Canoes of Easter Island

Roggewein (1722) speaks of a canoe of Easter Island as being "a small canoe made of small pieces of plank curiously and neatly patched together."

Of a canoe seen at Easter Island in 1774 Forster writes: "Their canoe was another curiosity, being patched up of many pieces, each of which was not more than four or five inches wide, and two or three feet long. Its length might be about ten or twelve feet, its head and stern were raised considerably, but its middle was very low. It had an outrigger, or balancer, made of three slender poles, and each of the men had a paddle, of which the blade was likewise composed of several pieces."

La Perouse remarked that Easter Island canoes resembled in form those of the Society Isles, but were smaller: "They are composed only of very narrow planks, four or five feet long, and at most can carry but four men."

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In Dr. Philippi's work on Easter Island the following short account is given of the canoes of that lone isle, as seen in 1870: "Existing boats are only from eighteen to twenty feet in length, with the bow and stern slightly carved or scratched with figures. They are very narrow, and would not serve for long voyages. The pieces of wood of which they are formed are some of them two or three feet long by four or five inches wide, fastened together with sinnet."

The account of Easter Island by W. J. Thomson, of the United States Navy, published in the Report of the National Museum for 1889, contains a few notes on canoes. The writer remarks that the canoes of this island were few in number and small in size, on account of the scarcity of material to be found on the island. "Many of the early navigators refer to the scarcity of boats (canoes) belonging to the natives. Captain Cook saw several canoes ten or twelve feet long, built of pieces four or five inches wide and not more than two or three feet long, but the majority of his native visitors swam off to his ship. Captain Beechey saw three canoes on the beach. Von Kotzebue saw three canoes, each containing two men. At the time of our visit the only boats on the island were two large ones belonging to Messrs. Salmon and Brander, built of material obtained from the wrecks page 304 on the coast. There are no canoes in use at the present time, but we found two very old ones in a cave on the west coast, having long ago passed their days of usefulness on the water, and now serving as burial-cases. They were a patchwork of several kinds of wood sewed together, and, though in an advanced stage of dry-rot, were sufficiently well preserved to prove that it never grew on Easter Island, but had been obtained from the driftwood on the beach."

The above paper has illustrations of two forms of paddles, one being a very rude implement made in two pieces, the short blade being lashed to the handle, while the other is a double-bladed paddle of much better make, in one piece, and with one blade ornamented. Possibly the latter end was not used in paddling, or maybe it was a ceremonial object, which it certainly resembles.