The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-31

"as deieated in war and besieoed :, .
vase stronghold. Being reduced tn star
on, lhey ate the prisoners tn ~ had
Ssapsured, and the custom obeained sYch
aise .nat enemies slain in battle were
go, 60 useonred Finally il came about that
rival 1,hs.olt.''iate against whom the most
e.. la charges were made met similar
.eee. any person who displeased the king
n mas marked for sacrifice ard oobhled
inere were even cases where children were
e1ssn oy their parents, simply for the
Sba.tlhcatlon OF an unhealthy appetite
~ naihs are found today of sacrSncial affairs
on on which there is reason TO believe that
thousands OF individuals were cooked
IN these affairs are receptacles which we're
utiilzed az ovens for roasting To a nroner
turn the bodies o. victims. Up to so re-
cent time has cannibaiism prevailed that
t1f oder islanders now surviving acknowi-
eage having consumed ''long pig'' when
OF cooking employed.
Tue completion OF burial platform was
satWays made the occasion for a feast
araaltion states that the one called
amir was the last built Its work.
,,nanship was exceptionally fire, as NAV
pe seen to this day. and it was intended
that the seyenty-foot image in the crater
workshop should stand upon il. Every
thing being in readiness, a great cannibaI
banquet was given by the powerful tribe
slnapu. Unfortunately, the wife of the
cnlei OF this tribe, who herself belonged to
the longariki clan, was sighted in the
uivision OF the "long pig" not receiving
the rlo roast or other selected norton
Wnich she was entitled to by her rank. ac-
cordlng TO Easter island etiquette. En-
ragged at the insult, she went back to her
own clan, which rose in BODY to defend
Iongariki honor. Bloody wars followed.
during which the platforms were wrecked
aho the statues thrown down. and thus
We're these extraordinary works ruined.
LIE ancient government was an arbi-
trary monarchy, the people being gov
erned by an hereditary king whose person
was sacred. Into six districts the island
was divided. each being ruled by chief.
whose authority descended from father TO
son. They acknowledged the supremacy
OF the KING, who could remove or put to
death any OF them, naming a successor
from the same clan. These chiefs wore
peculiar feather hats to denote their rank.
they were continually at war with one
another, but the authority of the monarch
was not disturbed by their quarrels. In
1869 Maurata. the last of the kings, was
captured and carried away by the Peru
vans, together with all the chiefs and
most OF the other able-bodied men, the
unfortunate savages being doomed to
spend the rest of their days at work on the
guano deposits. They were cruelty
treated, and of the few who were finally
released all save two died of smallpox on
their voyage back to the island The dis
ease, being carried ashore, almost wiped
out the population, which at present num-
bers only 155 souls.
Extraordinary tales were told by early
explorers of Easter island and its in
habitants. Behrens, who visited the place
IN l722, wrote that boat came off to the
ship steered by giant twelve feet high.
s1 "a Gas oil Of thn,.
tic size" he says, 1.-THE men averaging
twelve feet in height and broad in proper
ton. The tailest men on board the vessel
could pass between the legs of these chill
dren of Goliath without bending their
heads. The women cannot compare in
stature with the men, as they are not
commonly above ten feet high" The in
accuracy of his story Is sufficiently proved
by the fact that the remains of the island
ers obtained from the tombs show them to
have been of only medium size, the biggest
skeletons measuring less than six feet.
They were brutality treated by the whites
who first visited them, being shot down
mercllessly for no worse offense than in
dulging a weakness for petty thieving.
These natives attach no moral delin-
guency to the crime of stealing. They
had a god of thieving, and successful
thefts were believed TO be accomplished
under his patronage, those who commit
their acts were not sanctioned by the
divinity. The thief who was caught did
not lose the respect of his friends, but was
subject to retaliation in a peculiar form.
In case of detection he was obliged to sub
nit to being beaten and otherwise abused
by the injured party, and was not permit
ted to offer any resistance, though he
might be the stronger. Thus retaliation
could be enforced by the weak and feeble
against the strong and powerful and any
objection made to it would summon the
aid OF the entire community. An
Gent custom permitted the husband
to lease his wife to- another man
women, particularly the latter, were tat
tooed in elaborate patterns with sharp
pointed tshbones fastened to a stick, the
legs of the females being so covered with
designs in fine lace-work as to make them
look as if they had on silk tights. The
men threw stones with marvellous accu-
racy from the hand, and their spears were
pointed with nothing more formidable
than sharpened sections of calabash until
they found that hakes of volcanic glass in
tiicted more severe wounds. In front of
each dwelling was small excavation
lined with stone slabs in which fire was
built When the stones were sufficiently
heated the lire was removed, and the food
to be cooked was put into this primitive
oven and covered over with damp earth to
retain the warmth.
During the winter months large seabirds
of various species visit the island in vast
numbers for breeding purposes. Their
favorite spots of resort are two tiny islands
few hundred yards from the shore. Here
the first eggs of the season each year are
laid and in ancient times the occasion was
made one of festival. According TO the GUS
tom, the person who vas so fortunate as
to secure the first egg from the little
islands and return with it unbroken be-
came entitled to certain rights and privil-
eyes during the following twelve months.
He was supposed 10 have won the approval
of the great spirit of the sea, and
had right TO expect contributions
of food, etc, from his fellows. A certain
time was set for the scramble, which be-
gan at the word Ego" from the king, who
was the only able-bodied man that cid not
particlpate. Ii was q go-as-you~pleaSe
race. every one taking his own route over
the cliffs and swimming 10 the islands.
The scuiptured rocks along the shore bear
record 10 this day. in the form of carvings
representing the ocean deity, of the graft
tule of successful contestants in these an
nual egg-races.
Among the most interesting monuments
on Easter island are round towers built
upon projecting bluffs, usually surmount-
ing burial platforms which are iiiied with
human remains. AT these points men were
kept constantly on the watch for turtles,
winch furnished much of the food supply.
In a number of places along the shore are
discovered artificial hollows in the hard
rock. which must have been excayated at
a cost of great labor. They are so ar
ranged as to be JUST awash when the tide
ia f,1u and IL is believed that they we're