Ii. PITO TE HENUA, OE EASTEE ISLAND. 483 



vested in him, but it was supposed thai he had won the approval of 

 the great spirit " Meke Meke" and was entitled to receive contributions 



of food and other considerations from his fellows. The race for the dis- 

 tinguished honor of bearing off the first egg was an occasion of intense. 

 excitement. The contestants were held in cheek at Orongo until the 

 auspicious moment arrived, and the scramble commenced at the word 

 "go," pronounced by the king, who was about the only able-bodied man 

 on the island who did not participate. It was decidedly a go asyou- 

 please race, every man selecting his route to the sea by the circuitous 

 paths or directly over the face of the cliff, and many fatal falls are re- 

 corded as the result. 



The swim to Mutu Bau Kau was a trifling matter, the chief difficulty 

 being to return with an egg unbroken through the general scramble. 



The houses at Orongo were probably unoccupied except for a short 

 period in July of each year while awaiting the coming of the sea-birds. 

 The peculiarity of their construction might be accounted for by the fact 

 that the thatched hut, common to the plains, could not be used to ad- 

 vantage on this exposed bluff. The low, contracted entrances, were used 

 here as well as elsewhere Cor defense. Factional fights were common 

 and it was necessary that every house should be guarded against sur- 

 prise and easily defended. Another reason might be found for making 

 the openings as small as possible, in the absence of doors to shut out 

 the storms. The sculptured rocks in the vicinity of Orongo bear record 

 of the grateful contestants in the egg-races to the great spirit "Meke 

 Meke" for his benign influence and protection, much after the manner 

 in which boats, pictures, and other objects are dedicated to certain pa- 

 tron saints in more civilized portions of the earth. 



EMPLOYMENT OP NATIVES. 



The investigations in the vicinity of Orongo having been (hushed, a 

 contract was made with Mr. Brander for removing from the excavations 

 and transporting to the landing-place the frescoed slabs, inscribed door- 

 posts, and objects collected, ami the evening was devoted to the native 

 traditions until exhausted nature demanded a few hours rest. With a 

 view of propitiating the natives and securing their goodwill and "Co- 

 operation in prosecuting the work with the utmost dispatch, a number 

 of men were employed toassisl in the excavations made at Orongo, bul 

 the experiment proved a failure. They constituted themselves an ap- 

 preciative audience, and could not be induced to work. They evinced 

 a lively interest in all that was going on, aud performed astounding gas- 

 tronomic feats at mealtime. We concluded to dispense with their serv- 

 ices after a demonst rat ion of their dexterity in causing the disappear- 

 ance of every small object that remained unprotected for a moment. 

 Several of the. head-men, afterwards employed as guides to accompany 

 the expedition around the island, and stimulated with the hope of bounti- 



