The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1901-10-02

about ii. Stones were placed inside
the BODY bot stones, the tongue was
torn out, and hot stones placed in the |
mouth. To cook person whole was a
much more disgraceful thing than to
cook him in pieces. The most insult
ing word you could say to man was
&" / am going to kill you and you will
be cooked whole" After being pre-
pared, he was lifted and sat down in
the oven to look as if alive. When
cooked, turban was placed upon his
head and native cloth about his body
and sat in a canoe like live man. He
was landed at Nairai. The people on
Narai seeing this canoe returning,
said 1.-TWO took our canoe to eau and
three are returning" The two live
men came ashore, leaving the cooked
man sitting in the boat. "Who can
the other man be % said those on the
shore. Those on the beach called out
TO those coming ashore, "Who is that
You left on board ?" They replied,
chat is Liuna-soro." ''What has he
come for ?" Gle has come to have Il
look at the land " "'Why does he not
come ashore then 2" Then the two re
piled " He is staying on the boat to
look after it. " When the fun was over
with their friends, they told them that
he was cooked That is his name but
he is cooked. Then they carried him
ashore and the towns people said to
him moekingly, Good is your com
ing to our land. Good are your Orna-
ments. Good is your get up" They
took up the body, saying, let us bury
it in the bush, but this was scheming,
for the cooked man was a chief Of
Gau, and had they openly eaten him,
who was of II chiefly family, the people
of Gan would have been angry and
might have come over and punished
them, but by saying they were going
to bury it they could quietly eat it in
the bush, ont of sight.
"Thls is all / know of this incident"
said honest old Joseph Of Bau.
Old Joseph of Bau tells more of
the Heather times. He sits cross
legged ON the floor, and the good old
man gives Il true story of what the
Lotu has done:
On the Island of (Nabuai was his
town Bnnua Lew, man ate his
wife. His christian name was Lot.
And they two with his wife did not
live we'll with his wife THAT is the odd
way the Fiiinns say that man and
his wife did not live happily together).
He said to his wife let MS two go ont
to our garden and weed it. The two
went to their taro patch. The man
said to his wife you so and gather
sticks for our oven that we may cook
our food. The oven was made ready
and warmed. She said to him the
oven is ready Get some leaves to
cover the food. 1t is done she said.
Bring over bamboo, he ordered. She
brought tho bamboo. The man 3 club
was near the oven, n fit, nobby club.
She said GLOW will it be to put the
food in the oyen?" The man said we
must hive some relish with the food.
He picked up the club and said to the
woman, This il the day for me to
kill and cook and eat you. "What
for2" Because You have not obeyed
me" This is the oven prepared for
your cooking He broke her skull.
After cutting of the arms and legs, he
buried the trunk. He cooked and ate
what he could of the limbs and buried
the remainder i'll the bush, returning
.s.I the
oven to. Next day he was asked
'Where is your wife, He replied 81
don't know" Yes, but you two went
off together She went into the bush
while worked in the garden. She
went towards Bau. The towns people
searched for her one day, two days,
three days, they suspected that he had
killed her and went to the garden TO
truce her. They found the grave
whore the trunk was buried They
brought the the trunk into town and
set it before him to question him.
They said at was You who killed
your wife, why did you club her?'
"She troubled me, was his reply. 1t
was the thought of some that Lot
should also be killed. This was the
wish of the friends of tho woman. The
friends of Lot came and offered an
atonement. Then were the friends
of the woman pacilied, and Lot was
allowed to live. The ntoncment that
was offered was whales tooth, the
famous tambua. He lived after that
till christian times, when he became
an earnest christian.
Here old Joseph of Ban closed his
interesting but terrible story of the
days before Lotu. 1t may he dis
tasteful reading to some, but it must
be told il correct opinion il to be
formed rs to what the missionary has
ventured into and also as to what has
been the change. | have sat and
talked with these brown ex-cannibals
who such short time ago were
savages of the most pronounced and
cruel type. go alone into the bush
without fear, for in almost every
house there is morning and evening
worship, and ninty five per cent. of
the Fijians go each Sunday to the
house of prayer.
| find the mission workers an hon
est, hard working company of conse-
Grated people, and the attacks against
them are simply of the most unfounded
and prejudiced sort. | go to Tonga
from here and will get mail in Auck-
land in n month.
Dated Levuka, FIJI Islands, South
Seas, August 3rd, A. ID. 1901,