Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-11-13
MYSTERIES OF THE PACIFIC.
Interesting Evidences of Civilization
of Great Antiquity.

Modern science. which has brought
to light buried Troy revealed the place
of ancient Babylon, untombed the
mummy of the Pharaoh of Moses. and
, constructed something of a history for
the Aztecs and the mound builders,
stands batf1ed before the mysterious
! ruins of the Pacific sea Islands.
KuSaie. otherwise known as Strong
Island, of the Caroline archipelago,
with circumference of fifty miles. ia
covered with massive ruins of remote
date. They bear the outlines of FORTH
tications, and are built of stones ten
feet long, duly squared on six sides. of
geological formation not met with
on the island.
! Ascension Island, known as Panape,
is larger than Kusaie, possesses similar
! ruins. but much larger. In one place
! remains wall 800 feet long and so
i feet nigh, forming a court.
| Little Easter Island. on the eastern
! outskirts of Polynesia, has no running
water, no trees. nothing to attract in-
| habitants. Yet this island is peoped
! by Polynesians of the fair type. such
| as are found far away in the Society
Islands, and is covered with remains of
prehistoric civilization of which every
] record but that of stone has persisted.
At the southwest end of the island
there are to be found the ruins of near
! ly hundred stone houses. built in reg
ular lines and facing the sea. The
walls of these houses are five feet thick
and over five feet high, built of LAYERS
of fiat stones, and lined inside with fiat
slabs. Internally the houses measure
about forty feet long by thirteen feet
wide, and they are rooted over with
slabs overlapping like tiles. The in
side walls are painted in three colors
red, black, aud white-with figures
of birds and mystic beasts and faces,
and geometrical figures. In one of
these houses was found curious stone
statue, eight feet high, and weighing
about four tons, which is now in the
i British museum.
The sea cliffs near this ancient set
Element are carved into grotesque
shapes not unlike the painting on the
walls, and the coast is marked with
hundreds of these sculptures.
Again, on each headland of the isl.
and there is an enormous stone plat
|
size, fitted together thout cement.
They are built on sloping ground, pre-
senting on the seward side a wall face
twenty or thirty feet high and two or
three hundred feet long, and on the
landward side wall OF about three
feet in height, rising from levelled
terrace.
Upon these platforms are stone
pedestals, which have supported images
and on some broken figures remain.
On one platform fifteen images were
found, in size ranging from three to
thirty-five feet in height. They are of
human shape, representing the upper
part of the body only, with arms and
hands close to the sides. The heads
are cut flat to allow of crowns being
placed on them, which crowns seem to
have been made, not of the same ma
terial as the statues, but of red tufa.
This has been traced to an extinct
crater within a few miles of the houses,
and on the brink of this crater a large
| number of crowns were found, finished
and ready for removal before some
strange fate depeopled the island of
these ancient worshippers.
The images themselves are made of
gray lava, which is only found at
| quite another crater at the other end
Of the island. AT this crater-called
OtOuli-there are several finished and
partly finished images just as they
were left by the WOrkmen. The head
of one of these measures twenty feet
from the nape of the neck to the crown.
The faces OF the images have well-de-
fined features, with thin lips broad
noses, expanded nostrils. and gem
eral diSdainful expression. 1t is be-
lieved, from the appearance of the eye
sockets, that Obsidian eye balls were
intended to be inserted. The ears are
very carefully carved, and are promi-
nent.
There are also. in different parts Of
the island wooden tablets covered
with curious carvings and strange
hieroglyphies which no one can ex-
plain.
At Opara or Rapaiti, Capt. Vine
| Hall found a temple. or castle, in five
stages surrounded by walls which in
close stone houses, and also square
platforms of stone on the sides of one
of the hills, similar to those on Easter
Island. This isle is 1000 miles from
| PanaDe, but the inhabitants of the lat
ter say their ancestors came from
Oparo.
Who were those ancient people? The
ruins presents an antiquity equal to
that of the prehistoric civilizations of
America. The present inhabitants are
simply tattooed savages. The ancient
race possessed intelligence far beyond
anything now found in the Pacific; had
ideas of architecture. sculpture, paint
ing, and engineering and an elaborate
religion. Arch@olOgists and ethnoio-
gists have given us no light yet. The
mystery of the Pacific awaits solution.
-Chic0gO Nous.
Composition of Tears.
The principal element in the comDo-