Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-08-15

huOWu giant, IAcy AWAKEN ASSI1uS VI
deep mystery.
The statues which stood on stone
| terraces, their backs to the sea, when
the first Europeans saw the island,
must have constituted even a weirder
| sight than those standing on the
mountain slopes today. For those
specially placed images had balanced
on their heads great that's" of reddish
stone to feet in diameter and to
6 feet thick. On the top of each was
a smaller crown or knob, the whole
suggesting in appearance an excessive
ly thick-brimmed straw hat of today.
How tiny Easter island, mere PIN
point in the vast Pacif1e-a thousand
miles from even it's smallest inhabited
neighbor, and 1900 miles from the
| nearest archipelago have been
peopled, is something of a problem.
The landing of canoes Of islanders
from so far westward must have been
by the merest chance and must have
involved as well the loss Of many I'M
cations in the Gambler islands, 1,50J
miles west of Easter island, disclosed
folk lore referring to three migrations
to an island far to the east, presum-
ably the Easter island of today; but
none of the folk records refer to the
mysterious statues, and no images
similar to them were found on the
Gambler islands. In many of the Pa
cific islands small images Of wood are
carved; and such carvings were also
made by the Easter islanders. 1t has
been suggested that the newcomers to
Easter island, finding the rather soft
volcanic ash-stone that could be
worked relatively easy, used this
heretofore unknown material for cary
Ing instead of stone, and because Of
the practically unlimited amount of
the stuff, increased many times over
the size of the figures. Measurements
Of the skulls of the old Easter island
ers show shapes and brain capacity
suggestive of a considerable degree of
intelligence, and it is thought that they
might easily have possessed much ar
tistic initiative.
Island Belongs to Chile.
The island, discovered by the Dutch
and for a while possessed by the
Spanish, now belongs to Chile, but for
long periods there has been no civil
Chilean representative in residence. A
Chilean company operates cattle and
sheep ranch on the island which sup
ports luxuriant growth of grasses.
About once year ship sails, leaves
supplies and takes away wool and
hides. The cattle are killed for their
hides alone, and the surplus meat is
thrown away.
There are no harbors, no trees ex-
cept few figs and bananas, and no
running water. But the population of
perhaps 1000 which the island sup
ported in it's palmiest days before the
advent of Europeans had little diff
Guilty in obtaining the water which
they needed from lakes in the extinct
volcanoes and from springs on the
beach, exposed at low tide, fed from
the lakes.
Dramatically, this remote island is
paradise. 1t is reasonably moist and
temperate with the southeast trade
wind blowing most Of the year. In
the small fields or plots Of the natives
are grown bananas, sweet potatoes,
melons, corn, pumpkins, pineapples,
tomatoes, cotton and tobacco. More
than three-fourths Of the island is
pasture land. Most of the remainder
is covered with broken lava.
Only about 200 natives, Kanakas of
mixed blood, now live on the island.
Peruvian slave traders kidnapped
close to 1000 of the natives at one
time during the past century, blow
which struck doubly at the unfortun-
ate natives, for some were returned
after a protest by France and carried
smallpox with them. Many of the in
habitants who had survived the raid
persisted from the disease. Since that
time there has been practically no
tribal organization.
Easter island played It's part in the
World war and evidently had figured
for years la German naval plans over
against "der Tag" German vessels
from all parts of the Pacific quietly
assembled there in the summer of 1914
preparatory to united action under
Admiral ven Spec. But it was a rem
devious with death. From there the
assembled feet sailed to its destruc-
ton by British squadron Off the
Falklands.