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service rendered, such as image making, etc., but this privileged class had no authority vested in them over their fellows. Personal security and the rights of private property were little regarded, and disputes were settled by king or chief without regard to law or justice. There was no code of laws, the people avenged their own injuries, and persons who incurred the displeasure of the ruler were marked as victims for sacrifice. It does not appear that any great homage was paid the king, and no tax was exacted of the people. Long-continued custom was accepted as law, and defined the few duties and privileges of the private citizen.
Maurata, the last of a long line of kings, together with all of the principal chiefs of the islands was kidnapped by the Peruvians and died in slavery. Since that time there has been no recognized authority among the natives; every man is his own master, and looks out for his own interests.
In 1863-164 the natives were converted to Christianity by Frère Eugène, a Jesuit missionary. A Frenchman called Dutrou-Bornier had settled upon the island and started an extensive farm, and a conflict of authority sprang up between the two foreigners, which led to bitter feuds between the natives. Dutrou-Bornier lived with a common woman, who had been the wife of a chief, and he succeeded in having her proclaimed queen of the island, under the name of Korato. A system of espionage and intrigue was instituted by Queen Korato, guided by the Frenchman's instructions, which resulted in an open rebellion against the ecclesiastical authority. The missionary was finally compelled to leave the island, and he removed to Gambier Archipelago with about three hundred of his followers, giving Dutrou-Bornier and Queen Korato a clear field. The Frenchman was killed in August, 1876, by being thrown from his horse while drunk, and Queen Korato and her two children survived him only a few years. Mr. Salmon found upon his arrival that none of the natives had assumed authority over his fellows, and in due course that gentleman became to all intents and purposes the king of the island, ruling the people with kindness and wisdom and thus securing their unbounded respect and esteem.
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