Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1882-12-23
A PACIFIC MYSTERY.
Some Wonderful Ruins in the SOuth Asintic
Sens.

stretching from the coast Of Asia for
thousands of miles to The east, there
extends vast series OF archipelagoes
and island groups, partly, without
doubt, the remains of u former CONT
nent now merged beneath the waves.
In the far east, forming, us it were,
the outpost Of the South Sea group. is
a solitary volcanic island called Easter
island. 1t is 1900 miles east of Pit
cairn, the next island in the series,
and, with the exception of Sal a y
Gomez, a small rock without inhabi-
tants or vegetation, there is no land
between it and South America, which
lies more than 1000 miles to the east.
Easter island is only eleven miles long
by four broad yet in this small space
is crowded perhaps the most wonder
full and mysterious collection of
remains of prehistoric people
to be found on the earth. At
the southwest end are nearly
hundred houses, built of stone,
with walls five feet in thickness. The
inside of the walls is lined with up
right slabs of stone, painted in black,
white and red, with figures of animals
and birds, and with other designs. The
houses are rooted in with overlapping
slabs of stone. In some Of the houses
numbers of univalve shells have been
found. Near these wonderful ruins
the rocks are carved into fantastic
shapes or faces, most of the sculptures
being now almost overgrown with
bush and underwood. The present in
habitants know nothing whatever of
these houses, which, existing as they
do in such large numbers, seem to
point inevitably to former race of
natives of far higher civilization.
We can understand that former
race may have erected the houses and
carved the sculptures mentioned
above, wonderful as they are compared
with the huts of the existing natives.
What follows is, however, more diff
cult of explanation. On nearly every
promontory are erected huge stone
platforms, facing the sea- and present.
ing front sometimes nearly 300 feet
long and from twenty to thirty feet
high. The stones composing these
platforms are often six feet long, and
are fitted together with cement. The
top of the platform is generally about
thirty feet broad; and the structures
being built on sloping ground, the
wall facing the interior of the island is
only about yard high. Another ter
race, 100 feet broad, is leveled land
ward, and ends also in wall of
stone. On these immense platforms
are great pedestals of stone, on which
once stood gigantic statues, which,
however, are now all thrown down and
partially mutilated, with the exception
of those on the platform near the
crater of Otouli, which are still erect.
Some of these images were thirty-seven
feet high, but the average height was
about sixteen or seventeen feet, other
statues being much smaller. The
heads of these sculptured images are
fiat, and were formerly capped by
crowns OF red tufa, a stone that is
found only at crater called Terano
Hau, near which have been found a
number of crowns ready for removal to
the statues. The faces are square and
are said to be of disdainful express
sion, the lips thin, and the eye-sockets
remarkably deep, perhaps to admit Of
the insertion of eye-balls of obsidian
which is also found on the island
Captain Cook, who during his second
voyage visited Easter island, remarks
that the shade of one of these statues
was sufficient to shelter all his party
nearly thirty persons He believed
them to be burying- places for certain
tribes or families. But whatever may
have been the original intention of the
sculptors, the present natives can have
had nothing to do with the execution
of these wonderful monuments. They
possess, however, small wooden carved
figures, but totally differentin features
from the stone images. We are forced
to the conclusion that the houses, plat
forms and statues are all relics of a
remote age. The natives have a ira
dition that they formerly migrated to
their present abode from one of the
islands of the Low Archipelago; but
this throws little light on the subject.
How, in any age, could a people, fur
nished only with stone chisel--for
Polynesians are still in the stone epoch
have carved such statues by hun
dreds and built such enormous plat
forms? And the difficulty is immense
ly increased by the small size and COM
plete isolation of the island. AT pres
ent Easter island remains the greatest
mystery of the Pacific--one OF the
great mysteries of the world.
The ruins of Ponape, however, are
scarcely more easily explained than
those we have been describing. Ponape
is one of the Caroline islands, and is
about fourteen miles long by twelve in
width. On the bank Of a creek in the
Metalanien harbor stands a massive
wall 300 feet in length and about
thirty-fve high. 1t is built OF basalt
the stones being in some cases twenty
five feet long. On passing through
gateway in this wall, Il court, inclosed
by walls thirty feet high, is reached
This court is now almost hidden IN
parts by luXuriant vegetation; but on
investigation terrace eight feet mgr
and twelve broad is found to run rouno
the inside Of the inclosing wall. Low
walls running north and south divide
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