originally the same as that of the Hawaiian and Society Islands, Cook’s
Islands, New Zealand, and other islands of the Polynesian archipelagoes.
They are more bold, independent, fierce, and bloodthirsty than most
of their neighbors, and they have always been cannibals of the most
savage kind. The men are large, well-formed, and powerful, and many of
the women do not lack in physical beauty. They dress very little, and
mostly in bark tapa, like the ancient Hawaiians. They live in small
thatched houses, and feed on cocoanuts, breadfruits, and fish.
They were once numerous, but the introduction of foreigners and foreign
diseases have wasted them so that they have been reduced more than
two-thirds.
In 1797 the English ship _Duff_ took Messrs. Crook and Harris to the
Marquesas as missionaries. The natives were fierce-looking and savage,
and Mr. Harris preferred to return in the same vessel to Tahiti. Mr.
Crook remained alone at the island of Tahuata about six months. He then
went to Nuuhiva, where he lived six months more, and then returned in
a whale-ship to England, hoping to come back to the Marquesas with
a reinforcement of missionaries. Eventually, however, he joined the
mission at Tahiti.
In 1821 two natives of the Society Islands were sent as missionaries
to the Marquesas, but fearing the savages, they soon returned. In 1825
Mr. Crook revisited the Islands, leaving two Society Island Christians
at Tahuata. These also soon returned, and were succeeded by others who
remained but a short time.
In 1831 Mr. Darling, an English missionary of Tahiti, visited the group
and left native teachers at Fatuiva and Tahuata. These, like their
predecessors, had no success and returned.
At length the Hawaiian mission took up the subject of evangelizing the
cannibals of Marquesas. The first step was to send a delegation thither
to examine the situation; and, in 1833, Messrs. Armstrong, Alexander,
and Parker, with their wives, went to Taiohae, Nuuhiva, to labor for
the good of the savages. But their situation was so uncomfortable, and
the circumstances of the ladies and children so distressing, not to say
dangerous, that they all returned after eight months to the Hawaiian
Islands, which were even then a paradise compared with the Marquesas.
In 1834 Mr. Stallworthy and Mr. and Mrs. Rodgerson, of the London
Missionary Society, arrived from England, and in company with Mr.
Darling, of Tahiti, commenced labors at Tahuata. After one year Mr.
Darling left, and in 1837 Mr. and Mrs. Rodgerson sailed for Tahiti, Mr.
Stallworthy remaining alone until August, 1839, when he was joined
by the Rev. R. Thompson. But these two did not continue long, and the
London Missionary Society, after repeated and earnest efforts for the
occupation of the field, abandoned it without success.
[Sidenote: _Early Missions to the Marquesans._]
The history of these efforts to tame the Marquesan cannibals is
remarkable and the failure sad. For more than forty years company after
company of devoted men and heroic women toiled and prayed for that
stubborn race, and gave up in despair. And the history of these tribes
is unique among the Polynesian family.
And now come the efforts of the Roman Catholics among the Marquesans.
In August, 1838, Du Petit Thouars, commander of the French frigate
_Venus_, brought two priests and one layman to Tahuata, and in 1839
these were followed by six priests and one layman.
In May, 1842, Admiral Thouars took forcible possession of the Islands,
and the priests have occupied them at several stations ever since.
In 1853 the Hawaiian Board of Missions sent out its first band of
missionaries to those shores, and these have been reinforced from time
to time, and have been visited and encouraged by delegates of our Board.
Our first station was at Omoa, on the island of Fatuiva, the south-east
island of the group. Afterward stations were taken on all the
inhabited islands except Nuuhiva, where our American missionaries
labored in 1833. As a delegate, I have been permitted to visit this
Mission twice, and have seen every island and every station of the
group.
My first visit was in 1860. We sailed from Hilo, March 17, in the
_Morning Star No. 1_, under command of Captain J. Brown, and anchored
in Vaitahu, or Resolution Bay, Tahuata, April 11. This bay forms a
quiet and safe harbor on the leeward side of the island. It is half a
mile wide and half a mile deep, walled on the right and left by lofty
and rugged precipices some 2,000 feet high, with a beach of lava, sand,
and shingle. From the shore a narrow and rough valley, one-eighth of
a mile wide and one mile long, extends inland until it ends in a bold
precipice some 2,500 feet high, rising on an angle of 45° to 50°. The
island, like the rest of the group, is a great heap of scoria, tufa,
cinders, and basaltic lavas, bristling with jagged points, traversed
with sharp and angular ridges, and rent with deep and awful chasms. The
valley is fertile, and well filled with the breadfruit, cocoa-palm,
pandanus, hibiscus, and other trees and shrubbery. The orange, lemon,
lime, vi, and guava have been introduced.
