of mishap; but we had hit it -off correctly at slack water and got through without difficulty. From -there our route passed through Messier Channel, which has all the -appearance of a broad processional avenue, out of which we presently -turned to the right and found ourselves in Connor Cove. The harbour -terminates in a precipitous gorge, down which a little river makes its -way into the inlet. We endeavoured to row up it, but could not get -further than 100 or 200 yards; even that distance was achieved with -difficulty, owing to the number of fallen trees which lay picturesquely -across the stream. - -The plant life, which had always been most beautiful, became even more -glorious with the rather milder climate, which we had now reached. When -the trees were stunted it was from lack of soil, not from atmospheric -conditions. Tree-ferns abounded, and flowering plants wandered up -moss-grown stems; among the most beautiful of these blooms were one with -a red bell and another one which almost resembled a snowdrop.[7] The -impression of the luxuriant _mêlé_ was rather that of a tropical forest -than of an almost Antarctic world, while the intrusion of rocks and -falling water added peculiar charm. Butterflies were seen occasionally, -and sometimes humming-birds. - -Since our detention at Churruca we had been favoured with unvarying good -fortune, and the crew were beginning to say that thirteen, which we had -counted on board since Mr. Corry joined us, was proving our lucky -number. Now, however, our fate changed; twice did we set forth from this -harbour only to be obliged to return and start afresh, till we began to -feel that getting under way from Connor Cove was rapidly becoming a -habit. On the first occasion the weather became so thick that in the -opinion of our Navigator it was not safe to proceed: the second time the -wind was against us. We tried both engine and sails, but though we could -make a certain amount of headway under either it was obviously -impossible, at the rate of progression, to reach the next haven before -nightfall; when, therefore, we were already half-way to our goal we once -more found it necessary to turn round. It was peculiarly tantalising to -reflect that there were, in all probability, numerous little creeks on -the way in which we could have sheltered for the night, but as none of -them had been surveyed there was no alternative but to go back to our -previous anchorage. Residence there had the redeeming point that it -proved an excellent fishing-ground. On each of the three nights the -trammel was shot at a short distance from the spot where the stream -entered the bay, and we obtained in all some 200 mullet. They formed an -acceptable change of diet, and those not immediately needed were salted. -From that time till we left the channels we were never without fresh -fish, catching, in addition to mullet, bream, gurnet, and a kind of -whiting; they formed part of the menu at every meal, till the more -ribald persons suggested that they themselves would shortly begin to -swim. - -Our third effort to leave Connor Cove was crowned with greater success, -and we safely reached Island Harbour, which, as its name suggests, is -sheltered by outlying islands. This bay and the neighbouring anchorage -of Hale Cove are the last two havens in the channels before the Gulf of -Peñas is reached, and in either of them a vessel can lie with comfort -and await suitable weather for putting out to sea. It is essential for a -sailing vessel to obtain a fair wind, for not only has she to clear the -gulf, but must, for the sake of safety, put 200 miles between herself -and the land; otherwise, should a westerly gale arise, she might be -driven back on to the inhospitable Patagonian coast. In Island Harbour -we filled our tanks, adorned the ship for’ard with drying clothes and -fish, and for three days waited in readiness to set forth. At the end of -that time it was still impossible to leave the channels, but we decided -to move on the short distance to Hale Cove, which we reached on December -24th. Christmas Eve was spent by three of our party, Mr. Ritchie, Mr. -Corry, and Mr. Gillam, on a small rock “taking stars” till 2 a.m. The -rock, which had been selected at low tide, grew by degrees unexpectedly -small, and to keep carefully balanced on a diminishing platform out of -reach of the rising water, while at the same time being continuously -bitten by insects, was, they ruefully felt, to make scientific -observations under difficulties. On Christmas Day it poured without -intermission, but it was a peaceful if not an exciting day. It is, I -believe, the correct thing to give the menu on these occasions: the -following was ours. - - SCHOONER YACHT _MANA_, R.C.C. - - CHRISTMAS DAY, 1913. - - Potages aux légumes à l’Anglais. - Mulets d’eaux Patagonia. - Bœuf rôti d’Argentine. Pommes de terre de Punta Arenas. - Petits Pois à l’Angleterre. - Pouding Noël de Army & Navy Stores, garni “Holly Antarctic.” - Fromage Gouda, Beurre, Pain de Mana, Biscuits Matelote. - Bonbons Peppermint à la School-girl. - Café de Rio de Janeiro. - -The forecastle was visited after dinner and each man given a half-pound -tin of tobacco. Boxing Day was comparatively fine, and a laundry was -organised on shore with great success; a fire was made, old kerosene -tins turned into boilers, and the articles washed in camp-baths with -water from a streamlet. It is one thing, however, to wet clothes in the -Patagonian Channels; it is quite another to dry them. For days -afterwards the rain descended in torrents, while the wind blew -persistently from the north-west; with one short intermission we lay in -Hale Cove weather-bound for thirteen days, till, as some one remarked, -“it was a pity that we had not given it as a postal address.” It was -tiresome of course, but an interval of rest for all on board after the -strenuous passage of the channels was not without advantage; for -ourselves journals were written up, flowers pressed, and photographs -developed. - -Hale Cove was fortunately one of those few ports in which it was -possible to get a little exercise, which the denseness of the -undergrowth generally rendered impossible. The cliffs, at the foot of -which _Mana_ lay, were precipitous and clothed with vegetation to the -sky-line, they thus scarcely lent themselves to exploration. There was, -however, across the small bay a southern spur, on the top of which for -some reason trees had not flourished and which was comparatively clear; -this it was possible to reach by landing on a little beach and -scrambling along an old track which had been cut through an intermediate -belt of wood. We could in this way get some sort of a walk, at the cost -of course of becoming soaked through from bogs and dripping vegetation. - -Not far from the cove there were traces of a small frame house, and near -it flourished European wheat and grass, which had obviously taken root -from stray seed. Its history was difficult to guess. Why had a white man -lived there, and on what had he subsisted? The only solution suggested -was that it might at one time have been a port of call for a line of -steamers, and a woodman had been employed to cut fuel. Another dwelling, -but made of material found on the spot, had obviously been destroyed by -fire, and on its abandoned site native wigwams had been erected. The -place was evidently the resort of Indians; when, therefore, we noted -near the old track, and not far from the water-course, part of two rough -boards protruding from the earth, we hoped that we had chanced on an -Indian burial-ground, which would naturally have been of much -anthropological interest. The soil which had originally covered the -boards had been partially washed away by the rain, and on moving them we -found, as had been guessed, that just below were human bones; they were -so deeply encrusted with roots and earth that it was only by much -digging with our fingers we could get them out at all. Then they proved -to be in much confusion, two parts of the skull even were in different -places, and it was difficult at first to say whether the body, which was -that of a man in middle life, had been buried full length or in the -folded attitude so common among primitive peoples. It was my first -experience in scientific body-snatching, a proceeding to which later I -became fairly well inured, and it felt not a little weird being thus in -contact with the dead in his lonely resting-place. A great tree-fern -kept guard over the grave on one side, a gnarled trunk bent over it from -the other, and the sun gleamed at intervals through the thick branches -of surrounding cedars. At last it became obvious that the body had been -outstretched, and the grave lined as well as covered with boards, in -addition to which there had been a wrapping of some woven material; it -seemed therefore evident that the corpse had been that of a civilised -man. Who was he? the lumberman, the remains of whose hut we had seen? -one of the crew of some vessel which had put in here? or possibly a -shipwrecked mariner? for there were traces of an ill-fated vessel in a -quantity of coal washed up on the beach. Why, though he had been buried -with considerable care, was the grave so shallow, and why had it been -left unmarked? We buried him again reverently, and though he was very -possibly an unpleasant person when alive, the thoughts of one of us at -least, who is naturally mid-Victorian, turned to the mother who had once -borne and tended him somewhere and who could so little have pictured -where he would lie. - - “One midst the forest of the west - By a dark stream is laid; - The Indian knows his place of rest, - Far in the cedar shade.” - MRS. HEMANS. - -We discussed marking the spot, but came to the conclusion that the best -way to prevent its again being disturbed was to obliterate all traces of -it; so there the nameless man rests on in his hidden grave. - -The wind still being contrary, charts and sailing directions were -ransacked for change of scene, and on New Year’s Eve we shifted our -quarters, proceeding up Krüger Channel, and anchoring in a little cove -called after De Wet: as Joubert was also in the neighbourhood, officials -of the Chilean Government who had surveyed the district had apparently -been of pro-Boer sympathies. On January 1st, 1914, we went out into the -Gulf of Peñas, only to find that it was useless to attempt to put to -sea, and we returned again to Hale Cove. The _Challenger_ had, we found, -anchored in the same spot on New Year’s Day, 1876. During the next few -days Mr. Ritchie, with the help of Mr. Corry, occupied himself at my -husband’s request in surveying a small cove as a possible anchorage for -lesser craft. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 19. - - HALE COVE. -] - -A shooting expedition also took place after kelp-geese, which are large -birds about the size of Aylesbury ducks. When cruising in the launch we -saw at some distance a couple of them swimming in the sea; we circled -round them in the endeavour to get a shot, till we were about a hundred -yards distant, when they took the alarm and made off. They are unable to -fly, but when, as in this case, they anticipate danger scuttle along on -the top of the water, lashing it up with their webbed feet. The surface -was smooth as a mirror, and the boat went about seven miles an hour, but -for some two miles we were unable to overhaul them. Presently they dived -and separated, and on their reappearance we continued to follow one of -them. During the whole of the pursuit, whenever the wobbling of the boat -and the antics of the bird permitted the fore and back sights to be -brought in line, a ·275 mauser bullet was sent somewhere in the -neighbourhood of the fleeing object. The goose apparently came to the -conclusion that the white launch, with its spluttering motor, was a -peculiarly formidable sea-beast, and the safest place would be on land; -he therefore went on shore, climbed up some rocks, and looked at it; a -bullet between his feet, however, unsettled his mind on the subject, and -he once more took to the water, where he finally met his doom. Light, -who happened to be with us, witnessed the chase with intense delight, -and constantly referred to it afterwards as the most exciting -recollection of the voyage. As was not astonishing in the case of such -an athletic bird, no part of him proved to be eatable except his liver, -which was excellent.[8] - -On Tuesday, January 6th, we at last got our favourable wind and said -good-bye to Hale Cove. It is the usual resort for vessels entering and -leaving the channels, but we had lain there for nearly a fortnight in -the height of the season without seeing a trace of a ship, a fact which -shows how little these waterways are frequented. As we passed out of the -Gulf of Peñas we gazed with interest on the unfriendly and barren peaks -of Wager Island, where Anson’s store-ship of that name was lost on May -14th, 1740, after the squadron had rounded the Horn. The members of the -crew who survived the wreck, one hundred and forty-five in number, were -there for five months, at the end of which time they had been reduced by -about one-third, chiefly through starvation. Seventy or eighty of the -remainder then took to the longboat and cutter, of whom thirty finally -reached the coast of Brazil via the Magellan Straits. The rest of the -survivors, a party of twenty, including the captain and an officer named -Byron, a great-uncle of the poet, made their way northward, and through -the aid of Indians four of them managed to reach the Spanish settlements -in Chile. The graphic account given by Byron of their surroundings on -the island would be equally applicable to-day, and has already been -quoted in these pages. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - CHILE - - 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. - - The principal Spanish colonies in South America were, as has been - seen, on the western side of the continent. Balbao crossed the isthmus - of Panama in 1513. In 1531 Pizarro landed in Peru, where he - encountered and overthrew the empire of the Incas. Valdivia, one of - his ablest lieutenants, made his way still further south, and in 1541 - founded Santiago, the present capital of Chile, on the fruitful plain - between the Andes and the sea. His further progress was checked by the - Araucanians, a warlike tribe of Indians, who offered a much stronger - resistance than the Incas. They were never entirely conquered, and the - Spaniards in Chile were engaged in perpetual struggle with them, while - at the same time open to attacks on the coast from European powers who - were at enmity with Spain. When the revolutionary waves swept the - continent the Chilean patriots were at first compelled to withdraw - across the Andes. The most famous of them was Bernardo O’Higgins; his - father, originally a barefooted Irish boy, was one of the last - viceroys of Peru, and the son became one of the first presidents of - the new republic. Argentina had at this time accomplished her own - freedom, and was able to send help to Chile. General San Martin - crossed the Andes, and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Spaniards at - Maipu in 1818. The revolutionary army then passed north, the Viceroy - evacuated Lima, and at Guayaquil San Martin met the liberator Bolivar, - who had marched down from the north. Meanwhile Admiral Cochrane, who - had reorganised the Chilean and Peruvian navies, had been engaged in - freeing the Pacific from Spanish ships. South America thus was finally - cleared from the domination of the Spaniard. - - Disputes, however, arose between the new republics as to their - respective boundaries: Chile fought Peru in 1879 over the possession - of the nitrate-fields, and issued victorious from the struggle. The - long series of difficulties between Chile and Argentina was ended, as - has been recorded, through British arbitration, in 1902. - -It is hard not to believe that the “roaring forties” have a personality: -a polytheist who goes thither in ships ought to sacrifice to the spirit -of that unquiet belt. As soon as we had passed the magic limit of -degrees the weather changed and became beautifully balmy, and the rest -of our passage was excellent. When we again came in sight of land it was -in strong contrast to that which we had left, being brown, dried up, and -somewhat low: all visions of snow-clad Andes had disappeared; neither -here nor at Talcahuano was anything to be seen that could justify the -name of a coast range. Talcahuano, the Chilean naval port, stands on a -magnificently sheltered bay and was an ideal spot for our purpose of -refitting. It is much to be preferred, from the shipping point of view, -to the bay of Valparaiso, some 260 miles further up the coast, which -lies exposed to the northerly winds and is crowded with shipping. -Through the kindness of Mr. Edwards, the Chilean minister in London, a -naval order had been promulgated some time before our arrival giving -instructions that the Expedition was to be afforded all facilities. We -accordingly met with every courtesy, and the yacht was almost at once -placed in the floating dock to allow of the examination of her bottom, -an essential proceeding, as it had not been overlooked, except by a -diver at Punta Arenas, since we left England, now nearly twelve months -ago. A floating dock consists of a huge tray, with an enormous tank on -either side; when these tanks are filled with water the dock sinks, and -the vessel floats on to the tray, being supported against its sides, the -tanks are then emptied, and the tray rises, bearing the vessel clear out -of the water; when the work is completed the process is reversed and the -ship floats out once more. - -After this overhauling, which took four days, came the work of examining -and restowing the hold; this was expedited by all the contents being -taken out and placed in a lighter alongside. It was the work of the -Stewardess to check the stores in hand, and also those contained in -ninety-five new packages from England which we found awaiting our -arrival. On the representation of our Legation at Santiago, the -Government had done us the favour to remit all duties on them except 5 -per cent., which it would have required a special Act of Parliament to -repeal. As some goods pay as much as 55 per cent. in customs we were -greatly the gainers, in spite of the fact that an illicit levy had been -taken of our butter and jam, which are among the most heavily taxed -articles, to an amount equivalent to a supply of some weeks for the -saloon party. We were happily able to make good the deficiency, which -would otherwise have been somewhat maddening, by purchases of honey, -which all down this part of the coast is good and cheap. Jam is -ruinously expensive, if procurable at all, and our sympathy was extended -to the skipper of an English merchant ship in the bay, whose stock was -finished, but whose crew were in no way inclined to waive their Board of -Trade rights, for Jack thinks potted strawberries and damsons quite as -essential an article of diet as does Tommy. Our loss was less annoying, -if also less amusing, than that of the owners of a lighter which was -lying just outside the custom-house, and which was forcibly despoiled -during the night. The thieves turned out to be the guards set by the -custom-house, who apparently thinking the hours of darkness long had -contrived thus to pass the time. We told this story to one of the -inhabitants of another South American port. “Ah, yes,” he said drily, -“the custom-house here has now a bright electric light; it makes it -easier for them to take out the nails without hurting their fingers.” - -We were now nearing the end of our outward voyage, and the provisions -had to be divided between the respective sea and land parties. Easter -Island affords no good anchorage, and our plan was that the yacht, after -disembarking the scientific members and waiting awhile off the coast, -should return to Talcahuano under charge of Mr. Gillam, to collect -letters and goods and then come out again to the island. The stores, -therefore, had to be divided into four lots, with much arithmetical -calculation: firstly, the portion needed by the whole Expedition for the -voyage out, which was expected to last about a month; secondly, that for -the shore party for a period of six months; thirdly, a share for the -crew alone for four months; and, fourthly, the remainder which was to be -left at Talcahuano and gathered up later. The island allotment was the -most difficult, as we had only a general idea of what it would be -possible to procure on shore. - -It was altogether, as will be seen, a considerable work, and we were -hard at it for a fortnight, during which time, with the exception of two -shopping expeditions to the neighbouring city of Concepcion, we had -little opportunity to see the surrounding country. It felt at any rate -dry and warm, in fact well aired, after the damp of the Patagonian -Channels, and might have been even adjudged too dry and dusty. The most -refreshing sight was a little garden which adjoined the custom-house -steps, at which we landed almost daily, and which, in spite of -difficulties, was invariably bright with geraniums and other flowers: -Chile is much more a country of gardens, in the English sense, than any -other land it has been my lot to visit. Talcahuano has about 13,000 -inhabitants, and consists of little beside the dockyard, in which the -chief posts are filled by Englishmen. Three English officers are also -lent in peace time by our own navy to that of Chile; one of these, with -whom we happened to have mutual acquaintances, was kind enough to -entertain us on board the Chilean warship, whose name, being translated, -was _Commodore Pratt_. - -A point anxiously debated at the moment, and not without some practical -interest for us, was whether Chile could afford to keep the Dreadnoughts -which were being built for her by Messrs. Armstrong. There was a -financial crisis at the time, and the exchange was much against Chile; -hence firms there which owed money to England were delaying meeting -their liabilities, with the result that more than one English company -had failed in consequence. The sale of a Dreadnought would of course -greatly affect the rate; even without that before we left the country it -had materially risen, and the value received for a sovereign was, from -our point of view, regrettably diminished. - -An Englishman feels distinctly more at home in Chile than in either -Brazil or Argentina. Some of the best-known firms are genuinely English, -though the possession of an English name is in itself no guarantee of -more than a remote British origin: a Mr. Brown may, for instance, marry -a Miss Thompson, and neither be able to speak the English tongue.[9] Our -language is the only one taught free in the schools; it is presumably -the most useful from the point of view of trade with ourselves and the -United States. One of our countrymen resident in the Republic explained -to us that “the Chileans hate all foreigners, but they hate the British -rather less than the others.” Those at least were our recorded -impressions at this time; on the subsequent visit of the yacht, after -war broke out, the German influence was strong enough to affect her -position adversely in the way of work and stores. - -At last the provision lists were finished and we felt entitled to take a -holiday, leaving the remainder of the work on the ship in the competent -hands of Mr. Gillam; our special objects were to see the Easter Island -collection in the museum at Santiago and get a glimpse of the -Trans-Andine Railway. This part of our journeyings has nothing to do -with the voyage of the _Mana_, and accounts of the ground covered have -been given by much abler hands, notably by Lord Bryce in his -_Impressions of South America_; it shall therefore be told in outline -only. We left Talcahuano by the tri-weekly day express for Santiago; it -took twelve hours to travel about 350 miles, but the Pullman car was -luxurious, and we were able to see the country well. The line passes -northward through the long fruitful plain between the Andes and the -coast range, which constitutes the land of Chile, and crosses -continually the streams which traverse it on their course from the -mountains to the sea. The train stops from time to time at cheerful -little towns, and finally at Santiago, which is a most attractive city, -with a sense of quiet and yet cheerful dignity. There are but few -streets at the end of which it is not possible to obtain a glimpse of -the surrounding mountains, but they were scarcely either as near or -impressive as descriptions had led us to expect. - -The first night of our residence in the capital we experienced an -earthquake. I was already asleep when about 10.30 I was awakened by the -shock; the light when turned on showed the chandeliers and pictures -swinging in opposite directions, and one of the latter was still -oscillating when the current was switched off eight or ten minutes -later. There was a slighter recurrence at 3 a.m. The shock was stated to -be the worst since the great earthquake of 1906, and numbers of people -had, we found, rushed out into the streets and squares. It was generally -agreed that familiarity in the case of earthquakes breeds not contempt -but the reverse, and that shocks of which the new-comer thinks but -little, fill those who know their possibilities with nervous alarm. In -this case no great damage was done; the only fatalities occurred at -Talca, a little place about half-way along the line by which we had -come. When we called at the Legation the next day to express our thanks -to the British Minister for the trouble taken about our stores, we were -shown the cracks in the walls which were the result of the previous -earthquake and the fresh additions made to them the night before. We had -the good fortune at Santiago to become acquainted with Sir Edward and -Lady Grogan. Sir Edward filled the post of military attaché for six of -our South American legations, and I had heard at Buenos Aires much of -the work and interests of Lady Grogan. She was the almost last -Englishwoman whom I met till my return to my native land two years -later, when I had the pleasure of renewing the acquaintance, this time -in Cromwell Road in proximity to numerous bales for Serbian refugees. We -visited the Museum of Antiquities, where we found the objects from -Easter Island of which we were in search; and the beautiful new Museum -of Fine Arts, which also contains articles from the island. - -We left Santiago at noon on Saturday, January 31st, the line at first -continuing northwards. The country through which we passed looked -rainless and barren, and the journey was hot and tiring. The train was -crowded with Saturday travellers, and purveyors of drinks and ices -continually pushed their way down it, apparently finding a ready market -for their wares. At the junction of Llay-Llay, the line which comes from -Santiago on the south connects with that from Valparaiso on the west, -and branches off also eastward over the Andes to the Argentine. Here on -the platform sat rows of women with some of the delightful fruit in -which Chile abounds: grapes can be bought at 5_d._ a pound and peaches -and nectarines at 8_d._ or 9_d._ a dozen. The drawback, however, in the -case of the two last mentioned, is that, partly owing to the exigencies -of packing, the Chileans make a point of gathering and also eating them -quite hard and flavourless. The conscientious British matron can -scarcely see without distress children of the more prosperous classes, -as young as five or six years, concluding a heavy evening meal at eight -or half-past, by eating entirely unripe peaches. She ceases to wonder -that infant mortality in Chile is said to be heavy. - -At Llay-Llay we took the easterly line, which ascends a valley full of -prosperous cultivation, till it reaches the little town of Los Andes, -where the Chilean state railway ends and the Trans-Andine service -begins. The two ends of this railway, the Chilean and Argentine, are in -the hands of different companies, which naturally adds much to the -difficulty of working the line. The trains run on alternate days in each -direction. There is a comfortable hotel at Los Andes where passengers -sleep the previous night in order to start the journey over the pass at -7 a.m.; much of the revenue of the line, however, is derived, not from -the passenger traffic, but from the cattle brought from the ranches of -the Argentine to Chile. The Chilean company is an English one, and the -manager, Mr. J. H. White, was good enough to arrange for us to travel -with the French minister, who happened to be quitting Santiago, in an -observation car at the end of the train; we had, therefore, both -pleasant company and most excellent views of the pass. The line winds up -a valley, which grows ever narrower between precipitous mountain-sides, -but as long as any green thing can find a footing the cultivation is -intense; where the incline is most steep a cog-wheel is employed. -Presently every trace of vegetation is left behind, and the route enters -on its grandest and wildest phase. Bleak rock masses tower to the sky on -every hand, and on their lower slopes rest masses of boulders, which -have descended at some earlier stage in the world’s history. When a -great height has been attained a little lake is reached, which, with its -colouring of gorgeous blue, resembles a perfect turquoise in a grey -setting. At 10,000 feet the highest point is gained and the train enters -the tunnel, which has been bored through the summit and which was opened -for traffic in 1909. It here leaves Chile and issues on the Argentine -side amidst similar but less striking scenery. The line now runs beneath -a series of shelters for protection from snow; they are of corrugated -iron and provided with huge doors which can be closed in case of drift. -The difficulties which arise in winter from such causes are very great, -but at the time of our visit the snow was as a rule confined to -occasional white patches near the summit of the mountains: the great -peak of Aconcagua, 23,000 feet high, which was now to be seen seventeen -miles to the northward, was principally remarkable for standing out as a -huge white mass among its greyer fellows. - -Inca Bridge is shortly reached, and here we left the train. It is -somewhat astonishing to find a large and fashionable hotel in these -surroundings; it is resorted to by the inhabitants of Buenos Aires when -in search of cooler air or desirous of partaking of the iron waters for -which the place is famous. We started at 8 o’clock next morning for the -return journey, which we made by riding with mules over the part of the -summit traversed by the tunnel, catching the train on the Chilean side. -It is a delightful and easy expedition, which can be thoroughly -recommended. The road runs at first parallel to the line, and when it -leaves the valley rises by gradual zigzags: our guide dispensed with all -corners by means of short cuts, but even so the ascent was not -strenuous. As we mounted higher and higher the corrugated iron railway -shelters looked like long, headless, grey caterpillars crawling along -the valley beneath. We had been warned to expect high wind, but it only -became unpleasant as we reached the actual summit, along which runs the -boundary between Chile and Argentina. The celebrated statue of the -Christ with uplifted hands blessing both countries, which commemorates -the arbitration treaty, stands on the main road a little to the east of -the track by which we crossed, which was, as usual, a short cut. - -The descent fully justified the impression which we had formed from the -train of the superior grandeur of the Chilean side; it must be even more -impressive when more snow is visible. We regained the railway in plenty -of time to see the Argentine train issue from the tunnel at 2 o’clock: -the travellers had left Buenos Aires on the morning of the previous day, -traversed the great Argentine plains, and spent the night _en route_. If -the train is delayed and arrives at the summit too late to be conveyed -down before dark, the Chilean officials refuse to take it over, as the -descent would be too dangerous; the passengers under such circumstances -have to spend the night in their carriages or find such hotel -accommodation as is possible. They were indeed, as we saw then, a -cosmopolitan crowd; the languages of France, Germany and Spain, also -English, of both the European and American variety, were all being -spoken in the crowded carriage in which we found places. Our nearest -neighbours were two young couples from the United States, evidently -making the journey for the first time; as we began the descent through -the very finest part of the scenery, they produced packs of cards and -became engrossed in a game of auction bridge. This is one of the things -which must be seen to be believed, but we were subsequently told it was -by no means a unique instance. We arrived at Los Andes, hot and dusty -after our early start and long day, to find ourselves carried off to the -manager’s house and most kindly welcomed by Mrs. and Miss White to a -refreshing tea amid the delight of a cool veranda and beautiful garden. - -Next day we left for Valparaiso, retracing our steps as far as the -junction of Llay-Llay, and then traversing the coast range. The huge bay -of Valparaiso, filled with shipping, is an imposing sight, and the town -climbs picturesquely up the mountains which surround it; the higher -parts are residential, and are reached by elevators, which are stationed -at intervals in the main street, which runs parallel to the harbour. On -the lower level there are well-built offices of leading firms, shipping -lines, and banks, which give a pleasant sensation of wide interest and -touch with the great world. Nevertheless, Valparaiso is scarcely as fine -a city architecturally as would be expected from its importance, nor is -the hotel accommodation worthy of a first-class port. Its inhabitants -cheerily endorse the opinion of a visitor who is reported to have said, -“There is one word only for Valparaiso, and that is ‘shabby.’” The city -has, however, profited through the rebuilding necessitated by the -earthquake, and the improvement of the harbour and other works were in -progress. The earthquake is still a very present memory; one resident -showed us the spot where one of his servants, escaping from the house at -the same time as himself, was killed by falling masonry. - -We called on Messrs. Williamson & Balfour; the firm have a financial -interest in Easter Island, and it was through their kind permission that -we were visiting it. We saw Mr. Hope-Simpson, one of the managing -partners; his power and expedition filled us with grateful awe. He sat -at the end of a telephone and appeared to put through in a few minutes -all our arrangements, whether with the Government, shipping, or docks, -which would have taken us many days of weary trudging about the city to -accomplish. I have often thought of that morning when confronted with -the appalling delays in public offices at home. We were introduced by -him to Señor Merlet, the chairman of the company for the Exploitation of -Easter Island, who are the direct lessees; he had been there himself and -was kind enough to give us all information in his power. - -We returned to Talcahuano by sea as the easiest method. There were a few -more days of preparation, and on Friday, February 13th, a date -subsequently noted by the superstitious, we were at length ready to -depart. As the last things were hurried on board it recalled our -departure from Falmouth: this time the deck had to accommodate paraffin -tins full of cement to make a dock for Mr. Ritchie’s tidal observations; -the passage had to find room for a table for survey purposes; rolls of -wire for excavation sieves were strapped beneath beams of the saloon; -while on the top of one was fastened a row of portentous jars, the -object of which was to hold the acid from the batteries when we left the -ship, as the electrical gear would be dismantled when the engineer came -on shore in his capacity of photographer. Two zinc baths for laundry -work in camp were looked at ruefully; there seemed to be no place for -them in heaven or earth, certainly not on _Mana_. But half our heavy -task of stowage was accomplished when we were out of Talcahuano Harbour, -the boat began to roll prodigiously, and the work was finished somehow -with astonishing rapidity. - -The next day found us all confined to our cabins, having, after our time -on land, temporarily lost our sea legs. By Sunday we began to feel -better, except Mr. Corry, who had a slight temperature and complained of -feeling unwell. When on Monday we arrived at Juan Fernandez, S. was down -with dysentery and a temperature of 103°, while Mr. Corry’s rose, to our -alarm, to 104°; Tuesday and Wednesday he was still in high fever, and by -Wednesday evening it was obviously useless to hope that his illness was -either influenza or malaria: there was nothing to be done but to act on -the third possibility and assume that it was typhoid fever; we therefore -turned the ship round and ran for Valparaiso. The prospect of the -passage back was hardly cheerful; I was out certainly for fresh -experiences, but not for the responsibility of nursing typhoid and -dysentery at the same time in a small boat in mid-Pacific. Each twelve -hours, however, was got through somehow, and better on the whole than -might have been expected. S. happily improved, and our poor geologist -himself was wonderfully cheerful and plucky; the sea was kind to us, and -we reached Valparaiso on Sunday morning with our invalid in a condition -which we felt did us credit. The difficulties of arriving in port with -illness on board proved to be not so great as I, at any rate, had -feared; the authorities were most kind in allowing us to haul down our -yellow flag almost at once, and taking us to a Government anchorage. The -harbour doctor was found to give the necessary authority for landing a -sick man, while arrangements were made with the hospital for a stretcher -and ambulance, and by the middle of the afternoon the patient was -comfortably on shore and in bed. The British hospital at Valparaiso is -new, reserved almost entirely for paying patients, and much surpasses in -comfort anything that we have either of us seen in England. Our -diagnosis unfortunately proved to be accurate, but we had the comfort of -knowing that the illness was well understood, as typhoid is, it -appeared, very common in South America, especially among new-comers. It -had been obviously contracted during the time at Talcahuano, when both -Mr. Corry and Mr. Ritchie had had frequent meals on shore. - -We waited in port for a week, communicating by cable with the friends of -our patient, and then held a council of war. The doctor gave it as his -opinion that there was no reason for delay, and it was obviously -impossible in such an illness to wait pending recovery. We had, however, -to face the position that there was a chance, although a slight one, of -other cases occurring on board; hospital records show a percentage of -about 3 per cent. of doctors and nurses infected by patients, and of -course our precautions had, through circumstances, been neither so -timely nor so thorough; with 2,000 miles of Pacific before us we felt -that we could take no risk. On the other hand, we had no wish for -further experiences in hanging about in South American ports, more -especially as smallpox was at this time raging at Valparaiso. We -therefore decided that we would run back again to Juan Fernandez, and -put in a few days in a sort of quarantine, before finally leaving for -our destination. - -The episode was most disappointing for all concerned; nevertheless our -prevailing feeling was one of thankfulness both for the sufferer and -ourselves, that, if the thing had to be, the illness had declared itself -while we were still within reach of help; the thought that we were -within measurable distance of having a case of typhoid on Easter Island -still makes us shudder. Hopes were cherished for a while that it might -be possible for our geologist to join us, either when _Mana_ returned or -by the Chilean naval training ship, which it was said might shortly -visit the island. Unfortunately the case proved not only severe, but was -prolonged by relapses, and on recovery the doctor forbade any such -roughing it. Mr. Corry therefore went back to England, from whence he -sent us a report on the geology of the Patagonian Channels, and such -information as he had gathered on the moot question of the submergence -of a Pacific continent. When war broke out he was among the first to -join His Majesty’s forces, and, alas! laid down his life for his country -in September 1915. When on our return to London my husband addressed the -Geological Society on the results of the Expedition, our thoughts -naturally turned with sadness to the one who, under other circumstances, -should have had that honour; I sat next to one of the older Fellows, and -he expressed his special sorrow at the scientific loss caused by the -early death of our colleague. “Corry was,” he said, “quite one of the -most promising of the younger men in the geological world.” - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 20.—JUAN FERNANDEZ: AN IMPRESSION. -] - - - - - CHAPTER VII - JUAN FERNANDEZ - - - Juan Fernandez was discovered by the navigator of that name on a - voyage from Peru to Chile in 1512. He rightly judged that the - southerly wind, which impeded all navigation in that direction, might - be adjacent only to the mainland; he therefore stood out to the west - in the hope of avoiding it, and so came across the island. His voyage - was so short that he was accused of witchcraft, and suffered - accordingly at the hands of the Inquisition; he was rescued from its - power by the Jesuits, to whom he ceded his rights in the newly - discovered land. The Order founded a colony there, but it proved a - failure. The abandoned island then became the resort of the - buccaneers, who preyed on Spanish commerce, and who used it to refit - their vessels, so that Spanish merchantmen had special orders to avoid - it. The privateers turned down goats to provide meat, on which the - Spaniards imported dogs to kill the goats; these achieved their - purpose on the low ground, but in the hills the goats held their own, - and the battle was therefore a drawn one. It was from an English - privateer that the Scotsman, Alexander Selkirk, was landed in 1704; - while some of the incidents in the life of Robinson Crusoe, such as - those connected with the goats, rats, and cats, were taken by Defoe - from the experiences of Selkirk, he is, if looked upon as the - prototype of the immortal hero, somewhat of a fraud. Not only is the - scene of Crusoe’s adventures laid in the West Indies, but Selkirk was - put on shore at his own request, with such stores as he required, - because he had an objection to the captain. He knew that sooner or - later the place would be visited by some ship coming to refit, and he - was only there altogether four years and four months. Selkirk reported - that he had slit the ears of some of the goats and let them go; a - number of these animals so marked and of “venerable aspect” were found - in 1741 by Anson’s sailors when they arrived on the island after their - passage of the Horn. - - Anson’s own ship, the _Centurion_, lay in Cumberland Bay for three - months, during which time two others of the squadron and the - victualler arrived at the rendezvous; the _Gloucester_ had a terrible - experience, being a month within sight of the island with her men - dying daily of scurvy, and unable through contrary winds to make the - anchorage. The crews of the three men-of-war had numbered on their - departure from England 961: only 335 of these were alive when they - left Fernandez. The state of affairs is less surprising considering - that Anson was obliged to take a large consignment of Chelsea - pensioners; the almost incredible age of some of the company comes out - incidentally in the statement that owing to scurvy the wound of one - man reopened which had been received in the battle of the Boyne fifty - years before.[10] The island was subsequently occupied by the Spanish, - and after the independence of Chile it was for a while used as a - convict settlement. - -Our time in “quarantine” at Juan Fernandez proved most enjoyable. We lay -in Cumberland Bay, which is the only anchorage; being on the north side, -it is sheltered from the south-east trade wind. The island is volcanic, -but the actual craters have broken down in course of ages, and their -form can no longer be traced, at least by the superficial observer; it -is now a mass of mountains of striking shapes, interspersed with wooded -ravines. We were able to see certain portions, mounted on ponies, but -much of the ground must be impossible to traverse. S. had a day’s -goat-stalking, but saw only two animals, and those were out of rifle -shot; the ponies, he said, scrambled about like cats, putting their fore -feet on the higher rocks and so dragging themselves up. The cattle which -roam over the island are not infrequently killed by falling down the -precipices. Our meat orders were executed by four men in a boat armed -with rifles, who went round by sea to some spot where the beasts were -likely to be found, and having shot one cut it up and brought it back. -The result was rather a plethora of Sunday beef even for a yacht’s -hungry crew. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 21. - - CUMBERLAND BAY, JUAN FERNANDEZ -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 22. - - SELKIRK’S CAVE, JUAN FERNANDEZ. -] - -A spot known as Selkirk’s Look-out (fig. 20B), on the dividing ridge of -the island, commands glorious views of the other side and the adjacent -island of Santa Clara; to gaze down from the wooded heights on to the -panorama of sea and land 2,000 feet below seemed like a glimpse into an -enchanted land. The tablet which marks the spot was put up by H.M.S. -_Topaze_ in 1868. We also visited a cave (D) which tradition points out -as Selkirk’s first residence, rowing in the boat round cliffs so steep -that a stone dropped from the top would fall more than 1,000 feet clear -into the sea; flights of pigeons wheeled out from the rocks, looked at -us, and went away again. The landing-place for the cave is somewhat -dangerous from the view of safety to the ship’s boats, being in a cove -whose beach is composed of big boulders. Once on shore the way lies -through a mountain-spur on the right, which has been worn by the force -of the waves into an imposing natural arch. It leads on to a little lawn -at the end of a valley running up into the mountains, down which flows a -small stream. In the hillside is the cave opening on to the meadow and -looking out to sea; the fireplace is visible, also a shelf cut in the -rock and niches to hold utensils. A prominent feature near the anchorage -are six or eight large caves (C), like big halls, the roofs of which are -adorned with drooping ferns, giving the effect of a beautiful -greenhouse: if originally natural they have probably been much enlarged. -They are said to have been used by the Spaniards for their prisoners. -Someone had been digging in the floor for treasure, under the assumption -that it had been left by pirates, presumably of an earlier day. - -Juan Fernandez has at present some 300 inhabitants; its industry is -lobster-canning. Lobsters are also taken alive in the tank of a -motor-schooner to Valparaiso, their value growing _en route_ from 2_d._ -each in the island to 3_s._ 9_d._ in the city. The schooner was also the -mail-carrier, and we took a mutual and friendly interest in one another, -as she and _Mana_ were about the same size. An old gentleman was in -charge of the island as governor, supported by four gendarmes; serious -offenders are exported to the mainland. The means of communication will -shortly be more rapid, as a house was already built to be used for -wireless installation (A). - -On March 9th, 1915, one year precisely from the date we left the island, -the German ship _Dresden_ arrived in Cumberland Bay. She had been driven -by want of coal out of her hiding-places in the southern channels and -sought refuge at Juan Fernandez. Here after five days she was found by -the _Glasgow_ with her flag still flying. She had many times broken -neutrality regulations, and the Chilean governor with his gendarmes -could scarcely, as will have been seen, be expected to intern her. The -_Glasgow_ fired, the _Dresden_ replied, tried to negotiate, and then -blew herself up. The crew had all been landed, and the officers were -conveyed to Chile with the mails and lobsters. Thus in the twentieth -century did Fernandez once again play its part as a place of resort in -time of war. - -After five days, no illness having appeared, we felt we might with -safety depart, and we started therefore on our 2,000–mile voyage, the -last stage of the outward journey. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - LIFE ON BOARD - - -This is perhaps as good a time as any to attempt to give a general -impression of life on board the yacht. In the first place it should be -realised that no hardship was involved, and that the sense of safety, so -far from being less, soon became infinitely greater than on a larger -ship. Not only does a small boat ride over the waves like a cork, but -there is the assurance that in case of accident everyone will know what -to do, and orders will be received without delay; there is plenty of -room in the boats, and the lowering away is known to be a comparatively -easy matter. On first going on board a big liner after being accustomed -to _Mana_, it felt an alarmingly dangerous means of transit. - -Existence on any ship has drawbacks in bad weather or extreme heat, but -on the yacht the arrangement by which the saloon and cabins were -connected with the deck-house made the circulation of air particularly -good. A sailing ship is also without the universal and unpleasant -draughts which are omnipresent in a steamer. In regard to the pleasure -of movement there is of course no comparison between the two. - -As to the food there cannot be the same variety where no refrigerators -are possible, and preserved and salt meats are apt to become monotonous, -but we always left port with as large a supply of fresh meat as -possible, and a few hens and sometimes a sheep. Preserved vegetables are -good, and potatoes could be carried throughout a voyage, also eggs, and -some fruit such as bananas. With but few exceptions, in very bad -weather, we had bread every day in the cabin and twice a week in the -forecastle. The crew much preferred tinned milk and declined fresh even -when it was available, and for the saloon the unsweetened variety was -quite pleasant. In all other respects the meals were such as would -obtain in any simple household at home. - -The routine of ship’s life turns on the watches, the alternate four -hours on and four hours off of the crew. Only in case of urgency is it -permissible to call the watch below, and hence any deck work, such as -altering or shortening sails, when it is not immediately imperative, -waits for the changes of the watch at 8, 12, and at 4, when all the crew -are available; those also are meal hours for the forecastle, with which -those of the cabin must not clash. The afternoon or dog watches are of -two hours only, from 4 to 6 and 6 to 8, in order to secure that the same -hours are not kept on two consecutive days by the same members of the -crew. It is a strange life from the point of view of the landsman, -especially in its bearing on the hours of sleep: eight hours on and -eight hours off duty would have seemed preferable, but it is the general -rule throughout the merchant service, and the men are accustomed to it. - -My own daily round began with ordinary domestic duties, which were -seldom accomplished before 11 o’clock. On Saturday the work took even -longer, as, in addition to the usual business of life, the weekly stores -were given out to the forecastle, and fresh boxes of provisions were -fetched up from below and decanted into tins for shelves; if weather -permitted the main hold was opened. Not only do a marvellous number of -small things need attention on a boat, but every action takes much -longer, owing to the constant movement of the vessel; each article, for -example, has to be put down so that it cannot be overthrown by a sudden -lurch. To my friends who were anxious as to what we did for exercise, I -replied that to give out stores in a rolling boat, in imminent danger of -having the whole contents of a shelf thrown at one’s head, was an -acrobatic performance which involved sufficient activity to last the -twenty-four hours. The same is also true in degree of every muscular -movement, so that the need was rarely felt for such artificial exercise -as deck promenades. This was as well, for as both the lifeboat and -cutter were carried in the waist of the ship when we were at sea, the -space available for “constitutionals” was prescribed. - -On certain passages when such a precaution seemed desirable, as for -instance in crossing the Doldrums, the supply of water was rationed; a -gallon per man per day is the allowance, of which the cook took the -morning quota, or half of the whole amount; in the afternoon everyone -produced a quart tin to be filled (about a fair-sized hot-water can), -and this was the private reserve for washing and drinking. It is -wonderful what can be done with it, and to use a full basin of water for -the washing of hands and then throw it away seems even to-day wicked -waste; the Stewardess was given a double supply, and found it more than -necessary. A new form of philanthropy came into play, when one member -might be overheard saying to another, “Can I let you have some of my -savings, I am really quite well off,” the savings being _aqua pura_. -When rain came every available utensil was utilised to catch it, and we -all suddenly became millionaires. It must be borne in mind that for many -things, such as bathing and scrubbing down, there was an unlimited -supply of salt water, and a “salt-water soap” proved a great success. - -When the household duties were over for the time being, the favourite -resort, if the weather was bad or very hot, was in the deck-house, -otherwise it was the after end or poop of the ship. This space, which -was that above the chart-room, and of course the place of the helm, was -raised as in old-fashioned ships, so that it was almost always dry even -if the waist of the ship was slightly awash. There was no need, nor -indeed space, for chairs; cushions on the deck made satisfactory seats -with the steering-gear casing for a back, or in stormy weather on the -top of the box, with a rope to cling to if necessary. The position had -to be changed of course from time to time if the vessel went over on the -other tack. - -A certain amount of writing and reading was accomplished, but not so -much as had been expected, for any considerable roll made them a strain -on the eyesight; a monumental piece of embroidery, which was to have -commemorated the voyage, was brought back practically untouched. Even -when no fixed occupation was possible the hours evaporated marvellously, -and for the first time on a voyage it was a pleasure to see the hands of -the clock put back. There was usually something to observe going on on -deck, and the speed at which the vessel was travelling was a perennial -source of interest: four miles an hour was fair, six was good, and -anything over eight was exciting. The speed was checked every watch by -means of the patent log, a mechanical screw which trailed behind the -vessel and whose evolutions registered its rapidity; its reckoning, -however, became more than once somewhat surprising, owing to the sharks -which mistook it for something good to eat, and its bright copper -surface was accordingly painted black. We once nearly secured a baby -shark, which could be seen clearly in the green water following the salt -meat which was being soaked by being towed overboard; the usual little -pilot-fish was in attendance. It took a bait, but got away with the hook -just as it was being hauled over the rail. This was almost the nearest -we came to success in fishing from the deck, in which we were uniformly -unfortunate, in spite of the fact that all on board were fishermen and -the crew were professionals. Passing bird and marine life were -frequently of interest. Above all the ever-changing ocean was an -immediate neighbour, always claiming attention, whether it bore a calm -blue surface, on which was traced the white line of the vessel’s course, -or resolved itself into a grey mass of tumbling billows, ever trying to -break and again falling back, leaving little white crests to mark their -vain attempt. It is presumably from this lazy frame of mind on the old -sailing vessels that the idea arose of a voyage as a cure for -overwrought nerves; the present mail steamer, with its hurly-burly of -strangers, noisy children, deck sports, and sweeps on the log may or may -not be a place of entertainment—it can hardly be considered one of rest. - -When the ship’s bell sounded eight bells, or noon, all the hands which -could be spared went below to their dinner, a wonderful stillness -reigned, and the deck was devoted to the solemn ceremonies of -navigation. Three figures, those of the Navigating Lieutenant, the -Sailing-master, and frequently that of S., might be seen balanced in -various attitudes, sextant in hand, endeavouring to shoot the sun. The -most exciting moment of the twenty-four hours was when the paper was -handed in which stated the exact position of the vessel, and the amount -she had done on her course in the last twenty-four hours. It was -naturally preluded by guesses as to what the result would be, those who -had kept themselves informed of the records of the patent log having an -undue advantage. - -The hours between luncheon and tea-time were largely devoted to slumber, -and the ship was kept as quiet as possible in order not to disturb the -men who had kept the middle watch the preceding night; their rest was -apparently much more affected by noise than is generally presumed to be -the case with non-brain workers. The same sound varies in its effect on -different persons; when it was necessary to use the engine the -Sailing-master complained that he could never sleep with that “unnatural -noise” going on. He altogether refused to allow that its regular beat -might be considered less distracting than the spasmodic jibing of the -ship, with its inevitable accompaniment of shouting of orders, stamping, -and hauling of ropes; those he maintained were absolutely “natural” -sounds. This recalls the attitude of the cook to cabbage day, which, -though beloved of the men, is, under certain conditions of the elements, -the reverse of pleasant to others on a small vessel, so much so that on -many yachts its recurrence is restricted by the ship’s articles; -_Mana’s_ cook was of the opinion that the smell was “rather nice”; he -evidently considered it a “natural” odour, which perhaps on the whole -was fortunate. - -The most pleasant time of all on deck was after tea; it was then cool, -with the almost daily spectacle of a magnificent sunset. Sometimes the -sinking globe went down amid a glory of clouds, which turned the sea -into a blaze of red and gold; at others its descent could be traced inch -by inch as the ball of fire sank below the horizon on its road to other -lands, leaving behind it a track of light across the still waters. One -evening in the Pacific the whole sky, east as well as west, was covered -with pink clouds, which found their counterpart in the water below. It -is at times such as sunset, when sky and sea form a joint panorama, that -the dweller on the water truly comes into his own. In ordinary -circumstances, contrary to what might be expected, the ocean appeals -less to the imagination when seen from shipboard than when viewed from -the land; without foreground or counterbalancing element its restless -infinity seems bewildering to the comprehension. But when at sea the sky -takes up the tale; then the waters below and the firmament above each -find in the other their perfect complement and expression. - -As soon as twilight reigned the gazer was recalled to the work-a-day -world; the navigator came up from the chart-room to take the ship’s -position by the evening star, the junior member of the watch clambered -up the fore-rigging to hang out the ship’s lights, and so night fell. - -One of the charms of a ship is that she never sleeps. In the hours of -darkness the ordinary habitation relapses to a state of coma, and to the -mental condition of the primitive jelly-fish; a vessel is always alive, -always intelligent. The larger the craft, the more the vital functions -are withdrawn from the common gaze; in a small yacht they are ever -visible as an inseparable part of the whole. In wakeful nights and from -hot cabins, it is only necessary to stumble up the companion to find the -cool freshness of deck and waking companionship. Silhouetted against the -sky, is the dark figure of the man at the wheel, somewhere in the gloom -is the officer in charge, and for’ard, though invisible, is the watch on -the look-out. The latest news of wind and progress are to be had for the -asking; it is full of mystery and yet reassuringly practical. - -The night _Mana_ crossed the Equator is unforgettable; the yacht, borne -along by the newly caught trade wind, raced through the water with the -very poetry of motion. The full moon made a silver pathway over the sea -and lit up not only the foam from the vessel’s bows, but also her white -sails, which were faintly reflected in the dark sea; the masts and -rigging stood out black against the deep blue sky, while over all was -the Southern Cross. What has been said of sunset from shipboard is still -more true of moonlight and starlight nights. Then ocean and sky become a -whole of marvellous beauty, and of majesty beyond human ken; always -suggesting questions, always refusing the answer. - -[Illustration: EASTER ISLAND PHYSICAL] - - - - - PART II - _EASTER ISLAND_ - - - OUTLINES OF COAST AND POSITION OF PRINCIPAL MOUNTAINS, MAINLY FROM - U.S.A. HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE CHART NO. 1119. - - POSITIONS OF CERTAIN LESSER MOUNTAINS, FROM EYE-SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR. - - HEIGHTS OF RANO AROI AND RANO KAO, FROM ADMIRALTY CHART NO. 1386. - - HEIGHT OF RANO RARAKU, AS DETERMINED BY LIEUT. D. R. RITCHIE, R.N. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 23. - - 29.3.1914. - - EASTER ISLAND, FROM THE SOUTH. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 24. - - EASTER ISLAND. - - Diagrammatic sketch from Rano Kao looking north and east. - - _Christmas Day, 1914._ -] - - - GLOSSARY - OF NATIVE WORDS FREQUENTLY EMPLOYED - - _Ahu_ A burial-place - _Aku-aku_ Spirit - _Ana_ Cave - _Ao_ The clan or clans celebrating bird rites - _Ao_ A ceremonial paddle - _Ariki_ Chief - _Atua_ God - - _Hanga_ Bay or foreshore - _Haré_ House - _Hau_ Hat - _Hopu_ Servant to fetch “First egg” - - _Iti_ Small - _Ika_ Fish - _Ivi-atua_ Person supernaturally gifted - - _Kai_ Eat - _Kaunga_ Function in honour of a mother - _Ko_ Definite article before proper nouns - _Kohau rongo-rongo_ Tablet with script - _Koro_ Function in honour of a father - - _Marama_ Light (In Tahitian = moon) - _Manu_ Bird - _Manu-tara_ The sacred bird (Sooty Tern) - _Máta_ Clan or group - _Mataa_ Obsidian spear-head - _Maunga_ Hill - _Miro_ Wood - _Moai_ An image - _Motu_ Islet - - _Nui_ Big - - _Paina_ A wooden figure, also the function connected with - it - _Péra_ Taboo for the dead - _Poki_ A child - - _Raa_ Sun - _Ranga_ Captivity - _Rano_ Crater lake, also the extinct volcano - _Rapa_ Small dancing-paddle - _Roa_ Long - _Rongo-rongo_ Sacred words - - _Také_ Ceremonial retreat - _Tangata_ Man - _Tangata-ika_ A slain man - _Tangata-manu_ The bird-man - _Tangata rongo-rongo_ Man learned in sacred words (generally the - script) - _Tatane_ Spirits (from “Satan”) - _Te_ Definite article before common noun - _Tea_ White - -Words such as _nui_, _iti_, and _roa_, when they have become in -themselves geographical names, are treated as proper nouns, otherwise as -adjectives. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - ARRIVAL AT EASTER ISLAND - - - 1722 Discovered by the Dutch Admiral Roggeveen. - - 1770 Visited by the Spaniards under Gonzalez. - - 1774 Visited by the English under Cook. - - 1786 Visited by the French under La Pérouse. Receives occasional - visits from passing ships. - - 1862 Dec. Peruvian slave-raiders carry off many inhabitants. - - 1864 Jan. Arrival of first missionary from Valparaiso. - - 1867 Commercial exploitation begins—arrival of M. Dutrou Bornier - (_cir._) from Tahiti. - - 1868 Visit of H.M.S. _Topaze_—removal of statues now in British - Museum. - - 1888 Visit of U.S.A. warship _Mohican_. - - 1888 Chilean Government takes possession. - - 1897 Mr. Merlet of Valparaiso leases the greater part of the - island, and subsequently forms a company for the - “Exploitation of Easter Island.” - - _For further historical details, see below_, pp. 200–10. - -Easter Island at last! It was in the misty dawn of Sunday, March 29th, -1914, that we first saw our destination, just one week in the year -earlier than the Easter Day it was sighted by Roggeveen and his company -of Dutchmen. We had been twenty days at sea since leaving Juan -Fernandez, giving a wide berth to the few dangerous rocks which -constitute Salo-y-Gomez and steering directly into the sunset. It was -thirteen months since we had left Southampton, out of which time we had -been 147 days under way, and here at last was our goal. As we approached -the southern coast we gazed in almost awed silence at the long grey mass -of land, broken into three great curves, and diversified by giant -molehills (fig. 23). The whole looked an alarmingly big land in which to -find hidden caves. The hush was broken by the despairing voice of -Bailey, the ship’s cook. “I don’t know how I am to make a fire on that -island, there is no wood!” He spoke the truth; not a vestige of timber -or even brushwood was to be seen. We swung round the western headland -with its group of islets and dropped anchor in Cook’s Bay. A few hundred -yards from the shore is the village of Hanga Roa, the native name for -Cook’s Bay. This is the only part of the island which is inhabited, the -two hundred and fifty natives, all that remain of the population, -having, been gathered together here in order to secure the safety of the -livestock, to which the rest of the island is devoted. The yacht was -soon surrounded by six or seven boat-loads of natives, clad in -nondescript European garments, but wearing a head-covering of native -straw, somewhat resembling in appearance the high hat of civilisation -(fig. 83). - -The Manager, Mr. Edmunds, shortly appeared, and to our relief, for we -had not been sure how he would view such an invasion, gave us a very -kind welcome. He is English, and was, to all intent, at the time of our -arrival, the only white man on the island; a French carpenter, who lived -at Hanga Roa with a native wife, being always included in the village -community. His house is at Mataveri (fig. 25), a spot about two miles to -the south of the village, surrounded by modern plantations which are -almost the only trees on the island; immediately behind it rises the -swelling mass of the volcano Rano Kao. The first meal on Easter Island, -taken here with Mr. Edmunds, remains a lasting memory. It was a large -plain room with uncarpeted floor, scrupulously orderly; a dinner-table, -a few chairs, and two small book-cases formed the whole furniture. The -door on to the veranda was open, for the night was hot, and the roar of -breakers could be heard on the beach; while near at hand conversation -was accompanied by a never-ceasing drone of mosquitoes. The light of the -unshaded lamp was reflected from the clean rough-dried cloth of the -table round which we sat, and lit up our host’s features, the keen brown -face of a man who had lived for some thirty years or more, most of it in -the open air and under a tropical sun. He was telling us of events which -one hardly thought existed outside magazines and books of adventure, but -doing it so quietly that, with closed eyes, it might have been fancied -that the entertainment was at some London restaurant, and we were still -at the stage of discussing the latest play. - -“This house,” said our host, “was built some fifty years ago by Bornier, -who was the first to exploit the island. He was murdered by the natives: -they seized the moment when he was descending from a ladder; one spoke -to him and another struck him down. They buried him on the hillock near -the cliff just outside the plantation: you will see his grave, when the -grass is not so long; it is marked by a circle of stones. A French -warship arriving almost immediately afterwards, they explained that he -had been killed by a fall from his horse, and this is the version still -given in some of the accounts of the island, but murder will always out. -After that another manager had trouble: it was over sheep-stealing. -There were three or four white men here at the time, and they all rode -down to the village to teach the natives a lesson, but the ponies turned -restive at the sound of gun-fire, and the rifles themselves were -defective, so the boot was on the other foot, and they had to retreat up -here followed by the mob; for months they lived in what was practically -a state of siege, with one man always on guard for fear of attack. - -“My latest guests were a crew of shipwrecked mariners, Americans, who -landed on the island last June. A fortnight earlier the barometer here -had been extraordinarily low, but we did not get much wind; further to -the south, however, the gale was terrific, and the _El Dorado_ was in -the midst of it. The captain, who had been a whaler in his day, said -that he had never seen anything approaching it, the sea was simply a -seething mass of crested waves. The ship was a schooner, trading between -Oregon and a Chilean port; she was a long way from land, as sailing -vessels make a big semicircle to get the best wind. She had a deck load -of timber, 15 feet high, which of course shifted in such a sea; she -sprang leaks in every direction, and it was obvious that she must soon -break up. The crew took to their boat, not that they had much hope of -saving their lives, but simply because there was nothing else to be -done. They got some tins of milk and soup on board, and a box of -biscuits, and a cask holding perhaps twenty gallons of water. The -captain managed to secure his sextant, but when he went back for his -chronometers, the chart-room was too deep in water for him to be able to -reach them. They saw by the chart that the nearest land was this island: -it was seven hundred miles off, and as they had no chronometer, and -could take no risks, they would have to go north first in order to get -their latitude, which would add on another two hundred. There was -nothing for it, however, but to do the best they could; they had more -gales too, and only saved the boat from being swamped by making a -sea-anchor of their blankets. The spray of course kept washing over -them, and as the boat was only 20 feet long and there were eleven of -them, there was no room for them to lie down. Each day they had between -them a tin of the soup and one of milk, and an allowance of water, but -the sea got into the water-cask and made it brackish, and before the end -their sufferings from thirst were so great that one or two of them -attempted to drink salt water; the mate stopped that by saying that he -would shoot the first man who did it. - -“After nine days they sighted this island, but then luck was against -them, for the wind changed, and it was forty-eight hours, after they saw -the coast, before they were able to beach the boat. They got on shore at -the other end of the island, which is uninhabited. They were pretty much -at the last stage of exhaustion, and their skin was in a terrible -condition with salt water; their feet especially were so bad that they -could hardly walk. One of them fell down again and again, but struggled -on saying, ‘I won’t give up, I won’t give up.’ At last my man, who looks -after the cattle over there, saw them and brought me word. The officers -were put up here, you must really forgive the limitations of my -wardrobe, for I had to give away nearly everything that I had in order -to clothe them. - -“The most curious part of the whole business was that after they had -been here three or four months the captain took to the boat again. I -believe that he was buying his house at home on the instalment plan, and -that if he did not get in the last payment by the end of the year the -whole would be forfeited; anyway, as soon as the fine weather came on he -had out the boat and patched her up. He got two of his men to go with -him. I lent him a watch for navigation purposes, and we did all we could -for him in the way of food; there were no matches on the island, so he -learnt how to make fire with two pieces of wood native fashion. Anyway, -off he started last October for Mangareva, sixteen hundred miles from -here; he must have got there safely, for you brought me an answer to a -letter that I gave him to post.[11] But,” and here for the first time -the eyes of our host grew animated, and he raised his voice slightly, -“it is maddening to think of that cargo drifting about in the Pacific. I -do trust that next time a ship breaks up with a deck-load of timber, she -will have at least the commonsense to do so near Easter Island.” Then, -after a pause, “I wish you no ill, but the yacht would make a splendid -wreck.” - -We kept _Mana_ for nearly two months while learning our new -surroundings. Not only were we anxious to find if we had the necessary -camp gear and stores, but we were engaged in agonised endeavours to -foresee the details of excavation and research, in case essential tools -or equipment had been forgotten, which the yacht could fetch from Chile. -The time, however, arrived when she must go. Mr. Ritchie was now on -shore with us for survey work, but as his service with the Expedition -was limited, the vessel had to return in time to take him back to -civilisation by the correct date. Mr. Gillam had from this time sole -charge of the navigation of _Mana_. Instructions for him had to be -written, and correspondence grappled with; business letters, epistles -for friends, and reports to Societies were hurriedly dealt with; and an -article which had been promised to the _Spectator_, “First Impressions -of Easter Island,” was written in my tent, by the light of a -hurricane-lamp, during the small hours of more than one morning. - -When the mail-bag was finally sealed, there was great difficulty in -getting hold of _Mana_. The position of a skipper of a boat off Easter -Island, unless she has strong steam power, is not a happy one. Mr. -Gillam used to lie in his berth at Cook’s Bay hearing the waves break on -the jagged reaches of lava, and the longer he listened the less he liked -it. The instant that the wind shows signs of going to the west, a ship -must clear out. It is reported that on one occasion there were some -anxious moments on board: a sudden change of wind and tide were setting -the yacht steadily on the rocks; the engineer was below in the -engine-room, and Mr. Gillam shouted to him down the hatchway, “If you -can’t make that motor of yours go round in three minutes, you will know -whether there is a God or not.” - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 25. - - MANAGER’S HOUSE, MATAVERI. - - Supported by foundation-stones of old native houses. -] - -To get in touch with the yacht was like a game of hide-and-seek, for -often by the time those on shore arrived at one side of the island, the -wind had shifted, and she had run round to the other. She was on the -north coast when we managed to catch her, and to get back to Mataveri -necessitated retracing our steps, as will be seen from the map, over the -high central ground of the island, and down on the other side; the track -was rough, and the ride would ordinarily take from two to three hours. -It was 4 p.m. before all work was done on board, the good-byes said, and -we were put on shore; the sandy cove, the horses and men, with _Mana_ in -the offing, formed a delightful picture in the evening light, but there -the charms of the situation ended. There was only one pack-horse, and a -formidable body of last collections sat looking at us in a pile on the -grass. In addition we had not, in the general pressure, sufficiently -taken into account that we were bringing off the engineer, now to be -turned into photographer; there he was, and not he alone but his goods -and bedding. The sun set at five o’clock, and it would be dark at -half-past five; it seemed hopeless to get back that night. - -A neighbouring cave was first investigated as a possible abiding-place, -but proved full of undesirable inhabitants, so everyone set to work and -the amount stowed on that wretched pack-horse was wonderful. Then each -attendant was slung round with some remaining object, S. took the -additional member on his pony, and off we set. Before we got to the -highest point all daylight had gone, and there was only just enough -starlight to keep to the narrow track by each man following a dim vision -of the one immediately in front. My own beast had been chosen as “so -safe” that it was most difficult to keep him up with the others, let -alone on his four legs. The pack-horse, too, began pointing out that he -was not enjoying the journey; the load was readjusted more than once, -but when we were on the down grade again he came to a full stop and we -all dismounted. There in the creepy darkness we had a most weird picnic; -not far off was a burial-place, with a row of fallen statues, while the -only light save that of the stars was the striking of an occasional -match. S. produced a tin of meat, which he had brought from the yacht, -and which was most acceptable, as he and I had had no substantial food, -save a divided tin of sardines, since breakfast at 7 o’clock. He shared -it out between the party amid cries from our retainers of “Good food, -good Pappa,” for we were, as in East Africa, known as “Pappa” and -“Mam-ma” to a large and promising family. By some inducement the -pack-horse was then deluded into proceeding, and we finally reached -Mataveri at nine o’clock, relieved to find we had not been given up and -that supper awaited us. So did we cut our last link with civilisation, -and were left in mid-Pacific with statues and natives. - -The next part of this story deals with the island, the conditions of -life on it, and our experience during the sixteen months we were to -spend there. Such scientific work as the Expedition was able to -accomplish will be recounted later. - - - - - CHAPTER X - CONDITIONS OF LIFE ON THE ISLAND - - -Easter is a volcanic land, and in the earliest days of the world’s -history great lights and flowing lava must have gleamed across the -expanse of water, then gradually lessened and died away, leaving their -work to be moulded by wind and tide. The island, as the forces of nature -have thus made it, is triangular in shape and curiously symmetrical. The -length of the base—that is, of the south, or strictly speaking -south-east, coast—is about thirteen miles, and the greatest width about -seven miles; the circumference, roughly speaking, is thirty-four miles. -The apex, which is the highest ground, is a volcano over 1,700 feet in -height whose summit is formed of a cluster of small craters; the eastern -and western angles are each composed of a large extinct volcano. The -place is geologically young, and the mountains, in contrast to those of -Juan Fernandez, still preserve their original rounded shape; there are -no ravines, no wooded precipices, no inaccessible heights, but round the -whole coast erosion is at work, with the result that, while on the land -side the slopes of all these three mountains are gradual, on the sea -side—that is, in portions of the north, east, and west coasts -respectively—they have been worn back by the power of the waves into -imposing cliffs. In the lower districts the sheets of lava form a shore -line of some 50 to 100 feet in height, and extend into the sea in black, -broken ridges. Against this coast of alternating high cliffs and jagged -rocks the swell of the Pacific is always dashing, and in a high wind -clouds of white spray first hide, and then reveal, the inhospitable -shore. - -The comparatively level and low-lying regions of the island, namely, -those which are not covered by the three great volcanoes, consist of the -south coast, and of two tracts which run across the island on either -side. The high ground which forms the apex of the triangle is thus -divided from that of the eastern and western angles respectively. -Another level strip, some quarter of a mile wide at its broadest, lies -in an elevated and romantic position around the northern apex between -the highest portion of the central mountain and the precipitous -sea-cliff. This distribution of the level ground is, as will be later -seen, reflected in the disposition of the various clans which formerly -spread over the island (fig. 91). - -In addition to the three large mountains, there are smaller elevations -some hundreds of feet in height, generally in the form of cones with -craters distinctly visible. These lesser volcanoes, with one or two -exceptions, may be roughly said to lie in two lines which radiate -irregularly from the northern eminence, spreading out from it like -fingers and pointing respectively to the east and west ends of the south -coast. The hills, which may be termed the root of the fingers, form part -of the high ground, while those equivalent to the tips rise out of the -low-lying portion, where the east and west transverse belts join the -southern plain. - -In some instances the crater of a mountain has become a lake: when this -is the case the term “rano” is prefixed to its name. It is quaintly told -that one visitor, considering the volcanic origin, hazarded the -suggestion that “rano” was equivalent to fire, to which the natives -indignantly replied that, on the contrary, it meant water. These lakes -are almost the only water-supply of the island: there is a good -rainfall, but no single running stream. Owing to the porous nature of -the ground the water sinks beneath the surface, sometimes forming -underground channels from which it flows into the sea below high-water -mark: thus giving rise to the curious statement of early voyagers that -the natives were able to drink salt water[12] (fig. 124). The lower -portions of the island are composed of sheets of lava, in process of -disintegration, across which walking is almost impossible and riding a -very slow process; the surface of the mountains and hills is smoother, -being volcanic ash. The whole is covered with grass, which sprouts up -between the masses of lava and gives the hills a delightful down-like -appearance. Forest growth has probably never consisted of more than -brushwood and shrubs, and to-day even those have disappeared. - -The best panorama of the island is obtained from the western volcano, by -name Rano Kao (fig. 24). Below on the left lies Cook’s Bay, with -Mataveri and the village of Hanga Roa, and beyond them the high bleak -central ground of the island, generally known by the name of one of its -craters, Rano Aroi. On the right is the plain of the south coast, -culminating in the eastern headland, a district the greater part of -which is known as Poike. Just in front of the headland can be seen the -two peaks of the mountain of Rano Raraku, from which the statues were -hewn and which is the most interesting place in the island; while on a -clear day there can be obtained a glimpse of the northern coast and the -sea beyond. - -Such is Easter Island. It bears no resemblance to the ideal lotus-eating -lands of the Pacific; rather, with its bleak grass-grown surface, its -wild rocks and restless ocean, it recalls some of the Scilly Isles or -the coast of Cornwall. It is not a beautiful country nor even a striking -one, but it has a fascination of its own. All portions of it are -accessible; from every part are seen marvellous views of rolling -country; everywhere is the wind of heaven; around and above all are -boundless sea and sky, infinite space and a great silence. The dweller -there is ever listening for he knows not what, feeling unconsciously -that he is in the antechamber to something yet more vast which is just -beyond his ken. - -The objects of antiquarian interest proved to be widely scattered. The -statues have originally stood on a particular kind of burial-place, -generally known as a “terrace” or “platform.” These terraces surround -the whole coast, and each one had of course to be studied. For those at -the western end, and for certain stone remains on the volcano of Rano -Kao, Mataveri was a most convenient centre; but the distance from there -to the places of interest at the other end of the island was unduly -great. We therefore decided to avail ourselves of the offer of the -Manager and remain for a while at his establishment, where _Mana_ left -us, and later move camp. Survey and photography had of course to keep -pace with research, and a general look-out to be kept for any caves -which it might pay to explore. There was also the question of getting -into touch with the natives and finding if any lore existed which threw -light on the antiquities: this last, from what we had been told in -England, was not a very hopeful quest; anyway, it seemed wiser to defer -it for the moment till we knew something of the language and were more -at home in our surroundings. - -The Manager’s house has six rooms, three of which are at the front, and -three, having a separate entrance, at the back. These last, with a most -useful attic, Mr. Edmunds kindly put at our disposal, and we -supplemented the accommodation with tents pitched in the grounds. My own -tent, for the sake of quietness, was on the western side of the -plantation, about a hundred yards from the house. S. used to escort me -down at night, with a camp lantern, by a little track through the -eucalyptus trees, see that all was well, put down the light, and leave -me with the mystery of the island. The site was one dedicated to -cannibal feasts; immediately behind was the hillock with the grave of -the murdered manager; while not far away the waves thundered against the -cliffs, making in stormy weather the ground tremble as if with an -earthquake. In the morning came the glory of the waking, of being at -once _tête à tête_ with air, sunshine, and dewy grass: to those who have -not known the wonder of these things, it cannot be explained; to those -who have experienced it, no words are needed. - -Tent life is not all “beer and skittles”; Easter is too windy for an -ideal camping-ground; my pitch was sheltered, but even so it seemed at -times as if the structure would be carried away bodily. To preserve a -tent in place taut ropes are needed, but if rain descends these shrink, -and either burst with the strain or tear the pegs out of the ground: the -conscientious dweller under canvas will, under these conditions, arise -from his warm bed, and in the pouring deluge race round the tent, -slacking off the said ropes. Mine, like the stripes of St. Paul, -numbered forty save one. Before the end we were able to make different -arrangements. - -When we had been some three and a half months at Mataveri—that is, in -the middle of July 1914—we felt that the time had come to begin work on -the other end of the island. It must be remembered that our original -idea was that six months would probably suffice for the whole inquiry, -and in any case we had no intention of staying beyond the period which -would allow of _Mana’s_ making a second trip to Chile. - -We therefore established ourselves at Rano Raraku as the most convenient -site. It takes about two hours to ride there from Mataveri. The road is -made, like all those in the island, by simply clearing away the stones, -but it is wide enough to permit the passage of a wagon. It leads first -across the island by the western transverse plain till, at Vaihu, the -sea is reached, then runs along the south coast with its low rocks and -continuous line of breaking surf. Every step of this part of the way is -marked, for those who have eyes to see, with ruined burial-places; many -of them strewn with the remains of the statues which have once been -erected upon them. As Raraku is approached, there lie by the roadside -isolated figures of portentous size, abandoned, it has been thought, in -the act of removal from the quarries to the terraces. We grew to know by -heart this road, which led from what we termed our “town establishment,” -to our “country house,” and have ridden it, together or separately, at -all hours and in every weather. We were not infrequently detained by -business, at one end or the other, till too late to save the daylight, -and after dark it was not easy to keep to the track, even with the help -afforded by the sound of the breakers. Our ponies gave us no assistance -in the difficulty, for as foals they had run wild with their mothers, -and were, therefore, equally happy wandering off among the fields of -broken lava. As the “twilight of the dove” gradually changed to the -“twilight of the raven,” and the huge figures loomed larger than ever in -the gathering gloom, it seemed that, if ever the spirits of the departed -revisit their ancient haunts, the ghosts of the old image-makers must be -all abroad about their works and places of burial. - -Rano Raraku (fig. 45) stands by itself where the flat ground of the -southern coast meets the eastern transverse plain, and forms the -isolated tip of those lesser volcanoes which have been described as the -eastern finger. About a mile to the eastward rises the high ground of -Poike. Raraku scarcely deserves the name of mountain, being little more -than a basin containing a crater lake; yet it curiously dominates the -scene. There will be much to tell of it hereafter; for the moment -suffice it to say that a large number of statues stand on its lower -slopes, while above are the quarries from which, with very few -exceptions, all the figures in the island have been obtained. The side -nearest the sea is a sheer cliff, the extremities of which form the two -peaks which are so characteristic of the mountain. Beneath the cliff is -a flow of lava; here the French carpenter had managed to put up two iron -huts which had been sent ahead from England; one was a store, the other -formed my one-roomed villa residence. Their erection was somewhat of a -triumph, as all the bolts had been stolen on the way. The rest of the -camp, the tent for meals, that of S., and those for the servants, were -pitched for protection about 50 feet lower down, on the further side of -the lava flow; but even here, owing to the tearing wind which howled -round the mountain, their canvas flies had to be tied back and walls -erected around them (fig. 73). On every hand were the remains of native -life prior to the removal of the inhabitants to Hanga Roa, the most -welcome being a single well-grown tree of the sort known in tropical -countries as the “umbrella tree.” It was the only example of its kind on -the island, and was of an age that suggested it had been planted by the -early missionaries. - -The whole situation was not only one of striking beauty, but brought -with it an indescribable sense of solemnity. Immediately above the camp -towered the majestic cliff of Raraku, near at hand were its mysterious -quarries and still erect statues; on the coast below us, quiet and -still, lay the overturned images of the great platform of Tongariki, one -fragment of which alone remains on its base, as a silent witness to the -glory which has departed. The scene was most wonderful of all when the -full moon made a track of light over the sea, against which the black -mass of the terrace and the outline of the standing fragment were -sharply defined; while the white beams turned the waving grass into -shimmering silver and lit up every crevice in the mountain above. - -Easter Island lies in the sub-tropics, and, if the question of wind be -eliminated, the climate is as near perfection as possible in this world. -There may be, especially in the winter months, a spell of three or four -days of rain, or a wind from the Antarctic, when woollen clothes are -welcome; and occasionally, in the summer, it is preferable to be indoors -during the noontide hours; but with these exceptions, it is one of those -rare localities where it is possible to be warm the whole year round, -and yet to utilise to the full the hours of daylight. There are, as -might be expected, too many insects; cockroaches abound, out of doors -and under statues as well as in houses and tents; when things were very -bad they might even be seen on the dinner-table. I was calmly told, with -masculine insensibility, that “if I had not naturally a taste for such -things, the sooner that I acquired it the better”; the only consolation -was that they were of a handsome red variety and not shiny black. Flies -also are numerous; I have counted two hundred in a bowl of soapy water, -and six or eight at once on my hand while busy writing; “their tameness -was shocking to me.” Mosquitoes, which have been imported, varied in -their attentions; when they were at their worst it was necessary to wear -head-gear and dine in gloves. There is said to be no fever in the -islands; we had two or three attacks, but it may have been “original -sin.” Once we had a plague of little white moths, and occasionally, for -a short while, visitations of a small flying beetle, whose instinct -seemed to be to crawl into everything, making it safer to stuff one’s -ears with cotton-wool. On these occasions dinner had to be put earlier, -owing to Bailey’s pathetic complaint that, with a lamp burning in the -kitchen, business was rendered impossible from the crowds which -committed suicide in the soup. - -The lack of firewood was met by using oil; when, later, we had to -economise in that commodity, it was supplemented by collecting dried -manure. The natives use brushwood or anything they can pick up; their -manner of cooking, which is after Polynesian fashion by heating stones -placed in the earth, requires very little fuel. The water difficulty was -ever present. At the Mataveri establishment the supply collected from -the roof was generally sufficient; we arrived, however, in a dry spell, -and one morning the request for water was met by the information that -the “tank was empty”; even _Mana_, one felt, had never fallen quite so -low. It was consoling to be informed that “clothes could always be -washed in the crater,” a climb of 1,300 feet. At our Raraku camp all the -water, except that which could be collected on the roof of a tin hut, -had to be fetched from the crater lake; this rendered us tiresomely -dependent on getting native labour. The rain-clouds are often -intercepted by the high grounds at the south-western end of the island, -in a manner which is most tantalising to the dweller in the eastern, if -supplies happen to be low. - -The ranch supported at this time about 12,000 sheep, 2,000 head of -cattle, and other livestock; we were generously supplied with milk and -could purchase any quantity of mutton: beef was not often killed for so -small a party. Chickens of a lean species were sometimes available. -_Mana_ later brought Mr. Edmunds some turkeys which did well. Bananas -were useful, when in season. Fig-trees thrive, and we had a lavish and -most acceptable supply at Raraku of this fruit from those planted by the -natives prior to their removal to Hanga Roa. Vegetables were scarce, as -the Manager took no interest in his garden, owing to the depredations of -the natives, and we had no time for their cultivation. Groceries had, of -course, been brought with us, and on our arrival they were deposited in -the locked and strongly built wool-shed at Hanga Piko, a small boat -landing between Hanga Roa and Mataveri. Housekeeping was a much easier -business than on the yacht, but S.’s share of practical work was -considerably greater, for, beside the initial camp-pitching, all tent or -kitchen gear that went wrong and every lamp which would not burn made -demands on his time. In his department also came the stud; we had been -kindly provided with some of the island ponies, of which there are about -five hundred; as export is impossible, the value of each animal is put -at 5s. When not in use the steeds were put out to graze as best they -might; and in addition to the care of the saddlery, every tethering rope -which chafed through against the stones was brought for repair to the -head of the Expedition. In judging of scientific work under such -conditions, it must always be borne in mind how many hours and days are -thus inevitably consumed in practical labour. - -There was, luckily for us, the one skilled workman on the island, the -French carpenter who had made his way from New Caledonia; his name was -Vincent, but he answered to the appellation of “Varta” (the figure in -fig. 37); the difficulty was to obtain his services as he was constantly -employed on the estate. One of our few retainers, Mahanga (fig. 89), was -not a native of Easter, but had come from the Paumotu Islands; he served -faithfully for many months, the goal in view being the possession of one -of the tin huts, which passed into his keeping when we left the island. -It was related that having been at one time afflicted with some skin -disease, he had taken the heroic remedy of plunging into a vat in which -the sheep were being dipped, with painful but beneficial results. The -native girls make quite tolerable servants, and I was fortunate in never -being without one (fig. 29). They take a keen interest in their own -clothes and some of them are surprisingly good needlewomen; in some of -the houses there are even sewing-machines. But to obtain labour, whether -for camp work or excavation, was always difficult, and for a while -circumstances rendered it almost impossible. