276 Agassis — Albatross Expedition to the Eastern Pacific. 



nor native bushes — not even the bushes which characterize the 

 shore tracts of the most isolated coral reefs of the Pacific are 

 found there ; and yet some of the equatorial counter-currents 

 must occasionally bring some flotsam to its shores. We col- 

 lected a number of shore fishes and made a small collection of 

 the littoral fauna. The fishes have a decided Pacific look, and 

 the few species of sea-urchins we came across are species having 

 a wide distribution in the Pacific. 



While coaling, we spent some time examining the prehistoric 

 monuments which line the shores of Easter Island. During 

 our stay at La Perouse Bay we visited the platforms studding 

 the coast of the bay, and made an excursion to the crater of 

 Rana Poraka, where are situated the great quarries from which, 

 are cut the colossal images now scattered all over the island r 

 many of which have fallen near the platforms upon which 

 they were erected. Near Rana Poraka, at Tongariki, is the 

 largest platform on the island, about 450 feet in length, to the 

 rear of which are 15 huge images which have fallen from the 

 pedestals upon which they once stood. The plain in the rear 

 of the platform is crowded with stone houses, most of which 

 are in ruins. 



On our return to our anchorage at Cook Bay, we examined 

 the platforms within easy reach of the settlement, and also the 

 crater of Pana Kao, on the north rim of which, at Orongo, 

 are a number of the stone houses built by the people who 

 quarried the great stone images. At Orongo are also found 

 sculptured rocks, but neither the sculptures nor the images 

 show any artistic qualities, though the fitting of some of the 

 cyclopean stones used in building the faces of the platforms 

 indicates excellent and careful workmanship. To Mr. C. 

 Cooper, manager of the Easter Island Company, we are 

 indebted for assistance while visiting the points of interest of the 

 island. He was indefatigable in his exertions in our behalf. 



We took a number of photographs during our stay, illus- 

 trating not only the prehistoric remains, but giving also an idea 

 of the desolate aspect of Easter Island during the dry season. 



We arrived at Wreck Bay, Chatham Island, Galapagos, on 

 the 3d of January, where we found a schooner with a supply 

 of coal. As soon as the ship lias been overhauled and coaled 

 we shall start for Manga Peva, where we ought to arrive the 

 last days of January. We reached Chatham Island towards 

 the end of the dry season. Everything is dried up ; the vege- 

 tation seems dead with the exception of a few small wild 

 cotton plants, weeds, cactus, and an occasional mimosa ; and 

 the great barren slopes present fully as uninviting an aspect as 

 when Darwin described them. When the Albatross visited 

 the Galapagos in March, 1891, everything was green, present- 

 ing a very marked contrast to its present desolate appearance. 



