The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-12-09
The Poor Sea ISLANDERS.

q Here let me ask the sympathies OF all
people for the poor South Sea Islanders
who are held as degraded slaves on the
Sandwich Islands. The other serfs can IN
some way be heard. The Chinese coolies
are, perhaps, better off than they were
in China anyway, they are able to take
care of themselves, and they have more
than once thrown defiance IN the face OF
the Hawaiian Government. The Portu-
gese have a sort of Consul in Honolulu
aud also the Bishop Of the Catholic
Church to whom they can appeal III some
respects; the Mexicans, and there are
quite number on the island now, have
also Consul. / do not know how II is
about the Norwegians and others, but
being white men they can probably be
heard. But no hearing can alleviate
their CALLING ssryitude. They may be
simply counseled to obedi9nce 1t is
7dlffefefff with tie south SssS Islanders.
They have no Consul, nobody to repre-
sent them, and they are ignorant of
both the Hawaiian and English Ian
guages, they are virtually deaf and
dumb, and are driven about by signs,
precisely like beasts of burden. In
their own islands they never labored be-
yond fishing and picking cocoanuts
enough to sustain life. They were free
and independent men, subject alone to
the call Of their chief When arriving
on the plantations they find that they
must work from daylight till dark and
their food Is not tit for hogs. They are
d simple, child-lke race, and not being
Injured to hardship they find their chains
cutting into them. The mortality
among them, both on the slaves while
they are coming to the islands and on
the plantations, Is frightful They at
times die off like sheep that have the
rot. They are sad sight as they ar
rive, and TO see them with tin labels
around their necks, and numbers thereon
to designate them, as they go along, de-
jected and aimless looking, is a sight
that would move any heart mot hard
ened) with pity.
Il will narrate touching incident
connected with one of those poor crea-
lures. He was working on one of the
other islands, got sick, and by some
means came to Honolulu to 90 to the
hospital. The steamer on which he was
on board arrived in Honolulu on Sunday.
but the authorities took no steps
to see into the case OF the
unfortunate South Sea Islander, as
people there are very careful not to
break the Sabbath. On Monday morn
ing somebody MADE IL his business TO
inform the authorities that there was
a hospital patient on board the steamer,
and when the proper authorities went on
board they found the poor South Sea
Islander dead. He was literally mur-
dered through carelessness, through IN
human and brutal neglect / was in
Honolulu at the time, and / only heard
one man who denounced this merciless
Indifference, and that was DR.. McKib-
ben, jun, who did not hesitate to name
the brutality in its proper terms. But
can not give you a perfect picture Of the
degradation that exists on the planta-
tions, and of the utterly wretched condi-
tian of the -serfs. The dead South Sea
Islander Is but one, no doubt, of many
who die like dogs, and are put out Of
sight as soon as possible. .-Honolutu
Cor. San Francisco Chronicle.