New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-11-25

from ,hc PottIana Transcript


rofvolufae which now lies before US, the results o
ktcir observations and experience among these fe
re p story thy aa y t. tel j.
onter Of the people among whom they labored, bu
hujas % the results of those labors It illustrates
vi human nature S capable Of sinking and the regen
i leratng power Of the gospel under the most unfa
1 WHyorablc circumstances.
bal Fiji Islanders ordinary race of sayares
while exhibiting all the traits Of the worst form
1barbarism, they are yet remarkably Intelligent
prFngsnions and active people.
The FIJI group lies in the South Pacific and CON
Sprses about two hundred and twenty-five islands
81 sof which eighty are inhabited. These islands, tn
al 6ode ct savage, erocious and treacherous
IN ISLAND world. Perpetual summer reigns and ever,
n ariety Of tropical fruit is found in abundance
M have great diversity of scenery, all CLOTHED
sol We richest verdurea paradise inhabited q
NE ngs that his cousin having offended him, he re-
olved that he should die. Accordingly, after hay
kissed his relative Tanoa cut of his arm at the
ne Elbow, and drank the blood as it flowed from the
coouevered veins. The arm still quivering with life,
ws5he threw upon the fire. and when sufficiently
ate il in presence Of its proper owner who
T4Tas then dismembered. limb by limb. This is but
soclhn average specimen Of Fijian cruelty.
and They are proud aristocratic race having their
potlS ocal castles holding Repnblcansm in contempt
END yielding estionng obedience to the des-
odkelotc sway 81 their chiefs. And well they may for
war fhen command goes forth the order is given to
tight any rho refuse compliance They are fond Of
OF n yetare more given to stratagem than to fair
fcieI htiil Great braggarts they delight in Boosting
pop' they will perform, yet are greater pro-
zO00 jents in treachery than heroic action Out of
stipulation Of 10000 it is estimated that 1900 or
VINO 90 per annun are killed in war.
eat Shedding blood is no crime among these sayages
ayefho smother their infants, strange their widows,
y thk their enemies and bury their fathers and mothers
Murdive. To be some how acknowledged murderer
habit the object of the Fijian's restless ambition
Tanfurder is not an occasional thing, therefore but
somdabual, systematic, and classed among ordinary
hatrefansactons. Their hatred is malignant and is
full dared Of thee begins at the heels of my feet and
tmesxends to the hairs of my head. They are reyenr
orden deceitfnl and unrestrained liars. Chiefs
subJdmes act of mourning for deceased friends
therrder hundred fingers cut off the hands of their
noseubjects. They have plurality of wives who in
lnfanher domestic quarres often bite off each others
who infants being destroyed because they can be Of no
his service in One instance given Of native
deatho killed his own infant in order to adopt that OF
maylis dead brother. Wives are strangled on the
wordeath Of their husbands, in order that their lords
woHmay not want company the journey to the other
graworld; when . chief dies a number Of men and
dgrave. The sick and the aged are disposed Of by
had burying them alive. A young girl being weakly
and and the chief thinking her likely to remain So he
qutand thrown into it, and though she shreked with
stanhorror and cried out, "Do not bury me / am
her quite well now!, two men kept her down by
standing her, while others threw the soil in upon
hea her until she was heard no more.
Of But perhaps the most unnatural practice of these
thel heather sayages is their cannbalsm The eating
forr of human flesh" long pig us common among
mas themit is woven in the elements of society: Il
has forms one Of their pursuits, and is regarded by
Gilt masses as a refinement chief building canoe
owe has been known to kill several rollers to m
taxi clitate the launching of and then burn the bodies
the over as flood for the carpenters.' Prisoners
YER taken in war are eaten; those who escape from
gra the shpwreck supposed to be saved for this
sat very purpose and very rarely allowed to live
to graves are robbed and people are kidnapped to
her satisfy this horrible appetite, and is known
I'M oro HAD nAnu e. -
eyelher build the fire by which she was to be cooked
nine One old chief, who was wonder of a cannibal
thereven among his own people, kept an account Of
70 fenine hundred bodies he had eaten, without sharing
venthem with any one and another chief had attained
and to forty when his becoming Christian pre-
greavented any further addition. The heart the thigh
humand the arm above the elbow are considered the
One greatest dainties Women seldom eat of bakolo-
lmbhuman fesh-and it is forbidden to some priests
and One Of the modes Of torture consists in cutting off
ing limbs Of the victim while still living and cooking
esband eating them before his eyes, sometimes finish
uedi ing the brutality by offering him his own cooked
flesh to eat The shin-bones Of all bakolos are val
seeL ued, as sail needles are made from them.
hay. This is very dark picture. It would almost
aiseem that race so deeply sunk in barbarity could
1et have no redeemng traits yet the Fjians though
fallen, fallen, fallen from mans high estate are
fuflyet human beings, with some credible character
eptistics, and large capacity for Improvement The
aileIuth seems to be- that though sunk in the lowest
ertadepths Of mortal degradation, they have never
faWallen physically or Intellectually to the level of
egacertan stunted and brutalized races. They are
PIT staiWaTt meI many OF tne cnlefS having truly
!, regal air. They are by means stupid, but as
!, inquistive and obseryant they are heartless
y Neither are they wholly wanting in wit or fancy,
y as their proverbs and poetry attest. Cannibals
y though they are, politeness is marked trait among
Y them, ana at their immense feast, when cooked
7 vegetables served by the tun and pigs by the
!. score, every thing is conducted with the utmost
J order and decorum, no being allowed to help
y himself, but all being waited upon in turn with
strict reference to their rank They possess great
. shrewdness and tact, and unusual command of
9 temper. Nor are they wanting in industry. Their
towns are well built, and their grounds carefully
= cultivated. They show considerable skill and
taste in their architecture and in the manufacture
! tools, household utensils and weapons AS hair
dressers they excel, the character and variety Of
their styles being indescribable. Their dress is
!, scanty and they paint their bodies hidcousy.
But the most wonderful evidences of their hui.
!; manity are shown in the results which have flowed
from the labors of the missionaries. Thousands Of
!, this degraded race are now nominal Christians,
], restrained by their profession from committing
the barbarities of their heather brethren while
many are truly religious men, living lives which
glorify God and man. The story of these mission
airy labors and results possesses the deepest inter-
est to all who believe in the redemption Of the
human race.
George B. Burnham, the Massachusetts, liquor
agent, who has gained some noforitv for his lionor