Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-01-22
THE MEN WE RAISE.

| " 'iiS low HotiCcS give you, oiaii
confine myself to College classmates, who
are natives of Maine, but have left the
State, and distinguished themselves else
where. do this partly that we may know
the value of our State and of its institutions
OF learning, and of our young men and
the merit that has passed away from our
sight, or has failed of appreciation from
the fact that men do not ordinarily get
honor from their own State.
will speak briefly of Rev. Elias Bond,
now at Kohala, one of the largest of the
Sandwich Islands, Hawaii. He was ma
tive of Hallowell, Me-, brought up under
the preaching of DR.. Shepard, was grad
uated at Bowdoin, 1887, and at Bangor
lS40. He left the country in 1841, for the
then distant Sandwich Islands, where his
life wolk has been.
But what OF Bond when he was here with
usP knew him only in College. He was
distinguished there for industry, modesty
and great excellence and uniformity Of
character. He was prompt at recitation,
and every college duty. ! think no one
remembers any wrong word he ever said,
or any wrong he ever did, while at college.
But his voice was seldom heard his diff
dence restrained him from any snowy de-
monstration. But he was always at the
place of prayer, and at the post of duty
Every one thought well of Bond, and said
he would do good in the world; but per-
haps no one supposed he would ever be-
and diffidence forbade any such hope.
Nearly thirty years ago he left the coun-
try (having taken Ellen S. Powell of Port
land as his companioD and joined the
Sandwich Island missions. He has held
his position there with honor and credit to
himself, during all these years. He was
put in the midst of blank heathenism, to
teach the natives Christianity. There was
no one there to fear but God, and that in
the good sense. His diffidence and mod
esty could not well come into play, in
any injurious form, or in the midst of that
great mass of ignorant and degraded hui
manity. His mental and christian develop
ment was positive, and to many astonish-
ing. Good things were looked for from
him, and useful things in abundance, but
not great and startling.
Let me now give brief record of thirty
: years; not from his own modest hand GER
tainly, but none the less true nevertheless.
He worked away upon that heathenism,
he preached, he taught, he prayed and
wept, but rejoiced in the Lord, and in his
work, greatly. Ten years ago, he had
received seventeen hundred members to
his church on profession. He received
over seven hundred in one year., when
the greatest revival, perhaps, ever known
have held out as well as could have been
hoped under the circumstances. m
As the natives crowded around him 10
hear, he set himself and them to the work
of building a stone church. The timber
was dragged down from the mountains by
large gangs, with ropes. The lime for
mortar was gotten from coral, in the bed
of the ocean, seven miles distant, the ma
tives diving for it, The great church was
DONE but the winds of heaven blew it
down. Another was built in the same
manner, a bell was put upon it, an organ
was put within it, and all was done un-
der his leadership, the hardest worker al
ways in the whole gang.
Mr.. Bond was the first missionary to
throw himself upon the native church for
support. His salary has never been over
5000; a part of the time it has been only
about half of that sum.
His rule of benevolence, his brethren tell
us, has been one-teath of his salary and one
.ftM of all else. He makes a quarterly tour,
oftwo weeks, to twenty schools, examining
them, preaching to them, &c. He boards
and teaches some fourteen boys has helped
educate over two hundred in his family
school. He has done great service to the
cause of education in the islands, defend
ing it from papal, semi-papal and infdel
efforts. He has prepared books, hymn
books, &c. He has been sub-commissiOner
to settle land claims between chiefs and
people. He has been health Commissioner,
involving much labor in years of sickness.
He had charge of the school fund, and been
Treasurer for the people. He has been
Land Surveyor, and has laid out some fif-
teen thousand acres in lots. He is Post
master, mailing some three thousand let
tiers yearly, and all this without pay. He
has rejected numerous offers to engage In
profitable business. He established sugar
plantation, to furnish employment to the
natives.
He has been one of the most busy men in
the world. He stands among the first now
in point of influence and talent, among the
missionaries at the Islands. His field has
been, perhaps, as large as our county. He
has cultivated the whole of it, in some
sense. He is laying off congregations and
churches now, (under native pastors) from
his great charge, where he has been
|
Grant. He has never returned home to
this country, A thousand dollars were
offered him some years ago by benevo-
lent friend in Portland, to pay expenses Of
visit, by himself and his wife, to this
country; but he could not leave his work
was there, his heart was there and there
he wished to rest at last. But he is now
wearing out. He came this year to Calf
ornia, for his health, and stopped a few
weeks. The Pacific railroad tempted him
to cross the continent; the voice Of friends
and of affection called him here, to his ma
tive State. But he has gone back to his
loved Hawaii.
This is one of the sons of Maine. We
will not be proud of him, but We win be
thankful for him. He is the offspring of
Bowdoin and of Bangor, and is a standing
proof of their usefulness to the State and
the world. He was brought up by pious
parents in rather humble circumstances;
and under the ministry, have said. of
DR.. Shepard. He was taken into the church