Omaha daily bee., 1891-02-01
THE PHOEBE CHAPMAN'S FATE.
Supposed Disastrous Termination Of Elder
Cudney's Missionary Venture,
WRECKAGe OF THE VESSEL FOUND.
SIX etch OF the People to- Whom the
Nebraska Missionary, Was to
Teach the Religion OF
Christ.

The telegraphic information last week from
Tahiti announcing the finding Of wreckage,
supposed to have been pieces OF the schooner
Phoebe Chapman, in which Elder Cudney,
the Nebraska missionary sailed from Homo
lulu in July, 1889, awakens renewed interest
in the mission winch took Elder Cudney on
his journey to the island Of Pitcairne.
The people Of that small island in the Pa
cific ocean had been induced by man named
Foy of the Seventh Day Adventist faith, to
espouse that particular religious belief, but
as Foy was not preacher and had to leave
Pitcairne on business which interfered with
any further teaching of the Pitcairnites on
his part, the Seventh Day Adventist confer
ence held in San Francisco in 1883 decided to
send n missionary to the island to instruct
the people in the doctrines of the Adventists
faith.
Elder Cudney was chosen as the man to go
and he sailed from San Francisco in June,
1850 AT Honolulu he met a gentleman who
was considerably interested in the Adventist
faith and was q sea-farlng man. They de-
cided to purchase a small ship and take few
natives with them to Pitcairne. They bought
the Phoebe Chapman and set sail for the
island in July. That is almost the last definite
information that has ever been learned OF Elder
Cudneys fate. A few days after Phoebe
Chapman left Honolulu a terrific storm
swept the Pacific in that latitude aud an in
coming vessel which reached Honolulu with
her masts and rigging swept away reported
that Phoebe Chapman hRd been met iusta
few hours before the storm broke upon them
and must have been caught in the midst OF a
furious sea. 1t was the opinion of the officers
aboard this vessel that came into Honolulu
That the Phoebe Chapman could never have
withstood the tempest that must have over
taken her
After waiting almost a year for some
further tidings the Adventlsts decided to hit
out another vessel and make a search for the
Phoeb be Chapman and Elder Cudney. Last
sailed out of San Francisco with
eleven Adventists on board going to
search the Pacific islands for the
missing missionary. That ship has not yet
reported and her success in finding the
Phoebe Chapman is not known in this coun-
try.
The island of Pitcairne has a remarkable
history. For centuries it was supposed to be
absolutely barren and pninhabitable In 1870
a British vessel called 'The Bounty was sail
ing in the Pacific and mutiny arose among
the sailors. The captain and officers were
overpowered. They were placed in the life
boats and cast atloat upon the open sea.
The mutineers took possession of "The
Bounty and after lodging about from port
| to port, keeping out of the way of British
| men-of-war, they decided to take up "a resi-
! dence on the rock bound island of Pitcarne
They induced some native women and few
men of Honolulu to accompany them and
| they were soon in possession of
the island There is no harbor about
| Pitcairne,and the mutineers saw that they
| must dispose of the ship to escape capture,
| so they took all the furniture and provisions
| out of The Bounty and then burned her to
the water's surface. The hllk sank near the
| rocky shore where it was afterwards found
| by divers.
This colony of British sailors and
natives of Honolulu soon sank Into into
L totA nf .,,rttx NlN.aN
fought among themselves and nearly
all the men of the Malay race were killed,
Among the Britishers there was one man
named Smith who changed his name to
Adams, probably to escape possible capture.
He was man of superior intellect and at
| once became the leader. He saw that some
thing must be done to correct the morals of
the colony or diseases ana seditions would
certainly exterminate them in a
ing through the pluuder taken
from "The Bounty" he found a bible and a
| Church of England prayer book. He de-
| cided, il possible, to Christianize the colony
and bending all his energies to the task, he,
| not only converted all the people on the
island, but he taught the children to read,
| The colony became prosperous, and when, in
| 1904. a British vessel called at the island, the
| people were found to be remarkably virtous
and religious. Some OF them We're induced to
| go to Honolulu ON board the British vessel
| but they became so thoroughly disgusted
with the depravity and wickedness OF the
natives there that they all went back to their
rock bound home in the midst of the Pacific,
The island is but about three miles wide
by four long and AZ present there are but $50
people inhabiting it.
They are passionately fond of music and
are very intelligent and pious.
Elder Cudney lived in Lincoln for some
years before starting for Pitcairne. He also
| lived and labored in Omaha. During the
| fall of 1884 he conducted camp meeting for
several weeks at the Douglas county fair
grounds. His wife and two children are at
present at the home of her parents in Yer
| mont.