Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/186

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
162
THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN AUSTRALASIA
present chief pardoned the few that remained. In 1860 only one old woman was the sole survivor of the Na-loca people. Picture the feelings of these unfortunate wretches as they watched the growth of the ominous taro! There was no escape, as they would only hasten their doom by fleeing into territories where they were strangers.'


"'When the Wesleyan missionaries came here in 1835 they found cannibalism in full sway, and it now seems a wonder that they were
A CANNIBAL DANCE.
not immediately killed and eaten. They partially owed their exemption to the fact that the flesh of white men is considered insipid, or tainted with tobacco, and therefore they were not regarded as desirable prey. Their progress in converting the natives was at first very slow, but they were patient and determined, and in course of time they were rewarded for their efforts. At present the great majority of the people are professing Christians, cannibalism has ceased since 1878, polygamy is rare, and idol worship is no more. After a time the Roman Catholics established a mission, and since the annexation the Church of England has sent its representatives to Feejee.

"In 1885 the Wesleyans reported that they had 906 churches and 347 other preaching-places in the islands, 25,932 church-members, and 104,806 attendants upon public worship. They had 1749 day schools, and 40,313 scholars in these schools, and they had nearly 42,000 children attending Sabbath-school. The Roman Catholics have about 8000 church-members, and the Church of England has a much smaller number,
SKULL FOUND AT THE BANQUET GROUND.
its adherents being principally Englishmen and other foreigners.

"So much for what the missionaries have accomplished in this group of Pacific islands in the short space of fifty years. At present the Wesleyans say the expenses of maintaining their missions in Feejee is about $25,000 a year; and of this amount $15,000 is contributed here, the balance coming from abroad. Reading, writing, and arith-