The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-02-22
FRANCE AND THE
DYING pOLYNEsIANS

France has become so alarmed at n
high death rate among the nativ
colonists in the South Seas that she ha
taken steps to prevent their total *
tinction. Reports from these farawa.
people tell of the ever increasing preva
lence among them of Ieprosy, elephan
tiasis and other diseases. born of ignor
ance and evil customs. Fields that one,
produced cotton and coffee are return
ing to the jungle from the lack of hand:
to till them. The revenues of these is
| land possessions, which have long been
only a fraction of the sums expended
upon them. have now decreased still
| further
Three medical experts have been sent
by the French government to French
Polynesia to study the chief causes Of
disease among the natives and to check
its ravages. The men selected for this
mission are DR.. H. Louyan, DIR. F. Con-
stan and DR.. Grasfellez They are now
on their way from San FRANCISCO 10
Tahiti, the chief island of the Society
group and the governmental headouar-
ters of all French establishments in the
south Pacific. From Tahiti, the three
doctors have planned to go to other
groups, including the Marquesas, the
Tuamatu and the Tibual islands. Ger
tain judicial powers will be given the
physicians to enable them to enforce
whatever sanitary laws they may
adopt.
When one considers the characters
tics of the South Sea Islander one soon
realizes how tremendous are the diff
culties of such task. In spite of the
Christian missionary who has labored |
with him for nearly a century, he still |
seems unable to tell right from wrong. |
He has abandoned cannibalisn only to |
revive the secret and still more de-
structiye crime of infanticide His ma
ture revoltS at labor, and his toll is
prompted only by hunger and other
wants. 1t is impossible for
him to regard the marriage bond Sc
riously. Impetuous and of weak WILL
ne is prone to excesses which render
aim ready prey to pestilence.
The degeneracy of the modern South |
Sea Islander appears to have begun
when his knowledge of deep sea navl-
cation ended. There was a time when
he natives of these widely scattered
hts of land sailed boldly from one to
mother, and carried on war or COM
nerce with distant peoples. They had
that they could trust the stars
o guide them, and they built strong
hips almost as large as Mississippi
teamers.
In the heyday of his civilization the
'olynesian erected great temples, many
f which contained stones almost as
arge as the stones of the temples of
;aalbec. In the Marquesas islands to- =
ay the traveller will find great stone
latforms and terraces which show a 4
nowledge of mechanical laws of which .
lie present natives are wholly ignorant
ONE of these Stone0 are from ten to |
fteen feet long and five and six feet
nick. Their sides are smooth, al I
Tough they show no print of the chiseI.
n these Cyclopean platforms, or ..pae- /
ae," as they are called, the natives
DIV erect their bamboo huts, and those l
no still refuse Christianity say the
DDS put those great stones in place.
That the Polynesian of today has lie 2
enerated from lack of communication
18th the outside world is shown by the
milar fate of domesticated animals |
ne horses and cattle that have been ! 4.
troduced sicken and die after a few
Dogs are plentiful, out
ey are of a low, mongrel type The
sions of pigs are said to be indig-
ous, but according to some writer's
ey We're taken thither by early navi-
tors. The Polynesian pig, however,
pftiful specimen when compared
tn the mighty porkers of the Ameri- a
n prairie. Although he is treated by
) native master as pet, accompanies il
S mistress on her walks through the
lage, and sleeps with the rest of he
nily on bed of cocoa leaves, yet he
ows no outward signs of his proud
York Tribune