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - A NATIVE RISING - - -It was stated a little while back that we were left on the island with -statues and natives. The statues remained quiescent, the natives did -not. The inhabitants, or Kanakas to give them their usual name[13] (fig. -26), are on the whole a handsome race, though their voices, particularly -those of the women, are very harsh. They are fortunate also in -possessing attractive manners, from which they get the full benefit in -their intercourse with passing ships. The older people we found always -kind and amiable, but the younger men have a high opinion of their own -merits, and are often difficult to deal with. Their general morality, -using the word in its limited sense, is, in common with that of all -Polynesians, of a particularly low order; it is true that the Europeans -with whom they have come into contact did not initiate this condition, -but they have seldom done anything to show that that of their own lands -is in any way higher; a fact which should be remembered when complaint -is made that Kanakas “have no respect for white men.” The native love of -accuracy also leaves a good deal to be desired, and their lies are -astonishingly fluent; but lack of truthfulness is scarcely confined to -Kanakas. In common with all residents in the South Seas, or indeed -elsewhere, they exert themselves no more than is necessary to supply -their wants; unfortunately these, save in the matter of clothes, have -scarcely increased since pre-Christian days. The food-supply of sweet -potatoes and bananas, with a few pigs and fowls, can be obtained with a -minimum of labour; the keeping of sheep and cattle is not permitted by -the Company, owing to the impossibility of discovering or tracing theft. -Their old huts, which were made with sticks and grass, have been -replaced by small houses of wood or stone, but, except in a few cases, -there is no furniture, and the inhabitants continue to sleep on the -floor, in company with hens, which freely run in and out (fig. 27). -There seems no desire to improve their condition; “Kanakas no like work, -Kanakas like sit in house,” was the ingenuous reply given by one of -them, when my husband pointed out the good results which would accrue -from planting some trees in village territory. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 26. - - A GROUP OF EASTER ISLANDERS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH DOOR. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 27. - - HANGA ROA VILLAGE. - - Native houses and church. Rano Kao in the distance. -] - -Perhaps the greatest barrier to native progress lies in the absence of -security of property; they steal freely from one another, as well as -from white men, so that all individual effort is rendered nugatory. At -the same time they are curiously lacking in pugnacity, and if detected -in theft quietly desist or return the property: as a typical instance -our cook once met a man wearing one of his, Bailey’s, ties; he looked -steadily at him, the man’s hand went up, he took off the tie and handed -it back. Their own native organisation was peculiarly lax, no kind of -justice being administered, and they have never had for any duration the -civilising effect of religious instruction or civil power. The -missionaries were replaced by a native lay reader; there is a large -church where services are regularly held, which form important functions -for the display of best clothes, but it is difficult to say how much -they convey to the worshippers. The older ones, at any rate, have two -names, both a native and Christian appellation. Mr. Edmunds had, on our -arrival, the status of a Chilean official, and was both just and kind in -his dealings, but he had no means of enforcing order; the two policemen -who had been at one time on the island had been withdrawn owing to their -own bad conduct. The marvel is not that the Kanakas are troublesome, but -that they are as good as they are. - -We had heard in Chile rumours of native unrest, owing to the action of a -white man, who had been for a short while on the island, and who had -done his best to undermine the authority of the Manager. We had before -long unpleasant evidence that they were out of hand. The wool-shed, -which contained our minutely calculated stores, was broken into, and a -quantity of things stolen, the most lamented being three-fourths of the -stock of soap; no redress or punishment was possible. On June 30th, -while we were still at the Manager’s, a curious development began which -turned the history of the next five weeks into a Gilbertian opera—a -play, however, with an undercurrent of reality which made the time the -most anxious in the story of the Expedition. On that date a -semi-crippled old woman, named Angata (fig. 30), came up to the -Manager’s house accompanied by two men, and informed him that she had -had a dream from God, according to which M. Merlet, the chairman of the -Company, was “no more,” and the island belonged to the Kanakas, who were -to take the cattle and have a feast the following day.[14] Our party -also was to be laid under contribution, which, it later transpired, was -to take the form of my clothes. Later in the day the following -declaration of war was formally handed in to Mr. Edmunds, written in -Spanish as spoken on the island: - - “_June 30th, 1914._ - - “SENIOR EMA, MATAVERI, - - “Now I declare to you, by and by we declare to you, which is the word - we speak to-day, but we desire to take all the animals in the camp and - all our possessions in your hands, now, for you know that all the - animals and farm in the camp belong to us, our Bishop Tepano gave to - us originally. He gave it to us in truth and justice. There is another - thing, the few animals which are in front of you,[15] are for you to - eat. There is also another thing, to-morrow we are going out into the - camp to fetch some animals for a banquet. God for us, His truth and - justice. There is also another business, but we did not receive who - gave the animals to Merlet also who gave the earth to Merlet because - it is a big robbery. They took this possession of ours, and they gave - nothing for the earth, money or goods or anything else. They were - never given to them. Now you know all that is necessary. - - “Your friend, - “DANIEL ANTONIO, - “_Hangaroa_.” - -If some of the arguments are probably without foundation, as, for -example, that regarding native rights in the cattle, they were at least, -as will be seen, of the same kind which have inspired risings in many -lands and all ages. The delivery of the document was immediately -followed by action. The Kanakas went into “the camp,” eluding Mr. -Edmunds, who had gone in another direction, and secured some ten head of -cattle. The smoke from many fires was shortly to be seen ascending from -the village, and one of our party was shown a beast which was to be -offered to us in place of our stolen property, “God” having apparently -reversed his message on the subject of our contribution to the new -republic. The next few days there was little more news “from the front,” -save that Angata, the old woman, had had another dream, in which God had -informed her that “He was very pleased that the Kanakas had eaten the -meat and they were to eat some more.” A week later, riding home through -the village, I saw a group on the green engaged in dressing a girl’s -hair; on inquiry it was found that she was to be married next day. -Congratulations had hardly been expressed, when another young woman was -pointed out who was also to change her state at the same time, and -another and another, till the prospective brides totalled five in all. -The idea, it seemed, was prevalent, that if punishment was subsequently -inflicted for the raids, it was the single men who would be taken to -Chile, hence this rush into matrimony, undeterred by the fact that Mr. -Edmunds, in his capacity as Chilean official, had declined for the -present to perform the civil part of the ceremony. The wedding feast -was, of course, to be furnished by the sheep of the Company. -Unfortunately, under such circumstances, it seemed hardly loyal to our -host to attend the multiple wedding, which was duly solemnised in the -church next day. - -Meanwhile, the white residents had, of course, been considering their -position, and in orthodox fashion, counting the number on which they -could rely in an emergency. Beside Mr. Edmunds there were at this time -in our party, myself and five men: S., Mr. Ritchie, the photographer, -the cook, and a boy from Juan Fernandez. There were about half a dozen -more or less reliable Kanakas, including the native Overseer and the -village Headman, but everyone else was involved. Mr. Edmunds’s position -as custodian of the livestock was unenviable, and ours was not much more -pleasant. After much thought we strongly dissuaded him from taking any -action; if he interfered, there would be an affray. The natives were -said to have a rifle and some pistols; it was doubtful how many would go -off, but there would anyway be stone-throwing: if he was then forced to -shoot, the only deterrent possible, he would have to continue till -resistance was entirely cowed, or all our lives would remain in danger. -His personal safety was however another matter, and our party therefore -accompanied him in an attempt to frustrate a raid, but this obviously -could not be continued if our work was to be accomplished. We were -strengthened in adopting a waiting policy by the fact that, most -fortunately, a fortnight earlier a passing vessel had left us -newspapers; they confirmed the news heard in Chile that the naval -training ship, the _Jeneral Baquedano_, whose visits occurred at -intervals of anything from two to five years, was shortly leaving for -Easter Island. We could only hope her arrival would be soon. - -S. suggested that, being an unofficial person, he might meanwhile try -the effect of negotiations; for the raids were continuing, and the head -of cattle killed on one day had risen to fifty-six, including females -and young. He therefore went down to the village, assembled the natives, -and offered the company a present of two bullocks a week, if they would -refrain from taking any more stock till the arrival of the warship, when -the whole matter could be referred to the captain. The audience laughed -the suggestion out of court, for “the whole of the cattle,” they said, -belonged to them, as God had told Angata, but they would let our party -“have twenty” if we wished; as for Mr. Edmunds, “he is a Protestant, and -therefore, of course, has no God.” - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 28. - - BAILEY, THE COOK, ON GUARD. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 29. - - EASTER ISLAND WOMEN - - Parapina standing. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 30. - - ANGATA, THE PROPHETESS. -] - -When my husband returned saying he had accomplished nothing, I felt that -it was “up to me.” “This,” I said, “is a matter requiring tact, and is -therefore a woman’s job; _I_ will go and see the old lady.” I had -already received from her an embarrassing present of fowls, which, after -referring the matter to our host, it had seemed better to accept. Not -without inward trepidation, I rode down to the village, taking the -Fernandez boy as interpreter, for many of the natives speak a smattering -of Spanish. The place was a perfect shambles, joints of meat hanging -from all the trees, and skins being pegged out to dry on every hand, but -the raiders had been displaying energy in rebuilding the wall round the -church. The Prophetess was with a group outside the house of the acting -priest, who was her son-in-law; she was a frail old woman with grey hair -and expressive eyes, a distinctly attractive and magnetic personality. -She wore suspended round her neck some sort of religious medallion, a -red cross, I think, on a white ground, and her daughter who supported -her carried a small picture of the Saviour in an Oxford frame. She held -my hand most amiably during the interview, addressing me as “Caterina.” -I had brought her a gift and began by thanking for the fowls. She -refused all payments, saying “Food comes from God, I wish for no money,” -and proceeded to offer me some of the meat. This gave an opening, and in -declining I besought her not to let the Kanakas go out again after the -animals, for Mr. Edmunds said he would shoot if they did, and there -would be trouble for them when the _Baquedano_ came. As I spoke of the -raids her face hardened and her eyes took the look of a fanatic; she -said something about “God” with the upward gesture which was her habit -in speaking His name. I hastened to relieve the tension by saying that -“We must all worship God,” and was happy to find that I was allowed a -share in the Deity. Her manner again softened, and looking up to heaven -she declared, with an assured confidence, which was in its way sublime, -“God will never let the Kanakas be either killed or hurt.” The natives -were, in fact, firmly persuaded that no bullet could injure them. As for -myself, Angata would, she said, “pray” for me, adding, with a descent to -the mundane, that if ever she had “chickens or potatoes,” I should be -the first to have them. It was impossible to reason further; we parted -the best of friends, but the “tactful” mission had failed! - -This was the state of affairs when we decided that we must transfer our -work and consequently our belongings to the other end of the island. Our -surveyor and photographer remained, however, at Mataveri, as the -accommodation there was more convenient for their occupations, so Mr. -Edmunds was not alone. Moving camp, levelling ground, and building -walls, were not light matters, when the Kanakas had found such much more -interesting employment, but at last it was accomplished, and then came -the question of the stores, which after the robbery at the wool-shed had -been taken to Mataveri. After much consultation it was decided to remove -them to Raraku, as on the whole safer than leaving them at the Manager’s -house, which might, by the look of things, be any day looted or burnt -down. But when the ox-cart had been carefully loaded up with the -numerous boxes and goods, the cash supply, consisting of £50 of English -gold and some Chilean paper, being carefully hidden amongst them, a -spell of bad weather set in. It was impossible to move the cart, and our -possessions sat there day after day most handily arranged for the -revolutionists if their desires should turn that way. - -Our new camp we were often obliged to leave without defence save for the -redoubtable Bailey, who had also served as guard at Mataveri (fig. 28). -There had been no demonstration against us so far, but of course the -future was unknown, and I never came in sight of our house, on returning -from any distant work, without casting an anxious glance to see if it -were still standing. We always went about armed, and the different -ranges for rifle-shot were measured off from my house and marked by -cairns, which will no doubt in future add yet one more to the mysteries -of Easter Island. - -One day I had just come back from a stroll, when the cry was raised “The -Kanakas are coming,” and a troop of horsemen, about thirty strong, -appeared on the sky-line some four hundred yards distant. Fortunately S. -was at hand, we hurried inside my house, shut the lower half of its -door, which resembled that of a loose-box, and carelessly leant out. Any -unpleasantness could then only be frontal; at the same time all weapons -were within easy grasp, though not visible from the outside. - -It soon, however, became clear that the visitors were approaching at a -walk only, from which it was gathered their intentions were friendly. -Nevertheless it was a relief when, as they got nearer, they raised their -hats and gave a cheer; they then formed a semicircle round the door and -dismounted. The “priest” who was with them, and who carried a picture of -the Virgin, read something, presumably a prayer, at which the company -crossed themselves. He then gave greetings from Angata, and a message -from her to say that _Mana_ was returning safely with letters on board, -and the men presented from their saddle-bows, eggs, potatoes, and about -a dozen hens. The position was unwelcome, but as none of the goods were -stolen, it seemed better to accept, and discharge the obligation as far -as possible by giving in return what European food we could spare We -subsequently informed Mr. Edmunds, and sent a message to the Prophetess -that, as our camp was out of bounds, the Kanakas must not come without -leave. The old lady herself, however, kept sending to us for anything -she happened to want, and as the requests continually grew in magnitude -the breaking-point seemed only a question of time. One of the earlier -demands, to which Mr. Edmunds thought it advisable we should accede, was -for material for a flag for the new Republic; later, it floated proudly -as a tricolour, made of a piece of white cotton, some red material from -the photographic outfit, and a fragment of an old blue shirt. - -Elsewhere things went from bad to worse, and it seemed as if the -expected warship would never arrive. Word came that the Kanakas had -ordered the native overseer to leave his house, the only one outside the -village, and were taking away the servants of the Manager; our -photographer wrote that he “dared not come over as their lives were -being threatened”; and finally, one afternoon we received a note from -Mr. Edmunds, saying, that “he could not leave the place as the Kanakas -were talking of coming up in a body to the house.” They were also, as we -later learnt, threatening to kill him if he resisted their taking -possession. It was obvious that the crisis had arrived; that we must -risk leaving the camp and go into Mataveri. We talked over every -conceivable plan of campaign, but it was too late to do anything that -night, and I remember that, finally at dinner, to turn our thoughts, we -discussed the curious manner in which some of the statues had fallen. In -four cases which we had seen that day, while the body lay on its front, -the head had broken off in mid air, turned a complete somersault, and -rested on its back with the crown towards the neck. The next morning, -August 5th, I awoke early and recorded in my journal the events of the -day before. “Of course,” I added, “if it were a stage play, just as the -crisis arrived there would be cries of ‘the _Baquedano_ is here,’ and -the curtain would fall. But, alas! it is not.” Scarcely was the ink -dry—only it was pencil—when a man rode up waving a note from Mr. -Edmunds, and shouting, “A ship!—a ship!” The previous afternoon, as the -Kanakas were assembling in the village to go up to Mataveri, the -_Baquedano_ had been sighted, and four of the ringleaders were now in -irons. I scarcely knew how great had been the long strain till the -relief came. - -Our rejoicings, however, we found to have been partly premature. The -warship had unfortunately brought with her large gifts of clothes for -the natives from well-wishers in Chile. Some little while before -attention had been drawn to the inhabitants of Easter, by an Australian -captain who had touched there on his homeward voyage. The natives had, -as usual, come off to his ship in their oldest garments; he had been -impressed with their ragged condition and made a collection of clothes -for them in Australia amounting to many bales, but on his next voyage to -Chile he had been unable to touch again at the island and had left them -at Valparaiso. We had been asked to bring these bales, but had declined -on the score of space.[16] The Chileans disliked the idea of their -protectorate being indebted to strangers, made a collection on their own -account, and despatched them by the _Baquedano_. It seemed unthinkable -that people, every one of whom for weeks had been consuming stolen -goods, and who, two days before, had been on the verge of murder, should -be immediately presented officially with the commodity they most prized. -I therefore went on board the _Baquedano_, saw the Captain, and ventured -to request that the goods should be handed over to us, promising -personally to visit every house before our departure, ascertain the -needs of the people, and distribute the articles. “Surely,” he said, -“you shall have them.” Within a few hours they had been distributed by -his officers on the beach. Some of the garments were useful, but an -assortment of ball-slippers seemed a little out of place, and the -greater part of the community, men and women, blossomed out into washing -waistcoats. The stolen sheepskins, or some of them, were returned, but -three of the four ringleaders were set at liberty, and no corporate -punishment was inflicted; indeed, the Captain had told me he considered -that the natives had “behaved very well not to murder Mr. Edmunds” prior -to our arrival. - -Before the ship left the island, the Captain wrote officially to the -“Head of the British Scientific Expedition” to the effect, that the -action he had been obliged to take to restore order would probably have -the result of rousing more feeling against foreigners; he therefore -could not guarantee our safety and offered us passages to Chile—an offer -which, needless to say, we declined. So ended the Revolution; we felt -with interest that the confidence of the Prophetess had been justified, -at any rate as far as 249 Kanakas were concerned out of the 250. - -The old lady died six months later; I attended her funeral. The coffin -was pathetically tiny, and neatly covered with black and white calico. A -service was first held in the church where, during the rising, she used -to take part in the assemblies and address her adherents. There figured -prominently in the ceremony a model of the building and also two -prie-dieu, roughly made of boards, one of which she had used in private, -the other in public worship. She was laid to rest beneath the great -wooden cross, which marks the Kanaka burying-ground, between the village -and the bay. I stood at a little distance watching gleams of sunshine on -the great stones of the terrace of Hanga Roa and on the grey sea beyond, -and musing on the strange life now closed, whose early days had been -spent in a native hut beneath the standing images of Raraku. My -attention was recalled by an evident hitch in the proceedings: -difficulty had arisen in lowering the coffin, owing to the fact that the -prie-dieu was also being fitted into the grave. When all had been -finally adjusted and the interment was completed, a sound was heard, -unusual in such circumstances—three English cheers—hip, hip, hooray; the -natives had learnt it from passing ships and esteemed it an essential -part of a ceremony. The company was not large for the obsequies of one -who had so recently been the heroine of the village, and on asking in -particular why a certain near relative was absent, the answer received -was that “there was to be a great feast of pigs, and he was busy -preparing it”; doubtless others were similarly detained. - -During the remainder of our sojourn there were, as will be seen, -additional white men on the island. The Kanakas were occupied in various -ways and there was no further open demonstration, but their independence -and demands increased daily. Since we left, a white employé of the -Company has been murdered by them and thrown into the sea. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - A GERMAN BASE - - -_Mana_ appeared on August 23rd, a week after the warship left, and not -before we had become a little anxious about her. She had done the -passage to the mainland in eighteen days, establishing a record, but had -had bad luck on her return journey, the voyage having taken forty-one -days. Even after her arrival there was the usual chase to get hold of -her, and we did not receive the mail till late one night. We had had no -letters since we left Talcahuano the preceding February, and read them -eagerly during the small hours; it was the greatest relief to find that -at home all was well. The yacht had to put out again to sea before the -newspapers could be landed, but we later received in them the accounts -of the murder of the Austrian Archduke and Duchess; even then, of -course, Ireland and labour troubles loomed much more largely on the -political horizon. As soon as the return mail was ready, on September -4th, we despatched _Mana_ again, the instructions sent home being that -everything was to be sent to Tahiti, as we expected to get off when she -once more returned the following November. - -The _Baquedano_ had brought some additions to the community on the -island: one or two Europeans to work on the estate and a German to plant -tobacco. The fact that the presence of this last coincided with the -declaration of the war, and the subsequent use of the island by his -nation as a naval base, gave rise later to a good deal of comment; it is -certain that but little effort was made to grow tobacco. He left shortly -before we did. A schoolmaster from Chile was also among the new-comers; -he was sent by the Government, and brought an expensive school building. -In this he entertained us all to celebrate the day of Chilean -Independence, September 18th, when the natives gave some masque dances, -a fashion imported from Tahiti. It was interesting to notice that the -women always preferred to wear for best occasions their own distinctive -dress, rather than the smart clothes of the _Baquedano_, or similar -gifts, which were relegated to every-day service; I have seen a really -beautifully embroidered underskirt used for riding astride. The native -garment is of any washing material, preferably white for Sundays. It -falls straight and loosely down from a yoke, and is worn unreasonably -long; the sleeves are made to the wrist, with puffs at the top (fig. -29). This fashion is said to be common throughout the South Seas, -presumably dating from the first introduction of clothes by the -missionaries.[17] - -School was duly begun, but after a few days the children ceased to -appear, the master declared he was “not an attendance officer,” and from -then till we left, nearly a year later, no school was held; the last we -saw of the blackboard and counting-frame, they were rotting in a field -some two miles off, where they had been taken by the French marooned -sailors for use in some carnival pony-races. The warship also brought an -epidemic of bad colds: every ship except _Mana_ left some such legacy. - -Now that peace was in some measure restored, we set to work to excavate -some of the statues which stood on the slope of the Raraku mountain. The -natives were entirely indifferent whether they worked or not, but by -paying high wages and giving any quantity of mutton, we were able at -this time to get a certain amount of precarious labour for digging and -camp work. The whole lot, including my maid-servant, went in for every -week-end to the village, and it was always a matter of anxiety to know -whether they would ever return. Our Sundays were spent peacefully, doing -housework, taking the ponies to water in the crater, changing their -pitches at due intervals, and similar jobs. - -We had just begun the week’s work on Monday, October 12th, when word was -brought that some steamers had appeared. The whole of the native staff, -of course, at once departed to see what could be begged from the ships. -The vessels turned out to be a German squadron, going, they said, “from -the China station to Valparaiso.” Some more turned up later, till there -were twelve in all, four or five of the number being warships, and the -remainder colliers or other smaller vessels. They kept entire silence on -the European situation. We had not, of course, the slightest idea that -war had broken out, still less that our lonely island was the -meeting-place, cleverly arranged by Admiral von Spee, for his ships from -Japan—the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_—with the other German warships -in this region; the _Nürnberg_ and _Leipzig_ had turned up from the west -coast of Mexico, and the _Dresden_ from the other side of South America. -A writer in the _Cornhill_ (August 1917) states “there happened to be -upon it [Easter Island] a British scientific expedition, but busied over -the relics of the past, the single-minded men of science did not take -the trouble to cross the island to look at the German ships.” S. was, as -a matter of fact, twice over at Mataveri while they were in Cook’s Bay, -but it is true of this “single-minded” woman, who felt she had something -else to do than to ride for some four hours to gaze at the outside of -German men-of-war. What did interest us was that presumably, after the -usual manner of passing ships, the officers would come over to Raraku, -and being intelligent Germans, would photograph our excavations. We -therefore turned to, and with our own hands covered up our best things. - -We seized the opportunity to write letters, which were posted on the -ships, and one of our number went to see the doctor. To the credit of -the enemy be it said, that almost all the letters subsequently arrived, -a sad exception being a butterfly, addressed to Professor Poulton at -Oxford, which, if, as may have been the case, it was retained as -something valuable, presumably went down off the Falkland Islands. Mr. -Edmunds, meanwhile, had not unnaturally rejoiced at having his market -brought to his door, and sold the ships nearly £1,000 worth of meat. -They offered to pay for it in gold, but it seemed common prudence to ask -instead for an order, a decision which was later sadly lamented. - -On Thursday some of our staff returned: the Germans were, it seemed, -most unpopular; they did not come on shore and had given no food, -clothes, or soap. Kanaka sentiment at this moment would have been -certainly pro-Ally. - -On Friday rumours reached us that there was something mysterious going -on. Why, it was asked, did the Germans say they had no newspapers, so -rarely come on shore, and go out at night without lights? and why did -one officer say that “in two months Germany would be at the top of the -tree”? We discussed the matter and passed it off as “bazaar talk.” On -Sunday, however, news came from Mataveri which we could no longer wholly -discredit. The German tobacco planter had been on board, and the crew -had disobeyed orders and disclosed to their countryman the fact that -there was a great European war; the combatants were correctly stated, -but much detail was added. Two hundred thousand men were, it was said, -waiting at Kiel to invade England; the war had taken our country by -surprise, and the German ships had already made a sudden raid and sunk -eight or nine Dreadnoughts in the Thames; the Emperor was nearly at -Paris, though the French continued to fight on most bravely. It was a -terrible war as neither side would show the white flag. An army had been -sent from England to the assistance of the French, but it had been badly -defeated. The English Labour Party had objected to troops being sent out -of the country, in consequence of which the Asquith ministry had fallen, -the House of Lords came in somehow; anyway, England was now a Republic, -and so were Canada and Australia; India was in flames, and two -troopships had been sunk on the way there from Australia. - -We are still inclined to think that the Germans themselves believed all -these things; they had so often been told, by those in authority, that -such would occur on the outbreak of war with England, that wishes had -become facts. As a small mercy we got the news of the loss of the German -colonies, but the _Scharnhorst_, which had just come from the French -possession of Tahiti, said that the natives there having risen and -killed the Germans, the warships had therefore bombarded the town of -Papeete, which was now “no more.” The reason given for keeping us in the -dark so long was, that hearing there were foreigners on the island, they -thought that we might fight amongst ourselves. Von Spee made exact -inquiries as to the number of whites in the place, and told the Kanakas -that when he returned he would hold them responsible for our safety. The -real reason of the silence maintained was most probably to prevent any -question being raised of their use of the island as a naval base. When -the news could no longer be concealed, the officers gave it as their -opinion, that “when Germany had conquered France, peace would be made -with England, in which case Britain would probably gain some territory -as she had such good diplomatists,” a compliment at least for Lord Grey. -The reality of the war was brought home by the concrete fact that the -ships were reliably reported to be in fighting trim, with no woodwork -visible. That Sunday evening one of us saw the squadron going round in -the dusk, the flagship leading. They had said that they would come -again, but they never did. They went on their way to Coronel and the -Falklands. - -On Monday morning we met our photographer by arrangement on the road to -Mataveri, in order to take some of the half-way terraces; he had brought -two newspapers, which had at last been got hold of, and we sat down -beneath a wall to read them. They were German ones, of September 15th -and 17th, published in Chile, and contained little news; but we read -between the lines that things were going better in France, for the -Germans had made “a strategic retreat according to plan,” and then the -curtain fell on the great drama. The ground rocked for us, as it did at -home in those first August days; it was just one week since we had -covered up our diggings and it seemed centuries. How much to believe we -did not know, but some of it sounded plausible, and when later we found -that England was facing the struggle as a united whole, and that there -was still a British Empire, we felt that the greatest nightmare of the -war had passed. - -From the personal point of view our thoughts turned, of course, to the -yacht; she would no doubt remain in safety at Talcahuano, that was a -comfort. At any other time it would have been a matter of anxiety that -the crew should continue indefinitely without employment, and that there -was no pecuniary arrangement there for so long a detention; as it was, -we were so absolutely helpless that the futility of worrying was -obvious. As regards ourselves, we could only cut down our use of such -things as flour and tea, and wait; our experience of war rations thus -came early. The most serious threatened shortage was that of paper. It -was intensely strange to go back to digging out statues, when morning, -noon, and night our hearts were over the seas; but that was “our job,” -there was at least no daily and hourly waiting for news, and in the -peace of a plain duty and the absolute silence of the sea around us -there was a certain kind of rest. - -For the next few weeks life went on quietly, sheep-shearing absorbed the -energies of the community, and the village was laid low by an attack of -dysentery, from which in a short time there were eight deaths: the -disease was either a legacy from the Germans, or the result of the -distribution of some more _Baquedano_ clothes which had been left with -the schoolmaster. It seemed as if we might spend the rest of our lives -on the island, when suddenly, as things always happened in mid-Pacific, -on December 1st, six weeks after the departure of the German squadron, a -little ship turned up. She was flying the Chilean flag, but had an -English captain, and was to take back word to Valparaiso how things were -going on the island. She brought good news on the whole, but also the -regretted tidings of the sinking of the _Good Hope_ and _Monmouth_ on -November 1st. Mr. Gillam wrote that the yacht was, as we had expected, -detained at Talcahuano till the passage was considered safe. The point -which immediately concerned us was the offer of passages in this vessel -to Chile should we desire them; but she could only by her charter stay -some five days, during which time it would have been quite impossible, -even had our work been finished, to transport our goods from Raraku. -There was no room for hesitation: S. must go and look after _Mana_, and -insure her against war risks. Mr. Ritchie and the Fernandez boy had -already sailed on the _Baquedano_, and as the photographer’s work on the -island was nearly done for the present, it seemed best he should -accompany my husband and resume his post on the yacht. Bailey and I were -therefore left to represent the Expedition on the island. - -When the good-byes had been said, it was better not to have time to -think, so we at once set to work, packed up such things as were -necessary from our country house, and transferred the camp back to -Mataveri. There I took up life once more in my tent by the grave of the -murdered manager. Mr. Edmunds would, I knew, kindly give me assistance -in case of necessity, and it was desirable to be near the village, for I -proposed to spend the time till S. returned in interviews with such of -the old people as could remember traditions and customs, prior to the -coming of Christianity. This work was, however, not destined to continue -undisturbed. - -On Wednesday morning, December 23rd, another German ship came into -Cook’s Bay—the armed cruiser _Prinz Eitel Friedrich_. The Manager went -on board, and returned with the information that the Captain had said he -“would require thirty or forty beasts, but that as the crew would be -busy next day they would not take them till after Christmas.” They would -give no account of themselves, nor any news of the war. It was a relief -to realize that S. would not yet have had time to leave Chile, and that -he and the yacht were presumably safe in harbour. That very afternoon, -however, my writing was interrupted by a cry of congratulation from the -native girls at work in Mr. Edmunds’ kitchen, “_Mana_ is coming.” A -woman, who had been up on the high ground, had reported that she had -seen the little vessel off the south coast and that she was now sailing -round Rano Kao, hence making direct for Cook’s Bay. It might, of course, -be a mistake, but it was, on the other hand, just possible that Mr. -Gillam had seized an opportunity to slip across to the island without -waiting for a reply to his letter. The immediate question, supposing -that it was indeed _Mana_, was how she could be stopped walking straight -into the jaws of the enemy. Bailey saddled in haste, and rode up to the -top of the headland to try to warn her not to proceed. I armed myself -with a towel and coat to make a two-flag signal, which denotes urgency, -and fled down to the rocks on the coast below, selecting a point from -which it was possible to command the furthest view, without being -noticed from the cruiser. It was a very forlorn hope, that it might be -possible to attract the yacht’s attention before she was seen by the -enemy, but it was obviously out of the question to continue, under a -tree, copying notes while _Mana_ might be at the moment meeting with a -watery grave. - -My thoughts, while I sat there with eyes glued to the horizon, went back -to academic discussions with Admiral Fremantle on board a P. & O. liner -only a few years before, on the right in war-time to capture private -property at sea, and how little it had then occurred to me that the -matter would ever become so vitally personal. I waited for two and a -half hours, not daring to leave, but with hope growing momentarily -stronger that there was an error somewhere. Meanwhile, Bailey had seen -the vessel from the mountain and was confident that it was the returning -yacht, but had been unable to get into touch with her. He had come down -and consulted with Mr. Edmunds, who had then most kindly ridden over to -the south coast to see what could be done from there; the nearer view -had made clear that the alarm was a false one, the vessel was not _Mana_ -but some other passing schooner, and we breathed once more. - -Everyone, however, seemed to take particular pleasure in talking to the -Germans about the yacht and her movements, in a way which to me was more -amusing than reassuring. As a scientific ship, she theoretically shared -with Red Cross vessels immunity under the Hague Convention, but even in -those days, as will have been seen, that did not bring complete -confidence. One of the German officers had, I was told, given it as his -opinion that his Captain would not touch her, but “it was,” he remarked, -“a matter for individual judgment, and other commanders might act -differently.” The same officer expressed his surprise that the Manager -had ventured on the cruiser, as he “might have been made a prisoner, as -a German had been on a French ship”; whereupon Mr. Edmunds naturally -resolved not to accept an informal invitation to attend theatricals to -be held on board on Christmas Eve. - -The reason for the occupation of the crew soon became obvious. The -warship went out on the following morning and returned with a French -barque, the _Jean_, which she had captured some time before, and which, -being laden with coal, she had towed most of the way to the island. She -laid the barque alongside her in Cook’s Bay and proceeded to hoist out -the cargo (fig. 24), finally shooting away the masts and spars in order -that the French ship might not capsize as she gradually lost her -ballast. - -The cruiser, it transpired, had also on board it the crew of an English -sailing ship, the _Kildalton_, which she had captured and sunk near the -Horn; but when an attempt was made to speak to the men, they were -ordered below. The German officers and crew then landed daily, rode over -the island, came up to the Manager’s house, and generally behaved as if -the whole place belonged to them. The officers were courteous and always -saluted when we met, an attention with which one would have preferred to -dispense; one of the crew penetrated to our kitchen, which he was at -once requested to leave, in spite of Bailey’s evident fear that he and I -would immediately be ordered out for execution; the man hesitated, -looked astonished, but obeyed. It must be remembered that there was no -reason to suppose that it was otherwise than civilised warfare, the idea -that anyone could or would injure non-combatants on neutral soil never -seriously occurred to me: the story of Belgium was unknown. - -Indignation was, however, roused by the fact that the Germans were -remaining far beyond the twenty-four hours to which they were entitled -in a neutral port, and obviously again using the island as a base. It -grew to fever-heat when news came that a signal-station had been erected -on Rano Aroi, the high central point, with an officer and men in charge, -from which notice might be given to the cruiser below if an “enemy” ship -was sighted. I took Juan, the headman of the village who was our usual -escort, rode up to the point in question, and thus verified the fact of -the station and men on watch. I remained at a short distance, but Juan -went on and spoke to the Germans; he came back to me saying -impressively, “They do not like to see you here,” to which sentiment the -reply naturally was “I dislike still more to see them.” Never would the -white ensign have been more welcome! To relieve my feelings, although -with a sense of futility, I wrote a formal protest, under the -grandiloquent title of “Acting Head of the British Scientific -Expedition,” pointing out for the benefit of the Chilean Government -these abuses of neutrality. The schoolmaster had been, since his -arrival, the formal representative of his country, and I went down to -the village to give it to him; its presentation was delayed by his -having gone on board the cruiser, for the Christmas theatricals, where -he remained over the next day, but it was finally handed to him. - -On New Year’s Eve I was coming in from a business ride about 1 o’clock, -and, having breakfasted at 6, was feeling not a little hungry, when the -German ship was seen steaming from her anchorage, looking as she did so -like a great blot on the radiant sea. The first impression was that she -was leaving the island, but on observing more closely, her errand was -apparent; she was not alone, but had the graceful little barque with -her, towing her side by side in a last Judas embrace. Naturally, one -could go no farther, and for two and a half hours a little company, -including the crew of the doomed ship, who had just been landed, sat -spell-bound on the cliff watching the tragedy. When the cruiser had gone -a short distance, but well within the three-mile limit, she cast the -French vessel adrift, the small craft rolled helplessly, high out of the -water, without ballast or cargo, and with only a mizzen-mast remaining. -The warship then swooped round in great circles like an evil bird of -prey, and every time that she came broadside on she fired at her victim. -The first shot missed; the second went through the upper part of the -barque into the sea the other side. The third shot obviously told, but -the executioner fired once again and then ceased, satisfied with her -work, for the little ship could be seen gradually regaining her -water-line, though with an ominous list, and a ballast never designed by -the builder. As she sank she drifted slowly southward, at the mercy of -wind and current. The cruiser moved with her, keeping at an even -distance and steadily watching her victim till suddenly the end came, -and where there had been two vessels on the blue sea only one remained. -Another gallant ship had joined the company of ghosts in the ocean Hades -below. - -When she had thus accomplished her work, the _Eitel Friedrich_ departed, -having taken on board stores, which would, she stated, with those -already in hand, last her till the following April. She kept her -prisoners on board till almost the last, in order to serve, it was said, -as hostages should a British warship appear, and then deposited them all -on shore. Our feelings on thus finding our island invaded, resembled, in -some measure, the classical ones of Robinson Crusoe on a somewhat -similar occasion; the new-comers consisted of the captains and crews of -both the English and French ships, forty-eight persons in all. They had -been well treated on the cruiser, and were given on landing the -remaining stores out of the sunken barque. A camp was made for them in -the wool-shed, near the landing-place at Hanga Piko, and formed a great -attraction to the natives who flocked there hourly to see what could be -picked up. A room was found for the captain of the English ship in the -Manager’s house, where he made a pleasant addition to the party. The -charms of Easter Island did not appeal to him, and he was naturally -concerned for the anxiety which would be felt at home when his ship was -reported “missing.” His great occupation was to walk, many times a day, -to the top of the knoll behind my tent, to try to catch sight of a sail, -a hope which those of us who were better acquainted with the island felt -to be somewhat forlorn. - -Unfortunately, the epidemic of dysentery which had prevailed in the -island since the previous October, laid low some of the sailors. This -was a serious anxiety, as there was no doctor of any kind, and the only -medical stores and books were those of the Expedition, which had to be -routed out from our camp at the other end of the island. One young -Englishman, named Campbell, to our great regret, succumbed to the -disease; he was “the only son of his mother, and she was a widow”; a -little white cross in the Easter Island burial-ground makes yet another -memorial of the Great War. Captain Sharp’s persistent look-out was -rewarded sooner than might have been expected; false hopes were raised -by a vessel which went on without waiting, but when the marooned men had -been with us some two months, a Swedish steamer appeared. She had come -out of her way attracted by the fame of the antiquities, and it was a -pleasure to show one or two of the officers what little could be seen of -those statues near Cook’s Bay. She kindly took on board the English crew -and the greater part of the Frenchmen, but a few of the latter preferred -to remain, on the ground that they had “sent word to the French Consul -at Valparaiso, and must await his directions.” It was said that, prior -to leaving the _Eitel Friedrich_, they had signed an undertaking never -to bear arms against Germany, and they were consequently not anxious to -find themselves again in France, where their position might be -invidious. One of them, who hailed from the French West Indies, -subsequently married his hostess, a lady in the village. The wedding was -celebrated in the church and largely attended; during a great part of -the service the couple sat on a low form before the altar, with the arm -of the bridegroom round the waist of the bride; the ceremony was -followed by a sumptuous and decorous repast. - -Such an excitement as the German visit had of course upset my grown-up -children, but we gradually resumed our talks. The ways, means, and -result of those conversations will come more appropriately under the -heading of the scientific work. It took, as a rule, about the same -number of hours to copy out the rough notes of an interview as to get -the substance; if, therefore, the morning had been given to talk, the -afternoon was spent in writing. It soon became obvious that it was going -to be a race against time to get all the information available before -_Mana_ returned, especially as the interviews involved a certain amount -of strain, and it was better, in the interests of all, to diversify them -with topographical and other work. In this sense every day was prized -which the yacht delayed her return, and there was little opportunity for -feeling lonely, at any rate during working hours. The time, however, -began to grow long. January changed into February, and February turned -into March, and there was still no news of her; everyone began to -inquire if I were “not becoming very anxious,” in a manner which was -truly reassuring. And now, in approved fashion, we will turn and see -what was happening to the other part of the Expedition. - -After leaving the Raraku camp S. had ridden in to Cook’s Bay, and there -had difficulties about getting on board, for the Kanakas had made one -bargain for the use of their boat, and then wanted double; during the -delay rain came on, and he was obliged to shelter himself and his goods -in the native boathouse by the landing. He at length, however, reached -the ship, where the captain gave him his own cabin under the bridge. At -tea-time the first officer, who was of German nationality, came out of -his cabin and conversed in such a way that it was obvious that he was -not altogether sober; the captain soon came along, rated him for -drinking, told him the curse of the sea was alcohol, and he was to go at -once on deck. Upon which the mate ascended to the bridge, groaning -deeply. Now the said captain had, unfortunately, on board sixteen cases -of whisky, which he had brought to trade at Easter, but which Mr. -Edmunds had not allowed him to land. He himself shortly began to drink -steadily, and went on till delirium tremens supervened, and he became -obsessed with the idea that there was an affray going on between the -sailors and stewards. By the arrangement of the vessel, the crew were -berthed for’ard and the stewards aft, while the waist of the ship was -filled by a stack of coal, which had been left on deck, to save the -trouble of stowing it in the bunkers, and in the pious hope that no bad -weather would supervene. On the top of this coal the captain now took -his stand, declared that he would have no fighting on his ship, and -hurled pieces of coal first at an imaginary crew for’ard and then at -supposititious stewards aft; though all hands were in reality carefully -lying low to keep out of his way. - -S., meanwhile, was unfortunately confined to his cabin, having gone -down, about the second day out, with a very severe attack of dysentery; -the epidemic on the island had never reached our camp; he had presumably -contracted it during the delay in starting. His position was anything -but enviable: there was no steward, only a cabin-boy, well-meaning, but -languid and very dirty. He could get no food which he could take, and -lay there helpless with the rats eating his clothes; if it had not been -for the kindness of the chief engineer, who looked in occasionally, it -seems doubtful if he would have lived to reach Chile. To this pleasing -state was now added the apprehension that the captain, who was wandering -about by day and night, might at any moment attack him for being in the -cabin, in anticipation of which event S. kept a loaded revolver under -his pillow. At last things got to such a state that the chief engineer -came and asked his advice on the desirability of screwing up the -skipper, Oxford fashion, and passing his food through the port. Before, -however, this step could be taken, the offender had reached the stage of -mental collapse, melted into tears and spent his time in protracted -prayers, beseeching the engineer to put the accursed stuff overboard. S. -naturally advised taking him at his word, when it was found that he had -been drinking at the rate of nearly three bottles a day. - -All this time the German mate had been obliged, to his great annoyance, -to keep sober for the sake of his own safety, but as they approached -Juan Fernandez there was much anxiety on board, for no one was very sure -where it was, and they wanted to see it without hitting it; by good luck -it was fortunately sighted during the hours of daylight. They managed, -somehow, to reach Valparaiso, and S. was at once taken to the same -English hospital to which Mr. Corry had been removed. Here he lay for -weeks, delighted to be well nursed and comfortable, and when -convalescent, was most hospitably entertained by our friend Mr. -Hope-Simpson, till he was equal to going down to Talcahuano to see after -the yacht. - -On February 20th, 1915, _Mana_, now duly insured, sallied forth once -more, having lain at Talcahuano for nearly five months. Von Spee’s -squadron had been annihilated off the Falkland Islands on December 8th, -and though the exact whereabouts of his sole remaining ship, the -_Dresden_, were still unknown, the coast was thought to be clear. As a -matter of fact, the cruiser had crept out of her hiding-place in the -Patagonian Channels sixteen days earlier, and was at this time not far -from the entrance to the bay, where she was no doubt apprised by -wireless from the shore of the movements of all shipping. Luckily the -yacht’s departure was delayed at the last by some parting arrangements, -and she left port some hours later than had been intended; in the -interval, according to information subsequently received, another ship -went by, the cruiser captured her and went off. Thus did _Mana_ pass by -in safety, and before she reached Easter Island the _Dresden_ had met -with her doom at Juan Fernandez. - -March 15th was a joyful day, when the yacht at length turned up all safe -and sound. We rapidly decided that the best thing we could do would be -to let the British Representative in Chile know at once of the call of -the _Eitel Friedrich_, and of the use made of the island by the Germans, -more particularly as there were recent reports from more than one -quarter that a vessel with two funnels had been seen off the island. A -despatch was therefore written for our Minister at Santiago, and Mr. -Gillam was instructed to hand it with a covering letter to the British -Consul at Valparaiso. The enemy might turn up any day, and, in view of -the gossip there had been about the yacht when they were here before, it -was obviously desirable to maintain secrecy as to her whereabouts. No -one save the Sailing-master, therefore, was informed of her destination; -she lay for two nights off Hanga Roa, and on the third morning she was -gone. On her arrival at Valparaiso the Consul requested Mr. Gillam to -take the despatch himself to Santiago in order to answer any questions -in his power; this he did, and had a long interview with the British -Minister. We have subsequently received kind acknowledgment from the -Admiralty of our efforts to be useful. The yacht then returned to the -island,[18] where we had been doing last things, including finishing off -our excavations, in which we were very kindly assisted by some of the -remaining members of the French crew; they worked for us at a rate of -pay refused by the natives. The packing-up of specimens alone was no -light business. There had turned out to be much more work to be done on -the island than we had anticipated, and though our residence had been -prolonged far beyond the time originally contemplated, we had, from the -scientific point of view, been largely single-handed and had also been -hindered by circumstances. So far as research was concerned we would -gladly have remained for another six months, to write up results and -make good omissions; but England was at war, the three years our crew -had signed on for would shortly expire, our wonderful time was over, and -we must go. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - PREHISTORIC REMAINS - AHU OR BURIAL-PLACES - - - 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. - -In many places it is possible in the light of great monuments to -reconstruct the past. In Easter Island the past is the present, it is -impossible to escape from it; the inhabitants of to-day are less real -than the men who have gone; the shadows of the departed builders still -possess the land. Voluntarily or involuntarily the sojourner must hold -commune with those old workers; for the whole air vibrates with a vast -purpose and energy which has been and is no more. What was it? Why was -it? The great works are now in ruins, of many comparatively little -remains; but the impression infinitely exceeded anything which had been -anticipated, and every day, as the power to see increased, brought with -it a greater sense of wonder and marvel. “If we were to tell people at -home these things,” said our Sailing-master, after being shown the -prostrate images on the great burial-place of Tongariki, “they would not -believe us.” - -The present natives take little interest in the remains. The statues are -to them facts of every-day life in much the same way as stones or -banana-trees. “Have you no _moai_” (as they are termed) “in England?” -was asked by one boy, in a tone in which surprise was slightly mingled -with contempt; to ask for the history of the great works is as -successful as to try to get from an old woman selling bootlaces at -Westminster the story of Cromwell or of the frock-coated worthies in -Parliament Square. The information given in reply to questions is -generally wildly mythical, and any real knowledge crops up only -indirectly. - -Anyone who is able to go to the British Museum can see a typical -specimen of an Easter Island statue, in the large image which greets the -approaching visitor from under the portico (fig. 31). The general form -is unvarying, and with one exception, which will be alluded to -hereafter, all appear to be the work of skilled hands, which suggests -that the design was well known and evolved under other conditions. It -represents a half-length figure, at the bottom of which the hands nearly -meet in front of the body. The most remarkable features are the ears, of -which the lobe is depicted to represent a fleshy rope (fig. 58), while -in a few cases the disc which was worn in it is also indicated (fig. -59). The fashion of piercing and distending the lobe of the ear is found -among various primitive races.[19] The tallest statues are over 30 feet, -a few are only 6 feet, and even smaller specimens exist. Those which -stood on the burial-places, now to be described, are usually from 12 to -20 feet in height, and were surmounted with a form of hat.[20] - -_Position and Number of Ahu._—In Easter Island the problem of the -disposal of the dead was solved by neither earth-burial nor cremation, -but by means of the omnipresent stones which were built up to make a -last resting-place for the departed. Such burial-places are known as -“ahu,” and the name will henceforth be used, for it signifies a definite -thing, or rather type of thing, for which we have no equivalent. They -number in all some two hundred and sixty, and are principally found near -the coast, but some thirty exist inland, sufficient to show that their -erection on the seaboard was a matter of convenience, not of principle. -With the exception of the great eastern and western headlands, where -they are scarce, it is probably safe to say that, in riding round the -island, it is impossible to go anywhere for more than a few hundred -yards without coming across one of these abodes of the dead. They -cluster most thickly on the little coves and their enclosing -promontories, which were the principal centres of population. Some are -two or three hundred yards away from the edge of the cliff, others stand -on the verge; in the lower land they are but little above the sea-level, -while on the precipitous part of the coast the ocean breaks hundreds of -feet below. - - - - - PREHISTORIC REMAINS - - AHU OR BURIAL-PLACES - - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 31. - - STATUE AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. - - For back of statue see fig. 106. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 32. - - AKAHANGA COVE AND NEIGHBOURING AHU. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 33. - - AHU TONGARIKI, SEAWARD SIDE. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 34. - - AHU TONGARIKI, LANDWARD SIDE. - - With fifteen fallen statues. - - For distant view, see fig. 73. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 35. - - AHU VINAPU. -] - -It was these burial-places, on which the images were then standing, -which so strongly impressed the early voyagers and whose age and origin -have remained an unsolved problem. - -During the whole of our time on the island we worked on the ahu as way -opened. Those which happened to lie near to either of our camps were -naturally easy of access, but to reach the more distant ones, notably -those on the north shore, involved a long expedition. Such a day began -with perhaps an hour’s ride; at noon there was an interval for luncheon, -when, in hot weather, the neighbourhood was scoured for miles to find -the smallest atom of shade; and the day ended with a journey home of not -less than two hours, during which an anxious eye was kept on the sinking -sun. The usual method, as each ahu was reached, was for S. to dismount, -measure it and describe it, while I sat on my pony and scribbled down -notes; but in some manner or other every part of the coast was by one or -both of us ridden over several times, and a written statement made of -the size, kind, condition, and name of each monument. - -Unfortunately there is in existence no large-scale plan of the coast, a -need we had to supply as best we could; map of Easter Island there is -none, only the crude chart; the efforts of our own surveyor were -limited, by the time at his disposal, to making detailed plans of a few -of the principal spots. The want is to be regretted geographically, but -it does not materially affect the archæological result. We were always -accompanied by native guides in order to learn local names and -traditions, and it was soon found necessary to make a point of these -being old men; owing to the concentration of the remains of the -population in one district, all names elsewhere, except those of the -most important places, are speedily being forgotten. The memories of -even the older men were sometimes shaky, and to get reasonably complete -and accurate information the whole of a district had, in more than one -case, to be gone over again with a second ancient who turned out to have -lived in the neighbourhood in his youth and hence to be a better -authority. - -_Original Design and Construction of Image Ahu._—The burial-places are -not all of one type, nor all constructed to carry statues; some also are -known to have been built comparatively recently, and will therefore be -described under a later section. The image ahu are, however, all -prehistoric. They number just under a hundred, or over one-third of the -whole.[21] The figures connected with them, of which traces still -remain, were counted as 231, but as many are in fragments, this number -is uncertain. - -Atypical image ahu (fig. 36) is composed of a long wall running parallel -with the sea, which, in a large specimen, is as much as 15 feet in -height and 300 feet in length; it is buttressed on the land side with a -great slope of masonry. The wall is in three divisions. The main or -central portion projects in the form of a terrace on which the images -stood, with their backs to the sea; it is therefore broad enough to -carry their oval bed-plates; these measure up to about 10 feet in length -by 8 feet or 9 feet in width, and are flush with the top of the wall. On -the great ahu of Tongariki there have been fifteen statues, but -sometimes an ahu has carried one figure only. - -The wall which forms the landward side of the terrace is continued on -either hand in a straight line, thus adding a wing at each end of the -central portion which stands somewhat farther back from the sea (fig. -41). Images were sometimes placed on the wings, but it was not usual. -From this continuous wall the masonry slopes steeply till it reaches a -containing wall, some 3 feet high, formed of finely wrought slabs of -great size and of peculiar shape; the workmanship put into this wall is -usually the most highly finished of any part of the ahu. Extending -inland from the foot of this low wall is a large, raised, and smoothly -paved expanse. The upper surface of this, too, has an appreciable fall, -or slope, inland, though it is almost horizontal, when compared with the -glacis. - -By the method of construction of this area, vault accommodation is -obtained between its surface pavement and the sheet of volcanic rock -below, on which the whole rests. In the largest specimen the whole slope -of masonry, measured that is from either the sea-wall of the wing or -from the landward wall of the terrace to its farthest extent, is about -250 feet. Beyond this the ground is sometimes levelled for another 50 or -60 yards, forming a smooth sward which much enhanced the appearance of -the ahu. In two cases the ahu is approached by a strip of narrow -pavement formed of water-worn boulders laid flat, and bordered with the -same kind of stone set on end; one of these pavements is 220 feet in -length by 12 feet in width, the other is somewhat smaller (fig. 93). - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 36.—DIAGRAM OF IMAGE AHU. -] - -The general principle on which the sea or main walls are constructed is -usually the same, though the various ahu differ greatly in appearance: -first comes a row of foundation blocks on which have been set upright -the largest stones that could be found; the upper part of the wall is -composed of smaller stones, and it is finished with a coping. The -variety in effect is due to the difference in material used. In some -cases, as at Tongariki (fig. 33), the most convenient stone available -has consisted of basalt which has cooled in fairly regular cubes, and -the rows are there comparatively uniform in size; in other instances, as -at Ahu Tepeu on the west coast (fig. 37), the handiest material has been -sheets of lava, which have hardened as strata, and when these have been -used the first tier of the wall is composed of huge slabs up to 9 feet -in height. Irregularities in the shape and size of the big stones are -rectified by fitting in small pieces and surmounting the shorter slabs -with additional stones until the whole is brought to a uniform level; on -the top of this now even tier horizontal blocks are laid, till the whole -is the desired height (fig. 42). The amount of finish put into the work -varies greatly: in many ahu the walls are all constructed of rough -material; in others, while the slabs are untouched, the stones which -bring them to the level and the cubes on the top are well wrought; in a -very few instances, of which Vinapu (fig. 35) is the best example, the -whole is composed of beautifully finished work. Occasionally, as at -Oroi, natural outcrops of rock have been adapted to carry statues (fig. -122). - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 37. - - AHU TEPEU. - - Part of seaward wall showing large slabs—some of the stones forming - upper courses are wrought foundation-stones of canoe-shaped houses, - pp. 215–16. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 38. - - METHOD OF EXPOSING THE DEAD FROM ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTIONS. -] - -The study of the ahu is simplified by the fact that they were being used -in living memory for the purpose for which they were doubtless -originally built. They have been termed “burial-places,” but burial in -its usual sense was not the only, nor in most cases their principal, -object. On death the corpse was wrapped in a tapa blanket and enclosed -in its mattress of reeds; fish-hooks, chisels, and other objects were -sometimes included. It was then bound into a bundle and carried on -staves to the ahu, where it was exposed on an oblong framework. This -consisted of four corner uprights set up in the ground, the upper -extremities of which were Y-shaped, two transverse bars rested in the -bifurcated ends, one at the head, the other at the foot, and on these -transverse bars were placed the extremities of the bundle which wrapped -the corpse. The description and sketch are based on a model framework, -and a wrapped-up figure, one of the wooden images of the island, -prepared by the natives to amplify their verbal description.[22] At -times, instead of the four supports, two stones were used with a hole in -each, into which a Y-shaped stick was placed (fig. 38). While the corpse -remained on the ahu the district was marked off by the péra, or taboo, -for the dead; no fishing was allowed near, and fires and cooking were -forbidden within certain marks—the smoke, at any rate, must be hidden or -smothered with grass. Watch was kept by four relatives, and anyone -breaking the regulations was liable to be brained. The mourning might -last one, two, or even three years, by which time the whole thing had, -of course, fallen to pieces. The bones were either left on the ahu, or -collected and put into vaults of oblong shape, which were kept for the -family, or they might be buried elsewhere. The end of the mourning was -celebrated by a great feast, after which ceremony, as one recorder -cheerfully concluded, “Pappa was finished.” - -Looked at from the landward side, we may, therefore, conceive an ahu as -a vast theatre stage, of which the floor runs gradually upwards from the -footlights. The back of the stage, which is thus the highest part, is -occupied by a great terrace, on which are set up in line the giant -images, each one well separated from his neighbour, and all facing the -spectator. Irrespective of where he stands he will ever see them -towering above him, clear cut out against a turquoise sky. In front of -them are the remains of the departed. Unseen, on the farther side of the -terrace, is the sea. The stone giants, and the faithful dead over whom -they watch, are never without music, as countless waves launch their -strength against the pebbled shore, showering on the figures a cloud of -mist and spray. - -_Reconstruction and Transformation._—Those which have been described are -ideal image ahu, but not one now remains in its original condition. It -is by no means unusual to find, even in the oldest parts now existing, -that is in walls erected to carry statues, pieces of still older images -built into the stonework; in one case a whole statue has been used as a -slab for the sea-wall, showing that alteration has taken place even when -the cult was alive (fig. 42). Again, a considerable number of ahu, some -thirteen in all, after being destroyed and terminating their career as -image-terraces, have been rebuilt after the fashion of others -constructed originally on a different plan (fig. 39). This is a type for -which no name was found: it is in form that of a semi-pyramid, and there -are between fifty and sixty on the island, in addition to those which -have been in the first place image ahu (fig. 42). A few are -comparatively well made, but most are very rough. They resemble a -pyramid cut in two, so that the section forms a triangle; this triangle -is the sea-wall; the flanking buttress on the land side is made of -stones, and is widest at the apex or highest point, gradually -diminishing to the angles or extremities. The greatest height, in the -centre, varies from about 5 feet to 12 feet, and a large specimen may -extend in length from 100 feet to 160 feet. They contain vaults. In a -few instances they are ornamented by broken pieces of image-stone, and -occasionally by a row of small cairns along the top, which recall the -position of the statues on the image-platform; for these no very certain -reason was forthcoming, they were varyingly reported to be signs of -“péra” or as marking the respective right of families on the ahu. As -image-terraces may be found reconstructed as pyramid ahu, the latter -form of building must have been carried on longer than the former, and -probably till recent times, but there is nothing to show whether or not -the earliest specimens of pyramid ahu are contemporary with the great -works, or even earlier. - -_Overthrow of the Images and Destruction of the Ahu._—The only piece of -a statue which still remains on its bed-plate is the fragment already -alluded to at Tongariki (fig. 34). In the best-preserved specimens the -figures lie on their faces like a row of huge nine-pins; some are -intact, but many are broken, the cleavage having generally occurred when -the falling image has come in contact with the containing wall at the -lower level. The curious way in which the heads have not infrequently -turned a somersault while falling and now lie face uppermost is shown in -the eighth figure from the western end on Tongariki ahu (fig. 34). - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 39. - - A SEMI-PYRAMID AHU. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 40. - - DIAGRAM OF SEMI-PYRAMID AHU. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 41. - - AHU MAHATUA, SEAWARD SIDE - - Image ahu, with east wing clearly defined. Landward side and centre - converted to semi-pyramid form. -] - -No one now living remembers a statue standing on an ahu; and legend, -though not of a very impressive character, has already arisen to account -for the fall of some of them. An old man arrived, it is said, in the -neighbourhood of Tongariki, and as he was unable to speak, he made known -by means of signs that he wished for chicken-heads to eat; these were -not forthcoming. He slept, however, in one of the houses there, and -during the night his hosts were aroused by a great noise, which he gave -it to be understood was made by his feet tapping against the stone -foundations of the house. In the morning it was found that the statues -on the great ahu had all fallen: it was the revenge of the old man. Such -lore is, however, mixed up with more tangible statements to the effect -that the figures were overthrown in tribal warfare by means of a rope, -or by taking away the small stones from underneath the bed-plates, and -thus causing them to fall forward. That the latter method had been used -had been concluded independently by studying the remains themselves. It -will be seen later, that other statues which have been set up in earth -were deliberately dug out, and it seems unnecessary to look, as some -have done, to an earthquake to account for their collapse. - -Moreover, the conclusion that the images owed their fall to deliberate -vandalism during internecine warfare is confirmed by knowledge, which -still survives, connected with the destruction of the last one. This -image stood alone on an ahu on the north coast, called Paro, and is the -tallest known to have been put up on a terrace, being 32 feet in height. -The events occurred just before living memory, and, like most stories in -Easter Island, it is connected with cannibalism. A woman of the western -clans was eaten by men of the eastern; her son managed to trap thirty of -the enemy in a cave and consumed them in revenge; and during the ensuing -struggle this image was thrown down (fig. 78). The oldest man living -when we were on the island said that he was an infant at the time; and -another, a few years younger, stated that his father as a boy helped his -grandfather in the fight. It is not, after all, only in Easter Island -that pleasure has been taken during war-time in destroying the -architectural treasures of the enemy. - -While, therefore, the date of the erection of the earliest image ahu is -lost in the mists of antiquity, nor are we yet in a position to say when -the building stopped, we can give approximately the time of the -overthrow of the images. We know, from the accounts of the early -voyagers, that the statues, or the greater number of them, were still in -place in the eighteenth century; by the early part of the middle of the -nineteenth century not one was standing. - -The destruction of the ahu has continued in more modern days. A manager, -whose sheep had found the fresh-water springs below high water, thinking -they were injuring themselves by drinking from the sea, erected a wall -round a large part of the coast to keep them from it. For this wall the -ahu came in of course most conveniently; it was run through a great -number and their material used for its construction. One wing of -Tongariki has been pulled down to form an enclosure for the livestock. -In addition to the damage wrought by man, the ocean is ever encroaching: -in some cases part of an ahu has already fallen into the sea, and more -is preparing to follow; statues may be found lying on their backs in -process of descending into the waves (fig. 43). One row of images, on -the extreme western edge of the crater of Rano Kao, which were visible, -although inaccessible, at the time of the visit of the U.S.A. ship -_Mohican_ in 1886, are now lying on the shore a thousand feet below. As -the result of these various causes the burial-places of Easter Island -are, as has been seen, all in ruins, and many are scarcely recognisable; -only their huge stones and prostrate figures show what they must once -have been. