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Article DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES OF EASTER ISLAND. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ISLE OF MOWEE. Page 1 of 2 →
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Description Of The Natives Of Easter Island.
I know not what are their ideas among themselves of the sacredness of property , but their conduit towards us evinced the little regard which they have for that of strangers ; they took such a liking to our hats , that in a very few hours they robbed us of them , arrd then laughed at us like mischievous school-boys . These people are not without industry ; their cottages are of a good size and neatly built ; they are constructed of frame-work filled
up with reeds ; their shape is that of a reversed cradle , being about fifty feet long , twelve wide , and twelve high in the centre . There are several doors on the sides , the widest of which does not exceed three feet . The inside offers nothing remarkable , containing onlysome mats , which they spread on the ground by way of beds , and a few other household utensils . Their cloth is made of the paper mulberry ; it is , however , by no means common , on account of the scarcity of these trees , though they appear to be cultivated with
some care . They make also hats and baskets of rushes , and carve in wood tolerably well . Their food consists of potatoes , bananas , yams , sugar-canes , fish , and a kind of sea weed , or fucus , which they find in plenty on the shore . Fowls , though in small number , constitute their only domestic animals , and rats are the only wild quadrupeds on the island . There are but a few sea birdsand not many fish on the coast .
, In the eastern part of the island is a large crater , round which , on the sea shore , are several rude statues , or rather busts , with only the eyes , nose , mouth , and ears , coarsely executed . At the foot of these statues are those mysterious caverns mentioned by Captain Cook , which serve as vaults in which the dead of each family are deposited . We inspected them without the smallest opposition from
the natives . La Perouse , in addition to the presents that he had already made to these islanders , was desirous of g iving them fresh proofs of din kindness , and of contributing essentially and lastingly to their welfare ; he therefore left on their island two ewes , a she-goat , and sow , with a male of each species ; and sowed various kinds of pulse , as well as peach , plum , and cherry stones , and pips of oranges anil lemons .
Isle Of Mowee.
ISLE OF MOWEE .
T II TiESE benevolent intentions being put in execution , we got - " - under way , and directed our cour . se towards the Sandwich Islands . As soon as we came in sight of Mowee , one of this cluster , near two hundred canoes put off to meet us loaded with hogs , fruits , arid fresh vegetables , which the inhabitants threw on board , and obliged us to accept without any recompence . The wind having freshened , and thus accelerated our course , we could only partially avail ourselves of these resources , and enjoy but for a short time the agreeable and picturesque view of this island , and the assembled multitude of cauoes , the ikilful manoeuvres of which formed the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Description Of The Natives Of Easter Island.
I know not what are their ideas among themselves of the sacredness of property , but their conduit towards us evinced the little regard which they have for that of strangers ; they took such a liking to our hats , that in a very few hours they robbed us of them , arrd then laughed at us like mischievous school-boys . These people are not without industry ; their cottages are of a good size and neatly built ; they are constructed of frame-work filled
up with reeds ; their shape is that of a reversed cradle , being about fifty feet long , twelve wide , and twelve high in the centre . There are several doors on the sides , the widest of which does not exceed three feet . The inside offers nothing remarkable , containing onlysome mats , which they spread on the ground by way of beds , and a few other household utensils . Their cloth is made of the paper mulberry ; it is , however , by no means common , on account of the scarcity of these trees , though they appear to be cultivated with
some care . They make also hats and baskets of rushes , and carve in wood tolerably well . Their food consists of potatoes , bananas , yams , sugar-canes , fish , and a kind of sea weed , or fucus , which they find in plenty on the shore . Fowls , though in small number , constitute their only domestic animals , and rats are the only wild quadrupeds on the island . There are but a few sea birdsand not many fish on the coast .
, In the eastern part of the island is a large crater , round which , on the sea shore , are several rude statues , or rather busts , with only the eyes , nose , mouth , and ears , coarsely executed . At the foot of these statues are those mysterious caverns mentioned by Captain Cook , which serve as vaults in which the dead of each family are deposited . We inspected them without the smallest opposition from
the natives . La Perouse , in addition to the presents that he had already made to these islanders , was desirous of g iving them fresh proofs of din kindness , and of contributing essentially and lastingly to their welfare ; he therefore left on their island two ewes , a she-goat , and sow , with a male of each species ; and sowed various kinds of pulse , as well as peach , plum , and cherry stones , and pips of oranges anil lemons .
Isle Of Mowee.
ISLE OF MOWEE .
T II TiESE benevolent intentions being put in execution , we got - " - under way , and directed our cour . se towards the Sandwich Islands . As soon as we came in sight of Mowee , one of this cluster , near two hundred canoes put off to meet us loaded with hogs , fruits , arid fresh vegetables , which the inhabitants threw on board , and obliged us to accept without any recompence . The wind having freshened , and thus accelerated our course , we could only partially avail ourselves of these resources , and enjoy but for a short time the agreeable and picturesque view of this island , and the assembled multitude of cauoes , the ikilful manoeuvres of which formed the