The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-01-04
MYSTERY ISLANDS VANISH

Easter island, rumored to have
} disappeared beneath the Pacific at
} the time of the recent destructive
earthquake shocks in Chile, is the
subject of the following bulletin
from the Washington, D. c., head
quarters of the National Geographic
society.
eff Easter island had sunk be-
meath the ocean as it was rumored
to have DONE" says the bulletin,
''this final dropping of the curtain
on the island might have gone some
way toward solving it's mystery; for
this tiny bit Of land with its unique
gigantic statues is shrouded in
mystery and has remained since its
discovery one of the worlds I'M
solved riddles. One theory has been
that it represents the last pinnacle
of an ancient Pacific Atlantis which
disappeared beneath the waters
many centuries ago-a theory to
which disappearance of the island
might obviously lend support.
Far From Everywhere
Situated 1000 miles west of
South America and almost an equal
distance from other Pacific islands,
Easter island is one of the most iso-
lated inhabited regions on the globe.
| It's greatest length is less than
| Is miles and its greatest width
about seven, but its triangular shape
gives it an area of only fifty square
miles. Many an island as small has
gone practically unnoticed; but
former inhabitants unwittingly 'ad-
vertised' Easter island by setting up
huge images along it's beaches; and
to geographers and students of
human institutions and activities it
is as famous as any island of
Seven seas
''The mystery of Easter island be-
came recognized when Dutch navi-
gators discovered it on Easter morn
Ing, 1922, and reported that hun
dreds of strange stone figures of
men more than thirty feet high
stood everywhere about it's margins,
their backs to the sea. The natives
had only the crudest tales to &C
count for these images, which evil
IDENTIFY had been fashioned ages be-
fore.
Recent study has shown that the
images were mounted on terraces be-
low which the bodies of the dead
were exposed and often buried. But
whence came the idea for such
statues on this isolated island, and
how some of them, weighing many
tons, were moved and set in place
by the natives, have proved battling
enigmas.
Gigantic Statues Wear Hats
1.-THE statues were carved from
volcanic lava on the slopes of an ex-
tinct volcano. Scores of them re-
main still in and near the quarries.
Others have been moved various dis
tances, some remaining horizontal,
others placed in an upright position.
by magic-for miles across the
island. Altogether nearly 200 of
the huge figures are now visible, and
others are believed to have been
buried in landslides. The largest
standing statues are thirty-two feet
high, but one still reclining in its
quarry measures sixty-four feet in
length. On the heads of many of
The figures we're placed great cylin-
1rical hats of different colored
stone, each weighing several tons.
Easter island, discovered by the
Dutch and for while possessed by
he Spanish, now belongs to Chile,
out for long periods there has been
10 civil Chilean representative in
residence. A Chilean company OPP
crates cattle and sheep ranch on
he island, which supports luxur-
ant growth of grasses. About once
! year a ship calls, leaves supplies,
md take away wool and hides. The
,attle are killed for their hides
lone, and the surplus meat is
brown away.
Used for Base by Germans
"Only about 200 natives, Kanakas
i've on the island, but it is sup
osed to have supported several
inhabitants in the past.
'eruvian slave traders kidnapped
lose to 1000 at one time during the
asst century. Since then there has
cen practically no tribal Organiza
on
Easter island played its part in
ne World war, and evidently had
cured for years in German naval
lans against der Tag German
sssels from all ports Of the Pacific
lietly assembled there in the sum-
er of 1914, preparatory to united
,tion under Admiral Won Spec. But
was a rendezvous with death.
rom there the assembled fleet
lied to its destruction by British
luadron off the Falklands."