The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-08-23
MYSTERIES OF THE PACIFIC.
Interesting Evidences of . Civilization OF
Great Antiquity.

Modern science. which has brought o.
ligh; buried Troy. revealed the place Of an
cicnt Babylon, untombed the mummy Of the
| Pharaoh Of Moses. and constructed some
| thing Of a history iOr the aIteCs and mound
builders. stands baillcd before the my SIC
rims ruins of the Pacific sea islands
Kusaie. otherwise known rs strong Is
| land, of the Caroline archipelago, with g.
circumference hty miles. j, covered With
! massive ruins Of a remote date. They bear
the outlines Of Publications, and are bulli
| Of stones ten feet long. duly squared on ,lN
sides, of geological formation not met
with on the island.
Ascension Island. known also as Panape
! is larger than kusaIc. possesses similar
ruins, bat much larger. In one place re-
mains wall 300 feet long and 30 feet high,
/ forming court.
Little Easter Island.0n the eastern out
| skirts OlPOlyncsia, has no running water
no trees, nothing 10 attract inhabitants
| Yet this island is peopled 10y Polynesians OF
/ the fair type, such rs are found far away in
| the society Islands, and is covered with re-
mains 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 nearly a hun
| dred stone houses. built IN regular lines and
| facing the sea. The walls OF these houses
are five feet thick and over five feet high.
! built Of LAYERS of Hat stones, and lined inside
with Hat slabs. Internally the houses
measure about forty feet lorg by thirteen
feet wide. and they are rooted over with
slabs overlapping like tiles. The inside
walls are painted in three cOi0rs - red.
black, and 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 British museum.
The sea cliffs near this ancient settlement
are carved into grotesque shapes not uu-
like the paintings on the walls. and the
coast is marked with hundreds OF these
sculptures.
Again, on each headland Of the island
there is an enormous stone platform, built
Of hewn blocks of great size. fitted together
without cement. They are built -On slOpiug
ground, presenting on the seward side a
wall face twenty or thirty feet high and two
or three hundred feet long, and on the land
ward side a wall Of about three feet in
height, rising from leyeled 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 10 thirty-iiye 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 Hat 10 allow Of crowns being placed on
them, which crowns seem tQ.haye been
made not-oi the same iaalorial as the sta
tues, but of red tufa. This has been traced
to an extinct crater within few miles Of
the houses, and on the brink Of this crater
a large number OF crowns were found lin
- .I nd raoIr i,.f
strange fate depeOpled the island of these
ancient worshipreis.
The images themselves are made Of gray
lava, which is only found at quite another
crater al the other end OF the island. At
this crater, called Otouli, there are several
finished and partly Unfinished images. Just "A, |
they were LEFT by the workmen. The head |
Of one Of these measures twenty feet from |
the nape OF the neck % the crown The |
faces Of the images have well-defined fea-
lures, with thin lips, broad noses, expanded !