, t ARL SKOTTSBERO 



(,n liorseback, and arrived at Matavcri, the scat of tlie farm house, on the 19th. 

 hi the meantime u e liad made some excursions in the northeastern part, where 

 Mt Katiki was ascended. At Matavcri we were cordially received by Mr. 

 ri:k( V i:i)MlNhS, the mana-er, and were invited to to take up our quarters in 

 his house. ( juite naturally, the natives were in a state of great excitement 

 ovc-r the arrival of the vessel with their much beloved bishop, the missionaries 

 (two Capuchin l^rethrcn) and the many useful articles reported to be onboard; 

 and conse(iuentl\- the\- wore rather unwilling to render us any assistance. It 

 was only through the kind intervention of the bishop that we were able to get 

 an important })ait of our scientific baggage, which had been left on the beach 

 at La Perouse, transported to Mataveri. From our headquarters the district 

 round Hanga Koa and Ilanga Piko etc. was visited and several trips under- 

 taken to Kano Kao and Orongo, the famous stone village. Further, our work 

 was exlendend to Kano Aroi and Mt. Terevaka, the highest mountain, and 

 also to tlie south coast and to Rano Raraku, the image mountain. 



We had expected to remain at least three weeks on the island, and greatly 

 regretted that we were ordered onboard already after a fortnight's stay, espe- 

 cially as my ca{)acit\' for hard work had become reduced on account of illness. 

 The >Ha«iucdano» left ICaster Island on July 1st. 



(IKNKK.M. NOTF.S ON TIIK GEOGKArilV OF EASTER ISLAND 



Tlic topographical features of the island are fairly well illustrated on the 

 accom[)anying map, the result of Chilean Navy surveys of later years. The 

 position of the observation spot in Ilanga Roa is given as Lat. 27° 08' 06" S., 

 Long. 10/ 25' 54" W. Mrs. Roitledge's map is based on U. S. Hydro- 

 graphic ()ft'ice chart no. i 1 19, from which it differs in the position of some of 

 the mountains and in the geographical names. There are certain discrepancies 

 between this map and the Chilean one. and the difference between the latter 

 and the U S. chart are still more considerable, especially in the configuration 

 of tlic northwestern part of the island. There has been some confusion in the 

 placing of the names, but I take it for granted that all the names used by 

 Mrs. R. art- properly s|)elt and righth' placed. 



1 lie island is known to be wholly volcanic. There are no signs of recent 

 action, save for a couple of tcj)id sj^rings below high water mark reported to, 

 but never seen l)\ us. It is rather curious that both THOMSON (Smiths. Inst. 

 Ann. kcp. iSS.^. Washington 1S91) and Agassiz (Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. 

 ( ambridgc 33, i<i(>9) should discuss volcanic eruptions and great earthquakes 

 as a possible reason for the destruction of the megalithic monuments and for 

 the (lisappearani e of the greater part of the population, as all signs of recent 

 catastrophes are entirely absent. On the other hand, not a few craters are 

 well preserved; someiinies thev are arranged on distinct lines suggesting lines 

 of less resistance in the older, more or less horisontal basaltic beds, which form 

 the bulk of the island. 1 lie tufas and ashes of the numerous cones present a 

 great variation ot colour contributing to lessen the monotony of the scenery. 

 The attention of the visitor is especially drawn to the three great A"^;/^. Rano 