[Sidenote: _My First Visit to the Marquesans._]
The number of inhabitants upon Tahuata at the time of my visit was only
154, though it had once been several hundreds. We had one Hawaiian
missionary with his wife in this valley, and they were laboring
patiently in a small school, but with little encouragement. The people
seemed hardened against Christianity, and no wonder, for in 1842 the
French took possession of this bay, after having crushed the natives.
They fortified the little rookery at great expense, and only to abandon
it after seeing their mistake. They built a strong fortress upon a
high bluff commanding the settlement and harbor, and mounted cannon
on a high precipice on the right ridge of the valley to enfilade the
village. They also built a house for a governor, a chapel, an armory,
a bakery, etc.; but when I was there, all was a scene of dilapidation
and ruin. The garrison and most of the guns were removed; a priest only
remained.
But small and unimportant as this island is, the French did not conquer
it without loss of blood and treasure. On one attack, Captain Edouard
Michel Halley, commander of a French corvette, was killed, with six
of his marines, by the natives. All landed in martial order, formed a
line, as reported to me, on the beach, and with drums beating, flags
waving, fifes piping, and with bugle blast the line moved forward up
the valley in full confidence of subduing the dark savages at a single
blow. But as they advanced among the trees and jungle, on the right
and on the left, from this bush and that, from behind tree and rock,
and from overlooking cliffs came the shots of an ambushed enemy. The
deadly missives whizzed and struck. Six of the marines were killed,
and also the captain. When the men saw their commander fall, they were
struck with consternation and retreated to the ship.
The remains of the fallen sailors were carried up near the head of the
valley and buried. With the Hawaiian missionary and Captain Brown, I
visited the cemetery. It is an area of about one-quarter of an acre,
surrounded by a plastered wall, and full of bushes. Beside the tomb
of the captain lie the remains of the marines, covered with slabs of
basalt. We found the slabs tilted and sinking into the earth, and the
surrounding walls falling. Dilapidation is setting its seal upon all
these graves, and after sad reflections on the fate of the gallant
heroes, we “left them alone in their glory.”
Why should the professed disciples of the “Prince of Peace” endeavor to
propagate the Christian religion by the use of fire and sword? And why
do men who call themselves “priests of the Most High God” call in the
aid of weapons, and go and come and live under the cover of cannon? Did
the Captain of our salvation teach His disciples such doctrines?
[Sidenote: _The Hivaoa Mission._]
From Vaitahu we went to Hivaoa or La Dominica. The missionary at this
station was the Rev. Samuel Kauwealoha, a native of Hilo, and a member
of the Hilo church. He came out in his boat, boarding us five or six
miles from the shore, and gave us a most hearty welcome. We landed
on a beautiful beach of white sand, and walked half a mile through
a charming grove of tropical trees, along the margin of a crystal
brook. This runs through the whole length of the valley, which is one
mile in length and one-fourth of a mile wide, enclosed on three sides
with lofty and steep hills, and opening to the sea in front. It is a
paradise of natural loveliness, charmed forever with the music of its
rippling stream.
We found Mr. Kauwealoha living in a substantial stone house, 25 by 44
feet, with walls ten feet high, a cellar, floor, glazed windows, and
thatched roof, and all built by himself. He dived for the coral, burnt
it into lime, hewed the blocks of basalt, made the mortar, and did all
the work of the carpenter and mason. Here, amidst the shade of lofty
trees, he was living with his devoted wife, teaching the children to
read and write, and preaching “Christ our Life” to 149 savages; and
here, under the shadow of a towering tree, I spent one of the happiest
Sabbaths of my life. The almost naked and tattooed savages came out
and sat quietly in semicircles under the tree, with the bright-eyed
little children in front, all seeming to love their teacher, and to
welcome the stranger, to whom they listened, Kauwealoha interpreting.
When service was over, they came forward with outstretched hands and
glistening eyes and gave me their _Kaoha_, the same as the Hawaiian
_Aloha_, “love and greeting.”
One service was held at sunrise in the house; the next service under
the tree, at 10 +A.M.+, when sixty were present. We had also a
Sunday-school, where the pupils recited the Lord’s prayer and the ten
commandments, with some other lessons, in tones and inflections of
voice which were soft and melodious.
At 11 +A.M.+ Captain Brown and his mate, Captain Golett, a good
Christian man, who had commanded many a ship, came on shore with the
crew of the _Morning Star_, and we had service in English. At 4 +P.M.+
another service was held with the natives, making four for the day,
beside much time spent in conversation with those of the islanders who
lingered around and seemed tame and docile.
