The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-07-04

1
holes in the nose, and hang therein
| pieces of shell and bits Of celored stone.
| But is this any worse than crampiug
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 l had
the pleasure of visiting in 1898. The
people were no doubt very fierce and
cruel to visitors a few years ago, but
that 1 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 lived with the people
of Vate, sleeping in their conical 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 Spanish words
dollar" and all money, whether a
nickel or 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 1 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" vet
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
6ren,
On nearly all the islands of Polynesia
tattOoing is a 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 sears
in various figures on the face, along
the arms and legs. and frequently
across the breast. When healed. these
sears look white in contrast with their
very dark skins and have much the sp-
pearance OF designs drawn on a black,
board.
One thing impressed me very strongly
among the people of New Hebrides as
well as among all the savage tribes I
met in these islands, and that is the
extreme happiness of the children. This
is due 20 the fact that they do not
suffer from cold or hunger. The climate
is 50 warm that they do not need cloth
ing, and nature is 50 generous on sea
and land that food is always abundant
and so they never know what hunger