190 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE 



The following narrative of Rogewein's discovery of Easter 

 Island, though not exactly in place here, is altogether too delightful 

 to miss. It is copied from Henry's "Voyage Round the World," 

 published in London in 1774. The book is so inaccessible that a 

 few extracts are given for the benefit of those who are interested. 



"Upon the 6th day of April, being in latitude 27°S. and 

 longitude 268°E., we discovered an island, hitherto un- 

 known to any European; for which reason, according to 

 the usual custom on the first discovery of any unknown 

 land, we christened it by the name of EASTER ISLAND, 

 it being the anniversary of our Savior's Resurrection on 

 that very day that we arrived there. As soon as the 

 anchors were ready to drop, we observed at a distance a 

 neat boat, of a very remarkable construction, the whole 

 patched together out of pieces of wood, which could 

 hardly make up the largeness of half a foot. This boat 

 was managed by a single man, a giant twelve feet high, 

 who exerted all his strength to escape us, but in vain, 

 because he was surrounded antl taken. 



"His body was painted with a dark-brown colour. 

 We tried with such signs and words as are used here and 

 there among the islands of the South Seas, to get some 

 intelligence from him, but could not perceive that he 

 understood anything, wherefore we permitted him to go 

 into his boat again and depart. Two days afterwards 

 the whole sea was covered with the savage inhabitants of 

 this island, who came swimming round the ship in such 

 multitudes, that we neither could, nor did we think it 

 advisable to land. They clambered like cats up the 

 ship's side with the utmost assurance, and came aboard, 

 where they did not appear to be in the least afraid of us, 

 but they seemed very much surprised at the largeness and 

 extent of our ships and rigging, and could not conceive 

 the meaning of all that they saw; but their curiosity was 

 chiefly engaged by the great guns, which they could not 

 enough admire, and which they frequently struck their 

 hands upon, to try if they could not lift them up, and 

 carry them ofl^; but when they saw that such logs by such 

 an attempt were too heavy for them, and could not be 

 moved, these overgrown fellows stood abashed, and were, 

 in appearance, very much out of humor. 



"They no sooner came aboard, than we immediately 



