The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-08-29
ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
TALMAGE VIEWS THE SOUTHERN
cross FROM STEAMERS DECK.
His Eloquent Description of the Ce-
IestinI Crucihx-What Christianity
Has Done for the south Sea Islands
"A Native hoy Hero.

klOpscn, le94.D-Inefe are some lnlHSS III
the mind year after year remaining I'M
defined The time for explanation does
not seem to come. We had for years
seen illusions TO the southern cross. We
knew not what ii meant. We supposed
it to be an appearance in the heavens
at certain latitude and longitude. yet we
knew not exactly what that appearance
was. But seated a few nights ago on
the deck Of this ship in our voyage
around the world gentleman bent over
me and said: The southern cross is
visible. Let us go and see IT," Going
TO the opposite side of the ship. l looked
up and beheld it in all its suggestiveness,
looking down upon us, and looking down
upon the sea. The southern crossi 1t IS
made up of four bright stars. One star
standing at the top Of the perpendicular
piece OF the cross. and another star
standing for the right hand end Of the
horizontal piece Of the cross. and an
other star for the left hand end of it.
So clear, SO respondent, so charged with
significance, so sublimely marking Off
the heavens that neither man nor wom-
an nor child nor angel nor devil can
doubt it, The southern crossi To make
places. The tender and tremendous
emblem of our religion nailed against
the heavens with silver nails Of star
-Four are enough.
God wastes no worlds He will not en-
courage stupidity. IL you cannot see the
southern cross in the four stars. forty
stars will not make you see it, Up yon-
der they stand. the four stellar evange-
! ilsts UNFOLDING the cross. What a gospel
III q m ba
! stantine saw in the sky with the words
Hy This conquer was an evanescent
cross and for one night, but this south
ern cross is for all nights and 10 last
while creation lasts. So every night Of
| THIS voyage among the islands of the
Pacific 1 am reminded by this celestial
cfucliiX of the only influence that has
| turned the islands from their cruelty and
! shamelessness and horror-the influence
OF the cross.
Excepting the throne of the deity. I
thlnk there VIII be no higher thrones in
heaven than those occupied by the mis-
slon&lleS. Others have lived and died for
their own country. These lived and diad
Tor the natives of other countries. MANY
or the missionaries were the graduates of
ale or princeton or New Brunswick or
ONIord or Cambridge or Edinburgh and
were qualified for pulpits. for editorial
chalrs. Tor medical achievement, for great
words and deeds in court rooms for com
| mercial successes that would have
J Drought all hOnOrs and all Injuries to
.heir rect. Many of the women of this
foreign mission cause were brought nm
| IN refined associations. could plav well on
musical Instruments. were the charm of
J pest society, had attra Ctiveness that fit
tea them for any circle OF ease or opu-
fence such men and women took whale
| shlps Tor foreign lands, lived on fare that
! only cOarseSt digestive ORGANS could man.
a Fl
seas, landed amid naked savages. abode
! IN grass nuts, spent their life amid the
Squalor. and the stencil. and the vermin
! ana the epidemics, and the low vices of
| those whom they had come to rescue.
| or roll of $50 names of such men and
! women not more than four or five of
! them were ever heard Of outside of their
/ kindred or the circles of barbarians
among whom they lived.
The story Of the Christian heroes and
her0ines who came to these islands Of the
Pacific in the brig Thaddeus. the Lee
and the Mary Frazier. under Cant.
Charles Sumner, can never be fully told.
/ All the talents, all the Scholarships all
/ the nerve and muscle and brain. all the
| spiritual energies of these Christly men
and women put forth on behalf Of people
| WhOn they had never seen, and whose
/ names they had never heard pronounced
until the day Of the arrival on these is
/ lands Some of these messengers of light
/ were cut to pieces and devoured by canni-
/ balls. Some Of them toiled 10 save the
beSOtted savage. while prodiestas Of
| Christian countries landed from mer-
| chantman or war vessel or whaling ship
/ were trying 10 destroy them. The daugh-
/ ter of one Of the missionary families
| describes her mother as toiling until the
| skin was blistered off her arms and saws
| that while her father was about to
of
/ the windows and one brandished knife
about his face, saying Here he is. I
/ have got himi Come orr These mis-
slonarIeS sent their little children TO
America and Europe because they could
/ not be properly brought up amid heath
| enism. and what heartrending partfngs
/ took place as fathers and mothers sur
| rendered their children for the VOYAGE
| across the seas, in many cases those
! parents never seeing their children
again. No regular postal arrangements,
| letters were often not received until
| eighteen months or two years old The
/ ship captain, Charles Sumner for the
i first part of the voyage to the Pacific
| with his group of missionaries scOffed at
| Christianity but he was converted un-
: der the influence of their example and
| became their champion. He said about
I one of these Pacific islands: Il have
| been here before, and / see the difference.
| Formerly as soon as my anchor was
( down my ship was surrounded by dis
/ solute men and women. Swimming out
| from shore and trying to come aboard.
| How different now Christianity has
\ made the change" And when some one
! traduced the missionaries he said: oh
| you need not tell me these stories.
! have lived four months with these dread
/ full people and know them we'll. 1 knew
| the natives. too, as they were many
| years ago, and am fully convinced that
| the change 1 see is from the influence
of the religion Of the bible
One boy was the means Of the civihza-
| ton and evangelizatiOn of the Sandwich
| islands. His father and mother were
| killed. and he ran away with his baby
! brother on his back. The infant was
slain by spear. The heroic boy got on a
| ship for New England. He was found
weeping on the steps Of Yale college,
| Connecticut. He told the story of his
native island. That story aroused the
Christian world. "A little child shall
| lead them" The Tahitian islands have
| felt the same supernal power. They had
| been in the habit Of Staying aged parents,
and where there were too many children
| in the family they We're put out of the
way. Cannibaiism was part Of the diet.
| There was no law of morality for unmar-
| ried women. One of their religious sac
rifices was man and a pig roasted to-
| gether. In the Fiji islands parents were
! buried alive. and wives were captured
| as buffalo are lassoed. Incarnation was
| common and snake worship prevailed.
| Among the Marquesans polyandry, or
| the custom Of having many husbands,
| was considered right. An iron needle was
i ~.FF -.