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 42. - - AHU MAITAKI-TE-MOA, SEAWARD SIDE. - - An image ahu partially destroyed and changed to semi-pyramid type. A - statue from Raraku lies in foreground; another statue of different - stone forms part of the main wall. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 43 - - AHU RUNGA-VAE, ON SOUTH COAST, UNDERMINED BY THE SEA. - - Statue has fallen backwards. -] - - - - - PREHISTORIC REMAINS - - STATUES AND CROWNS - - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 44. - - [_Opposite fig. 45_ -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 45. - - RANO RARAKU FROM THE SEA. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 46. - - RANO RARAKU FROM THE SOUTH-WEST. - - Images prostrate in foreground and erect on slope; quarries above. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 47. - - RANO RARAKU, INTERIOR OF CRATER. - - Diagrammatic sketch showing position of statues on slope and in - quarry. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - PREHISTORIC REMAINS (_continued_) - STATUES AND CROWNS - - Rano Raraku, its Quarries and Standing Statues—the South-east Face of - the Mountain—Isolated Statues—Roads—Stone Crowns of the Images. - - -Strange as it may appear, it is by no means easy to obtain a complete -view of a statue on the island: most of the images which were formerly -on the ahu lie on their faces, many are broken, and detail has largely -been destroyed by weather. Happily, we are not dependent for our -knowledge of the images on such information as we can gather from the -ruins on the ahu, but are able to trace them to their origin, though -even here excavation is necessary to see the entire figure. Rano Raraku -is, as has already been explained, a volcanic cone containing a crater -lake. It resembles, to use an unromantic simile, one of the china -drinking-vessels dedicated to the use of dogs, whose base is larger than -their brim. Its sides are for the most part smooth and sloping, and -several carriages could drive abreast on the northern rim of the crater, -but towards the south-east it rises in height, and from this aspect it -looks as if the circular mass had been sliced down with a giant knife -forming it into a precipitous cliff. The cliff is lowest where the -imaginary knife has come nearest to the central lake, thus causing the -two ends to stand out as the peaks already mentioned (fig. 45). - -The mountain is composed of compressed volcanic ash, which has been -found in certain places to be particularly suitable for quarrying; it -has been worked on the southern exterior slope, and also inside the -crater both on the south and south-eastern sides. With perhaps a dozen -exceptions, the whole of the images in the island have been made from -it, and they have been dragged from this point up hill and down dale to -adorn the terraces round the coast-line of the island; even the images -on the ahu, which have fallen into the sea on the further extremity of -the western volcano, are said to have been of the same stone. It is -conspicuous in being a reddish brown colour, of which the smallest chips -can be easily recognised. It is composite in character, and embedded in -the ash are numerous lapilli of metamorphic rock. Owing to the nature of -this rock the earliest European visitors came to the conclusion that the -material was factitious and that the statues were built of clay and -stones; it was curious to find that the marooned prisoners of war of our -own time fell into the same mistake of thinking that the figures were -“made up.” - -The workable belt, generally speaking, forms a horizontal section about -half-way up the side of the mountain. Below it, both on the exterior and -within the crater, are banks of detritus, and on these statues have been -set up; most of them are still in place, but they have been buried in -greater or less degree by the descent of earth from above (fig. 57). Mr. -Ritchie made a survey of the mountain with the adjacent coast, but it -was found impossible to record the results of our work without some sort -of plan or diagram which was large enough to show every individual -image. This was accomplished by first studying each quarry, note-book in -hand, and then, with the aid of field glasses, amalgamating the results -from below; the standing statues being inserted in their relation to the -quarries above. It was a lengthy but enjoyable undertaking. Part of the -diagram of the exterior has been redrawn with the help of photographs -(fig. 60); the plan of the inside of the crater is shown in what is -practically its original form (fig. 47). - -_Quarries of Rano Raraku._—Leaving on one side for the moment the -figures on the lower slope, let us in imagination scramble up the grassy -side, a steep climb of some one or two hundred feet to where the rock -has been hewn away into a series of chambers and ledges. Here images lie -by the score in all stages of evolution, just as they were left when, -for some unknown reason, the workmen laid down their tools for the last -time and the busy scene was still. Here, as elsewhere, the wonder of the -place can only be appreciated as the eye becomes trained to see. In the -majority of cases the statues still form part of the rock, and are -frequently covered with lichen or overgrown with grass and ferns; and -even in the illustrations, for which prominent figures have naturally -been chosen, the reader may find that he has to look more than once in -order to recognise the form. A conspicuous one first strikes the -beholder: as he gazes, he finds with surprise that the walls on either -hand are themselves being wrought into figures, and that, resting in a -niche above him, is another giant; he looks down, and realises with a -start that his foot is resting on a mighty face. To the end of our visit -we occasionally found a figure which had escaped observation. - -[Illustration: - - Fig. 48. - - DIAGRAM OF RANO RARAKU. -] - -The workings on the exterior of Raraku first attract attention; here -their size, and incidentally that of many of the statues, has largely -been determined by fissures in the hillside, which run vertically and at -distances of perhaps 40 feet. The quarries have been worked differently, -and each has a character of its own. In some of them the principal -figures lie in steps, with their length parallel to the hill’s -horizontal axis; one of this type is reached through a narrow opening in -the rock, and recalls the side-chapel of some old cathedral, save that -nature’s blue sky forms the only roof (no. 74, fig. 60); immediately -opposite the doorway there lies, on a base of rock, in quiet majesty, a -great recumbent figure. So like is it to some ancient effigy that the -awed spectator involuntarily catches his breath, as if suddenly brought -face to face with a tomb of the mighty dead. Once, on a visit to this -spot, a rather quaint little touch of nature supervened: going there -early in the morning, with the sunlight still sparkling on the floor of -dewy grass, a wild-cat, startled by our approach, rushed away from the -rock above, and the natives, clambering up, found nestling beneath a -statue at a high level a little family of blind kittens. - -In other instances the images have been carved lying, not horizontally, -but vertically, with sometimes the head, and sometimes the base, toward -the summit of the hill. But no exact system has been followed, the -figures are found in all places, and all positions. When there was a -suitable piece of rock it has been carved into a statue, without any -special regard to surroundings or direction. Interspersed with embryo -and completed images are empty niches from which others have already -been removed; and finished statues must, in some cases, have been passed -out over the top of those still in course of construction. From all the -outside quarries is seen the same wonderful panorama: immediately -beneath are the statues which stand on the lower slopes; farther still -lie the prostrate ones beside the approach; while beyond is the whole -stretch of the southern plain, with its white line of breaking surf -ending in the western mountain of Rano Kao (fig. 54). - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 49. - - STATUE IN QUARRY, PARTIALLY SCULPTURED. - - [No. 41. Fig. 60.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 50. - - STATUE IN QUARRY. - - Attached to rock by “keel” only. Top of head (flat surface) towards - spectator. - [No. 61. Fig. 60.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 51. - - STATUE IN QUARRY. - - Ready to be launched; movement prevented by stone wedges. Base towards - spectator. - [No. 57. Fig. 60.] -] - -The quarries within the crater are on the same lines as those without, -save that those on the south-eastern side form a more continuous whole. -Here the most striking position is on the top of the seaward cliff, in -the centre of which is a large finished image (no. 16, fig. 47); on one -side the ground falls away more or less steeply to the crater lake, on -the other a stone thrown down would reach the foot of the precipice; the -view extends from sea to sea. Over all the most absolute stillness -reigns. - -The statues in the quarries number altogether over 150. Amongst this -mass of material there is no difficulty in tracing the course of the -work. The surface of the rock, which will form the figure, has generally -been laid bare before work upon it began, but occasionally the image was -wrought lying partially under a canopy (fig. 49). In a few cases the -stone has been roughed out into preliminary blocks (no. 58, fig. 60), -but this procedure is not universal, and seems to have been followed -only where there was some doubt as to the quality of the material. When -this was not the case the face and anterior aspect of the statue were -first carved, and the block gradually became isolated as the material -was removed in forming the head, base, and sides. A gutter or alley-way -was thus made round the image (fig. 55), in which the niches where each -man has stood or squatted to his work can be clearly seen; it is, -therefore, possible to count how many were at work at each side of a -figure. - -When the front and sides were completed down to every detail of the -hands, the undercutting commenced. The rock beneath was chipped away by -degrees till the statue rested only on a narrow strip of stone running -along the spine; those which have been left at this stage resemble -precisely a boat on its keel, the back being curved in the same way as a -ship’s bottom (fig. 50). In the next stage shown the figure is -completely detached from the rock, and chocked up by stones, looking as -if an inadvertent touch would send it sliding down the hill into the -plain below (fig. 51). In one instance the moving has evidently begun, -the image having been shifted out of the straight. In another very -interesting case the work has been abandoned when the statue was in the -middle of its descent; it has been carved in a horizontal position in -the highest part of the quarry, where its empty niche is visible, it has -then been slewed round and was being launched, base forward, across some -other empty niches at a lower level. The bottom now rests on the floor -of the quarry, and the figure, which has broken in half, is supported in -a standing fashion against the outer edge of the vacated shelves. The -first impression was that it had met with an accident in transit, and -been abandoned; but it is at least equally possible that for the purpose -of bringing it down, a bank or causeway of earth had been built up to -level the inequalities of the descent, and that it was resting on this -when the work came to an end; the soil would then in time be washed -away, and the figure fracture through loss of support. - -In the quarry which is shown in fig. 54, the finished head can be seen -lying across the opening, the body is missing, presumably broken off and -buried; the bottom of the keel on which the figure at one time rested -can be clearly traced in a projecting line of rock down the middle of -its old bed, also the different sections where the various men employed -have chipped away the stone in undermining the statue. In the quarry -wall the niches occupied by the sculptors are also visible, at more than -one level, the higher ones being discarded when the upper portion of the -work was finished and a lower station needed. The hand of the standing -boy in fig. 51 rests on a small platform similarly abandoned. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 52. STONE TOOLS (_Toki_). -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG 53. _H. Balfour del._ -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 54. - - HEAD OF A STATUE AT MOUTH OF QUARRY FROM WHICH IT HAS BEEN HEWN. - - [No. 72. Fig. 60.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 55. - - UPPER PORTION OF LARGEST IMAGE IN QUARRY, WITH ALLEY-WAY FOR WORKMEN. - - [No.64. Fig. 50.] -] - -The tools were found with which the work has been done. One type of -these can be seen lying about in great abundance (fig. 52). They are of -the same material as the lapilli in the statues, and made by flaking. -Some specimens are pointed at both ends, others have one end more or -less rounded. It is unlikely that they were hafted, and they were -probably held in the hand when in use. They were apparently discarded as -soon as the point became damaged. There is another tool much more -carefully made, an adze blade, with the lower end bevelled off to form -the cutting edge. In the specimen shown, the top is much abraded -apparently from hammering with a maul or mallet (fig. 53). These are -rarely found, the probability being that they were too precious to leave -and were taken home by the workmen. The whole process was not -necessarily very lengthy; a calculation of the number of men who could -work at the stone at the same time, and the amount each could -accomplish, gave the rather surprising result that a statue might be -roughed out within the space of fifteen days. The most notable part of -the work was the skill which kept the figure so perfect in design and -balance that it was subsequently able to maintain its equilibrium in a -standing position; to this it is difficult to pay too high a tribute. - -It remains to account for the vast number of images to be found in the -quarry. A certain number have, no doubt, been abandoned prior to the -general cessation of the work; in some cases a flaw has been found in -the rock and the original plan has had to be given up—in this case, part -of the stone is sometimes used for either a smaller image or one cut at -a different angle. In other instances the sculptors have been unlucky -enough to come across at important points one or more of the hard -nodules with which their tools could not deal, and as the work could not -go down to posterity with a large wart on its nose or excrescence on its -chin, it has had to be stopped. But when all these instances have been -subtracted, the amount of figures remaining in the quarries is still -startlingly large when compared with the number which have been taken -out of it, and must have necessitated, if they were all in hand at once, -a number of workers out of all proportion to any population which the -island has ever been likely to have maintained. The theory naturally -suggests itself that some were merely rock carvings and not intended to -be removed. It is one which needs to be adopted with caution, for more -than once, where every appearance has pointed to its being correct, a -similar neighbour has been found which was actually being removed; on -the whole, however, there can be little doubt that it is at any rate a -partial solution of the problem. Some of the images are little more than -embossed carvings on the face of the rock without surrounding -alley-ways. In one instance, inside the crater, a piece of rock which -has been left standing on the very summit of the cliff has been utilised -in such a way that the figure lies on its side, while its back is formed -by the outward precipice (fig. 56); this is contrary to all usual -methods, and it seems improbable that it was intended to make it into a -standing statue. Perhaps the strongest evidence is afforded by the size -of some of the statues: the largest (fig. 55; no. 64, fig. 60) is 66 -feet in length, whereas 36 feet is the extreme ever found outside the -quarry; tradition, it is true, points out the ahu on the south coast for -which this monster was designed, but it is difficult to believe it was -ever intended to move such a mass. If this theory is correct, it would -be interesting to know whether the stage of carving came first, and that -of removal followed, as the workmen became more expert; or whether it -was the result of decadence when labour may have become scarce. It is, -of course, possible that the two methods proceeded concurrently, rock -carvings being within the means of those who could not procure the -labour necessary to move the statue. - -Legendary lore throws no light on these matters, nor on the reasons -which led to the desertion of this labyrinth of work; it has invented a -story which entirely satisfies the native mind and is repeated on every -occasion. There was a certain old woman who lived at the southern corner -of the mountain and filled the position of cook to the image-makers. She -was the most important person of the establishment, and moved the images -by supernatural power (_mana_), ordering them about at her will. One -day, when she was away, the workers obtained a fine lobster, which had -been caught on the west coast, and ate it up, leaving none for her; -unfortunately they forgot to conceal the remains, and when the cook -returned and found how she had been treated, she arose in her wrath, -told all the images to fall down, and thus brought the work to a -standstill. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 56. - - STATUE CARVED ON EDGE OF PRECIPICE. - - INTERIOR OF CRATER. - - [No. 27. Fig. 47.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 57. - - STANDING STATUES ON EXTERIOR OF RANO RARAKU SHOWING PARTIAL BURIAL. -] - -_Standing Statues of Rano Raraku._—Descending from the quarries, we turn -to the figures below. A few at the foot of the mountain have obviously -been thrown down; one of these (no. 6, fig. 60) was wrecked in the same -conflict as the one on Ahu Paro, and one is shown where an attempt has -been made to cut off the head. Another series of images have originally -stood round the base on level ground (nos. 1, 2, 3, fig. 60), extending -from the exterior of the entrance to the crater to the southern corner; -these are all prostrate. On the slopes there are a few horizontal -statues, but the great majority, both inside the crater and without, are -still erect. Outside, some forty figures stand in an irregular belt, -reaching from the corner nearest the sea to about half-way to the gap -leading into the crater. The bottom of the mountain is here diversified -by little hillocks and depressions; these hillocks would have made -commanding situations, but rather curiously the statues, while erected -quite close to them, and even on their sides, are never on the top. -Inside the crater, where some twenty statues are still erect, the -arrangement is rather more regular; but, on the whole, they are put up -in no apparent order. All stood with their backs to the mountain. - -They vary very considerably in size; the tallest which could be measured -from its base was 32 feet 3 inches, while others are not much above 11 -feet. Every statue is buried in greater or less degree, but while some -are exposed as far as the elbow, in others only a portion of the top of -the head can be seen above the surface (fig. 57), others no doubt are -covered entirely. The number visible must vary from time to time, as by -the movement of the earth some are buried and others disclosed. An old -man, whose testimony was generally reliable, stated, when speaking of -the figures on the outside of the mountain, that while those nearer the -sea were in the same condition as he always remembered them, those -farther from it were now more deeply buried than in his youth. - -Various old people were brought out from the village at Hanga Roa to pay -visits to the camp, but the information forthcoming was never of great -extent; one elderly gentleman in particular took much more interest in -roaming round the mountain, recalling various scenes of his youth, than -in anything connected with the statues. A few names are still remembered -in connection with the individual figures, and are said to be those of -the makers of the images, and some proof is afforded of the reality of -the tradition by the fact that the clans of the persons named are -consistently given. Another class of names is, however, obviously -derived merely from local circumstances; one in the quarry, under a drip -from above, is known by the equivalent for “Dropping Water,” while a -series inside the crater are called after the birds which frequent the -cliff-side, “Kia-kia, Flying,” “Kia-kia, Sitting,” and so forth. A -solitary legend relates to an unique figure, resembling rather a block -than an image, which lies on the surface on the outside of the mountain -(no. 24, fig. 60). It is the single exception to the rule mentioned -above, that no evolution can be traced in the statues on the island. The -usual conception is there, and the hands are shown, but the head seems -to melt into the body and the ear and arm to have become confused. It is -said to have been the first image made and is known as Tai-haré-atua, -which tradition says was the name of the maker. He found himself unable -to fashion it properly, and went over to the other side of the island to -consult with a man who lived near Hanga Roa, named Rauwai-ika. He stayed -the night there, but the expert remained silent, and he was retiring -disappointed in the morning, when he was followed by his host, who -called him back. “Make your image,” said he, “like me,”—that is, in form -of a man. - -On our first visit to the mountain, overcome by the wonder of the scene, -we turned to our Fernandez boy and asked him what he thought of the -statues. Like the classical curate, when the bishop inquired as to the -character of his egg, he struggled manfully between the desire to please -and a sense of truth; like the curate, he took refuge in compromise. -“Some of them,” he said doubtfully, he thought “were very nice.” If the -figures at first strike even the cultured observer as crude and archaic, -it must be remembered that not only are they the work of stone tools, -but to be rightly seen should not be scrutinised near at hand. -“Hoa-haka-nanaia,” for instance, is wholly and dismally out of place -under a smoky portico, but on the slopes of a mountain, gazing in -impenetrable calm over sea and land, the simplicity of outline is soon -found to be marvellously impressive. The longer the acquaintance the -more this feeling strengthens; there is always the sense of quiet -dignity, of suggestion and of mystery. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 58. - - STATUES ON RANO RARAKU, SHOWING DISTENSION OF EAR. - - LOBE REPRESENTED AS A ROPE - - [Nos. 27 and 29. Fig. 60.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 59. - - LOBE CONTAINING A DISC. - - [No. 23. Fig. 60.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 60A. - - KEY TO DIAGRAMMATIC SKETCH. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 60. - - EXTERIOR OF RANO RARAKU. EASTERN PORTION OF SOUTHERN ASPECT. - - Diagrammatic sketch showing position of statues. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 61. - - DIGGING OUT A STATUE. - - For same image after excavation see fig. 69. -] - -While the scene on Raraku always arouses a species of awe, it is -particularly inspiring at sunset, when, as the light fades, the images -gradually become outlined as stupendous black figures against the -gorgeous colouring of the west. The most striking sight witnessed on the -island was a fire on the hillside; in order to see our work more clearly -we set alight the long dry grass, always a virtuous act on Easter Island -that the livestock may have the benefit of fresh shoots; in a moment the -whole was a blaze, the mountain, wreathed in masses of driving smoke, -grew to portentous size, the quarries loomed down from above as dark -giant masses, and in the whirl of flame below the great statues stood -out calmly, with a quiet smile, like stoical souls in Hades. - -The questions which arise are obvious: do these buried statues differ in -any way from those in the workings above, from those on the ahu or from -one another? were they put up on any foundation? and, above all, what is -the history of the mountain and the _raison d’être_ of the figures? In -the hope of throwing some light on these problems we started to dig them -out. It had originally been thought that the excavation of one or two -would give all the information which it was possible to obtain, but each -case was found to have unique and instructive features, and we finally -unearthed in this way, wholly or in part, some twenty or thirty statues. -It was usually easy to trace the stages by which the figures had been -gradually covered. On the top was a layer of surface soil, from 3 to 8 -inches in depth; then came debris, which had descended from the quarry -above in the form of rubble, it contained large numbers of chisels, some -forty of which have been found in digging out one statue; below this was -the substance in which a hole had been dug to erect the image, it -sometimes consisted of clay and occasionally in part of rock. Not -unfrequently the successive descents of earth could be traced by the -thin lines of charcoal which marked the old surfaces, obviously the -result of grass or brushwood fires. The few statues which are in a -horizontal position are always on the surface (no. 31, fig. 60), and at -first give the impression that they have been abandoned in the course of -being brought down from the quarries; as they are frequently found close -to standing images, of which only the head is visible, it follows that, -if this is the correct solution, the work must still have been -proceeding when the earlier statues were already largely submerged. The -juxtaposition, however, occurs so often that it seems, on the whole, -more probable that the rush of earth which covered some, upset the -foundations of others, and either threw them down where they stood or -carried them with it on top of the flood. These various landslips allow -of no approximate deductions as to the date, in the manner which is -possible with successively deposited layers of earth. - -To get absolutely below the base of an image was not altogether easy. -The first we attempted to dig out was one of the farther ones within the -crater (no. 19, fig. 47); it was found that, while the back of the hole -into which it had been dropped was excavated in the soft volcanic ash, -the front and remaining sides were of hard rock. This rock was cut to -the curvature of the figure at a distance of some 3 inches from it, and -as the chisel marks were horizontal, from right to left, the workmen -must have stood in the cup while preparing it: in clearing out the -alluvium between the wall of the cup and the figure, six stone -implements were found. The hands, which were about 1 foot below the -level of the rim, were perfectly formed. The next statue chosen for -excavation was also inside the crater (no. 107, fig. 47); it was most -easily attacked from the side, and this time it was possible to get low -enough to see that it stood on no foundation, and that the base instead -of expanding, as with those which stood on the ahu, contracted in such a -manner as to give a peg-shaped appearance; this confirmed the impression -made by the previous excavation, that the image was intended to remain -in its hole and was not, as some have stated, merely awaiting removal to -an ahu (fig. 62). - -The story was shown not only in the sections of the excavation, but in -the degrees of weathering on the figure itself: the lowest part of the -image to above the elbow exhibited, by the sharpness of its outlines and -frequently of the chisel cuts also, that it had never been exposed, the -other portions being worn in relative degrees. Traces of the smoothness -of the original surface can still be seen above-ground in the more -protected portions of some of the statues, such as in the orbit and -under the chin (see frontispiece); but a much clearer impression is of -course gained of the finish and detail of the image when the unweathered -surface is exposed. The polish is often very beautiful, and pieces of -pumice, called “punga,” are found, with which the figures are said to -have been rubbed down. The fingers taper, and the excessive length of -the thumb-joint and nail are remarkable (fig. 72). The nipples are in -some cases so pronounced that the natives often characterised them as -feminine, but in no case which we came across did the statues represent -other than the nude male figure[23]; the navel is indicated by a raised -disc. On the statue with the contracting base, which is one of the best, -the surface modelling of the elbow-joint is clearly shown. The orbital -cavity in the figures on Raraku is rather differently modelled from -those on the ahu; in the statues on the mountain the position of the -eyeball is always indicated by a straight line below the brow, the orbit -has no lower border (fig. 72). On the terraces the socket is constantly -hollowed out as in the figure at the British Museum (fig. 31). - - EXCAVATED IMAGES. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 62. - - Showing effect of weathering and peg-shaped base. - - [No. 107. Fig. 47.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 63. - - Showing scamped work in lower part of figure, no right hand carved, - and surface only coarsely chiselled. - - [No. 36. Fig. 47.] -] - - DESIGNS ON BACKS OF IMAGES. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 64. - - BACK OF AN EXCAVATED STATUE. - - Showing (_a_) typical raised rings and girdle; (_b_) exceptional - incised carvings. - - [No. 109. Fig. 47.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 65. - - _P. Edmunds._ - - STATUE ON AN AHU AT ANAKENA. - - Rings on centre and lower portion of back. -] - -The eye is the only point in which the two sets vary, with the important -exception that some on the mountain have a type of back which never -appears on the ahu. This question of back proved to be of special -interest: in some images it remained exactly as when the figure left the -quarry, the whole was convex, giving it a thick and archaic appearance, -particularly as regards the neck; in other instances, the posterior was -beautifully modelled after the same fashion as those on the terraces, -the stone had been carefully chipped away till the ears stood out from -the back of the head, the neck assumed definite form, and the spine, -instead of standing out as a sharp ridge, was represented by an incised -line. This second type, when excavated, proved, to our surprise, to -possess a well-carved design in the form of a girdle shown by three -raised bands, this was surmounted by one or sometimes by two rings, and -immediately beneath it was another design somewhat in the shape of an M -(figs. 64 and 106). The whole was new, not only to us, but to the -natives, who greatly admired it. Later, when we knew what to look for, -traces of the girdle could be seen also on the figures on the ahu where -the arm had protected it from the weather. It was afterwards realised -with amusement that the discovery of this design might have been made -before leaving England by merely passing the barrier and walking behind -the statues in the Bloomsbury portico. One case was found, a statue at -Anakena, where a ring was visible, not only on the back but also on each -of the buttocks, and in view of subsequent information these lower rings -became of special importance. The girdle in this case consisted of one -line only; the detail of the carving had doubtless been preserved by -being buried in the sand (fig. 65). The two forms of back, unmodelled -and modelled, stand side by side on the mountain (figs. 66, 67). - -The next step was to discover where and when the modelling was done. -Certainly not in the original place in the quarry, where it would be -impossible from the position in which the image was evolved; generally -speaking there was no trace of such work, and it was not until many -months later that new light was thrown on the matter. Then it was -remarked that in one of the standing statues on the outside of the hill, -which was buried up to the neck (fig. 59), while the right ear was most -carefully modelled, showing a disc, the left ear was as yet quite plain, -and that the back of the head also was not symmetrical. Excavations made -clear that the whole back was in course of transformation from the -boat-shaped to the modelled type, each workman apparently chipping away -where it seemed to him good (fig. 68). Two or three similar cases were -then found on which work was proceeding; but on the other hand, some of -the simpler backs were excavated to the foot, and others a considerable -distance, and there was no indication that any alteration was intended. -There are three possible explanations for these erect and partially -moulded statues: Firstly, it may have been the regular method for the -back to be completed after the statue was set up, in which case some -kind of staging must have been used; one of our guides had made a -remark, noted, but not taken very seriously at the moment, that “the -statues were set up to be finished”; some knowledge or tradition of such -work, therefore, appeared to linger. Secondly, the convex back may be -the older form, and those on which work was being done were being -modelled to bring them up-to-date. Alteration did at times take place; a -certain small image presented a very curious appearance both from the -proportion of the body, which was singularly narrow from back to front, -and because it was difficult to see how it remained in place as it was -apparently exposed to the base; it turned out that the figure had been -carved out of the head of an older statue, of which the body was buried -below (no. 14, fig. 60). Thirdly, these particular figures may have been -erected and left in an unfinished condition; if so, their deficiencies -were high up and would be obvious. - - BACKS OF STANDING STATUES, RANO RARAKU. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 66. - - Unmodelled. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 67. - - Modelled. -] - - EXCAVATED STATUES. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 68. - - Showing back in process of being modelled. ]No. 23. Fig. 50.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 69. - - Showing image wedged by boulders. -] - -Scamping did not often occur, and when it did so it was in the concealed -portions. In one case the left hand was correctly modelled, but the -right was not even indicated beyond the wrist (fig. 63). The statue -shown in the frontispiece, which rejoices in the name of Piro-piro, -meaning “bad odour,”[24] stands at the foot of the slope, and appears to -remain as it was set up without further burial. It is a well-made -figure, probably one of the most recent, and the upper part of the back -is carefully moulded, but on digging it out it was found that the bottom -had not been finished, but left in the form of a rough excrescence of -stone; there was no ring, but a girdle had been carved on the protruding -portion, so that this was not intended to be removed. In another -instance a large head had fallen on a slope at such an angle that it was -impossible to locate the position of the body; curiosity led to -investigation, when it was found that the thing was a fraud, the -magnificent head being attached to a little dwarf trunk, which must have -been buried originally nearly to the neck to keep the top upright. These -instances of “jerry-building” confirm our impression that at any rate a -large number of the statues were intended to remain _in situ_. - -Indications were found of two different methods of erection, and the -mode may have been determined by the nature of the ground. By the first -procedure the statue seems to have been placed on its face in the -desired spot, and a hole to have been dug beneath the base. The other -method was to undermine the base, with the statue lying face uppermost; -in several instances a number of large stones were found behind the back -of the figure, evidently having been used to wedge it while it was -dragged to the vertical. The upright position had sometimes been only -partially attained; one statue was still in a slanting attitude, -corresponding exactly to the slope of a hard clay wall behind it; the -interval between the two, varying from three yards to eighteen inches, -had been packed with sub-angular boulders which weighed about one -hundredweight, or as much as a man could lift (fig. 69). - -A few of the figures bear incised markings rudely, and apparently -promiscuously, carved. This was first noted in the case of one of two -statues which stand together nearest to the entrance of the crater; here -it has been found possible to work the rock at a low level, and in the -empty quarry, from which they no doubt have been taken, two images have -been set up, one slightly in front of the other; six still unfinished -figures lie in close proximity (figs. 70 and 71). The standing figure, -nearest to the lake, bore a rough design on the face, and when it was -dug out the back was found to be covered with similar incised marks. The -natives were much excited, and convinced that we should receive a large -sum of money in England when the photograph of these was produced, for -nothing ever dispelled the illusion that the expedition was a financial -speculation. It was these carvings more especially that we ourselves -hastily endeavoured to cover up when, on the arrival of Admiral von -Spee’s Squadron, we daily expected a visit from the officers on board. -The markings have certainly not been made by the same practised hand as -the raised girdle and rings, and appear to be comparatively recent (fig. -64). Other statues were excavated, where similar marks were noticed, -but, except in this case, digging led practically always to -disappointment. It was the part above the surface only which had been -used as a block on which to scrawl design, from the same impulse -presumably as impels the school-boy of to-day to make marks with chalk -on a hoarding. On one ahu the top of the head of a statue has been -decorated with rough faces, the carving evidently having been done after -the statue had fallen. - -In digging out the image with the tattooed back, we came across the one -and only burial which was found in connection with these figures; it was -close to it and at the level of the rings. The long bones, the patella, -and base of the skull were identified; they lay in wet soil, crushed and -intermixed with large stones, so the attitude could not be determined -beyond the fact that the head was to the right of the image and the long -bones to the left. These bones had become of the consistency of moist -clay, and could only be identified by making transverse sections of them -with a knife, after first cleaning portions longitudinally by careful -scraping. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 70. - - TWO IMAGES ERECTED IN QUARRY. FRONT VIEW. - - Prior to excavation. - - [Nos. 108–109. Fig. 47.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 71. - - TWO IMAGES ERECTED IN QUARRY. BACK VIEW. - - After excavation. - - [Nos. 109–108. Fig. 47. See also Fig. 64.] -] - -In several other instances human bones were discovered near the statues, -but, like the carvings, they appeared to be of later date than the -images. One skull was found beneath a figure which was lying face -downwards on the surface; another fragment must have been placed behind -the base after the statue had fallen forward. The natives stated that in -the epidemics which ravaged the island the statues afforded a natural -mark for depositing remains. In the same way a head near an ahu, which -was at first thought to be that of a standing statue, turned out to be -broken from the trunk and put up pathetically to mark the grave of a -little child. There is a roughly constructed ahu on the outside of Rano -Raraku at the corner nearest to the sea, of which more will be said -hereafter, and a quarried block of rock on the very top of the westerly -peak was also said to be used for the exposure of the dead (no. 75, fig. -47). Close to this block there are some very curious circular pits cut -in the rock; one examined was 5 feet 6 inches in depth and 3 feet 6 -inches in diameter (no. 74, fig. 47). It is possible they were used as -vaults, but, if so, the shape is quite different from those of the ahu. -The conclusion arrived at was that the statues themselves were not -directly connected with burials. There seems also no reason to believe -that they are put up in any order or method; they appear to have been -erected on any spot handy to the quarries where there was sufficient -earth, or even, as has been seen, in the quarry itself when -circumstances permitted. - -_The South-Eastern Side of Rano Raraku_ is a problem in itself. The -great wall formed by the cliff is like the ramparts of some giant castle -rent by vertical fissures. The greatest height, the top of the peak, is -about five hundred feet, of which the cliff forms perhaps half, the -lower part being a steep but comparatively smooth bank of detritus. Over -the grassy surface of this bank are scattered numerous fragments of -rock, weighing from a few pounds to many tons, which have fallen down -from above. The kitchen tent in our camp at the foot had a narrow escape -from being demolished by one of these stones, which nearly carried it -away in the impetus of its descent. It has never been suggested that -this face of the mountain was being worked, nevertheless, it was -subsequently difficult to understand how we lived so long below it, -gazing at it daily, before we appreciated the fact that here also, -although in much lesser degree, were both finished and embryo images. At -last one stone was definitely seen to be in the form of a head, and -excavation showed it to be an erected and buried statue. A few other -figures were found standing and prostrate, and some unfinished images; -these last, however, were in no case being hewn out of solid rock, but -wrought into shape out of detached stones. On the whole, it is not -probable that this portion was ever a quarry, in the same way as the -western side and the interior of the crater. It is, of course, -impossible to say what may be hidden beneath the detritus, but the lower -part of the cliff is too soft a rock to be satisfactorily hewn, and the -workmen appear simply to have seized on fragments which have fallen from -above. “Here,” they seem to have said, “is a good stone; let us turn it -into a statue.” - -One day, when making a more thorough examination of the slope, our -attention was excited by a small level plateau, about half-way up, from -which protruded two similar pieces of stone next to one another. They -were obviously giant noses of which the nostrils faced the cliff. -Digging was bound to follow, but it proved a long business, as the -figures it revealed were particularly massive and corpulent. Their -position was horizontal, side by side, and the effect, more particularly -when looking down at them from the cliff above, was of two great bodies -lying in their graves (fig. 73). The thing was a mystery; they were -certainly not in a quarry, but if they had once been erect, why had they -faced the mountain, instead of conforming to the rule of having their -back to it? Orientation could not account for it, as other statues on -the same slope were differently placed. Then again, if they had once -stood and then fallen, and in proof of this one head was broken off from -the trunk, how did it come about that they were lying horizontally on a -sloping hillside? The upper part of the bodies had suffered somewhat -from weather, and a small round basin, such as natives use for domestic -purposes, had been hollowed out in one abdomen, but the hands were quite -sharp and unweathered. We used to scramble up at off moments, and stand -gazing down at them trying to read their history. - -It became at last obvious they had once been set up with the lower part -inserted in the ground to the usual level, and later been intentionally -thrown down. For this purpose a level trench must have been cut through -the sloping side of the hill at a depth corresponding to the base of the -standing images, and into this the figures had fallen. While they lay in -the trench with the upper part of the bodies exposed, one had been found -a nice smooth stone for household use. A charcoal soil level showed -clearly where the surface had been at this epoch, which must have been -comparatively recent, as an iron nail was found in it. Finally, a -descent of earth had covered all but the noses, leaving them in the -condition in which we found them. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 72. - - EXCAVATED STATUE. - - South-east side, Rano Raraku. Showing form of hands. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 73. - - PROSTRATE STATUES, SOUTH-EAST SIDE, RANO RARAKU, AFTER EXCAVATION. -] - -This, though a satisfactory explanation as far as it went, did not -account for the fact that the figures were facing the mountain, and here -for once tradition came to our help. These images had, it was said, -marked a boundary; the line of demarcation led between them, from the -fissure in the cliff above right down to the middle statue in the great -Tongariki terrace. To cross it was death; but as to what the boundary -connoted no information was forthcoming; there seemed no great tribal -division—the same clans ranged over the whole of the district. When, -however, the line is followed through the crevice into the crater (fig. -47), it is found to form on both sides the boundary where the -image-making ceased (no. 1 is a detached figure being brought down, not -in a quarry), and was probably the line of taboo which preserved the -rights of the image-makers. I was later given the cheering information -that a certain “devil” frequented the site of my house, which was just -on the image side of the boundary, who particularly resented the -presence of strangers, and was given to strangling them in the night. -The spirits, who inhabit the crater, are still so unpleasant, that my -Kanaka maid objected to taking clothes there to wash, even in daylight, -till assured that our party would be working within call. - -_Isolated Statues._—The finished statues, as distinct from those in the -quarries, have so far been spoken of under two heads, those which once -adorned the ahu and those still standing on the slope of Raraku; there -is, however, another class to consider, which, for want of a better -name, will be termed the Isolated Statues. It has already been stated -that, as Raraku is approached, a number of figures lie by the side of -the modern track, others are round the base of the mountain, and yet -other isolated specimens are scattered about the island. All these -images are prostrate and lie on the surface of the ground, some on their -backs and some on their faces. These were the ones which, according to -legend, were being moved from the quarries to the ahu by the old lady -when she stopped the work in her wrath; or, according to another -account, quoted by a visitor before our day, “They walked, and some fell -by the way.” - -There must, we felt, have been roads along which they were taken, but -for long we kept a look-out for such without success. At last a lazy -Sunday afternoon ride, with no particular object, took one of us to the -top of a small hill, some two miles to the west of Raraku. The level -rays of the sinking sun showed up the inequalities of the ground, and, -looking towards the sea, along the level plain of the south coast, the -old track was clearly seen; it was slightly raised over lower ground and -depressed somewhat through higher, and along it every few hundred yards -lay a statue. Detailed study confirmed this first impression. At times -over hard stony ground the trail was lost, but its main drift was -indisputable; it was about nine feet or ten feet in width, the -embankments were in places two feet above the surrounding ground, and -the cuttings three feet deep. The road can be traced from the -south-western corner of the mountain, with one or two gaps, nearly to -the foot of Rano Kao, but the succession of statues continues only about -half the distance. It generally runs some few hundred yards further -inland than the present road, but a branch, with a statue, leads down to -the ahu of Tea-tenga on the coast, and, another portion, either a branch -or a detour of the main road, also with a statue, goes to the cove of -Akahanga with its two large image ahu (fig. 32). There are on this road -twenty-seven statues in all, covering a distance of some four miles, but -fourteen of them, including two groups of three, are in the first mile. -Their heights are from fifteen feet to over thirty feet, but generally -over twenty feet. - -As a clue had now been obtained, it was comparatively simple to trace -two other roads from Raraku. One leads from the crater, and connects it -with the western district of the island. It commences at the gap in the -mountain wall, in the centre of which an image lies on its face with -weird effect, as if descending head foremost into the plain; and runs -for a while roughly parallel to the first road but about a mile further -inland. It is not quite so regular as the south road, and is marked for -a somewhat less distance by a sequence of images, some fourteen in -number, which in the same way grow further apart as the distance from -the mountain increases. When the succession of statues ceases, the road -divides; one track turns to the north-west, and reaches the seaboard -through a small pass in the western line of cones; the other continues -as far as a more southerly pass in the same succession of heights. In -each pass there is a statue. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 74. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 75. - - AN IMAGE ON ITS BACK. - - Unbroken; if erect, would face westwards. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 76. - - AN IMAGE ON ITS FACE. - - Showing by cleavage and only partial fall that it has been erect and - faced westwards. -] - -The third road, which runs from Raraku in a northerly direction, is much -shorter than those to the south and west. It has only four statues -covering a distance of perhaps a mile, and it then disappears; if, -however, the figures round the base of the mountain belonged to it, and -they lie in the same direction, it started from the southern corner of -the mountain, led in front of the standing statues and across the trail -from the crater, before taking its northward route up the eastern plain. -The furthest of the images is the largest which has been moved; it lies -on its back, badly broken, but the total of the fragments gives a height -of thirty-six feet four inches. In addition to these three avenues, -there are indications that some of the statues on the south-eastern side -of Raraku may have been on a fourth road along that side beneath the -cliff. - -So far the matter was sufficiently clear, but another problem was still -unsolved: if the images were really being moved to their respective ahu -all round the coast, how was it that, with very few exceptions, they -were all found in the neighbourhood of Raraku? If also they were being -moved, what was the method pursued, for some lay on their backs and some -on their faces? With the hope of elucidating this great question of the -means of transport, we dug under and near one or two of the single -figures without achieving our end—nothing was found; but the close study -which the work necessitated called attention to the fact that on one of -them the lines of weathering could not have been made with the figure in -its present horizontal attitude. The rain had evidently collected on the -head and run down the back; it must therefore have stood for a -considerable time in a vertical position. It was again a noticeable fact -that, though some single figures are lying unbroken (fig. 75), others, -like the large one on the north road, proved to be so shattered that no -amount of normal disintegration or shifting of soil could account for -their condition—they had obviously fallen. So wedded, however, were we -at this time to the theory that they were in course of transport, that -it was seriously considered whether they could have been moved in an -upright position. The point was settled by finding one day by the side -of the track, some two miles from the mountain, a partially buried head. -This was excavated, and a statue found that had been originally set up -in a hole and, later, undermined, causing it to fall forward. This was -the only instance of an isolated figure where the burial had been to any -depth, but in various other cases it was then seen that soil had been -removed from the base, and one or two more of the figures had not quite -fallen (fig. 76). - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 77.—DIAGRAM SHOWING CEREMONIAL AVENUE OF AHU HANGA PAUKURA. -] - -When the whole number of the statues on the roads were in imagination -re-erected, it was found that they had all originally stood with their -backs to the hill. Rano Raraku was, therefore, approached by at least -three magnificent avenues, on each of which the pilgrim was greeted at -intervals by a stone giant guarding the way to the sacred mountain (map -of roads). One of the ahu on the south coast, Hanga Paukura, has been -approached by a similar avenue of five statues facing the visitor. These -five images when first seen were a great puzzle, as some of them are so -embedded in the earth that their backs are even with the levelled sward -in front of the ahu; later there seemed little doubt that, like the two -giants on the south-east side of Raraku, trenches had been dug into -which they had fallen. Subsequently, a sixth statue was discovered, the -other side of a modern wall, weathered and worn away, but of Raraku -stone and still upright. This is the only instance of an erect figure to -be found elsewhere than on the mountain (fig. 77). - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 78. - - AHU PARO, - - With image which was the last to be overthrown. - - Foreground.—Hillock, traditionally utilised for placing the crown in - position. - - Distance.—Eastern Headland, with three cones, from which Spanish - sovereignty was proclaimed in 1770. -] - -In addition to the images which have stood in these processional roads, -there are, excluding one or two figures near the mountain whose _raison -d’être_ is somewhat doubtful, fourteen isolated statues in various parts -of the island, for whose position no certain reason could be found. Some -of these may have belonged to inland ahu which have disappeared, or they -may be solitary memorials to mark some particular spots, but the greater -number appear to have stood near tracks of some sort. Some of these last -may have been boundary stones, and in this class may perhaps fall the -smaller statue now at the British Museum, which is a very inferior -specimen. According to local information it stood almost half-way on the -track leading from Vinapu to Mataveri along the bottom of Rano Kao; the -hole from which it was dug was pointed out, and our informant declared -that he remembered it standing, and that the people used to dance round -it. The larger figure at the British Museum was in a unique position, -which will be spoken of later. - -No statues were, therefore, found of which it could be said that they -were in process of being removed, and the mode of transport remains a -mystery. An image could be moved down from the quarry by means of banks -of earth, and though requiring labour and skill, the process is not -inconceivable. Similarly, the figures may have been, and probably were, -erected on the terraces in the same way, being hauled up on an -embankment of earth made higher than the pedestals and then dropped on -them. Near Paro, the ahu where the last statue was overthrown, there is -a hillock, and tradition says that a causeway was made from it to the -head of the tall figure which stood upon the ahu, and along this the hat -was rolled (fig. 78)—a piece of lore which seems hardly likely to have -been invented by a race having no connection with the statues. But the -problem remains, how was the transport carried out along the level? The -weight of some amounted to as much as 40 or 50 tons. It would simplify -matters very much if there were any reason to suppose that the images -were moved, as was the case with the hats, before being wrought, merely -as cylinders of stone, in which case it would be possible to pass a rope -under and over it, thus parbuckling the stone or rolling it along, but -the evidence is all to the contrary. There is no trace whatever of an -unfinished image on or near an ahu, while, as we have seen, they are -found at all stages in the quarry. Presumably rollers were employed, but -there appears never to have been much wood, or material for cordage, in -the island, and it is not easy to see how sufficient men could bring -strength to bear on the block. Even if the ceremonial roads were used -when possible, these fragile figures have been taken to many distant -ahu, up hill and down dale, over rough and stony ground, where there is -no trace of any road at all. - -The natives are sometimes prepared to state that the statues were thrown -down by human means, they never have any doubt that they were moved by -supernatural power. We were once inspecting an ahu built on a natural -eminence, one side was sheer cliff, the other was a slope of 29 feet, as -steep as a house roof, near the top a statue was lying. The most -intelligent of our guides turned to me significantly. “Do you mean to -tell me,” he said, “that that was not done by _mana_?” The darkness is -not rendered less tantalising by the reflection that could centuries -roll away and the old scenes be again enacted before us, the workers -would doubtless exclaim in bewildered surprise at our ignorance, “But -how could you do it any other way?” - -Besides the ceremonial roads and their continuations, there are traces -of an altogether different track which is said to run round the whole -seaboard of the island. It is considered to be supernatural work, and is -known as Ara Mahiva, “ara” meaning road and “Mahiva” being the name of -the spirit or deity who made it. On the southern side it has been -obliterated in making the present track—it was there termed the “path -for carrying fish”; but on the northern and western coasts, where for -much of the way it runs on the top of high cliffs, such a use is out of -the question. It can be frequently seen there like a long persistent -furrow, and where its course has been interrupted by erosion, no fresh -track had been made further inland; it terminates suddenly on the broken -edge, and resumes its course on the other side. It is best seen in -certain lights running up both the western and southern edges of Rano -Kao. Its extent and regularity appeared to preclude the idea of -landslip. There is no reason to suppose that it is due to the imported -livestock, and it has no connection with ahu, or the old native centres -of population, yet to have been so worn by naked feet it must constantly -have been used. This silent witness to a forgotten past is one of the -most mysterious and impressive things on the island. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 79. - - THE CRATER FROM WHICH THE HATS OF THE IMAGES WERE HEWN, ON THE SIDE OF - THE HILL PUNAPAU. - - Rano Kao in the distance. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 80. - - AN UNFINISHED HAT NEAR THE QUARRY. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 81. - - A FINISHED HAT AT AHU HANGA O-ORNU; OTHERS IN THE DISTANCE. -] - - - STONE CROWNS OF THE IMAGES - -Mention must finally be made of the crowns or hats which adorned the -figures on the ahu. Their full designation is said to be “Hau (hats) -hiterau moai,” but they are always alluded to merely as “hiterau” or -“hitirau.” - -These coverings for the head were cylindrical in form, the bottom being -slightly hollowed out into an oval depression in order to fit on to the -head of the image; the depression was not in the centre, but left a -larger margin in front, so that the brim projected over the eyes of the -figure, a fashion common in native head-dresses. They are said by the -present inhabitants to have been kept in place by being wedged with -white stones. The top was worked into a boss or knot. The material is a -red volcanic tuff found in a small crater on the side of a larger -volcano, generally known as Punapau, not far from Cook’s Bay (fig. 79). -In the crater itself are the old quarries. A few half-buried hats may be -seen there, and the path up to it, and for some hundreds of yards from -the foot of the mountain, is strewn with them. They are at this stage -simply large cylinders, from 4 feet to 8 feet high, from 6 feet to 9 -feet across (fig. 80), and they were obviously conveyed to the ahu in -this form and there carved into shape (fig. 81). An unwrought cylinder -is still lying at a hundred yards from the ahu of Anakena. The finished -hats are not more than 3 feet 10 inches to 6 feet in height, with -addition of 6 inches to 2 feet for the knob; the measurement across the -crown is from about 5 feet 6 inches to 8 feet. The stone is more easily -broken and cut than that of the statues, and while many crowns survive, -many more have been smashed in falling or used as building materials. - -It is a noteworthy fact that the images on Raraku never had hats, nor -have any of the isolated statues; they were confined to those on the -ahu. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - NATIVE CULTURE IN PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES - - _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. - - -It has been seen that any knowledge which exists on the island with -regard to the origin of the monuments is of the most vague description, -and it is therefore necessary, in the attempt to solve the problem, to -rely principally on indirect evidence. It becomes in particular -essential to collect all possible information about the present people; -not only for its intrinsic anthropological interest, but in order to -find if any links connect them with the great builders, or if we must -look for an earlier race. - -As a first step in the search the scientist naturally turns to the most -ancient accounts which he can find describing the island, its -inhabitants, and remains; these are not yet two hundred years old. The -first European to see it was a Dutch Admiral named Roggeveen, who came -upon it on Easter Day, 1722, during his search for another and -mysterious island known as Davis or David’s Island.[25] He concluded -that it was not the place for which he was looking, christened it Easter -Island, and went further afield. His ship lay off the north side of the -island for a week, but only on one day did landing take place, and one -or two of the party have left us short descriptions. There were, they -say, no big trees, but it had a rich soil and good climate; there were -sugar-cane, bananas, potatoes and figs, and the natives brought them a -number of fowls, estimated varyingly from sixty to five hundred. One of -the voyagers goes so far as to say that “all the country was under -cultivation.” As for the inhabitants, they were, they tell us, of all -shades of colour, yellow, white, and brown, and wore clothes made of a -“field product,” evidently tapa. They were “painted,” which apparently -signifies tattooed, and it was the habit to distend the lobes of their -ears so that they hung to the shoulders, and large discs were worn in -them. “When these Indians,” wrote Roggeveen, “go about any job which -might set their ear-plugs wagging, and bid fair to do them any hurt, -they take them out and hitch the rim of the lobe up over the top of the -ear, which gives them a quaint and laughable appearance.”[26] - -The natives were extraordinarily thievish, stealing the caps from the -seamen’s heads, while one actually climbed into the port-hole of the -cabin and took the cloth off the table. These habits gave rise to an -unfortunate incident, as when the visitors came on shore, a scuffle took -place over the sanctity of property, and the natives began throwing -stones, on which a petty official gave the order to fire, ten or twelve -natives being killed. The occurrence, however, was duly explained, and -did not terminate amicable relations. We learn that at this time the -great statues, of which this is of course the first report, were then, -as has already been noted, standing and in place. The Dutchmen describe -them as “remarkable, tall, stone figures, a good 30 feet in height,” and -notice that they have crowns on their heads; a clear space was, they -said, reserved round them by laying stones. They have no doubt that the -figures are objects of worship; the natives “kindle fires in front of -them, and thereafter squatting on their heels with heads bowed down, -they bring the palms of their hands together and alternately raise and -lower them.” Another observer adds, in connection with this worship, -that they “prostrated themselves towards the rising sun.” A great step -would have been gained towards the solution of the problem if we could -feel assured that these last remarks were justified and were not merely -the result of imperfect observation.[27] - -For fifty years darkness once more descends on the history of the -island. Then, within a period of sixteen years, it was visited by three -expeditions, Spanish, English, and French respectively. The Spanish were -under the command of Gonzalez.[28] They too were searching for David’s -Island when, in 1770, they touched at Easter, and they also came to the -conclusion that it was not their goal. They took, however, formal -possession of it, and named it San Carlos. Their ships lay at anchor in -the same place as had those of Roggeveen, the bay on the north coast now -called after La Pérouse. From this anchorage three curious hillocks on -the northern slope of the great eastern volcano form striking objects -(fig. 78); on each of these they planted a cross, and proclaimed the -King of Spain with banners flying, beating of drums, and artillery -salutes. The natives appear to have thoroughly enjoyed the proceedings, -and “confirmed them,” according to the solemn statements of the -Spaniards, by marking the official document with their own script. This -is the first that we hear of a form of native writing. The expedition -sent a boat round the island, which made a very creditable map of it. - -Four years later Cook cast anchor on the west side in the bay which is -known by his name. He was there three days and did not himself explore -inland, but his officers did so, including the elder Forster, the -botanist of the expedition, and his account of what they saw was -published by his son.[29] - -In 1780 La Pérouse anchored in the same place, and also sent some of his -men inland, who covered partly, but not entirely, the same districts as -those of Cook.[30] - -As these expeditions were so nearly of the same date, their remarks may -fairly be compared and contrasted with those made by Roggeveen half a -century earlier. All three give very similar descriptions of the people, -their appearance and dwellings, which also resemble the accounts of the -Dutch. Cook is very much impressed with the long ears, though La Pérouse -does not refer to them. There is the same story of the native powers of -appropriating the goods of the strangers. Cook says that they were “as -expert thieves as any we had yet met with,” and Pérouse, whose own hat -they stole while helping him down one of the image platforms, is -particularly aggrieved at such conduct, considering that he has given -them sheep, goats, pigs, and other valuable presents; peace was only -kept between the crew and the natives by official compensation being -given the seamen for their lost property. - -Here, however, the resemblance of these accounts with that of Roggeveen -ends. The descriptions which are given by these later expeditions of the -state of the country, and its facilities as a port of call, are very -different from those of the Dutchmen. The Spaniards speak of it as being -uncultivated save for some small plots of ground. The Englishmen are the -reverse of enthusiastic. Forster calls it a “poor land,” and Cook says -that “no nation need contend for the honour of the discovery of this -island, as there can be few places which afford less convenience for -shipping.” “Poultry” now consists of only a “few tame fowls”—later still -we find that only one is produced. Pérouse, although he is not so -depressed as Cook, tells us that only one-tenth of the land is -cultivated. With regard to the population Roggeveen gives no number, and -probably was not in a position to do so. The estimates made by the -Spanish and English are very similar. Gonzalez puts it at nine hundred -to one thousand, Cook at seven hundred; both of them, however, state -that the number of women seen seemed to be disproportionately small. La -Pérouse, writing of course some years later, speaks of the number as two -thousand and has seen many women and children. Both English and French -are interested to find that the language is similar to that spoken -elsewhere in the Pacific. - -Again, in dealing with the state of the monuments and the way in which -they were regarded, the impressions of the later observers differ -greatly from those of Roggeveen. The Spaniards do not tell us very much. -They saw from the sea what they thought were bushes symmetrically put up -on the beach, and dotted about inland; later they found that they were -in reality statues, and they wondered particularly how their crowns, -which they observed were of a different material, were raised into -place. It was one of the Spanish officers who states, as recorded at the -beginning of this book, that the seashore was lined with stone -idols,[31] from which it may be gathered that the great majority were -still erect. The figures were, they tell us, all set up on small stones, -and burying-places were in front. It is interesting, in view of what we -know of the prohibition of smoke near the ahu,[32] to find one of the -Spanish writing: “They could not bear us to smoke cigars; they begged -our sailors to extinguish them, and they did so. I asked one of them the -reason, and he made signs that the smoke went upwards; but I do not know -what this meant.”[33] Cook’s people observed that the natives disliked -these burying-places being walked over, but whereas Roggeveen was -convinced, whether rightly or wrongly, that the cult of the statues was -what we should call “a going concern,” Cook, fifty years later, is -equally certain that it is a thing of the past; some of the figures are -still standing, but some are fallen down, and the inhabitants “do not -even trouble to repair the foundations of those which are going to -decay.” “The giant statues,” he says, “are not in my opinion looked upon -as idols by the present inhabitants, whatever they may have been in the -days of the Dutch.” Forster also remarks that “they are so -disproportionate to the strength of the nation, it is most reasonable to -look upon them as the remains of better times.” La Pérouse does not -agree with this last sentiment; he admits that at present the monuments -are not respected, but he sees no reason why they should not still be -made even under existing conditions; he thinks that a hundred people -would be sufficient to put one of the statues in place. The objection he -sees is that the people have no chief great enough to secure such a -memorial. It is unfortunate that the mountain of Rano Raraku is so far -removed from both the north and west anchorages, that none of the -voyagers discovered it, although Cook’s men were very near that from -which the crowns were obtained. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 82. - - [_Drawn from Nature by W. Hodges._ - - MONUMENTS IN EASTER ISLAND. - - From _A Voyage Towards the South Pole_, James Cook, 1777, vol. i., - part of pl. xlix. - - The artist has not observed the features or arms of the images, nor - that they stand on stone platforms. The hats, as shown, greatly - exceed their true proportion to the figures. The picture has - probably been redrawn from memory. -] - -In the nineteenth century we have a few accounts from passing voyagers. -Lisiansky, in 1804, found no people with long ears,[34] but in 1825 -Beechey in H.M.S. _Blossom_ says that there were still a few to be seen. -With regard to the statues, the process of demolition has gone so far -that Beechey declares “the existence of any busts is doubtful.”[35] It -is amusing to find, a hundred years after Roggeveen’s similar -experience, that the _Blossom_ has an affray with natives over the -stealing of caps. While attention has been drawn to the importance of -these early narratives, it must be remembered that all the visits were -of very short duration, and that the old voyagers were not trained -observers. The Dutchmen, for instance, deliberately tell us that the -statues have no arms. The accounts frequently give the impression of -being written up afterwards from somewhat vague recollection, and in -most cases the narrators have read those of their predecessors and go -prepared to see certain things. One navigator who never landed assures -us that the houses are the same as in the days of La Pérouse. On the -other hand, with regard to the stores available, they are, so to speak, -on their own quarter-deck, and their remarks can be accepted without -question. - -In the “sixties” of last century the great series of changes took place -which brought Easter Island into touch with the modern world. The first -of these largely broke those chains with the past which the archæologist -now seeks to reconstruct. Labour was needed by the exploiters of the -Peruvian guano fields, and an attempt which was made to introduce it -from China having failed, slave-raids were organised in the South Sea -Islands. As early as 1805 Easter had suffered similarly at the hands of -American sealers, and it was amongst the principal islands to be laid -under contribution in December 1862. - -It is pathetic even now to hear the old men describe the scenes which -they witnessed in their youth, illustrating by action how the raiders -threw down on the ground gifts which they thought likely to attract the -inhabitants, and, when the islanders were on their knees scrambling for -them, tied their hands behind their backs and carried them off to the -waiting ship. The natives say that one thousand in all were so removed -from the island, and, unfortunately, there were amongst them some of the -principal men, including many of the most learned, and the last of the -ariki, or chiefs. Representations were made by the French Minister at -Lima, and a certain number were put on board ship to be returned to -their home. Smallpox, however, had been contracted by them, and out of -one hundred who were to be repatriated, only fifteen survived. These, on -their return to the island, brought the disease with them, which spread -rapidly with most fatal results to the population. - -Meantime, shortly before the raid, the attention of the Roman Catholic -“Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary” in Valparaiso had -been drawn to the island by the account received from a passing ship, -and they determined to inaugurate a mission. Three of the Community left -for Easter Island, their route taking them by way of Tahiti. Finally, -only one continued, Eugène Eyraud, who landed on the island in January -1864. Eyraud was a lay brother in the Order, having been a merchant in -South America; he devoted his life to the call to take the Gospel to -Easter, and the accounts of his work, which are extraordinarily -interesting, leave a great impression of his courage and devotion.[36] -He was alone on the island for eight or nine months, and was at the -mercy of the natives, who stole his belongings, even to the clothes he -was wearing, and compelled him to make a boat for them. In March 1866, -Eyraud, after a visit to Chile, returned with another missionary, Father -Roussel, and the two were for a while blockaded in a house which they -had put up, but the tide now turned. Either Roussel was a man of greater -determination than Eyraud, or with increased numbers a firmer attitude -was possible. Surgeon Palmer of H.M.S. _Topaze_ tells us that when one -of the natives took up a stone with a menacing gesture, Roussel quietly -felled him with his stick and went on his way, after which there was no -further trouble. The missionaries were joined later in the year by two -more of their number, and became a power in the land. - -Eyraud on his return from Chile was suffering from phthisis, of which he -died in August 1868. When he was nearing his end he asked Roussel if -there still remained any heathen in the island, to which the Father -replied “not one”; the last seven had been baptized on the Feast of the -Assumption. It seems natural to connect with Eyraud’s illness the fact -that there was at the same time a severe epidemic of phthisis in the -island; so little was the need of precaution understood at this date, -that even Surgeon Palmer, writing of the inroads made by consumption, -remarks “which they (the natives) believe infectious.”[37] The ravages -of this disease, following on those of smallpox, reduced the population, -which at the time of the arrival of the mission had stood at twelve -hundred, by about one-fourth. - -The remarks of the missionaries on native customs, particularly those -dealing with their ceremonies, reflect credit on the observers at a time -when such things were too often thought beneath notice; they will be -referred to later. Their ethnological work was, however, limited by more -pressing exigencies, by the difficulties of locomotion on the island, -and by the language. Roussel compiled a vocabulary, which is useful to -students, though not free from the mode of thought found in a well-known -missionary dictionary, which translates hansom cab into the Swahili -language. It is a curious fact that so completely were the terraces now -ruined that the Fathers never allude to the statues, and seem scarcely -to have realised their existence; but it is through them that we first -hear of the wooden tablets carved with figures. The body of professors -acquainted with this art of writing perished, either in Peru or by -epidemic, and this, in connection with the introduction of Christianity, -led to great destruction of the existing specimens of this most -interesting script. The natives said that they burnt the tablets in -compliance with the orders of the missionaries, though such suggestion -would hardly be needed in a country where wood is scarce; the Fathers, -on the contrary, state that it was due to them that any were preserved. -Some certainly were saved by their means and through the interest shown -in them by Bishop Jaussen of Tahiti, while two or three found their way -to museums after the natives became aware of their value; but some or -all of these existing tablets are merely fragments of the original. The -natives told us that an expert living on the south coast, whose house -had been full of such glyphs, abandoned them at the call of the -missionaries, on which a man named Niari, being of a practical mind, got -hold of the discarded tablets and made a boat of them wherein he caught -much fish. When the “sewing came out,” he stowed the wood into a cave at -an ahu near Hanga Roa, to be made later into a new vessel there. -Pakarati, an islander now living, found a piece, and it was acquired by -the U.S.A. ship _Mohican_. - -Side by side with the establishment of the religious power the secular -had come into being. The master of the ship who had brought the last two -missionaries was a certain Captain Dutrou Bornier. He had been attracted -by the place, and, having made financial arrangements with the -mercantile house of Brander in Tahiti, settled himself on the island and -proceeded to exploit it commercially. Title-deeds were obtained from the -natives in exchange for gifts of woven material. The remaining -population was gathered together into one settlement at Hanga Roa, the -native name for the shore of Cook’s Bay. This was the state of things -when H.M.S. _Topaze_ touched in 1868 and carried off the two statues now -at the British Museum. - -Dutrou Bornier had at first spoken enthusiastically of the work of the -missionaries; later, however, the not unknown struggle arose between the -religious and secular powers. According to the accounts of the -missionaries, they protested against the actions of Bornier in taking -over two hundred natives, practically by force, and shipping them to -Tahiti to work on the Brander plantations. Bornier retaliated by -rendering their position impossible, and the Fathers ultimately received -orders to transfer their labours to the Gambier islands. Jaussen tells -us that their converts desired to accompany them, and that almost the -whole population went on board with them. The captain, however, -instigated by Bornier, refused to carry so many, and one hundred and -seventy-five were sent back to the shore. This, therefore, “was the -whole population” in 1871. We have not Bornier’s account of the quarrel, -but there seems to have been some justification for the attitude of the -missionaries towards him, as five years later he was murdered by the -natives, and, if current stories are to be believed, his end was well -merited. - -Subsequently one of the Branders lived at Mataveri, and Mr. Alexander -Salmon, to whom the missionaries sold their interests, at Vaihu on the -south coast.[38] The Salmon family had intermarried with the royal -family of Tahiti, and the new resident was well aware of the value of -antiquities. According to native accounts he organised a band to search -the caves and hiding-places for articles of interest. They also state -that he employed skilled natives to produce wooden objects connected -with their older culture for sale to passing ships. He spoke the -language of the island, and when the U.S.S. _Mohican_ arrived in 1886, -he was the source of much of the information which they subsequently -published. It is an important but difficult matter to know how far the -material thus gleaned thirty years ago was carefully obtained and -reproduced. One or two of the folk-tales are still told very much as -retailed by Salmon, but he appears to have taken little interest in the -surviving customs and failed to understand them. The report of the -_Mohican_, made by Paymaster Thomson, has been the only account of the -island in existence with any pretention to scientific value.[39] The -_Mohican_ was there eleven days, and Thomson went rapidly round the -island with a party from the ship. The amount of ground covered and work -done is remarkable, although his statements are naturally not free from -the errors inseparable from such rapid observation. - -In 1888 the Chilean Government formally took possession. In 1897 M. -Merlet, of Valparaiso, purchased from the representatives of Brander, -Bornier, and Salmon, their interest in Easter Island, with the exception -of a tract of land containing the village of Hanga Roa, which the -Chilean Government acquired from the missionaries and retained in the -interest of the inhabitants; this land covers a far larger space than -the natives are able to utilise. The population is again increasing, as -will have been seen from the fact that during our visit they numbered -two hundred and fifty. M. Merlet subsequently sold his holding to a -company, of which he became chairman. - -Easter Island has had many names. That given by the Dutchman has become -generally accepted, but the Spaniards christened it San Carlos, and in -some maps it is termed “Waihu,” a name of a part of the island -erroneously understood as applying to the whole. A native name is Te -Pito-te-henua, “_henua_” means usually “earth” and “_pito_” “navel.”[40] -Thomson says it was ascribed to the first comers. Elsewhere in the -Pacific “_pito_” also means “end.” Churchill holds the name signified -simply “Land’s End,” and was applied to all these angles of the island, -which was itself without a name.