Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-12-22
FIVE WHITES ON BOARD.

FIVE WHITES on BOARD.
Morning Star No. 3 had a displacement
of fraction less than 100 tons and when
the schooner left Honolulu June o. 1913,
there were but five white persons on
board the captain, w. r. iIallott, ana
Mrs. Hallett, Mr.. and Mrs. bingham and
Miss Park. The crew was made up Of
natives of the Hawaiian islands.
In less than month after leaving
| Honolulu. the Morning Star dropped an
Choir In the lagoon of Charlotte Island,
| ono OF tho largest of the Gilbert group.
The island at the time had a population
Of 5000 souls and tho missionaries had
met with such opposition from the head
| chief that but little progress had been
made in the work. Permission was given
| the party on board the Morning Star to
| land and leave n missionary. no white
woman had ever sct foot upon the island
! and for this reason Miss Park was es-
| pecially anxious to 20 ashore, but the
captain and Missionary Bingham thought
| the venture too dangerous for her to un-
dertake. In her journal Miss Park ex-
pressed her disappointment in vigorous
language. All her lie. she wrote, she
| had hoped to some day visit a land where
no white woman had preceded her and
when the opportunity had come she was
prevented from realizing her desire be-
cause some timid men did not consider
her capable of taking care of herself.
SEES. "CANNIBAL KING"
At Pitts island. the most northerly of
the Gilbert group, which was visited late
in July Miss Park had an opportunity to
! observe a real king of the Cannibal
! Islands," for the chief who had about
! 900 subjects, fitted the part to perfec-
! ton. She describes the chief as man
| of unusual stature and Intelligent APP
pearance. He maintained a harom of IA
wives and he also possessed the largest
| canoe in the island in which he passed
much of his time travelling over the big
| lagoon The canoe was operated solely
! by the female members of his household
| who welded the paddles while their lord
! and master sat in the stern under a
| canopy matched with palm leaves. An
| Their canoe in charge of a sub-chief was
always in the Immediate vicinity but
| never approached nearer than an estab-
| lished distance TO the royal barge. The
chief had the power of life and death
| over his subjects and he was accustomed
| to occasionally rid himself of q wife Of
| whom he had become wearied. His meth
cd Of reducing the size OF his family
was to throw noosed rope over the head
| of tho wife selected for dismissal and
strange her to death.
The Morning Star cruised about the
Gilbert islands until late in October.
visiting a dozen Of the islands. some OF
them two or three times 1t became
necessary TO transport the native mis-
sionaries from station to station. Mis-
Park recorded in her Journal that the
schooner cast anchor 90 times during the
hve months. Not much rough weather
was encountered but the cruise was not
without its exciting incidents. on one
occasion several members of the crew
while on shore became intoxicated by
drinking palm toddy and failed to re-
port AT the time set for sailing. The
next day they were punished by being
tied to the mast and whipped The men
resented the chastisement OF their fellow
shipmates and munity was prevented
only by the drawn revolvers of the
captain and mate
BURNED FEET TO A BLISTER
From November until the following
April, the Morning Star was at work
among the Marshall islands carrying sup
plies from one missionary station TO an
other. 1t was while the schooner was
cruising this section Of the Pacific. that
the Morning Star met with tho only ac-
cdent while Miss Park was on board. She
dragged anchor, ran on n reef and tore
the copper sheatins from her bottom but
fortunately there was German trading
steamer In the vicinity and assistance
was secured 10 repair the damage. Al
though the entire year was passed almost
directly under the equator, Miss Park
enjoyed continuous good health. Her
greatest affiction resulted from one of
her shel-huntinE expeditions She re-
moved her shoes and stockings in order
to more easily reach the specimens she
sought and was so severely sunburned
that she was almost crippled for weeks.