322 EASTER ISLAND. 



the spot, with all the freshness of narrative that usually accompanies articles so 

 written. 



"Mr. Viaud's work, though in French, will also be interesting, being, like Mr. 

 Calligan's, so very modern, and written upon the spot. You will find it noticed 

 in Harper's Weekly of April 26th, 1873, before mentioned in this letter. 



' ' I am very anxious to see whether the characters on the blocks agree with 

 those on the sculptures on the island of Java and other East Indian islands on 

 the coast. If you have now, or can get a chance to see, a work on East Indian 

 sculptures, please consult it and inform me of the result. 



"Yours in haste, 



"Thomas Croft. 

 "Professor George Davidson, 



"President California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco." 



"Papeete, Tahiti, April 30th, 1874. 

 "President California Academy of Sciences. 



"Dear Sir: Yours of the 4th ult., requesting me to procure for you photo- 

 graphs of all the blocks of characters in the possession of the Mission here, and 

 also the scenery, monuments, people, etc., of Easter Island, was duly received 

 by me, and I hasten to comply with your requests. Accompanying this letter 

 you will receive 52 photographs in duplicate as follows: Nos. 1 and 2 back 

 each other; Nos. 3 A, 3 B, and 3 C, and Nos. 4 A, 4 B, and 4 C, also back each 

 other; the block from which they were taken is over a yard long, and I was 

 obliged to have it taken in six sections, three on each side, in order that the 

 characters should be large enough to enable you to see them distinctly. Nos. 

 5 and 6 back each other that is, the one was taken from one side of the block, 

 and the other from the other. No. 7 is taken from a lithograph in possession 

 of the Bishop. No. 8 is taken from a manuscript chart of Easter Island, also 

 in the possession of the Bishop. This chart was made by the officers of the 

 Chilian corvette O'Higgin in 1870, as stated on the chart; the names having 

 been corrected by the Bishop personally, from information derived from the 

 islanders themselves now in his employ here. No. 9 was taken from part of an 

 engraving contained in Harper's Weekly of April 26th, 1873, which please see, 

 as it is interesting and truthful ; it and the lithograph were taken by Lieutenant 

 Viaud, of the French frigate La Flore, Admiral de Lapelin, on the occasion of 

 said Admiral's conveying away one of the busts from Easter Island, and which 

 he brought here, afterwards took to France. I called him Admiral Roussen, in 

 mistake, in my first letter to the California Academy of Sciences. No. 10 

 and No. 1 1 are two groups of natives of Easter Island, differently taken, on 

 account of the imperfection of the camera used, which was a French instrument. 

 The photographer is about to receive an American camera from California, 

 when he hopes to take the large photographs in a better manner. Nos. 12 

 are two different photographs of the natives on the act of making fire, taken 

 just at the moment of producing fire. One of them holds his hat to prevent 

 the wind from cooling the groove and blowing away the fine wood dust which 

 is produced by the rubbing, and which forms the tinder ; another holds the 

 stick rubbed, to prevent its being disarranged, and the third has just finished 

 the rubbing. Nos. 13 and 14 back each other, and are similar to those in the 

 archives of the Academy. Nos. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 are portraits of 

 Easter Island natives as they now dress, in the employ of the mission here. 

 Nos. 21 and 22 back each other. No. 23 is a photograph taken at the request 

 of the Bishop, some time since. I have procured two copies to send to you, 

 because it is interesting. The gray-bearded priest in the center is one of two 

 priests who were formerly on Easter Island, and who are accused by a portion 



