The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1919-03-28
TALE OF POLYGAMY
and WITCHCRAFT
Is That Coming From The
Fertile Land of South
ern Sumatra.

New York, March 22.-weird is
The story OF a land where slavery,
polygamy and witchcraft are flourish
ing which Earl X. Hubbard, first
white missionary ever sent to South
ern Sumatra, a great island southeast
of Asia. told here recently upon his
arrival in New York.
Picture land where alleged ma
gicians, known as pawangs, who are
said to be able to call crocodiles from
the rivers and Wild beasts from the
jungles. are believed to have control
over evil spirits. and you will catch a
glimpse of the island of superstition
in the Pacific.
This curious land" said Mr.. TIib-
bard. sis destined to be one of the
great countries of the globe. II has
100000 population and could easily
support 100000. 900 or all the people
OF the United States"
Mr.. Hubbard is head Of the Metho-
dist school in Palembang. and also
runs prosperous Christian Church.
The Leading Christians are Chinese.
Chinese are crowding the island rap
idly. many of them are wealthy mer-
chants.
"Our island is roughly as long as
from New York to Chicago and 400
miles broad" said Mr.. Hibbard, who
will tell of the possibilities of Suma-
ira for trade and civilization and the
spread of the Gospel in lectures for
the Methodist Centenary movement
TO raise a S12O. 100000 mission fund.
The NOISY River. of which most
Americans never heard, is a minia-
ture Amizon, and good-sized steam
ers go forty miles up It to Palem-
bang. The Dutch are building a rail-
road the length of the island, with
many spurs. besides many fine high
ways. Rubber, for one thing has a
vast future there.
"Palembang has $4,000 people of
which COO are whites There is only
one white doctor for the whole city.
All the rest of the medicine and sur
gerry there. are in the hands of
witches.
There Is a vast mixture of races.
In my church. where | preach in the
Malay tongue. we have noted at a sin
gle service Ambonese. Menadenese,
Japanese. Malays. British Indians.
Dutch. Chinese and English. not for
getting that the pastor is American.
The people religiously, have sunk
low Idolatry. witchcraft and inim-
ism are mixed with their Moham-
mechanism. The magicians, called
pawangs. who call the crocodiles to
the banks of the rivers and the wild
beasts from the iungles and who pre-
send to have the evil spirits under
their control. are highly thought of.
IF ! have an enemy and will pay
n pawang high enough he will send
a magic. invisiable poisoned arrow by
a hontu or evil spirit to Kill the per-
son desire slain. So the natives
say.
Every year a great pilgrimage
lasting two days is made to the top of
Dempo, highest mountain on
the island and an active volcano, and
in a shrine there, the evil spirits are
"Polygamy is common. Wives are
put away on slight cause. Women
are held lightly. although they do not
wear the veil and have more freedom
than in other Moslem lands.
Slavery also. has not been stamp
ed out. Our Christian people fight
1t, and of course the Dutch admins
tratiOn gives it no legal sanction. but
il is there. In one case young
man, who had become Christian
convert. bought little slave girl to
save her from a horrible fate.
THE wealthy classes of Palembang
are the Arabs and the Chinese. The |
Arabs came here centuries ago, and |
some of the Chinese have been in the |
island several generations and even