It may not be the purpose of this work to study all of these prob lems — that is beyond our power. Of the most of these mysteries we may venture no further than to state the existence. Restricted by the nature of the material with which we are to deal and conditioned by the character of our particular research into the mystery of the Polynesian race, we shall find sufficient to engage our attention in the statement of but one of these problems and in massing such proof as we may direct upon its settlement. Yet it will be proper to set forth the other and older problems in some such order as in a general way comports with the order in which they have come to European atten tion. This is all the more meet since the problem to which this volume is addressed is newly discovered; its first presentation was made as incidental to those studies of the most remote Pacific area which were the theme of The Polynesian Wanderings.