The St. Johns herald., 1890-08-28
/FED TO cANNlBALs.\
Horrible Fate of Four Sailors on the SoI- .A omou Islands.


 Horrible Fate of Four Sailors on the sOl- tA omon Islands.
 ? A letter from Captain Woodhouse, who has charge of trading schooner, the Emma Fisher, belonging to Messrs Kelly 6 Williams, of Sydney, was re- ceived in town yesterday, giving brief particulars of the perpetration of some further atrocities on traders, and the practice of cannibalism by the natives of one of the Solomon Islands. The par ticulars to hand are that the Emma Fisher had fallen in company with the schooner Enterprise, of Sydney, from which it was gleaned that the boat steerer, an A. B. on board the Enterprise named Nelson, had been killed and eaten, together with three others-na- tives. Nelson is given as native of Norway, a man of about thirty years of age, and possessing some years eXpe- rience in the island trade. The maSsa- ere would seem to have been premedi- tated.
 Nelson bears the reputation here of being a well-conducted man, and had always appeared to be, and was, in fact, on the best terms with the Solomon Islanders at the places periodically called at by the schooner Enterprise. From the information to hand it appears that the natives came of. as is custom ary, from (it is believed) Hammond Island, near Rubiam, in the Solomon group, and represented that they wanted to dispose of some copra.
 Nelson and three of the native crew on board the Enterprise were thus induced to land in the schooner's boat, and pro- ceeded up to the village at which the copra was reported to be stored.
 While in the act of stopping to pick handful of the copra up, Nelson was, it is stated, felled by a blow on the back of the head from an axe or tomahawk, and before his crew of three native ''boys" could regain the boat they were similarly massacred The bodies were roasted and eaten.
 The letter received from Captain Woodhouse further mentions that her Majesty's ship Royalist had visited the group, and Captain Hand, upon hearing the particulars of the murders, shelled the villages at which the perpetrators were reported to have taken refuge.
 The letter also contains particulars of the trial and sentence of a Solomon Island chief named Johnson, the native name Sono. Johnson was taken some time since by the Royalist for the mur- der of European belonging to Sydney named Thomas Datelle, and various in- quiries have been made as to what had been done with him. From Captain Woodhouse's letter it is ascertained that after fully Investigating the charge against the semi-civilized savage Johnson was taken to Motu and there hanged. As to the continuous outrages committed by the natives of the Solo mon Islands, some inquiry was made recently from one or two of the old traders who are at present in Sydney.
 Captain Cable, a well-known ship master, trading out of this port, says that skull-hunting is as ripe as it ever was with many of the tribes. He also mentions as an incident in point that number of ''boys" (natives) in the employ of white men, on the occasion of the massacre, and who were present when the murdered men were receiving Christian burial, protested among themselves that they should be per mitted to use the bodies for food. Cannibalism, according to all that can be learned, still exists to terrible ex- tent and the cruelty and barbarism still perpertaed by the natives among their own people is reported to be al- most incredible at some of the islands in the Solomon group.-Sydney (Aus- tralia) Herald.