The Republican., 1894-07-05
NEW uEBRIDES ISLANDERS.
Why the Children of Polynesia Always
Seem So HaDDy

| IL You glance over a good map of the
Pacific ocean, south of the equator. it
| will look to you like a white paper
dotted with speclls like pepper. These
| specks represent islands or groups of
/ islands, like Hawaii. the Navigator's
islands, the Friendly islands, Fiji, and
/ so on through a vast number of groups,
many of which the men who compile
| biographies take no note of. One class
of these islands is very low, and is
| formed by the coral insect. which turns
into limestone when it dies; and the
| other class is called volcanic" and is
| formed by the internal fires of the
earth sending their great chimneys
| above the waves. AS a consequence,
| all the Pacific islands of volcanic origin
| are mountainous, and you can tell the
| forces that made them as soon as you
| see them.
! The New Hebrides group extends for
! four hundred miles southwest of the
! line of northern New Guinea. and as
| its conical forms show, it is of volcanic
| origin. There are great many islands
| in the group, the most important of
which is Errumanga. This island is
| particularly famous because it was here
that that great and good man, the Rev
erend John Williams, was killed by the
natives whom he had come out to help
IN anothersway- this island is famed for
I1ts superior sandal wood, timber of
which you should know something for
it is beautiful, pleasantly scented, and
| is particularly priced by that sllillful
and most interesting people, the Jap
| aneSe.
The inhabitants of the New Hebrides
! islands are almost as dark as the negro
| They are tall, very well formed. and
many of their habits and traditions
are like those of the African tribes
across the Indian ocean, and further
] away from them than even America.
All the men and women wear ear
| ornaments, and the holes in the ears,
by constantly inserting larger pieces,
| get to be so long that they hang down
to their shoulders iu loops of dark flesh
which it is not pleasant to look at
| They also puncture holes in their
| cheeks and fill them with disks of shell
Or ivory, but when these things drop
| out, as they often do, the food eXudes
| through their cheeks in a most dis
| agreeable way. Why, they even bore
holes in the nose, and hang therein
| pieces of shell and bits of colored stone
| But is this any worse than cramping
the feet in tight shoes, as we do, or
| than straining the waist in devices
called STAYS" till the natural form is
| destroyed and the health ruined? We
| should see ourselves as others see us,
| and as we are, before we fatter our
selves that we are so very much supe-
| rior to even the savages of the New
| Hebrides islands.
Usually the women in savage lands
are very much inferior to the men in
looks; this is because they have to do
| all the hard work, and the lazy men,
except when they go off to fight, which
is their only serious occupation, have
nothing to do but eat, drink, and scold
| their wives. The women of the New
Hebrides islands are an exception to
| the rule They are beautifully formed,
for the men help them in their work
and treat them as equals and not as
slaves.
One of the largest and most populous
of this group of islands is called Vate -
pronounced ''Vatey''-and this | had
the pleasure of visiting in 1898. The
people were no doubt very fierce and
cruel to visitors few years ago, but
that | think was because they were
afraid of them. Now they are as gentle
| and kind as those most amiable savages
in the world, the people of the Navi-
gators islands, or samoa" as we now
call them.
For one week I lived with the people
of Vate, sleeping in their concal rooted
huts, and eating of their food. and living
exactly as they did themselves, and
they seemed to like me the better for
it. The only English word they know
it was originally a Spanish worlds
dollar" and all money. whether a
nickel or a gold coin, is to them dollar
Fish abound along the coasts of these
islands, and the pearl fisheries are valu-
able. The shores are lined with rich
shells) and through every month in the
year the slopes of the hills are covered
with flowers. When the children learned
that | was fond of shells and flowers, it
delighted them beyond measure, and
we became friends at once. With them
it was quantity rather than quality,
and my little hut was soon packed with
gorgeous flowers and its earthen floor
strewn with the loveliest of shells.
While the New Hebrides men, to use
the expression of an American presi-
dent, ''are now at peace with all the
world and the rest of mankind, yet
they love to carry their long, cruel
spears, with tips of sharks teeth, and
their murderous war clubs, and the
boys use miniature articles of the same
character for toys. Here, as all the
world over, the girls are very fond of
dolls, and they carry them on their
bachs. as their mothers do their chill
dren.
On nearly all the islands of Polynesia
tattooing is very common custom.
that is, making figures on the skin by
means of coloring matter introduced
under it, but the people of the New
Hebrides islands have another form of
what they consider decoration. BY
means of sharp shells, they make scars
in various figures on the face, along
+ba a,.1,c and 1aUS and fraouoptlv,