Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-12-26

| The nation practiced human sacri-
| flee: and there Is a cord now at the
missionary rooms. Chicago. with which
one high priest had strangled % human
victims They were race of perpet-
ual thieves even kings and chiefs
kept servants for the special purpose
of stealing. They were wholesale
gamblers, and latterly drunkards
Thoroughly savage. they seemed
almost destitute OF fixed habits.
When food was plenty they would
take six or seven meals a day. and
even rise in the night to eat; at other
times they would eat but once day.
or perhaps go almost fasting for two
or three days together. Science they
had none: no written language. nor
the least conception of any mode of
communicating thought but by oral
speech.
Some often buried their aged parents
alive or left them to perish. The sick
were abandoned to die Of want and
neglect Maniacs were stoned to death
Captives were tortured and slain. The
whole system of government and re-
ligion was to the last degree oppres-
sive. The lands, their products and
occupants. were the property or the
chiefs and the king.
The persons and power of the high
chiefs We're protected by IA crushing
system of restrictions called tabus- 1t
was a tabu and death for a common
man to let his shadow fall upon
chief, to go upon his house, enter his
enclosure or wear his kappa, to stand
when the kings kappa or his bathing
water was carried by or his name
mentioned in song.
1t was tabu for q woman to eat with
her husband. or to eat fowl. pork.
cocoanut, or banana-things offered to
the idos-and death was the penalty.
| The priest. too. came in with his tahus
and his exactions for his idols. There
were six principal gods with names.
and an indefinite number of spirits.
The race had once been singularlv
healthy. They told the first mission
aries that formerly they died only Of
old age But foreign sailors had in
troduced diseases, reputable and as
peciaily disreputablc. and, the nation
was rapidly wasting away.
Probably none OF you will live 10
| witness the downfall Of idolatry." so
said the Rev. Mr.. Kellogg to Mr. Rug
giles as they took breakfast together
| at East Windsor CT, the morning he
| fore he left home but Gods thoughts
are not our thoughts.
Hopu called up his friend Ruggles al
o'clock on a moonlight night March 80
| TO get the FIRST elimps" of Hawaii. and al
| daNbreak the snow capped peak of
| Mauua k.a WAS In full view 4 f..g
| hours more, and Hopu pointed out the val
! ley whore he WAS born. boat was put
| off. with iiopu ana others IN il. which en-
count"red some fishermen and returned.
AS the boat ncarcd the vessel. Hopu
| shouted. "Oahus idols ar" no more
| The old King, kameham"ha was dead
| iihoiiho. his son. succeeded him. the i'm
ages of the gods had all been burned thu
| men ate with the women, but one chief
was killed In settling the government.
and he for refusing to destroy his gods.
| The missionaries wrote Ia their jour
| nal: Sing. o heavens. for the Lord hath
| done it." The brig soon anchored ia KAT
| lua bay. the King $ residence. and Il IA
days consultation between the King and
| Chiefs followed. Certain foreigners OPP
| posed their landing. hut tn" decision was
| favorable. MeSsrs Bingham. LOOMS.
| Chamberlain and Honoree went to oahu,
and Messrs. Ruggles and Whitney ac-
| companied the young Tamoree 10 his
| father the subject King OF Kauai
The meeting Of father and son was
| deeply affecting. The old King. for his
| sons sake. adopted Mr.. Rugeies also rs
| his son. and gave him a tract of land,
| him house. soon built a schoolhouse
| and chapel. and followed him with acts
of friendship which Were of great benefit
TO the mission while the King lived and
| after his death. He himself became a
hopeful convert. and in 1924 died in the
| faith.
| families. were the first pupils. Within
| three months the King could read the
| English language. and in six months
/ several chiefs could both read and write.
! The niSsipna rio. devoted themselves TO
| the work of reducing the native speech
| to writing, and in less than two YEAR
was printed. Several accessions of labor
| ers were received from America.
! The first baptized native was keopuo-
! lani, the mother of the King.
In 1924 the principal chiefs formally
| agreed to recognize the Sabbath and to
| adopt the Ten Commandments as the
basis of government. They also soon
! passed law forbidding females to visit
the ships for immoral purposes.
The gravest obstacles encountered came
! from vile captains and crews of English
sionary Richards WAS twice assailed by
the rutiians of the British whale ship
Daniel encouraged by their captain.
| A mob of English and American whale
men. in October. 1876, started for the
house of Mr.. Richards at Lahana. with
| the intention of taking his life.
| At one time u sailors came up the hill
with clubs threatening to kill the mis-
| sionaries unless they We're furnished with
| women. That natives gathering for wor
J ship Immediately thronged around the
| house so thick that they We're intimidated
and Sneaked away.
! At another time IA of them surrounded
him with the same demand but We're
frightened off by the resolute bearing of
the noble Chief kapiolan-a majestic
| woman. six feet high-who. arriving ut
| the instant swung her umbrella over hey
| head. with the crisp words: Be off in a
moment or | will have every one of you
in irons.
| She was the same Christian heroine
| who in 1924 broke the terrible spell which
hung over the volcano Kilauea by VEN
turing down into the crater, in defiance
of the GOODIES Pele hurting stones into
the boiling lake. and worshippins Jeho-
| yah on its black ledge.
1t is easy to understand why a certain
class of captains and sailors have always
pronounced the Sandwich Islands mission
Il wretched failure.
The missionaries labored on undaunted.
| Eight years from their landing found
them at work some - in number. with
40 native teachers. 900 Sabbath hearers
and e6 900 pupils in their schools. AT this
time about 30 natives. including kaahu-
manu-. the Queen Regent. and many of
1.-THE principal chiefs, We're members of the
| church.
The people in 1898 would come regularly
| 80 or 60 miles, travelling the whole of Sat
urday to attend Sabbath worship: and
would gather in little companies from ev
cry point of the compass. All the con-
verts were kept in training classes a