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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by John W. Church 



T.\KI ; A H UAH UK A CHIEF, WITH HIS 



HEAD-DRESS OF HUMAN HAIR, 



BONE, AND SHARK TEETH 



lie is heavily tattooed. from head to feet, but 

 the lens of the camera does not reproduce the 

 blue figures on brown skin. 



vent some two centuries later of an in- 

 finitely more energetic and business-like 

 explorer, the famous Captain Cook, that 

 marked the beginning of the rapid deca- 

 dence and eventual extermination of the 

 people he earnestly desired to aid. Cook 

 rediscovered the Marquesas in 1774, 

 while on his third voyage through the 

 South Seas. 



At that time there were eleven densely 

 inhabited islands, with a total of some 

 sixty bays and bay valleys, each support- 

 ing a population of from one to five thou- 

 sand, and in some instances, such as Pua- 

 nian. Taipi, and I lanavave, possibly 

 nearer double that number. There were 

 also several inland \ alleys with large vil- 

 lages. 



To place the population of the group in 



1774 at 150,000 would be a conservative 

 estimate. Captain Cook gave a larger 

 figure for the single island of Tahiti at 

 the time of his first visit, and though for 

 a long time his estimate was held to be 

 absurdly high by men less familiar with 

 the island, later investigations carefully 

 pursued have established Cook's figures 

 as essentially correct. The densely popu- 

 lated Marquesas in all probability ex- 

 ceeded in numbers the single island of 

 Tahiti ; but be that as it may, it is certain 

 that had it not been for the incessant war- 

 fare between the tribes, the practice of 

 cannibalism and other customs deterrent 

 to a natural increase in their population, 

 the islands would have become inade- 

 quate to the inhabitants' support many 

 centuries ago. 



THE PIG WAS THE MAROUESAn'S ONLY 



ANIMAL 



Being of volcanic origin, the group was 

 devoid of fauna. The pig, probably 

 brought by the savages on the long jour- 

 ney from Asia, was their only animal. 

 The dense forests and jungles were — and 

 are — devoid of snakes, insects, etc., which 

 usually abound in such disconcerting ac- 

 tivity in tropical countries. 



There were a few birds, mostly of sea- 

 going species, but these did not interest 

 the Marquesan, as he did not use them 

 for food. The kuku, a species of parra- 

 keet, is the only really edible bird in the 

 islands today, and I do not know that it 

 was ' in the Marquesas prior to Cook's 

 visit. 



In the bays and reefs along the coast 

 there were many kinds of fish, from the 

 man-eating moko, or shark, to the much 

 smaller but more palatable bonita ; and in 

 the valleys and mountains nature had 

 been lavish with her gifts. Some of the 

 fruits and flowers are of a later period, 

 dating from Cook's introduction of the 

 orange, several varieties of mango, ba- 

 nanas, fei, etc., from Tahiti and other 

 islands. But while the supply of food 

 might and often did prove insufficient by 

 reason of the tremendous population the 

 islands had to sustain, the variety of flora 

 was ample for native needs in every way. 



The coconut palm served the inhabit- 

 ants of the islands with a utility as varied 

 as the cactus serves a Mexican : food, 



