Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-07-28
THE MARQUESAS.
the Most Interesting Groups of
 I.Iands In fhe Pacific.

1s<<1S of islands that stud the expanse n fhs broad Pacific like glorious emer- s11s elusters some that are more beau x{f0I Than the Marquesas, but it is safe <s AL there are none that are more in fSrezting. While engaged in whaling, .xs 4 young man, l visited the Mar ,,,,asas islands a number of times, and a1wavs with increasing interest This oro,zn was discovered about two hum 3red.vears ago by Spanish navigator .asnsd Mandana, and the islands are aonafimes named after him.
 4,he Marquesas group, being of vol ra lie origin, are distinguished by lofty o.onIatain peaks that look from dis tanee like the remains of titanic ruins. Re{u1 situated near the equator the e1ixs.4te is warm and the vegetation is neculiarly luxuriant. The natives of these Islands are splendid specimens of b,5rnanity, the men being remarkable for their fine forms, great stature and fnarvelous strength. l remember see- ;,,o chief measured who stood six feet ejSbf inches in height, and he was efraiobt as a lance and as perfectly nror6rtioned as Greek statue, and s4len we wondered at his size he lax,6hed and told us that he had d hrnff.er who was much taller than him. 0xing to the climate, the only dress af t11c Marquesans is strip of bark e1oth about the waist, but they make ap for the want of raiment by the mos3 Elaborate system of tattooing l havs ever seen They tattoo every oar3 of the body, even to the palms of f31air hands, the toes of the feet and kbe shayen parts of their heads. This kaftooing is of the most elaborate desiQn. The intricate patterns, how exer. are seen only on men, the women c0nf1ning themselves to bracelet, tat tooed on the arm, or few blue rings on the fingers. The men who do the Eaftooing are artists in their way, and sro Supported in royal style at the ex- 0ense of the people into whose skins Ehey prick their curious patterns.
 While the men are so tall and hand sorne. curiously enough the women are 6onpara lively short of stature, being stu1apy and awkward in their figures. bnd hot particularly good looking. Like all savage childr en. those of the Marauesas islands are slender, graceful and Remarkably pretty. From child hood up to old age they delight in ar ran4ing their hair ill the most fantas- il fashion. Sometimes the whole crown s shagen except two tufts. one on each Bideof the head, which resembles horns. AQain, the hair is dressed in little punches, the spaces between them being shaven. each bunch being crowned by brieht sea shell or flower.
 Hat it is not only in their dress and eppearance that the Marquesans are peculiar Their houses are entirely 7i1ferent from those of the other is. anders. They are usually built of stone, and some of them are two stories n height, access to the upper floors be- Ene had by means of ladders, which are 1Sed from the outside, ent rance being made through the openings made for gindows. As in all warm countries, dres for cooking are built away from the houses, usually under a tree and Without any protecting roof. Like the Snknoans and Fijians, these people Eleepon mats, in the manufacture of which they show great skill.
 The MafqueSanS are very fond of ehi1dren, and every time child is horn to one of their chiefs they build I0f ita pretty little house and adorn tWt<h toys suitable to the sex
 I6e people live in villages, for they s9e very social, and in the center of eSerF cluster of houses there is al- N&ys to be found roofed-in ampi- 6aeater in which they hold their dances the full of every moon. These taAces are largely social, but they sti have a religious significance, (794Eh the people claim to be Chris
 1e Marquesans are very sisillful in onilding canoes and making war weap- o1e and before the coming of white l661onaries, about forty years ago, the k16es on the different islands were per- PetpAlly at war with each other. One qNf14ps method they had of declaring
 Was to send into the country of
 enemies secret spy, whose duty
 to kill or injure all the bread trees he could. As breadfruit is FzzzsS5Si elic pTllCipdl dfulcleS Ol 1000 these people, this cruel act might He'd cutting off supplies Prison
 no were taken in battle were in- &E3abiy offered up as sacrifices to their
 but unlike the New Zealanders
 She fijians, the Marquesans were
 E8nnibals
 Marquesans manage their canoes
 great skill and, of course, are ex- S9lx3nt swimmers. The shores of their
 are resorted to by great num- of monstrous sharks; but instead 2e1ng intimidated, the dusky swim
 do not hesitate to leap into the
 zkSr and dive down to attack the with their knives. The fact s<zzyery few of them are ever killed LIS dangerous work shows how skill
 nd brave they are.
 fepting the chiefs, who are per z.z to have as many wives as they the Marquesans do not prac-
 Polygamy. One reason. I think,
 the women are not physically 85 as the men is the fact that
 *4e work devolves on them. They
 rtually the hewers of wood and
 Eawers of water, and they do all
 grlcnltural work of the islands,
 IS very considerable, as the prin-