Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-11-30
GUNRoAT JUSTICE.
Teaching South Sea Natives That 1t Is
Costly to Kill and Eat White Men.

reaching South Sea Natives That It Is
Costly to Kill and Eat White Men.
The Solomon islanders, who inhabit q
beautiful archipelago stretching for 500
miles parallel with the northeast coast of
New Guinea, have earned the reputation
of being among the widest and most
untamable of savages. 1t is only within
few years that the missionaries have
attempted to work among them. Before
the natives grew accustomed to the
sight of trading vessels it was as much
as mans life was worth to venture on
shore, and the islanders were left pretty
much to themselves until six or seven
years ago, when England and Germany
divided the islands between them, and
then looked around to see if they were
really worth dividing. Since then a
number of traders and missionaries
have built stations on the islands and
persistently wooed the natives to barter
and prayer. The coy and suspicious
creatures, however, have distrusted the
good intentions of the strangers, and as
they are confirmed head hunters they
have lost no opportunity to lop off the
head of white man whenever they
caught him alone.
The British Government decided to
keep war vessel in the neighborhood
and teach the natives better than to eat
missionaries and to adorn tabu houses
with the skulls of traders. So her ma
jesty's ship Rapid has done lively bust
ness inf1icting gunboat justice upon vii
lagos indulging in cannibal feasts, with
white men as the most tempting delicacy
on the bill of fare.
When the captain of the Rapid made
his last report he had just executed a
native for the murder of Mr.. Duval,
white trader. The crime occurred in
Mott bay, among the southern islands
of the group. One day, soon after the
murder, the Rapid anchored in the bay
and sent word to the chief that unless
the murderer of Mr.. Duval was deliv-
cred within two hours the village would
be shelled. The Solomon islanders have
had considerable experience of this sort,
and the chief knew just what to expect.
The chief and one of his men promptly
set off in a canoe for the warship, having
in charge native, whom they delivered
up as the murderer of Mr.. Duval.
The accused man made full confess
sion Of his crime. The captain of the
Rapid made careful investigation, con-
vinced himself that the prisoner was the
culprit he was after, and sentenced him
to be shot at 8 o'clock next morning at
f1,a will {1o l..
Cured
At daybreak next morning a solemn
procession of boats went ashore carry
ing the prisoner. 1t was thought that
the treacherous natives might be i'll man.
nered enough to attempt to interfere
with the programme. A line of seamen
was therefore extended around the part
Of the village facing the woods to guard
against surprise. The prisoner was led
ashore and tied to tree He was very
calm, observed all the preparations with
out tremor and did not utter a word
even when he was blindfolded. Several
hundred natives grouped themselves
around the place of execution, looking
on in awed silence.
A firing party OF ten marines was told
off, marched up in front of the con-
demned savage and loaded their rifles.
The color sergeant gave the command,
PRESENT. and then, after moments
silence, came the word, ''Firel' and then
the ten rifles blazed away. The murder
of the white man had been avenged.
The doctor pronounced the victim dead,
and the ten marines marched back to
their boat, leaving the body for the IA
tives to bury. Such lessons as this will
impress the natives, if anything will,
that it is better all around to let white
men live than to kill and eat them.-l
New York Sun.