[41] Rapa-nui (or Great Rapa) is another -native name for which various explanations are offered. The island of -Rapa, sometimes known as Rapa-iti, lies some two thousand miles to the -westward, Thomson states that the name Rapa-nui only dates from the time -when the men kidnapped by the Peruvians were being returned to their -homes. The Easter Islanders, finding no one knew the name Te -Pito-te-henua, and that some comrades in distress from the other Rapa -managed to make their place of origin understood, called their own home -Rapa-nui; a story which sounds hardly probable, but was presumably -obtained from Salmon. - -According to the report of H.M.S. _Topaze_, the Islanders of their day -believed that Rapa was their original home. Others state the name was -given by a visitor from that island. - - -The brief accounts which have been referred to are all that is known -from external evidence of the original life of the present people, and -but little hope was held out to us in England that those fragments could -still be supplemented. There were found, however, to be still in -existence two possible sources of information, namely, the memories of -old inhabitants, and the actual traces which still remain of the life -led by the people previous to the Peruvian raid and the coming of -Christianity. The great ahu which have so far been described are only a -part, although the most imposing portion, of the stone remains of the -island. It is fortunate for the student that when civilisation appeared -the natives were gathered into one settlement, for they left behind -them, sprinkled over the island, various erections connected with their -original domestic life. These buildings were certainly being used in -recent times, and are treated from this point of view, but for all we -know they may have been, and very possibly were, contemporary with the -great works. - -The study of the remains on the island, from the greatest to the least, -is by no means so simple as may hitherto have appeared. Our earliest -attempts at descriptions, although conscientious, were almost ludicrous -in the light of subsequent knowledge, and Captain Beechey’s error on the -subject of “the busts” is at least comprehensible. Easter, it must be -remembered, is a mass of disintegrating rocks. When in an idle moment -the Expedition amused itself by inventing an heraldic design for the -island, it was universally agreed that the main emblem must undoubtedly -be a “stone,” “and as supporters,” suggested one frivolous member, “two -cockroaches rampant.” The most correct representation would be a stone -vertical on a stone horizontal. Every individual who has lived, even -temporarily, in the place, has collected stones and put them up -according to taste; and every succeeding generation, also needing -stones, has, as in the instance of the manager’s wall, found them most -readily in ruining or converting the work of their predecessors. Even -when a building is comparatively intact, the original design and purpose -can only be grasped by experience, and matters become distinctly -complicated when the walls of an ahu have been made into a garden -enclosure and a chicken-house turned into an ossuary. It must be -remembered also that rough stone buildings bear in themselves no marks -of age. The cairns put up by us to mark the distances for rifle fire -from the camp were indistinguishable from those of prehistoric nature -made for a very different purpose. The result is that the tumble-down -remains of yesterday, and the scenes of unknown antiquity blend together -in a confusing whole in which it is not always easy to distinguish even -the works of nature from those of man. - - -The other source of information which was open to us was the memory of -the old people. If but little was known of the great works, it was -possible that there might still linger knowledge of customs or folk lore -which would throw indirect light on origins. This field proved to be -astonishingly large, but it was even more difficult to collect facts -from brains than out of stones. On our arrival there were still a few -old people who were sufficiently grown up in the sixties to recall -something of the old life; with the great majority of these, about a -dozen in number, we gradually got in touch, beginning with those who -worked for Mr. Edmunds and hearing from them of others. It was momentous -work, for the eleventh hour was striking, day by day they were dropping -off; it was a matter of anxious consideration whose testimony should -first be recorded for fear that, meanwhile, others should be gathered to -their fathers, and their store of knowledge lost for ever. Against the -longer recollection of extreme old age, had to be put the fact that the -memories of those a little younger were generally more clear and -accurate. The feeling of responsibility from a scientific point of view -was very great. Ten years ago more could have been done; ten years hence -little or nothing will remain of this source of knowledge. - -Most happily, these authorities were in almost every case willing and -ready to talk, and our debt to them is great. They came with us, as has -been seen, on our explorations of the island, but the greater part of -the work was done when we were living near the village. Some of them -took pleasure in coming up to Mataveri and talking in the veranda, -enjoying still more, no doubt, the practical outcome of their subsequent -visits to Bailey’s domain—the kitchen. Others were more at ease in their -own surroundings, and then we went down to the village and discussed old -days in their little banana-plots, while interested neighbours came in -to join the fray. Sometimes a man did better by himself, but on other -occasions to get two or three together stimulated conversation. -Unfortunately, some of the old men who knew most were confined to the -leper settlement some three miles north of Hanga Roa, and the infectious -power of leprosy was not a subject which we had got up before leaving -England. The Captain of the _Kildalton_ feared lest even the distance of -the settlement from the Manager’s house might not suffice to prevent the -plague being carried there by insects, and told a gruesome tale, within -his knowledge, of two white men who had gone for a visit to a Pacific -island, one of whom on their return to an American port had been -immediately sent back to a leper colony. But how could one allow the -last vestige of knowledge in Easter Island to die out without an effort? -So I went, disinfected my clothes on return, studied, must it be -confessed, my fingers and toes, and hoped for the best. - -It would not be easy for a foreigner to reconstruct English society -fifty years ago, even from the descriptions of well-educated old men: it -is particularly difficult to arrive at the truth from the untutored -mind. Even when the natives knew well what they were talking about, they -would forget to mention some part of the story, which to them was -self-evident, but at which the humble European could not be expected to -guess. The bird story, for example, had for many months been wrestled -with before it transpired precisely what was meant by the “first egg.” -Deliberate invention was rare, but, when memory was a little vague, -there was a constant tendency to glide from what was remembered to what -was imagined. Scientific work of this nature really ought to qualify for -a high position at the bar. The witness had to be heard, and discreetly -cross-examined without any doubt being thrown on his story, which would -at once have given offence; then allowed to forget and again -re-examined, his story being compared with that of others who had been -heard meanwhile. Counsel had also to be judge and to act as reporter, -and at the same time keep the witness amused and prevent the interpreter -from being bored, or the court would promptly have broken up. Though -great care has been exercised, it must be remembered, when a particular -account is quoted, as, for example, that of Te Haha regarding the annual -inspection of the tablets, while it is believed to rest on fact, its -absolute accuracy cannot be guaranteed. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 83. - - HÉ. - - Clan Marama. -] - -[Illustration: - - VIRIAMO. - - Clan Ureohei. -] - -[Illustration: - - TE HAHA. - - Clan Miru. -] - -[Illustration: - - JUAN TEPANO. - - Clan Tupahotu. -] - -The language question naturally added to the difficulty. On landing two -courses had been open, either to go on with Spanish, of which the -younger men had a certain knowledge, and which was used by Mr. Edmunds, -or to try to get some hold of the native tongue. The latter plan was -decided on, and though at one time the difficulties seemed so great that -this course was almost regretted, in the end it was vindicated. There -is, as stated, a vocabulary in French made by the missionaries, and also -one in Spanish, but there is no grammar of any kind. The French -carpenter, Varta, was some assistance, particularly at the beginning. -The first steps were the easiest. The Kanakas were much interested in my -endeavours, and rushed round wildly, bringing any object they could lay -hands on in order to teach its name; but even with the nouns an -unexpected complication arose. The natives speak, not only their own -language, but, side by side with it, that of Tahiti, which is used in -their religious books and services; there are affinities between the -two, but they are quite dissimilar, and to understand conversation it -was necessary to learn both. This very much prolonged the task, and also -lessened the results obtained. - -The next stage, the putting together of sentences, was still more -difficult. How was it possible to talk in a language which had no verb -“to be”? I had, it is true, a native maid (fig. 29), but, after the -simplest phrases had been learnt, topics for conversation were difficult -to find. We looked through illustrated magazines together, but wild -beasts, railway trains, and the greater part of the pictures of all -kinds, conveyed nothing to her. The plan was therefore hit on of a tale, -after the manner of the _Arabian Nights_, dealing with imaginary events -on the island; it was very weird, but served its purpose, though there -were initial difficulties. The heroine, for instance, was christened -“Maria,” but “there were,” Parapina said, “three Marias on the island. -Which was it?” and it was long before she grasped, if indeed she ever -did so entirely, that the lady was imaginary. A certain sequence of -events was somehow made intelligible to her. She was then induced to -repeat the story, while it was taken down. It was copied out and next -day read again to her for further correction. Every word and idea gained -was a help in understanding local names and the native point of view. -Before the end, in addition to using the language for the ordinary -affairs of life, it was found possible to get simple answers direct from -the old men, and understand first-hand much of what they said. - -Any real success in intercourse was, however, due to the intelligence of -one individual who was known as Juan Tepano. He was a younger man about -forty years of age, a full-blooded Kanaka, but had served his time in -the Chilean army, and thus had seen something of men and manners; he -talked a little pidgin English, which was a help in the earlier stages, -but before the end he and I were able to understand each other entirely -in Kanaka, and he made clear to the old men anything I wished to know, -and explained their answers to me. It was interesting to notice how his -perception gradually grew of what truth and accuracy meant, and he -finally assumed the attitude of watch-dog to prevent my being imposed -on. Happily, it was discovered that he was able to draw, and he took -great delight in this new-found power, which proved most useful. The -tattoo designs were obtained, for example, by giving him a large sheet -of paper with an outline of a man or woman, also a pencil and piece of -candle; these he took down to the village, gathered the old men together -in their huts in the evening, and brought up in the morning the figure -adorned by the direction of the ancients (fig. 88). He took a real -interest in the work, learning through the conversations much about the -place which was new to him, and at the end of the time triumphantly -stated, “Mam-ma now knows everything there is to know about the island.” - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 84. - - CANOE-SHAPED HOUSES. - - STONE FOUNDATIONS -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 84A. - - ENTRANCE AND PAVED AREA. -] - -It is proposed to unite the information gained from locality and memory, -referring where necessary to the accounts of the early voyagers, and -give as complete descriptions as possible of the primitive existence -which continued on Easter Island till the middle of last century. It -will be seen that the condition of the people on the coming of -Christianity, as we were able to ascertain it, corresponded almost -exactly with that described by the first visitors from Europe, more than -a hundred years earlier. Such traditions as linger regarding the -megalithic remains have already been alluded to earlier in this book, -but attention will be drawn to the point whenever this line of research -seems successful in throwing indirect light on the origin of the great -works. - -_Mode of Life._—The present natives, in talking of old times, say that -their ancestors were “as thick as grass,” and stood up like the fingers -of two hands with the palms together; a statement from which deduction -must be made for pictorial representation. The early mariners never, as -we have seen, estimate the population at more than two thousand, but the -land could carry many more. Mr. Edmunds calculates that about half of -the total amount (or some 15,000 acres) could grow bananas and sweet -potatoes. Two acres of cultivated ground would be sufficient to supply -an ordinary family. - -Housing accommodation presented no great problem. Many slept in the -open, and even to-day, in the era of Christianity and European clothes, -a cave is looked upon as sufficient shelter. When on moving from our -“town” to our “country” house we inquired where our attendants were to -sleep, we were cheerfully informed “it was all right, there was a very -good cave near Tongariki”—and this cave, called Ana Havea, became a -permanent annexe to the establishment (fig. 124). Some of these caves -had a wall built in front for shelter. - -Houses, however, did exist, which were built in the form of a long -upturned canoe; they were made of sticks, the tops of which were tied -together, the whole being thatched successively with reeds, grass, and -sugar-cane. In the best of these houses, the foundations, which are -equivalent to the gunwale of the boat, are made of wrought stones let -into the ground; they resemble the curbstones of a street pavement save -that the length is greater. In the top of the stones were holes from -which sprang the curved rods, which were equivalent to the ribs of a -boat, and formed the walls and roof (figs. 84 and 85). The end stones of -the house are carefully worked on the curve, and it is very rare to find -them still in place, as they were comparatively light, weighing from one -to two hundredweight, and easily carried off. Even the heavier stones -were at times seized upon as booty in enemy raids; one measuring 15 feet -was pointed out to us near an ahu on the south coast, which had been -brought all the way from the north side of the island. In the middle of -one side of the house was a doorway, and in the front of it a porch, -which had also stone foundations. The whole space in front of the house -was neatly paved with water-worn boulders, in the same manner as the -ahu. This served as a stoep on which to sit and talk, but its practical -utility was obvious to ourselves in the rainy seasons, when the entrance -to our tents and houses became deep in mud (fig. 84A). Near the main -abode was a thatched house which contained the native oven, the stones -of which are often still in place. The cooking was done Polynesian -fashion: a hole about 15 inches deep is lined with flat stones, a fire -is made within, and, when the stones are sufficiently heated, the food, -wrapped up in parcels, is stacked within and covered with earth, a fire -being lighted on the top. - -Many of the surviving old people were born and brought up in these -houses, which are known as “haré paenga.” The old man, for example, -before alluded to, who was brought out to Raraku, roved round the -mountain telling with excitement who occupied the different houses in -the days of his youth. He gave a particularly graphic description of the -scene after sundown, when all were gathered within for the evening meal. -In addition to the main door, there was, he said, an opening near each -end by which the food was passed in and then from hand to hand; as -perfect darkness reigned, a sharp watch had to be kept that it all -reached its proper owners. He lay down within the old foundations to -show how the inhabitants slept. This was parallel to the long axis of -the house, the head being towards the door; the old people were in the -centre in couples, and the younger ones in the ends. The largest of -these houses, which had some unique features, measured 122 feet in -length, with an extreme width of 12 feet; but some 50 feet by 5 feet or -6 feet are more usual measurements. They were often shared by related -families and held anything from ten to thirty, or even more, persons. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 85.—CANOE-SHAPED HOUSE. - - Diagram of stone foundations, paved area, and cooking-place. -] - -The food consisted of the usual tropical produce, such as potatoes, -bananas, sugar-cane, and taro. Animal diet formed a very small part of -it, rats being the only form of mammal; but chickens played an important -rôle in native life, and the remains of the dwellings made for them are -much more imposing than those for human beings. They are solid cairns, -in the centre of which was a chamber, running the greater part of their -length; it was entered from outside by two or more narrow tunnels, down -which the chickens could pass. They were placed here at night for the -sake of safety, as it was impossible to remove the stones in the dark -without making a noise (fig. 86). Fish are not very plentiful, as there -is no barrier reef, but they also were an article of diet, and were -bartered by those on the coast for the vegetable products obtained by -those further inland. Fish-hooks made of stone were formerly used, and a -legend tells of a man who had marvellous success because he used one -made of human bone. The heroes of the tales are also spoken of as -fishing with nets. There are in various places on the coast round -towers, built of stone, which are said to have been look-out towers -whence watchers on land communicated the whereabouts of the fish to -those at sea; these contained a small chamber below which was used as a -sleeping apartment (fig. 87). Turtles appear on the carvings on the -rock, and are alluded to in legend, and turtle-shell ornaments were -worn; but the water is too cold for them ever to have been common, and -Anakena is almost the only sandy bay where they could have come on -shore. - -The sole form of dress was the cloth made from the paper mulberry, and -known throughout the South Seas as tapa; it was used for loin-cloths and -wraps, which the Spaniards describe as fastening over one shoulder. -Head-gear was a very important point, as witnessed by the way the -islanders always stole the caps of the various European sailors. The -natives had various forms of crowns made of feathers, some of them -reserved for special occasions. Cherished feathers, particularly those -of white cocks, were brought out of gourds, where they had been -carefully kept, to manufacture specimens for the Expedition. The crowns -are generally made to form a shade over the eyes, like the head-dresses -of the images. Naturally, every effort was made to find the prototype of -the image hats. No one recollected ever seeing anything precisely like -it, but among the pictures drawn for us of various head-decorations was -a cylindrical hat made of grass; the brim projected all the way round as -with a European hat, but it had the same form of knot on the top as that -of the statues. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 86. - - HOUSE FOR CHICKENS. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 87. - - A TOWER USED BY FISHERMEN. -] - -[Illustration: - - 1 and 2 (on face), Stone adzes. - - 3 (on chest), Fish-hooks. - - 4 (on chest), Spear-heads or “mataa.” - - 5 (on waist), “Paré-pu.” - - 6 (on arms), Reported as decorative only. - - FIG. 88.—DESIGNS IN TATTOOING, DRAWN BY NATIVES. -] - -Tattooing was a universal practice, and the exactness of the designs -excited the admiration of the early voyagers, who wondered how savages -managed to achieve such regularity and accuracy. The drawings made for -us from the descriptions of the old people show the men covered, not -only with geometrical designs, but with pictures of every-day objects, -such as chisels and fish-hooks; even houses, boats, and chickens were -represented in this way according to taste. The most striking objects -were drawings of heads, one on each side of the body, known as -“paré-pu,” which the old mariners describe as “fearsome -monstrosities”[42] (fig. 88). Various old persons said that they -remembered seeing men with a pattern on the back similar to the rings -and girdle of the images. It seems, however, doubtful whether the image -design merely represented tattoo, in view of the fact that it was -raised, not incised, and in any case this would only put the search for -its prototype a stage further back. The fact, however, remains that -those particular marks were still being perpetuated, and form a link -connecting the present with the past. Beechey, in 1825, tells us the -women were so tattooed as to look as if they wore breeches. In addition -to this kind of decoration, the islanders adorned themselves with -various colours: white and red were obtained from mineral products found -in certain places; yellow from a plant known as “pua,”[43] and black -from ashes of sugar-cane. They had a distinct feeling for art. Some of -the paintings found in caves and houses are obviously recent, and it is -a frequent answer to questions as to the why and wherefore of things, -that they were to make some object “look nice.” - -It will be remembered that not only have the images long ears, but that -all the early voyagers speak of them as general among the inhabitants. -It was therefore somewhat surprising to find that no such thing was -known as a man whose ears had been perforated, though with the women the -custom went on till the introduction of Christianity, and two or three -females with the lobe dilated in this manner still survived (fig. 90). -At last one old leper recalled that the father of his foster-father had -long ears, and on asking as a child for the reason, he had received the -illuminating reply that “the old people had them like that.” He also -mentioned one or two others with similar ears, and this was subsequently -confirmed by other authorities. It will be seen that the custom, as far -as men were concerned, of dilating the lobe of the ear, must have been -abandoned at the end of the eighteenth century, or just about the time -of the visits of the Spanish, English, and French Expeditions. That this -was cause and effect, and that they imitated the appearance of the -foreign sailors, seems more than a guess; it will appear from other -sources how great was the impression which was made by the foreigners. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 89. - - MAHANGA. - - A native of the Paumotu. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 90. - - AN OLD WOMAN OF EASTER ISLAND WITH DILATED EAR-LOBE. -] - -_Social Life._—Roggeveen’s description of the people as being of all -shades of colour is still accurate. They themselves are very conscious -of the variations, and when we were collecting genealogies, they were -quite ready to give the colour of even remote relations: “Great-aunt -Susan,” it would be unhesitatingly stated, was “white,” and “Great-aunt -Jemima black.” The last real ariki, or chief, was said to be quite -white. “White like me?” I innocently asked. “You!” they said, “you are -red”; the colour in European cheeks, as opposed to the sallow white to -which they are accustomed, is to the native our most distinguishing -mark. It is obvious that we are dealing with a mixed race, but this only -takes us part of the way, as the mixture may have taken place either -before or after they reached the island. - -They were divided into ten groups, or clans (“máta”), which were -associated with different parts of the island, though the boundaries -blend and overlap; members of one division settled not infrequently -among those of another. Each person still knows his own clan. - -In remembered times there were no group restrictions on marriage, which -took place indiscriminately between members of the same or of different -clans. The only prohibition had reference to consanguinity, and forbade -all union nearer than the eighth degree or third cousins. These ten -clans were again grouped, more especially in legend or speaking of the -remote past, into two major divisions known as Kotuu (or Otuu), and Hotu -Iti, which correspond roughly with the western and eastern parts of the -island. These divisions were also known respectively as Mata-nui, or -greater clans, and Mata-iti, or lesser clans. The lower portions of the -island were the most densely populated parts, especially those on the -coast, and the settlements on the higher ground appear to have been few -(fig. 91). - -In Kotuu, the Marama and Haumoana inhabited side by side the land -running from sea to sea between the high central ground and the western -volcano Rano Kao. They had a small neighbour, the Ngatimo, to the south, -and jointly with the Miru spread over Rano Kao and formed settlements by -the margin of the crater lake. The Miru lived on the high, narrow strip -between the mountain in the apex and the cliff, and mixed up with them -was a lesser people, the Hamea. To the east was another small clan, the -Raa, which is spoken of in conjunction with the Miru and Hamea. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 91. - - _Note._—The dividing lines shown are not defined boundaries. -] - -The principal Hotu Iti clans were the Tupahotu, the Koró-orongo, and the -Hitiuira. The last were generally known as the “Ureohei”; they inhabited -jointly the level piece of ground from the northern bay to the south -coast, and had some dwellings on the eastern headland. Next to them on -the south coast was a small group, the Ngaure.[44] The particular -importance of the clans lies in the fact that, while they may be merely -groups of one body, they may, on the other hand, represent different -races or waves of immigrants. If there have been two peoples on Easter -Island, these divisions are one place where we must at least look for -traces for it. - -Legend tells of continual wars between Hotu Iti and Kotuu. In recent -times general fighting seems to have been constant, and took place even -between members of one clan. A wooden sword, or paoa, was used, but the -chief weapon was made from obsidian, and took from it the name of -“mataa.” This volcanic glass is found on the slope of Rano Kao, but the -principal quarries are on the neighbouring hill of Orito. Tradition says -its use was first discovered by a boy who stepped on it and cut his -foot. The obsidian was knapped till it had a cutting edge, and also a -tongue, which latter was fitted into a handle or stick (fig. 92). The -various shapes assumed were dignified by names, fourteen of which were -given, such as “tail of a fish,” “backbone of a rat,” “leaf of a -banana.” It was very usual to pick up these mataa, and hoards were -occasionally found; in one instance fifty or sixty were discovered below -a stone in a cave, and in another case the hammer-stone was found with -them which had been used in the process of squeezing off the flakes. The -weapon was used both as a spear and as a javelin. A site is pointed out -near Anakena, where a man throwing down hill killed another at about -thirty-five yards. The art of making these mataa is, of course, -practically extinct, but one old man, commonly known as “Hé” (fig. 83), -brought us some which he had manufactured himself for the Expedition, -and which were fairly well wrought. - -With the exception of the Miru, of which more will be said, there were -no chiefs nor any form of government; any man who was expert in war -became a leader. The warfare consisted largely of spasmodic and isolated -raids; an aggrieved person gathered together his neighbours and -descended on the offenders. It is related incidentally that one man, -going along the south coast, “found war going on,” one set of men having -blocked up another in a cave. Another story is told of six men, called -Gwaruti-mata-keva, of the clan Tupahotu, who lived in a cave in a -certain hillock on the south coast, known as Toa-toa. They went round in -a boat to Hanga Piko, stole fish, and returned rapidly to their cave. A -hundred men from Hanga Piko then came overland to punish the robbery, -and made a fire of grass before the cave in which the men lay hidden. -When the attackers assumed that the enemy were all dead from -suffocation, they went into the cave; but those within had buried their -faces in holes scraped in the earth, and when the men from Hanga Piko -entered, they arose and slew the whole hundred. A more interesting fact -came out incidentally in connection with this gang of Toa-toa, -connecting them with the secret societies found elsewhere in the -Pacific. They were, it was said, in the habit of going about after dark -with their faces painted red, white, and black, and visiting houses, -where they declared they were gods, and demanded food, which the -inhabitants accordingly gave them. The fraud, however, finally came to -light when one day a man, who was travelling with his servant, saw them -washing paint off their faces, “so they knew that they had deceived the -people, and the people gathered together and killed them.” - -In these internecine fights fire was very generally set to the enemy’s -dwellings. “He often burnt houses,” a young man said, pointing to an -older one, and the impeachment was not denied. The ahu, too, were raided -and bodies burnt, which seems to be the cause of the burnt bones -recorded by certain travellers; there is no reason to suppose there was -cremation or sacrifice on Easter Island. It was in this sort of warfare -that the last images were overthrown. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 92. - - [_Brit. Mus._ - - OBSIDIAN SPEAR-HEADS. - (_Mataa._) -] - -While legends record how many people were eaten after each affray, all -living persons deny, with rather striking unanimity, not only that they -themselves have ever been cannibals, but that their fathers were so. If -this is correct, the custom was dying out for some reason before the -advent of Christianity;[45] their grandfathers, the old people admit, -ate human flesh, but, if there were any rites connected with it, they -“did not tell.” The great-grandmother of an old man of the Miru clan -was, according to his account, killed on the high central part of the -island by the Ureohei and eaten. In revenge for the outrage, one of her -sons, Hotu by name, killed sixty of the Ureohei. Another son, who had -pacifist leanings, thought the feud ought then to be ended, but Hotu -desired yet more victims, and there was a violent quarrel between the -two brothers, in which the peace-maker was struck on the head with a -club; for, as Hotu remarked, if they had slain his father, it would have -been different, but really to eat his mother was “no good.” - -Our acquaintance with the person said to have been “the last cannibal,” -or rather with his remains, came about accidentally during the time when -I was alone on the island. A little party of us had ridden to the top of -the volcano Rano Kao; and on the southern side of the crater, that -opposite Orongo, some of the natives were pointing out the legendary -sites connected with the death of the first immigrant chief, Hotu-matua. -Suddenly one of them vanished into a crevice in the rocks, and -reappeared brandishing a thigh-bone to call attention to its large size. -I dismounted, scrambled into a little grotto, or natural cave, where a -skeleton was extended; the skull was missing, but the jaw-bone was -present, and the rest of the bones were in regular order; the individual -had either died there or been buried. Bones were in the department of -the absent member of the Expedition, but it was of course essential to -collect them, from the view of determining race, and the natives never -resented our doing so. I therefore passed these out, packed them in -grass in the luncheon-basket, and, sitting down on a rock, asked to be -told the story of the cave. “That,” my attendants replied, “is Ko Tori.” -He was, they said, the last man on the island who had eaten human flesh. -In this hiding-place he had enjoyed his meals, and no one had ever been -able to track him. There had formerly been a cooking-place, but it was -now hidden by a fall of stones. He had died as a very old man at the -other end of the island, apparently in the odour of sanctity; to judge -by the toothless jaw if he had not deserted his sins they must long ago -have deserted him. His last desire was to be buried in the place with -which he had such pleasant connections, and in dutiful regard to his -wishes, or because it was feared that his ghost might otherwise make -itself unpleasant, some of the young men bore the corpse on stretchers -along the south coast and up to the top of the mountain, depositing it -here. The next thing was to get at some sort of date; chronology is -naturally of a vague order, and the most effective method is, if -possible, to connect events with the generation in which they happened. -“Did your grandfather know him,” was asked, “or your father?” The answer -was unexpected. “Porotu,” they said, pointing to one of the old men, -“helped to carry him,” and silence fell on the group. My heart sank; I -had then undone this last pious work and committed sacrilege. To my -great relief, however, strange sounds soon made it clear that the -humorous side had appealed to the escort; they were suffocating with -mirth. “And now,” they said, gasping between sobs of laughter, “Ko Tori -goes in a basket to England.” As I write, Ko Tori resides at the Royal -College of Surgeons, and has done his bit towards elucidating the -mystery of Easter Island. - - -Sexual morality, as known to us, was not a strong point in life on the -island, but marriage was distinctly recognised, and the absolute loose -liver was a person apart. Polygamy was usual, but many seem to have had -only one wife. The children belonged to the father’s clan, and are often -distinguished by his name being given after their own. At the same time -the clan of the mother was not ignored, and a man would sometimes fight -for his maternal side. If a man had sons by more than one wife, after -his death each claimed the body of his father to lie on the ahu of his -mother’s clan, and the corpse might thus be carried to several in turn, -finally returning to its own destination. We collected a certain number -of genealogical trees, the various dramatis personæ being for this -purpose represented by matches or buttons. It was not a very popular -line of research, the cry being apt to be raised, “Now let’s talk of -something interesting”; but some two hundred names were in this way -placed in their family groups, with details of clan, place of residence -and colour, and some knowledge obtained with regard to many more. It is -not of course enough ground on which to found any theory, but it was -very useful in checking information gathered in other ways. Only in one -case was it possible to get back beyond the great-grandfather of our -informant, but the knowledge of family connections was often greater -than would be found among Europeans. The number of childless marriages -was striking. - -The early story of Viriamo (fig. 83), the oldest woman living in our -day, gives a picture of this primitive state of things. She belonged to -the clan of Ureohei, and her family had lived for some generations, as -far back as could be remembered, on the edge of the eastern volcano, not -far from Raraku. The great-grandfather, who was dark, had as his only -wife a white woman of the Hamea. Their son was white, and had two wives, -one of the Tupahotu and one of the Ngaure. By the first, although she -also was white, he had a dark son who married a white wife of his own -clan, Ureohei, but of a different group. Viriamo was the second of their -eight children, all of whom were white save herself and her eldest -brother. Four of the girls died young in the epidemic of smallpox in -1864. Viriamo and two of her sisters were initiated as children into the -bird rite.[46] When older she was tattooed with rings round her forehead -and with the dark-blue breeches. Somewhat later, but still as a young -woman, she went over to Anakena and had her ears pierced, but she never -had the lobe extended, preferring to let it remain small. When asked -about her marriage, she bridled as coyly as a young girl. Her first -union was a matter of arrangement, the husband, who was also of the -Ureohei, giving her father much food, and, if she had refused to accept -the situation, she would, she said, have been beaten. There was no -ceremony of any kind, no new clothes nor feasting; her father simply -took her to her new home and handed her over. The house was near the two -statues with the projecting noses, excavated on the south-eastern slope -of Raraku (fig. 73), and, when she wanted water, rather than cross the -boundary and go round to the lake by the gap, through the hostile -dwellers on the western side, she used to clamber with her vessel up the -boundary rift in the cliff-face. There was one white child, who died -young, but her marriage was not a success, and Viriamo left the man and -went off to live with one of the Miru clan at Anakena. His house already -contained a wife and family, also four brothers, but they all got on -quite happily together. She had five children by this man, who, like -their father, were all white; four of them, however, died in infancy. -This was the result of the parents having most unfortunately fallen foul -of an old man, whose cloak had been taken without his consent, and who -had accordingly prophesied disaster. The remaining child, a daughter, -was living and unmarried when we were on the island. The last husband -was the most satisfactory of the three; he was a Tupahotu living near -Tongariki. She was handed over to him as a matter of family arrangement, -in discharge of a debt, but she was quite amenable to the exchange, and -was very fond of him. He was light in colour, but her only child by this -marriage, our friend Juan, was dark, taking, as he said, “after my -mam-ma.” - -The women do not seem, judging by existing remains, to have had always a -happy time. Dr. Keith, who examined the skulls collected by the -Expedition, concludes his report on one of the female specimens as -follows: “The most likely explanation is that the indent of the left -temple was the cause of death, produced by the blow of a club, and that -the suppuration and repair of the right side has been also produced by a -former blow which failed to prove fatal. Two other skulls, also those of -women, show indented fractures in the left temporal region.” - -Any deficiency at marriages, in the way of social festivity, was made up -at funerals. These were attended by persons from all over the island, -for “when they were not fighting, they were all cousins.” In answer to -the remark that “considering the population their whole time must have -gone in this way,” it was cheerfully observed that “they had nothing -else to do, so they all went, everybody took food and everybody ate.” -The parents of one of our friends, Kapiera, lived at Anakena, but he was -born on the south side of the island near Vaihu “when his mother went -for a funeral.” The men who knew the tablets went also and sang, but -there seems to have been little or nothing in the way of rites. The -missionaries were impressed with the fact that there was no ceremony of -any kind at a burial. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 93. - - AHU, HANGA MAIHIKO - - Old Image Ahu, converted to semi-pyramid form, with paved approach; - also two stones on which were exposed the corpses of slain men. -] - -Most elaborate spells were, however, performed in connection with a man -who had been slain, known as “tangata ika,” or fish-man; the corpse was -kept from resting either day or night while his neighbours went in -pursuit of vengeance. In front of one ahu, on the north coast, some -pieces of the old statues have been formed into a rude chair. On this, -it was said, had been seated the naked body of a man belonging to the -district, Kota-vari-vari by name, who had been killed at Akahanga on the -south coast. One man kept the corpse from falling, while two others sat -behind and chanted songs to aid the avengers. These watchers were -covered with black ashes, wore only feather hats, and carried the small -dancing-paddle known as “rapa” (fig. 116); the chief man in charge of -the ceremony was known as the “timo.” It must have been an eerie scene -as dusk came on. The story is told of a murder near Tongariki. In this -case the victim’s corpse was placed on the ahu and turned over at -intervals by the watchers. Hanga Maihiko, a converted image ahu on the -south coast, is one of those which have a paved approach, and there are -on the pavement two stones—pieces of a hat and a statue—specially used -for exposing “fish-men” (fig. 93). If these charms failed to act, there -was a still more reliable way. The clothes of the victim were buried -beneath the cooking-place of the foe, and when he had partaken of food -prepared there he would certainly die the night following. Some of the -carved tablets were connected with these rites; one was certainly known -as that of the “Ika,” while there is said to have been another called -“Timo,” which was the “list” kept by each ahu of its murdered men. - -The custom of exposing the dead was, as has been stated, going on in -living memory. The information already given on this head is confirmed -by the accounts of the missionaries,[47] but burial was also practised, -the mode of disposal being a matter of choice. There were two drawbacks -to exposure: firstly, if the deceased was for any reason an uncanny -person, his ghost might make itself unpleasant—he was safer hidden under -stones; secondly, the body, if left in the open, might be burnt by -enemies; this latter was the reason given for the burial of the last -great chief, Ngaara, who was interred in one of the image ahu on the -western coast. Not only were the ruins of the greater ahu still being -used, but up till 1863 smaller ones were being built. One was pointed -out on the north coast as having been put up for an individual, the -maternal aunt of our guide, the lady having had the misfortune to be -killed by a devil in the night. It was a small structure, ovoidal in -shape, 10 feet in length, with a flat top sloping from a height of 9 -feet at the end towards the sea, to 4 feet 6 inches at that towards the -land; there was beneath it a vaulted chamber for bones. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 94.—DIAGRAM OF AHU POE-POE (CANOE-SHAPE). -] - -Burial cairns, called “ahu poe-poe,” were being made in modern times, -and a man skilled in their construction was amongst those who were -carried off to Peru. The word “poe-poe” is described as meaning a big -canoe, such as their ancestors came in to the island. It is applied to -two types of ahu, one of which is obviously built to resemble a boat; of -this kind there are about twelve in the island. One large one (fig. 94) -measured as much as 178 feet in length, the width being 20 feet, while -the ends, which are made like the bow and stern of a canoe, are about 10 -feet to 15 feet in height. The flat top is paved with sea-boulders, and -is surrounded by a row of the same in imitation of the gunwale of a -boat. In one such ahu two vaults were found by us just below the surface -with perfect burials. One was the body of an old man, the other of a -woman with a child. Both had been wrapped in reeds, and with the body of -the woman were some glass beads. On the surface of the ahu were a few -bones, possibly of a body which had been exposed there, but the ahu had -apparently been built for the two interments. It is less obvious why the -same name, “ahu poe-poe,” should be applied to a burial-place which was -wedge-shaped in form. It follows the lines of the image ahu in so far as -having a wall towards the sea flanked on the land sides by a slope of -masonry. It might be held to represent the prow of a boat, but resembles -rather a pier or jetty. Only some six of these were seen, of which the -longest was 70 feet. One in a lonely spot, at the very edge of a high -cliff, which overlooked Anakena Bay, formed a most striking abode for -the dead (fig. 95). - -In a few cases the term ahu is given to a pavement, generally by the -roadside, neatly made of rounded boulders and edged with a curb; the -form was said to be ancient. One of those on the west road was reported -as specially dedicated to mata-toa—which signifies victors or -warriors—and the same was said of a differently made ahu on the south -coast.[48] - -Neither exposure nor interment was necessarily confined to ahu, and -corpses were frequently disposed of in caverns, as in the case of Ko -Tori. Three instances were mentioned, an uncle and two nephews, where -the corpses, after being exposed, were lowered with a rope down the -crevasses of the cliff of Raraku in order to evade the enemy. One of the -nephews, who had been of the party when the final statues were -overthrown, had met with a tragic end, being drowned by catching his -hand in a rock when diving for lobsters under water. With the exception -of those near the standing statues, we practically never found an earth -burial. This seems to account for the exaggerated estimates of the -number of human remains on the island; it is doubtful if even five -hundred skulls could be collected, but, whether in caves or ruined ahu, -a large proportion of those which exist are very much in evidence. - -Memorials of the dead were erected in various places independently of -the actual locality where the corpse rested. Some of these were simply -mounds of earth, which can be seen on various hills; there is a regular -succession on the landward rim of the Raraku crater, opposite to the -great cliff, but one at least of these was a memorial to a man whose -body had been disposed of in the clefts of the cliff. Others of these -independent memorials were in the shape of cairns about 6 feet in -height, known as “pipi-hereko,” and were formerly surmounted by a white -stone. Many of them still exist, and they are particularly numerous on -the high ground above Anakena Cove. The locality was chosen as one which -was but little inhabited, for the taboo for the dead (or pera) extended -to them, and no one went near them in the daylight, on penalty of being -stoned, till the period of mourning had been terminated with the usual -feast. Various voyagers commented on these cairns, which were marked -objects, and Cook thinks that they may have been put up instead of -statues. - -It would seem by the following tale, which imposes a somewhat severe -strain on the European imagination, that piles of stones had in the -native mind a certain resemblance to the human figure. “There was once -an old lady who had an arm so long that it could have reached right -across the island. She was a bad old woman, and once a month had a child -to eat, so a certain man determined to put an end to her power for doing -harm. He took her out in a boat to fish, first telling his small son to -collect stones, and after they had gone to put them in piles in front of -the house of the woman, and also to make a fire and much smoke. When the -canoe had got out to sea, he looked back and found the boy had done as -he was told, and glimpses of the cairns could be seen among the clouds -of smoke. Then he called to the old woman, ‘Look, there are men at your -house!’ So she put out her long arm to seize what she thought were the -people going to rob her hut, whereon the man seized the paddle and -brought it down on her arm and broke it; then he killed the old woman -and threw her body into the sea. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 95. - - AHU POE-POE (WEDGE SHAPE). -] - - -Life was by no means dull in Easter Island, for if a feast was not being -given to commemorate a departed relation, it was arranged in honour of -one whilst still alive. The “PAINA,” which means simply picture or -representation, was given by the family as a testimonial of esteem to a -father, or possibly a brother who might be either alive or dead; it was -a serious matter, and the original direction for the celebration came -from a supernaturally gifted individual known as an “ivi-atua.” The -paina was a large figure made of woven rods, and the host would clamber -up inside it and look through eyes or mouth; it had a crown made of the -wings of a particular sea-bird, known as “makohe,” and long ears. -Occasionally it was put up on a special spot, where, for example, a man -had been killed, but the interesting point in connection with the paina -is that the usual place for erection was in front of an image ahu on its -landward side, and at most, or all, of the large ahu, there can still be -seen, in the grass at the foot of the paved slope, the holes where the -paina have stood. It was kept in place by four long ropes, one of which -passed over the ahu. The feast was held in the summer, and lasted from -two to four days; at any given ahu there might be only one in the season -or as many as five. The drawbacks, which would have seemed obvious to -such a locality, do not seem to have clouded the entertainment; the -feasting was great, and consisted largely of rats which were caught in -the hen-houses. The recollection of these entertainments and the crowds -who attended them were very vivid, and Viriamo’s eyes brightened as she -told of the singing, dancing, and feasting of her youth. - -There are records of another figure which appears to have been different -from the paina; it was clothed and known as “KO PEKA.” The Spanish -Expedition in 1770 says that the islanders brought down to the beach, on -the day when the three crosses were set up, an idol about 11 feet high -like a “Judas,” stuffed with straw; it was all white, and had a fringe -of black hair hanging down its back. They put it up on stones and sat -cross-legged around it, howling all night by the light of flares. As no -information was volunteered to us about such celebrations, the natives -were asked if they had ever known a similar figure, and an old man at -once replied that there had existed one just like the description, made -of reeds, as a memorial of a dead wife or “fine” child; it stood in -front of the house, or was sometimes carried to a hillock where the -people assembled to mourn. One of the officers of the La Pérouse -Expedition also described a figure seen near a platform; it was 11 feet -in height, clothed in white tapa (“_étoffe blanche du pays_”); it had -hanging round the neck a basket covered with white, and by the side of -this bag the figure of a child 2 feet long. This seems to confirm the -information that it was intended to represent a woman. - -Another great festivity, given for a father either living or dead, was -the “KORO.” This was a house-party on a very extended scale. A special -dwelling made with poles and thatched was put up, and, according to -accounts, which surround it no doubt with a halo from the past, measured -some hundreds of feet in length and 20 feet in height. An old man stated -that at a celebration at which he was present there were “a hundred -guests,” a number which is probably a guess, but the addition that there -were “ten cooking-places” sounds like memory. Invitations to these -festivities were much in request, as there was “no work to do”; presents -of food were brought to the hero who distributed them to the party. They -seem to have lasted indefinitely, going on for months, and the time was -passed with various entertainments. The old people sang, the young -people danced, and the host, who lived in a little house near, came and -looked on. On the last day there was a great feast, and the house was -broken down with the aid of the carved wooden lizards, which are -associated with the island (fig. 117). We were puzzled in coming across -a rough stone building, near Anakena, which seemed to be neither ahu, -dwelling, nor chicken-house; it had been, the men told us, a shelter for -the posts of the koro, where they were kept in readiness for the next -celebration. - -There was yet another entertainment which is said to have been in honour -of a mother, as a koro was of a father. In at least four different -places on the island are to be seen a dancing-ground known as “KAUNGA.” -It is a narrow strip paved with pebbles, over 200 feet in length by 2 -feet in width, and not unlike the paved approach to some of the ahu. A -demonstration was given of the way it was used. The dancers, “fine men, -fine women,” as was explained with emphasis, proceeding along it single -file, holding rapa in both hands. In connection with some or all of the -kaunga there was a house where the party remained indoors for a long -time previous to the dances, in order to “get their complexions good,” a -touch which shows that a white skin was admired. - -These feasts were held in certain months only, determined by the -appearance of the heavens after nightfall. On the extremity of the -eastern headland there is an outcrop of boulders, one of which is -incised with a spiral design; the place is known as “Ko Te -Papa-ui-hetuu,” or, “The Rock-for-seeing-stars,” and here the old men -came to watch the constellations. About two hundred yards from these -boulders there is another engraved stone on which ten cup-shaped -depressions are visible; this represented, it is said, “a map of the -stars.” - -The season for the Paina depended on the position of the three central -stars of Orion, with regard to which the following story is related. A -certain married woman, on going down to bathe, was carried off by a -stranger. When her husband discovered this, he slew her in his anger, -and she fled up to be a star. The husband then took their two boys, one -in each hand, and followed her to the sky, where the three form the belt -of Orion. The wife, however, would have nothing to do with them, and -remained in a separate part of the heavens. This is the only nature myth -which we encountered on the island. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - NATIVE CULTURE IN PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES (_continued_) - - Religion—Position of the Miru Clan—The Script—The Bird Cult—Wooden - Carvings. - - - Religion - -The religion of the Islanders, employing the word in our sense, seems -always to have been somewhat hazy,[49] and the difficulty in grasping it -now is increased by the fact that since becoming Roman Catholics they -dislike giving the name of “atua,” or god, to their old deities; it only -drops out occasionally. They term them “aku-aku,” which means spirits, -or more frequently “tatane,” a word of which the derivation is obvious. -The confusion of ideas was crystallised by a native, who gravely -remarked that they were uncertain whether one of these beings was God or -the Devil, so they “wrote to Tahiti, and Tahiti wrote to Rome, and Rome -said he was not the Devil, he was God”; a modern view being apparently -taken at headquarters of the evolution of religious ideas. Both these -words, tatane and aku-aku, will be employed for supernatural beings, -without prejudice to their original character, or claims to divinity; -some of them were certainly the spirits of the dead, but had probably -become deified; the ancestors of Hotu-matua were reported to have come -with him to the island. They existed in large numbers, being both male -and female, and were connected with different parts of the island; a -list of about ninety was given, with their places of residence. No -worship was paid, and the only notice taken of these supernatural -persons was to mention before meals the names of those to whom a man -owed special duty, and invite them to partake; it was etiquette to -mention with your own the patron of any guest who was present. There was -no sacrifice; the invitation to the supernatural power was purely -formal, or restricted to the essence of the food only. Nevertheless, the -aku-aku, in this at least being human, were amiable or the reverse -according to whether or not they were well fed. If they were hungry, -they ate women and children, and one was reported as having a proclivity -for stealing potatoes; if, on the contrary, they were well-disposed to a -man, they would do work for him, and he would wake in the morning to -find his potato-field dug, which, as our informant truly remarked, was -“no like Kanaka.” - -The aku-aku appeared in human form, in which they were indistinguishable -from ordinary persons. One known as Uka-o-hoheru looked like a very -beautiful woman, and was the wife of a young Tupahotu who had no idea -she was really a tatane. She lived with him at Mahatua on the north -coast, and bore him a child. One very wet day she was obliged to leave -the house to take fresh fire to the cooking-place where it had gone out. -When she returned, her husband was angry that she had no red paint on -her face, and, not heeding her explanation that the rain had washed it -off, took a stick to beat her. She ran away, and he followed, till at -last she sat down on the edge of the eastern headland, where there is -now an ahu known by her name. When by and by he came up, she told him to -go back and look after the child, and fled away like a rushing whirlwind -over the sea and was no more seen. - -Two other female tatane are reported to have lived together in a cave on -the cliff-side of Paréhé,[50] whose names were Kava-ara and Kava-tua. -They heard all men tell of the beauty of a certain Uré-a-hohové, a young -man who lived near Hanga Roa; so they went down to see him, put him to -sleep, and carried him on his mat up to their cave, where they left him. -Before going away they told an old woman, also an aku-aku, that she was -not to go and look into the cave. This she naturally proceeded to do, -and, finding Uré, warned him to eat nothing the two tatane might give to -him, supplying him herself with some chicken. When therefore his captors -came back and offered him food, he only pretended to take it, and ate -the chicken instead. They then went away again. The old woman came back, -and said, “If cockroaches come, kill them; if flies come, kill them; but -if a crab comes, do not kill it.” Uré did as he was told, and killed the -cockroaches and flies, which were other tatane; but the crab he did not -kill, it was the old woman. Meanwhile for many days the father of Uré -wept for him, till some men sailing under the cliff while fishing, heard -a song, and looking up saw the missing man; but they would not go and -fetch him, though the father gave them much food, for the cliff was -steep and the cave difficult to reach. At last a woman volunteered for -the task, and was lowered over the cliff in a net, and by this means -succeeded in fetching Uré safely to the top. The history ends with his -return to his home, and does not mention if, in correct fashion, he -married his fair deliverer. - -Aku-aku were not immortal. A man called Raraku, after whom the mountain -is said to have been named, caught a big “heke,” which seems to have -been an octopus, in the sea near Tongariki and ate it, with the result -that he went mad, and all people gave chase to him. He caught up a -wooden lizard (fig. 117), and, using it as a club, ran amok among tatane -across the north shore and down the west coast, killing them right and -left; the names of twenty-three were given who thus met their fate. - -Human beings, on the other hand, were liable to be attacked by tatane, -more particularly at night, when there was risk, not only to their -bodies, but also to their own spirits,[51] which were at large while -they slept. It is still firmly believed that in dreams the soul visits -any locality present to the thought. On one of the ahu is a rough -erection of slabs, said to be the house of the aku-aku Mata-wara-wara, -or “Strong-Rain.” He had as a partner another aku-aku called -Papai-a-taki-vera, and they arranged between them that Mata should bring -on rain, while Papai constructed a house of reeds which was only there -at night; then when the spirits of sleeping people, which were wandering -abroad, became cold with the rain, they went into the house and the -tatane killed them. The unfortunate sleeper waked in the morning feeling -distinctly unwell, he lingered on for two or three days, and then died. -It was not essential to life to have a soul, but you could not really -get on comfortably without it. No knowledge survives of any belief or -ideas with regard to a future state. The spirit, it was said, appeared -occasionally for five or ten years after a man’s death and then -vanished. - -Pan in the shape of tatane is by no means dead. Not only do such beings -haunt the crater of Rano Raraku, but tales are told of weird apparitions -at dusk which vanish mysteriously into space. - -There were no priests, but certain men, known as “koremaké,” practised -spells which would secure the death of an enemy, and there was also the -class known as “ivi-atua,” which included both men and women. The most -important of these ivi-atua, of whom it was said there might be perhaps -ten in the island, held commune with the aku-aku, others were able to -prophesy, and could foresee the whereabouts of fish or turtle, while -some had the gift of seeing hidden things, and would demand -contributions from a secreted store of bananas or potatoes, in a way -which was very disconcerting to the owner. - -There was practically only one religious function of a general nature; -it was very popular and had a surprising origin. Attention was attracted -on the south coast by a particularly long stoep of rounded pebbles -measuring 139 feet, and obviously connected with a thatched house now -disappeared. That, our guides said in answer to a question, “is a -haré-a-té-atua, where they praised the gods.” “What gods?” “The men who -came from far away in ships. They saw they had pink cheeks, and they -said they were gods.” The early voyagers, for the cult went back at -least three generations, were therefore taken for deities in the same -way as Cook was at Hawaii. The simplest form of this celebration took -place on long mounds of earth known as “miro-o-orne,” or earth-ships, of -which there are several in the island, one of them with a small mound -near it to represent a boat. Here the natives used to gather together -and act the part of a European crew, one taking the lead and giving -orders to the others. A more formal ceremony was held in a large house. -This had three doors on each side by which the singers entered, who were -up to a hundred in number, and ranged themselves in lines within; in one -house, of which a diagram was drawn, a deep hole was dug in the middle, -at the bottom of which was a gourd covered with a stone to act as a -drum. On the top of this a man danced, being hidden out of sight in the -hole. - -In other cases, two, or perhaps three, boats were constructed inside the -house, the masts of which went through the roof; these boats were manned -with crews clad in the garments of European sailors, the gifts from -passing vessels being kept as stage properties. Fresh music was composed -for every occasion, and in one song, which was quoted, much reference is -made to the “red face of the captain from over the seas.” The position -of chief performer was one of great honour, being analogous, on a -glorified scale, to the leader of a cotillon of our own day. It was -stated by an old man that his great-grandfather had so acted, and even -the words sung were still remembered. Te Haha, a Miru (fig. 83), gave us -to understand that he had been a great social success in his youth, and -counted up three koro, and seven haré-até-atua at which he had been -present. As he was a handsome old man, and was connected with the court -of the chief Ngaara, his pride of recollection was very probably -justified. Juan, mixing up, no doubt, recollections of a later date, -gave a vivid representation on one of these spots of the pseudo-captain -striding about and using very strong language, while he called upon the -engineer to “make more smoke so that the ship should go fast.” - - - THE MIRU CLAN - -On the border-line, between religion and magic, wherever, if anywhere, -that line exists, was the position of the clan known as the Miru. -Members of this group had, in the opinion of the islanders, the -supernatural and valuable gift of being able to increase all food -supplies, especially that of chickens, and this power was particularly -in evidence after death. It has been known that certain skulls from -Easter are marked with designs, such as the outline of a fish; these are -crania of the Miru, and called “puoko-moa,” or fowl-heads, because they -had, in particular, the quality of making hens lay eggs (fig. 96). Hotu, -the Miru, whose mother, it may be remembered, was the victim of a -cannibal feast, made his own skull an heirloom, as “it was so extremely -good for chickens,” that he did not wish it to go out of the family. His -son gave it to a relative, who was the father of an old man from whom we -managed to obtain it. When the time came to hand it over to us, the late -owner began to cling to it affectionately, and say that he “wept much at -the thought of its going to England”; as, however, the bargain had -already been completed, we remained obdurate, and at the time of writing -Hotu resides with Ko Tori at the Royal College of Surgeons. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 96. - - [_Butterworth_ - - A MIRU SKULL WITH INCISED DESIGN. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 97. - - ANAKENA COVE. - - Hill on left has terraced summit. -] - -The Miru were unique in other ways; they were the only group which had a -headman or chief, who was known as the “ariki,” or sometimes as the -“ariki-mau,” the great chief, to distinguish him from the “ariki-paka,” -a term which seems to have been given to all other members of the -clan.[52] The office of ariki-mau was hereditary, and he was the only -man who was obliged to marry into his own clan. It was customary when he -was old and feeble that he should resign in favour of his son. There are -various lists of the succession of chiefs, counted from the first -immigrant, Hotu-matua. The oldest lists are those given by Bishop -Jaussen[53] and by Admiral Lapelin,[54] which contain some thirty names. -Thomson gives one with fifty-seven. In our day there was admittedly much -uncertainty about the sequence, but the number was said to be -thirty,[55] and two independent lists were obtained. All these -categories differ, though they contain many of the same names, -particularly at the beginning and end. - -The last man to fill the post of ariki with its original dignity was -Ngaara; he died shortly before the Peruvian raid, and becomes a very -real personage to anyone inquiring into the history of the island. He -was short, and very stout, with white skin, as had all his family, but -so heavily tattooed as to look black. He wore feather hats of various -descriptions, and was hung round both back and front with little wooden -ornaments, which jingled as he walked. When our authorities can remember -him his wife was dead and he lived with his son Kaimokoi. It was not -permitted to see them eat, and no one but the servants was allowed to -enter the house. His headquarters were at Anakena, the cove on the -island where, according to tradition, the first canoe landed. It is -unique in having a sandy shore, and is surrounded by an amphitheatre of -low hills. Behind it to the west rises the high central ground of the -island, beyond it, on the other side, is the eastern plain; it thus -approximately terminates the strip of land held by the Miru (fig. 97). -There are now at Anakena the remains of six ahu, a few statues, and the -foundations of various houses. Ngaara held official position for the -whole island, but he was neither a leader in war, nor the fount of -justice, nor even a priest; he can best be described as the custodian of -certain customs and traditions. The act most nearly approaching a -religious ceremony was conducted under his auspices, though not by him -personally. In time of drought he sent up a younger son and other -ariki-paka to a hill-top to pray for rain: they were painted on one side -red, on the other black with a stripe down the centre. These prayers -were addressed to Hiro, said to be the god of the sky, a supernatural -being in whom we seem getting nearer the idea of a divinity, as distinct -from a spirit of the dead, and of whom we would gladly have learnt more -than could be discovered. - -The ariki-paka had other duties besides praying for rain; they made -“maru,” or strings of white feathers tied on to sticks, which they -placed among the yams to make them grow. They buried a certain small -fish among the sugar-canes to bring up the plants, and when a koro was -being held, and it was consequently particularly desirable that the -fowls should thrive, an ariki-paka painted a design in red, known as the -“rei-miro,” below the door of the chicken-house (fig. 115). - -Te Haha, the “social success,” who was an ariki-paka in the entourage of -Ngaara, gave graphic descriptions of life at Anakena when he was a boy. -If, he said, people wanted chickens, they applied to the Ariki-mau, who -sent him with maru, and his visits were always attended with -satisfactory results. - -Ngaara never consumed rats, and one day, coming across the boy watching -rats being cooked, he was extremely angry, for it transpired that, if Te -Haha had eaten them, his power for producing chickens would have -diminished; presumably because he would have imbibed ratty nature, which -was disastrous to eggs and young chickens. The Ariki, however, made -himself useful to him on occasion. The younger Miru had long hair -reaching to his heels, and one day, when he was asleep in a cave, some -one cut it off. So he went to Ngaara, who told him to bring ten -coconuts, which he broke and put in pieces of the sacred tree, -“ngau-ngau”; the spell blasted the offender, who promptly died. Ngaara -himself attended the inauguration of any house of importance. The wooden -lizards were put formally on each side of the entrance to the porch, and -the Ariki and an ivi-atua, who “went with him like a tatane,” were the -first to eat in the new dwelling: only the houses with stone foundations -were thus honoured. The Ariki was visited one month in the year by “all -people,” who brought him the plant known as pua on the end of sticks, -put the pua into his house, and retired backwards. - -He also held receptions on other occasions, seated on the broken-off -head of an old image, which was pointed out on a grassy declivity among -the hills behind Anakena; these were special occasions for criticising -the tattoo. Those who were well tattooed were sent to stand on one hill -slope, whilst those who were badly done were sent to another; the Ariki -and men behind him laughed contemptuously at the latter, which, as the -process was permanent and could not be altered, seems slightly unkind. -These receptions were also attended by men who had made boats, and by -twins, to whom the Ariki gave a “royal name.” Such children were not, as -in so many countries, considered unlucky, but it was necessary that at -birth they should live in a house apart, otherwise they would not -survive. This superstition still exists. Shortly before our arrival a -woman in the village had given birth to twins, for whom a little grass -house was put up; another woman went in and brought them out to the -mother to nurse. - - - THE SCRIPT - -Closely connected with the subject of the Miru clan is that of the -method of writing. While we can only catch glimpses of the image -cult through the mists of antiquity, the tablets, known as -“koháu-rongo-rongo,”[56] were an integral part of life on the island -within the memory of men not much past middle age (fig. 98). The -highest authority on them was the ariki Ngaara. It was tantalising -to feel how near we were to their translation and yet how far. Te -Haha had begun to learn to write, but found that his hand shook too -much, besides, as he explained, Ngaara used “to send him to the -chickens.” Juan had had the offer of learning one form of such -script, but, not unnaturally, had looked upon it with some contempt, -preferring European accomplishments. The information which could be -gathered was, therefore, with one exception, which will be noted -later, simply that of the layman, or man in the street, who had been -aware of the existence of the art and seen it going on around him, -but had no personal knowledge. - -The tablets were of all sizes up to 6 feet. It was a picturesque sight -to see an old man pick up a piece of banana-stem, larger than himself, -from among the grove in which we were talking, and stagger along with it -to show what it meant to carry a tablet, though, as he explained, the -sides of the tablet were flat, not round like the stem. It is said that -the original symbols were brought to the island by the first comers, and -that they were on “paper,” that when the paper was done, their ancestors -made them from the banana plant, and when it was found that withered -they resorted to wood. Every clan had professors in the art who were -known as rongo-rongo men (“tangata-rongo-rongo”). They had houses apart, -the sites of which are shown in various localities. Here they practised -their calling, often sitting and working with their pupils in the shade -of the bananas; their wives had separate establishments. In writing, the -incision was made with a shark’s tooth: the beginners worked on the -outer sheaths of banana-stems, and later were promoted to use the wood -known as “toro-miro.”[57] - -The glyphs are, as will be seen, so arranged that when the figures of -one row are right way up, those of the one immediately below it are on -their heads; thus only alternate rows can, at the same time, be seen in -correct position (fig. 98). The method of reading was, according to Te -Haha, to read one row from left to right, then come back reading the -next from right to left, the method known as boustrophedon, from the -manner in which an ox ploughs a furrow. The finished ones were wrapped -in reeds and hung up in the houses. According to two independent -authorities they could only be touched by the professors or their -servants, and were taboo to the uninitiated, which, however, does not -quite agree with other statements, nor with that of the missionaries -that they were to be found in “every house.” They were looked upon as -prizes to be carried off in war, but they were often burnt with the -houses in tribal conflict. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 98. - - [_Brit. Mus._ - - PORTION OF AN INCISED TABLET (Kohau-rongo-rongo). -] - -Ngaara is said to have had “hundreds of kohau” in his house, and -instructed in the art, which he had learnt from his grandfather. He is -described, with a vivid personal touch, as teaching the words, holding a -tablet in one hand and swaying from side to side as he recited. Besides -giving instruction, he inspected the candidates prepared by other -professors, who were generally their own sons; he looked at their kohau -and made them read, on which he either passed them, clapping if they did -well, or turned them back. Their sponsors were made personally -responsible. If the pupils acquitted themselves creditably, presents of -kohau were made to the teachers; if the youth failed, the tablets of the -instructor were taken away. - -Every year there was a great gathering of rongo-rongo men at Anakena, -according to Te Haha, as many as several hundreds of them came together. -The younger and more energetic of the population assembled from all -districts in the island to look on. They brought “heu-heu” (feathers on -the top of sticks), tied pua on to them, and stuck the sticks in the -ground all round the place. The inhabitants of the neighbouring -districts brought offerings of food to Ngaara, that he should be able to -supply the multitude, and the oven was “five yards along.” The gathering -was near the principal ahu, midway between the sandy shore and the -background of hills. The Ariki and his son Kaimokoi sat on seats made of -tablets, and each had a tablet in his hand; they wore feather hats, as -did all the professors. The rongo-rongo men were arranged in rows, with -an alley-way down the centre to the Ariki. Some of them had brought with -them one tablet only; others as many as four. The old ones read in turn, -or sometimes two together, from the places where they stood, but their -tablets were not inspected. Te Haha and his comrades stood on the -outskirts, and he and one other lad held maru in their hands. If a young -man failed, he was called up and his errors pointed out; but if an old -man did not read well, Ngaara would beckon to Te Haha, who would go up -to the man and take him out by the ear. Our informant repeated this part -of the story identically months later, and added that the Ariki would -say to the culprit, “Are you not ashamed to be taken out by a child?”; -the offender’s hat was taken away, but the tablet was not inspected. - -The entire morning was spent in hearing one half of the men read; there -was an interval at midday for a meal, after which the remainder recited, -the whole performance lasting till evening. Fights occasionally ensued -from people scoffing at those who failed. Ngaara would then call Te -Haha’s attention to it, and the boy would go up to the offenders with -the maru in his hand and look at them, when they would stop and there -would be no more noise. When the function was over, the Ariki stood on a -platform borne by eight men and addressed the rongo-rongo men on their -duties, and doing well, and gave them each a chicken. Another old man, -Jotefa, gave a different account of the great assembly, by which the -Ariki sat on his stoep and the old men stood before him and “prayed”; -according to this version they either did not bring their tablets or -their doing so was voluntary. In addition to the great day, there were -minor assemblies at new moon, or the last quarter of the moon, when the -rongo-rongo men came to Anakena. The Ariki walked up and down reading -the tablets, while the old men stood in a body and looked on. - -Ngaara used also to travel round the island, staying for a week or two -in different localities with the resident experts. Another savant on the -south coast was said to be “too big a man to have a school,” and also -went about visiting and inspecting learned establishments in the same -manner. - -Ngaara, before the end, fell on evil days. The Ngaure clan was in the -ascendancy, and carried off the Miru as slaves; the Ariki was taken to -Akahanga on the south coast with his son, Kaimokoi, and grandson, -Maurata. They were there five years in captivity, and the “Miru cried -much”; at the end of that time the clan united with the Tupahotu and -rescued the old man. He was then ill, and died not long afterwards at -Tahai, on the west coast, near Hanga Roa, while living with his -daughter, who had married a Marama. For six days after his death -everyone worked at making the sticks with feathers on the top (heu-heu), -and they were put all round the place. He was buried in the ruined image -ahu at Tahai, his body being carried on three of the tablets, and -followed through a lane of spectators by the rongo-rongo men; the -tablets were buried with him. His head paid the penalty of its -greatness, and was subsequently stolen; its whereabouts was unknown. Ten -or fifteen of his tablets were given to old men; the rest went to a -servant, Pito, and on his death to Maurata. When Maurata went to Peru, -Také, a relative of Te Haha, obtained them, and Salmon asked Te Haha to -get hold of them for him. Také, however, unfortunately owed Te Haha a -grudge, because when Te Haha was in Salmon’s service, and consequently -well off, he did not give him as many presents as his relative thought -should have been forthcoming, and he consequently refused to surrender -them. They were hidden in a cave whose general locality was surmised, -but Také died without making known the exact site, and they could never -be found. Kaimokoi’s tablets were burnt in war. - -The question remains what were the subjects with which the tablets -dealt, and in what manner did they record them? Various attempts have -been made to deal with a problem which will probably never be wholly -solved. Twice before our own day native assistance has been sought to -decipher them. It will be remembered that the existence of these glyphs -was first reported by the missionaries; but even at that time, when -volunteers were asked for who could translate them, none came forward. -Bishop Jaussen, Vicaire Apostolique of Tahiti, managed to find in that -island a native of Easter among those brought there to work on the -Brander plantations, who was supposed to understand them, and who read -them after the boustrophedon method. From the information given by him, -the Bishop was satisfied that the signs represented different things, -such as sun, stars, the ariki, and so forth, and has given a list of the -figures and their equivalent. At the same time he held that each one was -only a peg on which to hang much longer matter which was committed to -memory. The other attempt to obtain a translation was that of Paymaster -Thomson, of U.S.S. _Mohican_, in 1886. There was then living an old man, -Ure-vae-iko by name, who was said to be the last to understand the form -of writing; he declined to assist in deciphering them on the ground that -his religious teachers had said it would imperil his soul. Photographs, -however, were shown, and, by the aid of stimulants, he was induced to -give a version of their meaning, the words of which were taken down by -Salmon. It was, however, remarked that when the photographs were -changed, the words proceeded just the same. - -Inquiries were made by the Expedition about this old man, and it was -agreed by the islanders that he had never possessed any tablets nor -could he make them, but that he had been a servant of Ngaara and had -learnt to repeat them. Before leaving the island we went with the old -men through the five translations given by Thomson. Of three nothing was -known; one which describes the process of creation was recognised as -that of a kohau, but looked at a little askance, as there were Tahitian -words in it. The last was laughed out of court as being merely a -love-song which everyone knew. - -Our own early experiences had resembled those of the Americans. -Photographs of tablets, which were produced merely to elicit general -information, were to our surprise promptly read, certain words being -assigned to each figure; but after a great deal of trouble had been -taken, in drawing the signs and writing down the particular matter, it -was found that any figure did equally well. The natives were like -children pretending to read and only reciting. It was noted, however, -with interest, that in perhaps half a dozen cases different persons -recited words approximately the same, beginning, “He timo te ako-ako, he -ako-ako tena,” and on inquiry it was said that they were derived from -one of the earliest tablets and were generally known. It was “like the -alphabet learned first”; Ure-vai-iko had stated that they were the -“great old words,” all others being only “little ones.” To get any sort -of translation was a difficult matter, to ask for it was much the same -as for a stranger solemnly to inquire the meaning of some of our own old -nursery rhymes, such as “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle”—some -words could be explained, others could not, the whole meaning was -unknown. It seems safe, however, to assume that at least we have here -the contents of one of the old tablets. - -With regard to other kohau, a list was obtained of the subjects with -which they were believed to deal. These amounted to thirteen in all, -most of the names being given by several different persons. We have seen -that there was a kohau of the “Ika,” the murdered men; this was known to -only one professor, who taught it to a pupil, and the two divided the -island between them, the master taking the west and north coast to -Anakena and the pupil the remainder. A connected, or possibly the same, -tablet was made at the instance of the relatives of the victim and -helped to secure vengeance. Certain kohau were said to be lists of wars; -some dealt with ceremonies, and others formed part of ceremonies -themselves. They were in evidence at koro, where Ngaara and the -professors used to come and “pray for the father,” and a woman went on -to the roof of the house holding the “Kohau-o-te-puré” (prayer tablet). -In another case, a woman who wished to honour her father-in-law, and at -the same time secure fertility, set up a pole round which she walked -holding a child and a tablet, given her by Ngaara, while he and other -rongo-rongo men who brought their kohau at his order stood by and sang. - -Perhaps the most interesting tablet was one known as the -“Kohau-o-te-ranga.” The story was told to us sitting on the foundation -of a house on the east side of Raraku, the aspect which is not quarried. -This house, it was said, had been the abode of two men, who were old -when the informant was a boy, and who taught the rongo-rongo; some days -ten students would come, other days fifteen. The wives and children of -the old men lived in another house lower down the mountain. One of the -experts, Arohio by name, was a Tupahotu, and had as a friend another -member of the same clan called Kaara. Kaara was servant to the Ariki, -and had been taught rongo-rongo by him, and Ngaara, trusting him -entirely, gave into his care this most valuable kohau known as “ranga.” -It was the only one of the kind in existence, and was reported to have -been brought by the first immigrants; it had the notable property of -securing victory to its holders, in such a manner that they were able to -get hold of the enemy for the “ranga”—that is, as captives or slaves for -manual labour. Kaara, anxious to obtain the talisman for his own clan, -stole the kohau and gave it to Arohio, who kept it in this house. When -Ngaara asked for it, the man said that it was at Raraku, but before the -Ariki could get hold of it, Arohio sent it back to Kaara, and these two -thus sent it backwards and forwards to one another, lying to Ngaara when -needful. The Ariki seems to have taken a somewhat feeble line, and, -instead of punishing his servant, merely tried to bribe him, with the -result that he never again saw his kohau. The son of Arohio sold it to -one of the missionaries, and it is presumably one of those which went to -Tahiti. The matters with which it would naturally have been supposed -that the rongo-rongo would deal, such as genealogies, lists of ariki, or -the wanderings of the people, were never mentioned. - -We were fortunately just in time to come across a man who had been able -to make one species of glyphs, though he was no longer, alas! in the -hey-day of his powers. We were shown one day in the village a piece of -paper taken from a Chilean manuscript book, on which were somewhat -roughly drawn a number of signs, some of them similar to those already -known, others different from any we had seen (fig. 99). They were found -to have been derived from an old man known as Tomenika. He was, by -report, the last man acquainted with an inferior kind of rongo-rongo -known as the “tau,” but was now ill and confined to the leper colony. We -paid a visit to him armed with a copy of the signs, but found him inside -his doorway, which it was obviously undesirable to enter, and -disinclined to give help; he acknowledged the figures as his work, -recited “He timo te ako-ako,” and explained some of the signs as having -to do with “Jesus Christ.” The outlook was not promising. - -Another visit, however, was paid, this time with Juan’s assistance, and -though the old man appeared childish, and the natives frankly said that -“he had lost his memory,” things went better. - -He was seated on a blanket outside his grass-hut, bare-legged, wearing a -long coat and felt hat; he had piercing brown eyes, and in younger days -must have been both good-looking and intelligent. He asked if we wanted -the tau, and requested a paper and pencil. The former he put on the -ground in front of him between his legs, and took hold of the pencil -with his thumb above and first finger below; he made three vertical -lines, first of noughts then of ticks, gave a name to each line, and -proceeded to recite. There was no doubt about the genuineness of the -recitation, but he gabbled fast, and when asked to go slowly so that it -could be taken down, was put out and had to begin again; he obviously -used the marks simply to keep count of the different phrases. At the end -of the visit he offered to write something for next time. We left some -paper with him, and on our return two or three days later he had drawn -five lines horizontally, of which four were in the form of the glyphs, -but the same figure was constantly repeated, and there were not more -than a dozen different symbols in all. It was said by the escort to be -“lazy writing.” Tomenika complained that the paper was not “big enough,” -so another sheet was given, which was put by the side of the first and -the lines continued in turn horizontally. He drew from left to right -rapidly and easily. Unfortunately, it did not seem wise to touch the -paper, but the writing was copied, by looking over it as he went on, -with the sincere hope that his blanket did not contain too many -inhabitants of some infectious variety. The recitation was partly the -same as on the previous occasion, the signs taking the place of ticks; -anything from three or four to ten words were said to each sign. If he -made a variation when asked to repeat, it was in transposing the order -of two phrases; evidently the signs themselves were not to him, now at -any rate, connected with particular words. - -When we subsequently went with our escort into the meaning of the words, -it was found that the latter half of each phrase generally consisted of -one of the lower numericals preceded by the word “tau,” or year—thus, -“the year four,” “the year five,” etc.; the numbers, roughly speaking, -ran in order of sequence up to ten, recommencing with each line. The -first part of the phrase was generally said to be the name of a man, but -of this it was difficult to judge, as children were called after any -object or place; thus “flowering grass” might be the name of a thing, or -of a place, or of a man called after either the object or the locality. - -Happily, one of the most reliable old men, Kapiera by name, had at one -time lived with Tomenika, who was said to have been in those days always -busy writing; and he was able to explain the general bearing of the tau. -When a koro was made in honour of a father, an expert was called in to -commemorate the old man’s deeds, “how many men he had killed, how many -chickens he had stolen,” and a tablet was made accordingly. There was, -in addition, a larger tablet containing a list of these lesser ones, and -giving merely the name of each hero and the year of his koro. It would -read somewhat thus, “James the year four, Charles the year five,” and so -forth, going up to the year ten, when the numbers began again. If there -were two koro in a year, they came under the same numeral. It was this -general summary which had been recited by Tomenika, and, though there -was a certain amount of confusion, each line seems to have represented a -decade. In addition, as will be seen, “James” and “Charles” each had a -kohau of their own. - -Kapiera was able to give a specimen of the lesser tau; it illustrates -interestingly the general method of condensation in which, even in the -recitations, a few words assume or implicate extended knowledge. It ran -thus, “Of Kao the year nine,” “Ngakurariha the eldest”; then come five -men’s names followed by the name of a fish; then a doubtful word; then -“that side island my place.” “I see Ngakurariha at the koro.” The story, -as explained, was that Kao, a man of Vinapu on the south coast, and -Ngakurariha, his eldest son, went to Mahatua on the north side and -stayed with the five men whose names are given, who were brothers, and -learnt from them the tau. Having done this, they proceeded to murder -them, and went and took a fish, then returned to Rano Kao, made a koro -and the tau. - -The tau was, it was said, originally made by an ancestor of the first -immigrant chief, Hotu-matua; it was not taboo in the same way as the -other rongo-rongo, and was not known to Ngaara. There were, about the -beginning of last century, only three personages acquainted with it. One -was Omatohi, a Tupahotu, whose son, Tea-a-tea, was Tomenika’s -foster-father and instructor in the art. It was said by Tomenika himself -and by others that he “only knew part,” and there were other signs with -which he was not acquainted, for his foster-father had died before he -knew all. - -A great effort was subsequently made to get further information from -Tomenika, more particularly as to the exact method of writing, but he -was back in his hut very ill, and all conversation had once more to be -done through the doorway. Every way that could be thought of was tried -to elicit information, but without real success. He did draw two fresh -symbols, saying first they were “new” and then “old,” and stating they -represented the man who gave the koro, but “there was no sign meaning a -man.” “He did not know that for ariki, the old men did,” “the words were -new, but the letters were old,” “each line represented a koro.” An -attempt to get him to reproduce any tau made by himself was a failure. -The answers, on the whole, were so wandering and contradictory, that -after a second visit under those conditions, making five in all, the -prospect of getting anything further of material value did not seem -sufficient to justify the risks to others, however slight. As the last -interview drew to a close, I left the hut for a moment, and leant -against the wall outside, racking my brains to see if there was any -question left unasked, any possible way of getting at the information; -but most of what the old man knew he had forgotten, and what he dimly -remembered he was incapable of explaining. I made one more futile -effort, then bade him good-bye and turned away. It was late afternoon on -a day of unusual calm, everything in the lonely spot was perfectly -still, the sea lay below like a sheet of glass, the sun as a globe of -fire was nearing the horizon, while close at hand lay the old man -gradually sinking, and carrying in his tired brain the last remnants of -a once-prized knowledge. In a fortnight he was dead. