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conditions still adherent to the bed rock and
measuring 69 feet 9 inches
in length.
That evening, after dark, the natives
remaining with us entertained us with an
exhibition of their manner of capturing the
crayfish. Stripped to the skin and holding aloft
in the left hand a huge lighted torch composed of
loose fagots, they would jump from rock to rock
and bowlder to bowlser with the agility of monkeys.
Peering into the depths below, and having
discovered their prey, they would leap into the
water, often to their necks, deftly seize the
crustacean and pass it to a companion who, with
another burning torch, attended them for the purpose.
Again they would sight their game in a
cleft, or under a submerged overhanging rock, and,
swiftly inserting the hand, would rarely fail to
bring forth a captive. For an hour or more the
sport continued. The sight was a strange, wierd,
savage, and interesting one, and the array of
ura
(Rapa Nui for crayfish), which at the termination
of the hunt they proudly spread before us gave
ample testimony to their dexterity.
Sunday,
December 26, the writer passed quietly in camp,
and the following day was devoted to further
explorations and excavations.
Tuesday, December
28, we broke camp and abandoned Ana Havea, which
had so long sheltered us, all the party, except
the paymaster and writer, returning across the
island to the ship, which had been moved around to
La Perouse Bay, on the north side of the island,
for the more convenient transportation on board of
the selected image.
In company with Mr. Salmon,
who had passed the previous night with us at the
cave, and riding with him in his "buggy," we were
taken to his house at Vaihu, formerly a Catholic
mission but now abandoned as such. The church and
parsonage, with outbuildings, are still standing,
the former being used in part as a storehouse,
while in the remaining portion divine service is
held daily under native leadership. The
parsonage, comprising three rooms, is occupicd by
Mr. Salmon as his dwelling, and he has here
displayed a portion of his very curious,
interesting, and valuable collection of Rapa Nui
antiquities.
It is but just to noted in
this place, that too much credit can not be
awarded Mr. Salmon for the great interest he
takes in everything pertaining to the island - its
history, its people, traditions, and remains. He
is an enthusiast upon this subject, has made it a
study of years, and has devoted time, money, and
his best energies toward assisting in elucidating
the mystery which envelops this isolated mid-ocean
island, its hieroglyphs, its rock carvings, its
colossal remains and the strange people who
wrought them. Mr. Salmon has resided here for a
period of seven years in all, and during that
time, in addition to his large collection, he has
made a study of his subject, has interested
himself in the natives and their improvement, and
has accumulated a large amount of information,
legends, and traditions, which otherwise, perhaps,
would in a few years have perished with the people
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