The sun., 1901-09-15
THEY CLIP THEIR ENGLISH.
PTTCATRS ISLANDERS MAKING
A TONGUE or THEIR OWN4n
women Now IN Execs u the Men ana
Some MAY Ne Meved-The Islanders
Dent want TO Trade which worries
MIR. Chamberlain Late ncports.

LONDON. Aug. VI The unique COM
munity Of the Pitcairn Islands u threatened
by the restless. reforming eye ~ Mr.. Joseph
Chamberlain. lie finds that they need an
overiAuing before they can be brought into
line With the general pace ~ an Empire
marching on q business basis. They are
not very anxious 10 trade and consort with
their neighbors dotted abaut In their r~gion
Of the Pacific. To learn the reason OF this
the Colonial Secretary called upon this Brit
ish Government High Commissioner for
the Western Pacific for a report. The reply
s remarkably instructive to any one at
tracted by the little side Histories OF tho~e
human oddmsnts who leave the track
Of their neighbour, and At vast distances
cont rive 60 maintain through several gen
srations an ordercd community OF their
own devisins.
This Official report finds that thees de-
scendan,s of the mutineers Of the British
ship Bounty sre temperate, healthy and
industrious. After a century Of aoclima-
thing and social self adj justmen, they
display ON a microscopic scale the feat urc-
of similar groups who in other parts Of the
earth have elected 20 live a life apart. the
world forgetting. by the world forgot
Against certain attractive developments.
comforting Co those who are optimists IN
the matter Of human nature. there appears
In the story Of the Pitcairn Islands tho
Phenomenon 40 regularly noticed eisewhere.
that when a small fraction wrrnches SELF
FREE from the main body and hopes to
live on as a self-suficing unit u succun,bs
10 n habit which makes it- growth tend
downward.
The naval officer who sends the report
Of his personal association with the ISLANDERS
to tho High Commissioner speaks very
highly Of the mode 81 life of the few hun
dred dweleru on Pitcairn. but he notes
a tendency growing among the islanders
20 make Tie OF a sort Of language OF their
own. which. am told. Il a clipping of Eng
lsh words. and which l. at the best a species
of pigeon English. This shows signs al
ready Of making some OF them slow of
comprrhension when addressed In English >
This officer, Commander Knowing OF tho
british cruiser lcarus gives this pithy
account Of has visit 60 them
Il arrived in Bounty Bay ~ S p. NJ on
Feb 81. 1901 A boatload OF islanders (msn)
care on, but In view OF there still being
several cases Of dengue fever In the ship,
chief masl-t rate on board. lie reported
all well in health, i?o people Oh the island
the adult females being rather In excess
Of the males. Arranged to land next day.
and then proceeded TO northwest anchorage
where there Was less swell Anchored
,here-losing all anchor which was afts--
ward recovered-for the night. and landed
az Bounty BAY IN. next morning After
this | communicated With the island each
day. mys..lf and few officers landing.
but by the surgeons advice no ISLANDERS
were allowed ON hoard. Th-swcil continued
more or les= heavy In both anchorages.
80 We stood on and on. or lay % on tho
island during ihs remainder 81 our stay.
MIR. Mccoy has only Recently returned
tn the ISLAND. he having very pluckily
pilo,ed a burning chip 10 Mangarcva, b"ach-
ing her there rather than agre- to her captain
running IIer, a. hs wished To do on Ia the
coast 81 Pitcairn
The soil and temperature arr all that could
b. wished for, and 'tcre II -carCely n whole
some root or fruit that do,- not grow most
readily Commander Knowing procces'-
During tho last tour wears thirty-tve
vcs=.ls on an average have called AT the
island -sch wear. but the Islanders gen
erally s..em 60 49, verv little NJ tho crews
Of merchant vts-s'l- In most cases the
master only II tlr- vessel lands for short
time, the ships scarcely ever anchoring.
During his stay last month In Msngsrcva
jGamhier IslandA, Mr. Mccoy endeavor-d
10 arrange som"thing In VI" way ot regu-
lar trade between IN" two islands aud
one of their vessels has @incs called at
Pitcairn, taking away large quanti,i". 81
bananas, pumpkins, and Rrrowroot. The
leading men here think that they will he
able 20 maintain this trade.
The adult males have to give all their
labor during ths early part Of the day
viz from after an early breakfast al
A ". until n. NJ To works for the public
good. directed 10y IN" local Parliament
of seven. At the present time twenty
nine men ARE available aud their labor
j. divided h@twcen building a new church
whsler. and the necessary boat work.
shooting OF goats. No. Two o'clock j.
th. dinner hour. and th. remainder OF
the dav the propl" employ themselves
abou; their own business OF gardening
10. The women Of The family do all the
housework, and many of them smooth
and paint cocoanuts. plat and decorate
mat hagr, &c.
known The typhoid Of iSsi Was brought
here bv a shipvrrcted crew, and no other
endemic has touched the island sincr.
The leading people prefer 20 continue. as
hitherto, without medicines of any snrt,
One ANAL lpoy ha- heen rccently kllled
by q fall while chasing goats on the Gins.
THURSDAY October Christian. son oi the
man Of the same name and grandson Of
Fletcher Christian, masters mate 81 ths
Rountv' /. the oldest man on the island,
aged nov ~. two other men are over rs,
and the oldest woman Is "a None of these
old people suffers from anything beyond
the weakness Of old ac., and all seem
thoroughly conicnted and happy.
The carly loss Of the front teeth In the
upper Jaw continues among many Of the
i-landerr but the teeth 81 numbers Of
adults, a. well a. OF the children. are with
out n flaw some families, In which up 80
the pra~ent there has bcen practically no
int ermartiAge, still suffer from this lo-e of
t-,.th. No one smokes OF ures Intoxicating
liuuor Men. women and children seem
without exception. In robust health and full
OF vixor Thagks 90 the care ~ the eleSred
Parliament nt-cohsisting 81 seven menberr
with Mr. NcCoy as Prcsident-full en-
ploym.nt IL found for every one. The
discipline seems tn be all Il should be. the
ISLANDERS contentssi. and the day's work
often, To INV know ledge, such 80 would
a.tonish many a British laborer. ss u as-
tonishei on more than one occasion, my
elf and the ships company. Their r~li-
ginn remRin- that 81 tho Seventh -eiay
Advent i-ts TIE Saturday SERVICES are
well conducted. and the strong religious
feeling which was oncc ~ marked a char
acterisiic of th. i@hndcr~ Appoarr- after
the chsrk u r.sreivet snm- few years aso
to have keain gathered STRENGTH