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 99. - - TOMENIKA’S SCRIPT. -] - -No detailed systematic study of the tablets has as yet been possible -from the point of view of the Expedition, but it seems at present -probable that the system was one of memory, and that the signs were -simply aids to recollection, or for keeping count like the beads of a -rosary. To what extent the figures were used at will, or how far each -was associated with a definite idea it is impossible to say. Possibly -there was no unvarying method; certain ones may conveniently have been -kept for an ever-recurrent factor, as the host in the tau, and in -well-known documents, such as “he timo te ako-ako,” they would doubtless -be reproduced in orthodox succession. But in the tablets which we -possess the same figures are continually repeated, and the fact that -equivalents were always having to be found for new names, as in that of -the fish-man, or ika, suggest that they may have been largely selected -by the expert haphazard from a known number. As Tomenika said, “the -words were new, but the letters were old,” or to quote Kapiera to the -same effect, they were “the same picture, but other words.” It will be -noted how few men are reported to have known each variety of -rongo-rongo, and that while Ngaara looked at the tablets of the boys, -apparently to see if they were properly cut, it was in the recitation -only of the older men that accuracy was insisted on. The names which -Bishop Jaussen’s informant assigned to some five hundred figures may or -may not be accurate, but whether the native or anyone else could have -stated what the signs conveyed is another matter. It is easy to give the -term for a knot in a pocket-handkerchief, but no one save the owner can -say whether he wishes to remember to pay his life insurance or the date -of a tea-party. - -In trying to enter into the state of society and of mind which evolved -the tablets there are two points worth noticing. Firstly, the Islanders -are distinctly clever with their hands and fond of representing forms. -Setting aside the large images, the carving of the small wooden ones is -very good, and the accuracy of the tablet designs is wonderful. Then -they have real enjoyment in reciting categories of words; for example, -in recounting folk-tales, opportunity was always gleefully taken of any -mention of feasting to go through the whole of the food products of the -island. In the same way, if a hero went from one locality to another, -the name of every place _en route_ would be rolled out without any -further object than the mere pleasure of giving a string of names. This -form of recitation appears to affect them æsthetically, and the mere -continuation of sound to be a pleasure. Given, therefore, that it was -desired to remember lists of words, whether categories of names or -correct forms of prayer, the repetition would be a labour of love, and -to draw figures as aids to recollection would be very natural. - -Nevertheless, the signs themselves have no doubt a history, which as -such, even apart from interpretation, may prove to be signposts in our -search for the origin of this mysterious people. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 100. - - CRATER LAKE, RANO KAO: ORONGO VILLAGE AND SCULPTURED ROCKS ON THE - RIGHT. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 101. - - ANA KAI-TANGATA. - - Cave on right, site of cannibal feasts during bird rites. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 102. - - PAINTINGS ON ROOF OF ANA KAI-TANGATA. - - Top, a bird superimposed on a European ship. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 103. - - ORONGO, END HOUSES AND CARVED ROCKS -] - - - THE BIRD CULT - -Knowledge of the tablets was confined to a few, and formed a -comparatively small element of life in the island; the whole of social -existence revolved round the bird cult, and it was the last of the old -order to pass away. The main object of the cult was to obtain the first -egg of a certain migratory sea-bird, and the rites were connected with -the western headland, Rano Kao. Little has yet been said of this -volcano, but, from the scenic point of view, it is the most striking -portion of the island. Its height is 1,300 feet, and it possesses a -crater two-thirds of a mile across, at the bottom of which is a lake -largely covered with weeds and plant life. On the eastward, or landward -face, the mountain, as already explained, slopes downward with a smooth -and grassy incline, and the other three sides have been worn by the -waves into cliffs over 1,000 feet in height. On the outermost side the -sea has nearly forced its way into the crater itself; and the ocean is -now divided from the lake at this point by only a narrow edge, along -which it would be possible but not easy to walk with safety. At some -near date, as geological ages reckon, the island will have a magnificent -harbour (figs. 100 and 108). Off this part of the coast are three little -islets, outlying portions of the original mountain, which have as yet -withstood the unceasing blows of the ocean. Their names are Motu Nui, -Motu Iti, and Motu Kao-kao, and on them nest the sea-birds which have -for unknown centuries played so important a part in the history of the -island. On the mainland, immediately opposite these islets, there is on -the top of the cliff a deserted stone village; it is known as Orongo, -and in it the Islanders awaited the coming of the birds. It consists of -nearly fifty dwellings arranged in two rows, both facing the sea, and -partly overlapping; the lower row terminates just before the narrowest -part of the crater wall is reached. The final houses are built among an -outcrop of rocks; they are betwixt two groups of stones, and have in -front of them a small natural pavement. The stones nearest the cliff -look as if at any moment they might join their brethren in headlong -descent to the shore below (fig. 103). Both the upstanding rocks and -pavement are covered with carvings; some of them are partly obliterated -by time, and can only be seen in a good light, but the ever-recurrent -theme is a figure with the body of a man and the head of a bird; -portions of the carvings are covered by the houses, and they therefore -antedate them. - -The whole position is marvellous, surpassing the wildest scenes depicted -in romance. Immediately at hand are these strange relics of a mysterious -past; on one side far beneath is the dark crater lake; on the other, a -thousand feet below, swells and breaks the Pacific Ocean, it girdles the -islets with a white belt of foam, and extends, in blue unbroken sweep, -till it meets the ice-fields of the Antarctic. The all-pervading -stillness of the island culminates here in a silence which may be felt, -broken only by the cry of the sea-birds as they circle round their -lonely habitations. - -The stone village formed the scene of some of our earliest work during -our first residence at the Manager’s house; for some weeks, weather -permitting, we rode daily up the mountain, an ascent which took about -fifty minutes, and spent the day on the top studying the remains, and -picking the brains of our native companions. Some of the houses have -been destroyed in order to obtain the painted slabs within, but most are -in fair, and some in perfect, preservation. The form of construction -suitable to the low ground has perhaps been tried here and abandoned, -for some of the foundation-stones, pierced with the holes to support the -superstructure of stick and grass, are built into the existing -dwellings. The present buildings (fig. 104) are well adapted to such a -wind-swept spot; they are made of stone laminæ, with walls about 6 feet -thick; the inside walls are generally lined with vertical slabs, and -horizontal slabs form the roof. - -The greater number are built at the back into rising ground, and their -sides and top are covered with earth; the natives call them not “haré,” -or houses, but “ana,” or caves. Where space permits it, the form is -boat-shaped, but some have been adapted to natural contours.[58] The -dwellings vary in shape and size, from 52 feet by 6 feet to 8 feet by 4 -feet; the height within varies from 4 feet to over 6 feet, but it is the -exception to be able to stand upright. In some cases they open out of -one another, and not unfrequently there is a hatch between two through -which food could be passed. The doorway, with its six foot of passage, -is just large enough to admit a man. Into each of them, armed with ends -of candles, we either crawled on hands and knees, or wriggled like -serpents, according to our respective heights. The slabs lining the -wall, which are just opposite the doorway, and thus obtain a little -light, are frequently painted; some of them have bird and others native -designs, but perhaps the most popular is a European ship, sometimes in -full sail, and once with a sailor aloft in a red shirt (fig. 105). -Inside the houses we found the flat, sea-worn boulders which are used as -pillows and often incised with rough designs; there were also a few -obsidian spear-heads, or mataa, and once or twice sphagnum from the -crater, which was used for caulking boats, and also as a sponge to -retain fresh water when at sea. Outside many of the doors are small -stone-lined holes, which we cleared out and examined. They measure -roughly rather under 2 feet across by some 15 inches in depth. Our -guides first told us that they were “ovens,” but, as no ash was found, -it seems probable that their second thoughts were right, and they were -used to contain stores. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 104. - - CENTRAL PORTION OF ORONGO VILLAGE. - - Left, house which contained image; centre, three houses opening on - small quadrangle; right, canoe-shaped house with double entrance. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 105 - - PAINTED SLABS FROM HOUSES AT ORONGO. - - I. Two pictorial representations of ao. - - II. A face adorned with paint. A European ship. - - [Height of slabs, 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in.] -] - -The groups of dwellings have various names, and are associated with the -particular clans, who, it is said, built them. One house, which stands -near the centre of the village, Taura-renga by name, is particularly -interesting as having been the dwelling of the statue Hoa-haka-nanaia, -roughly to be translated as “Breaking wave,” now resident under the -portico of the British Museum (fig. 31). Lying about near by were two -large stones, which had originally served as foundations for the -thatched type of dwelling, but had apparently been converted into -doorposts for the house of the image; on one of them a face had been -roughly carved (fig. 107). The statue is not of Raraku stone, and it -will be realised how entirely exceptional it is to find a statue under -cover and in such a position. The back and face were painted white, with -the “tracings” in red. The bottom contracts, and was embedded in the -earth, though a stone suspiciously like a pedestal is built into a near -wall. The house had to be broken down in order to get the figure out. -According to the account of the missionaries, three hundred sailors and -two hundred Kanakas were required to convey it down the mountain to -H.M.S. _Topaze_ in Cook’s Bay. The memory of the incident is fast -fading, but our friend Viriamo repeated in a quavering treble the song -of the sailors as they hauled down their load.[59] The figure is some -eight feet high and weighs about four tons. - -Day by day, as we worked, we gazed down on the islets. The outermost, -which, as its name Motu Nui signifies, is also the largest, is more -particularly connected with the bird story, which we were gradually -beginning to grasp, and at last the call to visit it could no longer be -resisted (fig. 109). It was not an easy matter, for _Mana_ was away; the -boats of the natives left a good deal to be desired in the way of -seaworthiness, and it was only possible to make the attempt on a fine -day. Finally, on arrival at the island, it required not a little agility -to jump on to a ledge of rocks at the second the boat rose on the crest -of the waves, before it again sank on a boiling and surging sea till the -heads of the crew were many feet below the landing-place. We managed, -however, between us to get there three times in all. Once, when I was -there without S., there was an anxious moment on re-embarking. No one -quite knew what happened. Some of the crew said that the gunwale of the -boat, as she rose on a wave, caught under an overhanging shelf of rock, -others were of the opinion that the sudden weight of the last man, who -at that moment leapt into the boat, upset her balance; anyway, this tale -was very nearly never written. Once landed on the island, the surface is -comparatively level and presents no difficulties; it is about five acres -in extent, the greater part is covered with grass, and in every niche -and cranny of the rock are sea-birds’ nests. By a large bribe of tobacco -one of the most active old men was induced to accompany us, and to point -out the sites of interest. Later, we followed up the story at Raraku, -and so little by little at many times, in divers places, and from -various people was gathered the story of the bird cult which follows. - - -Not many sea-birds frequent this part of the Pacific, but on Motu Nui -some seven species find an abiding-place. Some stay for the whole year, -some come for the winter, and yet others for the summer. Among the last -is a kind known to the natives as manu-tara[60]; it arrives in -September, the spring of the southern hemisphere. The great object of -life in Easter was to be the first to obtain one of the newly laid eggs -of this bird. It was too solemn a matter for there to be any general -scramble. Only those who belonged to the clan in the ascendancy for the -time being could enter on the quest. Sometimes one group would keep it -in their hands for years, or they might pass it on to a friendly clan. -This selection gave rise, as might be expected, to burnings of hearts; -the matter might be, and probably often was, settled by war. One year -the Marama were inspired with jealousy because the Miru had chosen the -Ngaure as their successors, and burnt down the house of Ngaara. This -was, perhaps, the beginning of the fray when the old Ariki was carried -off captive. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 106. - - _W. A. M. & Co._] [_Brit. Mus._ - - BACK OF STATUE FROM ORONGO, - - Showing raised ring and girdle, also incised figures of bird-man, ao, - and Ko Mari. - - (For front of statue, see fig. 31.) -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 107. - - CARVED DOOR-POST, ORONGO. -] - -The fortunate clan, or clans, for sometimes several combined, left -nothing to chance; in fact, as soon as one year’s egg had been found, -the incoming party made sure of their right of way by taking up their -abode at the foot of Rano Kao—namely, at Mataveri. Here there were a -number of the large huts with stone foundations; in these they resided, -with their wives and families. One of our old gentlemen friends first -saw the light in a Mataveri dwelling, when his people were in residence, -or, to use the proper phraseology, when his clan were “the Ao.”[61] This -name “ao” is also given to a large paddle, as much as 6 feet in length, -used principally, if not exclusively, in connection with bird rites and -dancing at Mataveri. In some specimens a face is fully depicted on the -handle; in others the features have degenerated to a raised line merely -indicating the eyebrows and nose. There are pictures of it on slabs in -the Orongo houses, in which the face is adorned with vertical stripes of -red and white after the native manner, as described by the early -voyagers (figs. 105 and 118). - -Naturally the months passed at Mataveri were occupied by the residents -in feasting as well as in dancing, and equally naturally the victims -were human. It was to grace one of these gatherings, when the Ureohei -were the Ao, that the mother of Hotu, the Miru, was slain in a way which -he considered outraged the decencies of life, and it was in revenge for -another Mataveri victim that the last statues were thrown down. It is -told that the destined provender for one meal evaded that fate by hiding -in the extreme end of a hut, which was so long and dark that she was -never found. Some of these repasts took place in a cave in the sea-cliff -near at hand. Here the ocean has made great caverns in a wall of lava, -into which the waves surge and break with booming noise and dashing -spray. The recess which formed the banqueting-hall is just above -high-water mark, and is known as “Ana Kai-tangata,” or Eat-man Cave -(fig. 102). The roof is adorned with pictures of birds in red and white; -one of these birds is drawn over a sketch of a European ship, showing -that they are not of very ancient date (fig. 103). - -When July approached, the company, or some of them, wound their way up -the western side of the hill, along the ever-narrowing summit to the -village of Orongo; the path can just be traced in certain lights, and is -known as the “Road of the Ao.” They spent their time while awaiting the -birds in dancing each day in front of the houses; food was brought up by -the women, of whom Viriamo was one. The group of houses at the end among -the carved rocks was taboo during the festival, for they were inhabited -by the rongo-rongo men, the western half being apportioned to the -experts from Hotu Iti, the eastern to those from Kotuu. “They chanted -all day; they stopped an hour to eat, that was all.” They came at the -command of Ngaara, but it is noteworthy that he himself never appeared -at Orongo, though he sometimes paid a friendly call at Mataveri. - -A short way down the cliff immediately below Orongo is a cave known as -“Haka-rongo-manu,” or “listening for the birds”; here men kept watch day -and night for news from the islet below. - -The privilege of obtaining the first egg was a matter of competition -between members of the Ao, but the right to be one of the competitors -was secured only by supernatural means. An “ivi-atua,” a divinely gifted -individual, of the kind who had the gift of prophecy, dreamed that a -certain man was favoured by the gods, so that if he entered for the race -he would be a winner, or, in technical parlance, become a bird-man, or -“tangata-manu.” The victor, on being successful, was ordered to take a -new name, which formed part of the revelation, and this bird-name was -given to the year in which victory was achieved, thus forming an easily -remembered system of chronology. The nomination might be taken up at -once or not for many years; if not used by the original nominee, it -might descend to his son or grandson. If a man did not win, he might try -again, or say that “the ivi-atua was a liar,” and retire from the -contest. Women were never nominated, but the ivi-atua might be male or -female, and, needless to say, was rewarded with presents of food. There -were four “gods” connected with the eggs—Hawa-tuu-také-také, who was -“chief of the eggs,” and Maké-maké, both of whom were males; there were -also two females, Vie Hoa, the wife of Hawa, and Vie Kenatea. Each of -these four had a servant, whose names were given, and who were also -supernatural beings. Those going to take the eggs recited the names of -the gods before meat, inviting them to partake. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 108. - - RANO KAO FROM MOTU NUI. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 109. - - MOTU NUI AND MOTU ITI. -] - -The actual competitors were men of importance, and spent their time with -the remainder of the Ao in the stone houses of the village of Orongo; -they selected servants to represent them and await the coming of the -birds in less comfortable quarters in the islet below. These men, who -were known as “hopu,” went to the islet when the Ao went up to Orongo, -or possibly rather later. Each made up his provisions into a “pora,” or -securely bound bundle of reeds; he then swam on the top of the packet, -holding it with one arm and propelling himself with the remaining arm -and both legs. An incantation, which was recited to us, was said by him -before starting. In one instance, the ivi-atua, at the same time that he -gave the nomination, prophesied that the year that it was taken up a man -should be eaten by a large fish. The original recipient never availed -himself of it, but on his death-bed told his son of the prophecy. The -son, Kilimuti, undeterred by it, entered for the race and sent two men -to the islet; one of them started to swim there with his pora, but was -never heard of again, and it was naturally said that the prophecy had -been fulfilled. Kilimuti wasted no regret over the misfortune, obtained -another servant, and secured the egg; he died while the Expedition was -on the island. - -The hopu lived together in a large cave of which the entrance is nearly -concealed by grass. The inside, however, is light and airy; it measures -19 feet by 13, with a height of over 5 feet, and conspicuous among other -carvings in the centre of the wall is a large ao more than 7 feet in -length. A line dividing the islet between Kotuu and Hotu Iti passed -through the centre of the cave, and also through another cave nearer the -edge of the islet; in this latter there was at one time a statue about 2 -feet high known as Titahanga-o-te-henua, or The Boundary of the -Land.[62] As bad weather might prevent fresh consignments of food during -the weeks of waiting, the men carefully dried on the rocks the skins of -the bananas and potatoes which they had brought with them, to be -consumed in case of necessity. It was added with a touch appreciated by -those acquainted with Easter Island, that, if the man who thus practised -foresight was not careful, others who had no food would steal it when he -was not looking. - -The approach of the manu-tara can be heard for miles, for their cry is -their marked peculiarity, and the noise during nesting is said to be -deafening; one incised drawing of the bird shows it with open beak, from -which a series of lines spreads out fanwise, obviously representing the -volume of sound; names in imitation of these sounds were given to -children, such as “Pir-uru,” “Wero-wero,” “Ka-ara-ara.” It is worth -noting that the coming of the tara inaugurates the deep-sea fishing -season; till their arrival all fish living in twenty or thirty fathoms -were considered poisonous. The birds on first alighting tarried only a -short time; immediately on their departure the hopu rushed out to find -the egg, or, according to another account, the rushing out of the hopu -frightened away the birds. The gods intervened in the hunt, so that the -man who was not destined to win went past the egg even when it lay right -in his path. The first finder rushed up to the highest point of the -islet, calling to his employer by his new name, “Shave your head, you -have got the egg.” The cry was taken up by the watchers in the cave on -the mainland, and the fortunate victor, beside himself with joy, -proceeded to shave his head and paint it red, while the losers showed -their grief by cutting themselves with mataa. - -The defeated hopu started at once to swim from the island to the shore, -while the winner, who was obliged to fast while the egg was in his -possession, put it in a little basket, and, going down to the -landing-rock, dipped it into the sea. One meaning of the word hopu is -“wash.” He then tied the basket round his forehead and was able to swim -quickly, as the gods were with him. At this stage sometimes accidents -occurred, for if the sea was rough, an unlucky swimmer might be dashed -on the rocks and killed. In one instance, it was said, only one man -escaped with his life, owing, as he reported, to his having been warned -by Maké-maké not to make the attempt. When the hopu arrived on the -mainland, he handed over the egg to his employer, and a -tangata-rongo-rongo tied round the arm which had taken it a fragment of -red tapa and also a piece of the tree known as “ngau-ngau,” reciting -meanwhile the appropriate words. The finding was announced by a fire -being lit on the landward side of the summit of Rano Kao on one of two -sites, according to whether the Ao came from the west or east side of -the island. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 110. - - A ROCK AT ORONGO CARVED WITH FIGURES OF BIRD-MEN. - - Sculptured surface, 6 ft. by 5 ft. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 111. - - [_Pitt Rivers Mus._ - - BOUNDARY STATUE FROM MOTU NUI. - - [Measure shown = 1 ft.] -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 112. - - [_Brit. Mus._ - - STONE EXHUMED AT ORONGO, 1914. - - Bird-man in low relief with egg in hand. Length of carving, 36·5 cm. -] - -It will be remembered that on the rocks which terminate the settlement -of Orongo the most numerous of the carvings is the figure of a man with -the head of a bird; it is in a crouching attitude with the hands held -up, and is carved at every size and angle according to the surface of -the rock (fig. 110). It can still be counted one hundred and eleven -times, and many specimens must have disappeared: all knowledge of its -meaning is lost. The figure may have represented one of the egg gods, -but it seems more probable that each one was a memorial to a bird-man; -and this presumption is strengthened by the fact that in at least three -of the carvings the hand is holding an egg (fig. 112). The history of -another figure, a small design which is also very frequent, still -survives and corroborates this by analogy; within living memory it was -the custom for women of the island to come up here and be immortalised -by having one of these small figures (“Ko Mari”) cut on the rock by a -professional expert. We know, therefore, that conventional forms were -used as memorials of certain definite persons.[63] - -The bird-man, having obtained the egg, took it in his hand palm upwards, -resting it on a piece of tapa, and danced with a rejoicing company down -the slope of Rano Kao and along the south coast, a procedure which is -known as “haka epa,” or “make shelf,” from the position of the hand with -regard to the egg. If, however, the winner belonged to the western -clans, he generally went to Anakena for the next stage, very possibly -because, as was explained, he was afraid to go to Hotu Iti; some victors -also went to special houses in their own district, otherwise the company -went along the southern shore till they reached Rano Raraku. - -Amongst the statues standing on its exterior slope, there is shown at -the south-west corner the foundations of a house (no. 7, fig. 60). This -is the point which would first be approached from the southern coast, -and here the bird-man remained for a year, five months of which were -spent in strict taboo. The egg, which was still kept on tapa, was hung -up inside the house and blown on the third day, a morsel of tapa being -put inside. The victor did not wash, and spent his time in “sleeping all -day, only coming out to sit in the shade.” His correct head-dress was a -crown made of human hair; it was known as “hau oho,” and if it was not -worn the aku-aku would be angry. The house was divided into two, the -other half being occupied by a man who was called an ivi-atua, but was -of an inferior type to the one gifted with prophecy, and apparently -merely a poor relation of the hero; there were two cooking-places, as -even he might not share that of the bird-man. Food was brought as gifts, -especially the first sugar-cane, and these offerings seem to have been -the sole practical advantage of victory; those who did not contribute -were apt to have their houses burnt. The bird-man’s wife came to Raraku, -but dwelt apart, as for the first five months she could not enter her -husband’s house, nor he hers, on pain of death. A few yards below the -bird-man’s house is the ahu alluded to on p. 191 (fig. 60); it consists -merely of a low rough wall built into the mountain, the ground above it -being levelled and paved. It was reserved for the burial of bird-men; -they were the uncanny persons whose ghosts might do unpleasant -things—they were safer hidden under stones. The name Orohié is given to -the whole of this corner of the mountain, with its houses, its ahu, and -its statues. To this point the figures led which were round the base of -the hill. If they were re-erected, they would stand with their backs not -to the mountain, but to Orohié.[64] As the bird-man gazed lazily forth -from the shade of his house, above him were the quarries with their -unfinished work, below him were the bones of his dead predecessors, -while on every hand giant images stood for ever in stolid calm. It is -difficult to escape from the question, Were the statues on the mountain -those of bird-men? - -The hopu also retired into private life; if he were of the Ao, he could -come to Orohié, but he might, if he wished, reside in his own house, -which was in that case divided by a partition through which food was -passed; it might not be eaten with his right hand, as that had taken the -egg. His wife and children were also kept in seclusion and forbidden to -associate with others. - -The new Ao had meanwhile taken up their abode at Mataveri. From here a -few weeks after their arrival they went formally to Motu Nui to obtain -the young manu-tara, known from their cry as “piu.” After the brief -visit of the birds when the first egg was laid, they absented themselves -from the islet for a period varyingly reported as from three days to a -month. On their return they laid plentifully, and, as soon as the -nestlings were hatched, the men of the celebrating clan carried them to -the mainland, swimming with them in baskets bound round the forehead -after the manner of the first egg. They were then taken in procession -round the island, or, according to another account, only as far as -Orohié. It was not until the piu had been obtained that it was -permissible to eat the eggs, and they were then consumed by the -subservient clans only, not by the Ao. The first two or three eggs, it -was explained, were “given to God”; to eat them would prove fatal. Some -of the young manu-tara were kept in confinement till they were full -grown, when a piece of red tapa was tied round the wing and leg, and -they were told, “Kaho ki te hiva,” “Go to the world outside.” There was -no objection to eating the young birds. The tara departed from Motu Nui -about March, but a few stragglers remained; we saw one bird and obtained -eggs at the beginning of July, but the natives failed to get any for us -in August. When in the following spring the new bird-man had achieved -his egg, he brought it to Orohié and was given the old one, which he -buried in a gourd in a cranny of Rano Raraku; sometimes, however, it was -thrown into the sea, or kept and buried with its original owner. The new -man then took the place of his predecessor, who returned to ordinary -life. - -The last year that the Ao went to Orongo, which is known as “Rokunga,” -appears to have been 1866 or 1867. The names of twelve subsequent years -are given, during which the competition for the egg continued, and it -was still taken to be interred at Raraku. The cult thus survived in a -mutilated form the conversion of the island to Christianity, which was -completed in 1868; it is said that once the missionaries saw the Ao -dancing with the egg outside their door in Hanga Roa and “told the -people it was the Devil.” It must have been celebrated even after the -assembly of the remains of the clans into one place, which occurred -about the same time, but it was finally crushed by the secular -exploiters of the island, whose house at Mataveri, that of the present -manager, rests on the foundation-stones of the cannibal habitation (fig. -25). The cult admittedly degenerated in later years. A new practice -arose of having more than one bird-man, with other innovations. The -request to be given the names of as many bird-years as could be -remembered met with an almost embarrassing response, eighty-six being -quoted straight away; some of these may be the official names of -bird-men and not represent a year, but they probably do so in most -cases; chronological sequence was achieved with fair certainty for -eleven years prior to the final celebration at Orongo. In addition to -the bird-name, the names of both winner and hopu were ascertained, with -those of their respective clans. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 113. - - Porotu acted as a hopu. He refused to be photographed, and the sketch - was surreptitiously made whilst obtaining the account of his - official experiences. He also assisted in carrying the remains of Ko - Tori (p. 225). - - TAKE AND MANU -] - -Two other ceremonies were mentioned in connection with Orongo and Motu -Nui, but to obtain detailed information was very difficult. It finally -transpired that of “také” no first-hand knowledge existed, as the rites -had been abandoned thirty years before the coming of the missionaries. -All that can be safely said is that those concerned went into retreat on -Motu Nui, living, it was stated, in the cave where the hopu awaited the -birds; the period was generally given as three months. A vigorous -discussion took place on the subject between Viriamo and Jotefa, the -oldest man in the village, seated on a log in the garden of the old -lady. She was positive, in agreement with other authorities, that také -was for children—“the boys and girls went in a canoe to the island”; he -firmly adhered to the statement that his father went for také, after he, -the son, was born. Tomenika stated that také formed the subject of one -of the tablets, and drew one of its figures, which bears no resemblance -to any other known symbol. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 114. - - BIRD-CHILD (_POKI-MANU_). - - Ceremonial ornamentation, from a drawing made by natives. -] - -The details of manu were more satisfactory. It was known as “te manu mo -te poki,” or, “the bird for the child,” and the child so initiated -became a “poki-manu,” or “bird-child.” It could not be found that any -special benefit resulted from it, but a child whose parents had not -performed the ceremony, and whose love affairs, for instance, went -wrong, might even kill his father in revenge for the omission. An -expert, known as “tangata-tapa-manu,” the man who, as Dr. Marett would -tell us, “knew the right things to say,” was called in and given a hen’s -egg—on this last point much stress was laid; he was at the same time -told the child’s name, which was subsequently inserted in the ritual. -The child was shaved, decorated with white bands, and hung round with -coconuts, or, as these were not readily obtainable in Easter Island, -with pieces of wood carved to represent them called “tahonga.” A number -of children, each with an expert, then went up to Orongo; the correct -month was December, and the Ao were therefore below at Mataveri. Jotefa, -on whose final account I principally rely, stated that he and nine other -children, with their parents, and ten tangata-tapa-manu, went to Orongo -from his home on the north coast, a distance of some eleven miles; they -took with them ten chickens. The party danced in front of all the -houses, went to the carved rocks at the end, and, coming back, stood in -a semicircle in front of the door of Taura-renga, the house of the -statue, the experts being behind and all singing; no offering was made -to the image. Another authority stated that the parents and children -went on the roof of the house, the experts being below, and the parents -gave chickens to the men. Jotefa’s party returned to their home, had a -feast, and gave more food to the professionals. The tangata-tapa-manu -subsequently repeated the ritual at any koro which were being held in -the island, the object apparently being to make public the child’s -initiation. - -If, by reason of the state of the island, it was not possible to go to -Orongo, the ceremony could take place at any of the big ahu with images. -Viriamo, whose home, as will be remembered, was near Raraku, said with -much pride that she was a “poki-manu”; she and her three younger sisters -had been taken at the same time to the ahu of Orohié. Both parents went, -and the mother took two chickens, one in each hand, and the mother and -children stood upright and the “maori sang”; they did not go to Orongo -because there was war. A drawing was made for us by Juan and the old men -of the poki-manu in ceremonial attire (fig. 114); it was particularly -interesting to find, when it was handed in, that circles of white -pigment were made on the child’s back, and also on each buttock, in a -way which recalls the adornment of the Anakena image (fig. 65). - - - WOODEN CARVINGS - -The stone sculpture of Easter Island belongs to an era which is now -forgotten; there are a number of wooden carvings which, whatever their -original age, are connected with a recent past, and even in a limited -sense with the present. - -The most important of these works, the tablets, have already been dealt -with, and mention has been made of the lizard figures, they have the -head of that animal on a human body (fig. 117). The “ao,” the large -dancing-paddle, and the smaller one, the “rapa,” are of much the same -character, though used on different occasions (figs. 116 (_a_), 118). -The “ua” is a club, on the handle of which are two heads back to back; -these clubs were dignified with individual names. The “paoa” was a -wooden sword. There were also bird ornaments carved in wood which were -worn on the last day of the koro and by Ngaara. The “rei-miro” is a -breast ornament of a crescent shape, with a face at one or both ends; it -is found depicted on the Orongo rocks and frequently on the tablets. It -was especially a woman’s decoration, but a number of small ones were -said to have been worn by Ngaara. The specimen in the British Museum is -embellished with glyphs, of which no account was forthcoming (fig. 115). - - - OBJECTS CARVED IN WOOD. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 115. - - [_Brit. Mus._ - - REI-MIRO, A BREAST ORNAMENT. - 16 inch. -] - - [_Brit. Mus._ - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 116. - - (_a_) RAPA. - Dancing-paddle. - 38 in. - - (_b_) UA. - Club with two faces. - 60 in. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 117. - - MOKO-MIRO. - - Lizard’s head on human body. - 15 in. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 118. - - [_Univ. of California._ - - AO - - Dancing-paddle. Usual length - about 6 ft. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 119. - - WOODEN IMAGES (_MOAI-MIRO_). - - Female Image. - (_Moai Papa._) - - Male Image. - (_Moai Tangata._) - - Male Image showing Ribs. - (_Moai Kava-kava_). - Front view. Profile. -] - -Wooden objects which are peculiarly interesting are the small male and -female figures some twenty to thirty inches in height; the natives term -them “moai,” adding the word “miro,” or wood (fig. 119). In a certain -number of these the ribs are very prominent, giving the effect of -emaciation; they are called “moai kava-kava,” or the statues with ribs. -It has been suggested that this represents the condition in which the -first inhabitants reached the island, but such an explanation is -strenuously denied by the present people, who assert that their -ancestors arrived with plenty of food. The figures have long ears, like -the statues in stone, and a marked feature is their little goatee -beards. These beards are found in three or four statues at Raraku, in a -head in relief on Motu Nui, and one is indicated in fig. 31. But the -most striking link with the stone figures is the back, where there is a -ring similar to that found on the larger statues: the girdle and M-like -design below it also appear in varying degree (fig. 120). A comparative -study of the backs of the wooden images has suggested the idea[65] that -this M-like marking in stone may be simply the last stage of an -evolution in design, which originally showed the lines of the lower -portion of the back and thigh.[66] It would be satisfactory if, in the -same way, the triple belt could be connected with the ribs and the ring -with the vertebræ, but for this the evidence is less conclusive, -although the ribs of the body with the lizard head closely approach the -conventional. It must be remembered that the figures are nude, and that -therefore these designs can scarcely represent any form of dress. There -is a pronounced excrescence on the buttocks in the wooden figures, which -is also a mystery, but which recalls the way in which the rings on the -image found at Anakena (fig. 65) and those on the poki-manu (fig. 114) -emphasise the same part of the anatomy. The heads are embellished with -ornaments, some of which are bird designs (fig. 121). These figures were -worn by men only, and hung round the neck on important occasions; they -were parts of the festival dress at Mataveri and at the koro. - -The tradition of the origin of the wooden images is one of the best -known and uniformly narrated, but obviously bears the marks of -endeavouring to explain facts whose genesis has been forgotten. It runs -thus: Tuukoihu, an ariki, and one of the first immigrants, was a clever -man or “tangata-maori”; he had two houses, one at Ahu Tepeu on the west -side and one at Hanga Hahavé on the south coast—the foundations of both -are shown. One night, when he was sleeping at the latter dwelling, two -female aku-aku appeared to him, by name Papa Ahiro and Papa Akirani.[67] -When he awoke he took the wood called toro-miro, and carved two figures -with faces, arms, and legs, just as he had seen the aku-aku. When he had -finished the work, he went over to Hanga Roa to fish. He slept there, -and returned at daybreak, going back by the quarry of the stone hats. -Two male aku-aku, by name Ko Hitirau and Ko Nuku-te-mangoa, were -sleeping by the way, but were aroused on his approach by two more -aku-aku, whose names are given, who told them that there was a man -coming who would notice that their ribs were exceedingly “bad.” The two -sleepers awoke, saw Tuukoihu, and asked him, “Have you seen anything?” -He discreetly replied “nothing,” and they disappeared. They again met -him on the road and put the same question, to which he gave the same -answer. When he got to his house, he made two statues with ribs to -represent the apparitions. After dark they prowled round the house, -listening, with their hands up to their ears, to hear if he gossiped -about what he had seen, intending if he did so to kill him. The Ariki, -however, held his tongue. Later he went to his other home; there he took -the wooden moai, both male and female, and made them walk. The house -bears the lengthy name of “The House of the Walking Moai of Tuukoihu, -the Ariki,” and is the large one whose measurements were given on p. -216. Tuukoihu once lent a moai-miro to a man, whose house took fire -while it was in his possession. The Ariki, on hearing of the disaster, -told the image to fly away, which it promptly did, and was subsequently -found in the neighbourhood unharmed. - -Wooden figures are said to have been made in a considerable variety of -forms, some of them being in a sitting position, others with hands -crossed, etc.; names were bestowed on them—twenty-one such were repeated -to us. It was not found possible to ascertain exactly what they are all -intended to portray, the information being somewhat confused and -contradictory, but on the whole the female figures and those with ribs -seem to have been considered to be supernatural beings; they are -generally called aku-aku, and sometimes atua, while the others represent -men. It appears probable that they are portraits, or memorial figures, -of which the older may have attained to deification: this is confirmed -by the fact that there is one such figure at the Pitt Rivers Museum at -Oxford, with short ears, which is said to have been made to represent -Captain Cook. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 120. - - [_Brit. Mus._ - - BACKS OF WOODEN IMAGES. - - Showing resemblance to stone figures and possible evolution of - conventional design from natural lines of figure. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 121.—BIRD DESIGN FROM HEAD OF WOODEN IMAGE. - - (_Brit. Mus._) -] - -When our friend Kapiera was a boy, there were about ten experts in the -island, who made wooden articles of various descriptions, including the -images, of whom three at least were alive in our time. Te Haha, who was -one of the old workmen, could still be seen sitting in his garden -engaged in carving moai miro. We have, therefore, a craft existing in -modern days which can be traced back to pre-Christian culture, and which -has strong affinities with the prehistoric stone figures. There is, of -course, no sentiment connected with the figures of to-day; they are -roughly done, and merely for sale. The trade is extended to copies of -stone images which are bought by unsuspecting visitors, with -circumstantial tales as to their history or discovery which would -deceive the very elect. The statues on the ahu near the village, which -are made of stone from Raraku, have had pieces cut off them to -manufacture into these articles. One Kanaka had in our day a still more -brilliant idea which saved him all trouble, he sold a fragment of this -rock at a high price to a passing vessel as the “last morsel of image -stone to be found in the island.” Local opinion regarding the -intelligence of the visitors is not high. One man brought to us a wooden -figure for sale which he said was “very old.” “Indeed,” remarked my -husband, “it has grown up quickly; it was a new-born infant when I saw -it being carved in the village a few weeks ago.” “Ah,” said the proud -possessor, slightly disappointed, but nursing his creation like a child -and stroking it affectionately, “he very fine, muy antiqua, I keep him -for ships; capitano man-o-wari, all same damn fool.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - CAVES AND CAVE-HUNTING - - Residential Caves—Caves as Hiding-Places for Treasure—Burial Caves. - - -Easter Island, from its geological formation, is a land of underground -cavities; between the harder volcanic strata lie softer deposits, which -have been gradually washed away, either by subterraneous streams or, as -in certain localities round the coast, by the action of the waves, -leaving above and below the more durable substance. There are thus -formed grottoes and crannies innumerable; they were used, as has been -seen, for sleeping-places and for burial, and they also came in handy as -treasure deposits. Large caves are comparatively rare, though in one -district underground ways filled with water extend to a great length, -and the whole surface rings hollow to the tread of a horse. - -We daily examined such caves and grottoes as came under our notice; and -systematically excavated some half-dozen, which had apparently been used -in former days as native habitations. Below the floor of one, Mr. -Edmunds had already discovered a small chamber walled and roofed with -slabs, which the natives said had been used as a place of hiding in -cannibal days; but generally the earth deposit is very shallow, and the -yields were the same only as those of the houses at Orongo, a few spear -heads, bone needles, and sea-shells whose contents had been used for -food. There were few objects among the natives which lent themselves to -preservation for any length of time; they never made pottery, although -there is clay in the island; wooden articles would generally rot, and -they had no form of metal. This reflection reconciled us in some degree -to what was otherwise a disappointment, our inability to reach the most -thrilling of the caves, which are half-way up the great sea-cliffs; they -can be seen from the ocean, and are known to have been used, but the -original track has either been washed away by the encroaching waves or -lies in a tumbled mass on the beach below. A special voyage was made -round the island in _Mana_ with the object of studying these caves; some -of the Expedition went in the yacht, and signalled their situation to a -second party, who rode along the coast and placed marks on the cliff as -a guide for subsequent exploration. We finally, however, gave up the -idea of attempting to reach them; it would have been possible, no doubt, -to have done so from the top, with a rope and experienced climbers, but -a certain amount of danger would have been inevitably involved, and, -considering the smallness of our numbers and the circumstances, we felt -it unwise to take the risk of accident. We do not believe, in view of -our experience elsewhere, that they are likely to contain anything of -material value, but, in any case, they remain unrifled for our -successors. - -Articles which were considered of value by the owners were kept, not in -these larger caves, but in little holes and crannies where they could be -easily concealed. This practice still continues, both for legitimate and -illegitimate purposes; it made it, for example, impossible to trace the -stores which were stolen soon after our arrival. The natives are -naturally secretive, and do not confide the whereabouts of their -hiding-places, so that when a man dies his hoard is lost. One old leper, -who was said to have some five tablets, reported to his friends that -when Mr. Edmunds was making a wall on the estate, the men went so near -his cache that he was in momentary dread of its discovery, but they -passed it by; he died soon after, and all knowledge of it was lost. The -most tragic story is the authenticated one of a man who disappeared with -his secret store. He had been bargaining with visitors, and went to -fetch for sale some of his hidden possessions; he was never heard of -again. Presumably some accident happened, and he either fell down a -cliff or was buried alive. Sometimes a man on his death-bed will give -directions to his son as to where things are hidden, but natural -landmarks alter, and this information seems seldom sufficient to enable -the place to be recognised; treasure-hunting on Easter Island is -therefore a most disappointing pursuit, as we found to our cost. Soon -after our arrival a man died in the village who was said to have things -hidden among the rocks in a part of the coast not far from the village. -His neighbours turned out to dig. We offered high rewards for anything -found, which were to be doubled if the objects were left untouched till -our arrival on the scene, and we wasted much time ourselves -superintending the search, but nothing appeared. A young man volunteered -the information that he had a cave on Rano Kao where his father had -hidden things, and another half-day was spent in riding to the spot; the -whereabouts had only been described generally, and he could not find the -place. - -Yet another day we rode round the eastern headland to find some stone -statues, the locality of which had been confided to Juan by the old man -Kilimuti, who was a member of his family. The search was again in vain, -and Juan indignantly characterised his ancient relative as “a liar.” An -interesting, but equally futile, expedition was made to look for a -tablet, said to have been hidden by a rongo-rongo man near Anakena; the -cave in this case proved to have an entrance like a well, artificially -built up, and to be a long, natural, subterranean chamber. There were -certain traces which might have been those of decayed wood, but nothing -more. We subsequently discovered that this sort of thing is usual; the -natives possess, not “castles in Spain,” but caves in certain localities -which they speak of definitely as “theirs,” but which are quite as -reluctant to materialise as any southern château. - -Mr. Edmunds assured us, with amused sympathy, that his initial -experiences and disillusionment had been precisely similar to our own. -The natives themselves, nevertheless, continue to hunt with undiminished -zeal for these hidden articles, whose value is well known; it is the one -form of work which they enjoy. Rumour had come from Tahiti, shortly -before we reached the island, that articles were hidden in a recess in -the coast not far from the Cannibal Cave; the whole place was dug over -and ransacked by treasure-hunters from the village, without result so -far as we ever heard. - -Caves were frequently used as places of burial. Generally, as in the -case of Ko Tori, an isolated corpse was placed in a grotto, but on Motu -Nui we came across two subterranean chambers which had been definitely -prepared as vaults. One of these had obviously not been visited for some -time, as a considerable amount of clearance had to be effected before it -could be reached. The entrance proved to be a small, properly -constructed doorway, two feet high and eleven inches in width, from -which a short passage descended at a sharp angle. To wriggle down this -narrow way felt much like a rabbit going into a burrow. The cave below -proved to be a circular vault, under ten feet in diameter. Four corpses -lay side by side on the floor, while a fifth had been hurriedly shoved -in, head foremost, through the doorway above. The ceiling and walls were -artificially made and covered with white pigment. On the walls were -three heads, carved in relief, the only ones encountered; they were -adorned with touches of red paint. The one which was best wrought was -twenty inches in length, and projected some two to three inches from the -surface of the wall; it had a pronounced “imperial.” The sides of the -cave were also adorned with incised drawings of birds. In order to copy -these carvings by the light of a small candle, it was necessary to -encamp among the damp mould of the floor in contact with the remains of -the dead. The proceeding felt not a little gruesome, even to a now -hardened anthropologist, and the return to daylight was very welcome. - -The other cave on the islet was very similar, but smaller in size, and -the carvings were not so good. The corpses which it contained had -evidently been buried in tapa. No information of special interest was -forthcoming to account for these burials on Motu Nui; if they were -associated with any particular family or class the fact has been -forgotten. - -The custom is said to have existed of enclosing such articles as chisels -and fish-hooks in the wrappings of a corpse, and it is recorded that the -bird-man’s egg sometimes accompanied him to his last home; the idea also -of placing her _prie-Dieu_ in Angata’s grave seemed to be a survival of -such a practice. With the one exception, however, of the beads in the -canoe-shaped ahu, we never found any objects with the dead. The natives -who were generally most anxious to reach the inaccessible caves in the -hope of treasure, felt no interest in one which can be seen from below -to have a wall across the mouth, and which was said to be a place of -burial; they considered that it would contain nothing of value. It seems -therefore probable that belongings buried with the deceased were -speedily stolen and have not been available in the memory of this -generation. It is difficult to suppose that any fear of punishment here -or hereafter would deter an Easter Islander from appropriating any such -article for which he had a fancy. - -There may still be accidental discoveries in grottoes of forgotten -hoards, or a few things treasured in this way by old men may be -disclosed, but personally we are persuaded that the secret of this land -must be sought elsewhere than in its caves. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 122. - - AHU OROI. - - An outcrop of rock utilised as an image ahu. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - LEGENDS - - First Arrival on the Island—The Long Ears exterminated by the Short - Ears—The Struggle between Kotuu and Hotu Iti. - - -It remains to be seen what accounts the islanders give of their origin -and history in addition to the vague fragments already quoted. These -legends fall into three groups, which, though they touch at some points, -are in reality separate, and their relation to one another in point of -time cannot be certainly ascertained. It need hardly be said that, like -all such legends, they cannot be regarded as more than suggestive; when -the mysteries have been solved, it will no doubt be easy to see where -they have been founded on fact, and where error has crept in, and -essential points distorted or forgotten; meanwhile, the clues they -afford can only be partial. These groups deal respectively, firstly with -the arrival of the islanders under Hotu-matua; secondly with the -destruction of the Long Ears; and thirdly with the war between the two -sides of the island, Kotuu and Hotu Iti. The stories have necessarily -been somewhat abbreviated. - - - FIRST ARRIVAL ON THE ISLAND - -The ancestors of the present inhabitants came, it is said, from two -neighbouring islands known as Marae Renga and Marae Tohio. Here, on the -death of the chief, Ko Riri-ka-atea, a struggle for supremacy arose -between his two sons, Ko Te Ira-ka-atea and Hotu-matua, in which Hotu -was defeated. Now there was on one of the islands a certain Haumaka, who -had tattooed Hotu, and received from him in return a present of -mother-of-pearl which had been given to Hotu’s father by an individual -called Tuhu-patoea. Tuhu had seen that the men who went down to get -pearls were eaten by a big fish, so he invented a net by which the -precious shell could be obtained without risk, and the pearl so procured -he had presented to his chief, Ko Riri. This man, Haumaka, had a dream, -and during it his spirit went to a far country, and when he awoke he -told six men, whose names are given, to go and seek for it; they were to -look for a land where there were three islets and a big hole, also a -long and beautiful road. So the six men went, each on a piece of wood, -and they found the three islets, Motu Nui, Motu Iti, Motu Kao-kao, and -the big hole, which was the crater of Rano Kao. They landed on that part -of the island and planted yams, and then walked round the island, -beginning by the south coast. - -When they were near Anakena, one of them, Ira, saw a turtle and tried to -take it, but it was too heavy for him to lift, so the other five went to -help, but it was still too heavy for them, and it struck out and injured -one named Kuku; he was taken to a neighbouring cave and begged the -others not to leave him, but his companions made five cairns outside the -cave[68] and departed, and Kuku died in the cave. The men went to Hanga -Roa and on to Orongo. A sixth man then appeared on the scene, but whence -he came is not known, and the other five told him that “this was a bad -land,” for when they had planted yams, grass had grown up. Then the men -went to Motu Nui and slept there, and in the morning, when they woke, -two boats were seen approaching. The vessels were bound together, but as -they came near the land the cord which united them was cut. The name of -the one boat was “Oteka,” and in it were Hotu-matua and his wife, -Vakai-a-hiva; and the name of the other boat was “Oua,” and in it were a -certain Hinelilu and his wife, Avarepua. Ira called to them, and told -them also that “this was a bad land”; to which Hotu-matua replied that -they too came from a bad land, “when the sea is low we die few, when the -sea is high we die many.” - -Then the boats divided, and Hotu-matua went round the south and east -coasts, and Hinelilu by the west and north. Hotu wished to be the first -to reach Anakena, which the previous arrivals had told him was a good -place to land, so when he saw the other vessel approaching, he “said to -himself a word,” which made his own boat go fast and Hinelilu’s go slow; -so he got first to the cove. A son was born there to Vakai and named Ko -Tuumaheke. Hinelilu was a man of intelligence, and wrote rongo-rongo on -paper he brought with him. Amongst those who came in the boats was the -ariki Tuukoihu, the maker of the wooden images; two of his sons and two -grandsons have given their names to four subdivisions of the Miru clan. - -Among Hotu-matua’s company there was a concealed passenger whose name -was Oroi; he was an enemy of Hotu, who had killed his children in the -place whence they came, and had hidden himself on board. He got on shore -at Anakena, without anyone having guessed at his presence, and killed -everyone. One day the five children of a man named Aorka went to bathe -at Owaihi, a small cove east of Anakena, and as they lay on a rock in -the sea, Oroi came from behind and killed them and took out their -insides. When they did not return, the father said to the mother, “Where -are the children?” The mother said, “On the rock”; but when Aorka went -to look, the rock was covered with water, for it was high tide; when by -and by the water went down, he saw the five children and that they were -dead. Aorka then told Hotu-matua: “Oroi, that bad man, is here, for he -has killed my children.” Now Hotu-matua went to see his daughter who was -married, and as he went Oroi put a noose in his path and tried to catch -his foot in it, but Hotu stepped on one side. When he had finished his -visit to his daughter, he said to her and her husband, “Follow me as I -go home.” And as he returned he saw that the cord was still there, and -his enemy hidden behind the rock. This time Hotu-matua intentionally -stepped on to the rope and fell, and when Oroi came up, he got hold of -him and killed him, and then called to his daughter and son-in-law to -see that he was dead. When, however, they put the corpse in the oven to -cook him he came to life again, so they had to take him over to the -other side of the island to where the ahu is called Oroi (fig. 122), and -there he cooked quite satisfactorily, and they ate him. - -Hotu-matua had many sons from whom the different clans are descended, -and whose names they bear. He quarrelled with the eldest, Tuumaheki, and -with his own wife, Vakai; the two having behaved badly to him, he -finally gave up his position to Tuumaheki and retired to the top of Rano -Kao, where he lived on the south side of the crater, that opposite to -Orongo. He was old and blind and became also very ill; his elder sons -came to see him, but he kept asking for Hotu-iti, the youngest, who was -his favourite. When Marama appeared, the old man felt the calf of his -leg, and said, “You are not Hotu-iti, you are Marama; where is -Hotu-iti?” Koro-orongo answered as if he were Hotu-iti, and said, “I am -here,” but he lied, and his father took hold of his leg, and said again, -“You are not Hotu-iti”; and the same thing happened with Ngaure, and -Raa, and Hamea, and the others; and at last came Hotu-iti, and -Hotu-matua knew him, for he was small, and his leg was slight, and said -to him, “You are Hotu-iti, of Mata-iti, and your descendants shall -prosper and survive all others.” And he said to Kotuu, “You are Kotuu, -of Mata-nui, and your descendants shall multiply like the shells of the -sea, and the reeds of the crater, and the pebbles of the beach, but they -shall die and shall not remain.” And when he had said this he left his -house, and went along to the cliff where the edge of the crater is -narrowest, and stood on it by two stones, and he looked over the islet -of Motu Nui towards Marae Renga, and called to four aku-aku in his old -home across the sea, “Kuihi, Kuaha, Tongau, Opakako, make the cock crow -for me,” and the cock crew in Marae Renga, and he heard it across the -sea; that was his death signal, so he said to his sons, “Take me away.” -So they took him back to his house, and he died. Thus Hotu-matua came to -his end and was buried at Akahanga. - -Many of the gods of Marae Renga, who were the ancestors of Hotu-matua, -came with him in his boat, and he knew they were there though the others -did not see them. The names of eleven of them were given, four of which -were independently quoted as amongst the aku-aku associated with -Akahanga. - - - THE STORY OF THE LONG EARS - -Now the Long Ears (“Hanau Epé”) and Short Ears (“Hanau Momoku”) lived -together mixed up all over the land, but one of the Long Ears, Ko Ita by -name, who lived at Orongo, had in his house the bodies of thirty boys, -whom he had killed to eat. Among his victims were the seven sons of one -man, Ko Pepi. Ko Pepi went mad, and ran round and round till he fell -down, and his brothers took their mataa and killed the Long Ears at -Vinapu and at Orongo. They were joined by the other Short Ears, till the -Long Ears took refuge in the eastern headland, across which they then -dug a ditch and filled it with brushwood in order to make a fire in -self-defence. Now a body of the Short Ears were drawn up in array in -front of the ditch, but another party were shown the way round at night -by an old woman, and thus turned their flank; so when morning dawned the -Long Ears found themselves attacked both from behind and before, and -then were swept into the ditch of their own making.[69] There they were -all burnt except two, who made their way to a cave, near Anakena, where -they hid, but they were dug out of it and killed, calling aloud -“Oroini,” the meaning of which is not known. - -Such is the outline of these stories; the most definite and agreed -points are the most incomprehensible—namely, the landing of the six men -prior to that of the main wave, and the concealed arrival of Oroi. The -sons of Hotu-matua are not known exactly. Kotuu is sometimes identified -with Ko Tuumaheki, and is sometimes a separate person. Miru occasionally -figures as one of them, which is inconsistent with the statement that -four of Tuukoihu’s descendants are the ancestors of four subdivisions of -that clan. Miru is also the name given in all the lists to Tuumaheki’s -son, the third ariki. Hotu Iti was always a district, never the name of -a clan. On the most interesting point—namely, the origin of the Long -Ears—there is the most vagueness. According to Kilimuti, who was a -recognised authority, and whose account of the landing has been -followed, Hotu-matua and those in his boat were the Short Ears, Hinelilu -and the crew of the second boat the Long Ears. When asked how it was -that the two came together, he merely replied that it was in the same -way as we ourselves had various nationalities on the yacht. According to -this authority, the destruction in the ditch took place in the time of -Hotu-matua’s children. Another version, given by three old men in -conclave, was that the Long Ears came into existence on the island -through the “mana” of the third ariki. Discussion one day waxed quite -fierce on the point till Te Haha’s wife, who was a shrewd middle-aged -woman, turned and said, “Never mind them, Mama, they don’t know anything -about it,” which probably summed up the situation. The story of the -ditch and the final extinction is well-established legend. The term Long -Ears seemed to convey to the natives not the custom of distending the -ears, but having them long by nature. - -It is interesting to compare the versions of these stories given to the -Expedition with those taken down from Salmon by Paymaster Thomson of the -_Mohican_. The statement made by him, and repeated by various -travellers, probably from the same source, that Hotu-matua came from the -east, was never met with by us. Kilimuti did not know whence he came; -the direction in which Hotu-matua looked when dying would be west, or -more accurately, south-west. Juan put the home of the first immigrants -in the Paumotu; as a young man his knowledge of legend was a step -further from the original, but it was often useful as summing up the -general impression he had received. According to the _Mohican_ story the -six early arrivals included the brother of Hotu-matua and his wife; Oroi -had been the rejected suitor of this lady, and it was the competition -for her favour which had caused the quarrel with the family. The same -authority states that Hotu was in the boat which went by the south and -east and his wife Vakai in the other; Hinelilu does not appear. Hotu is -depicted as dividing the land between his sons, but there is no mention -of the ultimate triumph of the descendants of Hotu-iti over those of -Kotuu, which, as told to us on more than one occasion, was the chief -point in the story. The finale, in which the old man looked towards his -old home, is omitted. The Long Ears suddenly appear on the island at a -much later time.[70] The story of the ditch is much the same. - - - WARS BETWEEN KOTUU AND HOTU ITI - -Kainga was a great man, and he lived near Tongariki. He had three young -sons; two of them lived with him, one of whom was named Huriavai, and -the other was called Rau-hiva-aringaerua (literally, “Twin two faces”), -for he had been born with two faces, one of which looked before and the -other behind. Kainga’s third son was named Mahanga-raké-raké-a-Kainga; -he was not treated well at home, and had been adopted by a woman who -lived not far away, and there he had much fish to eat. Now one day two -men came to Kainga’s house and slept there; they were Marama from Hanga -Roa, and their names were Makita and Roké-ava. Kainga killed two -chickens, and cooked the food and took it to his guests. Roké was -asleep, and Makita said, “What is this?” and Kainga replied, “Chicken,” -and Makita said, “I do not like it; I want man.” Kainga did not like to -refuse, and went outside and said to his two boys, “Go and tell Mahanga -to come here.” So the children went and gave the message. When Mahanga -heard it, he cried, but when he had done weeping he went back with his -brothers. Kainga said to him, “Lie down and go to sleep,” and Kainga -took a club and hit the child on the head and killed him. Then he cooked -part of the body and gave it to Makita, saying, “Here is food,” and went -back to the cooking-place. Makita saw that it was human flesh, and -wakened Roké and told him, and Roké was alarmed, and said, “I do not -like it.” He broke the house of Kainga, and hurried away. Makita also -departed quickly. Kainga was very angry, and said to the two men, “Why -do you throw away my food?” And he took the body of the child and -wrapped it in reeds and put it on the ahu. - -Kainga then said, “Bring me much wood to make a boat”; and all men -worked at the boat of Kainga, and he gave them much food—chickens and -potatoes and bananas, sugar-cane, hens and fish and eels—but they did -not make it well. Then Kainga sent for Tuukoihu, the chief who lived at -Ahu Tepeu, on the western side, and said, “Come to me to make the boat”; -and Tuukoihu came, and he made a good boat twenty fathoms long, and when -it was finished it was launched, and thirty men went in it to row. Now -Makita and Roké and the people from Hanga Roa and that part of the -island had taken refuge on Motu Nui and other islets of the coast off -Rano Kao. Kainga went in the boat to Motu Nui and rowed all round it, -and Kainga called to the people on the island, “Come out that I may see -you”; and they were all very frightened of Kainga because he was a big -man, so one after another all the men on the island came out that he -might see them, and he said, “Are there no more?” and they looked and -saw that there were two more hidden; so they brought them out, and they -were Makita and Roké, and Makita he slew, but Roké he let go. - - * * * * * - -Now there was war between one side of the island and the other side. The -Koro-orongo, the Tupahotu, the Ureohei and Ngaure fought the Haumoana, -Miru, Marama, Hamea, and the Raa. Kainga fought with his spear against -one of the Miru named Toari, and was angry because he could not kill -him. He went to his house and killed a white cock and gave it to the -child Huriavai to eat, and then he took five mataa and bound them on -wood. That evening Huriavai went to sleep; he dreamed that the white -cock was coming towards him, and that he threw a stone at the bird and -killed it, and he waked up afraid. Kainga said, “What is it, child?” and -the boy answered, “It is the white cock; he is dead”; and Kainga was -glad of the dream, and said joyfully, “He is dead! To-morrow morning -early, at five o’clock, we will go and fight.” So on the morrow he took -the five mataa in his hand and Huriavai on his back. The men of Hotu Iti -fought the men of Anakena and Hanga Roa. Kainga did not go into the -battle, but he stood a little way off with the child, and he saw that -Toari no one could kill, and he said to the child, “Go, boy, and take -two spears.” Huriavai was frightened, but he took two spears and went -into the battle. The men of Anakena came to kill the boy, but he did not -run away. They threw their spears, but they glanced off the child. Then -all Kainga’s men came forward, and they threw their spears at Toari; but -Huriavai threw one spear, and he killed him and he lay dead. Kainga saw -his enemy was slain, and took the boy on his back and went away quickly. -When Kainga was gone, all the people of Hotu Iti fled, and the people of -Anakena pursued, and they killed all the people of Hotu Iti, thousands -and thousands and thousands, women and children and little children, big -children and young men, and old men who could not walk away quickly. -Some of those who escaped took refuge in the cave known as Ana Te -Ava-nui, and others fled to the island of Marotiri (fig. 123). Kainga -went to Marotiri, but Huriavai hid in a hole on the mainland opposite; -his brother, who had two faces, was killed by a man named -Pau-a-ure-vera. The face behind said, “I see Pau-a-ure-vera; he comes to -me with a spear in his hand. You look too.” But the face in front said, -“I do not like to look; you look.” The face behind was angry, and said, -“You look too.” And while the two faces talked, Pau struck the boy with -his spear in the neck, and he fell dead, and Kainga saw from the island -the fall of his son. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 123. - - EASTERN HEADLAND AND ISLAND OF MAROTIRI. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 124. - - ANA HAVEA. - - The figure in the sea stands at a spring of fresh water. -] - -The day after the battle, when Hotu Iti had been vanquished, Poié, who -was one of the Haumoana and a big man, came to live at Ana Havea, the -cave near Tongariki (fig. 124), and took a large boat with thirty men -and went to the island of Marotiri. On the island were many thousands of -the people of Hotu Iti, but among them there was one man, Vaha; his -father was of Hotu Iti, but his mother was of Anakena. He was the father -of Toari, who was killed by Huriavai, so he hated the men of Hotu Iti, -but no man dared kill him. When Poié came in his boat, he said to Vaha, -“Give me men to cook.” Vaha gave him one thousand in the boat, and Poié -went back to the shore and gave each of the men of Anakena a man to eat; -he took thousands of children by the leg and dashed them against the -stone. Every day he did the same again, and brought a thousand men from -Marotiri. One day, when the boat came back, a man called Oho-taka-tori, -a Miru, was at Ana Havea and saw Poié throwing the men on shore, and -among them a man named Hanga-mai-ihi-te-kerau; and Oho-taka-tori said to -Poié, “Give me for my fish that man with a fine name.” Poié said, “I -give no fish with a fine name to you who begin work at nine o’clock in -the morning.” Oho was angry with Poié; he was wearing a hat with cocks’ -feathers sticking out in front, and he turned it round back side front, -and went to the house of his daughter, who had married a man of Hotu Iti -called Moa, and lived near Tongariki. He said to her, “Do not let your -husband mourn for the men of Hotu Iti”; the girl replied, “He does not -tell me, but I think he mourns much.” She gave her father food to eat, -and he went to his own home, the other side of the island. When Moa came -in from digging potatoes, his wife said, “Your father-in-law has been -here, and he said that you were not to cry for the men of Hotu Iti”; and -Moa replied, “I must mourn, but you are of Hanga Roa,” and he did not -eat any potatoes, but wept. - -The men who had not taken refuge on Marotiri were, as has been told, in -Ana Te Ava-nui,[71] and the men of Anakena had made twenty holes in a -row in the cliff above, and they stood in the holes one behind the -other, and lowered a net over the edge of the cliff with two men in it -with spears, and the men in the holes held the rope and let down the -net, and the men in the net shouted to them “Pull up,” or “Give way,” -till they were opposite the cave, and then they killed the men in the -cave with their spears, and three brothers of Oho worked with these men. - -At five o’clock in the evening, when his wife did not know, Moa took all -sorts of food, and buried them so that no man should see, and at seven -o’clock he said to his wife, “Give me the big net,” and she said, “Are -you going to take fish?” and he said, “Yes,” but he lied; he was going -to Te Ava-nui. He took the net and the food. By and by he left the net -behind, but he kept the food and went to Maunga Tea-tea.[72] There were -many of Poié’s men there, and all over Poike, but they were asleep. He -gathered there eight branches of palm, put them on his back, and went to -the cave, and all the men on the top of the cliff were asleep, and Moa -went down the cliff by the track and entered the cave. The men inside -did not sleep. They said, “Who are you?” and he said, “Hush, I am Moa.” -There were only thirty men alive. For two and a half months they had had -nothing to eat in the cave, and only the strongest were left. Moa gave -the men the juice of the sugar-cane like water, and little bits of -potato, and then he asked, “Where are the bones of the warrior -Peri-roki-roki?” They replied, “He is down there.” So Moa said, “Bring -them to me”; and Moa made fish-hooks of bone, and bound a hook to a palm -branch; then he said to the men, “I have made one for you; make seven,” -and he went back. When the net came down in the morning, the men in the -cave caught it with the hooks on the branches of palm, and the men in -the net called to those above to “drag up,” but the men gave more line, -and the men in the cave killed the men in the net, and then they climbed -up the rope and killed all the men at the top except the brothers of -Oho, those they did not kill. - -Three days before this the men on Marotiri had rid themselves of Vaha; -it was in this way. The boy Huriavai, who was in a hole on the mainland, -was very hungry, for he was not old enough to catch fish, and he ate -seaweed. Vaha on the island opposite took the stem of a banana and cut -it into pieces, so that it looked like yams, and put it where the boy -could see it, and Huriavai said, “My father has plenty of food.” So he -swam across, and Vaha killed him. Then Vaha took the corpse and swam -with it to the mainland. It was dark, but Kainga listened, and heard the -swish of the water, and he too went into the sea and followed him, and -when he got to shore he hid behind a big stone, and when he saw Vaha -coming, carrying on his back the body of the child, he wept, and Kainga -said, “Who are you?” and he replied, “I am Vaha”; and Kainga said, “I am -Kainga, the slayer of Vaha.” And he slew him, and took the corpse of -Huriavai to the ahu, and then came and took the body of Vaha as fish-man -for food, brought it to Marotiri, and gave pieces to all the people on -the island. There were thirty men then left there, but they had no fire, -so they cooked the flesh in their armpits. - -Three days after this the men from Te Ava-nui came along, and they -shouted across from the mainland, “We have killed the men in the net”; -and Marotiri shouted back, “We too have killed a man,” and they were all -full of joy. The island men swam ashore, and they killed all the men at -Ana Havea. The men from Marotiri went in one direction and the men from -Te Ava-nui in another, killing and slaying every one; but Kainga went -with neither, for he wished to find Poié. He went to Ana Havea, but his -enemy had fled, and he followed him all along the south coast, till they -were not far from Vaihu. Poié was a very big man, but Kainga was a -little one, and he had nothing to eat. He called to Poié, “You have -food, I have none; I shall not kill you, I will go back; but another day -I will kill you.” The two parties of Hotu Iti men had now joined one -another, and Kainga went with them. Men and old men, old women and -children they killed all, but the fine women they took; the sixty men -divided the women between them. A man would say to a woman, “Do you like -me?” and if she said “No,” then he killed her. Kainga told the men from -Te Ava-nui to go to one place, and the men from Marotiri to go to -another, and live with their wives and beget children, and so they did; -but Poié went to Hanga Roa. - - * * * * * - -Kainga told a Tupahotu called Maikuku to give his daughter to Poié, so -she went to him and bore him many children, and one day, when years had -gone by, Kainga called together his men and went over at night to the -other side of the island to fight. Maikuku was staying in the house of -his daughter, and Kainga had told him, “If Poié is not in the house, -sleep with your head outside the door”; and Kainga came and looked and -saw that the head of Maikuku was outside, and he said to him, “Then Poié -is not here?” and he said, “No, he has gone to the sea.” The -grand-daughter of Maikuku heard, and was angry for her father, and she -went a little way up the hill outside, and cried aloud, “The enemy are -coming to fight, and your father-in-law is very bad, although he has had -bananas and fish and much to eat.” Poié heard the child speak, and he -and his five brothers hid their net and the fish, and they ran along the -coast towards Rano Kao, and Kainga went too, and then they swam to Motu -Nui. Kainga followed, and they went on to Motu Iti and then swam to the -land again, and came ashore at the foot of the cliff below Orongo, and -Poié’s brothers tried to run up the hill, but Kainga’s men caught them -and killed four. As Poié came up, the blood of his brothers flowed down, -and he wept; but Poié they did not kill, because he had married the -daughter of Maikuku, and because they were all afraid. Now Kirireva, a -child of Hotu Iti, whose father had been killed by Poié, stayed at -Orongo, and the child asked if they were not going to kill Poié, and the -old men said, “No, we have already killed four.” Kirireva shaved all his -hair and his eyebrows, and put on red paint and told Poié to stand up, -and he ran three times between his legs, and the third time Poié fell, -and the boy killed him with a club because he had slain his father. Now, -when Poié was dead, Kotuu was finished and Hotu Iti victorious according -to the words of Hotu-matua. - -The middle part of this story is briefly told by Thomson, but his -account differs in important points from the foregoing. Moa is -represented as the son of Oho-taka-toré, instead of his son-in-law, and -his action is designed to avenge his father; this is a more -comprehensible version. Kainga is dead. Huriavai is on Marotiri, and on -swimming ashore is killed by one of the enemy. Vaha is Huriavai’s -friend, who kills the slayer, and swims back to Marotiri with the -enemy’s body. - -Our informant, Kapiera, was quite positive that the events took place -during the time of Ngaara’s grandfather, and refused to be dislodged -from his position because Juan pertinently pointed out that this was -inconsistent with the boat being made by Tuukoihu, who landed with -Hotu-matua. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE PROBLEM - - “_Do not be afraid of making generalisations because knowledge is as yet - imperfect or incomplete, and they are therefore liable to alteration. It - is only through such generalisations that progress can be made._”—Dr. A. - C. Haddon as President of the Folk Lore Society, 1919. - - -As we leave Easter Island, we pause to review our evidence and find how -far we have progressed towards the solution of its problems. - -We may dismiss the vague suggestion that the archæological remains in -the island survive from the time when it was part of a larger mass of -land. Whatever may be the geological story of the Pacific, no scientific -authorities are prepared to prove that such stupendous changes have -taken place during the time which it has been inhabited by man.