Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-24
The First Ship Of the Missionary
Fleet Sailed From Boston.
HONOLULU The BASE OF SUPPLIES
Great Activity Now Caused by Our
New Acquisitions.
TIL E SHIPS VOYAGE
Copyright, 1898, by the International Literary and

|
| News Servfce.)
Among the South sea archipeIagoes
Micronesia signifies Little Islands, as
Polynesia means MANY Islands," and
Melanesia MALAY Islands,. Micronesia
comprises four island groups the Marshall.
the Gilbert, the Caroline and the Ladrone
Islands. These are ircluded between lati-
tude 20 degrees north and degrees south
and longitude 40 degrees and IFS degrees
east. The Ladrones and some of the Caro-
lines are high islands of volcanic origin;
the Marshall ard Gilbert Islands all are
low, many of them being mere coral reefs
The volcanic islands, usually, are fertile
and forest clad with pleasing valleys and
running streams. Nest of the coral ISL
ands lie in the form of a ring or a loop
with a large lake or lagoon in the center,
usually connected with the ocean by one
or more channels, ravgable for ships.
These lagoons are deep and where the sur
rounding land affords shelter from the
wind are admirable harbors. The rims
of land which lie around them often
very narrow, sometimes not exceeding Il
quarter of mile in width. The soil is
poor, there are no springs running
streams or hills, few land birds or flowers.
| Cattle, sheep and goats soon die If brought
tc these low islands. The people-for they
are populous with villages-eke out an ex-
tstence on bread fruit, pandanus fruit and
liSL AiHOHS all the 4GlcrCneSlanS there is
certain similarity in appearance, reli-
| gion, manners and customs. All have dark
skins, copper or olive in color, black eyes
and straight black hair, with bodies elab.
oIately tatt6oed.
THE unconverted Micronesians are all
lars wrote the Rev. Hiram Bingham
who spent many years among the Gilbert
islanders. They are much disposed to
| steal, moreover. They steal from one an
| other, from the ships which visit them and
| frequently from the missionaries who live
among them. In their way they are very
| covetous, greedy of fishhooks, tobacco
pane, irons, large knives. scented oils and
! beads. They often treat their women
with great cruelty, beating them, stabbing
them, making slaves of them. The little
children, for the most part have much
klndhess shown them. Very little respect
is paid to old People. The Lieronesians
generally treat strangers kindly, Offering
food and drink to those who call on them
None of them are ca1nibaIs, but they are
very passionate and revengeful. Hence
they are much given to fighting and killing
| one another.
| idolaters; l think we might call them 'spir-
| tualists,' They believe there are a great
many spirits which have to do with them
They set up stones in honor of them ard
OFTEN make offerings Of food to them: for
| they are very much afraid of them. Some
persons profess to hold intercourse with
these spirits. In the Gilbert Islands the
| priests decide that a spirit present not
by his knocking as some people in Amer
| lea do but by his whistling"
Pioneer Missionaries
1t was in 1851 that the American board
| OF missions, whose missionaries already
| had converted the Hawaiians to Chris
tlanlty. decided to extend their field into
| Micronesia. For this purpose three mis-
| sionaries, Mr.. Snow. DIR. Gulfck and Mr.
Sturges, with their wives, sailed from the
| United states near the close of the year
fr~T i
| Islands, where two Christian Hawaifaus
| with their wives. were selected to accom-
| pany them to Mcrone STA. As the only
means to get there and to provide for the
| carrying OF supplies to them afterward the
| missionaries bought a small schooner nam
ed the Caroline, and in July, 1852. the five
men and their wives set sail for Micronesia
| the nearest island of which was more Than
1000 miles away. They We're well received
by the natives and established stations at
| Kusaie and Ponape In the Caroline group,
| and at Spaiang in the Gilbert Islands,
| When once the missionaries were settled
| they were obliged to sell their schooner
| Caroline. for lack of funds to sail her, and
| for four years their means of communicate
| ing with any civilized land were the pre-
carious and uncertain chances of whale
| ship touching at their islands or the rare
| visit of missionary packet. They needed
vessel which should yearly bring them
| their mail and supplies from Hawaii more
| than 5000 miles away, and in which they
! could carry their missionary work from
| island to island. An appeal made to
| the Sunday school children of America and
| through their labors and contributions the
necessary amount of money to build YES
| sci was soon raised. The 1J0-ton brigan-
| tine, Morning Star was built, and, under
| command of Capt. Moore. the first ship of
| the missionary navy IN Micronesia sailed
| from Boston for Honolulu and Micronesia
| on December 2 1856 she arrived safe in
! Honolulu in April and after a trip to the
| Marquesas Islands to relieve some mission
| aries who were in sore straits there sailed
on August for Micronesia.
| Children to the Rescue.
| Another brigantine was built at East
| Boston, from money contributed by near
ly 10000 Sunday school children and their
| friends, and 1t was christened, like the first
one, the Morning Star. She sailed on No
| vember ID, 1885, under command of the
| Rev. Hiram Bingham, a Micronesian mis-
| sionary who had sailed as passenger from
| Boston ten years before in the first Morn
| ing Star. The second Morning Star was
| wrecked on reef at kusaie on October
| Is, 1869, the missionaries board and
| crew barely escaping with their lives, but
| saving the ships chronometer and charts.
Again the children of America responded
| to the call for another missionary vessel.
They subscribed an amount which, added
to the insurance on the wrecked vessel,
| sufficed to build the third Morning Star, a
| brig Of ISL tons, which sailed from East
| Boston February q, 1871, and arrived at
| Honolulu on the next July 3. She endured
| through twelve years of good service in
Micronesia and then was wrecked, as the
! second Morning Star had been, off the ISL
| and of Kusaie.
| The fourth Morning Star, which is still
i'll commission, paid for like the other mis-
| sionary vessels by the offerings of Sunday
school children and their friends was built
at Bath, Me-, at a cost of $4,000. She
| sailed for Honolulu November 5, 1884, I'M
| der command of Capt Isaiah Bray. She is
a barkentine of All tons and is fitted to use
| both sails and steam, her hollow iron main
| mast serving as a smoke stack, with full
| capacity to carry all necessary freight and
l stores. There are comrnodous cabin quar-
! tiers for the officers and missionary passen-