TE PITO TE HENUA OR EASTER ISLAND. 701 



tireless, anxious to please, and ready at all times, day or iiiglit, to do 

 our bidding. Two of tliem, Ijuka and Iluki, were especially useful to 

 us. The latter was the more intelligent of the two, and was remarkably 

 well informed regarding everything pertaining to the island. He knew 

 the name of every point, headland, bay, etc., and his replies to our 

 questions were given without hesitancy and so correctly, as we found 

 by testing him, that he frequently surprised us. The writer obtained 

 much information from him, and might have gained much more, 

 regarding the native plants, insects, shells, etc., but unfortunately our 

 interpreter, who had been but a short time on the island, was practically 

 useless as a medium between us, and to understand each other's meaning 

 was therefore most difficult. Owing to this fact, the want of facilities 

 and conveniences for collecting and preserving specimens, and the 

 absence of works of reference, but little could be accomplished in the 

 particulars above mentioned. 



A source of great annoyance to us during our trip was the hordes of 

 flies which kept us company on the march, and then whenever we 

 approached camp in the evening were greeted and cordially welcomed 

 by other hordes which had been in previous possession of the locality. 

 Many of the islands of the South Pacific are noted for the swarms of 

 flies which infest them, one Eairoa, having been named by the navi- 

 gator Schouten, 161G, Yliegen Islands by reason of the myriads which 

 assailed and finally drove him to sea. 



Another, and in some respects even worse plague, was the fleas, 

 which had their origin in the numerous dogs kept on the island. 



One more source of discomfort, in connection with our stay at the 

 hospitable lesidence of Mr. Salmon, was the host of cockroaches which 

 swarmed every part of the premises, measuring 2 or more inches in 

 length, with antennnB to correspond, and furnished with wings of a 

 beautiful glistening brown. 



TOPOGRAPHY. 



From the most reliable information obtainable it appears that the 

 ancient naine of the island was Te Pita te hernia. Eeferring to the 

 vocabulary it will be seen that the word Pito, in Rapa Nui signifies 

 navel, and henua, the uterus. What association of ideas could have 

 prompted these appellations it is, of course, difficult to imagine at the 

 present day. The following speculations, which have occurred to the 

 writer, are given for what they may be worth. The island is distinctly 

 of volcanic origin, and on nearly all the hills and mountains the craters 

 are clearly traceable, most markedly and startlingly so in the case of 

 Rana Kao, at the southwest end. As will be seen, the craters of both 

 volcanoes (all on the island are now extinct) are of great depth, with 

 lakes of water at their bottoms. In the cases of the other volcanoes 

 the (Taters are much more shallow, symmetrical, more evenly rounded, 

 overgrown with grass, present a very striking and beautiful appear- 



