The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-06-12


ture room OF the North Pacific Mis-
sionary Institute, where for so long a
time DR.. Hyde and his associates have
been laboring TO raise mp Hawaiian
pastors and missionaries. This school
has kindly consented 20 help us. In
order TO aid them in representing the
way in which they have risen from the
horrible pit and miry clay OF heathen-
ism to a plane of Christian civilization
not to be despised. they are now bring
ing symbolic ladder of ten rounds a
stepping stone. as il We're. TO Jacobs
Ladder As they enter. singing in
Gilbertese The Gospel Ship is Sail
ing" you Will see the bottom of the lad
der standing in mire. symbolic OF their
former condition: at the top minia-
ture plain, symbolic of a GilbeTtese
Christian civilization. on which are a
cross. a church. a school-house. a store.
courthouse and a Jail. How they
climbed this ladder they will try 10
show you.
Upon their arrival in our midst fif-
teen questions will be asked them by
their leader whose wife is a Gilbert
Islander, but he himself a native of
the Tokelau cluster Several of the
questions will be answered in concert
in Gilbertese in single sentences.
TRANSACTIONS and fuller answers TO
most of the questions will be read
from papers which they have in their
hands, written in English for them.
After the entrance of the Gilbert
Islanders the following questions and
answers were given:
OF what nationality are you?
We are Gilbert Islanders. represent
ativeS of a people numbering some
thirty thousand. dwelling on eighteen
low coral islands lying on the equa-
tor, some two Thousand miles south
west of Honolulu, as you may see on
this map before you.
For what object have you come be-
fore this congregation?
We desire to aid the Hawaiian
Board in their efforts today to- in
crease your interest in the duty OF
preaching the Gospel to every creature
by showing you some of the results
of their attempt to elevate our people,
through the blessing of God. from bar
bariSm to a fair degree of Christian
civilization.
What was the condition of your peo-
pie when the missionaries in the
Morning Star" first came to reside
among you in 1857?
ages, living in Indebtedness and pow
erty. our annual exports not exceed
ing So per capita. and these expended
mainly in purchasing tobacco. rum.
guns and powder. Multitudes of orr
men and boys. and even our girls ID
the age of ten or twelve, often wore
no clothing whatever. and our women
from highest to lowest only wore the
riri, a specimen of which you see on
the woman who stands near me. The
rirl is a cocoanut leaf fringe which
will not bear washing.
Our houses generally had no sides.
We sat and slept on mats on the
ground. We ate fish, cocoanuts, pan
danus. papai Ca species of coarse
taro. the Hawaiian ape). We were
not cannibals. nor did we eat mice.
but we did eat lice. Our mode of the
care of the bodies of our dead would
not bear description before you: il
was most loathSome. Our widows.
prompted by affection, often carried
with them the skulls of their hus-
bands. We worShipped false gods.
mostly rude stones set up in the sand.
The wooden idol which you see in the
hand of my neighbor is a missionary
trophy which our teacher procured on
ingly superstitious. dark minded. ig-
| norant, without the knowledge of
reading and writing. without books:
| yea, SO ignorant that we robbed one
| of the first mails to arrive for the
| missionaries on Apaiang, distributing
| the letters and papers among our
selves, and some of us even eating
| them. having mixed them with cocoa
nut molasses, thinking them to b--
| food from foreign lands. We were
without the knowledge of the true
God We were in perishing need of
| the great salvation of Christ, for. as
Paul truly says of such heather as we
were, We were more or less filled with
all unrighteouSneSS, fornication.
wickedneSs, covetousneSS, malicious
ness, full of envy. murder. debate, de-
Ceit, malignity, whisperers, back5it-
ers. despiteful, proud, boosters. in
ventors of evil things, disobedient To
parents. without understanding, COW
enant breakers, without natural affec-
ton, implacable. unmerciful." and.
might add. often very abusive of our
wives.
How did you treat the Missionaries
| in those early days?
Many of our people treated them
| kindly. some with Indifference. and a
| few with marked barbarity. The king
of Apaiang. whose coat of mail / now
have on, very cordially welcomed the
missionaries when they came to- his
shores and slept by the little cottage
which had been brought on the Morn
ing Star" while it was being put up.
lest thieves should carry of the lum-
| Der. He was slain in battle three
months later.
: We are greatly ashamed to say that
after a residence of missionaries
among us for eleven years. one of our
number shot Rev. Mr.. Mahoa in Mr..
! Bingham'S house. and later on some
of our people tore down the house and
1