[73] - -Instead of indulging in surmises as to the state of the world in a -remote past, it is safer to begin with existing conditions and try to -retrace the steps of development. It has already been seen that various -links connect the people now living on Easter Island with the great -images. Tradition is not altogether extinct; in a few cases the names of -the men are actually remembered who made the individual statues, and -also those of their clans which are still in existence. But the two -strongest bonds are the wooden figures and the bird cult. The wooden -figures were being made in recent times, and they have a design on the -back resembling that on the stone images, while they also possess the -same long ears. There is no reason why a defunct type should have been -copied, and it is probable that they date at least as far back as the -same epoch. The bird cult also was alive in living memory. It is allied -to that of the statues by the residence of the bird-man among the -images, by the fact that the bird rite for the child was connected with -them, and above all by the presence of a statue of typical form in the -centre of the village at Orongo. - -Assuming then, at any rate for the sake of argument, that the stone -figures were the work of the ancestors of the people of to-day, the next -step is to inquire who these people are. Here for a certain distance we -are on firm ground. They are undoubtedly connected with those found -elsewhere in the Pacific; much of their culture is similar; and even the -earliest voyagers noted that their language resembled that found on the -other islands. The suggestion that Easter Island has been populated from -South America may therefore, for practical purposes, be ruled out of the -question. If there is any connection between the two, it is more likely -that the influence spread from the islands to the continent. - -Having reached this point, however, we are faced by the larger problem. -Who were the race or races who populated the Pacific? Here our firm -ground ends, for this is a very complicated subject, with regard to -which much work still remains to be done. It is impossible as yet to -make any broad statement, which is not subject to qualification, or -which can be implicitly relied on. - -The Solomon group and other islands off the coast of Australia are -inhabited by a people known as Melanesians, who have dark skins, fuzzy -hair, and thick lips, resembling to some extent the natives of Africa; -this area is called Melanesia. Certain outlying islets are, however, -populated by a different race, who possess straight or wavy hair and -fairer skins. Eastward of a line which is drawn at Fiji this whiter -race, called Polynesian, predominates, and the eastern part of the -Pacific is known as Polynesia. - -Broadly speaking, the theory generally accepted has been that negroid -people are the earliest denizens, and that the lighter race came down -into Melanesia through the Malay peninsula, and thence passed on through -Melanesia in a succession of waves. A large proportion of the invaders -were probably of the male sex, and took wives from amongst the original -inhabitants. They absorbed in many ways the culture of the older people, -but did not wholly abandon their own. It is suggested, for instance, -that while as a whole the conquerors adopted existing religions, the -secret societies, so often found in the Pacific, are connected with -their own rites and beliefs, which were guarded as something sacred and -apart. - -It will easily be seen that the task of tracing these migrations is by -no means simple. Canoes, carrying fighting men or immigrants, bent on -victory or colonisation, passed continually from one island to another, -and each island has probably its own very complicated history. The -Maoris of New Zealand, for example, are a Polynesian race, but there are -also traces there of a darker people. Absolutely negroid elements are -found as far east as the Marquesas. Our servant Mahanga, whose features -are of that type, came from the Paumotu Islands (fig. 89). - -The marvellous feats of seamanship performed in these wanderings, often -against the prevailing trade wind, would be incredible if it were not -obvious that they have been actually accomplished. The loss of life was -doubtless very great, and many boats must have started forth and never -been heard of more. The fact remains, however, that native canoes have -worked their way over unknown seas as far north as the Hawaiian or -Sandwich Islands, and that somehow or other they reached that little -spot in the waste of waters now known as Easter Island. The nearest land -to Easter now inhabited, with the exception of Pitcairn Island, is in -the Gambier Islands, about 1,200 miles to the westward; the little coral -patch of Ducie Island, which lies between the two, is nearly 900 miles -from Easter, and has no dwellers. It has been suggested that the -original immigrants may have intended to make a voyage from one known -island to another and have been blown out of their course. However this -may be, a long voyage must have been foreseen, or the boats would not -have carried sufficient provisions to reach so distant a goal. It is -even more strange to realise that, if the mixture of races found among -the islanders occurred after their arrival, more than one native -expedition has performed the miracle of reaching Easter Island. - -[Illustration: This page contains a map of the Pacific Ocean.] - -The traditions of the present people do not, as has been seen, give very -material assistance as to the composition of the crew nor how they -reached the island. They tell us that their ancestors were compelled to -leave their original home through being vanquished in war. This was a -very usual reason for such migrations, as the conquered were frequently -compelled to choose between voluntary exile or death; but to account for -the discovery of the island they are obliged to take refuge in the -supernatural and explain that its whereabouts were revealed in a dream. -The story of Hotu-matua gives no suggestion that the Island was already -inhabited, save for one very vague hint. The six men who formed the -first detachment of the party were told that the island as revealed in -the dream possessed not only a great crater, but also “a long beautiful -road.” The Long Ears, who according to tradition were exterminated by -the Short Ears, may have been an earlier race, but it cannot be claimed -that the story tells us so. The two peoples are represented as coming -together, or as living side by side on the island. The whole account is -rendered more puzzling by the fact that, while the Short Ears are said -to have been the ancestors of the present people, the fashion of making -long the lobe of the ear prevailed on the island till quite recently. - -It is noteworthy, however, that a legend exists elsewhere which -definitely reports that the later comers did find an earlier people in -possession. According to the account of Admiral T. de Lapelin,[74] there -is a tradition at Mangareva in the Gambier Islands to the effect that -the adherents of a certain chief, being vanquished, sought safety in -flight; they departed with a west wind in two big canoes, taking with -them women, children, and all sorts of provisions. The party were never -seen again, save for one man who subsequently returned to Mangareva. -From him it was learned that the fugitives had found an island in the -middle of the seas, and disembarked in a little bay surrounded by -mountains; where, finding traces of inhabitants, they had made -fortifications of stone on one of the heights. A few days later they -were attacked by a horde of natives armed with spears, but succeeded in -defeating them. The victors then pitilessly massacred their opponents -throughout the island, sparing only the women and children. There are -now no stone fortifications visible at Anakena, but one of the hill-tops -to the east of the cove has, for some reason or other, been entrenched -(fig. 96). - -Turning to more scientific evidence, we find that the Islanders have -always been judged to be of Polynesian race, as indeed would naturally -be expected from the easterly position of the island in the Pacific -Ocean. They have certainly traces of that culture, and the great -authority on the subject, Mr. Sydney Ray, has pronounced the language to -be Polynesian. The surprise, therefore, which the results of the -expedition have brought to the anthropological world, is the discovery -of the extent to which the negroid element is found to prevail there -both from the physical and cultural points of view. - -Melanesian skulls are mainly of the long-headed type, while Polynesian -are frequently broad-headed. A collection of fifty-eight skulls was -brought back from Easter and examined by Dr. Keith. He says in his -report: “The Polynesian type is fairly purely represented in some of the -Easter Islanders, ... but they are absolutely and relatively a -remarkably long-headed people, and in this feature they approach the -Melanesian more than the Polynesian type.” A similar statement was quite -independently made to the Royal Geographical Society on this head. In -the discussion which followed the reading of a paper on behalf of the -Expedition, Capt. T. A. Joyce of the British Museum, remarked that a few -years ago he had examined the skulls brought back from Easter Island by -the late Lord Crawford. “I then,” he continued, “wrote a paper which I -never published. It remained both literally and metaphorically a -skeleton in my cupboard, because I could not get away from the -conclusion that in their measurements and general appearance these -skulls were far more Melanesian than Polynesian.”[75] In speaking of -skulls, Dr. Keith makes the interesting remark that the Islanders are -the largest-brained people yet discovered in the islands or shores of -the Pacific, and shows that their cranial capacity exceeds that of the -inhabitants of Whitechapel. - -In the culture of the island also, the Melanesian influence is very -strong. The custom of distending the lobe of the ear is much more -Melanesian than Polynesian. Dr. Haddon has pointed out that an early -illustration of an Easter Island canoe depicts it with a double -outrigger, after a type found in the Nissan group in Melanesia.[76] An -obsidian blade has been found in the area of New Guinea influenced by -Melanesian culture, which has been described and figured by Dr. -Seligman[77]; he draws attention to its striking likeness to the mataa -of Easter Island. Weapons of the same type, and wooden figures in which -the ribs are a prominent feature, have been found in the Chatham -Islands,[78] but the respective amount of Polynesian and Melanesian -culture in these islands is as yet under discussion. - -The most striking evidence is, however, found in connection with the -bird cult. It has been shown by Mr. Henry Balfour that a cult with -strong resemblance to that of Easter existed in the Solomon Islands of -Melanesia. It is there connected with the Frigate-bird, a sea-bird which -usually nests in trees and is characterised by a hooked beak and gular -pouch. In treeless Easter Island the sacred bird is the Sooty Tern, -which is without the gular pouch and has a straight beak. In many of the -carvings on the island, however, the sacred bird is represented with a -hooked beak and a pouch (fig. 112). “This seems to point to a -recollection retained by the immigrants into Easter Island of a former -cult of the Frigate-bird which was practised in a region where this bird -was a familiar feature, and which was gradually given up in the new -environment when this bird, though probably not unknown, was certainly -not abundant”;[79] the cult being transferred to the locally numerous -Tern. - -[Illustration: - - FIG 125. - - BIRD AND HUMAN DESIGNS. - 1, 2, 3, 4, from the Solomon Islands. - - 1_a_, 2_a_, 3_a_, 4_a_, from the script, Easter Island. - - BIRD HEADS ON HUMAN BODIES. - 5. Wooden float for fishing-net, Solomon Islands. - 5_a._ Painting from an Orongo house, Easter Island. - - HUMAN HEADS WITH BIRD CHARACTERISTICS. - 6. On a bird body. Float for net, Solomon Islands. - 7. On a human body. Canoe-prow god, Solomon Islands. - 8. Profile of a stone statue, Easter Island. - - BIRD-HUMAN FIGURES IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS AND EASTER ISLAND. - Selected from the figures illustrating an article by H. Balfour, - Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford . _Folk Lore_, December - 1917. -] - -Figures were also made in the Solomon Islands composed partly of bird -and partly of human form. Bird heads appear on human bodies, as in -Easter Island, and also human heads on bird bodies (fig. 125). It is -noteworthy that, even when the head which is drawn on the bird body is -human, it is depicted with bird-like characteristics, the lower part of -the face being given a beak-like protrusion, till sometimes it is almost -impossible to distinguish whether the head is that of a man or a bird -(no. 6). This prognathous type, with the protrusion of the lower facial -region, appears to have become a convention, and it is found in figures -where the body as well as the head are human (no. 7). This is the kind -found in a modified form in the Easter Island stone figures; they differ -from any normal human type in either Polynesia or Melanesia. - -It is impossible as yet to give with any certainty a connected account -of the early history of Easter Island, but as a working hypothesis the -following may perhaps be assumed. There was an original negroid element -which brought with it the custom of distending the ear, the wooden -figures, and also the bird cult. A whiter wave succeeded which mingled -with the first inhabitants, and the next generation adopted the fashion -of the country in stretching the lobe of the ear, and carried on the -bird cult. At some time in the course of settlement war arose between -the earlier and later comers, in which the former took refuge in the -eastern headland and were largely exterminated. - -If these suppositions are so far correct, the story of the landing of -Hotu-matua and the establishment of his headquarters at Anakena refer to -the Polynesian immigration, and it seems reasonable to look to the Miru, -who are settled in that part of the island, and perhaps also to the -allied clans of the Marama and Haumoana, who together form the chief -inhabitants of the district of Kotuu, as the more direct descendants of -the Polynesian settlers. In confirmation of this we find that the ariki, -or chief, the only man who was necessarily of pure descent, is said to -have been “quite white.” The inscribed skulls, which are those of the -Miru, are reported to be of the Polynesian type. It is a somewhat -striking fact also that the ariki, in spite of his prominent position in -the island, took no part in the bird cult ceremonies. - -In endeavouring to arrive at even an approximate date for these -immigrations to the island, evidence outside its borders is likely to -prove our best guide. In the present state of our knowledge we cannot -even guess how long the negroid element has been in the Pacific, but the -lighter races are believed to have entered it not earlier than the -Christian era. The colonisation of the Paumotus is placed at A.D. -1000,[80] and it has been suggested by Volz that the Polynesian wave -reached Easter Island about A.D. 1400. - -There is at present no evidence to show whether the great works were -initiated by the earlier or the later arrivals. There are other -megalithic remains in the Pacific, notably great walls of stone in the -Caroline Islands. The Expedition found a stone statue in Pitcairn,[81] -but we have as yet no complete information with regard to these works or -the circumstances of their construction. The Polynesians are accredited -with having carried with them the fashion of erecting such monuments, -but, if they brought it to Easter Island, the form which it took was -apparently governed by conventions already existing in the island. - -On the other hand, it seems possible that the makers of the images may -have come from a country where they were accustomed to model statues in -wood, and finding no such material in the island, substituted for it the -stone of Raraku. Sir Basil Thomson has pointed out that there were in -the Marquesas wooden statues standing on erections of stone and also -wooden dolls. Further knowledge of what exists elsewhere will probably -throw light on the matter, but it is, in any case, owing to the fact -that there is to be found at Easter a volcanic ash which can be easily -wrought that we have the hundreds of images in the island. - -With regard to the duration of the image era, it has been shown that the -number of statues, impressive as it is, does not necessarily imply that -their manufacture covered a vast space of time. It must, however, in all -probability have extended over several centuries. As to its termination, -the worship is reported as having been in existence in 1722; at any rate -the ahu and statues were then in good repair. By 1774 some of the -statues had fallen, and by about 1840 none remained in place. It seems, -therefore, on the whole, most likely that the cult, and probably also -the manufacture of the images, existed till the beginning of the -eighteenth century. The alternative explanation can only be that though -the cult had long been dead the statues remained in place, not -materially injured either by man or weather, until Europeans first -visited the island, and that then an era of devastation set in which in -a hundred years demolished them all. This, though not actually -impossible, does not seem equally probable. - -We know that a large number, probably the majority, of the statues came -to their end through being deliberately thrown down by invading enemies. -The legendary struggles between Kotuu and Hotu Iti, in which Kainga -played so prominent a part, are always spoken of as comparatively recent -history, and one old man definitely asserted that they took place in the -time of the grandfather of the last ariki, which may be as far back as -the eighteenth century. If these wars occurred between the visit of the -Dutchmen in 1722 and that of the Spaniards in 1770, it is at least -possible that it was during their course that the manufacture of the -images ended and their overthrow began. It will be remembered that, -while Roggeveen speaks of the island as cultivated and fertile, the -navigators fifty years later are greatly disappointed with the barren -condition in which they find it. In the curious absence, however, of any -reference in these legends to the conditions of the images, this must -remain, for the present at any rate, as surmise only. - -It would be interesting to know more clearly the part played by the -advent of the white men in the evolution of the culture of the island. -While it cannot be definitely stated that it was their arrival which, by -detracting from the reverence paid to the statues, hastened their -downfall, we know that it largely affected native conceptions. Not only -was it the probable cause of the abandonment at the end of the -eighteenth century of the practice of distending the lobe of the -ear,[82] but it inspired a new form of worship. It is interesting to see -in the drawings of foreign ships, which appear side by side with older -designs, a new cult actually in course of intermingling with the old -forms. Did we not possess the key to them, these pictures would add one -more to the mysteries of the island. - -Such evidence as can be obtained from the condition of the images points -to the fact that it cannot be indefinite ages since they were completed. -For example, in certain statues, those which are generally considered -the most recent, the surface polish still remains in its place in the -cavity representing the eye, and on parts of the neck and breast where -it has been somewhat sheltered by the chin, notwithstanding the fact -that the soft stone is one that easily weathers (_Frontispiece_). - -The question as to what the statues represent is not yet fully solved. -It seems probable that the form was a conventional one and was used to -denote various things. Some of the statues may have been gods; the name -of a single image on an inland ahu, one of the very few which were -remembered, was reported to be “Moai Te Atua.” It is, however, probably -safe to regard ahu statues as being in general representations of -ancestors, either nearer or more distant, this does not necessarily -exclude the idea of divinity. The hat may have been a badge of rank; -warriors in Tahiti wore a certain type of hat as a special mark of -distinction.[83] Reasons have been given for suggesting that the images -on Raraku may have been memorials of bird-men; and we know that some of -the statues, as those on the southern slope of Raraku and in Motu Nui, -denoted boundaries. Lastly, it is not impossible that some of the -figures, such as those approaching the ahu of Paukura, were simply -ornamental, “to make it look nice.” The nearest approach which we -ourselves have to such divers employment of the same design is in our -use of the Latin cross. Fundamentally a sacred sign, it is used not only -to adorn churches and for personal ornament, but also to mark graves and -denote common and central grounds, such as the site of markets and other -public places. It is also used to preserve the memory of certain spots, -as for instance, Charing Cross, where the body of Queen Eleanor rested. - -The last problem to be considered is that dealing with the tablets. An -account has been given elsewhere of what is known of their general -meaning. The figures themselves may be classed as ideograms—that is, -signs representing ideas—but it is doubtful, as has been shown, if a -given sign always represented the same idea. Each sign was in any case a -peg on which to hang a large amount of matter which was committed to -memory, and is therefore, alas! gone for ever. - -No light has yet been thrown on the origin of the script. No other -writing has been found in the Pacific, if we except a form from the -Caroline Islands, and a few rock carvings in the Chatham Islands, whose -connection with the glyphs of Easter Island is as yet very doubtful. - -It would be satisfactory, in view of the relation of the Miru ariki to -the tablets, and the tradition that they came with Hotu-matua, if -internal evidence could show that it was of Polynesian origin. -Unfortunately for this theory, the Melanesian bird figures largely among -the signs. It is, of course, conceivable that they may have undergone -local adaptation. While it is not probable that we shall ever be able to -read the tablets, it is not impossible that further discovery may throw -light on the history of the signs, and show to what extent the script -has been imported from elsewhere, or how far it is, with much of its -other culture, a product of the isolation of Easter Island. - - - - - PART III - _THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE EASTER ISLAND TO SAN FRANCISCO_ - - - - - CHAPTER XX - PITCAIRN ISLAND - - - Lieutenant Bligh went to the Pacific in 1788, in command of H.M.S. - _Bounty_, with orders to obtain plants of the bread-fruit, and - introduce it into the English possessions in the West Indies. - - He spent six months at Tahiti, collecting the fruit, and there the - crew fell victims to the charms of its lotus-eating life, its - sunshine, its flowers, and its women. Soon after the ship sailed the - majority of the men mutinied, being led by Christian, the Master’s - mate. They set Bligh and eighteen others adrift in an open boat, and - returned in the ship to Tahiti. Subsequently, fearing that retribution - might follow, Christian and eight fellow mutineers left Tahiti on the - _Bounty_, taking with them nine native women, and also some native men - to act as servants. For years their fate remained a mystery. - - The refuge found by the party was the lonely island of Pitcairn. They - took out of the ship everything that they required, and then sank the - vessel, fearing that her presence might betray them. The new - habitation proved anything but an amicable Eden. The native servants - were ill-treated by their masters, and in 1793 rose against them, - murdering Christian and four other white men; but were finally - themselves all killed by the Europeans. The women also were - discontented with their lot, and in the following year they made a - raft in order to quit the island, an attempt which was of course - foredoomed to failure. - - Of the four mutineers left, one, McCoy, committed suicide through an - intoxicating drink made from the ti plant. Another, Quintal, having - threatened the lives of his two comrades, Adams and Young, was killed - by them with an axe, in self-defence. A woman who witnessed the scene - as a child, survived till 1883, and we were told by her grandchildren - that her clearest recollection was the blood-spattered walls and the - screaming women and children. Young, who had been a midshipman on the - _Bounty_, died shortly after, and in 1800 John Adams (_alias_ - Alexander Smith) was left the sole man on the island, with the native - women and twenty-five children. - - Later ensued not the least strange part of the story. Adams was - converted by a dream, and awoke to his responsibility towards the - younger generation. He taught them to read from a Bible and - Prayer-book saved from the _Bounty_, and the offspring of the - mutineers became a civilised and God-fearing community. - - The small colony were first found by an American ship, the _Topaz_, in - 1808, but little seems to have been heard of the discovery, and six - years later H.M. ships _Briton_ and _Tagus_, sailing near the island, - were much astonished at being hailed by a boat-load of men who spoke - English. - - By 1856 the population of Pitcairn numbered about one hundred and - ninety, and they were removed, by their own request, to the larger - Norfolk Island. Six homesick families, however, against the strong - advice of Bishop Selwyn, subsequently returned to Pitcairn. - -In the afternoon of Wednesday, August 18th, 1915, the last vestige of -the long coast of Easter Island dipped below the horizon. We realised -that we were homeward bound. Owing to the war, and our prolonged -residence on the island, it was no longer possible to keep to the plan -made before leaving England and follow up Easter trails elsewhere in the -Pacific. We decided, however, to adhere to the original arrangement of -going first to Tahiti, and then to make the return voyage by the Panama -Canal, which was now open. One of our principal objects in visiting -Tahiti was to collect all the letters, newspapers, and money which had -been forwarded to us there during the last twelve months. With the -exception of one stray letter, written the previous November, we had had -no mail since _Mana’s_ first return to the island a year before. It -seemed desirable to visit Pitcairn Island on the way thither; it was but -little out of our route, and was said to have prehistoric remains. - -We had a very good voyage for the 1,100 miles from Easter to Pitcairn, -staggering along with a following wind. The wind was indeed so strong -that we became anxious for the safety of the dinghy in her davits, and -swung her inboard for, I believe, the only time on the voyage. We -arrived at Pitcairn on August 27th. The island, as seen from the sea, -rises as a solitary mass from the water. It is apparently the remaining -half of an old crater, and is some two miles in width. An amphitheatre -of luxuriant verdure faces northwards; its lowest portion, or arena, is -perhaps 400 feet above sea-level, and rests on the top of a wall of grey -rock. The other three sides of the amphitheatre are encircled by high -precipitous cliffs. The green gem, in its rocky setting, was a -refreshing change after treeless Easter Island. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 126. - - PITCAIRN ISLAND FROM THE SEA. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 127. - - PITCAIRN ISLAND: CHURCH AND RESIDENCE OF MISSIONARIES. -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 128. - - PITCAIRN ISLAND: BOUNTY BAY. -] - -_Mana_ was welcomed by a boat-load of sturdy men, who were definitely -European in appearance and manner; they were mostly of a sallow white -complexion, though a few had a darker tinge. They spoke English, though -with an intonation different from that of the Dominions, America, or the -Homeland. A local patois is sometimes used on the island which is a -mixture of English and Tahitian, but pure Tahitian is not understood. A -graceful invitation was given by the Chief Magistrate, Mr. Gerard -Christian, to come and stay on shore, and was accepted for the following -day, which, the Islanders said, “will be the Sabbath.” This was a -somewhat surprising statement, as the day was Friday, and caused a -momentary wonder whether something had gone wrong with the log of -_Mana_. “We will explain all that later,” added our hosts. - -The next morning therefore the big ten-oared boat turned up again, Mr. -Christian bringing us the following kind letter from the missionaries, -who we now learned were on the island. It was addressed “To the -Gentlemen concerned.” - - PITCAIRN ISLAND. - 27. 8. 1915. - - “DEAR SIR AND MADAM, - - “It is with pleasure that we extend this invitation to you to share - with us the few comforts of our little Island home. We cannot offer - luxury, we live simply yet wholesomely. Should you be planning to - sleep ashore, it will be well to bring your pillows, towels and toilet - soap. We trust that your stay will be attended with success. - - “Yours very cordially, - “MR. and MRS. M. R. ADAMS.” - -We suggested bringing food, but that was declined as unnecessary. The -trip to the shore, even in so big a boat, is somewhat adventurous. The -landing-place is in Bounty Bay, below the precipitous cliffs off the -north-east corner of the island, beneath whose waters were sunk the -remains of His Majesty’s ship. The shore is reached, even under -propitious circumstances, through a white fringe of drenching surf; -happily the Islanders are excellent oarsmen, for the boat is apt to -assume the vertical position usually associated with pictures of Grace -Darling. A lifeboat sent as a gift from England in 1880 has proved too -short for the character of the waves. The village is gained by a steep -path, cut at times in the rock, and at the summit we found standing -under the trees a group in white Sunday attire waiting to welcome us. - -We were now beginning to understand the meaning of the difference in -days. Service used to be held at Pitcairn after the manner of the Church -of England, but in 1886 the island was visited by one of the American -sect calling themselves “Seventh Day Adventists.” The Society is -Christian, but the members regard as binding many of the Old Testament -rules. Saturday is observed as the divinely appointed day of rest, pork -is considered unclean, and a tenth part of goods is set aside for -religious purposes. Special attention is paid to Biblical prophecy, and -the end of the world is thought to be near. It was not difficult to -convert the reverent little community on Pitcairn to views for which it -was claimed that they were the plain teaching of the Bible, and various -persons were shortly baptised in the sea. - -The group who awaited us were headed by our most kind hosts, the -missionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Adams, who were of Australian -birth.[84] Sunday school was just over and service about to begin. It -was held in an airy building filled with a large congregation. The -sermon was on prophecy as found in the books of Daniel and Revelation, -and fulfilled in the division of the Empire of Alexander the Great. It -was depressing to be told that the late war is only the beginning of -trouble. - -We went back with Mr. and Mrs. Adams to luncheon, which was served at -2.30, and composed principally of oranges and bananas. It was a very -dainty if, to some of us who had breakfasted at 7 o’clock, a rather -unsubstantial repast. Our hosts were vegetarians and had only two meals -a day, but subsequently kind allowance was made for our less moderate -appetites. I was glad of a rest in the afternoon, but S., who attended a -second service, said it had been the most interesting part of the Sunday -observances; it was a less formal gathering, when personal religious -testimonies were given by both young and old. Later we were shown a -little settlement of huts in the higher part of the island, where once a -year the community retire for ten days and have a series of camp -meetings. - -The teachings of the new religion are practically observed. The tithe -barn, at the time of our visit, held £100 worth of dedicated produce -which was awaiting shipment. It was the prettiest sight to see the -fruits of the earth, being brought into it, in the form of loads of -various tropical produce. The whole community abstains from alcohol and, -nominally at any rate, from tobacco, though one old gentleman was not -above making an arrangement for a private supply from the yacht. Tea and -coffee are thought to be undesirable stimulants, and even the export of -coffee was beginning to be discouraged. The place suffers admittedly -from the social laxity characteristic of Polynesia; but the evil is -being combated by its spiritual leaders, and is cognisable by law. The -whole atmosphere is extraordinary; the visitor feels as if suddenly -transported, amid the surroundings of a Pacific Island, to Puritan -England, or bygone Scotland. It is a Puritanism which is nevertheless -light-hearted and sunny, without hypocrisy or intolerance. - -The general influence of the missionaries seemed very helpful to the -little community, and they also conducted a school for its younger -members. Most of the inhabitants can read, but the subject matter of -books is too far away for them to be of much interest, and the only -application, it was noticed, which was made to the yacht for literature, -was for picture papers of the war. We gave by request an hour’s talk on -the travels of the _Mana_, and it was listened to with apparent -understanding, or at any rate with politeness; the chief interest shown -was in the manner of life of the Easter Islanders, about which many -questions were asked. - -The houses are substantially built of wood with good furniture. A -well-made chest of drawers was a birthday present to the missionary’s -wife from the young men of the island. There is a separate bedroom or -cubicle for nearly every inhabitant, and some houses have a room set -apart for meals. Hospitality was shown without stint, and we were -entertained during our stay to a series of attractive repasts in various -homes; our hosts bore such names as Christian, Young, and McCoy. Meat is -limited to goat or chicken, but there is a profusion of tropical -produce, and oranges are too numerous to gather. The coconut trees are -unfortunately dying. Each household has a share of the ground rising -behind the village, and the hillside is traversed by shady avenues of -palms and bananas, which afford at every turn glimpses of outstanding -cliffs and the brilliant blue of the ocean. The standard of life -compares very favourably with that of an English village, and is -immeasurably superior to that achieved on Easter Island under similar -circumstances. - -Pitcairn has the dignity of being a democratic self-governing community, -with a Magistrate and two houses of legislature. The present -Constitution was suggested by the Captain of H.M.S. _Champion_ in 1892, -and superseded an earlier one. The Lower House, known as “the -Committee,” comprises a Chairman and two members, also an official -Secretary; it makes regulations which are submitted to the Upper House -or “Council.” The Council consists of the Chief Magistrate, with two -assessors and the Secretary, and it acts also as a court of justice. The -two committee members and a constable are nominated by the magistrate, -but the other officials are elected annually by all inhabitants over -eighteen years; Pitcairn was therefore the first portion of the British -Empire to possess female suffrage. - -It was interesting to see the Government Records, though the present -book does not go back beyond above fifty years, earlier ones having -apparently disappeared. This contained the Laws of 1884 revised in 1904; -regulations for school attendance; a category of the chief magistrates; -a chronicle of visits from men-of-war and mention of Queen Victoria’s -presents, consisting of an organ in 1879 and newly minted Jubilee coins -received in 1889. There were also recorded the births, marriages, and -deaths of the island since 1864; and a description of the various brands -adopted by respective owners for their goats, chickens, and trees. - -Among the legislative enactments was more than one concerned with the -preservation of cats, the object being to keep down rats. Thus the laws -of 1884 direct that: - -“Any person or persons after this date, September 24th, 1884, -maliciously wounding or causing the death of a cat, without permission, -will be liable to such punishment as the Court will inflict.... Should -any dog, going out with his master, fall in with a cat, and chase him, -and no effort be made to save the cat, the dog must be killed; for the -first offence—fine 10s. Cats in any part of the island doing anyone -damage must be killed in the presence of a member of Parliament.” - -Illicit medical practice is forbidden, and the regulation on this head -runs as follows: - -“It may be lawful for parents to treat their own children in case of -sickness. But no one will understand that he is at liberty to treat, or -give any dose of medicine, unless it be one of his own family, without -first getting licence from the President. Drugs may not be landed -without permission.” - -More recent laws enact, that each family may keep only six breeding -nannies; and that coconuts may only be gathered under supervision of the -Committee or in company with their owners of the same patch, in case of -want, however, they may be plucked for drinking. Persons killing fowls -must present the legs (_i.e._ the lower portion which bears the brand) -to a member of the Government. - -With the entries of deaths are recorded their known, or presumed, cause; -those occasioned by accident are somewhat numerous, and include fatal -results from climbing cliffs after birds, chasing goats, and falling -from trees. Wills can be made by simply writing them in the official -book, but entries under this head were not numerous. - -The island is in the jurisdiction of the British Consul at Tahiti, but -the Magistrate explained sadly that it was then two years since it had -been possible for his superior to send any instructions. In very serious -matters, such as murder or divorce, reference is necessary to the High -Commissioner at Fiji, and five years may elapse before an answer is -received. - -It is indeed comparatively simple to communicate from Pitcairn with the -outside world, particularly now that it lies near the route from Panama -to New Zealand. Warning of the approach of a vessel is given by the -church bell, and all hands rush forthwith to launch the boat and pull -out to the ship. It is reported that once the bell sounded whilst a -marriage was being celebrated, the crowded church emptied at once, and -the bride, bridegroom, and officiator were left alone. Sooner or later a -letter can thus be handed on board, but to obtain a reply is another -matter; no steamer will undertake to deliver passengers, goods, or mails -to the island. It does not pay to spend time over so small a matter, the -liner may pass in the night, or the weather at the time may render -communication with the shore impossible. During our visit notice was -given that a ship was approaching; the men, who were at the time engaged -in digging for the Expedition, threw down their tools and the boat -started for the vessel, only to founder among the breakers of Bounty -Bay. The place is too remote to be visited by the trading vessels which -visit the Gambier Islands, and as there is no anchorage, it is by no -means easy for the Islanders to keep any form of ship on their own -account. In normal times a British warship calls every alternate year, -but its visits were suspended during the war. Of the two islands, -Easter, which has at least definite bonds with a firm on the mainland, -is on the whole the easier of access. - -The economic problem of Pitcairn lies in the difficulty of making it -self-supporting. Food and housing materials abound, but clothes, tools, -and similar articles must be obtained from elsewhere; while to secure in -return a market for its small exports is almost impossible. It is -sometimes said that as the result, the inhabitants have grown so -accustomed to be objects of interest and charity, that they have become -pauperised and expect everything to be given them freely by passing -ships. This was certainly not our experience. They made us a large -number of generous gifts, such as bundles of dried bananas and specimens -of their handiwork—hats, baskets, and dried leaves, cleverly embroidered -and painted. On the other hand they took with gratitude any articles -which were given by us, either as presents or in return for the things -we purchased. One request has been received since we left the island; it -was made with many apologies by the Chief Magistrate, and was for a -Bible of the Oxford Teachers’ Edition. - -The position, however, is unsatisfactory, and it seems very desirable -that if possible more frequent communication should be established. In -any case it is to be hoped that now peace reigns, a warship may visit -the place at least once a year. - -It is frequently suggested that the Pitcairners must have deteriorated -in physique by intermarriage; as far, however, as we were able to -observe, such is not the case. It has been remarked, indeed, that a -large number have lost their front teeth, but in this they are not -unique. Dr. Keith observes, in the report previously alluded to, that -many Pacific Islanders are extremely liable to disease and loss of -teeth. The effect of such disease is, he states, to be seen in every one -of the skulls from Easter regarded as belonging to a person of over -twenty-five years; “tooth trouble is even more prevalent in Easter -Island than in the slums of our great towns.” - -We were asked to collect pedigrees on Pitcairn and make observations -from the point of view of the Mendelian theory; this would, however, -have been a very long and troublesome business, and we did not feel -assured that the results would be sufficiently exact to justify it. -While there has possibly been no fresh infusion of South Sea blood, the -islanders have constantly been in contact with white men. Between 1808 -and 1856, three hundred and fifty vessels touched at Pitcairn, and on -various occasions shipwrecked mariners and others have taken up their -abode on the island, and intermixed with the population. - -The Pitcairn Islanders have been described as the “Beggars of the -Pacific,” and, on the contrary, have also been depicted as saints in a -modern Eden. Needless to say they are neither the one nor the other, but -inheritors of some of the weaknesses and a surprising amount of the -strength of their mixed ancestry. - -From the point of view of its main and scientific object, our visit had -satisfactory results. The island was uninhabited when the mutineers -arrived, but there were traces of past residents. The sites of three -“marae,” or native structures, among the undergrowth were pointed out. -They are said to have been preserved by the first Englishmen, but were -unfortunately destroyed comparatively recently and very little of them -is still preserved. The old people could remember when bones could be -seen lying about in their vicinity. The islanders most kindly offered to -dig out what still existed of these remains, and two days running the -whole population turned out for excavation. The most interesting of the -erections proved to be one situated on the cliff looking down on to -Bounty Bay; we were only able roughly to examine it on the morning of -our departure. It appeared to have been made of earth, not built of -stone, and by clearing away some of the scrub we were able to arrive at -the conclusion that it had been an embankment some 12 feet high, built -on the immediate edge of the vertical cliff, and had had two faces. The -face that was directed seawards was almost vertical, whilst the one -towards the land formed an inclined plane, that measured 37 feet between -its highest and its lowest points. It seemed clear that both sides had -been paved with marine boulders. In general character it resembled to -some extent one of the semi-pyramid ahu of Easter, but dense vegetation -and tree growth rendered it impossible to speak definitely, and the form -may have been determined by the shape of the cliff. It was remembered -that three statues had stood on it, and that one in particular had been -thrown down on to the beach beneath. The headless trunk of this image is -preserved; it is 31 inches in height, and the form has a certain -resemblance to that of Easter Island, but the workmanship is much -cruder. There is said to have been also a statue on a marae on the other -side of the island. - -There are interesting rock carvings in two places, both of which are -somewhat difficult to reach. S. managed however to photograph one set, -and a dear old man undertook the scramble to the other site, which was -practically inaccessible to booted feet, and made drawings of them for -the Expedition. - -Then we had a great whip-up for any stone implements which might have -been found; Miss Beatrice Young most kindly assisted and induced the -owners to bring out their possessions. Over eighty were produced. The -Islanders were much pleased to think that their contribution would be -numbered among the treasures of the British Museum, but the argument -that “a hundred years hence they would still be there” left them cold; -for, as they explained, “the end of the world would have come before -then.” - -We spent in all four nights on the island, which forms, we believe, a -record sojourn for visitors; it is a very happy memory. A large portion -of the population asked for passages to Tahiti, but the hearts of most -failed before the end, and we on our part drew the line at taking more -than two men, who would work their passage. Those who finally came with -us were brothers, Charles and Edwin Young, descendants of Midshipman -Young. They arrived on board with their hats wreathed with flowers—true -Polynesian fashion—accompanied by many friends and relatives. Charles -had been on one of the island trading vessels, but Edwin had never -before left his home (fig. 132). - -From Pitcairn we made for Rapa, known as Rapa-iti or Little Rapa, to -distinguish it from Rapa-nui or Great Rapa; which, as has been seen, is -one of the names for Easter. It is a French possession and only visited -by a vessel occasionally. It is seven hundred miles from Pitcairn, and -was somewhat out of our route for Tahiti, but the Sailing Directions -reported a number of prehistoric buildings, which they termed “forts.” -We were anxious to inspect them and see what relation, if any, they bore -to buildings on Easter Island; but disappointment, alas! awaited us. The -side of the island on which is the settlement was at the time of our -visit the windward aspect; there was a strong breeze and quite a heavy -sea. We remained abreast the village for some hours awaiting the pilot, -who is said to come off to visiting vessels, but no one appeared, nor -was any signal made on the shore. Either they were afraid of us, or did -not like the look of the weather. It was not one of the islands we had -originally intended visiting, and we had no chart. - -We had to sail the ship the whole time in order to keep our station, and -eventually our forestay gave out; this meant putting her instantly -before the wind, or we should have been dismasted. We therefore ran -under the lee of the land and made good our damage. It would have taken -a long time to thrash back to our original station, so we reluctantly -gave up the attempt to make a landing. The coast is extremely fine, -bold, and precipitous, but that, and the illustration given, is all that -we can tell of Rapa. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 129.—THE ISLAND OF RAPA. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - TAHITI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, SAN FRANCISCO - - Tahiti—Voyage to Hawaiian Islands—Oahu, with its capital Honolulu—Visit - to Island of Hawaii—San Francisco—The Author returns to England. - - - TAHITI - - Wallis is the first European known certainly to have seen Tahiti. He - visited it in 1767, and was followed two years later by Cook. The - predominant chiefs on the island at this time were Amo and his wife - Purea, of the district of Paparo on the south coast. They are chiefly - notorious as the founders of the great marae—or “temple”—of Mahaiatea, - which they built in honour of their infant son, Teriiere. This work - must have been in progress when Wallis anchored on the other side of - the island. The demands which they made on their fellow natives in - order to secure its erection were so extortionate that a rising took - place against them; and by the time Cook made his first appearance - they were shorn of much of their glory. Subsequently various other - navigators visited the island. Cook anchored there a second time, and - H.M.S. Bounty made a prolonged sojourn. In 1797 thirty missionaries - arrived, sent from England by the London Missionary Society. - - By this time another native family was in the ascendant, whose - territory was on the north coast. They have become known as the - Pomare, a name crystallised by the missionaries, but which was in - reality only one of the minor appellations which had been adopted, - native fashion, by the chief of the day. Pomare II. was baptised in - 1819. - - About forty years later Roman Catholic missionaries arrived, and a - struggle for ascendancy took place between them and the London - Society. The Home Government refused to support the Protestants. Queen - Pomare IV., therefore, though she much preferred the English, was - compelled to apply for a French protectorate, which was established in - 1843. On the death of the old Queen in 1877, the French recognised her - son, Pomare V., who had married his cousin Marau. The new Queen was - the daughter of a chiefess known as Arii Taimai, who had married an - English Jew named Salmon.[85] Miss Gordon Cumming, who visited the - island at the time, gives an interesting account of the procession - round the island to proclaim the new sovereigns, in which she herself - took part. In 1880 Pomare handed over his claims to the French - Government, by whom the island was then formally annexed. - -We sighted Tahiti on the 16th of September, 1915, sailed along its coast -with interest, and anchored in the afternoon at Papeete on the north -shore. It was wonderful to return once more to the great world, even in -its modified form at Tahiti, and the Rip van Winkle sensation was most -curious. The Consul, Mr. H. A. Richards, was early on board with a kind -welcome, and sent us round the longed-for sacks containing a year’s -accumulation of letters and newspapers. The mail, however, brought bad -personal news, and though life had to go on as usual, recollections of -the island have suffered from every point of view.[86] - -Tahiti, as seen from the sea, with its mass of broken mountains covered -with verdure, is undoubtedly very beautiful; and the sunset effects over -the neighbouring island of Moorea are particularly striking. The lagoon -too is fascinating, and refreshing expeditions were made in the motor -launch to study the wonders of its protecting coral reef. When on land, -however, the charm of the island is somewhat dissipated. The inhabited -strip round the coast, which varies from nothing up to some two miles in -width, is covered with bungalows and little native properties, and is so -full of coconuts and palms that all effect of the mountains is lost. -Though it was only the month of September at the time of our visit it -was very hot and airless, making all mental and physical exertion an -effort. I went one morning for a walk at 6.30 in the hope of better -things, but even then it felt as if Nature had forgotten to open her -windows. The wild charm of romance which greeted the early voyagers and -which must have assuaged the struggle of the first missionaries is now -no more. Papeete is civilised: it is a port for the mail steamers -between America and New Zealand. It is under French rule, but a large -proportion of business is in the hands of the British and also of the -Chinese. - -We lived at the hotel, as _Mana_ had to go on the slip, and had an -interesting fellow-guest in an American geologist. He was travelling in -the Pacific with the object of proving that it had never been a -continent, but that the islands were sporadic volcanic upheavals from -the ocean bed. He had found himself involved in the everlasting quarrel -between geologists and biologists, who each want the world constructed -to prove their own theories. In this case a biologist wished for -continuity of land to account for the presence of the same snail in -islands far removed. Our friend had contended that the molluscs might -have travelled on drift-wood, but was told in reply that salt water did -not “suit their constitution.” He had then argued that they could easily -have gone with the food in native canoes. “Anyhow,” he concluded, with a -delightful Yankee drawl, “to have the floor of the ocean raised up -fifteen thousand feet, for his snails to crawl over, is just too much.” - -S. was presented by the Consul to the French Governor, and I called, -according to instructions, to pay my respects to his wife, who proved to -be both young and charming. She was good enough subsequently to send an -invitation to a tea-party, which differed interestingly from similar -functions at home. It took place in a large room where twenty chairs, -covered with brocade, were arranged in a circle which was broken only by -a settee. On this sat the hostess, and by her side, either as the -greatest stranger, or as having taken the precaution to be an early -arrival, the Stewardess of the _Mana_. One by one the chairs filled up, -and each fresh arrival, after greeting her entertainer, went round and -shook hands with every one already there. The hostess retained her seat, -from which she conversed across to various points of the circle. No one -moved except that when a delightful tea came in, it was handed round by -the young girls; no servant appeared—they are almost impossible to get. -The Governor earned our particular gratitude by his kindness in sending -daily a copy of the war bulletin, which arrived by wireless from -Honolulu and New Zealand; though the installation was not at the time -sufficiently advanced to be capable of sending out messages. - -The Germans were interned in the bay on what was known as Quarantine -Island, and were employed to do a certain amount of leisurely work on -the roads, at a comparatively high rate of pay; at the same time the -French subjects, native and half-caste, had been called up for much -harder military service and received the standard remuneration, which -was much lower. It was commonly reported that the latter had sent in a -petition humbly begging that they might be considered as German -prisoners. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 13O. - - OCÉANIE FRANÇAISE ANCIEN TAHITI - - A TAHITIAN PICTURE POST-CARD, - - Used as menu card at a luncheon given by the ex-Queen Marau. - - 1. Papeete, capital of Tahiti, with the Island of Moorea in the - distance. From a sketch by Miss Gordon Cumming. 2. Queen Pomare IV. - 3. King Pomare V. 4. Titaua, sister of Queen Marau. 5. The harbour - of Papeete. 6. Himène (or chorus) singers: performance in honour of - Accession of Pomare V and Marau. From a sketch by Miss Gordon - Cumming, 1877. 7. Queen Marau, with autograph. -] - -During our time on the island the anniversary occurred of the visit of -Von Spee’s fleet on their way to Easter Island, and the trees were -adorned with official notices proclaiming a public holiday in memory of -the French victory. What happened on that occasion is not precisely -clear, and each person gives a different account. It seems, however, -that as the cruisers _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ appeared without any -proper announcement, the shore batteries fired across their bows to stop -them. The Germans replied, and some houses in the town were set on fire. -The French gun-boat _Zelée_ was sunk in the harbour, also a German ship -which had been taken as a prize. The custodian of the coal supply set it -on fire to prevent it from falling into the enemy’s hands; this action -was subsequently justified, as it transpired that the Germans had given -out that they were going to Papeete in order to obtain coal. After a -certain number of shots had passed in both directions, the enemy went on -their way. - -We had particular pleasure in making the acquaintance of the late Queen, -widow of Pomare V., an able and cultured lady, who lives in a villa in -Papeete, and calls herself simply “Madame Marau Taaroa.” She was kind -enough to lend us a valuable book written by her mother, Arii Taimai, -which tells the history of the island as related by family traditions -and combines with this account the information given by the early -voyagers. Her charming daughter, Princess Takau Pomare, who had been -educated in Paris, placed us under a great obligation by constituting -herself our cicerone. She took us to see the monument on Venus Point, -erected to mark the spot where Cook observed the transit of Venus; and -also the Pomare mausoleum. Miss Gordon Cumming records that it was the -ancient habit at Tahiti for the dead to be placed in a house, watched -till only dust and ashes remained, and then buried securely in the -mountain to guard against possible desecration; this custom, she states, -still survived in her day in the case of departed royalty. - -We had also a delightful motor drive with the Princess to some family -property on the south side of the island, lunching at a small hotel -which was nothing if not up-to-date, being dignified with the name of -the Tipperary Hotel. The proprietor, a Frenchman, advertised it by -stating that while it was a “long, long way to Tipperary,” it was only a -short way to his establishment. He had adorned the walls of the -dining-room with large frescoes of the flags of the Allies, leaving, as -he explained, “plenty of room for Holland, Greece, and America.” - -The marae of Tahiti have vanished, but on the way back we stopped to see -all that remains of a once famous pile. Nothing now exists but a mass of -overgrown coral stones, converted into a lime kiln. Fortunately Cook and -his companion Banks both visited Mahaiatea in its glory and have left us -descriptions, and we have also a drawing of it. It is obvious that these -structures in no way resembled the ahu of Easter Island. Mahaiatea was a -pyramid of oblong form with a base 267 ft. by 71 ft.; it was composed of -squared coral stones and blue pebbles, and consisted of eleven steps -each some 4 ft. in height. It impressed Banks as “a most enormous pile, -its size and workmanship almost surpassing belief.”[87] The pyramid -formed one side of a court or square, the whole being walled in and -paved with flat stones. - -Marae, as Arii Taimai explains, were sacred to some god; but the god was -only a secondary affair; a man’s whole social position depended on his -having a stone to sit on within his marae enclosure. Cook was asked for -the name of his marae, as it was not supposed possible that a chief -could be without one, and took refuge in giving the name of his London -parish, Stepney. - -Princess Takau kindly acted as interpreter when we went to look up the -Easter Islanders who came here to work on the Brander plantation and who -still form a little colony. One of our main objects in visiting Tahiti -had been to inspect the tablets and Easter Island collection of Bishop -Jaussen who died in 1892. In this we met with disappointment; the -present authorities, whom we saw more than once, took no interest at all -in the subject, and said that on Bishop Jaussen’s death, the Brothers -had sent the articles home as curios to their friends in Europe. They -gave us an address in Louvain, which it has not of course up to the -present been possible to follow up. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 131. - - MARAE MAHAIATEA TAHITI. - - (From _A Missionary Voyage in the Ship Duff, 1796–98._) -] - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 132. - - CHARLES AND EDWIN YOUNG. - - The great-great-grandsons of Midshipman Young, the only commissione - officer among the mutineers of the _Bounty_ who took refuge on - Pitcairn Island, 1790. -] - -Our crew underwent some alterations at Tahiti. The post of engineer had -been filled by a Chilean, and one deck hand had already gone home as a -reservist; two more now desired to return direct to “serve their -country,” one of these was my friend Bailey, the cook. As he had had no -opportunity of spending his wages, he was, on being paid off, quite a -millionaire. He invested in a number of white washing suits and took up -his residence at our hotel. I was presented with his photograph clad in -the new raiment. An officer travelling to England from New Zealand was -kind enough to undertake to give him some care on the journey, and -managed to get him safely home, though most of his fortune had -disappeared _en route_. He took service as a ship’s cook, and we saw his -name subsequently, with most sincere regret, in a list of “missing.” - -Bailey’s place was taken by an American, who had formed part of the crew -which had been discharged from a ship which they had brought to Tahiti -from California. He declined to come on board till just before we -sailed, as he was engaged for a prize-fight with a noted coloured -champion; the prospective fight excited a good deal of local interest, -but ended lamentably in the white man being knocked out at the first -blow. As we were still short-handed, we arranged with our two Pitcairn -Islanders to come on with us to England; Charles Young was signed on as -deck hand, and Edwin, who was of less strong physique, as steward. They -both gave every satisfaction, and Edwin, though he had of course to be -taught his duties, was the best steward we ever had. - -We had considerable conversation with our Consul, Mr. Richards, on the -subject of Pitcairn, in which he has always taken great interest, doing -all that he could for the Islanders. He had been anxious if possible to -make a stay there of some duration, feeling, no doubt rightly, that the -only way to solve its difficulties was for someone to dwell there long -enough to see the situation, not as a visitor, but as a resident. -Circumstances had not, so far, rendered this feasible, but it is to be -hoped it may still be accomplished. - - -It was impossible to make a direct passage from Tahiti to Panama, as the -Trade Wind would have been dead against us, we had, therefore, to turn -its flank by going as far north as the Sandwich Group, or, to give them -their American name, the Hawaiian Islands. We passed within sight of one -or two of the Paumotu group, which was our first introduction to coral -atolls; but I do not think we saw a ship during the whole voyage. - -It was a long run, as we met with calms in the Doldrums, and were -without the use of the motor, which stood in need of some simple -repairs, that could not be done in Tahiti. Being becalmed is certainly -unpleasant, there is no air, everything hangs loose, rattles and bangs, -and cheerful calculations are made as to how much damage per hour is -being done to the gear; but on the whole the patience of seamen is -marvellous. Occupation happily was provided in the stupendous quantity -of arrears of newspapers. We read them most diligently, but it is hardly -fair to journalists to deal with their output a year after it is -written, the mistakes and false prophecies of even the most sober papers -become painfully obvious. We became acquainted, for example, at one and -the same time with the birth and death of the “Russian steam-roller” -theory, and other similar figments. My diary is diversified by such -items of domestic interest as “showed Edwin how to look after the -brass.” “S. taught Edwin to clean silver.” - - - HAWAIIAN ISLANDS - - The group is composed of eight inhabited islands which stretch in a - line from north-west to south-east. Hawaii, the most southerly, is the - largest, and now gives its name to the whole, but the principal modern - town, Honolulu, is on the more northerly island of Oahu. The islands - were known to the early Spanish voyagers, but their connection with - the civilised world really dates from their rediscovery by Cook. He - called them after Lord Sandwich, who was at that time First Lord of - the Admiralty. The great navigator was murdered on Hawaii in 1779. - Vancouver touched there more than once, and obtained the consent of - the natives to a British Protectorate, which he proclaimed on Hawaii - in 1794; the action was however ignored by the Home Government. - - At this time a powerful chief of Hawaii, Kaméhaméha I, rose to - pre-eminence. He captured the island of Oahu in 1795, and consolidated - the group under one government. Contact with the outside world - gradually undermined the native beliefs and the old ceremonial taboos - became wearisome. After the death of Kamehameha they were overthrown - by his son, in 1819, though not without armed resistance from the more - orthodox section. The islands were for a short time “a nation without - a religion”; but Christianity was introduced almost immediately by - American missionaries. - - The group was nominally independent till the time of Queen - Liliuokalani, who succeeded in 1891. Her rule roused much resentment - among the foreign residents, and during a period of unsettlement she - was imprisoned in her palace for nine months. An appeal was made to - the United States, and the islands were formally annexed by that power - in 1898. - -_Oahu._—After a five-weeks’ voyage, which included an abortive attempt -to call at the island of Hawaii, we reached Honolulu, in the island of -Oahu, on November 11th, 1915. - -From the isolation of Easter we had come to the comparatively busy life -of Tahiti, and now at Honolulu we felt once more in touch with the great -world. It is a cheerful and up-to-date city in beautiful surroundings. -Seen from the harbour it is not unlike Papeete, but the town is bigger, -and the mountains more distant. The roads of the suburbs are frequently -bordered by large areas of mown grass, which form part of the gardens of -the adjacent villas. It is considered a duty to erect no wall or paling, -and the custom, while it deprives the residences of privacy, greatly -enhances the charm of the highway. The practice is encouraged by a -public-spirited society, interested in the beauty of the place. The -aquarium contains fish of most gorgeous colouring, and it is well worth -while to explore a coral reef on the eastern shore in a glass-bottomed -boat. - -In addition to the original population, the place swarms with Japanese, -and the Americans seem little more than a ruling caste. The natives are -reported to be entirely sophisticated, and quite competent to invent -folk-tales or anything else to order. The Bishop Museum has an -interesting collection of relics and models of the old civilisation, and -we are much indebted to the Director, Dr. Brigham, for his kindness in -exhibiting them to us. The principal treasures are the wonderful feather -cloaks and helmets of the old chiefs. Fifty men were employed for a -hundred years in collecting the yellow feathers from which one cloak is -made. The birds, which produce only a few feathers each of the desired -colour, were caught on branches smeared with gum. - -There is also in the museum an excellent model of one “heiau,” or -temple; it is shown as a rectangular enclosure containing various sacred -erections. This form of heiau has no resemblance either to the marae of -Tahiti or the ahu of Easter Island; and the art of building never seems -to have approached the excellence reached in the latter. Mr. Gordon, the -British Consul, gave us much pleasure by taking us in his motor, -accompanied by Dr. Brigham, to see the remains of one of these temples -on the eastern side of the island. Little now exists save a rough -enclosing wall. It is a matter of surprise that, under so enlightened a -government as the American, more pains are not taken to preserve the -archæological monuments throughout the islands, which are fast -disappearing. Much care is bestowed on attracting visitors, and it would -have seemed, even from the financial point of view, that the protection -of these objects of interest would have been eminently worth while. - -We also visited the famous Pali, the site of a great battle at the time -of the conquest of the island by Kaméhaméha, chief of Hawaii. A range of -mountains runs along the eastern side of the island. The visitor, -approaching from the west, rises gradually till he reaches the summit, -and is then confronted by a sheer drop of many hundreds of feet down to -the coast below. - -The cliff extends for many miles, and the views over land and sea are -most striking. During the invasion, the Hawaiian army pursued the -natives up the slope, and drove them headlong over the Pali, or -precipice. Kaméhaméha is the national hero; when a statue was erected in -Honolulu, to commemorate the centenary of the discovery of the island by -Cook, it was dedicated, not to the navigator, but to the Hawaiian chief. - -We were accorded an interview with the ex-queen Liliuokalani. It was a -distinctly formal occasion. We were shown into a waiting-room till some -previous arrivals had finished their audience, and were then -ceremoniously introduced to royalty. The room was furnished after -European fashion, but was adorned with feather ornaments. The old lady, -who had a tattoo mark on her cheek, sat with quiet dignity in an -arm-chair. She was obviously frail, and though she spoke occasionally in -good English, her secretary did most of the conversation. She told us -that her brother had caused certain native legends and songs to be -written down, and she herself, during her imprisonment in 1895, had -translated into English an Hawaiian account of the creation of the -world. The secretary presented us with a copy of this book. We did not -gather that either of them had ever heard of Easter Island. After a -short time we took our leave, curtseying again and backing out as we had -seen done by our predecessors. It may be remembered that Liliuokalani -visited England at the time of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. Since our -return we have seen the announcement of her death; so closes the list of -the Hawaiian sovereigns. - -Being in harbour brought the not unknown domestic excitements. The -pugilistic American cook, who had been quite satisfactory on the voyage, -proved to be one of those who cannot be in port without going “on the -bust.” He was rescued once, but he shortly afterwards asked for shore -leave at 10 o’clock in the morning. This was naturally declined; he then -said he wanted to have a tooth out. S. assured him he was quite capable -of officiating. Finding he could get neither leave, money, nor a boat, -he sprang overboard, and swam ashore in his clothes. His place was taken -by a Japanese cook from Honolulu. - -_Hawaii._—When the repairs to the engine had been accomplished, we sent -the yacht ahead to San Francisco, and ourselves made a trip by steamer -from the island of Oahu to that of Hawaii. Between the two lies the -island of Molokai, on which is the leper settlement, connected with -Father Damien’s heroic work and death. We did not see the settlement -itself, but from its photographs it seems an attractive collection of -small houses, in the midst of wonderfully beautiful scenery. - -The principal sight on Hawaii is the active crater of Kilauea. Instead -of the long ride described by Lady Brassey, visitors, landing at the -port of Hilo, are now conveyed in motors to a comfortable hotel, on the -edge of the crater. We made a detour on the way to see a genuine native -settlement, where the standard of living proved to be much the same as -on Easter. The crater itself is a subsidiary one on the side of the -great mountain, Mauna Loa; it is 4,000 feet above sea-level, and has a -circuit of nearly eight miles. The greater part of the crater is -extinct, and its hardened lava can easily be walked over, but one -portion is still active, and forms a boiling lake about a thousand feet -across. No photograph gives any idea of the impressiveness of the scene, -particularly after dark. The floor of the pit is paved with dark but -iridescent lava, across which run irregular and ever-varying cracks of -glowing gold. First one of these cracks, and then another, bubbles out -into a roaring fire, the heat melts the adjacent lava, causing great -dark masses to break off and slip into the furnace, where they are -devoured by the flames. It is a fascinating spectacle which could be -watched for hours. The floor of the pit rises and sinks; when we were -there it was some hundreds of feet below the spectator. - -Kilauea was considered in olden times to be the special abode of Pele, -the goddess of fire; but after the advent of the missionaries, her power -was formally defied by Kapiolani, the daughter of a chief who ate the -berries consecrated to the deity on the brink of the pit. More than -fifty years later, however, in 1880, there was so great an eruption of -lava on the other side of Mauna Loa that native royalty had to beseech -Pele to stifle her anger and save the people; a prayer which was, it is -said, immediately effective. - -We decided not to return to Hilo, but to see something more of the -island, and catch the steamer at Kawaihae on the western side. We left -the hotel at 8 a.m. and motored over a hundred miles, first passing -through grass lands and cattle ranches, and then through sugar -plantations. The way was diversified by extraordinary flows of lava, -through which the road had been cleared: they extended for miles like a -great sea; one of the streams was as recent as 1907. The last stage of -the drive was through forest growth and coffee plantations. We spent the -night at a small hotel, kept by a lady. An interesting fellow-guest was -a government entymologist, who was combating a parasite which was -injuring the coffee; to this end he had introduced an enemy beast of the -same nature brought from Nigeria, which was successfully devouring its -natural foe. - -Below the hotel was the Bay of Kealekakua, which was the scene of the -last great drama in the life of Cook. On its shore are the remains of -the building where he was treated as the incarnation of the god Loro. It -is now only a mass of stones, but is said to have been a truncated -pyramid, which is an old form of heiau. On the top of this temple Cook -was robed in red tapa, offered a hog, and otherwise worshipped. The -conduct of the white men, however, was such that they soon lost the -respect of the natives. An affray occurred over the stealing of one of -the ship’s boats, and Cook was stabbed in the back by one of the iron -daggers which he had himself given in barter. An obelisk has been -erected to his memory. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 133. - - HEIAU PUUKOHOLA, HAWAII. -] - -On the opposite side of the bay is a “puuhonua,” or place of refuge, by -name Honaunau. It corresponded with the cities of refuge in the Old -Testament. “Hither,” says Ellis, “the man-slayer, the man who had broken -a tabu, ... the thief and even the murderer, fled from his incensed -pursuer and was secure.”[88] It covered seven acres, and was enclosed on -the landward side by a massive wall 12 ft. high and 15 ft. thick. - -In the afternoon we motored on to Waimea by a _cornice_ road, which was -bumpy beyond description. The hotel consisted of a few rooms behind the -principal store. The next morning, on the way to the steamer, we -inspected two heiau, a small one at the foot of a hill, and a large and -striking one on its summit known as Puukohola. Tradition says that the -hero Kaméhaméha set out to rebuild the former in order to secure success -in war, but was told that, if he wished to be victorious, he must erect -a temple instead on the higher altitude. - -The temple, which adapts itself to the ground, rises on the seaward side -by a series of great terraces and culminates on the summit in a levelled -area paved with stones. On the landward side the building is enclosed by -a great wall, on which stood innumerable wooden idols. It was entered by -a narrow passage between high walls. On the area at the top were various -sacred buildings, including a wicker tower, out of which the priest -spoke, an altar, and certain houses, in one of which the king resided -during periods of taboo. Whilst the temple was being built, even the -great chiefs assisted in carrying stones, and the day it was completed -(1791 _c._) eleven men were sacrificed on the altar.[89] It is one of -the latest, as it is one of the finest of the heiau. From the walls are -magnificent views of the two great mountains of Hawaii, Mauna Kea and -Mauna Loa, both over 13,000 ft. - -It was interesting to recognise in the Hawaiian language not a few words -similar to those which we had learnt on Easter Island. In Polynesian the -letters K and T are practically interchangeable. Thus Mauna Kea, meaning -Mount White, from its usual covering of snow, is equivalent to Maunga -Tea-tea, the hill of white ash in Easter. The same is true of the -letters L and R. Mauna Loa is Mount Long just as Hanga Roa is Bay Long. -The identification of these last letters is not confined to Polynesia. -We made one of the Akikuyu in East Africa repeat the same word over and -over again, to see if it had the sound of L or R; he used first one and -then the other without any discrimination. The names in Hawaii are said -to exist in their present form simply according to the manner in which -they have been crystallised in writing. - -We duly caught our steamer to Honolulu, and changed there into the boat -for San Francisco. - - - CALIFORNIA - - Cortez, Governor of Mexico, was under the impression that America was - in close proximity to Asia. Hearing of the success of Magellan in - discovering a southern route to the westward, he sent an expedition to - the north, with the object of finding a road to India in that - direction. The members of this party, which was commanded by Cabrillo, - were the first Europeans to discover California (1542). The native - Indian population at that time is supposed to have been about seven - hundred thousand in number. - - For over two hundred years Spain took but little interest in the new - country; but in 1769 she began to be alarmed lest the Russians should - descend on it from the north, and its occupation was ordered from - Mexico. In this movement, not only was the secular power represented, - but Catholic missions played an important part. The Franciscan order - was first in the field; and the mission station, which gave its name - to the Bay of San Francisco, was dedicated in 1776. Later the - Dominican order also founded religious establishments. These - institutions were finally secularised in 1836, but Californians justly - regard the remains as the most romantic as well as historic objects in - the country. - - A wave of immigrants from the United States began to arrive about - 1841; war broke out with the parent country of Mexico in 1846; and in - 1848 California was formally transferred to the States. The same year, - 1848, the first discovery of gold caused an enormous inrush of - population. The journey was no easy one; for twenty years the would-be - immigrant from the east had to choose between the dangerous expedition - overland, the unhealthy condition of the Panama route, or a voyage - round the Horn. The Pacific railway was at last completed in 1869. - - The most dramatic event of recent years has been the earthquake of - 1906, which was followed by a great fire, when for three days the city - was a mass of flames. - -We arrived at San Francisco on December 14th, 1915. The bay recalls in -some degree that of Rio de Janeiro, the ocean has in the same way -penetrated through a narrow channel into a low district surrounded by -mountains and formed it into an inland sea. There, however, the -resemblance stops. The Bay of San Francisco runs, for its major portion, -parallel to the sea, and thus forms a peninsula on either side of the -entrance, the well-known Golden Gate. The tract on the southern side is -sufficiently level to allow of the site of a town. The main frontage of -the city is on the bay, but it extends to the seaward side. The -population has also spread across the bay, and the suburbs have attained -to the magnitude of towns. The large ferry boats which ply across the -water are marked features of San Francisco life. - -There was nothing in the present fine city to recall the fact that ten -years before it had been laid low by the great fire, but any building -dating back more than a score of years is treated with respectful -interest. A professional guide, who escorts tourists in a motor -char-à-bancs, solemnly stated that such and such houses were “in the -style of thirty-five years ago,” or that a church was “one hundred years -old, but still used for service.” - -It is not, however, in such matters that the youth of California most -strikes a visitor from an older country. Its inhabitants appear to him -to resemble children who have discovered a new playground, and who are -busily occupied in seeing what each can find there. They seem, with -notable exceptions, to have little time to spare for those deeper -studies and questionings which form part of life in lands where the -earlier stage has long been passed. There are, no doubt, in the gay -crowd many profound thinkers, numbers with unsatisfied longings and -broken hearts, but they are not obvious in the general cheerful -absorption as to how much everything costs and everybody is worth. The -stranger also, however much theoretically prepared, experiences a shock -in finding how little a population formed from manifold races has as yet -amalgamated; the owner of a shop, for instance, may not be able to speak -even intelligibly the language of the country of his adoption. -Depressing accounts were given of the type of man who thought it worth -while to take up political life, and the consequent short-sightedness of -some of the legislative measures. We were frankly told that we were much -better off with our British monarchy, and once an American-born citizen -was even heard to regret the War of Independence. - -With regard to the Great War we were told that at that time ninety-five -per cent. of the population of San Francisco were pro-Ally, though a few -professors still looked to Germany as the home of culture. Conversation -on the subject was definitely discouraged, and one man, who spoke to us -for a few minutes concerning the struggle, ended by saying, “I have not -talked so much about the war for months.” It was naturally impossible to -appreciate at so great a distance the feeling which pervaded Europe. A -high authority, whom we consulted as to where we could see some Indian -life, recommended us to go to a certain German mission and “ask for -hospitality from the Fathers”; that we should prefer not to do so he -obviously thought most narrow-minded. Affairs in Mexico where some -Americans had just been killed by the insurgents were much more -interesting. Even Japan and Australia appeared more closely connected -with every-day life, and not only seemed nearer than Europe, but than -the Eastern States themselves. So was brought home the truth of the -saying that “oceans unite, not divide”; also that the Pacific and its -seaboard are really an entity, however much the atlas may prefer to give -a contrary impression. Later it was impossible to think without deep -sympathy of this young community plunged whole-heartedly with all its -fresh ardour and keen intelligence into the solemn crucible of war. - -We received welcome help and hospitality from Mr. Ross, our -Consul-General, Mr. Barneson, the Commodore of the leading yacht club, -and other kind friends. Mr. Adamson, of Messrs. Balfour & Guthrie, a -firm allied to our Chilean friends Williamson & Balfour, came -opportunely to our assistance when the censor felt that a cabled draft -from England was too dangerous a document to pass without many days of -consideration. - -We were naturally much interested in making the acquaintance of our -anthropological confrères of the University of California, Dr. Waterman -and Mr. Gifford, and in hearing of their important work among the -surviving Indians. A luncheon party at the University buildings at -Berkeley, one of the suburbs on the other side of the bay, was both -pleasant and enlarging to the mind. It is a mixed university, with some -five or six thousand students; situated in beautiful surroundings and -with an enviable library. One of the guests at luncheon was a German -professor, who was at work in New Guinea when the war broke out; the -account runs that the British troops, hearing there was an expedition in -the mountains, went there expecting to encounter an armed force. He was -detained in California, unable to get home. - -[Illustration: - - FIG. 134. - - SAN FRANCISCO, - - From Mount Tamalpais, looking across the Golden Gate. -] - -Christmas, the third since we left England, we spent in an hotel on the -top of Mount Tamalpais, which is on the other side of the Golden Gate, -and directly opposite to San Francisco. It is reached by a mountain -railway, and gives most beautiful panoramic views of ocean, city, and -bay. The management have hit on the ingenious plan of pointing out -special sights, by placing tubes on the walks round the mountain, at the -level of the eye, oriented on particular places and labelled -accordingly. At night the scene is marvellous; the city appears as a -blaze of illumination, and lights in every direction are reflected in -the still water of the Bay. While on Mount Tamalpais we received a -telephone message to say that _Mana_ was coming through the Gate. She -had taken two days less to do the distance from Honolulu than a -four-masted barque which left about the same time. We could not get down -before her arrival, so left Mr. Gillam to grapple with the usual -officials; and not least with the reporters, seventeen of whom, he -declared, came on board. - -We had had our share of the representatives of the press, but any -temptation to self-complacency would have been quenched by the knowledge -that real success in newspaper paragraphs had already been achieved by -the American cook who left in so summary a fashion at Honolulu. He had -turned up from Hawaii and given out that he had been obliged to quit the -yacht because he “could not stand a spook ship with skulls on board.” -Except by one Christian Science reporter, scientific research was -considered dull, but this aspect of our work gave a hope of copy; and we -received a request, from more than one agency, that we would pose for -moving pictures on the deck of the yacht exhibiting the said skulls to -one another. - -The Pitcairn Islanders almost rivalled the cook as objects of popular -interest; as the men had nothing to gain from notoriety, we fixed a -modest sum to be given them by each reporter whom they saw; as might -perhaps have been foreseen, an interview then appeared without any such -unnecessary preliminary as a previous conversation. Charles and Edwin -told us that the life of a great city surpassed even their expectations, -but it must be confessed that their most enthusiastic admiration was -aroused by Charlie Chaplin as he appeared at the picture palaces. - -The Exhibition was just over, and _Mana_ was moored alongside the now -deserted buildings, which even in their then condition were well worth -seeing. We had understood that there would be no difficulty about our -new cook, as he was not Chinese, and came from an American dependency, -but he was forbidden by the authorities to go on shore. This ruling we -had, of course, no means of enforcing; and we found also that we were -liable to a fine of over £100 if we could not produce him when we -sailed. It was not encouraging to be told that there were plenty of -people who would entice him away for a share in the fine, and it was a -relief when _Mana_ at length sailed having all her crew safely on board. - -It had been arranged that I was to return home overland, in order to -avoid the long hot voyage on the yacht, and to put in hand preliminary -arrangements there. I left on January 16th, taking the more southerly -route across the continent. A night was spent at Santa Barbara, to see -the mission buildings which are in the hands of one of the two remaining -San Franciscan communities. The Brother who acted as guide, and who was -of Hungarian Polish descent, said that it had been instrumental in -converting between 4,000 and 5,000 Indians. From Santa Barbara the route -runs to Los Angeles, which forms a winter resort for various Central -American millionaires. A detour was made to the Grand Canyon, which is -perhaps more impressive than beautiful, and so to Washington. A happy -time was spent in seeing the city, and being shown over the National -Museum by Dr. Walter Hough. The objects brought from Easter by the -_Mohican_ naturally proved of the greatest interest. At New York the -beautiful Natural History Museum excited admiration, and gratitude is -owed for the kindness of Dr. Lowie. At that time we were considering the -question whether, owing to war conditions, to lay up or sell _Mana_ in -New York. Nothing could have been kinder than the assistance given in my -search for information by more friends than I can mention. It was -finally, as will be seen, decided to bring her home. The crossing of the -Atlantic in an American vessel was uneventful, and on Sunday, February -6th, 1916, I found myself, with an indescribable thrill, at home once -more in the strange new England of time of war; which was yet the dear -familiar England for which her sons have found it worth while to fight -and if need be to die. - - - - - PART IV - _THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE_—Continued - _SAN FRANCISCO TO SOUTHAMPTON_ - BY S. R. