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"In 1871 Alexander Jr had picked up rudimentary Rapanui from his hundreds of indentured Easter Island labourers at the Mahina coconut plantation on Tahiti.

Salmon served as the principal informant for the British and German archaeological expeditions to the island in 1882 and for the Americans in 1886, as guide, translator, and hotelier.

Cooke, surgeon of the USS Mohican, which dropped anchor in December 1886, said,[2]

Mr Salmon, who is guide, philosopher, and friend to these people, unites in his person (and being a giant in stature, he can well contain them) the duties of referee, arbiter, judge. They entertain the greatest respect for him; evince the utmost affection; look up to him as their master; go to him with all their troubles; refer to him all their disputes and grievances. His word is law, and his decisions final and undisputed.

The information Salmon provided, despite its often poor quality, is still among the most important of Easter Island's early historical period. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Salmon
"The author Herman Melville described him thus: “The lady he wedded being a near kinswoman of the queen, he became a permanent member of her majesty's household. This adventurer rose late, dressed theatrically in calico and trinkets, assumed a dictatorial tone in conversation, and was evidently on excellent terms with himself. We found him reclining on a mat, smoking a reed-pipe of tobacco, in the midst of an admiring circle of chiefs and ladies. He must have noticed our approach; but instead of rising and offering civilities, he went on talking and smoking, without even condescending to look at us.""