Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1913 — EASTER ISLAND, THE MYSTERY Of THE PACIFIC [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

EASTER ISLAND, THE MYSTERY Of THE PACIFIC

by HARRY O. SANDBERG

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NCE again the luminous rays of the explorer are centered in the direction of Easter Island, the unsolved mystery of the Pacific. For another time the attention of archaeologists and students of antiqmty is focused on this little spot, the most easterly of the Polynesian group of islands. Here, in the vast Bouth Pacific ocean, lies this isle, volcanic in character, only 42 square miles in area, a mere speck

of land, about one-fourth the size of Barbados, and yet surrounded by a charm of mystery pofr sensed by few places in the world. The island merged into the clear light of history early in the eighteenth century, when it was discovered by the Dutch captain, Jacob Roggeveen, in 1722. He gave to the island its present name in commemoration of the day on which land was sighted. Some 60 years later it was "rediscovered” by some Spanish sailors. From that time to the present day Easter Island has been visited, explored, and studied by noted travelers, scientists, and investigators from all lands, and it promises to afford these opportunities for exneditions for years to come. , Geographically considered, it lies -27 degrees 80 minutes south of the equator, so that it is not actually within the tropics. Its position is about 2,000 miles from the mainland of South America, and 1,400 miles distant from its nearest neighbor, the Pitcairn Islands. Within its limited area, triangular in shape, there are three craters of extinct volcanoes, one of them nearly 2,000 feet high. Some of th,e soil is fertile, and the island appears to have been wooded at one time, for decayed trunks of considerable size are still found; now, however, there thrive only a few bushes from 10 to 12 feet high. The natives grow many sorts of tropical fruits, including bananas, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. Goats, fowl, sheep and a fair number of cattle are reared by the few hundred inhabitants,, the sole dwellers of today in that mystlo land. The climate is not qnlike that of Madeira, with one wet and one dry season. The water supply consists of some brackish springs by the seashore and pools inside the craters of the volcanoes. All in all, however, the island is considered salubrious and healthful. The chief Interest of the island is to be found in the wonderful statues and other amazing archaeological remains. In its narrow and confined expanse it encompasses a mystery of vast proportions—an eglma that has taxed the ingenuity of scientists quite as much as did of old the far-famed riddle of the Sphinx. In this tiny Island is a remarkable display of hundreds of sculptured statues, colossal in size, and erected upon Cyclopean masonry; stone houses over 100 feet in length with walls six feet in thickness built like forts; and tablets curiously inscribed with hieroglyphics in no way resembling anything else in the world, doubtless the written language of the ancient Inhabitants, but one to which the key has been lost Remarkable as all of these ruins are from the strangeness of their appearance, the greatest interest and the greatest problem which they present to us is'the story that they might tell of the vanished civilization which erected them. That they are of prehistoric origin can not be questioned, but who were the builders of these wonderful specimens? What race of men or giants carved and placed in their present position the titanic stone heads that stand out in lonely majesty amid the barren wastes of this lonely little isle? Whence came these ancient workers in stone, and whither have they gone? What tools did they use to execute these singular statues and buildings, and in what epoch did they perform these curiosities? Such fascinating questions and many others. equally pertinent present themselves to the student, but, alas, the answer Is yet to be had. Archaeologists must continue for a while longer to delve among the enshrouded mysteries of these ruins before they can reveal the true story of this world’s wonderland. At present the chapters which have been written on the subject are comparatively few In number, and not conspicuously definite in context Conjectures St* ss many as there are explorers, and the number of opinions ventured varies In the same ratio. Progress, as In all matters of science, Is necessarily

■low. Bnt let ns atop for a moment to examine these statues, and platform*, and relics, Which have excited the student world, and to see what

