Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-12-04
TRIP TO THE ORIENT
Clarence e. Edwords Touring the
Eastern Countries.
HE is OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.
INTERESTINGLY WRITTEN IN WEEK
LY LETTERS, WHICH WILL Ap.
PEAR IN The RECORDER.


Papara, Tahiti. July 3D..
twenty five mile drive over tn
most beautiful road that can be i'm
agined brought us to Papara, and
e'felt as if were in a dream
ever since / got here. | hav
dreamed of such scenes as this, blu
never in my waking moments hav'
imagined that it could be real. Pa
para is the country home of Tat
Salmon and has been the residence
of the royal family along this line
ever since native legends begin. Ir
early days Salmon's ancestors were
of the priesthood, and short dis.
lance away is one Of the ancien,
sacrifcial places, with the stone on
which were stretched the bodies of
the people who were victims. Back
in the hills, half hidden in the dense
tropical underground, stands one
of the mysteries of the island. It
is gigantic statue of an ancient
god. But Tahitians do not carve
stone, nor do their legends tell Of
such an art. Nocarving implements
have ever been found. This stat
lie is an immense head and bust,
with demoniac features, standing
some twenty feet high and carved
out of solid rock.
According to the stories told by
Salmon this was once worshipped
by the islanders, who knew moth
ing of its origin. Because of it's
terrible expression it was supposed
to be god which demanded hui
man sacrifice, and the rites atten-
dant upon that sacrifice were per-
formed by the priestly ancestors of
the Salmon family. Tahitians
were never cannibals, in the true
sense of the word. They never ate
the bodies of human beings, but at
these human sacrafces it was the
custom of the priest to remove the
heart of the victim and divide
it among certain favored witnesses
of the sacrifice, who ate it raw.
In the family mansion here,
which is a long, low, rambling
of many rooms, each |
looking out on a porch or veranda,
are many of the ancient relics Of
early days when the people were
savage, and not the least interest
ing Of these is the sacrificial ak with
which the former priests killed
their human victims. 1t is the
only one in existence, and has been
handed down from the early
priests. 1t is formed of a piece Of
hard rock, about thesize and shape
Of a saucer, or rather the shape of
two saucers, bowls together. The
edge is sharp and in the center is
a hole through which passes the
wooden handle. On the end of the
handle, which is fastened with
strong thongs, is bunch of feath-
srs of bird that is now extinct.
Spears that have human blood
stains on them, adorn the walls,
and among the implements of war
are two immense bows, made Of ex-
,eedingly hard wood, which are so
strong that no man has been found
n recent years who can string them.
These bows are about eight feet
ong. and bear out the statement
If Salmon that his great grandfath-
,r was eight feet tall, and in all his
army of three thousand men not
me was less than six and a half
eet tall. A massive war club, FIVE
eet long, and so heavy that |
Gould scarce lift it to striking po-
ition, is still further evidence of
he great size of the ancient Tahi-
ians.
This house, in addition to it's
other attractions, is
aunted by the head of the Sal
non family, who was murdered in I
is bed by an enemy. 1t is said
hat this ghost makes periodical
lists, and one of the members of
ur party was sure that she heard ,
under her bed one night. but the
host turned out to be a big dog, J,
, our sensation lasted but a short ,
lille.
An immense beugainville vine
overs the front porch and the roof