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under way and continued our route along the cliffs
on the north shore of the island. At platform No.
29 a pit was excavated in which a collection of
human skulls, without any other portion of the
remains, was found. Our track this day led us to
Anakena Bay, according to tradition the original
landing place of King Hotu-Metua, his queen, and
followers, from whom the present inhabitants claim
their descent. We found at the head of the bay a
fine, extensive sand beach, the first we had
fallen in with, forming a good landing place for
small boats. The breakers and still water in the
vicinity were seen swarming with fish of several
varieties, of which the natives gave us their
names. The sand beaches were thickly strewn with
the "Portuguese man-of-war" (Physalia
utriculus), called by the natives Papaki, and
which, to the writer's great surprise, they
informed him was eaten by them as food. Adherent
to the rocks was found the singular,
cuirass-covered little creature, called by the
natives hemoma, one of the Chitons, perhaps the
magnificus, which is also used by them as an
article of diet. Thus, also, a small univalve,
called by them ningongi, large collections of
the shells of which were found stowed away in the
walls of the stone huts at the edge of the
crater, on Rana Kao, where also was found the
remains of the Chiton. The sea urchin,
Echinus
(esculentus?), in Rapa Nui - hetuki, and a
diminutive snail, which they call pipi, were found
at Anakena. All the above form a part of their
dietary, and they seemed to speak of and regard
them as tidbits.
Sometime was passed at Anakena,
exploring its vicinity where, there is every
reason to suppose, an extensive town existed, for
which the nature of the surface, ascending
gradually from the water's edge to high land on
either side, with a hill rising between and
running back into the interior, forms a most
admirable site. The remains of former habitations
were found in various directions. At some
distance back from the sea on rising ground, in an
isolated position, far removed from any platform
or image, was found the largest tufa crown we had
yet seen and which subsequent investigation proved
the largest on the island. It was slightly oval
in shape, lay on its side, was buried in the earth
to a depth of about 2 feet, and by actual
measurement was 27 feet 9 inches in circumference,
9 feet 9 inches in diameter across the long and 9
feet 2 inches across the short oval, and 9 feet
high.
Beyond Anakena Bay the walking became
especially difficult and laborious at one point,
near Ovahe Bay, it was necessary to scale the face
of a cliff, at about midway of its height, on a
narrow ledge of rock.
Our camp, named "Whitney," for the honorable Secretary of the
Navy, was located for this night near Hangaone
Bay, about 4 miles from our starting point of the
morning, and it was nearly dark when we entered
its welcome precincts. Supplies from the ship,
brought by the boat, which had been nearly all day
reaching Anakena, were carried thence overland and
arrived in camp during the evening.
Near our present camping ground we found the best
water of any
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