The Snyder signal. (Snyder, Tex.) 1887-????, 1920-04-02
SAVING SAvAGES IN THE
WILD SOUTH SEA ISLANDS
BY Martin Johnson.

brutality, and the general worth
.essness OF the savages of the Soutl
Sea Islands and the greatest com
pliment l can think OF to the
churches of today is, that they send
out men to combat these conditions
and that the Missionaries. in spite of
the greatest of handlcaps, are slow
ly working a great change in the
life OF the natives. 1t seems utterly
impossible to do anything with them
until you have visited few of the
mission stations. You would hardly
identify the natives there as kindred
to these terrible savages still in the
bush.
The first mission station we came
to was conducting Episcopal Mission
near the island of Auki. He had not
seen white man for months and
Mrs. Johnson was the first white wo-
man he had seen in years He was
young man with a sublime faith In
his ability to turn the natives to
civilized ways and he lived there in
that lonesome oauntry carrying On
his work.
Little can It be appreciated what
this means. 1t is not merely getting
them to so to church~out II is case
of making them keep clean, an al
most impossible task, and OF max
ing them intelligently care for their
bodies. Hundreds of the natives
walk about with sores all over their
body and they merely scratch them
and 90 on spreading infection every
where. 1t is very hard to make them
see the value OF medical attention
but they are surely coming around
to it.
We later went to Bunana, u mis-
sion island conducted By tho Rev.
Mr. Wilson and his sister most
woman. They have an en-
tire little island to themselves and
they.are educating number OF little
native boys. They believe they can
train We boys and in turn send
them out to carry the ways OF ciyili-
they have made wonderful progress
for the youngsters were polite ana
claan and already a few OF them can
read and write a little English.
Not alone are the missionaries in
terested in this work. Scattered
throughout the islands are few
brave men who have yentured To
start plantations nd they are Dig
influence in getting the sayages in
TO ways OF cleanliness and industry
and under their guidance many OF the
natives have turned planters. Indeed
these pioneers have TINED few or
the islands into delightful paradise
like spots.
Notable among the planters are Mr.
Bell, Mr. Markham, J. j. Hardy, Tom
Chaplind. Tom STEERING, Billy Gibson
MIR. Higgin and Mr.. and Mrs. Kerr.
They have many friends among the
natives and in their way they are
little kings on their own plantations.
They cooperate with the Missions ih
every way and as the number OF big
brave hardy men pioneers increase
so | am sure will the saving ofthe
sayages be more and more assured.
The white men are always bitterly
opposed by the old native chiefs who
are exceedingly jealous of their
authority. Wesaw the ruins OF few
old plantations and missions which
had been completely wiped out by
raids OF the savages in the old days,
and even now many a native who Is
suspected of attempting to join the
missions is murdered by his tribe
companions.
SO strong is the hatred OF many OF
the bush savages for those who have
in a measure met the pioneers OF civ
ilization that on the island OF Vac
alone four hundred of them live in
an armed camp to protect themselves
These four hundred natives cross
over daily in canoes to the mainland
of Mallicola to attend their gardens
and at night return in their canoes
loaded with yams, bananas. and CO
coanuts. A strong guard is left at
the gardens.
The bush natives are not familiar
with the making Of boats and canoes
as the others are and they cannot
follow them from the aminalndeeees
follow them from the mainland to
their island home, but they frequent
ly raid the gardens and attempt to
destroy them. Vac is tiny little is
land with just room enough to live
on and no space for farms so the
n