PREHISTORIC STATUES. 59& 



around in a horizontal plane for the purpose of guiding the descending current 

 of coal toward either end of the car, as may be desired. 



The apron is constructed upon the plan of a quadrant, or quarter-circle, pre- 

 ferably of boiler-plate, and it is connected at or near its radius point to a rod ex- 

 tending laterally from the sides of the chute beneath the bottom thereof. 



A hinge-piece is pivotally attached to the under side of the apron by means 

 of a rivet or bolt. 



The apron is provided upon its circumference with a raised flange corres- 

 ponding in height to the chute side. This flange has upon its upper edge an 

 aperture raised portion in order that a supporting chain may not come in con- 

 tact with the chute sides. The upper end of the chain is attached centrally to a 

 cross-bar of the supporting frame, and its lower extremity carries a hook which 

 may engage any desired link of the chain for the purpose of adjusting the apron 

 in relation to the chute bottom. 



When the apron is in proper position the current of coal descending the 

 chute will come in contact with the interposed flange and be thrown toward one 

 end of the car, but when it is desired to fill the opposite end, a fastening bolt 

 which passes through an aperture in the outer corners of the flange and through 

 a corresponding aperture in the sides of the chute, is withdrawn, then the apron 

 is swung around (the hinge sliding upon the rod) to a reverse position. 



When the apron is not in use, it may be swung inwardly from either side 

 toward the chute, entirely clear of passing cars. 



The above described apparatus has been patented by Mr. A. Chadwick, of 

 Kansas City. 



PREHISTORIC STATUES. 



An official communication received at the Navy Department announces the 

 discovery on Rapanni, or Easter Island, on the charts in longitude iio° west 

 and latitude 27° south, buried in the depths of the vast wilderness of waters of 

 the South Pacific, of colossal statues and images rudely carved in stone. This 

 remarkable find of archaeological remains on a small island hundreds of miles 

 away from any continent puzzles the learned scientists of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution and the National museum. Prof. Baird says on the subject : "In the 

 present advanced stale of ethnological science these monuments are of the highest 

 importance. They will throw light on the somewhat mysterious manner in which 

 this island receives its population." 



The discoveries of these remarkable remains of a prehistoric and an advanced 

 people in part of the world synonomous with cannibalism and savage life were the 

 officers of the German gunboat Hyena, while on a trip from the Valparaiso to the 

 Samoan Islands. The commander of this vessel, while thus cruising in the South 

 Pacific, subsequently received orders from his government to visit Easter Island 

 and secure these specimens. The accounts received by our government indicate. 



