2S0 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by John W. Church 



A PRETENTIOUS NATIVE HOUSE AT ATAONA ! MARQUESAS ISLANDS 



Each thatched hut has its paepae, or platform of stone, constructed without cement or 

 mortar. The house furnishings consist solely of two or three mats, upon which the occupants 

 sleep. 



creeping in rich abundance almost to the 

 water's edge, climb the black basalt cliffs 

 towering over the bay, thus seeking to 

 soften their harsh, broken outlines be- 

 neath a rank growth of vines and mosses. 

 Great cascades, springing from the liv- 

 ing rock high on the mountain side, leap 

 over mighty precipices, gleaming like 

 strands of silver in the sunlight, to be lost 

 in the mysterious depths of dark gorges 

 far below. These waters wind through 

 dank, tortuous ravines and form the rac- 

 ing stream that tumbles swiftly between 

 the twisting hills into the steep valley of 

 I fanavave, where it rushes over its rocky 

 hvd to pass into the blue waters of the 

 quiet bay. 



THE TRADITION OE MENDANA's SAILORS 

 AND THE MARQUESAN HELENS 



Beyond the crescent of white sand that 

 lies between the cliffs, banyan, mango, 

 and breadfruit trees mingle their brilliant 



foliage and blossoms with the slender 

 brown trunks and waving fronds of the 

 pandanus and coco palm. 



Less than a century ago this forest was 

 thickly dotted with the brown thatched 

 huts of the Hanavavans, each upon its 

 paepae or platform of stone constructed 

 without mortar or cement. The abrupt 

 slopes and twisting, broken formation 

 forced the Marquesan to become adept in 

 dry stone-work, and he met the difficulty 

 with skill and intelligence. Thousands of 

 these paepae, no longer in use, cling to 

 the vertical sides of valleys and ravines 

 in a state of perfect preservation, the 

 platform usually 20 by 30 or 40 feet, level 

 and unbroken, often walled up 10 or 15 

 feet on the lower side. 



Properly to comprehend the life of the 

 Marquesan, his customs and habits, a 

 clear understanding of the physical con- 

 ditions under which he lived prior to the 

 white man's advent is necessary. 



