The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-02-26

rows in fighting, but many Of them are now
armed with guns. They have large war
canoes with tall prows and sterns, which
rise in the form of wooden pillars and are
adorned with most picturesque and elab-
crate carvings.
The men and women wear no clothing
but a loin band and at Rubiana. one of
their principal towns, they worship a gro
tesque idol formed of an upright block of
wood which bears the likeness of human
face and has inlaid rings for eyes and ears.
In war they are inveterate head hunters,
and their victims are devoured 1t is said
that at the time Alverdo de Mendana dis
covered the islands in 1867 the natives
looked upon cannibalism ms such a matter
of course that the chief of San Isabel sent
the Spanish navigator part of the body Of a
boy, Just as he would have offered half of
bullock, and was much offended when Men
dana ordered the present buried
Until very recently the crews of traders
and whalers did not dare land on the is
lands, owing to the treachery aud murder
Gus propensities of the natives, and allowed
but few canoes to come alongside the ship
at one time. The chiefs were permitted to
come on board as much for the sake of Sc
curing them as hostages in tine event of
hOstilities as to do them honor so long as
We're also protected to considerable
height by hammock MEETINGS in order to
preclude sudden boarding of the vessel
by the islanders, but in spite of these pre-
cautions "A number of ships have fallen into
the hands of the cannibals, and their crews
were mgrdered and devOured. Although a
few missionaries are now hard at work
among the islanders, there are still many
places where Il small party of white men
would lose their heads in short order II the
natives were convinced that their fate
would remain "A mystery
Since the British punboat Rapid has
shelled a number Of native villages, how
ever, and claimed life for IA life every time
a white man was murdered, the islanders
have confined themselves to amusements
that were less provocative of grape and
canister and an aftermath of shot and shell.
Not long ago trader named Duval was
murdered in Mott bay, among the southern
Islands of the group. Shortly after the
commission of the crime the Rapid steam
ed into the bay, cleared for action and then
sent word to the chief of the island where
the murder occurred that II the slayer OF
Mr. Duval were not delivered aboard the
ship in two hours the village would be
plowed with shells and sowed with a mum.
Der of choice varieties Of grape and CAMS
ter
The chief had either experienced a speci-
men of this method Of British cultivation
or had heard all about how IL was done,
for he caught the murderer instauter, tum-
bled into war canoe with him and with
breathless haste padded him to the Rapid.
The accused man confessed his crime, and
the next morning he was taken ashore I'M
der guard of strong force OF marines and
sailors and shot in the presence of several
hundreds of his friends and fellow head
hunters Such lessons as the Duval case
are rapidly convincing the islanders that
killing and eating white man is such an
expensive luxury that it is quite out OF
date.
There is something OF romance connect
cd with the naming of the islands. Mendana
gave them the name they now bear TO the
end that the Spaniards, supposing them to
be those isles whence solomon fetched gold
to adorn the temple of Jerusalem. might be
more DESTROYS to 20 and inhabit the same"
Mendana's colonization scheme failed, how
ever, for when be set out TO find them again
he was unable to do so, and they were lost
sight OF until Carteret rediscoyered them
exactly a century later and formed a French
settlement ON san Christoval, which was
finally abandoned ON account of the un-
tamable ferocity of the natives.
The islands are of volcanic origin, and
they possess one active crater The gold
that Mendana eudeavored to use As a bait
to lure oolonists to the group was all In his
mind, ard naturally none OF il has ever
been found on the islands The land is gem
orally fertile, yielding breadfruit, cocoa
nuts, yams and Sage in abundance, and may
also be cultivated for cotton and sugar.