s 



476 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1889. 



throwing stones and darting the spear were favorite amusements and 

 always a prominent feature of all feasts. The clans were always led to 

 battle by the chief, but there was no particular formation. Every man 

 acted in accordance with his individual fancy, or as occasion demanded, 

 relying upon skill and strength alone. No shields were used and no 

 particular efforts were made to parry the weapons of the enemy. 



In view of the fact that the islanders all acknowledged the authority 

 of one king, their wars were surprisingly numerous, barbarous, and un- 

 relenting. The traditions are filled with accounts of sanguinary con- 

 flicts originating from trivial causes and continued through genera- 

 tions, until one party or the other were entirely exterminated. The 

 slaughter on the field of battle was never very great, but in the event 

 of a general defeat, the vanquished party was pursued by the victor? 

 to the hiding places, their habitations destroyed, females captured, 

 children and infirm persons brutally murdered. The defenseless un- 

 fortunates who fell victims to their merciless captors, accepted their 

 fate, whether it was slavery, torture, or butchery, with remarkable for- 

 titude, seldom if ever making any show of resistance. 



EXPLORATION OF THE ISLAND. 



Thejl/o/n'mwcametoanchorin the roadstead of HangaRoa(PlateX\ T I) 

 on the morning of Saturday, December 18, 1886. The individuals most 

 interested in the exploration of the island went on shore without delay, 

 and the work was pushed forward as rigorously as possible until the 

 hour appointed lor the sailing of the ship for Valparaiso on the even- 

 ing of the last day of the year. 



Messrs. Salmon and Brander boarded the ship upon her arrival and ex- 

 tended the hospitalities of Easter Island, placing their limited resources 

 entirely at our command with a heartiness that won our immediate es- 

 teem, and which ripened into sincere friendship before our departure. 

 These gentlemen are closely connected with the royal family of Tahiti, 

 and we had been intrusted with letters and various articles from rela- 

 tives and friends who desired to embrace the opportunity for commu- 

 nication offered by the Mohican. 



Upon lauding at Hanga Koa we found nearly all of the natives on 

 the island congregated to receive their unknown visitors. The men in- 

 spected us closely and were profuse in friendly demonstrations, while 

 their wives and daughters gazed curiously from a little distance, and 

 the children's manner plainly showed the enjoy meut of an occasion of 

 infrequent occurrence in their quiet lives. Surrounded by this crowd 

 we walked about a mile to the house of Mr. Biauder, where the bag- 

 gage, tools, and impedimenta in general were deposited. During the 

 afternoon a reconnaissance was made to the crater of liana Kao and the 

 aucfent stone houses in the vicinity, and in the evening we crossed the 

 island in a light wagon with Mr. Salmon to his residence at Vaihu. 

 That gentleman has, during his long residence on the island, accumu- 



