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

sheep. two goats and two pigs. In the
TUNED tombs and platforms mvriads OF
rats OF great size find a refuge. The bones
are much gnaged by them, and their nests
are often discovered inside of the skulls.
Many OF the caves are inhabited by cats OF
surprising bigness and of formidable ap-
pearance, which are the wild descend
ants of feline pets landed by
passing. vessels. Aquatic birds OF the
KIND known as "noddies" are so
tame that they will sit on the shoulders of
the natives. Marine turtles abound and
occupy prominent place in the native
traditions, being frequently represented IN
hleroglyphs and on the sculptured rocks.
a species of crayfisn is caught by diving,
and giant cells are hshed for in the crevlces
along the shore. Enormous cockroaches
lniest the caves, the full-grown ones meas
uring two inches in length, with antennae
to correspond
The tablets OF wood already referred to
are among the most remarkable objects
found on Easter island. They are in
scribed with Photographic characters, so
beautifully executed that the writing
would do credit to the art of the modern
engraver, although they were made with
no better tools than obsldian points.
knowledge OF these written characters
was confined to the royal family. the
chiefs of the six districts. the sons OF the
obliged by law to assemble once q year
for the purpose of hearing ali the
tablets read. This occasion, called the
Feast of the Tablets" was the most i'm
portant festival of the year. not even war
being allowed to interfere with it. When.
IN 1853, the Peruvians captured and carried
away the king and all persons in author
lty, there was no one left who was able to
read the characters. save one old man,
from whom the expedition got the key by
plying him with stlmulants. Tradition
says that sixty-seven tablets were brought
to the island BY its tirst king, Hotu- Matua.
They contained aliegories, PROVERBS anu
traditions relating TO the land whence he
came. One of the more modern tablets
reads as follows:
When the island first became known to our
forefathers it was crossed with roads beautifully
paved with fat stones. Coffee trees were grow
ing close together along the borders OF the roads
30 that they met overhead and the branches
were laced together like mussels. Heke was the
builder OF these roads and ii was he who sat IN
the place of honor in the middle where the
roads branched away in every direction. The
roads were cunningly contrived to represent the
plan OF the web of the gray and black spider
and no man could discover the beginning or the
end thereof.
Such being the case, one might imagine
that Easter island would not have been an
easy place to find ones way about in dur
ing those happy days. The legend Of
Hotu-Matua is very interesting one.
He dweit on an island far to the westward,
being powerful chief. His brother fell
in love with a girl who could not decide
between him and another sutton. Finally
she told the other fellow that she would
accept him on condition that he
would walk around the island
without stopping to rest or sleep.
While he was doing the circuit
she eloped with Hotu- Matua's brother. A
war followed, and Hotu-Matua and his
brother Were compelled TO dy, after many
defeats. They took two big canoes, each
ninety feet in length, with 500 followers.
Oric, the Tilted lover, came along in dis
guise. and when they got to Easter island
he hid among the rocks and murdered
every one he could get chance at. At
ler 9Th Hotu-Matua caught him in a net
and pounded him to death. Whether all
this is true or not, there seems to be no
doubt that Easter island was originally
colonized by Maiayo- Polynesian stock.
Wonderful monuments of antiquity are
scattered all through Polynesia, and there
is hardly group of islands on which the
explorer cannot find great works, archi-
tectural and otherwise, of peoples which
passed away ages ago. In the Friendly
islands are the graves of the Tui-Tongas-
nineteen truncated pyramids, each 100
feet square at the base, and rising to the
height OF twenty-five feet. The stones of
which they are composed are huge blocks
of coral concrete, many of them eighteen
feet long and weighing twenty tons.
They were cut three miles away,
and it is mystery how they
could have been transported for
such a distance. The construction ofthese
pyramids extended over period of 1.250
years. They are overgrown by dense for
ests of banyan and other trees. The TUT
Tongas were hereditary high priests. Ac-
cording to law they could only marry the
daughters of the king. Their sons became
priests, while their daughters were brought
UP to the duties of Vestal Virgins. The
latter served in the temples and were not
permitted to marry. In 1868 the last of
the Tui-Tongas died.
The architectural ruins of Java surpass
those of Central America. At Chandi-
Sewa are found the remains of what was
once an assemblage of 296 temples, mr.
ranged in five parallelograms, one inside
of the other. In the center of all is 4 large
emple in the shape of cross, surrounded
by forty flights of steps, richly ornamented
with sculptures, and containing many
apartments. Eighty miles to the eastward
is the temple of Borobods. consisting of a
central dome fifty feet in diameter, around
which is q triple circle of SEVENTH
two towers, the whole building being go
feet square and l00ie high. In the walls
are inches containing 400 cross-legged fig
ures larger than life. The amount of
human labor and skill expended upon the
pyramids OF Egypt sink into insignihcance
when compared with that which was re-
quired to complete this sculptured temple
in the interior of Java Forty miles south
west of Samarang, on the same island is
an extensive plateau covered with the
ruins of temples. to reach which four stone
stairways were constructed, each con-
tanning more than q thousand steps.
Traces of nearly 400 temples are found
there, all of them decorated with rich and
delicate sculptures. In Eastern Java the
ruins of forts. palaces, baths, temples and
aoueducts are 10 be seen everywhere.
Likewise all through Polynesia are stu
pendous ruins, illustrating the science and
taste of paA ages and vanished races.
RENE BACHE.