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rewards, performed valuable service in the way of locating water holes, identifying localities, naming objects of interest, etc.
   December 21.-Preparations were made for an early start on the expedition already planned. The native contingent was dispatched about daylight with camp equipage and instructions to form Camp Mohican at a spot where it was reported good water could be found in abundance. We were somewhat handicapped for the march by the fatigue of the last few days, added to the want of rest. The hospitality of the Brander establishment had been cordially extended, but such a large and varied assortment of insects and noxious animals had possession of the premises, that we preferred the open air, though there were several passing showers during the night. A working party from the ship, consisting of nine men, including a boatswain's mate and quartermaster, landed at an early hour, each man equipped with knapsack, canteen, shovel and pick. The expedition took the road passing through the villages of Mataveri and Hanga Roa to the coast, followed by almost every man, woman, and child on the island. The interest displayed by the natives in our movements gradually died out after a few hours of hard walking, and towards noon the last party returned to their homes, leaving us a clear field.
   Following the coast-line to the northwest, every part of the ground was carefully examined, platforms measured and plotted, excavations made, and objects of interest collected and catalogued.
   Near Anahoirangaroa Point, on some ledges of hard volcanic rock we found numerous depressions that evidently were made at the cost of great labor. Some are elliptical in shape, others perfectly circular, averaging about 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. The majority are above high-water line and others just awash when the tide is full. No explanation could be obtained in regard to these holes, and it was concluded that they were originally intended as live-boxes for the preservation of fish.
   The natives have a superstition to the effect that any one who walks over these rocks will be afflicted with sore feet, and we received many solemn warnings in regard to it. If there is any foundation for it at all, it is probably due to a succulent vine that grows here, coming in contact with the wounds caused by the sharp rocks. A short distance farther on stands a round tower 12 feet in diameter and 20 feet high (Fig. 9), said to have been erected as a lookout station from whence the movements of turtles could be watched. We found here, as well as under every other pile of stones of any description on the island, tombs and receptacles for the dead, all filled with human remains in various stages of decay, from freshly interred bodies to the bones that crumbled into dust upon exposure to the air. The entire island seems to be one vast necropolis, and the platforms along the sea-coast appear to have been the favorite burial places in all ages. Natural caves were utilized as places of deposit for the dead.
   Considerable time was devoted to the examination of the platforms,

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