IE PITO TE HENUA, OR EASTER ISLAM). 473 



service rendered, such as image making, etc, but this privileged class 



had no authority vested in them over their fellows. Personal security 

 and the rights of private property were little regarded, and disputes 

 were settled by king or chief without regard to law or justice. There 

 was no code of laws, the people avenged their own injuries, and per- 

 sons who incurred the displeasure of the rider were marked as victims 

 for sacrifice. It docs not appear that any great homage was paid the 

 king, and no tax was exacted of the people. Long-continued custom 

 was accepted as law, and defined the few duties and privileges of the 

 private citizen. 



Maurata, the last of along line of kings, together with all of the prin- 

 cipal chiefs of the islands was kidnapped by the Peruvians ami died 

 in slavery. Since that time there has been no recognized authority 

 among the natives; every man is his own master, and looks out for his 

 own interests. 



In 1863-'C4 the natives were converted to Christianity by Frere Eu- 

 gene, a Jesuit missionary. A Frenchman called Dutron -Hornier had 

 settled upon the island and started an extensive (arm, and a conflict of 

 authority sprang up between the two foreigners, which led to bitter 

 tends between the natives. Dutrou-Hornier lived with a common wo- 

 man, who had been the wife of* a chief, and he succeeded in having her 

 proclaimed queen of the island, under the name of Korato. A system 

 of espionage and intrigue was instituted by Queen Korato, guided by 

 the Frenchman's instructions, which resulted in an (.pen rebellion 

 against the ecclesiastical authority. The missionary was finally com- 

 pelled to leave the island, and he removed to Gambier Archipelago 

 with about three hundred of his followers, giving Dutrou-Hornier and 

 Queen Korato a clear field. The Frenchman was killed in August, 187G, 

 by being thrown from his horse while drunk, and Queen Korato and her 

 two children survived him only a few years. Mr. Salmon found upon 

 his arrival that none of the natives had assumed authority over his 

 fellows, and in due course that gentleman became to all intents and 

 purposes the king of the island, ruling the people with kindness and 

 wisdom and thus securing their unbounded respect and esteem. 



I1URIAL OF THE DEAD. 



Hundreds of tombs, cairns, platforms, and catacombs were examined 

 during our stay on the island, and in all cases the bodies were lying 

 at full length. In a vault beneath platform No. 1 1 are a number of 

 skulls packed together in sufficient quantity to completely fill the com- 

 partment — trophies of war perhaps, in view of the fact that the skulls 

 were those of adults; but in no single instance did we discover the re- 

 mains doubled up as the Eneas and other American aborigines were in 

 the habit of burying their dead. In the early ages it was the custom 



to wrap the corpse in dried gra88, bound together by a mat made of 

 sedge, and whether laid in platform, cairn, or cave, the body was 



