The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-26
THE CAROLINE ISLANDS
SPANS OUTRAGEOUS TREATMENT
OF AMERICAN MISSIONARIES.
Review of the Incident as Gathered
from the Diplomatic Correspond
ence-A Recent Event.


| Boston Transcript
| What is known in diplomatic circles as the
| Caroline islands incident" so far as diplo-
| matte correspondence goes, was closed near
| the end of the year 1894, when Spain paid to
| the American Board $17,500 indemnity, I'M
| der the demands from the United States
| government, and four years after being
| driven from the islands they were per-
mitted to return, though not to the island
of Ponape. The incident is not very an
cient history but it will bear telling.
| When the American missionaries first
| landed on these islands no nation claimed
| any sovereignty over Them and until that
| time, in the year 1852, no attempt was made
by anyone to civilize or Christianize the
| savages of any part of the Caroline group.
| The American missionaries of the American
| Board of Foreign Missions landed first on
the island of Ponape, one of the largest of
| the group of islands, and are believed to
| have been the first white people to occupy
| the island. Two years later. in 1854 Mr..
| Doane was sent out to take charge of the
mission work.
The missionaries first sought to secure the
confidence Of the natives by ministerng to
their needs when in sickness and distress,
by their introduction of medicines and the
practice of vaccination as a preventive of
smallpox, the ravages of which had almost
decimated the island few years previously.
The dialect Of the natives was reduced to a
written language, and taught to the native
children in the schools which were estab-
| lished not only for their moral and intel
| lectual, but for their physical well-being. In
| these schools the male and female youths
We're taught the use of tools, needlework,
| and all the ordinary appliances of civilized
| countries that were best calculated to adj
vance the general comfort of the. people.
EOrs r1an nv fbnr avid OF
| any conversions 10 the Christian faith, but
| in 1860 the gentle spirit manifested in vari-
Gus ways by the missionaries and their
manifest purpose to do nothing but that
| which was clearly for the good of the
| tives, so impressed itself upon them that
| they began to look for the inspiration which
| and thus was laid the foundation for the
| large and constantly growing influence of
| the missionaries, which resulted in numer
| Gus accessons to the mission church, so
| that in 1885 there was large number Of
| male and female teachers and preachers at
| work in the islands.
| In 1885 the German government, seeing no
| evidence that any nation had claimed, or
| given any evidence of occupancy or sover-
| eighty of the islands, sent ship to Ponape,
| hoisted the German flag and assumed and
| affirmed that the islands thenceforth be-
| good or even asserted her claim to sover-
| eighty of this territory. but now disputed
| annex the islands, claiming them as her
| own. A sharp contention followed, which
ultimately arbitrated by Leo XIII (the
| Pope), who decided in favor of Spain. Up to
| this time there had been no interference
| with educational or evangelistic work of
the missionaries. The Spanish government
gave repeated assurances during the pc
| RODS of contentious with Germany and af
| ter the islands were assigned to them that
the missionaries iS,n in their person their ac5
1 work should receive the fullest protection
| at the hands of their officials, as well as
1 from the home government.
| A SPANISH OUTRAGE
One year later Spanish vessel landed on
| the island civil officers soldiers and priests
| to organize de facto government, with its
capital at jamestown. Almost the first act
| of these officials was to forcibly seize and
hold themselves to be possessed of lands be-
longing to the mission by purchase. from the
native chiefs and properly decided to the
missionaries. They proceeded to erect on
| these grounds barracks for the soldiers and
other buildings, without permission from
| the missionaries or extending to them any
| remuneration whatever. Mr.. Doane notified
| the government Of the right and title of the
| mission. and reminded 1t of the pledges
made by Spain to the United States gov
| eminent that all natural personal rights
| and all acquired rights, would be protected
| to the entire satisfaction of the mission
| aries. Under the pretence of offence be-
| cause Mr.. Doane in his correspondence had
| used the word arbitrary with respect to
| the course pursued by the Spanish officials,
| lUlS VSnGTaDle man, Inon nearly SEVENTY
years of age, was seized and imprisoned on
a transport for several weeks, after which
his imprisonment was indefinitely extended
! for other reasons unknown to Mr.. Doane,
| for there was no form of law observed, I'M
| less the arrest could be called that; but
even that was without any legal form.
Mr.. Doane was then sent two thousand
| miles away to Manila, to be tried for using
| the word arbitrary to describe this law
/ less proceeding on the part of the Spanish
OFFICIALS. in appropriating private property
| without due notice and without compen-
| sating for the same. One can hardly real
| ice the heavy burden and sorrow brought
| upon this aged missionary at this time
After the departure Of Mr.. Doane for
Manila. the natives, who were. forced to
pay and under brutal taskmasters, arose
and killed many of them, including Gov
guarding number of natives went to Ona,
| where the Americans had mission church.
| and began the erection of a Catholic chap
| Ell and a priesthouse on the grounds be-
| longing to the American missionaries and
| close to their church and schoolhouses. The
| natives, who were subjected to constant
insults and injuries, suddenly and without
warning arose and repeated the bloody
drama of 1887, killing all the soldiers ex-
saved by Miss Palmer, of the American
mission, who at great personal risk secreted
them in the schoolroom of the mission In
vessels appeared off Ponape. having on
board seven or eight hundred soldiers.
Shortly after the arrival of the war ships,
they began to shell the places held by the
natives, and 1t is believed that had the
natives been half as we'll armed as the
Spanish they would, on their landing, have
driven them into the sea. As it was, the
natives were driven inland, but not until
they had inflicted serious loss upon the
enemy causing the death of the command
ing officer of the troops, as also several
under officers
DIPLOMATIC DEMAND.
Subsequent to this encounter, the Span
sh troops wantonly destroyed most of the
halo he
aggressive conduct of the Spanish authori-
ties toward the unoffending missionaries
still later was such that our government
sent out the United States steamship AL
lance for their protection. When Captain
Taylor. Of the Alliance. arrived at the scene,
he sought an interview with the governor
81 the island who informed him that the