﻿ACADEMY 
  OP 
  SCIENCES. 
  319 
  

  

  them 
  away 
  with 
  him, 
  he 
  found 
  it 
  impossible 
  to 
  get 
  one 
  by 
  any 
  means, 
  and, 
  in- 
  

   deed, 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  natives 
  denied 
  having 
  any. 
  The 
  captain 
  of 
  the 
  sunken 
  ship, 
  

   however, 
  managed 
  to 
  get 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  of 
  them, 
  which 
  he 
  has 
  taken 
  to 
  Europe. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Calligan, 
  mate 
  of 
  an 
  American 
  vessel 
  from 
  your 
  port, 
  which 
  vessel 
  was 
  

   lately 
  wrecked 
  on 
  Easter 
  Island, 
  where 
  he 
  and 
  his 
  friends 
  built 
  a 
  boat 
  from 
  the 
  

   remains 
  of 
  the 
  wreck, 
  and 
  came 
  down 
  in 
  it 
  to 
  Tahiti, 
  (and 
  who 
  now 
  commands 
  

   a 
  small 
  schooner 
  sailing 
  among 
  the 
  islands 
  here) 
  also 
  managed 
  to 
  get 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   blocks, 
  which, 
  he 
  has 
  told 
  me, 
  (he 
  is 
  absent 
  just 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  writing) 
  he 
  has 
  

   sent 
  to 
  his 
  wife, 
  somewhere 
  in 
  California, 
  I 
  think. 
  When 
  he 
  returns, 
  I 
  will 
  try 
  

   to 
  find 
  out 
  where, 
  and 
  inform 
  you, 
  so 
  that 
  you 
  may 
  have 
  an 
  opportunity 
  to 
  see 
  

   and 
  probably 
  obtain 
  it, 
  or 
  at 
  least 
  to 
  obtain 
  a 
  photographic 
  representation 
  ot 
  

   its 
  characters. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Parker, 
  a 
  merchant 
  of 
  this 
  place, 
  informs 
  me 
  that 
  some 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  

   years 
  ago, 
  when 
  nearly 
  three 
  hundred 
  of 
  the 
  Easter 
  Island 
  natives 
  were 
  brought 
  

   to 
  Tahiti, 
  (as 
  laborers 
  for 
  a 
  term 
  of 
  years, 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  expiring) 
  they 
  had 
  a 
  

   number 
  of 
  blocks 
  in 
  their 
  possession 
  which 
  they 
  tried 
  to 
  sell 
  ; 
  but 
  they 
  charged 
  

   such 
  a 
  high 
  price 
  for 
  them 
  that 
  no 
  one 
  bought 
  them. 
  He 
  says 
  that 
  tliey 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  think 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  very 
  valuable, 
  but 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  bring 
  any 
  one 
  else 
  to 
  

   their 
  way 
  of 
  thinking. 
  Mr. 
  Parker 
  says 
  that 
  he 
  thought 
  (not 
  understanding 
  

   their 
  language) 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  mere 
  bits 
  of 
  wood 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  had 
  tried 
  their 
  

   skill 
  at 
  carving, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  characters 
  were 
  merely 
  ornamental, 
  and 
  that 
  he 
  

   did 
  not 
  sufficiently 
  admire 
  such 
  ornaments 
  to 
  cause 
  him 
  to 
  invest 
  any 
  money 
  in 
  

   it 
  — 
  at 
  any 
  rate, 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  they 
  demanded. 
  Had 
  he 
  known 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  por- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  their 
  records, 
  inscribed 
  in 
  an 
  ancient 
  and 
  peculiar 
  language, 
  he 
  would 
  

   have 
  bought 
  all 
  he 
  could 
  get 
  at 
  any 
  price. 
  Although 
  I 
  was 
  present 
  here, 
  my- 
  

   self, 
  in 
  Papeete, 
  at 
  the 
  time, 
  these 
  blocks 
  entirely 
  escaped 
  my 
  notice, 
  nor 
  did 
  

   any 
  one 
  give 
  me 
  the 
  slightest 
  hint 
  of 
  their 
  presence. 
  Had 
  I 
  had 
  Mr. 
  Parker's 
  

   opportunity, 
  it 
  is 
  quite 
  probable 
  that 
  I 
  should 
  have 
  laid 
  this 
  matter 
  before 
  the 
  

   scientific 
  world 
  years 
  ago. 
  It 
  is 
  barely 
  possible 
  that 
  there 
  may 
  be 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  

   blocks 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  some 
  one 
  in 
  Tahiti 
  — 
  Easter 
  Island 
  natives 
  or 
  

   others 
  ; 
  and 
  I 
  am 
  making 
  inquiries 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  obtaining, 
  if 
  possible, 
  one 
  

   or 
  more 
  of 
  them 
  for 
  you. 
  

  

  In 
  reference 
  to 
  my 
  translation 
  of 
  the 
  inscriptions, 
  I 
  am 
  sorry 
  to 
  inform 
  you 
  

   that 
  I 
  was 
  cruelly 
  disappointed 
  in 
  my 
  interpreter. 
  On 
  the 
  day 
  on 
  which 
  he 
  

   was 
  brought 
  to 
  my 
  residence 
  by 
  his 
  countryman, 
  who 
  had 
  recommended 
  him 
  as 
  

   competent 
  to 
  give 
  me 
  a 
  translation 
  of 
  the 
  characters, 
  I 
  wrote 
  down 
  part 
  of 
  

   what 
  he 
  pretended 
  to 
  interpret 
  for 
  me, 
  and 
  my 
  hopes 
  were 
  raised 
  to 
  the 
  highest 
  

   pitch. 
  This 
  day 
  was 
  Sunday, 
  the 
  only 
  day 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  at 
  leisure 
  to 
  attend 
  to 
  

   such 
  things. 
  During 
  the 
  following 
  week 
  I 
  had 
  mislaid 
  the 
  manuscripts, 
  and 
  

   when 
  he 
  came 
  again 
  on 
  the 
  succeeding 
  Sunday, 
  I 
  thought 
  it 
  best 
  to 
  begin 
  anew 
  

   with 
  the 
  translation, 
  and 
  I 
  proceeded 
  to 
  again 
  write 
  down 
  his 
  interpretation, 
  

   both 
  in 
  his 
  own 
  dialect 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Tahitian 
  dialect 
  of 
  the 
  Malay 
  language. 
  As 
  

   •l 
  proceeded, 
  however, 
  it 
  struck 
  me 
  that 
  the 
  second 
  translation 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  char- 
  

   acters 
  differed 
  materially 
  from 
  the 
  first. 
  This 
  thought 
  kept 
  growing 
  upon 
  me 
  

   more 
  and 
  more 
  as 
  I 
  advanced, 
  until 
  at 
  last 
  I 
  became 
  convinced 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  de- 
  

  

  