442 MYSTIC ISLES 



them fit for use, a structure of such height and magnitude must 

 have been a work of infinite labor afid fatigue. In the center 

 of the summit was the representation of a bird, caned in wood ; 

 close to this was the figure of a fish which was in stone. This 

 pyramid made part of one side of a wide court or square, the 

 sides of which were nearly equal; the whole was walled in, and 

 paved with flat stones. 



When we reached the thirty-ninth kilometer-stone we 

 met my host, Tetuanui, in his one-horse vehicle, inspect- 

 ing the road. He agreed, though a little reluctantly, 

 to take us to the marae (pronounced mah-rye). We 

 turned down a road across a private, neglected property, 

 and for almost a mile urged the horse through brambles 

 and brush that had overgrown the way. We were go- 

 ing toward the sea along a promontory, "the point" upon 

 which Cook's mariners saw the etoa-trees a century and 

 a half ago, about the time that Americans were seeking 

 separation from England, before Napoleon had risen to 

 power, and when gentlemen drank three bottles of port 

 after dinner and took their places under the table. 



"Tooti was in love with Oberea," said the chief. "She 

 was hinaaro puai." 



The expression is difficult to translate, but Sappho 

 and Cleopatra expressed it in their lives; perhaps ar- 

 dent in love would be a mild synonym. 



At last, after hard struggles, we reached Point Ma- 

 haiatea, the "point" of Cook, on the bay of Popoti, which 

 swept from it to the beginning of the valley of Taharuu. 

 The reef was very close to the shore, and the sea had en- 

 croached upon the land, covering a considerable area of 

 the site of the marae. The waves had torn away the 

 coral blocks, and they lay in confusion in the water. 



