from the chain , of Paumotu andin the same latitude with
several islands in that groupe, to which Captain Beechey
considered it tp belong.* I t isjr perhaps- the, most remote
from the-great continents of all inhabited islands on the face
of the globe.
According to ,Captain Burney this island was probably first
seep by tfee buccaneer Davis in 3.j6§6 ff It is ,considjered:te
have been discovered by the Dutch Admiral Roggewein
in 1722, who named it the Isle.of. Paassen or Easter because
he arrived at it on Easter-day.; .»The Dutch voyager says
that the island abounded ip woods and forests, and that^lie
soil was well cultivated with enclosed, fields. He adds that
the natives lived in cottages from forty tp si^ty, lee^long,
and cooked their food in earthen pots. Hogs were,.paturalizefL
in the island. All this is contradicted by late voyagers. The
people are said to have been nearly of the same colour as the
Spaniards,, an d , sptpe,pf ;them jdBapst, white. Tho^cQlqssg/
idols of Easter, Jsland areijajmpsf/the-.only feature t|m
Dutch admiral’s description that can be recognised in f^e
accounts pf later navigators.
Captain Cook visited Easter Island in 1774, and. .staid
there i .eight days. The celebrated naturalist. ScS^ ^ t/0Wjwas
his companion, ,says..that the natives named, the island
Waihop ;,Cpok says, it, was tgal]ed Teapi. ?! description
differs much from that of Roggewein. . They found it almost
destitute .of wood, and ill-supplied with water. The eurfape
of the isle was mostly covered with a spongy stone, evidently
of volcanic origin. The vegetation consisted of a species of
grass which grew in tufts so slippery that it was difficqlf to
walk over it, without falling. There were no large trees : the
principal shrub was a paper mulberry, used by the natives as
in Tahiti for the fabric, of cloth, and a species of mimosa with
a red heavy wood, and stalks of the Hibiscus Populneus. Notwithstanding
the want of trees .the natives had good canoes,
made, as,it was conjectured, pf drift wood. There was not a
single brook or spring of fresh water in the island, and the
* Captain Beechey considers the Island of Waihou as one of the Archipelago
of Paumotu. Voyage in the Pacific.
f History of Discoveries in the South Sea, vol. 1.
natfvês edffld only obtain an impure water from a marsh. They
had plantations of potaioe^ sugar-canes, bananas, and eddoes,
and a breed öf domesriöi fowls. There were, however, no
hogs iri the island. Rats were the only quadrupeds.*
The natives of Easter Island are a branch of the Polynesian
stock. Their language was understood though but imper-
fectïy by Oedidee, a native of the Society Isles’1" who aècöm-
panred Captain Cook. “ In colour/ 1 features, and language^
they bear such affinity to the people of the more western- isles,
that no one will doubt that they have had the same origin^
ft ïs extraordinary that the same nation should have spread
1'hemsefves bver all the isles in this vast oetearij from New
Zb&land to this island, which is almost one-fourth part bf the
circumferenei of the^ globe. Many !6f them'have now no
other knowledge of each other than what is preserved1-1 by
antiquated tradition, and they have by length of time become^
as it Were,"different nations, each having adopted'' soffiepëóu--
MMr custom or habit.: Nevertheless5 a caréful observer will
soon see' the affinity èaöh has tb the othër;?,i I
The «writers of Roggewein’s voyage- sayJ that the natives
óf thisiSlaiiff w t e a lively, welbmad®,%fend0r FacOr Their
Complexion is said to" be bro^ii like that of the ‘€|tehiardi/
bat sonfo were darker, and some quite white! Thëik bodies
tverOi painted with^alf "kinds of-fi|utfes of birdSJ and Other
animals; the wotfieri had coverings of linen red and white,
and small hats of straw. Forster says they are of a tawny
complexion, rather darker than the Tonga islanders. Their
hair,‘lays Cdbk, is gêheïally black; ^
The most remarkable thing in Easter Isï&ndi, and indeed
the most wonderful phenomenon in the whole‘region of the
South Sea, are those colossal statues which ató séaÉèrèd in
great numbers over- the island. Thesë appeared very' surprising
to Roggewein and his companions,'1 who supposed
them to be idols, and said they were attended hymen with
their heads shaven, who were believed to be priests.1 Many
of these images are erected on platforms formed or faced with
* Cook's Voyage^ in HawkesWofth's |SolfecföÓfi/ U. p. 2 9 7 .
Observations.
L 2
Forster’s