Te Pito Te Henua, or Easter Island, by William J. Thompson, [1891], at sacred-texts.com
Te Pito Te Henua, or Easter Island, by William J. Thompson, [1891], at sacred-texts.com
On the face of the cliff near the point, Ahuakapu, a large and interesting cave, was visited. Many of the recesses and angles had been walled up and contained human remains. Fossiliferous specimens of marine animals were obtained by digging up the floor of the cave. The igneous rocks in the vicinity show evidences of rude, sculptures, among which could be traced canoes, fishes, and men in various attitudes. Upon the extreme point we found another one of those round towers, built for the purpose of observing the movements of turtles on the beach. The shaft measures 24 feet, and stands in. the center of a narrow platform 67 feet long, filled with tombs containing human remains that had long been undisturbed, as evidenced by a luxuriant growth of lichens on the rough rocks.