they are made of and how they were wrought I, By actual count there have been found no less than 560 of these images, most of which are cut out of gray trachitic lava. Of this number, 40 are standing inside the crater of one of the volcanoes, and as many more outside, at the foot of the slope, where they were placed, ready for removal to the different platforms. These statues, morover, represent various stages of formation — some of them finished, others nearly completed, and still others barely commenced. In size they range from 8 or 4 feet to nearly B*o feet in length. The largest image, found in an unfinished state, measures 70 feet in length; the smallest Is little short of 3 feet in length. Although these figures range in size from the colossus of 70 feet down to the pigmy of 8 feet, they clearly are all of the same type and general characteristics. The head is long and the eyes close under the heavy browi; the nose large, low bridged, and very broad at the nostrils; the upper lip short, and the lips pouting. The head is nearly always tilted backward. The lower part of the fact is broad and heavy, but imperfectly formed, the ears are long and pendant The forms generally ended at, the shoulders or at the waist very little work being done below these points. One of the lesser statties has been brought to the National Museum' at Washington, D. C., while another is on exhibition at the British Museum in London. The striking feature about these figures is the strange facial expressions described as "profoundly solemn,” "disdainful,” and with "look of supercilious scorn.” The head was in all cases cut flat on top to accommodate an Immense crown of red vesicular tuft, many of which were found at a crater eight miles distant from the cone, where the statues themselves were formed. Subsequent discoveries on the island have brought to light headdresses of real feathers, made up as crowns, coronets, and other shapes. The finding of these feather decotlons which were used for ceremonial purposes has given strength to the belief that the Immense stone crowns which were superimposed on the heads of the statues were Intended to represent these feathered ornaments. How these immense statues were cut out of their position Inside the crater of the volcano and transported several miles to their respective platforms is one of the mysteries left for us to puzzle over. As for tools, a rude form of stone chisel is the only kind of ancient Implement thus far found. It is also remarkable that of the /nany hundreds of Images scattered throughout the island there is but one that stands in its original .position upon a platform, while the others are heedlessly strewn about To some this fact seems conclusive proof that work on these huge productions ceased suddenly. But what caused the work to be so suddenly arrested? Did some volcanic eruption overtake the Island? Bnch a conjecture Is, Indeed, not unreasonable, for closer Investigation shows that some of the largest statues are buried to the neck In ash and scoria. But who can say with certainty? Viewing the relics on the island in their on-

tlrety, however, one Is Impressed with the fact that when they were carried out a large population of skilled men must have concentrated upon the task. But where did this largo population come from? Were Easter Island a continental land with ease of access, such an ample labor supply might have been available. But its geographic position precludes this possibility. Therefore another explanation must be sought. Now, nearly all students agree upon one point, and that Is that the present territorial limitations of the place could not have harbored a very large number of Inhabitants. First, there is no adequate water supply; and, secondly, there the area from which to win a sufficient food supply. This, then, suggests the theory, and one that is open to reasonable refutation, that Easter Island is the sole remnant of a greater land which was overwhelmed by the sea after a serious Seismic disturbance.

Another speculation offered by a noted traveler is of particular Interest because of tue connection which he endeavors to point out between these ruins and those found in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. This archaeologist develops the theory that the ancient peoples of Easter Island were the same race that centuries afterwards laid the foundations of the empires of the Incas and the Aztecs. These people, he continues, reached Easter Island from the Asian coast by traveling from pne island to another across the in-

tervening ocean and finally found their way to the American continent over land that has since disappeared beneath the waters of the Pacific. This theory, important if true, is, however, subject to objections. In a careful study of the Malayo-Polynesian archaeology anfl languages, embracing a period of nearly 30 years, the noted botanist and ethnologist, Prof. W. E. Safford, of the United States department of agriculture, makes the unqualified assertion that in all his attempts to trace a connection between the ancient relics of the Incas and Aztecs with those of the Polynesians, he has failed to find sufficient points of similarity to Justify even such a possible relation. So the mystery continues and the origin and workers of Easter Island are yet to be learned.

Wooden tablets have also been discovered incised with hieroglyphics. These are of especial interest because of the remarkable skill with which they were executed. The writings read from left to right; then it Is necessary to turn the tablet upside down apd continue reading from left to right, repeating this process until the inscription is concluded. Figures of men, animals, geometrio designs, constitute the alphabet Though these incised tablets have not been deciphered, there is a general belief that they contain the ancient myths of the race which inhabited the land. Some assert that it is not so very long ago that there were those on the island who might have been able to read them. It should be recalled that up to 1884 there were several thousand inhabitants on Easter Island, but large numbers of them were taken from there and put to work in the guano diggings on the Chlncha Islands. Among those it is thought there were many who knew the written language as appearing on the tablets. But the present inhabitants, less than 200 in number, know nothing of them except in a vague vray One particular feature was emphasized by Professor Salford in an Interview which the writer had with him on the subject of the language of the Island. He declared that a careful study of the language of the modern natives shows H to be essentially Polynesian without any vestige of foreign domination, but the most remarkable thing is its very close similarity to the language of the Hawaiians. Nearly all of the words, by certain fixed laws or changes, could be converted from the Easter Island language to that of Hawaii with similar meanings; even some of the ancient gods of Easter Island bear the same names as Hawaiian gods. And yet there hits been no connection between these two islands, at least not in historic times, and what is stranger still, these two groups are Separated from each other by an Interval of 2,000 miles. This unusual constancy in the language of both is probably due to the fact that fjaey had no near neighbors and no intrusions of people speaking a language different from their own. He also expressed the opinion that the carvers of the Images were the ancestors of the modern inhabitants, and that all the elements of the archaeology of the Islands except the wonderful hieroglyphics are characteristically Polynesian.

STONE IMAGE IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

SOME OF THE MONUMENTS ON EASTER ISLAND

EASTER ISLAND

PERSENT DAY INHABITANTS OF EASTER ISLAND