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have called at the island. A niche in the wall of each of these dwellings was evidently designed to receive the household god and the various valuables which were possessed by the inhabitants. Whatever treasures they may have held in former years, we found them empty, and our search revealed nothing of importance.
   Attention was directed to one of the buildings in this assemblage that apparently had no entrance way. One wall was demolished, disclosing a rude coffin containing the remains of a native recently deceased. The unoccupied house had been utilized as a tomb, and sealed up with the material of which the walls were built.

much time as possible was devoted to examining and sketching these curious relics. The hard volcanic rock is covered by carvings intended to represent human faces, birds, fishes, and mythical animals, all very much defaced by the ravages of time and the elements (Plate XXIII). The apparent age of some of the rock-carvings antedates the neighboring stone houses, the images, and other relics of the island except the ruined village on the bluff west of Kotatake Mountain. Fishes and turtles appear frequently among these sculptures, but the most common figure is a mythical animal, half human in form, with bowed back and long law-like legs and arms. According to the natives this symbol was

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