New-York tribune., 1899-06-19
RUK LAGOON ISLANDERS.
MRS. PRICE TELLS OF MISSION WORK
IN THE CAROLINE GROUP.
CLOTHES HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THE PLACE OF
GREASE PAINT-NATIvE WANTS INCREAs-
ING AT A GREAT RATE.

ING AT A GREAT RATE
Certainly we get dull sometimes" says Mrs.
Francis NJ Price who has just returned from her
home in the Caroline Islands. where mall comes
but once a year, but enjoy my work there ana
should be sadly disappointed were prevented from
returning to It,.
DR. and Mrs Price missionaries under the
American Board Of Foreign Missions, are In this
country for rest and recuperation They have spent
the last five years working among the ISLANDS OF
the Ruk Lagoon. which has the most nearly per-
feet reef barrier in the Pacific Ocean, being entrey
encircled by IT,
DR.. Price has charge OF the Ruk station. Which
includes the Mortlock Islands. Among the five
hundred Caroline Islands the island OF kusaie mas
the only other missionary station. but there are
teachers on twenty-five Of the Islands. lhere are
eight missionaries on Ruk and seven on kusaie
There are schools for boys and girls and Tor mar
ried couples. with an aggregate membership "heh
Mrs Price left of about one hundred.
Although Mrs. Price had had many years eH-
perence in missionary work In North ohild' hei
first Impression of these natives was some"hat
d,sheartening How can ! ever love them1
exclaimed" she says. "and had learned long oe-
fore that to help and teach people love was heces
sarv Their skin was smeared with flesh paint
their hair daubed with cocoanut OIL their eais
stretched out of all semblance to human ears oy
rings and they were dirty-oh. so dirty! Mel' !
nraved for love and Ruth. my first native heiper
,r our home was so gentle and kind, so sweet ana
ouogether helpful that 1t needed no effort to love
her and through her came to know and love her
people. ,,.,
"i believe" she continued that one Christiah
home ia worth ten thousand sermons. and that the
daily upright Christian lives or the missionaries
oooonnlisb more than all the lessons they ever
teach or the sermons they preach IL seems ~ '''e
that N have real home there must pe iHe' "
literal hearthstOne. where the FAMILY all s"'nei "
.,,as Of course in that hot climate fire Is
40 iya Ont
they are learning 10 nave ~
them. - ,., .ho,, have M
Until they become Christians they nave II,
,ot,ye for work because they want nothhg oeyohu
,ha eesh paint which they obtain from the 'apa
as. traders in exchange for dried cocoanuts fhe
~ ct, ,rd taro with fish which are easily
-, ernnlv them with necessary food. bu'
,he,7 No sooner become Christian than they "ah'
clothes. and taught to MAKE tnen' ~ , W.
ha,s They earn money with which 10 ouy
cloth of the ira lers by drying cocoanuts. AS 'eS
,aarn to read they want Bible. and nave 10 earn
" =. tho same way Little by little one want leads
70 anoher and can only be gra1lhed as tney an
and o6sn IN mefni bnd 10 roads stone walls out
abe brIIsh and to plant gardens OF taro' pua S"'
bananas. ~
CONVERT TO MISSIONARY WORK
German trader who came over In the same
,oorer with Mrs Price had paid visit TO RuK
Refore going there ne had been bitterly opposed 10
r,tse,onarv work missionaries and everything per-
,otrtnp TO them but when he left was enthusiastic
g., his nraises of what had been accomplished and
,non landing published what he had seen IN
,Io,o,rl, neuspaper Why he said on the snip
",yben 7 landed at Ruk was met at the Vessel oy
,aLed dirty painted savages. The next day was
sunday. and went to church. and could not be-
l,ove that the neatly dressed. well-behaved mem
hers of the congregation who TOOK Pari IN @ te
ice and sang intelligenty ana wen couiu eNeI ia
hAar like those / had seen around my Ntsseit.
the missionaries can 40 such "o'h We " ~
send more such peCpe. 49,, ~. t,rtoa eoys.
S@rake the little island OF Pingelap. twenty
,,ears ago the inhabitants were nake1 saFakeS' IT.,
day they are crowd OF wen-atessec pTUp,e Tbs
Rave bnve learned to braid hats. which they sell
W The traders so that almost every famly mas
hand sewing macnine III limos and ali are nominal
JsltH,ians What has been done on Pingeiap can
be done everywhere The native Christians OF
Ponape show how WI they Hsyr.scon can Ss true a'''
''ol H a Great day" says Mrs. Price. when the
,,orninp star the vessel which comes to us yearly
MOI snhnpIies and mail arrives. She Is watched
WI wl.h oonpv for many days and when she Is at last
ihescried i0r great is the popular ubilation Every
tnese ar rearer and nearer the noise becomes al
- mnost deofening and in our JOY at again seeing our
&c from home and friends and the great "oro' we
III tnt, IN the cheering with all our might 49,,
'"There is hard rain and burning sunshine IN Inese
islands every day Tes ane al in order that they may
,an These are carried from the vessel to the
SSwe,ngs OF the missionaries by the natives VINO
aIe Lp pa e. for days reading the home letters and
eieening the latest news or the wotiu ,I, on .le
SearIv files OF papers and magazlnes. W Wheh '.e
Worn,ng star sails for home eoodbys are said TO
mtssinnsries whose II is to return home for
rest and not until the last pun OF smoke ron ner
he