The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-23
PRIEST COULD
 PRAY ENEMY
 TO HIS DEATH
Such Was Hawaiian Belief and Practices In
 1920.

WItchcraft and sorcery have their power with those who believe in them. The natives of Hawaii, when the Paradise of the Pacific was first discovered by white men, were in bit ter bondage to their kings, priests and the curious superstition of tabu which made it impossible for them to eat, or even touch, under penalty of certain death any food or object that king or priest took it into his head to declare tabu, or forbidden.
 If a Hawaiian wished to take tho life of an enemy he could do so without resorting to physical violence. All that was necessary was to employ a priest to "pray him to death." The natives were so superstitious that when one of them learned that a priest was praying him to death" he usually died from sheer terror.
 The coming of Christian mission aries to the islands from the United States in 1920, in a short time had freed the people from their bondage to superstition and ignorance. Van couver, a lieutenant of Captain Cook E who discovered the islands in 177s. was a Church of England man and was AIAo AI1t NO NA AO DA HIS o MI A@ tan influence to bear on the native rulers. Ills efforts were furthered by two American sailors, members of the Episcopal Church, Isaac Davis and John Young, who had been seized and detained during a series of out rages between some traders and na- tives in 179O. They were kindly treat ed and eventually placed in high po- sitions in the government, teaching the Hawaiians the arts of civilized life and sowing the seeds of Christian influence.
 The natives liked Vancouver and his treatment of them and they want ed missionaries to teach them the religion which he had told them about Many times they sent to the Church of England asking that mis- eionaries be sent to them but 1t was not until 1861 that the Anglican Church tardily recognized its respon- abilities in the islands and copse- crated Rev. Thomas N. Staley BishoT of the Sandwich Islands, as they were then called.
 When the islands were annexed tc the United States in 1898, the Episco- pal Church fell heir to all. the under takings of the Church of England fir what is now the Territory of Ha- waii and since then 1t has steadily been advancing its work. It has beer hampered by the lack of funds anC workers, but these handicaps will b. greatly lessened, if not wiped out, as 8 result of the Episcopal Nationwide Campaign now in progress in thii country to awaken the Church to 1t! full responsibilities and speed up it response to the present world cal for Christian civilization.
 It was not alone the native Ha. waiians who believed in the supersti tions which blasted their minds ana souls, but their kings and priests a! well. The priests firmly believed 1T their power to take life by praying a person to death as was clearly shown by the following incident:
 A native priest had taken an intense dislike to a certain white man. H, sent word to the white man that h, was going to shut himself up in hi hut in the forest and offer prayers and incantations until the white mar died.
 The white man answered that he too, could bewitch his enemies bl prayer and himself retired to a hu in the forest to pray the priest t, death. It was not long until the na tive sorcerser became i'll and plnet away till he died. He was literall. scared to death!