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Easter Island: Early Witnesses
William Thomson
476
throwing stones and darting the spear were favorite amusements and always a prominent feature of all feasts. The clans were always led to battle by the chief, but there was no particular formation. Every man acted in accordance with his individual fancy, or as occasion demanded, relying upon skill and strength alone. No shields were used and no particular efforts were made to parry the weapons of the enemy.
In view of the fact that the islanders all acknowledged the authority of one king, their wars were surprisingly numerous, barbarous, and unrelenting. The traditions are filled with accounts of sanguinary conflicts originating from trivial causes and continued through generations, until one party or the other were entirely exterminated. The slaughter on the field of battle was never very great, but in the event of a general defeat, the vanquished party was pursued by the victors to the hiding places, their habitations destroyed, females captured, children and infirm persons brutally murdered. The defenseless unfortunates who fell victims to their merciless captors, accepted their fate, whether it was slavery, torture, or butchery, with remarkable fortitude, seldom if ever making any show of resistance.
EXPLORATION OF THE ISLAND.
The Mohican came to anchor in the roadstead of Hanga Roa (Plate XVI) on the morning of Saturday, December 18, 1886. The individuals most interested in the exploration of the island went on shore without delay, and the work was pushed forward as rigorously as possible until the hour appointed for the sailing of the ship for Valparaiso on the evening of the last day of the year.
Messrs. Salmon and Brander boarded the ship upon her arrival and extended the hospitalities of Easter Island, placing their limited resources entirely at our command with a heartiness that won our immediate esteem, and which ripened into sincere friendship before our departure. These gentlemen are closely connected with the royal family of Tahiti, and we had been intrusted with letters and various articles from relatives and friends who desired to embrace the opportunity for communication offered by the Mohican.
Upon landing at Hanga Roa we found nearly all of the natives on the island congregated to receive their unknown visitors. The men inspected us closely and were profuse in friendly demonstrations, while their wives and daughters gazed curiously from a little distance, and the children's manner plainly showed the enjoyment of an occasion of infrequent occurrence in their quiet lives. Surrounded by this crowd we walked about a mile to the house of Mr. Brander where the baggage, tools, and impedimenta in general were deposited. During the afternoon a reconnaissance was made to the crater of Rana Kao and the ancient storehouses in the vicinity, and in the evening we crossed the island in a light wagon with Mr. Salmon to his residence at Vaihu. That gentleman has, during his long residence on the island, accumulated
476