The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-06
LIFE OF THE CANNIBALS.
A PRIEST SPENDS TaIaTY-EIGHT
YEARsIN TaE MARQUssAs.

ple-Father FIOrent Tells the Story OF
HIS Work in a Parkway Country.
The Mea Tattoo Themselves-Prett
Women.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
Among the arrivals here by the barken-
tine Tropic Bird was the venerable Father
Florsnt, Of the Brothers of the Sacred
Heart. He was one of band of five heroic
priests who thirty-eight years ago left
Paris to labor among the cannibals of the
Marduesas.
The venerable father has not been home
in all that time. nor has he set foot of the
islands. He has learned all the languages
and dialects of the people of the thirty-tive
islands comprising the group and has aided
materially IN converting many OF them TO
Christianity. the reverend father told
about the natives ct length.
He saidtthat of the five young priests, full
of buoyancy and confidence, who left Paris
in 1853, only himself and Father Nicolas
were yet alive. He is 66 years old, he said,
and Father Nicolas is 20.
Il would be there still, said the venera-
bic man, but | have been called to Paris to
superlntend the publication of very large
dictionary, which l am now getting out.
have made several translations of the Bible
and of different religious works in the ua-
tive tongue When we went to the MARQUEE
sas there were no missionaries there. Dis
ease has swept away more than half the
population since my arrival there.
Then there were about L, 600 natives
now there are not more than 5000.
My home in tho Marquesas has been
nearly all the time at Talahoe, on Nukahiva
Island, which now has two general stores.
| Nine of the brothers OF toe Sacred Heart
are there. When we arrived the natives
were cannibals, and our lives were not safe
! Several times the natives resolved on mas
sacreing US, but in some manner we always
| received word of it aad ped.
THE natives had no conception of fire.
arms, never having seen or heard Of any,
| They fought with clubs, bows and native
spears with all of which weapons they
were very perfect.
lone of my hardest efforts was to get
| them to cease from tattooing themselves.
The men Ostentimes tattoo themselves from
head 70 foot, there being hardly an inch
square OF the surface of their skin any
where from the forehead down not tattooed.
Oftentimes the b9cy at a little distance
seems of a blue color, owing TO the use of
the dyes
The women of the higher order. as a
rule, DO not tattoo themselves, except on
the hands and forearms. The face is left
perfectly clear. and haudsomer women than
some Of the MarquesaS l have never seen.
They are amiable, too, and have naturally
many qualities that are most admired In
the women of civilized countries Their
features are very regular, their hair is as
black as ravens wing, their eyes dark
brown or black, and their complexious of a
butternut hue. Some, however, are nearly
white.
when i first went there two OF the most
formidable tribes, the Hoppahs and the
Taeehs, were at war with each other. They
are among the bravest and bloodiest of the
Mar1uesas. AT about this time Capt. Por.
ter, since the noted American admiral.
made his famous cruise in the Essex, He
opened trade with the two tribes and Dor.
suaded them to cease their warfare 1t was
not without great effort, however, and
then afterWard war broke out again.
lone OF the most noted descendants OF
Gattanewa, the potentate and ruler at that
time, is Pittence, now about As years OF
age She is yet beautiful, but then
thought she was the most beautiful young
| woman l ever saw. You understand the
| natives in that hot climate mature muct
earlier than they do in the north. She wa!
and yet is fairer than any woman of thes;
| islands l have ever seen. Her composurt
is dignified and she is stately and exceed
lnRly graceful III appearance.
MANY of these natives, though but a de
gree moved from csnnibalism, have
gravity, composure and courtesy of man
ner that Is astonishing. 1t is natural K
them as the dignity and composure of tn,
American Indian was before their contami
nation with the border people. The skin OF
the women especially is remarkably sof
and smooth, being kept so by application
of cocoanut oil. The women are fond O.
ornaments, and in late years they like Il
put on gorgeous colors.
a more interesting people do not thinl
it possible to find anywhere. Feathers anC
flowers are fads with them. They also FIRE
uuently wear necklaces OF beads, wilC
cucumbers aud dried wild berries. Ear
drops of hogs and whales teeth, fish bone
and shells are also used in profusion amonl
| them.
1.-THE men are uniformly darker in COM
plexion than the women. Only those whC
are distinguished by rank and venerable il
age are perfect in their tatto1ing. An ole
man who has been tatrooed all over and b 3
daubed with cocoanut oil for years look
| like piece of old mahogany more thar
ANYTHING else. The innumerable tatto,
marks run in waves similar to the grain o
ancient, we'll kept furniture. The operation
! Of tattooing requires almost a lifetime Il
perfect it. 1t must be kept up for twenty.
]
| about Is years of age.
lone of the most perfect instances of tat
tooing is found in old John Howard o
Nukuhiva Islsnd. He is an American, ha
lived there over forty years, and has severa
native wives and large family. He seem
perfectly contented with his lonely life Oh
| the island. There are few Americas in tn
islands What Europeans there are ar,
largely French. Everything there is unde
French rule, and as good order is preserved
l presume. as it could be possible under tn
existing condition of the natives.
II have great hopes that the long year
myself and brother have spent there will
not be in vain. 1t takes long time to res
cue people from such a state OF barbarisu
as that in which we found them, but
think we have succeeded as well as it coult
be possible under the olroumstances Tn,
natives are now disposed to listen to us. anc
we feel that our labor is not lost.
"OneEof our great aims has always beer
to instruct the children. Our schools hav,
been well attended, and though we hav,
| oftentimes seemed to make progress yer,
slowly. we have really advanced as fast a
| poSsIble with such people. In saving tht
do not wish to reflect upon them, for
consider them intellectually, and so far a
their disposition is concerned, to be in tn,
front rank with the people of the earth.
zone thing | wish particularly 10 refel
| to is the habit Of cannibalism. For NOR,
than dozen years after l went to tn,
islands as q missionary, bands of native
known as anthroporhagi, or man eaters
| used to make inroads on others, with which
they carried on intermittent war steal upoI
and ali or take captive aud carry thea
away 10 the jungleS and eat them. Captive
in. 4