62 "ALHATROSS" EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC EXPEDITION. 



built of flat slabs laid dry. Similar but thicker slabs form the jambs of the 

 eutrances ; these are frequently ornamented with rough carvings similar to 

 those of the sculptured rocks beyond the st9ne houses. 



The houses are more or less elliptical in outline, and are placed so as to 

 abut against the face of the slope of the ground forming the rim of the 

 crater. The roof is built up of slabs similar to those forming the face, and 

 the roof is covered by sod to a thickness often of three to four feet. 



Beyond the stone houses, on the very e.xtreraity of the narrowest part of 

 the rim of the crater, where it forms the southern gap of Rana Kao, are 

 found masses of huge, hard, volcanic rocks, on most of which are found very 

 rude sculptures (Pis. 43, 44) greatly weathered ; but we can still recognize 

 carvings similar to the paintings of the stone houses and caverns, the 

 mythical "' meke meke " (PI. 49'^') being one of the most common of the 

 carvings. Others are birds, fishes, distorted human faces, and indifferent, 

 apparently meaningless, ornamentations. 



The shores of Easter Island are riddled with caves. Many of them are 

 quite extensive and have served as liabitations to the image carvers. The 

 roofs of the caves are often ornamented with rude painted figures (PI. 49^'), 

 very similar to those found on the slabs covering the stone houses such as 

 have been figured by Thomson (1. c. Pis. 19, 23) and by Geiseler (1. c. Pis. 

 7, 15-18). The cave from which the pictures on Plate 49'^ were taken is 

 situated in a small indentation of the coast to the west of Mataveri, south 

 of Ilanga Piko landing-place. The cave at the landing of Ovahe Bay is 

 not decorated, the cave being formed of conglomerate easily disintegrated, 

 while the roof of the other cave consists of thin volcanic slabs. 



Geiseler has given a number of rude cave paintings made by the natives 

 to commemorate the advent of the whites (1. c. Pis. 8, 13, 14). These as well 

 as the paintings found in the stone houses are all made with the coarse 

 red pigment obtained in the red tufa quarries of Teraai. 



MAN(iA i;i:\'A. 

 Plates 14, 57-91. 



Wc arrived at Manga Reva on the 27th of January and found our collier 

 awaiting our arrival. 



While at anchor in Port Rikitea (Pis. 58, 62; 63, fig. 2), we examined 

 Manga Reva (PI. 14), the principal island of the Gambler group, from its 



