NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE 179 



strument was loaned by Dr. Benedict of the Nutrition Laboratory 

 of the Carnegie Institution. Unfortunately, conditions here were 

 very unfavorable for these studies, since we could not work on 

 shore. The vessel rolled so miserably in the open roadstead 

 that the patients were never at complete rest during the readings. 



One afternoon the Chilean exiles gave a tea in their tiny bamboo- 

 grove in the church-yard. They have put up a partition across 

 the nave of the village church, and live on one side. A very jerky 

 conversation was carried on in French, German, and Spanish — all 

 mixed at once into a single sentence at times. 



We picked up from these men and from Mr. Edmunds some 

 good yarns about white visitors to Easter Island. It seems an 

 aged priest was once sent out here from Chile to spend his last 

 days ministering to the natives. He was presented with a luxu- 

 rious gold-plated casket and a very large stock of wine on his de- 

 parture from the coast. Everything went well for several months 

 after his arrival: the casket was installed in the church as an 

 ornament, and the wine stowed in a cellar below. Since the 

 villagers have no taste for intoxicating beverages the old priest 

 thought his wine safe. However, he soon had reason to suspect 

 thievery. The barrels were installed in the altar upstairs, in hope 

 that the culprit would not dare to commit a sacrilege. Still it 

 leaked, and on investigation it was found that the village "police- 

 man" had developed the taste. The real tragedy in his story 

 came some time later when the wine was exhausted and the old 

 priest had not yet died. There was nothing to do but wait for 

 the annual boat and depart with his golden casket. He refused 

 to part with this although a very good offer had been made to 

 him. He could not sell it since it was a gift from his bishop at 

 home. In his stay on the Island he had been able to persuade at 

 least one couple to be married. The woman involved had been 

 told by her Tahitian father that it was a necessary rite. 



Some years ago the government of Chile had the sense of humor 

 to send out a "registrar of births, marriages, and deaths." Need- 

 less to say the man left in the next boat, for fear his arduous duties 

 should undermine his health! 



There have been several shipwrecks on Easter Island; and it 