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - SAN FRANCISCO TO PANAMA - - Catching Turtle—The Island of Socorro and what we found there—The tale - of a Russian Finn—Quibo Island—Suffering of the Natives from - Elephantiasis—A Haul with the Seine. - - -On the 20th of January, 1916, we left the harbour of San Francisco, and -proceeded to get well clear of the land, as the glass told us to expect -a blow: and in due course it came—and plenty of it. We hove to for -twenty-four hours, with oil bags to wind’ard, for the seas were high and -untrue. The weather then moderated, so we let draw, and put her on her -course, and were soon in a more pleasant climate. - -The Panama Canal had been closed to all traffic for many months past, in -consequence of land-slides. Of course _Mana_, drawing but 11 feet, and -only 72 feet on the water-line, would experience no difficulty in -passing, if the Administration would permit her to do so. But would it? -We had been unable to discover, through any source in San Francisco, -whether we should, or should not, be allowed to traverse the Canal. The -only course left open to us was to go to the Isthmus and see what could -be done on the spot: if we could not get through we must continue -onwards to the S’uth’ard, and go round the Horn. Mr. Gillam and the -Owner were quite keen on doing so. Mr. Gillam thought it was only fair -to the vessel “to give her a chance of showing what a good little ship -she was.” The crew, however, said they were quite satisfied on that -point, and after three years of it, sighed only for Britain, Beer, and -Beauty. So firmly were they convinced that our plucky Sailing-master -would take her round the Horn, just for the sake of doing so, should he -chance to come back alone without the Owner, that, when they signed on -again at Tahiti for the voyage home, it was subject to the proviso that -the outside passage round Cape Horn should not be taken without their -consent. - -So, from the so-called Golden Gate of San Francisco town, to the real -Balboa gate of the Panama Canal, sailed we in the pious hope that -something would turn up in our favour, and believing that it would do -so, for _Mana_ is a “lucky ship.” And of course that “something” did: -but other events, not devoid of interest, intervene and demand recital. - -At this point political conditions must be referred to for the due -understanding of our story. Absurd though it be, the fact remains that, -just as England meekly allows herself to be bamboozled, robbed, -insulted, and defied by one petty _sans-culotte_ province, so do the -United States submit to like treatment from Mexico: the same small δελτα -that represents mathematically the consideration in which an Irishman -holds the British Government, may be said equally to symbolise the -degree of respect in which the American Eagle is held by the patriots of -Mexico. Therefore, argued we, as the noble Mexican does not hesitate to -pluck the Eagle, whenever that fowl comes hopping on his ground, still -less will he refrain from depilating the Lion, should he want some fur -for fly-tying. No, we will give the coast of Mexico a good berth. A -vessel like the _Mana_ would, at the moment, have been an invaluable -capture for the “patriots,” whose acquaintance we had no wish to -cultivate. We thought of the many-oared row-boats of the Riff coast, and -how they could come at speed over the smooth windless sea and board us -on either quarter. Of course our motor would have been in our favour, -but, all the same, discretion was perhaps better than valour, as we were -unarmed. So we decided to keep 200 miles off the land in working down -the coast of Lower California and Mexico, though it would have been -better navigation, and more interesting, to have come close in. - -The climate was now delightful: smooth water: gentle fair breezes. These -conditions enabled us to capture all the turtle, and more than all, we -wanted. They were asleep at the surface: the sea like glass, and heaving -rhythmically. The undulations of a sea like this are so long, and wide, -and gentle, that one somehow ceases to regard them as waves, and thinks -of the movement of the water immediately around the craft as being only -a local pulsation. - -We had noticed, from time to time, isolated seagulls heaving into sight -on the top of the swell. Sometimes there would be as many as three or -four within calling distance from one another. Each seemed to stand on a -separate piece of drift-wood, never two on the same piece. Some seemed -occupied with affairs, swearing all the time, as seagulls always do; -some stood silently on one leg, “a-staring into wacancy” and thinking on -their past. Some preened and oiled their feathers. We could not -understand why there should be drift-wood, all small, and all over the -place like this, so bore down on a sleeping bird, when, to our great -surprise, we found that his resting-place was the back of one of -Nature’s U-boats—a turtle. Some may think then that all we had to do, if -we wanted a turtle, was to approach a resting bird, but not a bit of it. -If the bird, for reasons of his own, flew away from the back of the -turtle, the turtle remained as before, nor did he ever seem to draw the -line at the profanity with which his visitor argued some point with the -nearest neighbours, but let a boat approach, however gently and -innocently, and the gull decide to clear, because he did not like the -look of it—even as the bird did so, did Master Turtle down with his head -and up with his heels, and where he had been, he was not; without a -splash, or a swirl, or a bubble. If any fail to understand this -description, he should betake himself to Africa and stalk rhino in high -grass whilst they have their red-billed birds in attendance scrambling -all over the huge bodies hunting for ticks. Let but one bird spring up -suddenly in alarm from a rhino’s back, forthwith will occur proceedings -that shall not fail to leave a lasting impression on the observer. - -When we wanted a turtle, however, we went to work in this way. The -little 12 ft. dinghy, having two thwarts and a sternseat, was lowered -from the starboard quarter and towed astern. A sharp look-out was kept -ahead, and to leu’ard, for a turtle asleep on the surface. On one being -sighted, the vessel was run off towards it. Simultaneously the dinghy -was hauled up alongside, and two of us, barefooted, dropped into her: -she was then passed astern again and towed. One man sat in the stern -sheets and steered with a paddle, having handy a strong gaff hook lashed -on the end of the staff of a six-foot boat-hook: the oarsman occupied -the for’ard thwart with his paddles shipped in the rowlocks. The leather -of the oars had been well greased previously, so as to make no sound. -The dinghy silently sped after the ship. On the vessel arriving within -some 50 yards of the turtle, an arm on the quarter-deck was waved: the -dinghy slipped her tow line, the ship’s helm was put up, and she -edged-off to leu’ard away from the fish, whilst the dinghy continued, -under the way she carried, on the line of the vessel’s former course, -and therefore straight towards the turtle. On the sitter catching sight -of the fish, if the boat was carrying sufficient way to bring him up to -it, he laid aside the steering oar, and at the right moment made a sign -to his mate, who then gently dipped one of his paddles in the water. The -boat in consequence made half a rotation, coming stern-on to the turtle, -instead of bows-on as previously. The oarsman then saw the fish for the -first time and commenced to back her down with gentle touches of his two -paddles right on to the top of the fish. Meanwhile the sitter slid off -the after seat, turned himself round so as to face the stern and knelt -on the bottom of the boat with his knees placed well under the after -seat, his chest resting on the transome, his arm outstretched over the -water, rigidly holding the gaff extended like a bumpkin, with the point -of the hook directed downwards towards the water, and about two inches -above its surface. - -Now the old turtle is roosting on the water with the edges of his shell -just awash, his dome-shaped back rising just clear of it, and his head -hanging downwards in order that he may keep his brains cool. At the -opposite end to his head is his tail. This detail may seem unnecessary. -But it is not so. It is an essential point. When a turtle is surprised -he does not express it by throwing himself backward head uppermost on to -his tail, and show his white waistcoat, and wave his arms in -depreciation of the interview, but he downs with his head and ups with -his heels and the tip of his tail, if you are able to recognise it, is -the last you see of Master Turtle. And when he acts thus he shows much -decision of character: there is no hesitation: in a moment of time he is -absent. Hence, when you approach a turtle, you must first decide where -away lies his tail, and so place your craft that her keel, and the -turtle’s spine, shall lie in the same straight line. Then, as she is -backed stern foremost towards him, the staff of the gaff is brought, by -the movement of the boat, immediately above the length of his back. Now -for it! the fisherman suddenly thrusts the gaff from him till the point -of the hook is beyond the rim of the shell: raises his hand the least -trifle, so as to depress the hook slightly, then savagely snatches the -gaff backward, at the same time shortening his grasp on the shaft. The -turtle awakes from his dreams to find that he is in a position in which -he is helpless—standing on his tail, with his back against the boat’s -transome, and his fore flippers out of water. But he is not given time -to think. As his back touches the flat end of the boat, the fisherman -springs from his knees to his feet and, with one lusty heave, hoicks -Uncle up on to the edge of the transome and balances him there for the -moment. Down goes the stern of the little boat, well towards water level -under the combined weight of man and fish. Then the slightest further -pull, and into the bottom of the dinghy the turtle slides with a crash, -whilst the fisherman, whose only thought now is for the safety of his -toes, gracefully sinks down upon the middle thwart, takes hold of the -gunnel with either hand, and hangs one bare leg overboard to starboard, -and the other to port, until the turtle has decided in which part of the -boat he proposes permanently to place his head. Slowly he opens and -closes his bill, shaped like the forceps of a dentist, and slowly he -blinks his eyne, as much as to say, “Just put a foot in my neighbourhood -or even one big toe.” Turtles have no charity. - -The turtle and the fisherman have engrossed one another’s attention so -far, but there are three other elements in the equation; they are (_a_) -the boat, (_b_) the boatman, and (_c_) the shark. Each of these requires -a word in passing. Now a 12 ft. dinghy, like any other of God’s -creatures, has feelings: these it expresses amongst other ways, when -treated unreasonably, by capsizing, and turtle catching it puts in the -neighbourhood of the limit. Not infrequently it happens that the long -black fin of a San Francisco pilot comes mouching around at a turtle -hunt, as if to incite the long-suffering dinghy to show temper. Hence it -is sometimes quite interesting to view, from the ship, the sympathetic -way in which the oarsman exerts himself to humour every whim of the -little boat, in order to induce it to maintain its centre of gravity -during the scrimmage. He quite seems to have the idea in his head that, -with the shark assisting at the ceremony, a capsize would be anything -but a joke for him. Anyhow, it is all right this time, so we make for -the vessel, now gently rising high on the top of the swell, anon slowly -sinking until only her vane is visible. - -“Lee-Oh!” Round she comes. “Let the staysail bide!” - -As she loses her way the dinghy shoots up towards her, a line comes -flying in straightening coils from the bows of the ship and falls, with -a whack, across the dinghy’s nose. The oarsman claps a turn with it -around the for’ard thwart, and quickly gets his weight out of her bows, -by shifting to the middle thwart, before the strain comes. At the same -time the fisherman nips aft, whilst keeping an eye on Master Turtle’s -jaws, squats on the after seat, picks up an oar and sheers her in -towards the ship. Then a strop falls into the sternsheets: the oarsman -slips it over a hind flipper, one of the dinghy’s falls is swayed to -him, he hooks it into the strop, and up runs Baba Turtle, to be swung -inboard the next moment into the arms of the Japanese cook, who receives -him with a Japanese smile as he bares his sniggery-snee. - -We had now been more than a fortnight at sea. After a run of this length -we generally found it well to touch somewhere to refresh. The chart -showed ahead of us the Island of Socorro which we could fetch by edging -off a little. The Sailing Directions told us it was uninhabited, and -rarely visited: that there was no fresh water on it, but nevertheless -that sheep and goats were to be found, and that landing was possible. -The early morning of February the 5th showed its single lofty peak -standing out clearly above the lower mist, and in a line with our -bowsprit, whilst a light breeze on our quarter made us raise it fairly -fast. In the chart-room we pored over the only chart we had, a -small-scale one, using it for what it was worth to elucidate the Sailing -Directions. These indicated an anchorage and landing-place on its -south-western side: poor, but possible: and no outlying dangers. We -therefore decided to examine that coast, and see what we could find in -the way of anchorage and landing facilities. At the same time the -conversation turned on the apparent excellence of the place as a -gun-running depot for the Mexican Revolutionaries, and the exceeding -awkwardness of our position if we suddenly shoved our nose into any such -hornets’ nest. The pow-wow finished, up the ladder we tumbled on to the -quarter-deck, and turned to the island, and lo! round a point was -emerging a something—first appearing as a boat with bare masts—then as a -boat with sails—she has presumably come out under oars and is now -getting the canvas on her. She has seen us making for the island and is -clearing out! They are at the game, then, after all! Now she grows into -a vessel under canvas: now she fades away. No ship had we seen since -getting well clear of San Francisco. We could make nothing of her in the -haze and the mirage, for the air was all a-quiver with the heat. The -general opinion seemed to be that she was a small schooner sailing with -her arms akimbo, which, with the wind as we had it, was impossible. -Anyhow she was approaching us rapidly in the teeth of the -wind—goose-winged; but anything seems to our mariners possible “in these -’ere fur’rin parts.” But alas for Romance! Gradually she revealed -herself through the haze as a tramp steamer with a high deck cargo. Her -black hull and black-painted mast tops, as she opened the land and -partly showed her length, had made her the small boat with bare pole -masts: afterwards, when she shifted her helm and came towards us bows -on, she became the small schooner running before a fair wind off the -land—her light-coloured deck cargo, high built up, and white-painted -bridge formed the goose’s wings extended on either side of the black -masts, that rose above them, and stood out distinctly against the sky. -We kept our course. She passed us close to starboard. We ran up our -ensign and number and asked her to report us, but she took no notice. -Only one man was seen aboard her. We thought at the time she was from -the Canal, but afterwards learnt that nothing had come through it for -some months, also that a somewhat similar vessel had, in May last, lain -for a month off Socorro to ... admire the Scenery. - -We closed with the land, at its western extremity, about 3 p.m., and -then slowly ranged along the south-western shore, examining it carefully -with the glasses for indications of a landing-place. The water was -smooth and crystal-clear, and the sun behind us, so that, comfortably -ensconced in the fore-top, we could see well ahead in the line of the -ship’s progress, and to a great depth. We were able therefore, without -risk, to hug the shore, and to examine it with precision. Everywhere was -the same low cliff: on its top, scrubby vegetation with a sheen like the -foliage of the olive—(sage-bush). Immediately below this a broad scarlet -band—(disintegrated lava)—then a greyish red, or black, cliff wall of -igneous rock—at its foot a snow white girdle of foam from the ocean -swell dashing against it. - -So we progressed, until we reached what we decided must be Braithwaite -Bay, at the S.W. corner of the island. The Sailing Directions gave this -as the only anchorage. Mr. Gillam jumped into the dinghy and pulled in -to examine it, whilst we followed her in very slowly with the ship. A -couple of whales seemed to find the floor of the bay quite to their -taste as a dressing-room. The huge fellows quietly spouted and wallowed, -“a-cleaning of themselves,” and took no notice of us. The dinghy did not -like the look of things for either landing or anchorage, so held up an -oar. Thereupon we put the ship round, and went out on the same track as -that on which we had entered. Nightfall was now approaching. We picked -up the dinghy and stood off a bit, and then hove to. - -Now, immediately before reaching Braithwaite Bay, we had noticed in the -coast-line, from the mast-head, an indentation or small inlet, across -which there was no line of breakers. Also we had observed a remarkable -white patch set deeply into the land apparently at the head of this -indentation. Of these points presently. During the night, whilst hove to -some distance off, the watch picked up a beautifully modelled painted -and weighted decoy duck, with the initials “H. T.” cut into it. This -wooden fowl, we concluded, had drifted down from San Francisco, for -there they are largely used in duck shooting. It had broken its -anchoring line, been swept through the Golden Gate, and then by the -prevailing winds and currents carried to the point where we had picked -it up. The find was interesting as showing that our navigation was -correctly based for current. - -With the daylight we again stood in, this time towards the inlet, and -after an early breakfast, the cutter was swung out. A breaker of water, -a cooking-pot or two, a watertight box of food, another containing -ammunition, the photographic and botanical outfits, and a Mauser rifle -in its watertight bag, were put into her and, with five hands, we -started off. - -As we approached the break in the cliffs we again met our two friends of -yesterday—the whales. They had shifted their ground and were now right -in the entrance to the cove, so we had to lay on our oars for quite a -while, until they gradually moved away. It was most interesting to watch -the great brutes comparatively close alongside, yet absolutely -indifferent to, or unaware of, the boat’s presence. Certainly we kept -quiet, and did not allow objects in the boat to rattle or roll. Sound -waves are transmitted through the water just as they are through the -air. Each of these fish would have been worth £1,000 at least at pre-war -prices. “Life is full of vain regrets.” - -Our break in the cliff proved the entrance to a fissure in the land-mass -comparatively far extending. On either hand it had nearly vertical cliff -walls, and these again had steep ground above and behind them. It had a -regular, gradually rising bottom, deep water at the entrance, and at the -head a shelving beach of sand and small stones, yet steep-to enough to -allow the cutter to float with only her nose aground. Not a trace of -swell: an ideal boat harbour. As it had no name, and is to-day undefined -in the Admiralty plan of Braithwaite Bay (cf. inset on Chart No. 1936), -we christened it Cruising Club Cove—dropping the “Royal” for the gain of -alliteration. - -As we lay off the entrance, waiting for the whales to shift, many, and -varied, were our speculations as to what the white object, previously -referred to as situated at the head of the cove, could possibly be. Not -till we were close up did we make it out. It then proved to be a -red-painted boat, covered with a white sail. Now a dry torrent bed forms -the head of our little fiord. The detritus brought down by the torrent -is spread out as a small, flat, channel-cut plain, that meets the sea -with a fan-shaped border. On to this flat the mystery boat was hauled -up, but only to just above high-water mark. Close to her side was a -grave with wooden cross. From her bows hung a bottle closed with a -wooden plug and sealed with red paint. Keenly interested in it all we -disturbed nothing, so that we might the better be able to piece together -the evidence, after gathering all we could. She was evidently laid up: -practically new: amateur built: her material new deal house-flooring -boards: flat-bottomed: sharp at both ends (dory type). Left as she was, -the surf of the first gale from the South would lift her. They must have -been either weak handed to leave her close to the water’s edge like -that, or else they had been in a great hurry to get away. No painter and -anchor was laid out to prevent her floating off: no seaman would leave a -boat thus unsecured. (For there was cordage in her.) Her sail was cut -out of an old sail of heavy canvas belonging to some big ship. They had -ship’s stores to draw upon. - -Casting around, we soon found a track running through the sage-bush -scrub. Following this trail for a few yards, we came to a large -flat-topped rock beside which it ran. On this rock stood conspicuously -another bottle—sealed. The path now began to rise sharply, wending -betwixt large rock masses: then it suddenly terminated in a rift in the -cliff face, which formed a high, but shallow, cave or grotto. Rough -plank seats and bunks were rigged up around, fitted under or betwixt the -great rocks, some berths being made more snug by having screens of worn -canvas. In the middle of the floor was a table, and in the middle of the -table stood a sealed bottle and a box. The box was a small, square, -round-cornered, highly ornamented biscuit-tin of American make: it was -three parts full of loose salt, bone dry, and on the top of the salt was -a wooden box of matches, bone dry and striking immediately. We emptied -the salt on to the table—nothing amidst it: we broke the bottle and we -found in it a scrap of paper. On this was written in ink, a surname, the -day of the month and year, the full initials of the writer and these -words, “Look at our Post Office here.”[90] We then returned to the flat -rock and broke that bottle—the message was the same; then to the boat, -to find the message in its bottle was identical in terms, but written in -pencil. - -“_Look at our Post Office_”—But where was the Post Office? or what was -the Post Office? The fragments of the broken bottle lay glittering on -the grave at our feet. Was the grave the Post Office? - -We had most carefully examined and sounded the cave, and, after our long -experience of this class of work on Easter Island, felt fairly satisfied -that the Post Office was not there. Every fire site we had suspected and -inspected: every sinkage of the surface. Now we had to decide about the -grave. The character of the vegetation showed that it was old, and had -not been disturbed within the date stated on the letters. A Spanish -inscription in customary form, cut very neatly into the arms of the -wooden cross, gave simply the name of the dead man, and the date. At one -time the cross had been painted black. The point however that determined -us to accept the burial as _bona fide_, and not to exhume it as a -possible cache, was the fact that the sharp edges of the carving of the -inscription were smoothly rasped away by the driving sand of the shore, -in the direction of the prevailing wind, and to a degree commensurate -with the date incised. And we were right in our surmises. Sufficient now -to say that he whom the writing told to go to the Post Office, was -already lying in his own grave elsewhere, with his boots on, and no -cross at his head. Life is held cheap in Mexico. - -The island is said to possess no fresh water. We found no provision made -in the cave for conserving a supply. Scrambling through the sage-bush we -made for the dry torrent. Here we found one of the channels had been -diverted, and in it sunk a well or shaft, some ten feet deep, with fine -soil at its bottom. The end of a rope just showed for about one foot -above the surface of the silt at the bottom of the shaft. Near by was a -rough cradle and makeshift gear for gold washing. They had been here -during the rains, and the torrent had supplied the washing water. -Thinking of a possible sealed bottle placed in the shaft bucket at the -end of the rope, we left two hands there with orders to follow the rope -carefully down to its termination and see what was on the end of it. The -cutter with two hands we sent back to the ship. - -We and one hand—a Russian Finn who had been for some years on the Alaska -Coast—then set off inland to see what the world was like, and to get a -sheep if possible. By this time the heat had become very great. The -soil—yellow volcanic ash—soaked up the sun’s rays and then threw the -heat back as would a hot brick. Everything was so dry that we marvelled -that vegetation could hold its own. We saw no form of grass, but the -surface was generally covered with sage-bush extending from the level of -the knee in general to above one’s head in the bottoms. We had scrambled -up the ravine from our pirates’ cave and up the steep ground around it. -We now found ourselves on a well-defined ridge that ran parallel to the -sea, with a breeze, though a hot one, in our faces, and a glorious view -of sea, coast-line, and mountain. Our whales were clearly visible far -away in the bight to the west’ard, whilst to the nor’ard lay the great -mass of an unnamed volcano, with its top lost in mists, its sides -sweeping downwards, with typical curvature, till they reach the sea. We -gave the mountain the name of Mount Mana. It is 3,707 ft. high. Much -information about it will appear some day. Between the ridge on which we -now stood, and the well-defined foot of Mount Mana opposite to us, was a -valley some half a mile wide. We made our way across this valley as far -as the mountain’s foot, in order to cut across any tracks, human or -ovine, that might pass down it, because they would tell us the news, -like a file of newspapers—for all movement on the island would pass -along this bottom. Here the sage-bush was very strong and high, and we -found it difficult to get through. It frequently was tunnelled where it -was thick, reminding one of hippo paths leading to the water. In the -present case, however, bits of the fleeces of the makers were clinging -to the sides of the tunnel. The only signs of man were the brass shell -of an exploded military cartridge, and a few heads and horns of sheep -lying where the beasts had been shot. Here and there along the course of -the valley, masses of black volcanic rock, bare of vegetation, rose -above the bright yellow soil and its sage-bush covering. The surface of -the plain and of the mountain’s base were also punctuated by isolated -specimens of a species of fig (_ficus cotinifolia_) having a dark green -fleshy leaf somewhat like that of the magnolia, and a number of separate -trunks or stems. These trees, like all else, were dwarf and stunted, and -about 15 feet high. Every tree formed a flattish roof, as it were, -supported on many pillars and impervious to the sun. It was delightful -to rest for a short while under each as we came to it for a brief -respite from the shimmering heat. Beneath them the ground was bare and -smooth. The sheep tracks and tunnels led from tree to tree, and it was -evident that the sheep made it their practice to rest on these shady -spots, during the heat of the day. Whilst so resting ourselves, we were -amused and interested by several little birds of different sorts. They -chummed up en route, and kept close to us wherever we went, flitting -from bush to bush, and when we sat down in the shade, sidled along the -branches till they got as close to us as they could, short of absolutely -alighting upon us. They acted just as native children do towards the -white man when they have got over their first shyness. Working up wind, -we soon found sheep; they were in small bunches varying from three to -perhaps a dozen. We got a couple, though both getting up to the game and -the shooting was difficult in such cover, and resolved itself into -snap-shots as they followed their tracks across the occasional isolated -masses of dark basalt that rose above the yellow soil and which -supported no vegetation. - -Having gralloched our victims and slung the carcases well up on to our -shoulders, with both breast strap and brow strap, Micmac fashion, we -started back for Cruising Club Cove. It was now about noon, and as a -direct line seemed feasible, we decided to take that line. The better -road along the sheep tracks, and therefore through their tunnels, along -the bottom of the valley, was impossible for a laden man. We did it! -Across the valley, often brought to a standstill by scrub that would not -yield when leant against. Up the hill side to its delusive gap, often on -hands and knees. Down the steep pitch on the other side, with bump and -crash, regardless of scratches, thinking only of how to avoid a broken -leg or twisted ankle. Then a final wrestle with scrub in the ravine -bottom and we were on the shore. What a relief to throw up that brow -strap for the last time and to let the mutton fall, with a thump, on the -stones! Then off with what remained of our clothes, with which we draped -the bushes to dry, and into the tepid shallow water, shallow for fear of -sharks. Orders were given that whilst bathing a good fire of scrub wood -should be made on a spot sheltered from the sun by the side of a lofty -rock. On that fire’s glowing cinders when nearly burnt out we presently -grilled kidneys of peculiar excellence, and boiled the billy, and -thanked the Immortal Gods. - -The examination of the dry shaft, which was the job of the two hands -left behind, was never made. They reported that soon after beginning -work the side of the shaft fell in. On looking at it, it was clear that -we could not now do anything there. So we hunted around again, -collecting seeds, and plants, and rock samples. Presently, amongst the -drift material at storm high-water mark, we came across a cube of wood -12 or 15 inches square: (the end of a baulk of timber sawn off): through -it was bored an auger hole, and a rope rove. The end of the rope passed -through the block was finished with a “Stopper” knot, a knot known only -to seamen. Its other end had one long single strand that had been -_broken_: the other two strands were shorter than the first by some two -feet. They had been _cut through_. The story was clear. We only wanted a -name, and—_mirabile dictu_—we have it. Turning over the block, on one -face is deeply cut in letters some three inches long the words ANNIE -LARSEN. Pussy is out of the bag! - -For the benefit of those who are not shippy yachty devils, we will now -explain. When you drop your anchor at any spot where the nature of the -bottom is such that you may, perhaps, not be able to lift it again by -heaving on the chain in the ordinary way, because the anchor has fallen -amongst rocks, or into some mermaid’s coral cave, under such -circumstances it is customary to fasten one end of a rope to the end of -the anchor opposite to that to which the chain is attached (_i.e._ to -the crown), and to the other end of the rope you make fast a buoy—you -“buoy your anchor.” Then, “when the sour moment comes” to take a heave, -and you have heaved in vain, you pick up your anchor buoy, and haul on -its rope, and up comes your anchor without a struggle, like Cleopatra’s -red herring. - -Our find told us that it belonged to a ship of moderate size, for her -anchor was of moderate weight, because the anchor rope was of moderate -strength; and that that ship was probably a sailing ship, because she -had no steam winch: for steamers don’t usually buoy, having immense -steam heaving power. She had not intentionally left it; the rope had had -two strands cut through by the sharp rocks of the bottom, then the third -strand had torn apart from strain, and the buoy, with its short length -of rope, drifted away, to be ultimately thrown up above ordinary -high-water mark during a gale. Like the duck, it might have come down -from San Francisco! Not so. The two cut strands had not been long in the -water after they had been cut before they were thrown up high and dry. - -It was very compromising for Annie. Of course we immediately asked, -“Anyone know the _Annie Larsen_?” The Russian Finn, naturally _au -courant_ with all the coast scandal after a month in San Francisco, was -immediately able to inform us that the _Annie Larsen_ was an American -schooner of about 300 tons, and was in the Mexican gun-running line till -captured so laden by a U.S.A. ship of war only a month ago whilst we -were at San Francisco. - -So we had got to the bottom of things after all, though we had failed to -find the Post Office! Socorro Island was the depot for the late Yankee -gun runner _Annie Larsen_: the special, little-used boat was for -shipping, not for landing, the stuff: the Mexicans had come and fetched -it away in their own craft as they got the chance. Some of the _Annie -Larsen_ crowd, being old Alaska hands, had prospected the ravine for -gold, Alaska fashion. It was not a case of shipwrecked men on a -waterless island. - -The afternoon was now getting late: _Mana_ stood boldly in close to the -entrance of the cove. She lowered her cutter, the shore party were soon -on board again, and at 5.35 p.m. (6.2.16) we bore away for Hicaron -Island at the entrance to the Gulf of Panama, S. 69° E., distant 1,834 -miles. As we watched the island fade in the dusk, we thought we had done -with Socorro for ever; but it was not thus written. Some six months -after our visit a man was arrested at Singapore as a spy, and there -detained in prison. That man was the writer of the message in the -bottle. In prison he chanced to get hold of a piece of a local -newspaper, and that particular number happened to have in it an account -of the voyage of _Mana_ taken from the London papers. It incidentally -mentioned that she had touched at Socorro. A ship then had been to his -island! What had we found? How much did we know? _Had we found the Post -Office?_ On release he made his way to England to find out. But now is -not the time to tell the story: we are bound for Panama, or for Cape -Horn—for better or for worse—for heat or for cold. Chance, however, at -this time, all unknown to us, had decided our fate. - -The rainy season was now approaching, and we even got an occasional -warning shower, which made us all the more anxious to reach the Isthmus, -and get clear of it, before its unhealthy season set in. But our -progress was slow: we could not run the main engine continuously, as we -only had a small supply of lubricating oil adapted to the great heat. -That with which we had been supplied at San Francisco proved useless. -Also we had long before unwisely sent back to England the light canvas -and all its gear, in order to get more stowage room. In doing so we -thought we would be able to run the ship under power in light airs, and -therefore would not want it: ’twas an error. However, we always made -something, for if she did not do her 50 miles in the 24 hours, we -unmuzzled the motor. - -Our engineer, Eduardo Silva of Talcahuano, a Chilean, was a most -excellent young fellow: always keen and willing: always grooming his -three charges, the engines of the yacht, the life boat, and the electric -light, and ever ready to run them, despite the terrible heat in the -engine-room. Sometimes when the big 38 h.p. motor had a fit of the -tantrums, because it could not get cold water from the sea quickly -enough to assuage its body’s heat, and he durst not leave it, he would -eventually appear on deck, as pale as a sheet, and completely done. On -one such occasion he reflectively remarked, as the two of us looked down -into the engine-room from the deck, “All same casa del diablo.”[91] He -did not exaggerate. - -Day followed day. We gradually gnawed into our 1,834 miles. The Russian -Finn came to the fore as a keen sportsman: from tea-time to dusk he was -generally to be found somewhere outside the vessel’s bows: sometimes on -the bowsprit end, sometimes standing on the bob-stay, regardless of the -fact that a shark was very frequently in attendance on us in the eddy -water under our counter. Looking over the taffrail you could see the -brute weaving from side to side as does a plum-pudding carriage dog at -his horses’ heels. One experienced a sort of fascination in watching -these great fish at night, their every movement displayed by the -luminosity of the water, until they themselves, on occasion, seemed to -glow with the phosphoric light. _Mana_ in these waters generally had -shoals or companies of small fish in attendance on her, amongst which -were always a few larger ones. We got to know individuals by sight. We -thought they kept to her for protection. It certainly was not for what -they could get off her copper. With that we never had any trouble: it -kept as bright as gold. - -One night we were asleep on the locker in the deck-house companion, and -were awakened by an unholy struggle and crash. Nipping out, we found the -Russian on look-out for’ard, regardless of the sleepers below him, had -leant over her bows and had actually hoiked out with a gaff hook a large -porpoise. It seemed impossible to believe that a man could have had the -physical strength to hoist such a mass bodily out of the water, up her -high bow, and over the rail. He seems to have fairly lifted it out, by -the scruff of its neck, as it rushed alongside after the fish. - -He only fell overboard once: that was on the voyage from the Sandwich -Islands, when we were not aboard. On reaching San Francisco he brought -a note from Mr. Gillam to us at our hotel to report arrival. We of -course inquired as to their voyage. The Russian said it had been quite -the usual thing: nothing had happened out of the common. Long -afterwards he casually informed us that on that run, when he went -forward one night from the quarter-deck to the galley to make the -coffee for the change of watch at midnight, he went first to do some -job on the top-gallant-fo’c’s’le head, and got knocked overboard. En -route to the land of never-never he found the weather jib-sheet in his -hand, and by it was able to haul himself aboard again. As he was -supposed to be in the galley, he would never have been expected to -show for half an hour, and therefore would not have been missed until -the watch mustered. It did not seem to occur to him that he had had a -bit of a squeak. He did not get wet, so nobody knew, for he told no -one. As an angel, perhaps there was a certain amount of black down -underneath his white plumage, but as an A.B. one wished for no better. -He was the second of _Mana’s_ company to be killed by the Huns after -our return. - -After heaving-to like this, to let the reader into some of the little -humours of our domestic life, we must get under way again. Well, -everybody seemed quite happy and contented “on this ’ere run”: fish, -birds, weird ocean currents and their slack water areas with accumulated -drift, sail-mending, turning out and painting the fo’c’s’le, with life -on deck, instead of below, for a few days, a threatened blow that never -reached us, but only sent along its swell to justify the actions of the -glass, and the ever-varying incidents associated with life on a small -craft in unfrequented tropical seas, for we never saw another sail, made -us so forgetful of the flight of time, that it seemed that we had but -left Socorro, before we found ourselves off Hicaron Island, our -prearranged landfall. Thirty-one days had faded away like a dream (map, -facing p. 359). - -Now, close to the Island of Hicaron lies another one much larger. We had -a plan of it, Coiba or Quibo Island. The Sailing Directions said -“turtles abound, but they are hard to catch.” (We didn’t want any more -turtle!) “Crabs, cockles, and oysters are plentiful. In the woods -monkeys and parrots abound, and in Anson’s time, 1741, there were deer, -but the interior is nearly inaccessible, from the steepness of the -cliffs and the tangled vegetation: explorers should beware of alligators -and snakes.” The chart showed an excellent anchorage and indicated fresh -water. It seemed promising: we would see what it was like. We were -particularly desirous of now making good our expenditure of water, as we -did not know what were the conditions we might find prevailing at Panama -both as regards its quality and the facilities for getting it. - -We had sighted Hicaron Island at daylight on Monday, the 6th of March, -1916, but calms, baffling airs, and currents prevented our making our -proposed anchorage by daylight. At dusk, therefore, we hove to for the -night. _Festina lentiter_ was ever our motto. We had the most recent -chart certainly, but its last correction was in 1865 and coral patches -grow quickly. Not until noon next day did we get abreast of Negada -Point, the S.E. extremity of Quibo Island. As the coast was charted free -from dangers, we came fairly close in, and starting the motor about one -o’clock, ran along the shore under power, with a look-out in the -fore-top. - -It was very interesting and pleasant, after a month at sea, thus to -coast along the fringe of a tropical island: sweeping round rocky points -of the land, and peeping into lovely little coves fringed with white -coral sand that merged into a dense tropical vegetation, with hills in -the background. It soon becomes instinctive to keep the sharpest of -look-outs ahead, _i.e._ into the clear water, for a change of colour -indicating danger, and yet to see everything around. The most memorable -feature of this particular afternoon was the large number of devil-fish -that were seen springing into the air: as many as three or four might be -observed within as many minutes. Suddenly, near or far, a large object, -like a white-painted notice-board, shot vertically into the air to -considerable height, to fall back again on its flat with resounding -spank and high-flying spray, leaving a patch of milky foam on the smooth -blue surface of the water. In British seas this family of fishes is -represented by the skate. Here they attain the dimensions of a -fair-sized room: a specimen in the British Museum from Jamaica measures -15 ft. by 15 ft. and is between three and four feet thick, hence the -statement that “their capture is uncertain and sometimes attended with -danger”[92] is probably not far from correct. Perched aloft, and thus -having a large and unobstructed horizon, we saw one jump probably every -ten minutes throughout the afternoon. The motor brought us to our -anchorage, and at 5 o’clock we let go in 9 fathoms, sand and mud, the -shore distant about 1½ miles. - -We had seen hitherto no sign of the island being occupied, nor did we -now. After dark, however, at two widely separated points, a fire blazed -up and lights showed for a short while. Smoking on deck, when dinner was -finished, we speculated as to the meaning of the different mysterious -grunts and gurgles, sighs and plunges, that stole over the tepid oily -water: the tropical sea after dark seemed to have voices as many and -varied as the tropical forest has when the sun is gone. From 6 p.m. -onward the thermometer read 87° F.: at 6 a.m. it had fallen to 83°—the -cool of the morning! - -With the daylight a single pirogue, with two men in her, came alongside. -She was a small and roughly made dug out, very leaky. In the wet of her -bottom lay a bunch of bananas, perched on which were a couple of large -macaws. Each of these had a strip of bark some two feet long tied to its -leg. The bunch of bananas lay like an island above the water in her: on -to it as a refuge the parrots crawled. Their jesses entangled amongst -the bananas—the boat rolled—so did the banana bunch—each bird would -climb upwards, but he could not, the accursed thong held him down: he -was being crushed, he was being drowned—he and his mate. And each said -so. An American mining captain taking up his parable was not in it with -those birds for language. - -The two men were negroid in feature. One of them had only one leg, and -seemed sad and ill. The other was more cheerful. We could get along -together in Spanish. They invited us to come ashore. Hoisting out the -cutter, we followed them in. Their lead was useful, as the water is so -shoal. Though the rise and fall is but small feet, yet a large area of -coral rock flats is dry at low water on either side of a boat channel. -At the entrance to this channel an open sailing boat, some 25 feet long, -their property, lay at anchor. As the tide was falling, we thought it -best to leave our cutter at anchor in sufficiently deep water for her -not to take the ground, and got our friends to ferry us from her, one by -one, into shoal water in their canoe. It was most comic to see some of -our big chaps kneeling on the bottom of the crazy little craft with a -hand on either gunnel, whilst they bent forward, like devout Mussulmans -on their carpets, endeavouring to get their centre of gravity as low as -possible. We were the last of the passengers. When the water got to be -only knee deep the native anchored his canoe, and we stepped overboard. -So did our one-legged ferryman. His right hand controlled a crutch, in -his left he held various treasures obtained from _Mana_; he also desired -to take his two big parrots ashore, so, as the last item of all, he -hooked his finger under the cord that tied them together, thus carrying -them swinging heads downwards. But apparently he had not taken the cord -fairly in the middle. One parrot was suspended by a short length of -line: the other by a long: he of the short cord was able to twist -himself round and get a hold with his beak on some package in his -owner’s hand, and was thus reasonably happy. But parrots, like -ourselves, can’t have it all ways in this world of woe. If his head be -up, his tail must be down: hence this tale. He of the long string found -himself draggling in the water with every stride of his one-legged -owner. In his struggles to avoid drowning by a succession of dips, he -managed at last to grasp, with beak and claw, the long dependent tail of -his fellow prisoner, and quickly hauling himself up it, he at once -proceeded to consolidate his position, by seizing in his beak the -softest part of his colleague’s hinder anatomy with the vice-like grip -of despair, and therefrom he continued to depend in placid comfort, -regardless of the other’s piercing shrieks and protestations. - -It is not always those at the top of the ladder that have the best time -of it. - -A wide shore line of white sand met us. On it at high-water mark were -large quantities of white bleached drift-wood trees. On the flat ground -behind, beneath a dense tree growth, were some small pools of stagnant -rain water, a few coconut palms were dotted about—all else was jungle. -On a patch cleared of undergrowth stood a light frame structure open on -all sides. The roof was high pitched and had wide eaves: there was no -attempt at a floor. It might be 30 ft. by 20 ft. Smaller similar -structures adjoined for cooking and stores. A box or two, baskets, -hammocks, and a little boat-gear, were suspended from the beams above: a -few wooden blocks for stools were on the earthen floor, which was neatly -swept. On one such sat a terribly afflicted specimen of humanity—the -mother, yet nevertheless dignified and courteous. The father, a spare -little man with an intelligent face, lay in his hammock and extended his -hand feebly over the side simply saying that he was “infirma.” He seemed -to avoid making any movement. Four or five children of various ages -moved listlessly about; only one of them, a girl of ten or twelve years -of age, seemed quite healthy. Then there was the one sound man from the -pirogue and the cripple. The whole family were being slowly destroyed by -fever and elephantiasis, and apparently must, before long, perish from -lack of ability to gather food. No resources were visible—though no -doubt they had a little cultivated ground somewhere handy, and of course -there was always fish. The whole story of gradually encroaching disease -and suffering was so easy to read, and the patient and hopeless -resignation with which the little group awaited its predestined -extinction was very pathetic. They uttered no complaint nor asked for -anything. We made the best of things, and got them quite cheerful and -interested, producing from time to time various trifles from our pockets -which we generally carried with us as presents when going ashore. -Anxious to please, they gave us various quaint shells and a little -fruit, and again pressed on our acceptance the hapless macaws, now -secured to a handy branch, whose bedraggled plumage and sorry mien -seemed quite in keeping with the surroundings. Altogether our visit -seemed to give our hosts pleasure. The man appeared to have some Spanish -blood in him and to have known better days. We then returned to the -ship, and had breakfast, sending back by the pirogue, which had returned -with us, a little present of ship’s biscuit, tinned meat, cigarettes, -and quinine. It was obvious that no watering was feasible at this -landing-place. They told us we should be able to get water at the other -spot where we had seen a light the evening before. - -Pulling in the heat and sun any considerable distance was out of the -question, so we hoisted out the motor lifeboat launch, taking the cutter -in tow for landing. We found another wide sandy beach, but with fairly -deep water right up to it. There was sufficient breaking swell on it to -require the cutter to be hauled up smartly, directly her nose touched, -or the next sea would have knocked her broadside on and filled her. The -shore was bordered by what appeared to us, from its state of neglect, to -be a deserted coconut plantation. We however told the men not to swarm -up for nuts for the present—there are generally some low easily climbed -trees—until we found out how the land lay. The white man never seems to -be able to understand that petty plundering of native plantations is a -bad introduction. Needless to say that it was not many minutes before -the irrepressible Finn had “found on the ground” a bunch of green nuts -and was devouring them with the avidity of a land crab. Foot-prints on -the shore, and trails through the scrub, soon brought us to a group of -shanties under the palm trees, and therefore close to the shore line. -The coconut palm seems to thrive best just beyond high-water mark, and -on any flat at about that level behind the furthest point reached by the -water. Trees are often to be seen with the soil round their roots -partially washed away on one side of the trunk. - -A white man came walking along the shore to meet us. Of course the first -thing we did was to apologise for the unseemly sight of the men all -feeding on his nuts. He was fairly cordial, but evidently greatly -perplexed as to who, and what, we were. We told him as well as we could -about the ship and the reason of our visit, but it was obvious he -thought we lied. All the same he gave us the information we wanted as to -supplies and water. Practically nothing was to be had. As it would be -shortly our men’s dinner hour, we persuaded him to come with us aboard, -and he thawed considerably under the influence of luncheon. He told us -the coco palms had been planted by his father, and that his name was -Guadia. The Sailing Directions, as to this place, are quite wrong. -Moreover, they seldom quote their authority, or the date of the -information they give, which renders them very untrustworthy. - -About twenty fever-stricken natives, many of them cripples from -elephantiasis, live here permanently on the plantation under the flimsy -shelters. Sr. Guadia said he lived usually in the city of Panama, but -came over for some months during the healthy season, occupying a -somewhat superior hut in the midst of the native shacks. There are -comparatively high hills close to hand, that would be infinitely more -healthy as a residential site. He will probably get infected from the -natives. The mosquitoes pass the disease along. - -As the watering scheme had broken down, we thought we would devote the -afternoon to fishing. Sr. Guadia said that, if we really wanted fish, we -ought to go to the mouth of a river some distance away, but that the -bottom was all clean opposite his camp, so we thought we would take a -few drags of the seine along his front. We faked it down into the cutter -and the launch towed her in. All along the beach the water was almost -soup-like from the mud in suspension, also in it floated, in immense -quantity, tiny fragments of fine marine grasses, the whole being kept -constantly churned by the swell. In this opaque water fish could not see -the net. Casting off from the launch the cutter backed into the beach: -one hand jumped ashore with the head and foot ropes. She then described -a semicircle as she shot her net: our seine was 50 fathoms long and 2 -fathoms deep: as she completed the semicircle by touching the beach the -spare hands jumped ashore with the other head and foot ropes and the -boat pulled away to the launch to land that party, for without them it -was impossible to haul the net: the resistance was far too great. The -natives—the whole population of the huts—grouped themselves together at -a little distance, but never offered to lend a hand. At last we got a -move on the net, but the resistance was excessive, and we were afraid -that she had picked up something. Gradually however the line of buoying -corks rose to the surface as the leaded foot rope took the ground, -defining the semicircle with a row of dots, whilst over them jumped, at -various points of the most distant part of the curve, a multitude of -small fry, like a stream of silver darts, and with rainlike patter as -they struck the water. Gradually the escaping captives became larger and -larger, springing high into the air, and we thought that we should find -but little left when we got the net ashore, for the weight in it was -such that we could move it but slowly. “Keep her up!—Keep her up!”—was -now the cry, to counteract the tendency to haul on either head rope or -foot rope unduly in the excitement of the finish—for a seine is simply a -moving vertical wall of net, and must be maintained as such in use. At -last the contained area began to simmer: then to boil: and then, still -hauling evenly, we brought the mass more or less upon and against the -sandy beach. Practically it was solid fish: fish of every size, shape -and colour. There was comparatively little weed. By their very number -they had been rendered helpless. This was great good luck, for amongst -them was a large shark some ten or perhaps twelve feet long, and another -brute of about the same size and weight, but he chiefly consisted of -head, and his head chiefly consisted of mouth. When this mouth, with two -little eyes at the sides, looked at you, the shark seemed of benevolent -appearance. - -Of course our first thought was for the safety of the net; that it was -not burst or torn already seemed a miracle. The struggles of the two -great brutes would tear it to pieces if we tried to haul them right -ashore, so we just held them jammed against the sloping beach. The -natives then cautiously ventured to attack them with their machettes—a -powerful slashing knife, like a small sabre, used for clearing the -forest growth. They directed all their efforts to slashing them along -the spine: gingerly approaching the fish by the head, they inflicted the -wounds nearer and nearer towards the tail. Having paralysed that, they -then blinded them. They did not desire to kill: they wanted the fish to -have enough life left in it to be able to struggle away. - -Having thus paralysed our two largest captures, we slipped a bowline -round their tails, and dragged them clear of the net, and started them -off, when they were at once torn to pieces by their fellows. We then -proceeded to collect the useful part of the catch. We took what we -wanted: the natives appropriated the rest. These natives were not an -attractive lot—neither the men, the women, nor the children—they would -not lend a hand to haul, got three-quarters of the catch for picking it -up, and then tried to steal the balance that we had reserved. Sr. Guadia -gave us some coconuts, and the antlers of a deer that he had shot: -according to him they are plentiful on the island. - -As we didn’t want anybody to get bitten by mosquitoes, and sunset was -approaching, the order was now “All aboard the lugger!” and we reached -the ship as her riding-light ran up. - -[Illustration: Map of the Panama Canal] - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - PANAMA TO JAMAICA - - 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. - - -Our job was now to get to the entrance of the Canal, which is situated -at the bottom of the bight of the Gulf of Panama. It is a most difficult -one for a sailing vessel. Roughly speaking, currents from the south-east -may be said to sweep round its coasts, and to form of the Gulf one vast -eddy. Here, throughout the year, persist calms and catspaws from all -directions, rain, lightning, and squalls: the whole caboodleum of the -Doldrums, plus a complex tangle of irregular currents. In addition to -the foregoing joys, there is, towards the head of the Gulf, a large area -studded with islands, rocks, and coral patches. From this archipelago -have been obtained, from the earliest times, at the price of infamous -cruelty, a large supply of the finest pearls—the group is called the -Pearl Islands. - -“A vessel unaided by steam power will experience considerable difficulty -and delay in getting out of Panama Bay,” say the Sailing Directions. She -will: and so she does in getting into it. There is a well-known yarn of -a ship being here carried round and round for a year or so, in the olden -days, until her people had nearly all perished from scurvy. Some of the -American newspapers got hold of this story and said we had found and -relieved her, giving pathetic details. In our case, though we had a -motor that gave us 5½ knots through the water, we found that our only -course was to allow ourselves to be carried right across the mouth of -the Gulf to the Colombian coast, and then to work up along the coast of -the Isthmus of Darien, _i.e._ along the eastern shore of the Gulf of -Panama. - -The following summary of our log will show what things are like. We left -Fea Harbour, Quibo Island, at 8.10 a.m. on Thursday, March the 9th, and -motored until noon. Then got the canvas on her. Light airs: E.; N.N.E.; -N.; S.S.E.; S.E.b.E. between noon and midnight. Made good 17½ miles. -Much lightning all around in the first watch. - -The middle watch of Friday the 10th had easterly airs that gave her an -average of three knots, and much lightning. At 9.50 a.m. started motor -and ran it until 0.50 p.m.; and again from 3.24 p.m. to 5.45 p.m. -Notwithstanding our using power, it was 10 p.m. before the light on Cape -Mala could be entered in the log as just dipping. The motor was only -called upon when the current was setting her into what would be a -dangerous position. This day we make good 38½ miles. - -On Saturday, the 11th of March, we found there was a strong s’utherly -set at 11 a.m., and a N.N.W. breeze, so, instead of steering to Panama, -we altered course to take full advantage of the breeze to cross the -Gulf. We passed from time to time well-defined current-ripples, with -much rubbish floating in the dead water. During the afternoon the water -became very dark and discoloured, but we got no bottom at 225 fms. At 10 -p.m. however we got 55 fms., so we hove to and waited for the daylight. -Our day’s run was 79 miles. - -At earliest daylight on Sunday the 12th we bore away and at 7.15 a.m. -made Cape Escarpado bearing N.42°E. The morning was very hazy with much -mirage, and the land very difficult to recognise at any distance. We -were now working to wind’ard to the entrance of the Pearl Islands. At -1.35 p.m. we started the motor, and at 4.50 p.m. brought up for the -night in 13 fms. between Monge and Puercos islets, which lie off the -east coast of the large Isla del Rey. We have done 60 miles to-day. - -On Monday, the 13th of March, we made a start at 5 a.m., under sail, -working against light airs from N.N.W. westerly. We were now being swept -up into the Bight of Panama by the current, so all we had to do was to -keep her nicely placed. At noon, when we were distant from Canal -entrance 48 miles, we were obliged to start the motor, and did 16 miles -under power, stopping it at 3.26 p.m. We then got a gentle N.W. breeze, -which we kept till 11.40 p.m., when we brought up off the entrance of -the Canal. - -Early the next morning a harbour launch, with the Port Officials, came -out to us. They told us that the Canal had been closed to all traffic -for five months. According to them, our chance of being allowed to pass -through was small indeed. - -As soon as we had got pratique, we started in our launch for the shore, -to learn our fate. From the Port of Balboa on the Pacific, to the Port -of Colon on the Atlantic, is 44 miles by canal: by sea the distance is -10,500. If the Powers that Were would not let us through, we must -practically again circumnavigate the whole continent of South America. -We had already done it once to a very large extent: Pernambuco to -Valparaiso. Was it to be our fate to do it a second time? - -Though _Mana_ was anchored close to the entrance of the fairway, yet she -was hull-down on our looking back when we were abreast of the Balboa -frontage, so great is the length of the dredged channel through the -smooth shoal water of the Bay, before the Canal begins to have visible -land on either side of it. - -Messrs. Balfour, Guthrie & Co., of San Francisco, had most kindly -advised their agents of our being _en route_, and consequently, when we -landed at Balboa, there was a motor-car in waiting. We whisked off, got -fresh meat and vegetables for the ship, put it aboard the launch, and -despatched her with orders to return to take us off an hour before dark. -Then we drove straight to the City of Panama to call on the British -Minister, Sir Claud Mallet. He was most kind. He sent us under convoy of -the Consul to see Colonel Harding, the acting chief of the Canal in the -absence of Colonel Goethals. Colonel Harding was pleased to grant _Mana_ -the exceptional privilege of at once passing through the Canal, on the -ground that she was a scientific research ship,—a favour for which we -owe much gratitude both to him and to the Government which he -represented. We have sometimes however regretted this stroke of luck, -as, had we been compelled to take the s’utherly route, we should have -been at Punta Arenas just at the time Sir Ernest Shackleton was there -seeking a vessel to rescue his men from Elephant Island, a job for which -_Mana_ was eminently fitted. - -In accordance with arrangements made, next morning a pilot came off and -took us, under our own power, from the outer anchorage, up the dredged -channel, to the mooring dolphins opposite Balboa, a distance of about 5 -miles. Balboa is the name of a new town built by the Americans on the -Eastern bank of the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal. The ground on -which it is situated is not flat, also there are a couple of isolated -volcanic cones, that rise to a height of 363 feet and 650 feet -respectively, in its midst. A fine sanitary city has been designed, and -largely brought into being, and as the work of construction of the Canal -proceeds towards completion, for there is still much work to be done, so -everything connected with the Canal will be concentrated there. To this -new town of Balboa adjoins the old city of Panama, the capital of the -Republic of Panama, but now isolated from the rest of the republic, -being entirely surrounded by U.S.A. territory. - -Before we go through the Canal, it will be well to have a general idea -of its character. Let us first consider that of the Suez. The Isthmus of -Suez is a level neck of sand, only slightly raised above sea level. -Across it a gutter has been dug: the Mediterranean Sea, unobstructed, -flows along that gutter, until it blends its waters with those of the -Red Sea. - -The Panama is an entirely different proposition. The Isthmus of Panama -is a neck of land formed of volcanic debris and rock. It is only -partially level; it is humped in the middle, but that hump is hollowed -like a saucer. So we have this sequence:—A level. A hump. A level. - -The Canal therefore is made in this way. Firstly the middle, or humped -part, is changed, by means of embankments, from a semi-dry saucer into a -deep high-level pond, _i.e._ into a pond whose surface is 85 feet above -the level of the sea. That pond is filled, and kept filled, with sweet -water by the rainfall on high country around it—the inner slope of the -edge of the saucer. As we are only concerned with two embankments which -go to form the pond, we will refer to one as the Eastern and to the -other as the Western. - -Next, the Pacific Ocean is brought up a distance of about 4 miles, to -the foot of the Western Embankment, by digging a simple gutter through -level country, just as has been done in the case of Suez: similarly the -Atlantic is brought a distance of about 5 miles to the foot of the -Eastern Embankment. - -Finally, each embankment is equipped with a series of water steps, or -locks, whereby a vessel is lifted up from the ditch into the pond, or -lowered from the pond into the ditch. Water of the pond, in measured -doses of a lockful at a time, and on which dose float one or more ships, -is first shut off from the pond, and is then permitted gently to escape -into the Pacific Ocean ditch, or into the Atlantic Ocean ditch, as the -case may be. - -No drop of Atlantic sea water ever mingles with the sweet water of the -Central Pond. No drop of Pacific sea water ever mingles with the sweet -water of the Central Pond. The Atlantic with the Pacific do not -commingle directly or indirectly. - -Punctually at 7 a.m. the Canal pilot boarded us, and we left Balboa 7.35 -a.m. under our own power, and proceeded up the Canal. It was a real -pleasure trip. Engines running to perfection. Pilot most complimentary -to them. No navigating to be done. The men highly content at the -information that, once through the lock gates, the ship would be in -fresh water, and they could wash clothes all day long. Largesse of soap -distributed. We reached the Miraflores Locks at 8.15 a.m. Distance from -Balboa about 2 miles. The shores of the Canal between Balboa and -Miraflores present little of interest—the Canal is here simply a ditch -cut through a swamp. We enter the lower lock: the water of the pond -above our heads is let in, and we rise about 54 feet. The doors in front -of us open, and we pass out into a pool. From this pool we enter a -second lock: we again rise about 31 feet: the gates in front of us open, -and we are floating in an arm of the artificially formed Gatun Lake. - -This lake or pond or saucer is of considerable extent: about ⅓ the size -of the Isle of Wight. Here it is deep: there it is shallow. What were -marshes, when it was still unflooded, have now become its deeps: what -were hillock or hill-tops now appear as isolated islands. It is between -such islands that the ship channel threads. - -A remarkable feature is that the islands, each of which was lately a -hill-top, have as yet no horizontally cut shore or strand: the slope of -the hillside is the same below the surface of the water as above it: the -waves have not yet cut a shore bench or shelf. The trees therefore stand -immersed in varying degree, some with the foot of the trunk only just -awash: others with their topmost boughs only just showing. Where the -bottom of the pond is level, large areas of now dead, but still -standing, forest trees, partially submerged to an even depth, present a -remarkable, because a transient, feature. Presently these will decay and -disappear, then the water surface of the pond will appear to be greater -than it does to-day. - -At 10.10 a.m. we passed out of the Western (Miraflores and Miguel) -locks, and proceeded across the pond, and reached the other side—the -entrance to the Eastern Locks (the Gatun Locks)—at 4.51 p.m. Here we -moored ship, as the Canal people would not drop us from the pond into -the Atlantic ditch that night. We observed that the U.S.A. were not -taking any risks that they could avoid of German agents causing trouble: -sentries were posted everywhere, and no one from the ship was allowed to -wander about ashore. So _Mana’s_ crowd sat in a row on the edge of the -lock, like migrating martins on a telegraph wire, and swung their legs, -in high good humour. Saturday, March the 18th, at 8.7 a.m. we entered -the Gatun Locks; at 8.53 p.m. passed out; and at 10 a.m. came to anchor -in Colon Harbour. - -That afternoon we moored alongside a pier, and took aboard coal, -petroleum, and lubricating oil. The British Consul, Mr. Murray, was most -kind and hospitable, and though the flat mud island on which Cristobal -stands, and of which it occupies the greater part, is unusually -uninteresting, as is also the town, yet, owing to Mr. Murray, we quite -enjoyed a week’s detention there that Fate had in store for us. - -As a vessel steams down the gutter (Gatun Approach) that runs in a -straight line from the Eastern Embankment (Gatun Dam) into the Atlantic -(Caribbean Sea), she has on her starboard hand, as she approaches the -termination of the gutter, a small flat island of alluvium. The Canal -water front of that island is occupied now by wharves and jetties, -behind which runs a good road bordered with fairly respectable shops, -and stores, and drinking-dens. At one end is a large and good hotel; at -the other the stores, workshops, and residences of the Canal Officials. -To all this is given the name of CristObal—long O. Immediately against -Cristobal, and forming part of it, abuts the town of COlon—another long -O—a town that practically sprang into being at the first making of the -Canal: a twin sister to the town of Suez of the olden days for vice and -villainy. If Colon be what it is now, with the U.S.A. in control, what -must it have been of yore? We believe that the Canal Administration -allows the citizens of the Republic of Panama some sort of self -government as regards their town of Colon, hence its character. The -redeeming point about it is that it is so frequently and largely burnt -to the ground that it will eventually become quite reasonably sanitary. - -At present, Cristobal is the executive centre on the Canal. Here are all -the workshops. Balboa, at the other end, is to-day the administrative -centre only, but gradually all interests connected with the Canal will -there be concentrated. To Cristobal is brought, and from Cristobal is -drawn, all labour and supplies. All food consumed throughout the Canal -zone—meat, fresh fish, vegetables, fruit, is sent frozen from the U.S.A. -and there kept in cold storage—no supplies practically are derived from -the surrounding country. It is only by the courtesy of the Canal -Administration, that anyone, not in its employ, is allowed to purchase -food at its depots. Any foreigner therefore, whose work requires him to -live in the Canal zone, finds housekeeping a very difficult matter. In -our case, however, by the Regulations, we were entitled to purchase what -we wanted, but the same Regulations specially state that any yacht, -U.S.A. or foreign, shall be charged 20 per cent. more than any other -vessel for any food supplied, or services rendered to her, and we were -charged accordingly. And this though the Administration had only allowed -us to pass through on the ground that we were not a yacht. In no sense -were we one. To an Englishman it seems strange to find that another -people considers it to the interest of the State to differentiate -against yachts: we know, in our case, what our nation has gained by the -widespread and intelligent interest in maritime affairs, that is the -outcome of the British sport of yachting. - -Having got all our essential stores aboard on the day of our arrival -(Saturday), we hoped to be able to get fresh provisions, pay dues, and -clear on the Monday. But now our troubles began. There were at this time -certain repairs that it was desirable should be done to portions of our -machinery. They were not essential, as we had substituted new spares for -each defective part, but we thought it wise, as we were now at the only -port where we could get the work done, to get the damaged parts -renovated, so as to become spares in their turn. The original idea was -to send down the parts by boat, but eventually the machine shop desired -the vessel to be laid alongside its wharf. No vessel by the Regulations -is allowed to be moved without a Canal Pilot aboard her. He takes -absolute command and control. A pilot accordingly took her alongside all -right. Then arose delays—but everybody was most obliging, and the work -was well done, though of course prices were very high. - -Meantime our kindly Consul was doing all he could to arrange for us to -have a day’s tarpon fishing from the Gatun Weir—from hearsay it is most -thrilling work: you stand on the great weir with the water boiling in -foam 85 feet beneath you and play a real fighting fish of 100 to 200 -lbs. weight. The gentleman who was to have run us up to Gatun in his -launch, and to have helped us to get a fish, was, however, unavoidably -detained. - -Day followed day with the vessel alongside the wharf and the repair work -in the workshops. - -At this time we were much amused by an old Jamaican coloured man, who -spent most of the day sitting on the quay beside the vessel close to her -stern, where of course the ensign was flying on the flagstaff. He, like -all the British West Indian coloured people, of whom there is a very -large number at Cristobal-Colon, was enthusiastically loyal, and told -us, “I love to sit under de ole flag: while you here, I do no more -work—all de day I sit under de ole flag.” The men took a fancy to him, -and “de ole flag” found something to spare for him at every meal, and a -pipe of baccy afterwards. - -At last the repairs were completed—shore accounts all settled up and the -Canal Pilot took charge to take us out. We had to go out of the pool -stern foremost. It turned out subsequently that the Gatun Locks were at -this time passing a vessel through. This caused a current to flow past -the pier head of the dock. The pilot did not know of it, with the result -that _Mana’s_ stern crashed into the pier head. Luckily the piling was -very old and rotten, and _Mana_ extraordinarily strong, so that, though -the pier head structure was pretty considerably smashed, our own damage -was confined to broken taffrail stanchions and the ironwork of the main -gallows. We had therefore to return to our berth and have this new lot -of damage made good. The Pilot, a Greek, of course tried to make out -that the reversing gear had refused duty when he wanted to handle her, -but, before we could find the Captain of the Port, that official had -already been aboard and tried the engine, and told us that he found it -worked to perfection, and gave us the true cause of the accident. We -then asked him to give orders that our damage should be made good by the -Canal Administration free of charge, but this he assured us was -impossible under the Regulations—we must pay, but the job should be -expedited. He also, out of sympathy with our misfortunes, gave us -permission, when our job was done, this time to take our ship out -ourselves without having another Canal pilot aboard, lest something -worse should happen. And this we eventually did, to our own great -satisfaction. Before however we could get our clearance, we had to -deposit a sum equal to double the estimated cost of our repairs. - -The Canal Administration, like the British Post Office, always plays -pitch and toss on the terms of “heads I win, tails you lose.” It, very -properly, compels you to take a pilot. It gives him absolute power, and -requires that he himself shall take command and handle the vessel. But -such a man’s experience is confined to big steamers: with them he is -probably quite skilful, but give him a small craft or a yacht, and he -knows as much about handling her as he does of piloting an aeroplane. -Hence those tears. - -The foregoing is equally true of the Suez Canal pilots. The risks to a -small craft in the passage of the ship canals are great, and are solely -due to the pilots being permitted to attempt to handle them. - -As the Regulations of the Panama Canal stand, the Pilot may be mad, or -drunk, or incompetent, and elect to ram another vessel, or to butt at a -lock gate, nevertheless all damage done to the ship, or by the ship, -must be paid by the Owners of the ship, before she is allowed to leave -the Canal. Under no circumstances will the Administration accept -responsibility for the conduct of their pilots. And there you have it. - -At 9.15 a.m. Sunday, March the 26th, 1916, we passed through the -breakwater into the Caribbean Sea. We had cleared from Cristobal-Colon -for Trinidad, one of our West Indian Islands, but when doing so we never -had any intention of going there. We informed the British Consul of our -reasons and had his sanction. German sympathisers seemed to take a most -kindly interest in us. We were really bound for Bermuda, via the -Windward Passage, which is the pass between the two great islands of -Cuba and St. Domingo. A strong wind and current sweep at this time of -year from East to West the length of the Caribbean Sea, consequently we -had to get well to the east’ard so as to make sure of carrying a fair -wind and current for rounding Cape Tiburon, the western extremity of the -Island of St. Domingo. We therefore at once set to work to beat steadily -to wind’ard along the Venezuelan coast, keeping close in with the land, -in order to cheat the current and to have as little sea as possible. As -this coast is only roughly surveyed, and the lighting cannot be depended -on, we exercised special care when standing-in to the land. We saw no -craft along this coast except that, one night, what looked like a small -tramp steamer of about 800 tons entirely changed her course, and bore -down on us until she was close alongside. She did not attempt to -communicate. We kept our course and took no notice of her. After a good -look at us she took herself off. - -We had unfortunately lost, at Cristobal, our excellent and popular -Japanese cook, and the coloured Panama man who replaced him proved, -after being given some days of grace, such a miserable impostor that -even the strenuous and varied educational efforts of the fo’c’s’le -failed to bring about his regeneration. We heard, indirectly, that the -Russian Finn decided that it was a case of demoniacal possession and had -attempted to cure it by means of a course of massage of the windpipe. -Others of the crew suddenly became afflicted with a variety of -complaints for which they drew various drastic drugs from the ship’s -medicine chest and then, with great self-sacrifice, refraining from -taking these themselves, administered them instead to the chef. We aft -got along quite comfortably, as the cabin steward, Edwin Young, -belonging to Pitcairn Island, had become, since joining, quite a good -cook, and was most willing and hard working. But the fo’c’s’le very -naturally complained, so, in its interest, we decided to alter our -course and make for Port Royal, Jamaica, to seek that pearl of price—a -good sea cook. - -Nothing calling for remark occurred on this run until the 6th of April. -At 6.15 a.m. on that day Mr. Gillam, whose watch it was, came below and -said, “I wish you would come on deck, Sir; there’s a water-spout bearing -down on us.” In half a shake of a lamb’s tail we were on deck, and a -truly wonderful and impressive sight presented itself. Away on our -starboard bow was a vast, dark purple cloud mass shaped like an open -umbrella, or rather like a vaulted roof with central pendant. The upper -surface of the dome blended with the normal clouds. The edge of the dome -was sharply defined, and from it small fragments of cloud, all ragged, -and looking like pearl-grey silk muslin torn off and crumpled, kept -breaking away to be left behind. The dome-shaped mass, on its lower -aspect, gradually became columnar, the column extended downward until it -almost, but not quite, reached the sea. The lower part of its length was -much attenuated, and convoluted, and terminated in ragged mist, and -could be seen to be rotating rapidly. - -The surface of the sea beneath it, over an area of perhaps a mile in -diameter, presented the appearance of a fiercely boiling cauldron. The -water rose up as waves of pyramidal form, from which the wind tore off -the apices, and whipped the same into spume. The waves had no fixed -direction: they simply dashed into one another. Immediately beneath the -ragged termination of the central column the surface of the sea seemed -to be bodily lifted up, amidst a welter of mist, and froth, and spray, -into a cone-shaped form, but, between the apex of this cone, and the -rapidly rotating extremity of the column of cloud above it, there always -remained a distinct interval of considerable extent, that had the -appearance of dense mist: the appearance of a hard rain-squall, seen -from afar, as it sweeps over the sea. The cloud came down towards the -sea, and the sea rose up towards the cloud, and there was an interval -betwixt the two. The column was not quite vertical: though it maintained -perfect continuity with the cloud mass above, of which it formed a part, -nevertheless its lower extremity tended somewhat to trail or lag behind. -It moved along its path towards us, quite slowly and steadily, cutting -our wake, at an acute angle, some miles astern. It is difficult to -conjecture what would happen to a small craft, or to any craft, that -found itself well within the area of disturbance. Apart from anything -else, the seas, tumbling down on to the top of her from all quarters, -even if they did not break in her decks, could hardly fail to strip her -hatch openings. As we watched, we agreed that even _Mana_ could scarcely -be expected to live amidst such seas, and therefore, obviously, nothing -could. As it was, the surface of the sea, where we were, was little -affected, nor was there any weight in the shifts of wind as they -occurred. - -We then had breakfast and a pipe and settled down to routine work when, -at 10 a.m., a small cloud on the horizon, on our lee bow, was observed -to be behaving in a way opposed to the ordinary laws of nature. Though a -nice steady breeze was blowing and no other clouds were to be seen -anywhere else in this direction on the horizon, yet this one particular -patch, like a large sail, remained constant in form and in the same -position. As we drew nearer, it was observed to increase and diminish in -volume from time to time. The only explanation we could think of was -that we had fallen in with a ship on fire, so we bore away towards it. -As we reduced the distance betwixt us and it, we gradually made out that -it was not one cloud of white smoke, but two separate clouds, that -arose, more or less alternately, at two spots situated some two miles or -so apart. Another point too gradually developed. Each patch of cloud or -smoke suddenly burst forth to its maximum size and then gradually blew -to leeward, and dissipated. This led us to think that it must be either -gun practice or a naval action. The wind had now fallen light, so we -started our engines, and made up our canvas, and, like rats, headed for -the scrimmage. It was suggested that, following the classical example of -Mr. Midshipman Easy a ladies’ wardrobe aboard should be overhauled to -find if possible a green silk petticoat under which we might go into -action. As in Easy’s case, being unarmed, our approach was likely to be -of greater effect than our presence; but still we all decided to make a -claim for prize money. As we cut down the distance it became evident -that it could only be a matter of small craft, for no hull could be made -out. The fighting was taking place on the northern side of Morant’s -Cays, a group of low-lying coral islets that lay between us and the -combatants. - -The situation gradually developed. Morant’s Cays are coral islets -perched on the top of a volcanic area: there had been a seismic -disturbance of considerable extent: we had the large-scale Admiralty -plan of them. Great changes had taken place: the sea was now breaking in -various directions where deep water was shown on the chart. At two -points, from vents in the sea bottom, steam was being ejected into the -air in puffs, each puff forming a dense white cloud perhaps 200 or more -feet high. These puffs occurred some 1½ miles apart and one was much -larger than the other. The steam was ejected from each vent alternately. -We came in pretty close, but breaking water in various directions warned -us that we were looking for trouble, so we headed away for Port Royal, -Jamaica. - -[Illustration: Map of Windward Passage.] - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - JAMAICA TO SOUTHAMPTON - - Jamaica, and the Bahamas—Bermudas—Azores—Preparing for - Submarines—Southampton once more. - - - JAMAICA - - Jamaica was discovered by Columbus, and belonged to Spain till 1655, - when it was captured by an expedition sent out by Oliver Cromwell. - - The Island, from its proximity to the Spanish Possessions, was a - godsend to the Buccaneers. Port Royal, which, as its name shows, was - founded after the Restoration, was full of riches, often ill-gotten: - “always like a Continental mart or fair.” In 1692 it was overwhelmed - by an earthquake, and again laid low by fire in 1703. - - Kingston, originally begun as a settlement of refugees from Port Royal - after the earthquake, gradually grew in importance, and finally became - the capital of the island. - - During the wars which followed the French Revolution, Jamaica was of - importance as the great centre of British interests in the Western - Caribbean. - -We now headed for Jamaica; Kingston, its capital, lies towards the -eastern extremity of its southern coast. The town is placed on flat land -which gradually rises into dwarf hills. It is built parallel to, and -abutting on to its water-front. Right and left of the city, when viewed -from the