TE PITO TE HENUA OR EASTER ISLAND. 695 



uuder way and continued our route along tlie cliffs on the north shore 

 of the island. At platform No, 29 a pit was excavated in which a col- 

 lection of human skulls, without any other portion of the remains, was 

 found. Our track this day led us to Anakena Bay, according to tradi- 

 tion the original landing place of King Hotu-Metua, his queen, and 

 followers, from whom the present inhabitants claim their descent. We 

 found at the head of the bay a fine, extensive sand beach, the first we 

 had fallen in with, forming a good landing place for small boats. The 

 breakers and still water in the vicinity were seen swarming with fish of 

 several varieties, of which the natives gave us their names. The sand 

 beaches were thickly strewn with the ''Portuguese man-of-war" {Phy- 

 salia utriculus), called by the natives PapaJcl, and which, to the writer's 

 great surprise, they informed him was eaten by them as food. Adher- 

 ent to the rocks was found the singular, cuirass-covered little creature, 

 called by the natives hemoma, one of the Chitons, perhaps the magi- 

 nificus, which is also used by them as an article of diet. Thus, also, a 

 small univalve, called by them nginf/ongiy large collections of the shells 

 of which were found stowed away in the walls of the stone huts at the 

 edge of the crater, on Eana Kao, where also was found the remains of 

 the Chiton. The sea urchin. Echinus (esculentusf), in Rapa ^m-hetuM, 

 and a diminutive snail, which they call 2^>Ph were found at Anakena, 

 All the above form a part of their dietary, and they seemed to speak of 

 and regard them as tidbits. 



Sometime was passed at Anakena, exploring its vicinity where, there 

 is every reason to suppose, an extensive town existed, for which the 

 nature of the surface, ascending gradually from the water's edge to 

 high land on either side, with a hill rising between and running back 

 into the interior, forms a most admirable site. The remains of former 

 habitations were found in various directions. At some distance back 

 from the sea on rising ground, in an isolated position, far removed from 

 any platform or image, was found the largest tufa crown we had yet 

 seen and which subsequent investigation proved the largest on the 

 island. It was slightly oval in shape, lay on its side, was buried in the 

 earth to a depth of about 2 feet, and by actual measurement was 27 feet 

 9 inches in circumference, 9 feet 9 inches in diameter across the long 

 and 9 feet 2 inches across the short oval, and 9 feet high. 



Beyond Anakena Bay the walking became especially difficult and 

 laborious at one point, near Ovahe Bay, it was necessary to scale the 

 face of a cliff, at about midway of its height, on a narrow ledge of rock. 



Our camp, named " Whitney," for the honorable Secretary of the 

 Navy, was located for this night near Hangaone Bay, about 4 miles 

 from our starting point of the morning, and it was nearly dark when 

 we entered its welcome precincts. Supj)lies from the ship, brought by 

 the boat, which had been nearly all day reaching Anakena, were carried 

 thence overland and arrived in camp during the evening. 



Near our present camping ground we found the best water of any 



