The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1899-02-27
More Than 500 are
Discovered
%sS
UPON SMALL SOUTH SEA ISLAM
stofy OF tho Strange Race Tasi
Carved the images and
Persisted.

/ Recent exploration on Easter Isl
/ and that mysterious rock In the
Southern Pacific where such won
dorful stone giants and other pre-
+ historic relies are found has reHul.
ted In a number OF very interesting
discoveries. To be- described In n
forthcoming bulletin OF the Nation
al Museum by nr George II Cooke.
a surgeon in the United States navy.
f An expedition led by him made
complete examine ton of this nota-
+ bic bit OF terra firina. which Is stu.
ated nearly on the Troplc OF Cap.
ricorn. 2i00 niles due wcat from the
South American coast There were
numerous caVernB literally filled
with human bones and beneath the
platforms upon which the stone
giants formerly stood we're cham.
beers filled with skeletons The. hole
Island. indeed was vast eharuei
house. aud one auhierruueau vault
Of vast size contained an Immense
deposit consisting exclusively OF
skulls. The nituatlon OF the Easter
Island In the trarklesa waste of the
Pacific 10 singuiafly lonely. tho
nearest land being 100 miles Co the
westward. IL ~ only thirteen miles
Ing by seven in width and scarcely
tree grows upon H. Nevertheless
u had formerly very numerous
population. estimated at not less
than 10000. aud the puzzle Is To i'm.
asiue what became of these people
who. judging from the astonishing
aerumulationE OF skeletons. must
have held occupancy for a great
length Of time They seem TO have
been 81 n race altogether different
f from that Of the present inhabi.
tanis. and among various arts they
practiced sculpture OF gigantic stat
Ties Of stone. the Ike Of which have
never been found IA any other pnrt
OF the world. The quariea In witch
{ roloasi we're hcWn from solid roek
remain today just as they were left
by the prehistoric artists whose
F work seems 10 have been brought to
a sudden stop by A calamity tina,
overwhelmed she island and wiped
out nearly everything living on IL
Gigantic statat~s.
The yoyRxcr who might have hp.
f preached Easter Island t9o years
aso would have witnessed a remark.
T able spectacle He would have be
{ held placed a. intervals alonE the
shore. great platforms OF hewu
stone aud on them rows Of stone
statues with their faces toward the
sea. rs II representing 30 many tu-
tciary tivtniiieA keeping eternal
+ watch upon the ocean In behalf OF
the ISLANDERS on ore % theAe plat
forms be might have cuanfed fiftenu
such eolnHAi. from forty 90 sixty feet
T IN height This. indeed. was the
platform In n wide paved space. ap
I largest and most impoaiuE OF all
{ II vas eight feet In height. nine fe@t
vide and $40 feet long. Today the
platforms remain. but all the stat
ues have been thrown down and lie
/ scattered about In front OF eac.
I platform IL a wide paved epacr. ap
paruntly designed - afford standing
room for a Considerable multitude
II was formerly supposed that the
statues were gods. worHhiped as
IDOLS. but IL now appears thry mere
I ~ represent chiefs and other dlstin.
[ guishsd persoahEes. being. IN fact.
{ portraits In stone. some Of them evi.
I IDENTIFY females. Whichever their
ser. they commonly wore on their
heads cyiindor.shaped crowns Of a
reddish volcanic tufa. which separ.
ately weighed two or three tons a.
Crowas Weighed Tons.
[ piece. The figures themselves.
each having the form OF the upper
half or n human being are of gray
lava. The whole Island being OF
volcanic origin. there ia no lack of
this material. winch Ia rather soft
and therefore well adapted for car.
I wing with the stone tool evidently
employed by the prehistoric artists.
No fewer than 555 OF the statues
I have been found. The platforms
on which they originally stood uAu.
ally contain chambers filled with
skeletons. the bodies of the dead
consigned to these sepulchers hav-
Ing been wrapped In dry grass and
laid with their heads toward the
ocean. In some instances the plat.
forms are provided with great oven
like reccptaeleA. which may have
been utilized. as has been surmlscd.
I for cannihal feasts on a large scale.
There Ia no mystery as to the or
/ igin of the statues, inaAmuch an
many OF them are found In various
stages OF completion in the auarrles
which served as workshops for turn
ing them out The largest OF the
volcanic mountains on Easter fsl-
and ~ Rama Roraka, which Is 1927
feet high and has a crater four-hfths
OF a mile in diameter The edge OF
the crater forms n nearly perfect
circle. broken only at n point on the
south side. through which the lava
stream, when the volcano was act
i've, found its way to the sea, ln>
side Of the crater the cliffs have
been cut into terraces by she image
makers and here and there one rees
stone giant half finished. or near.
ly ready to receive the final touches
from the artists tool Other stat
ues are again merely sketched out
upon tho rocky walls as nrelimin.
airy to beginning the work OF snulp-
| ture.
On the outer slope Of the crater is
another and even more extensive
workshop. and here other incom'
plete statues are found. Just as In
Egypt, In the quarries of Syens, the
greatest of the obelisks still lies un.
finished. so In this workshop out
side the crater. may be seen the
biggest OF the images found on the
How They wcro Made.
island. stlll adherlng to the bedrock
and measuring seventy feet In
length, The last step In the pro
cess OF sculpture was to cut the back
Of the statue away from the rock
from which II had been carved. In.
side Of the crater there are ninety
statues forty of which are ready to
be conveyed to their platforms on
the coast. Necessarily the labor
involved In the process OF transpor'
tation must have been enormous, in
aamuch rs the images, Weighing
from twelve to forty tons each, had
90 be carried great distances over
! .-1.... arrDa..aIn. ..o..nlr. Il L. hnll ~