sea, extends low country, whilst behind it, and to the east, -rises in the distance a lofty range of mountains. From the open sea, the -town and flat country is divided by a natural breakwater that maintains -the general trend of the coast. By this breakwater is formed a lagoon -that runs East and West, parallel to the coast, for a distance of some -six miles, with an average breadth of about one mile, and has -practically no arms or branches. This lagoon is the harbour of Kingston -and a fine one, but it lacks the element of picturesqueness, nor is it a -comfortable one for small craft. The strong easterly wind, known as “The -Undertaker,” that daily arises and increases in strength with the sun, -sweeps down its length and knocks up a nasty sea. It is difficult to -obtain shelter, even for a dinghy, when landing at Kingston. - -But we are anticipating. We ran down the coast, close in, and at 9.30 -a.m., Friday, April the 7th, 1916, we reached the western end of the -natural breakwater between which and the mainland is the passage into -the lagoon. Here the Port Doctor came on board, and as he went through -our bills of health we mutually discovered that we were old hospital -friends, though we had never heard of each other for twenty years. - -We entered the harbour, and brought up in 15 fms., abreast of the wharf -of the old naval dockyard of Port Royal, and distant from it about a -cable’s length. Port Royal is situated on the inner aspect of the -bulbous-headed western extremity of the natural breakwater. The land -surface is very limited in extent and is entirely taken up with the old -fort, the old dockyard, and old naval and military quarters. All but a -few poor closely packed houses is in the occupation of Government. The -width of the breakwater to the eastward soon becomes small; open beach -on seaward side, mangroves extending into the lagoon on the other; and -between the two sand and scrub. This part is the well-known Palisadoes, -the home of land-crabs and dead men, and the scene of many a duel. Port -Royal is now deserted; no shipping or living workshops; everything is -hushed, but the place is not neglected. Nelson might have left it but -yesterday; the dockyard, with its fittings, stores, and quays, reminded -one of that other quaint little marine gem, the old naval dockyard of -English Harbour in the island of Antigua. When the place hummed with -life, _The Young Sea Officer’s Sheet Anchor_, by Falconer, was the text -book to work by, and its social life is vividly and accurately given us -by Marryat in one of his novels. - -As in the dusk, all alone, we passed down the silent corridors, and -approached the old mess-room, we somehow listened for, and expected at -any moment to hear, through some opening door, the reckless toast of “A -bloody war, and a sickly season,” the chink of glasses, and the crash of -the chorus “Yellow Jack! Yellow Jack!” And Jack, thus bidden, used to -come, and link his arm in that of some fine young fellow, and together -the two would saunter away “to the home of a friend of his in the -Palisadoes.” Little time for packing up allowed! Many and many a man, in -the prime of life and feeling quite well, has dined at mess one night in -snowy uniform: the next night in a white uniform of a different cut as -the guest of Jack and Death. These two kept open house in those days. - -The R.E. Officer in charge was most kind and hospitable; he took us over -the old fort, pointing out, amongst much else, Nelson’s former quarters -and the adjoining length of parapet overlooking the harbour entrance, -now known as Nelson’s Walk. Our host informed us that, fishing from the -wharves, he got splendid sport. - -From Port Royal to Kingston is about four miles by the boat channel. -Passes through the coral banks have been blasted where requisite and the -channel beaconed. A least depth of 4½ ft. is thus obtained, and a direct -course. Our little motor lifeboat carried us backwards and forwards most -excellently on various voyages made to attend to our business at -Kingston. The way in which she bucked at speed over the short steep seas -reminded one of larking over hurdles on a pony. - -The work in hand was to get our clearance inwards, to get rid of our -food-destroyer from Panama, and to find in his place a live ship’s cook, -to report particulars of the Morant’s Cays upheaval, and finally the -usual catering, and bill of health, and clearance outwards. The Chief of -the Customs was good enough to interest himself in _Mana’s_ welfare, so -that all these matters were dealt with in due sequence, and with the -least possible trouble to us. A coloured cook was procured from an hotel -at £16 a month, with, as it proved, but little justification on the -ground of ability for drawing such a rate of pay; still, his -professional enormities were associated with so many humorous incidents, -and as he appeared at least to mean well, we resigned ourselves to the -inevitable, and prayed that we might survive his ministrations. - -About noon on Sunday, April 9, 1916, we weighed and motored out from -Port Royal, unplagued by pilots, and dipping our ensign to the Port -Doctor and his wife, in acknowledgment of adieux waved from their -garden. Clear of everything, the engines were stopped and _Mana_, bound -to “the stormy Bermuthies,” proceeded to argue the point with a head -wind as to whether she should, or should not, go to windward. By steady -hammering she gradually got under the western end of the Island of San -Domingo, and then through the celebrated Windward Passage. We had now to -threadle our way betwixt the numerous islets that constitute the Bahama -group, and it was quite delightful and interesting; brilliant sunshine, -cool moderate breezes, land every few hours, but reliable charts. This -was yachting; we had met a good deal of what bore little semblance to -it, so we appreciated our present luck all the more. - -The morning of the 19th of April 1916 saw us beating up under the lee of -Acklin Island and of Crooked Island; a fresh N.E. breeze swept in puffs -across the long, narrow, flat land. An open native boat, with jib-headed -mainsail as usual, was seen heading across our course when we were close -in, so we gave her a wave, and, as we came into the wind, she rounded-to -under our stern, dousing her sail, unshipping her mast and shooting up -alongside our quarter. We dropped into her; a couple of empty sacks were -pitched in, and she was clear of the ship before she had lost her way. -The mast is stepped, the sail hoisted, and she is off again with her -gunnel steadily kept awash. We now for the first time spoke. The two -coloured men, her crew, were most obliging; they would make for the most -convenient landing and then they would accompany us catering. - -Everything went off excellently; we made a tour to different cottages -and gardens, collecting whatever was available, particularly -grape-fruit, oranges, and tamarinds. We also got exceptionally fine -specimens of the shell of the King conch and of the Queen conch. -Hundreds of the King conch were piled up at one spot on the shore ready -to be burnt into lime. - -The natives appeared to be pure-blooded negroes of west-coast type, and -in some respects their culture remains unchanged. For instance, the -pestle and mortar and winnowing tray for treating maize were exactly -similar in pattern to those we had seen used by the Akikuyu of Eastern -Central Africa. - -When catering, the price of each article is settled by negotiation, and -it is definitely bought, as it is met with from time to time in our -perambulation, on condition that it shall be paid for as it is passed -into the boat on departure—cash on delivery. Much other stuff, though -unbought, is also brought down to the boat in the hope of sale at the -last moment. This too is generally taken as well, because going cheaply, -and also to avoid causing disappointment. - -Everybody having been paid, and the already laden boat now pretty well -cluttered-up with an unexpected additional cargo of chickens, eggs, -fruit, shells, and sundry ethnological acquisitions, up goes the -shoulder-of-mutton, the helmsman ships his twiddling-stick, and, in a -few moments, the water is purring beneath our lee gunnel as the little -craft slithers through the closely set wavelets of land-sheltered water. -Long, narrow, and ballasted, these boats are very fast and are given the -last ounce of wind pressure they can stand up to. It seemed to us, -however, that her crew wished to show what they could do with her as, -halliard and sheet in hand, they lifted the lee gunnel from moment to -moment, just sufficiently to prevent her filling, but they did so with -an easy nonchalance that told that they were finished boat sailors. - -A very few minutes saw us “once more aboard the lugger.” We had -left _Mana_ at noon, and eight bells were striking as the -staysail-sheet-tackle scraped to leu’ard along the hairless belly -of its horse; we had explored an island, seen a good deal of its -people and their culture, and had revictualled ship, all within -four hours, yet without hurry! - -Towards sundown we passed out into the Atlantic, through the Crooked -Island Passage; at 8.45 p.m. the Light that marks the Passage dipped -over our taffrail, and we turned in with that peace of mind which is the -portion of those whose ship is clear of all land. - -This day, April the 19th, Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse, Bermuda, bore N. 42° -E., distant 767 miles; it took us eleven days to do it. - -_April the 20th._—The sargasso weed formed floating islands sometimes -many acres in extent; when one considers the marine fauna that centres -round a piece of floating wreckage in tropical seas, some idea can be -formed of the wealth of life associated with this vast sudd. Our patent -log could no longer be towed. - -[Illustration: BERMUDA ISLANDS] - - - BERMUDAS - - The Bermudas are a group of a hundred islands, most of which are, - however, bare rocks. They were discovered in the beginning of the 16th - century by Juan Bermudez, a Spaniard. - - In 1609 attention was drawn to them by Sir George Somers, who was - shipwrecked there on his way to Virginia, and found them “the most - plentiful place that ever I came to for fish, hogs and fowl.” Fifty - emigrants were sent out in 1612. Moore, a ship’s carpenter, was the - first governor. He established his headquarters at St. George’s. Later - a more central position was needed, and the town of Hamilton was laid - out, and became the capital in 1815. The American War brought the - islands into notice from a naval point of view, and in 1810 a dockyard - was begun on Ireland Island, thousands of convicts being sent out from - England for its construction. - - The Colony possesses representative institutions, but not responsible - government. - -We made Bermuda for the sake of gaining our northing. We had new canvas -awaiting us there, that we ought to have received at Tahiti, and we had -to decide, on cable advices, whether we would lay up _Mana_ here in -Bermuda, in the United States of North America, or bring her back to -England. - -The Sailing Directions offered us two harbours, St. George’s and -Hamilton. They do not point out that all shipping business, practically -all business, is done at Hamilton. We selected St. George’s. The harbour -master came aboard with the pilot, and proved an interesting man, kindly -and obliging—an old soldier, a keen conchologist, and a bit of a -geologist. The harbour itself is excellent and charming; it extends away -_ad infinitum_ amongst the islets and coral patches, but there is little -indication of its being made much use of by mercantile shipping. - -St. George’s Island is linked to its big neighbour by causeways and -bridges, which are carried across the shallow coral sea. Its quaint, -clean, sleepy little townlet, or village, exists by letting lodgings to -American visitors, and growing early vegetables for exportation to the -States. - -The American Tourist is the winter migrant whose nature and -idiosyncrasies are by the islanders most deeply studied. He, to the -Bermudian, is Heaven’s choicest gift—his coconut—the all-sufficing. -Nine-tenths of the brain power of the islanders is devoted to inducing -the creature to visit the islands and to keeping it contented whilst it -is there, the other tenth to supplying it with early vegetables in its -continental habitat. Of course Bermuda is an important naval station, -and a certain amount of business is done in purveying to the naval and -military establishments, but that is a thing apart. The Dockyard is -situated on islands well removed from both St. George’s and Hamilton. In -this we may see the finger of Providence; placed elsewhere it would have -incommoded the American Tourist. - -This cult of the foreigner is the explanation of many things which at -first sight appear strange in Bermuda. It is about eleven miles by road -from St. George’s to Hamilton, and there is no means of public -conveyance beyond a covered pair-horse wagonette, that acts as a -carrier’s cart for goods and passengers. We marvelled exceedingly why -this should be, whereupon it was thus explained to us by our butcher, -who was also the proprietor of the shandy-ran express aforesaid, and of -a hired-carriage business, and by his son and partner, the M.P. for the -St. George’s Harbour Division. The Americans find the climate of Bermuda -delightful as a winter resort. At Hamilton monster hotels are built for -them, but there is nothing whatever for them to do. The islands do not -possess any features of natural or historical interest that appeal to -tourists. Now the islanders had observed that the dominant note in the -American character was its restlessness; unless an American could -violently rush around and spend money he was wretched and pined. But the -island had excellent roads and lovely views, so they provided carriages, -and objectives to drive to associated with romance and story, the -evolution of which, from a basis of nothing, is a standing testimony to -their intellectual creative powers, and of the truth of the axiom that a -demand creates a supply. - -But the island, for we may ignore the numerous islets, is very small. -With care and good management, and by severely rationing him in the -extent of his daily shay excursions, it was found that the American -could be kept alive, and healthy, and cheerful for 14 days: from one -steamer to the next: all this time he exuded dollars. “All is well,” as -the ant said to the aphis. Then suddenly the heavens fell. A lewd spirit -had prompted our friend the butcher of St. George’s to import two -motor-buses and with them run an hourly service between Port St. George -and Hamilton, to the great convenience of the public, and to his own -exceeding profit. As if this were not enough, he and others were known -to have even placed orders in the States for motor-cars! Bitter was the -cry of the carriage purveyors of Hamilton, of the hotels, of the -furnished apartments. The American visitor would “do the darned island,” -every inch of its roads, twice over, in a single day, and get away by -the same boat he had arrived by—(the boats stay two days loading -vegetables). - -But where shall salvation be found if not in “government of the people, -by the people, for the people”? Many members of both Houses indirectly, -and in some cases directly, were interested in the hired carriage, or -apartment, or hotel lines. Trained in such schools for statesmen, the -Legislature was able to visualise the national danger, and deal with it -broadly, regardless of the vested interests of the day. Without delay -both Houses met, an Act was passed, and the Royal Assent given through -the Governor, whereby the butcher was given the cost price of his two -buses, and a solatium; the buses were immediately to be sent back to the -States, and, for the future, no form of automobile was to be landed, -owned, or used on the island. Heavy penalties for infraction. So there -is still one spot on earth, anyhow, where one can escape the scourge of -the motor-horn. - -For a few days we stayed at St. George’s, getting a little smith’s work -done and watering ship. There is no surface water on the island; the -rain water is collected and stored in great underground cisterns hewn in -the solid coral rock of which the island is formed. The water-supply -thus conserved has never been known to fail. In _Mana’s_ case the -Military Authorities kindly sent their large tank-boat alongside. At odd -times we explored in the launch some of the labyrinth of waterways and -islets forming part of St. George’s Harbour, or connected with it. When -doing so one afternoon, we made the acquaintance, at nightfall, of a -coloured fisherman, by offering him the courtesy of a pluck home. This -man (Bartram of St. George’s) proved an extraordinarily good fellow. He -said he never worked on Sundays, therefore he was free to offer to take -us on that day, as his guest, to try for monsters in a certain wonderful -hole, far out on the edge of the reef, a spot we could reach with the -aid of our launch. He was most keen about it, so we accepted. The -monster-capturing was a failure, but he and his two sons worked hard all -day, and seemed much concerned that they had failed to show sport, nor -would they consider any suggestion of payment for their long day’s work, -on our return to the ship. They accepted, however, a clasp-knife each, -as a souvenir of our excursion. - -Bartram had told us that he had at home a wonderfully fine and rare -“marine specimen.” (The collection of “marine specimens” is one of the -refuges of despair of the American Tourist, and their supply has -gradually become a minor industry of Bermuda.) He had found it some -years ago. Many millionaires from the hotels or on yachts had offered -him big prices for it, but the very fact that they were so keen to get -it had made him all the more determined to keep it. Some day he had -intended to sell it. Now would we accept it as a gift? On inspection it -proved to be no coral, but a very fine example of a colony of sociable -sea snails (Vermetus). We therefore suggested to Bartram that we should -take it to England on _Mana_ and offer it in his name as a gift to the -British Museum (Natural History). This we did, and Dr. Harmer, the -Keeper of the Zoological Department, was much pleased with it, and wrote -to Bartram accordingly. - -The interest of this little story lies in the fact of its being a -typical example of the way in which one often finds, in our remote -dependencies, the people exhibiting unexpected keenness and pride in -associating themselves with England, and her interests, on an -opportunity of doing so being pointed out to them. We had found it so at -Pitcairn Island. - -A more delightful place than Bermuda at which to spend a winter would be -hard to find by those who care for pleasure sailing in smooth waters, -fishing, sunshine, and the customary amenities of civilised life. -Unhappily we could not spare the time to avail ourselves of the -possibilities of St. George’s. We had constantly to be at Hamilton on -ship’s business, so after several journeys to and fro in the dreadful -covered wagonette, wherein physical discomfort almost rendered us -indifferent to a kaleidoscopic succession of humorous persons, -situations, and incidents, we got a pilot and went round under power -into Hamilton Harbour. Pilotage is compulsory, but free. Once at -Hamilton things went much more easily. The Colonial Authorities and the -Admiral in Command and his Staff were most kind and hospitable. -Admiralty House is a charming eighteenth-century English country -residence, of moderate size, and romantically situated. In its garden, -peeps of the sea are seen, through graceful subtropical foliage, at -every turn, and miniature land-locked coves, reached from above by -winding steps down the face of the falaise, afford the most perfect of -boat harbours and bathing-pools. - -Another delightful official residence is allotted to the officer in -command of the Dockyard. In his case he is given a miniature -archipelago. His tiny islands rise from 20 to 100 feet above the water. -On one is his house; another is his garden; chickens and pigs occupy a -third, whilst his milch goats live on various small skerries. As the -extent of water between the different islets is proportional to their -size, and is deep, the whole makes a very charming and compact picture. -Yet he is only ten minutes by bicycle from his office in the Dockyard, -although, from his little kingdom, no sign of the Dockyard is to be -seen, it being shut off by a wooded promontory. - -The Admiral was good enough to offer us every facility for laying up -_Mana_ in the Dockyard, but on various grounds we eventually decided to -take war-time risks and bring her back to England, so receiving from him -a signal-rocket outfit, and some kindly advice on the unwisdom of trying -to run-down periscopes that showed no wake behind them, the vessel being -now refreshed, at 0.55 p.m. on Friday, May the 12th, 1916, we weighed, -and proceeded under power from Hamilton to the Examination Anchorage, -with pilot aboard. Arriving there at 4.15 p.m. the Examining Officer -came alongside and handed us the now usual special Admiralty clearance -card, together with a courteous radiogram wishing us luck, from the -Officer in Command of the Dockyard. The new trysail was hoisted, the -engines stopped, and we commenced our voyage to Ponta Delgada in the -Island of St. Miguel, one of the Azores, distant miles 1,869. - - - BERMUDA TO AZORES - -This run was of “yachting” character. Gentle breezes, smooth seas, an -occasional sail on the horizon. On the eighth day out, at the beginning -of the first watch, the lights of St. Elmo were seen burning on both -fore and main trucks. It is rather remarkable that this was the first, -and only occasion, on which this phenomenon occurred throughout the -entire voyage. Occasionally we got a turtle. Ten o’clock in the morning -of the 30th of May showed us the Peak of Pico Island, 65 miles away, and -at 10 p.m. next day, Thurs., May the 31st, we hove to off Ponta Delgada -in the island of St. Miguel to await daylight. The 1,869 miles had taken -us 18 days. - -Having been the victims of the organised dishonesty of the pilots of San -Francisco in California, we had long before decided to run no risks of -having the vessel again detained for ransom by foreign officials. _Mana_ -therefore next day, June the 1st, simply stood in and dropped a boat -outside the breakwater, and again stood off, whilst we pulled in. Being -Good Friday, it was, of course, a _fiesta_, all shops shut, and -everybody away in the country. Our consul, too, was away for the day, -but his wife kindly gave us our letters. We had been instructed to -obtain from him the necessary information regarding war conditions, and -the regulations governing shipping bound for British ports. At Bermuda -nothing was known. - -When pulling up the harbour, we had noticed one British vessel—an armed -Government transport, evidently formerly a small German -passenger-carrying tramp—so having bought some pineapples, vegetables -and cigarettes, nothing else being procurable, we got into our boat and -paid her a visit. Her commander was ashore for the day with the Consul -fiestaing, but his Chief Officer was good enough to put us _au courant_ -with things, so we bade adieu to Ponta Delgada without any wish to see -more of it, and pulled out to sea. The ship was far away to leeward, set -down by wind and current. Not expecting us to get through our work so -quickly, she had not troubled to keep her station, but went off to -argufy by flag with a Lloyd’s Signal-Station which would not admit that -she was in its book. - -After she had picked us up one of the men left aboard asked whether any -of the craft in the harbour were “a-hanging Judas.” Though there were -several small square-rigged vessels alongside the Mole, none had, -however, cock-billed their yards.[93] It was interesting thus to find -that the memory and meaning of the old sea custom still survived. Old -superstitions and fancies still exist: an ancient shellback who was with -us down to the s’uth’ard reprobated the capture of an albatross—“They is -the spurrits of drownded seamen.” Someone objected on doctrinal grounds, -but was met with the crushing rejoinder: “I said _spurrits_: their -_souls_ ar’ in ’ell.” - - - AZORES TO SOUTHAMPTON - -And now we come to the last lap. On June the 1st, by 1 p.m. we were -again aboard _Mana_, the boat hoisted in, and she bore away to round -Ferraira Point which forms the extremity of St. Michael’s Island. From -Ferraira’s Point to the haven where we would be was 1101.5 miles, and -the direction N.49¼° E. true, or, shall we say, North East. - -After making the customary routine entries in the Log Book associated -with taking departure—the latitude, the longitude, the reading of the -patent log, the canvas set, etc.—our Sailing-master makes the following -entry, “And now we are fairly on our way to Dear Old Britain. All the -talk now is of the submarine risks. I put our chances of getting through -unmolested at 85 per cent. But is the _Mana_ doomed? Time will tell, but -I don’t think.” - -Nevertheless every preparation was now made, in case we had to leave the -ship in a hurry, at the orders of some German submarine. The engine was -taken out of the lifeboat to save weight. Every detail both for her and -the cutter was suitably packed or made up, and placed in the deck-house, -ready to be passed into her at the last moment before she was lowered. -We could only afford room for the photographic negatives and papers of -the Expedition. If the ship be sunk, the whole of the priceless, because -irreplaceable, archæological and ethnological collections must go with -her. - -The men, however, proceeded to pack, in their great seamen’s bags, all -the clutter and old rubbish they had accumulated during a voyage of over -three years. Its bulk and weight would have rendered the boats -unmanageable. Moreover, each man, when the time came, would be attending -to shipping his property instead of giving all thought to getting his -boat with her essential equipment safely away from the vessel. But we -had taken them this long voyage without accident, and we were not going -to let them make fools of themselves at the finish. Moreover, _Mana_ -carried a pretty mixed crowd: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and West -Indian negroes, a Russian Finn, and descendants of the mutineers of the -_Bounty_. At a pinch, amongst such a lot, long knives are apt to appear -from nowhere, and self-control and discipline be at an end, with -lamentable result. We therefore drew up a set of orders in triplicate; -one copy for the fo’c’s’le, one for aft, and one for entry in the -official log, in which was clearly set out a routine that was to be -followed to the letter in the event of our having to take to the boats. -The details need not here be given, suffice to say that they stated that -explicit orders for the common good were now set out in writing, and -that THESE ORDERS WOULD NOT, WHEN THE OCCASION AROSE, BE REPEATED -VERBALLY; that there was ample boat accommodation for all, if the -lifeboat were got away safely from the ship before the cutter, but not -otherwise, because all hands were needed to swing out the larger boat. -Therefore, when the ship’s bell rang, the Sailing-master would take up -his position by the lifeboat in the waist, to superintend her launching -and stowage, and to give orders, and eventually to take command of her, -and the Master would pick up his loaded repeating rifle and spare -cartridges in clips and go to the taffrail. (It was obvious from that -position he could see and hear everything, and yet could not be -approached or rushed by any, or many.) - -Any man failing immediately to appear on deck when the bell rang would -be shot dead without any warning when he did appear. Any man -endeavouring to place his private gear in a boat would be shot dead in -the act, without any warning. The like if he attempted to enter other -than his own boat, or his own boat out of his turn. The like on a long -knife, or other weapon, being seen in his hand or possession. The like -on his failing to obey the verbal orders as issued. - -By the routine laid down the lifeboat would get away safely with her -crew and equipment. The cutter’s own crew were strong enough to load and -lower their own boat, after having assisted the heavy lifeboat, provided -they obeyed the orders of the Mate who had charge of her. He was a good -seaman, but it was essential that he should have the moral support that -comes from a loaded rifle. Once boats all clear and safe, the lifeboat -would pull in to the ship, as close as she thought wise, whereupon the -“Old Man,” in a nice cork jacket, would drop off his taffrail into the -water, and she would pick him up. - -These orders and the penalties, extreme as they were, met with general -approval as far as we could gather indirectly. Two days after their -being posted, when Thomas, the coloured cook, came for orders, we -thought we would put him through his catechism. “Have you learnt up the -orders in the fo’c’s’le that concern you, Thomas?” “Yes, sar!” “When the -bell rings, what will _you_ do?” “Jump deck quick, damn quick, sar!” -“Good! And then?” “I go starn big boat.” “And when she is in the water -you’ll jump into her?” “No, sar! You shoot Thomas. Cutter’s my boat.” -Thomas had got up his orders thoroughly and intelligently, and departed -quite pleased with his viva voce exam., and the bundle of cigarettes his -reward. - -Some of the men, finding that their kit-bags must be left behind, hit -out the following ingenious plan for saving their clothes. They first -put on their Sunday best suit, over that their weekday go-ashore rig, -then their working clothes. To the foregoing must be added a knitted -guernsey or two, and any superior underclothing. The result was most -grotesque; they could hardly waddle, or get through the fo’c’s’le hatch. -Had the fine weather continued, their sufferings would have been severe. -A gale, however, in which no submarine could show her nose, came to -their rescue. - -At the time we are writing of—June 1916—the submarines were not -operating far out into the Atlantic. Our idea was to keep _Mana_ well -away until we got on to about the same parallel of latitude as the -Scilly Isles, and then wait thereabouts until it blew hard from the S.W. -Blow it did, sure enough, with high confused seas: dangerous. Gradually -they became bigger, but less wicked. We rode it out dry and comfortably -as usual, with oil bags to wind’ard. Unhappily it was an Easterly gale, -instead of the Westerly we had hoped for. It moderated. The wind drew to -the Nor’ard. We let her go, and sped up the Channel at a great pace, and -arrived in St. Helen’s Roads, Isle of Wight, at noon on June the 23rd. -Twenty-two days from St. Miguel. We had entered and passed up the -English Channel, unchallenged by friend or foe. - -In St. Helen’s Roads we took aboard the now obligatory Government pilot, -who brought us through the different defences to the Hamble Spit Buoy, -from which we had started three years and four months earlier. - -We had traversed, almost entirely under canvas, without accident of -consequence to ship or man, a distance of over One Hundred Thousand -miles. - -Such is the mana of MANA. - - [The Royal Cruising Club Challenge Cup, last held by _Sunbeam_ (Lord - Brassey), was, in 1917, awarded to _Mana_ on her return, by special - resolution of the Annual General Meeting of the Club, “for a - remarkable cruise in the Pacific.”] - -[Illustration] - - - - - EPILOGUE - - -_MANA_ was once more back in England, and her crew went each on his way. -The Brixham and Lowestoft men returned to their homes, having at least -enlarged their knowledge of the world. Rosa, the Chilean engineer, and -the Jamaican cook disappeared to get engagements back to their -respective lands; Rosa, we trust, to realise his dreams of a shop and a -wife at St. Vincent. Mr. Gillam applied for service in the Royal Navy, -and subsequently became a sub-lieutenant in the R.N.R. - -The two Pitcairners were the last left on board; they had proved -themselves very intelligent, as well as good workers. Charles could, it -is believed, have passed an examination on every port he had visited, -and how long he had stayed in each. We endeavoured to make some amends -for our lack of Mendelian research on their island, by sending them up -to the Royal College of Surgeons, where they were thoroughly measured -and examined by Professor Keith.[94] - -A still more signal honour awaited them; they were commanded to -Buckingham Palace as representatives of England’s smallest colony. Mr. -Gillam took charge of them in London. He was not intimately acquainted -with the great city, and used the map as he would a chart, disdaining -the main thoroughfares, unless they lay on the direct route, and -steering a straight course by weird and mysterious alleys. Any way, his -charges were produced in good time at the Palace. - -During the arrangements for the interview, S. had stated that the men -spoke “the pure Elizabethan English of the Bible and Prayer Book”; their -vocabulary, however, had been enlarged on _Mana_, and I was not without -trepidation lest such expressions might crop out as “I don’t mind if I -do”; which is considered at Brixham the most courteous form of polite -acceptance. All, however, went well. Charles, who acted as spokesman, -after a first embarrassment answered readily the questions asked by the -King. The Queen graciously accepted some specimens of Pitcairn -handiwork, and the men were much impressed with the kindness and -condescension of their Majesties. - -Incidentally, during the interview with which we were previously -honoured, they made great friends with the royal footman who was on duty -outside. He was of course a very imposing person in scarlet and gold, -and they shook hands affectionately with him on leaving. Cuttings from -the newspapers of official and other paragraphs, announcing the -reception of the two inhabitants of Pitcairn by King George and Queen -Mary, were taken back by them to be inserted in the State records of the -island. Posts were obtained for both men on a New Zealand liner, and we -have since heard that they have safely returned to their home, having -made the voyage from Tahiti on a little schooner which the plucky -Pitcairners have built since we were there. It is to be hoped that this -boat may continue a success and solve many of the problems of the -island. - -This narrative cannot close without that note of pride and sadness -which, alas, characterises so many records at this time in the history -of the world. Since the first chapter was written two more of our -company have laid down their lives. The words of appreciation which it -was hoped would have given pleasure can only be wreaths to their memory. -Charles Jeffery, of Lowestoft, who joined at Whitstable and was with us -to the last, who grew from boyhood to manhood on _Mana_, has met with a -hero’s death on a minesweeper. - -Henry James Gillam rests in a Sicilian grave. Volunteers were called -for, for specially dangerous work in capturing submarines; Gillam -responded—it is impossible to picture his doing otherwise—and he fell in -action in April 1918. The loss to his country is great; to us it is very -real and personal. The whole voyage of the _Mana_ is a tribute to his -skill. His high intelligence and character secured him universal -confidence, while his unvarying good temper—in bad times as well as in -good—made him a delightful companion. One can only think of him in that -other life as still keen for some new work or enterprise, and carrying -it out with perfect loyalty and success. - -Thus from land and sea, in defence of a Great Cause, have our comrades -of the Expedition made their last voyage “westward.” - - I know not where His islands lift - Their fronded palms in air; - I only know I cannot drift - Beyond His love and care. - WHITTIER. - - * * * * * - -And now the story is told. The Expedition has, we hope, brought some new -pieces to fit into the puzzle which it went out to study, but the help -is needed of every reader who has more to bring, from whatever part of -the world; so alone can be finally solved the Mystery of Easter Island. - - - - - ITINERARY OF THE EXPEDITION - - - OUTWARD VOYAGE - - Left Southampton Feb. 28 1913 - Dartmouth March 1–5 „ - Falmouth March 6–25 „ - Madeira April 13–16 „ - Grand Canary April 18—May 10 „ - Cape Verde Islands May 17–29 „ - Pernambuco June 15–21 „ - Bahia de Todos os Santos June 25–26 „ - Cabral Bay July 2–4 „ - Cape Frio July 10–12 „ - Rio de Janeiro July 14–23 „ - Porto Bello Bay July 27—Aug. 2 „ - Buenos Aires Aug. 17—Sept. „ - 19 - Port Desire Oct. 3–6 „ - Entered Magellan Straits Oct. 16 „ - Punta Arenas Oct. 20—Nov. 29 „ - Entered Patagonian Channels Dec. 11 „ - Left Patagonian Channels Jan. 6 1914 - Talcahuano Jan. 14—Feb. 13 „ - Juan Fernandez Feb. 16—Feb. 19 „ - Valparaiso Feb. 22—Feb. 28 „ - Juan Fernandez March 4—March 9 „ - - - EASTER ISLAND - - Arrival at the Island March 29 1914 - _Mana_ leaves May 23 „ - Native rising begins July 1 „ - Arrival of Chilean warship Aug. 4 „ - _Mana_ returns Aug. 23 „ - _Mana_ leaves (second time) Sept. 4 „ - Visit from Von Spee’s squadron Oct. 12–18 „ - S. R. goes to Chile Dec. 5 „ - Visit of _Prinz Eitel Friedrich_ Dec. 23–31 „ - Return of _Mana_ with S. R. March 15 1915 - _Mana_ leaves (third time) March 17 „ - _Mana_ returns May 28 „ - Expedition leaves the Island Aug. 18 „ - - - HOMEWARD VOYAGE - - Pitcairn Island Aug. 27—Sept. 1 1915 - Tahiti Sept. 16—Oct 8 „ - Honolulu Nov. 11—Dec. 1 „ - _Mana_ leaves Honolulu Nov. 28, arr. San Francisco Dec. 25 „ - Hawaii Dec. 2–6 „ - San Francisco arr. Dec. 14, - 1915—Jan. 20, 1916 - [K.R. leaves Jan. 16—reaches England Feb. 6, 1916] - San Francisco left Jan. 20 „ - Socorro Feb. 5–6 „ - Quibo March 7–9 „ - Panama March 13–16 „ - Through the Canal March 17–18 „ - Cristobal March 18–26 „ - Jamaica April 7–9 „ - Bermuda May 2–12 „ - Azores May 31—June 1 „ - Southampton June 25 „ - -[Illustration: THE MANA EXPEDITION TO EASTER ISLAND] - - - - - INDEX - - - _Note._—Entries other than proper names refer to Easter Island, unless - otherwise stated. References to illustrations are given in text. - - Acklin Island, Bahamas, 376–7 - - Aconcagua Mount, 105 - - Ahu: - — for bird-men, 191, 264 - — canoe-shaped, 230–1 - — definition, 166 - — destruction, 172–3, 299–300 - — exposure and interment of dead, 170–1, 229 and note (fig.) - — forms, different, list of, 231 note - — image ahu, description, 167–71 - — converted to semi-pyramid type, 172, 229 - _see also_ Statues - — number, 166–8, 231 note - — pavement ahu, 231 - — poe-poe: _see_ canoe-shaped and wedge-shaped. - — position, 166 - — semi-pyramid type, 172 - — unclassified, 231 footnote - — for warriors (Mata-toa), 231 - — wedge-shaped, 231 - — for individual ahu _see_ placenames. - - Akahanga, 194 - - Akikuyu, 166, 201, footnote, 327, 376 - - Aku-aku: _see_ Religion—supernatural beings - - Ana: _see_ Cave - - Anakena, Easter Island: - — bird-man, resort of, from western clans, 263 - — in legend, 278–81, 284, 295 - — Ngaara headquarters of, 241–2 - — statue at, 187–8, 269–75 - — tablets inspected at, 245–6 - - Angata, native prophetess: - — dreams, 142–3 - — funeral of, 149, 275 - — visit to, 144–5 - - Angosto Harbour, Magellan Straits, 80 - - _Annie Larsen_, ship, 348–9 - - Anson: - — at Juan Fernandez, 111 - — at St. Catharina Island, 49 - — wreck of the _Wager_, 97 - - Ao, clans celebrating bird rites: _see under_ Bird Cult - - Ao, dancing-padde, 259, 261, 268 - - Apépé, ahu, 257 footnote - - Ara Mahiva (road), 198 - - Araucanians, resistance to Spaniards, 99 - - Argentina: - — British, commercial and legal status, 63–4 - — history, 52 - — inhabitants, 59 - — social conditions, 61–3 - — women, 61–2 - - Arii Taimai: _see_ Pomare family - - Ariki, chiefs, 241–3, 298: _see also_ Ngaara and Kaimokoi - - Astronomy, study of, 235 - - Atalaya, Grand Canary, 23 - - Atua: _see_ Religion—supernatural beings - - Azores, 383–4 - - - Bahia, 38–9 - - Bailey, cook on _Mana_, 75, 155, 321 - - Balboa, Panama, 361–2 - - Balfour, H., 296 - - Banks, Sir Joseph, account of marae, 320 - - _Baquedano_, ship: _see Jeneral Baquedano_ - - Bartram, fisherman of Bermuda, 381 - - Beards of statues, 269, 275 - - Beechey, of H.M.S. _Blossom_, account of Easter Island, 204–5, 210, 220 - - Benson, Captain, of _El Dorado_, boat voyage, 127 - - Berkeley, San Francisco: _see_ California University - - Bermuda, history and description, 378–83 - - Bird cult: - — Ao clans celebrating bird rites, 258–60, 264–6 - — bird designs, 259, 269 - — bird, sacred (manu-tara): - — arrival of, 261–2 - — nestlings (_Piu_), 264–5 - — species, Easter and Solomon Islands, 296 - — bird-men (tangata-manu): - — carvings of, 262–3 - — possession of sacred egg, 260–2, 263–4 - — taboo, period of, 263–4 - — dates connected with, 265 - — decadence of, 265–6 - — deities connected with, 260 - — egg, sacred, search and disposal, 258, 261–4 - — hopu, 260–2, 264–6 - — initiation of children (manumo-te-poki), 267–9, 291 - — in Solomon Islands, 296–8 - - “Biscuit-Tin,” 30 - - Bishop Museum: _see_ Honolulu - - Bornier, Captain Dutrou: - — exploitation of Easter Island, 124, 207–8 - — murder, 125–6, 208 - - _Bounty_, ship, mutiny, 305 - - Brander, firm of, 208, 209, 216 - - Brazil: - — history and descriptions, 34–49 - — name explained, 40 - - British Museum: - — letter _re_ Easter Is., 204 footnote - — statue, larger: _see_ Orongo statue - — smaller, 197, 208 - — wooden carvings at, 268 - - British Museum of Natural History, gift to, 381 - - Buenos Aires: - — description, 58 - — docks, 53–4 - — an _estancia_, 55–6 - — meat trade, 56–8 - — prices, rents, and wages, 60 - - Burial: _see_ Dead, disposal of - - Burial-places: _see_ Ahu, Caves, etc. - - - Cabral, discovery of Brazil, 34, 40 - - Cabral Bay, 40–1 - - Cairns: - — legends _re_, 232, 278 - — memorial, 232 - - Caldero: _see_ Atalaya - - California: - — history and descriptions, 328–32 - — university, 330 - - Calvo, Señor, 61 - - Canary Isles: _see_ Grand Canary - - Cannibalism, 173, 225–6, 259, 280, 283, 285 - - Canoes, 278, 283, 296 - - Canoe-shaped ahu: _see under_ Ahu - - Cape Verde Islands, history and descriptions, 27–31 - - Caribbean sea, 368 - - Caroline Islands, 302 - - Carvings: - — in stone: on Motu Nui, 261, 275 - at Orongo, 262–3 - _see_ Statues, design on, and carvings incised on - in wood: - — human figures, 268–70 - — objects, 268 - _see also under_ Ao; Lizards, wooden; Rei-miro - - Caves: - — Ana Havea, 215, 285 - — Ana Kai-Tangata, 259 - — Ana Te Ava-nui, 284–7 - — as burial-places, 225–6, 231–2, 274–5 - — as dwellings, 215, 272–3 - — geological formation, 272 - — as hiding-places, 272, 281 - — inaccessible, 273 - — as store houses, 247, 273 - - _Challenger_, ship: - — at Hale Cove, 96 - — at Port Churruca, 84 footnote - - Charrua Bay, Patagonia, 86–7 - - Chatham Islands, 296, 302 - - Chicken-houses, 218 - - Chickens: _see_ Fowls - - Chile: - — British in, 102 - — finance, 102 - — fruit, 104 - — history and descriptions, 99–107 - — Trans-Andine Railway: _see_ that title - - Christmas: - — 1913, in Patagonian Channels, 94 - — 1914, _Prinz Eitel Friedrich_ at Easter Island, 157–8 - — 1915, at San Francisco, 330 - - Clans: - — bird cult celebration, 258 - — leadership, 224 - — names and localities, 221–3 - — wars between, 223–4, 282–9 - _see under_ respective names - - Cockburn Channel, Patagonia, 78 - - Cochrane, Admiral, 99 - - Coiba Island: _see_ Quibo Island - - Colon, Panama: _see_ Cristobal-Colon - - Columbus, at Porto Santo, 16 - - Connor Cove, Patagonia, 92–3 - - Cook, Captain: - — early account of Easter Island, 202–4 - — at Hawaiian Island, 322 - — at Tahiti, 316, 320, 326 - - Cook’s Bay: - — arrival of Expedition in, 124 - — Germans at, 152, 156–9 - — H.M.S. _Topaze_ at, 257 - - _Cornhill Magazine_, reference to expedition, 152 - - Cristobal-Colon, Panama, 364–7 - - Crooked Island, Bahamas, 376 - - Crowns: - — of bird-men, 263 - — of natives, 218 - — of Paina, 233 - — of statues, 166, 197, 199, 218, 301 - - Cruising Club Cove, Socorro Island, 343 - _see also_ Royal Cruising Club - - Cuatro Puertas, Montana de las, _see_ Telde - - - Davis Island or David’s Island, S. Pacific, 200 - - Dead, disposal of: - — on ahu (exposure and interment), 170–1, 229–30 - — articles placed with, 170, 264, 275–6 - — burials in caves, 225–6, 231–2 - — in crevasses, 231 - — recent, near statues, 190–1 - — funerals, popularity of, 228–9 - - Desolation Island, Patagonia, 82–4 - - Devil-fish, 352–3 - - Doldrums, 322 - - Drake, Sir Francis: - — exploration of coast of Patagonia, 65 - — at St. Julian, 68 - — vessels of, compared with _Mana_, 18 footnote - - _Dresden_, German cruiser: - — at Easter Island, 152 - — destruction at Juan Fernandez, 113, 163 - — in Magellan Straits, 78 - - Dress, ancient, 218–9 - — modern, 151 - - - Early voyagers: _see_ History and Religion - - Ears: - — distention of: - — Akikuyu custom of, 166, 201 - — on Easter Island: - — early accounts, 201–2, 204 - — practice abandoned, 220–1, 300 - — recent examples, 220, 227 - — Melanesians’ custom of, 296 - — Long-eared and Short-eared peoples, legend and theories _re_, - 280–2, 294, 300 footnote - — of stone statues, 166 - — of wooden statues, 269, 271 - - Earthquakes, 103, 173 - - Easter Island: - — caves: _see under_ that head - — Chilean annexation, 209 - — climate, 136–7 - — description, general, 131–3 - — food supplies: - — in early times, 216–8 - — modern, 138 - — geology, 131–3, 210, 272 - — history, 124, 200–9 - — insect life, 137 - — names of, 209–10 - — navigation difficulties, 128–9 - — water-supply, 132, 137–8, 174 - - Easter Islanders: - — origin - — legendary: _see under_ Legends - — scientific study of, 295–8 - — colour of skin, 221–35 - — conversion to Christianity, 206 - — description by early voyagers, 200, 205 - —dishonesty, 141, 201, 203, 261 - — dress: _see under_ that head - — epidemics: - — dysentery, 155, 160 - — phthisis, 206 - — smallpox, 205–6 - — language: _see under_ that head - — mode of life: - — ancient, 215–20 - — modern, 140 - — numbers, 125, 203, 215 - — old people, 211 - _see also_ Jotefa, Kapiera, Kilimuti, Porotu, Tomenika, Te Haha, - Viriamo - — Peru, carried off to, 205 - — rising amongst, 142–9 - — women, 139, 227–8 - - Edmunds, Mr., Manager at Easter Island, 125 - — experience _re_ caves, 274 - — house: _see under_ Mataveri - — in native rising, 141, 143–4, 147 - — stories of Easter Island, 125–8 - - _El Dorado_, wreck, 126–7 - - Elephantiasis at Quibo Island, 354–5, 356 - - English Narrows, Patagonia, 92 - - Equator, crossing, 33, 120 - - Eruption of volcano at sea, 370–1 - - Eyraud, Eugène, missionary to Easter Island, 206 - - - “Fish-men” (Tangata-ika): - — rites for, 229 - — tablets for, 229, 248 - — term applied, 285, 287 - - Forster, botanist with Cook’s expedition, 202 - - Fowls, supply in early times, 201–3 - — supposed powers of Miru in connection with, 240–2 - - “Freeman,” steward on _Mana_, 66, 67, 73 - - Fremantle, Admiral the Hon. Sir Edmund, 156 - - Frio, Cape, Brazil, 41–3 - - Froward Reach, Magellan Strait, 79 - - Funchal, Madeira, 18 - - Functions, native, 233–5 - - - Gambier Islands, S. Pacific, Easter Island peopled from, 292–4 - - Germans: - — Coronel, Battle of, 155 - — at Easter Island: - — — _Prinz Eitel Friedrich_, 156–9 - — — Von Spee’s squadron, 151–4 - — at Juan Fernandez, 113, 163 - — in Patagonian waterways, 78 - — at Tahiti, 319 - - Gillam, H. J., Sailing-master on _Mana_, 9, 128, 335, 389, 390 - - Gonzalez, early account of Easter Island, 202–4 - — takes possession for King of Spain, 202, 237, 286 - - Grand Canary, history and descriptions, 19–27 - - Grogan, Sir Edward and Lady, 104 - - Guadia, Señor, 356–8 - - Guanches, natives of Canary Islands, history, 19 - - Gwaruti-mata-keva, legend of, 224 - - - Haddon, Dr. A. C., F.R.S., 290 - - Hale Cove, Patagonia, 92–5 - - Hamea (Clan), 223, 227, 284 - - Hamilton, Bermuda, 382 - - Hanga Maihiko, ahu, 229 - - Hanga Paukura, ahu, 196, 301 - - Hanga Piko, 159, 224 - - Hanga Roa, Easter Island, 124–5, 208 - — in legend, 270, 284–5 - - Harding, Colonel, acting chief of Panama Canal, 361 - - Haré-a-té-atua: _see_ Religion—ceremonies - - Hats: _see_ Crowns - - Haumoana, 221, 223, 284 - - Hawaii: - — descriptions, 325–8 - — language, 327 - - Hawaiian Islands, history and descriptions, 321–2 - - Hé, native, 224 - - Heiau, model of, at Puukohola, 323–4, 327 - - Heu-heu, 245, 246 - - Hinelilu, leader of Long Ears, 278–9, 281, 282 - - Hiro, god of sky, 242 - - Hitiuira clan: _see_ Ureohei - - Hoa-haka-nanaia: - — at British Museum, 184 - — removal from Orongo, 257 - - Honaunau, Hawaii, 326 - - Honolulu, 323–5 - - Hope-Simpson, Mr., 107, 162 - - Hotu: - — feud with Ureohei, 225 - — skull of, 240–1 - - Hotu-iti, son of Hotu-matua, 280, 281, 282 - - Hotu Iti and Kotuu Territorial divisions: - — boundary between on Motu Nui and Orongo, 260, 261 - — general position of, 221, 223 - — origin of divisions considered, 298 - — wars between, 282–9, 300 - - Hotu-matua, 277–80, 294, 298 - - Houses: - — burnt in war, 224 - — inauguration ceremony, 243 - — stone, at Orongo, 255–6 - — thatched, 215 - — — with stone foundations, 215–6 - - - Ika: _see under_ Script-Kohau-o-te-ika. _Also under_ “Fish-men” - (Tangata-ika) - - Images: _see_ Statues - - Inca Bridge, Argentina, 105 - - Indians of Patagonia: - — extermination of, 70 - — visits to _Mana_, 87–8, 90–1 - - Island Harbour, 93 - - Ivi-atua: _see under_ Religion - - - Jamaica, history and descriptions, 373–7 - - Jaussen, Bishop, of Tahiti: - — account of departure of missionaries, 208 - — list of chiefs by, 241 - — translation of tablets attempted by, 207, 247, 253 - - _Jean_, French ship: - — crew at Easter Island as prisoners, 160 - — destruction by Germans, 157–8, 160 - - Jeffery, Charles C., boy on _Mana_, 9, 78, 390 - - _Jeneral Baquedano_, ship, 144, 147–8 - - Jotefa, native, 266 - - Joyce, Captain T. A., views on Easter Island, 269, 295–6 - - Juan Fernandez: - — animals, 112 - — _Dresden_ at, 113 - — history, 111 - — lobster trade, 113 - — Selkirk’s look-out and cave, 112–3 - - Juan Tepano, native, 158, 214, 228, 240, 289 - - - Kaméhaméha, chief of Hawaii, 322, 324, 327 - - Kaimokoi, son of Ngaara, 241, 246–7 - - Kainga, legend of, 282–8 - - Kealekakua, Bay of, Hawaii, 326 - - Kanakas: _see_ Easter Islanders - - Kapiera, native: - — knowledge _re_ wooden carvings, 271 - — tau explained by, 251 - — wars of Kotuu and Hotu Iti, date of, 289 - - Kaunga, ceremony, 234–5 - - Keith, Dr.: report _re_ native skulls, 228, 295 - - Kelp-geese, 96–7 - - _Kildalton_, ship captured by Germans, 157–60 - - Kilauea, Hawaii, 325–6 - - Kilimuti, native, 261, 274, 281 - - King George, 390 - - Kingston, Jamaica, 373, 375 - - Ko Mari, carved design, 263 - - Ko Peka, ceremony, 233–4 - - Ko Tori, last cannibal, 225–6, 266 - - Kohau: _see_ Tablets - - Koro, ceremony, 234–42, 251–2, 267 - - Koro-orongo clan, 223, 280, 284 - - Koremaké: _see under_ Religion - - Kotuu, son of Hotu-matua, 280, 281, 282 - - Kotuu, territorial division: _see_ Hotu Iti - - - Language, 203, 207, 213–4, 295, 327 - - Lapelin, Admiral T. de, on origin of Easter Islanders, 294–5 - - La Pérouse, accounts of Easter Island, 202–4, 234 - - Las Palmas, 22 - - Legends: - — of arrival of inhabitants on Easter Island (Hotu-matua), 277–80, - 282, 294, 298 - — from Mangareva, 294–5 - — from Rapa-nui, 300 - — of cairns and old woman, 232–3 - — of first statue, 184 - — of Gwaruti-mata-keva (Secret Society), 224 - — of Hotu-matua: _see_ Arrival of Inhabitants - — of Long Ears and Short Ears, 280–1 - — of Oroi and Hotu-matua, 279–80 - — of overthrow of statues, 173, 182 - — of supernatural beings, 193, 237–9, 269–70 - — of Tuukoihu, 269–70, 283 - — of Uré-a-hohové carried off to Paréhé, 237 - — of war between Kotuu and Hotu-iti, 282–8 - — of wooden figures, 269–70 - - Lemuria, theories _re_, 290 - - Leprosy, 212, 250 - - Light, seaman on _Mana_, 9, 30 - - Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, 322, 324 - - Lisiansky, early account of Easter Island, 204 - - Lizards, wooden, 238, 243, 268 - - Llay-Llay, Chile, 104 - - “Long Ears”: _see under_ Ears - - Los Andes, Chile, 104, 106 - - Lowry-Corry, Frederick: - — death, 110 - — joins expedition, 8, 72, 92 - — typhoid fever, attack of, 108–9 - - “Luke,” under-steward on _Mana_, 14, 73–4 - - - Madeira, history and descriptions, 18 - - Magellan, discovery of Patagonia, 65 - - Magellan, Straits of, 69–85 - - Mahaiatea: _see_ Tahiti: Marae - - Mahanga, servant, 138–9, 292 - - _Mana_, vessel of Expedition: - — accident to, at Cristobal, 366–7 - — books on board, 11 - — building, 4, 6 - — crew: - — appointed, 9 - — changes at Tahiti, 320 - — dispersal of, 389 - — danger from German vessels, 156–7, 163 - — description, 4–6 - — life on board, 115–20 - — motor engine trouble, 71 - — name explained, 6 - — refitting at Talcahuano, 100–1 - — return to England, 387 - — Royal Cruising Club Challenge Cup gained by, 387 footnote - — size compared with Drake’s vessels, 18 - — speed, 17, 19, 33, 117, 150, 331 - — stores, 10–13, 20–1, 100–1 - — voyages between Easter Island and Chile, 128, 150, 162–3 - — water-supply, 10, 47, 116–7 - - Mana Inlet, Patagonia, 84 - - Mana, Mount, Socorro Island, 345–6 - - Mangareva, migration from, 294–5 - - Manu: _see under_ Bird Cult - - Manu-tara: _see_ Bird Cult: Bird, sacred - - Maoris, 292 - - Marae Renga, I., 277, 280 - - Marae Tohio, I., 277 - - Marama clan, 221, 246, 258, 280, 284 - - Marau, Madame: _see_ Pomare family - - Marotiri, 284–9 - - Marquesas, 292, 299 - - Marriage, 226–8 - - Martinez, Señor, 31 - - Maru, 242, 244, 246 - - Mata: _see_ Clans - - Mataa, spear-heads of obsidian, 223, 256, 280, 296 - - Mataveri, Easter Island: - — bird cult at, 258–9, 264 - — camp of expedition at, 134, 145, 155 - — house of Mr. Edmunds, 125, 134, 265 - - Maunga Tea-tea, 286 - - Maurata, grandson of Ngaara, 246, 247 - - Melanesian race, relation to Easter Islanders, 291–8 - - Memorial mounds: _see_ Cairns - - Merlet, Señor, chairman of Easter Island company, 107, 209 - - Mindello, Cape Verde, 28, 31 - - Miru clan: - — Ariki title of, 241 - — fowls power over, 240–2 - — Hamea and Raa connection with, 222 - — Ngaara: _see under_ that head - — origin legendary, 279 - — scientific investigation of, 298, 302 - — script connection with, 243 - — skulls incised, 240 - — wars, 258–84 - - Missionaries: - — in California, 328 - — on Easter Island: - — disputes with Captain Bornier, 208 - — early work, 206–7 - — sale of rights, 208, 209 - - Moai: _see_ Statues - - _Mohican_, U.S. ship: _see_ Thomson, Paymaster - - Morant’s Cays, W. Indies, eruption at, 370–1 - - Motu Iti, Easter Island, 255 - - Motu Kao-kao, Easter Island, 255 - - Motu Nui, Easter Island: - — bird cult at, 255, 258, 260–1 - — cave burial-place, 274–5 - — in legend, 278, 283 - — statue from, 261 - — visit to, 257–8 - - - Narborough, Sir John, exploration of Patagonia, 65, 67 - - New Guinea, 296 - - New York, 332 - - Ngaara Ariki or chief: - — bird cult relation to, 260, 298 - — burial, 230, 246 - — life and position, 241–3, 245, 258 - — tablets stolen from, 249 - - Ngatimo (clan), 221, 284 - - Ngau-ngau tree, ceremonial use, 243, 262 - - Ngaure, 223, 227, 246, 258, 284 - - - Oahu: _see_ Honolulu - - O’Higgins, Bernardo, 99 - - Obsidian: _see_ Mataa - - Olinda, Brazil, 37 - - Orange Bay, Patagonia, _Dresden_ at, 78 - - Orohié, Easter Island: - — ahu, 264 - — bird cult at, 264, 267 - - Oroi: - — ahu of natural, 170 - — legend of, 279, 282 - - Orongo, Easter Island: - — bird cult at, 259–61 - — carvings, 262–3 - — description, 255 - — houses, 256 - — legends of, 280, 288 - — statue Hoa-haka-nanaia, now at British Museum, 184 - — back of, 187, 263 note - — bird cult connection with, 267, 291 - — description as typical image, 166 - — eyes of, 187 - — original position, 257 - — removal, 124, 208 - - - Pacific, races of, 291–4 - - Paina, 233 - - Pakarati, native, 207 - - Palmer, surgeon, account of missionaries, 206 - - Pampero, 49–50 - - Panama Canal: - — construction, general outline, 362–3 - — difficulty of entering, summary of log, 359–60 - — passage of, described, 363–4 - — regulations _re_ pilots, victualling, etc., 365, 367 - - Panama, City of, 361 - - Papeete, Tahiti, 317–8 - - Parapina, native, 214 - - Paréhé, 237 - - Paré-pu, tattooed figure, 220 - - Paro, Easter Island: - — overthrow of image at, 173 - — tradition _re_ crown of statue, 197 - - Patagonia: - — history, 65 - — vegetation, 92 - - Patagonian Channels, voyage through, 85–98 - - Paumotu Islands, 292 - - Penguin Inlet, Patagonia, 90 - - Péra, 171, 172, 204 - - Pereyra, Señor, 55 - - Pernambuco, 35–7 - - Peruvian slave-raids, 205 - - Petropolis, Brazil, 46 - - Pillar, Cape, Patagonia, 85 - - Pipi-hereko: _see_ Cairns - - Piro-piro, statue (frontispiece), 166, 189 - - Pitcairn Island: - — archæological remains, 313–4 - — communications, 311–2 - — description, 306 - — history, 305–6 - — islanders on _Mana_: _see_ Young - — life on, 307–13 - - Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, 261 note, 271 - - Plate River, 53 - - Platform: _see_ Ahu - - Poié, leader of Kotuu, 285–8 - - Poike portion of Eastern Headland, 133, 286 - - Poki-manu: _see_ Bird Cult, Initiation - - Polynesian race, relation to Easter Islanders, 295–8 - - Pomare family, of Tahiti: - — account, general, 316 - — Arii Taimai, 316, 319 - — Marau Taaroa, Madame, 319 - — Takau, Princess, 319, 320 - - Ponta Delgada: _see_ St. Miguel, Azores - - Pora, 261 - - Porotu, native, 226, 266 - - Port Churruca, Patagonia, 80–4 - - Port Desire, Patagonia, 67, 68 - - Port Royal, Jamaica, 374–5 - - Porto Bello, Brazil, 47–9 - - Porto Grande: _see_ St. Vincent - - Porto Santo, Madeira Island, 16 - - Ports, procedure on reaching, 20 - - Preston, mate of _Mana_, 9 - - _Prinz Eitel Friedrich_, German cruiser: - — despatch _re_ to British Minister at Santiago, 163 - — at Easter Island, 156–9 - - Prisoners of war: - — on Easter Island, 159–60 - — at Tahiti, 318 - - Pua, plant, 220, 243, 245 - - Puerto de la Luz, Grand Canary, 19–20 - - Punapau, quarries of stone hats, 199, 270 - - Punta Arenas, Patagonia, 71–5 - - Puukohola, Hawaii, 327 - - - Quarries: - — at Punapau, 199 - — at Rano Raraku, 175–82 - - Queen Mary, 390 - - Quibo Island, Panama, 351–8 - - - Raa (clan), 223, 284 - - Races of the Pacific, theories of migrations, 291–4 - - Rano, meaning, 132 - - Rano Aroi, Easter Island, 133, 158 - - Rano Kao, Easter Island: - — bird cult at, 254–5, 262, 263 - — description, 254–5 - — view from, 133 - - Rano Raraku, Easter Island: - — ahu, 191, 264 - — bird cult at, 263–4, 265, 267 - — camp of expedition at, 135–6, 137, 145–6 - — description, 135–6, 175 - — excavations at, 185–91 - — legends of, 182, 184, 193, 238 - — pits on summit, 191 - — quarries, 175–82 - — south-east side, 191–3 - — statues standing, 182–90 - — round base, 183–95, 264 - - Rapa (dancing-paddle), 229, 235, 268 - - Rapa-iti, S. Pacific, 209, 314–5 - - Rapa-nui, or Easter Island, 209–10 - - Rats, 218, 233, 242 - - Ray, Mr., on native names and language, 223 footnote, 295 - - Ray: _see_ Devil-fish - - Recife: _see_ Pernambuco - - Rei-miro, 242, 268 - - Religion: - — cult of early voyagers, 239–40, 256, 300–1 - — ivi-atua, 233, 239, 260–1, 264 - — koromaké, 239 - — rain, prayers for, 242 - — soul, theories of, 238–9 - — supernatural beings (atua, aku-aku, tatane), 236–9, 242, 260, 262, - 264, 269–70, 280 - — bird cult, connection with, 260, 262, 264 - — characteristics and legends, 236–9 - — Hotu-matua, deified ancestor, 236, 280 - — statues, connection with, 301 - _see also_ Miru, Bird Cult, and Script - - Richards, Mr., Consul at Tahiti, 317, 321 - - Rio de Janeiro, 44–7 - - Ritchie, Lt. D. R., R.N.: - — assigned to Expedition, 8 - — departure from Easter Island, 154 - — surveys made by, 176, 256 footnote - - Roads: - — ancient: - — of the Ao, 259 - — of Ara Mahiva, 198 - — ceremonial, 194–5, 264 - — in legend, 278, 294 - — modern, 135 - - Roggeveen, Admiral, discovery of Easter Island, 124, 200, 201 - - Rongo-rongo men: _see_ Script—professors - - Rosa, Bartolomeo, sailor, 30, 389 - - Roussel, Father, missionary, 206 - - Routledge, Katherine: - — alone on Easter Island, 155 - — returns to England, 332 - — stewardess of _Mana_, 9 - - Routledge, Scoresby: - — account of homeward voyage, 335–87 - — visit to Chile from Easter Island, 155, 161–3 - - Royal Cruising Club, 8, 343, 388 - - Royal Geographical Society, 295, 296 - - Russian Finn, seaman on _Mana_, adventures, 350–1 - - - Sta. Catharina Island, Brazil, 49 - - St. George, Bermuda, 381 - - St. Jago: _see_ Cape Verde Islands - - St. Julian, Patagonia, 68 - - St. Miguel, Azores, 383–4 - - St. Nicholas, Bay and River, Patagonia, 78, 79 - - St. Vincent, Cape Verde Is., 28 - - Salmon, Alexander, 208–9, 247, 282 - - San Francisco, 328, 332 - - San Martin, General, 99 - - Sandwich Islands: _see_ Hawaiian Islands - - Santa Barbara, California, 332 - - Santa Cruz, Brazil, 40–1 - - Santiago, Chile, 103–4 - - _Scharnhorst_, German Cruiser, 153 - - Script: - — ariki connection with, 243–7 - — discovery by missionaries, 207 - — first mention of, by Gonzalez, 202 - — glyphs, arrangement of, 244 - — instruction of students, 245 - — Kohau: - — o-te-ika, 229, 248 - — o-te-puré, 249 - — o-te-ranga, 249 - — o-te-timo, 229 - — Ngaara: _see_ Ariki - — origin legendary, 244, 252, 277 - — scientific investigation, 302 - — professors (tangata-rongo-rongo), 244–6 - — last survivor, 250–3 - — subjects dealt with, 248–9, 251–2 - — system conjectured, 253–4, 301–2 - — tablets, destruction of, 207–47 - _see also_ Kohau - — tau, 250–3 - — translation attempted, 207, 247–8 - — yearly festival connected with, 245–6 - - Secret societies, 224, 292 - - Selkirk, Alexander, 111, 112–3 - - Seligman, Dr., 296 - - Sharks, 117–8, 350 - - Sharp, Captain, of _Kildalton_, 159–60 - - “Short Ears”: _see under_ Ears - - Silva, Eduardo, engineer on _Mana_, 320, 349–50, 389 - - Skulls, race affinity, 295–6 - _see also_ Miru - - Slave-raids, Peruvian, in South Seas, 124, 205, 208 - - Socorro Island, 340–9 - - Solomon Islands, bird cult in, 296–8 - - Spee, Admiral von: - — at Easter Island, 152, 153 - — at Papeete, 319 - - Sphagnum, 256 - - Statues: - — on ahu, 166, 168, 170 - — at Anakena, 173, 187 - — as avenue to ahu, 196 - — backs, two types, 187–8 - — design on, 187–8, 220, 269 - — bed-plates, dimensions, 168 - — as boundary marks, 193, 197, 261, 301 - — in British Museum, larger: _see_ Orongo statue - — smaller, 197, 208 - — burials in connection with, 190 - — carvings incised on, 189, 263 note - — counterfeited by natives, 271 - — date of construction, 299–300, 301 - — description, general, 166 - — details of, 186–9 - — dimensions, 166, 170, 173, 182, 183, 195 - — early accounts: _see_ Easter Island: early accounts - — ears, 166 - — erection, 189, 197 - — excavation, 151–2, 163–4, 185–91 - — hands, 186 - — isolated, 193, 197 - — legends, 173, 182, 184: _see also_ makers, names, transport - — makers, (legendary), 181–2 - — material, 175–6 - — on Motu Nui, 261 - — names, 183–4, 257, 301 - — numbers, 168, 179, 183 - — orbits, 187 - — at Orongo: _see_ Orongo - — overthrow, 172–3, 182, 299, 300 - — at Paro, 173 - — on Pitcairn Island, 313–4 - — at Pitt Rivers Museum, 261 footnote - — in quarries: _see_ Rano Raraku - — quarrying, method of, 179–80 - — at Rano Raraku: _see under_ this head - — representation and purpose, 301: _see also above_, boundary - — on roads, 194–5 - — sources of information, 200–5 - — tools used in making, 180–1 - — transport, problem of 193, 195–8 - — at Washington, 257 footnote - - Submarines, preparations for meeting, 385–6 - - _Sunbeam_, yacht, 31, 76, 387 footnote - - - Tablets: _see_ Script - - Tahai, 246 - - Tahiti: - — description, 317 - — German attack on, 153, 319 - — history, 316 - — Marae Mahaiatea, 316, 320 - - Tahonga, 267 - - Takau, Princess: _see_ Pomare family, 247 - - Také, 266 - - Talcahuano, Chile, 100, 101–2, 154, 162–3 - - Tangata-ika: _see_ Fish-men - - Tangata-manu: _see_ Bird Cult—bird-men - - Tangata-rongo-rongo: _see_ Script—professors - - Tapa, 170, 201, 218–9 - - Tatane: _see_ Religion—supernatural beings - - Tattooing: - — inspection by Ariki, 243 - — practice of, 219–20 - - Tau: _see under_ Script - - Taura-renga: _see_ Orongo statue - - Te Haha, Miru: - — part in social functions, 240 - — service with Chief Ngaara, 242, 243, 245–6 - — wooden images made by, 271 - - Te Pito-te-henua: _see_ Easter Island—names. - - Tea-tenga, ahu, 194 - - Telde, Grand Canary, 25–7 - - Teneriffe: _see as for_ Grand Canary - - Tepano, Juan: _see_ Juan Tepano - - Tepeu, ahu, 170, 269 - - Terraces, 133 - _see also_ Ahu - - Theosophists, theories _re_ Easter Island, 290 - - Thomas, cook on _Mana_, 375, 386 - - Thomson, Paymaster of _Mohican_: - — account of Easter Island, 209 - — names of Easter Island, 210 - — translation of tablets attempted by, 247 - — versions of legends, 282, 289 - - Tierra del Fuego, 69–70 - - Timo, 229 - - Titahanga-o-te-henua, statue on Motu Nui, 261 - - Toa-toa, 224 - - Tongariki: - — ahu, 136, 168, 172, 173, 193 - — in legend, 282 - - Tomenika, native: - — knowledge of tau, 250–3 - — Také, statement _re_, 266 - - Tools used for statues, 180–1 - - _Topaze_, H.M.S., visit to Easter Island, 206, 208, 210, 257 - - Towers for fishing, 218 - - Trade winds, 3, 32, 292, 321 - - Trans-Andine Railway, 104–6 - - Tupahotu clan, 223, 224, 227, 228, 249, 252, 284 - - Turtle, capture of, 336–9 - - Tuukoihu: - — landing with Hotu-matua, 279 - — maker of boats, 283, 289 - — wooden images, 269–70 - - Twins, customs _re_, 243 - - - “Undertaker,” 373 - - Uré-a-hohové, legend of, 237 - - Ure-vae-iko, native refusal to decipher tablets, 247–8 - - Ureohei, clan, 223, 225, 227, 259, 284 - - - Valdivia, founder of Santiago, 99 - - Valparaiso, Chile, 107, 108, 162 - - Varta: _see_ Vincent - - Vinapu Ahu, 170 - - Vincent, French carpenter, 125, 136, 138 - - Viriamo, native woman: - — initiation as bird-child, 267 - — life story, 227–8 - — Orongo festival, part in, 260 - — statue removal from Orongo described, 257 - — Také described, 266 - - - Wager I., Patagonia, 97–8 - - Waihu: _see_ Easter Island: Names - - Washington: - — statue at, 257 footnote - — visit to, 332 - - Water on Easter Island: _see_ Easter Island - - Water on _Mana_: _see Mana_ - - Waterspout, 368–9 - - Weapons, 223–4, 268: _see also_ Mataa - - Williamson and Balfour, Messrs., 107 - - Women in Easter Island, 228 - _see also_ Viriamo - - Wooden carvings: _see_ Carvings - - - Young, Chas. and Edwin, Pitcairn Islanders, 314, 321, 331, 368, 389–90 - - - _Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury._ - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - The _Pelican_, or _Golden Hinde_, was 120 tons; the _Elizabeth_ 80 - tons, and three smaller ships were 50, 30, and 12 tons respectively. - The crews all told were 160 men and boys.—Froude’s _English Seamen_, - p. 112. - -Footnote 2: - - Lady Grogan informs me that one of the main reasons for the position - of women in Argentina is that there is no Married Women’s Property - Act, and that even an heiress is therefore in ordinary course entirely - dependent on her husband. - -Footnote 3: - - We were subsequently interested to learn from a private diary kept on - board The Challenger that they had also taken their boat over into - this water; they had, however, neither explored it nor marked it on - the map. - -Footnote 4: - - Cape Pillar is the name which has been given to Magellan’s “Cape - Deseado” since the days of Sir John Narborough; it has two peaks, of - which the western one is like a pillar. The point which on the chart - is named Deseado lies two miles to the south-west and could not - possibly have been seen by Magellan: see _Early Spanish Voyages and - the Straits of Magellan_, edited by Sir C. Markham, Hakluyt Series II. - vol. xxviii. - -Footnote 5: - - “The Indians had taught their dogs to drive the fish into a corner of - some pond or lake, from whence they were easily taken out by the skill - and address of these savages.”—_Narrative of Hon. J. Byron_, ed. 1768, - p. 56. - -Footnote 6: - - “We were well clothed, and though sitting close to the fire were far - from too warm; yet these naked savages (Fuegians), though further off, - were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming with - perspiration.”—_Voyage of H.M.S. “Beagle”_ (Darwin), ed. 1870, p. 220. - -Footnote 7: - - _Philesia buxifolia_ and _Luzuriaga erecta_. - -Footnote 8: - - “Among the birds we generally shot was a bird much larger than a - goose, which we called the Racehorse, from the velocity with which it - moved upon the surface of the water in a sort of half-flying, - half-running motion.”—_The Narrative of the Hon. John Byron_, ed. - 1768, p. 50. - -Footnote 9: - - Some of the Chileans with British names are said to be descended from - the officers and men under command of Lord Cochrane. - -Footnote 10: - - See _Anson’s Voyage Round the World_, quarto ed., 1748, p. 102. - -Footnote 11: - - Captain Benson and his crew made the voyage in the ship’s boat to - Mangareva in sixteen days, and after two days there left in the same - manner for Tahiti, accomplishing the further nine hundred miles in - eleven days. Mr. Richards, the British Consul at the latter place, - told us later of his astonishment, when, in answer to his question - whence the crew had come, he received the amazing reply, “Easter - Island.” For the whole account see _Captain Benson’s Own Story_ (The - James H. Barry Co., San Francisco). - -Footnote 12: - - “I will only add this one word about the curious way in which they get - fresh water on some of the coral islands, such as Nangone, where there - is none on the surface. Two go out together to sea, and dive down at - some spot where they know there is a fresh-water spring, and they - alternately stand on one another’s backs to keep down the one that is - drinking at the bottom before the pure water mixes with the - surrounding salt water.”—“Notes on the Maoris and Melanesians,” Bishop - of Wellington: _The Journal of the Ethnological Society_, New Series, - vol. i, session 1868–9. - -Footnote 13: - - “Kanaka” is a name originally given by Europeans to the inhabitants of - the South Seas, and is one form of the Polynesian word meaning “man”. - -Footnote 14: - - The natives of Easter hold very firmly the primitive belief in dreams. - If one of them dreamt, for example, that _Mana_ was returning, it was - retailed to us with all the assurance of a wireless message. - -Footnote 15: - - The milch-cows. - -Footnote 16: - - Considerably later _Mana_ was again approached on the subject of the - Australian gifts, and Mr. Gillam consented to bring them; it then - transpired that they were no longer available, having “been given by - the wife of the head of the Customs to the deserving poor of - Valparaiso.” - -Footnote 17: - - Since writing the above, the following account has been found of dress - at Tahiti in 1877: “All the women, without exception, have their - dresses cut on the pattern of the old English sacques worn by our - grandmothers.... It is a matter of deep congratulation that the dress - in fashion in Europe at the period when Tahiti adopted foreign - garments should have been one so suitable.” - - “We may be thankful that Prince Alfred’s strong commendation of the - graceful sacque has caused it to triumph over all other varieties of - changeful and unbecoming fashion which for a while found favour - here.”—_Cruise in a French Man-of-war_, Miss Gordon Cumming, pp. 299 - and 284. - -Footnote 18: - - _Mana_ made seven trips in all between Chile and Easter Island, - traversing, in this part alone of her voyage, over 14,000 miles on her - course. - -Footnote 19: - - For an illustrated description of the method of expanding the ear, see - _With a Prehistoric People, the Akikuyu of British East Africa_, p. - 32. - -Footnote 20: - - A full description of the statues is given in chap. xiv. - -Footnote 21: - - This excludes some fifteen which may have carried statues, but about - which doubt exists. - -Footnote 22: - - The body was no doubt supported by staves, though they were dispensed - with in the model, being unnecessary for the wooden figure. - -Footnote 23: - - The sole possible exception was probably due to some flaw in the - stone. - -Footnote 24: - - The farthest outstanding figure to the left in fig. 46. - -Footnote 25: - - An island was reported in lat. 27° by an English buccaneer named Davis - in 1687. It was, he said, five hundred miles from the coast of Chile, - low and sandy, and some twelve leagues to the west of it was seen “a - long tract of pretty high land.” The description in no way applies to - Easter, with which it has sometimes been identified. The probability - seems to be that Davis was out of his reckoning, as was by no means - unusual in the case of the early mariners, and it has been suggested - that the island he saw was Crescent Island, the high ground in the - distance being the Gambier group. The latitude of Easter Island is 27° - 8′ S., that of Crescent Island is 23° 20′ S. - -Footnote 26: - - Precisely the same habit obtains to-day among the Akikuyu in East - Africa. - -Footnote 27: - - For Roggeveen’s description of the Island see _Voyage of Gonzalez_, - Hakluyt Society, Series II., vol. xiii., pp. 3 to 26. - - A statement of the evidence _re_ Davis Island is given in the - introduction to the same volume. - -Footnote 28: - - _Voyage of Gonzalez_, p. 27 _seq._ - -Footnote 29: - - _A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World_, by James Cook, - 1st ed., 4to, 1777, pp. 276–96. - - _A Voyage Round the World_, George Forster, 4to, 1777. Vol. i., pp. - 551–602. - -Footnote 30: - - _Voyage de La Pérouse autour du Monde_, 4to edn., London, 1799. Vol. - i., pp. 319–36. - -Footnote 31: - - MS. copy in the British Museum of a letter sent by one of the officers - of the Spanish ship to a Canon or a Prebendary in Buenos Aires. MSS. - 17607 (18). Our attention was drawn to this document by Dr. Corney. - -Footnote 32: - - See above, p. 171. - -Footnote 33: - - _Voyage of Gonzalez_, p. 126. - -Footnote 34: - - _Voyage Round the World in the Ship “Neva,”_ Lisiansky, Lond. 1814, p. - 58. - -Footnote 35: - - _Voyage to the Pacific, H.M.S. “Blossom_,” p. 41. - -Footnote 36: - - See _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, 1866, 1867, 1869. - -Footnote 37: - - _Journal Ethnological Society_, Vol. i. p. 373. - -Footnote 38: - - The above statement is made on the authority of Mr. John Brander of - Tahiti. According to report of H.M.S. _Sappho_, which visited the - island in 1882, Salmon was then an agent of the Maison Brander. - -Footnote 39: - - _Smithsonian Report_, 1889. - -Footnote 40: - - In the _Odyssey_ Athene speaks of Odysseus as “in a sea-girt isle, - where is the navel of the sea.” (_Odyssey_, Bk. I., l. 50, Butcher & - Lang.) - -Footnote 41: - - _Easter Island. The Rapa-nui Speech._ W. Churchill, p. 3. - -Footnote 42: - - _Voyage of Gonzalez_, p. 90. - -Footnote 43: - - One of the Scitamineæ—further determination awaits the blooming of - plants brought back to Kew. - -Footnote 44: - - Of these clan names, “Raa” means the sun and “Marama” the light. The - signification of the others is not equally clear, and the natives - could give no assistance; but Mr. Ray gives the following interesting - information from other Polynesian sources. “Haumoana” means the - sea-breeze; “Hitiuira” is probably “hiti-ra” or sunrise; and “Ureohei” - another version of “ura-o-hehe,” or red of sundown. “Koro-orongo” is - doubtless from “Koro-o-Rongo,” or the ring of Rongo (a well-known - Polynesian deity), that is the rainbow. “Kotuu” appears to be a - contraction of “Ko Otuu,” meaning “The Hill”; the name “Otuu” is used - alternatively for the same district. “Hotu” is another form of the - word for hill and “Iti” signifies small, it presumably refers to Rano - Raraku. - -Footnote 45: - - Since writing the above the following has been seen: “The higher - Polynesian races, such as the Tahitians, Hawaiians, Samoans, had one - and all outgrown, and some of them had in part forgot, the practice - (cannibalism) before Cook or Bougainville had shown a top-sail in - their waters.”—_In the South Seas_, R. L. Stevenson, p. 94. - -Footnote 46: - - See below, pp. 266–68. - -Footnote 47: - - “These bodies, enveloped in mats, are placed on a heap of stones or on - a kind of wooden structure, the head being turned towards the sea. - Now, as all the population live round the island, dried skeletons are - to be met all along this coast, and no one seems to take any notice of - them.”—Letter from Brother Eyraud—_Annals of the Propagation of the - Faith_, Jan. 1866. - -Footnote 48: - - When all those ahu which can be placed in categories as Image, - Semi-Pyramid, Canoe, Wedge-shaped, or Pavement have been noted, there - remain, out of the total of two hundred and sixty burial-places, some - fourteen which are unique in design; and between sixty and seventy - which cannot be classified, either because they are mere cairns or in - too ruined a condition to be identified. - -Footnote 49: - - Our impressions on this head are confirmed by a remark of Brother - Eyraud. “Though I have lived in the greatest of intimacy and - familiarity with them, I have never been able to discover them in any - act of actual religious worship.”—_Annals of the Propagation of the - Faith_, Jan. 1866. - -Footnote 50: - - The outermost of the three hillocks on the eastern volcano on which - the Spaniards set up the crosses in 1770. Half of it has been worn - away by coastal erosion (fig. 78). - -Footnote 51: - - The same word aku-aku was used for the spirit both of the living and - the dead, or else the Tahitian “varua”; they were said to be - equivalent. - -Footnote 52: - - Evidence on this head was rather contradictory, but no Miru could be - found, male or female, to whom the title was not given. - -Footnote 53: - - “L’Ile de Paques,” M. Tépano Jaussen, _Bulletin Géographique_, 1893, - p. 241. - -Footnote 54: - - _Revue Maritime et Colonial_, vol. xxxv, p. 109. - -Footnote 55: - - Thirty is, however, a very favourite number: cf. the folk-tales. - -Footnote 56: - - Sometimes called koho-rongo-rongo. - -Footnote 57: - - Sophora Toromiro. - -Footnote 58: - - An accurate large-scale plan of the village was made by Lieutenant D. - R. Ritchie, R.N., and every house was measured and described by the - Expedition. - -Footnote 59: - - Recollection is naturally clearer of the removal of the statue now at - Washington, and particularly of the excellent food given to the - natives who assisted. The figure is reported to have been taken from - Ahu Apépé, an inland terrace not far from Rano Raraku, and been - dragged down to the ship as she lay in La Pérouse Bay. - -Footnote 60: - - Sooty Tern. - -Footnote 61: - - The men of the ascendant clan are also often spoken of as the - Mata-töa, or warriors, the other clans being the Mata-kio, or - servants. - -Footnote 62: - - This statue was removed to the mainland shortly before our arrival, - and we were able to procure it in exchange for one of the yacht - blankets. It is now at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford (fig. 111). - -Footnote 63: - - The figures of the bird-man, also of the ao and Ko Mari, are all - roughly carved on the back of the Orongo statue (fig. 106). They - appear, like those on the Raraku image, to be later workmanship than - the raised ring and girdle. Permission to inspect can be obtained in - the hall of the British Museum; unfortunately the light in the portico - is bad. - -Footnote 64: - - Nos. 1, 2, and 3, fig. 60, form part of this series. See also fig. 74. - -Footnote 65: - - We owe this suggestion to Captain T. A. Joyce. - -Footnote 66: - - Those unacquainted with the manner in which the drawing of a natural - object can, through constant repetition, lose all resemblance to it - and become purely conventional are referred to _Evolution in Art_, by - Dr. A. C. Haddon. - -Footnote 67: - - The term “papa” is also applied to any flat, horizontal surface of - fused igneous rock. The double use seems to be explained by connecting - it with the facts that in Hawaii, Papa is the name of the female - progenitor of the race (or at least of a line of chiefs), while in the - Marquesas and Hervey Islands Papa is the earth personified, the Great - Mother.—See _A Brief History of the Hawaiian People_, Alexander, p. - 20. - -Footnote 68: - - Cf. p. 232. - -Footnote 69: - - The ditch is still shown; there is a marked depression running across - the island dividing the eastern volcano from the mainland, but after - much consideration we came to the conclusion that it was a natural - phenomenon due to geological faulting. A mound of earth is, however, - to be seen in places on its higher or eastern side, and it is possible - that persons holding the mountain may have utilised it for defensive - purposes by erecting a rampart in this manner. - -Footnote 70: - - “The tradition continues by a sudden jump into the following - extraordinary condition of affairs. Many years after the death of - Hotu-matua the island was about equally divided between his - descendants and the long-eared race.”—_Smithsonian Report_, 1889, p. - 528. - -Footnote 71: - - I.e. “Cave of the great descent.” It is in the cliff of the eastern - volcano beyond Marotiri, and is one of those which can be seen from - the sea, but to which the path has disappeared. - -Footnote 72: - - The centre hillock of the three on which Spaniards erected the - crosses. The name means White Mountain, from the colour of the ash - which composes it (see fig. 78). - -Footnote 73: - - Theosophists, indeed, contend that it has been revealed by occult - means that Easter Island is the remaining portion of an old continent - named “Lemuria,” which occupied the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the - writer has been informed by correspondents that she “may be interested - to learn” that such is the case. Representations even of the world at - this remote epoch have been, it is said, received by clairvoyance and - are reproduced in theosophical literature: in the case of a later - continent of Atlantis, which has also disappeared, it was permitted to - see its proportions on a globe and by other means; but, unfortunately, - in the case of Lemuria, “there was only a broken terra-cotta model and - crumpled map, so that the difficulty of carrying back the remembrance - of all the details, and consequently of reproducing exact copies, has - been far greater” (_The Lost Lemuria_, Scott Elliot, p. 13). The world - at the Lemurian epoch was, we are informed, inhabited by beings who - were travelling for the fourth time through their round of the - planets, and undergoing for the third time their necessary seven - incarnations on the earth during this round. At the beginning of this - third race of the fourth round, man first evolved into a sexual being, - and at the end was highly civilised. The makers of the Easter Island - statues were of gigantic size. To prove this last point, Madame - Blavatsky quotes a statement to the effect that “there is no reason to - believe that any of the statues have been built up bit by bit,” and - proceeds to argue that they must consequently have been made by men of - the same size as themselves. She states that “the images at - Ronororaka—the only ones now found erect—are four in number”; and - gives the following account of the head-dress of the statues, “a kind - of flat cap with a back piece attached to it to cover the back portion - of the head” (_Secret Doctrine_, vol. ii. p. 337). The readers of this - book can judge of the correctness of these descriptions. Theosophists - must forgive us, if, in the face of error as to what exists to-day, we - decline to accept without further proof information as to what - occurred “nearer four million than two million years ago.” - -Footnote 74: - - _Revue Maritime et Coloniale_, vol. xxxv. (1872), p. 108, note. It is - unfortunate that M. de Lapelin does not give us more details as to - when and from whom the account was received. - -Footnote 75: - - _Royal Geographical Journal_, May 1917. It has been pointed out that - Dr. Hamy, examining skulls from Easter Island some thirty years ago, - and W. Volz (_Arch. f. Anth._ xxiii. 1895, p. 97 ff.) attained the - same result. Mr. Pycraft also came independently to the same - conclusion. - -Footnote 76: - - _Folk Lore_, June 1918, p. 161. - -Footnote 77: - - _Man_, 1918, No. 91, pl. M. Also in _Anthropological Essays_, - presented to E. B. Tylor, 1907, pl. iii. fig. 2, and p. 327. - -Footnote 78: - - H. Balfour, _Man_, Oct. 1918, No. 80. _Folk Lore_, Dec. 1917, pp. - 356–60. - -Footnote 79: - - H. Balfour, _Folk Lore_, Dec. 1917. For full particulars of this and - the following points readers are referred to the paper itself. - -Footnote 80: - - _Hawaiki_, S. Percy Smith, p. 294. - -Footnote 81: - - See below, pp. 313–4. - -Footnote 82: - - If it were not that the strife between the Long and Short Ears is - always placed in very remote ages, we might be tempted to see in it a - struggle between the adherents of the older and newer fashion. In the - Hawaiian Islands such a combat took place before the advent of - Christianity, see p. 322. - -Footnote 83: - - _Quest and Occupation of Tahiti_, Hakluyt Society, vol. ii. p. 270. - -Footnote 84: - - They had, of course, no connection with Adams the mutineer. - -Footnote 85: - - Another daughter was the wife of Mr. Brander, the connection of whose - firm with Easter Island has already been seen. - -Footnote 86: - - My budget contained, with over twenty letters from my Mother, the news - that she had died suddenly the preceding April; and that the old home - no longer existed. The tidings were no surprise. I had had the - strongest conviction, dating from about one month after her death, - that she was no longer here. The realisation came at first with a - sense of shock, which was noted in my journal and written to friends - in England; afterwards it continued with a quiet persistence which - amounted to practical certainty. - -Footnote 87: - - Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, p. 102. - -Footnote 88: - - _Polynesian Researches_, vol. iv. p. 167. - -Footnote 89: - - _Thrum. Hawaiian Annual_, 1908. - -Footnote 90: - - We had intended to reproduce this note in facsimile, but subsequent - events have led us to think that to do so might cause danger to its - writer. - -Footnote 91: - - Casa = Sp. house. - -Footnote 92: - - _Cf._ _Ency. Brit. Edn._ 1911, Vol. xxiii., p. 930, Article RAY. - -Footnote 93: - - _Cock-bill._ To put the yards “a-cock-bill” is to top them up by one - lift to an angle with the deck. A symbol of mourning.—_The Sailor’s - Word-Book_ (Admiral Smyth, 1867). - -Footnote 94: - - See _Man_, vol. xvii. 1917, No. 88. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - With a Prehistoric People - - - (_The Akikúyu of British East Africa_) - - - BEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE METHOD OF LIFE AND MODE OF THOUGHT FOUND - EXISTENT AMONGST A NATION ON ITS FIRST CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN - CIVILIZATION - - BY - - W. SCORESBY ROUTLEDGE, M.A. (Oxon) - and KATHERINE ROUTLEDGE (born Pease) - - Som. Coll. (Oxon); M.A. (Trin. Coll., Dublin) - - _With 136 Plates and a Map_ - - Medium 8vo. 21s. net. London. Ed. Arnold. - -“Mr. and Mrs. Routledge have enjoyed a most interesting experience, -which they have embodied in a volume that should take high rank in -anthropological literature.”—_Spectator._ - -“Sympathetic study of the native way of thinking, careful discrimination -in the acceptance of evidence, and a full, clear, and precise record of -the observations made.”—_Athenæum._ - -“Her (Mrs. Routledge’s) reports are probably the most minute, intimate, -and accurate which have hitherto appeared about the position of a female -savage in any country....”—_Bookman._ - -“One of the choicest contributions to the study of primitive peoples -that have appeared in recent times.”—_Journal of the Royal Geographical -Society._ - -“... Enough has been said to show the importance of this careful study -of an unspoiled people. It is a book that will be valued by the -anthropologist, and at the same time delight a wider public.”—Dr. A. C. -HADDON, F.R.S., in the _Morning Post_. - -“The interest of the account itself is enough to attract mere outsiders -to anthropology.”—_Nation._ - -“Likely to take a permanent place as a standard work.”—Sir H. H. -JOHNSTON in _Nature_. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 4. 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