Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1907-12-03
sTRANeLED THE WIVES
When Chief Died--CannibaI Days
in Fiji---An Interesting Address.

plendidlv delivered, at the M.
Z, church Sunday evening. The
peaker was Miss Lucy Brode,
tor the w. c. 7.
u, who has travelled extensively
N the Orient, is entirely familiar
with her subject, and has COM
mand OF the English language
that was the admiration and envy
of all who heard her address.
After describing most graphi-
callv the islands, dotted with
farms that are encircled by a
necklace of sea foam, and telling
of the slow and laborious meth
DDS of boating in vogue between
he islands, this being the means
of transportation, the speaker
gave numerous vivid word-pic-
'ures of former barbaric customs
I hat prevailed in Fiji before the
natives had become christianized
When a king of a tribe died, in
those days of cannibalism, two or
more of his wives were strangled'
to show him honor. The higher
his position the larger the number
of deaths from straneulation.
While one of the early mis-
siona1ies was stationed at GER
tain village he learned tn at
great chief had died and that FIVE
of the wives were even then being
prepared for the strangulation.
Horlifed, the missionary hurried
to the scene. Five women, with
cloths thrown over their should
ers and cords about their necks,
crossed in front and the end of
each cord held by stalwart man,
were lined up waiting for the sig
nal when the men should draw
the cords tighter and tighter un-
til death came. The missionary
expostulated and begged for the
lives of the women, to which one
of the chiefs sons replied indig-
nantly, what, shall my father
not be honored?" Finding that
pleading was vain, the christian
offered a whales tooth, which by
the natives is held as equal in
value to $40. By bribery, the
lives of three of the women were
saved, but the remaining two met
their terrible fate. The bodies
were thrown into a grave and the
body of the great chiet was thrown
in on top. The chief was still
alive and talking when the eai tn
was shoveled into the grave, but
the natives declared it was only
the ''evil part of him'' that lived,
and continued to fill up the grave.
As another missionary was be-
ing escorted through the islands
by native chief, bribe was Of
fered him by other chiefs for three
successive days if he would sur
render the missionary to them.
This he refused to do, but as the
missionary, al the close of the
third day, unpacked his suit case
in native village, the Fiji escort
squatting on the floor nearby
closely observed every move
ment, as brush and comb were
carelessly laid aside. Picking up
the comb the Fijian stuck it in
his hair. Later on, the mission
aTy reached and. removed the
comb, replacing it in his valise.
The act was the cause of his
death. The Fiji native considers
his head sacred and to have an
other touch it is an insult not to
be brooked. Without a sign of
anger OF resentment the chief
still waited on the missionary,
but the word went forth immedi-
ateiV tDat ne would accept the
price offered for the christian.
Next day, as the missionary and
the native strolled along a beauli-
tul palm walk the signal was Civ.
en- and the christian was slam.
Two sons of the treacherous chief
are now devout christians, anc
with tears streaming down Their
cheeks they pointed out to Miss
Brooe the very spot where The
missionary fell, telling the story
of their fathers cannibal act will
deep grief.
These are some of the custom.
that the religion of Jesus Chris
has been the means of abolishine
In the Fiji islands, the work, ac-