The wilder savages would come up now and then to the outer side of our
circle, half concealed among the trees, gaze at us with their keen
black eyes, talk and laugh among themselves, strike fire and smoke
their pipes, and then retreat a little into the bushes and lie down to
sleep. Some were armed with muskets and spears, or bayonets fastened
to poles. The men were naked, except the maro. The women wore a light
drapery made from the paper-mulberry.
[Sidenote: _Savage Fighting._]
Wars had raged in this valley, but after the arrival of the missionary,
there had been quiet for a longer time than usual. It had been nearly
a universal fact that the inhabitants of no two valleys had lived in
harmony. Every valley had its chief who was constantly watching the
people of the valleys on either side of him. These were separated only
by narrow and high ridges, upon the jagged crest of which enemies would
lie in ambush in the night. As soon as the morning dawned they watched
the huts below and fired upon the first one who came out of doors.
Even in this little Eden-like valley there were two hostile clans,
one at the head of it and the other near the shore. These watched
each other, as the tiger of the jungle watches his prey, and when
opportunity offered they killed and ate one another. It was hoped that
the presence of our missionary would prevent all further hostilities.
Our hopes were vain. Before my second visit to the Marquesas, a
fiendish quarrel arose among the cannibals; Kauwealoha’s fine house was
plundered and torn down, and he with his heroic wife fled the valley
never to return. Thus the savages extinguished the rays of light which
had begun to dawn upon them.
On Monday, April 16th, we took our energetic friend, Kauwealoha, on
board the _Star_, as my companion, guide, and interpreter, and sailed
for the island of Fatuiva. At Omoa, its largest and most populous
valley, was the resident missionary, J. W. Kaivi. It was at this
station that our pioneer missionaries were first landed, and here
they labored together for a long time before they separated to occupy
other islands. The fruits of these concentrated labors are seen in the
greater tameness of the people, especially of the children.
On landing, I found myself surrounded with merry and bright-eyed boys
and girls, all shouting in glee, “Kaoha, kaoha, ka mikiona”--Love,
love, to the missionary. Many struggled to get hold of my hands to
lead me to the house, and to please as many as possible, I offered a
finger to one and another. Thus I was led by ten laughing children,
while others caught hold of my arms, and elbows, and of the skirts of
my coat, shouting _kaoha_, until we entered the house of Kaivi. Surely,
thought I, here is material for a Christian civilization, and with wise
and faithful training, these boys and girls may become kind and good
men and women, and never kill and eat one another. I have not seen
brighter or sweeter looking children than these on the Hawaiian Islands.
Not the children only, but many of the adults rallied around and filled
the house, while scores remained outside for want of room within.
My heart was touched by the scene, it was so different from that on
Vaitahu, when powder and iron hail had driven the people of the valley
to madness.
[Sidenote: _Omoa Valley._]
The valley of Omoa is three miles deep and, in some places, one mile
wide, with five lateral branches half a mile or more deep, and like
Hanatetuua, it is walled with towering precipices on both sides and in
the rear, filled with magnificent trees, breadfruit, cocoanut, palm,
candlenut, hibiscus, pandanus, banana, South Sea Island chestnut,
orange, and others. The soil is of great richness. A fine stream
of water, which runs the whole length of the valley, furnishes an
excellent place for watering ships.
The day after our arrival, Kaivi, Kauwealoha, Timothy, one of my Hilo
church members who accompanied me, and myself, took a stroll of four
hours up the valley, and we were more and more delighted with its
beauty and fertility. But we were everywhere pained with the marks
of savage idolatry and cannibalism. The number and nature of the
tabus were shocking. We saw tabu houses, tabu trees, tabu hogs, tabu
tombs, tabu places for offering human sacrifices, and tabu theaters or
places for lascivious dances, where with midnight drums and infernal
howlings the most obscene orgies were performed. These theaters are
oblong spaces of 100 or 200 feet in length, and fifty feet in breadth,
cleared, leveled, and sometimes paved with slabs of basalt, and
enclosed with a wall four to eight feet high and as many wide. On this
broad parapet, or wall, the men are crowded to witness the lascivious
dances in the space below, while the masses of women are kept outside
of the enclosure.
Kauwealoha told me that he had sometimes stolen visits to these places
of lust and blood and human sacrifices, and found them strewed with
human bones, the remains of men who had been slaughtered, roasted, and
eaten in part, and in part offered to the gods. These and scores of
other tabus have their histories of cruelty and horror which I can not
here find time and space to explain. But what was uttered by a prophet
of old is still true: “The dark places of the earth are full of the
habitations of cruelty.”
At an examination of the school of Omoa which we attended, forty
boys and girls were present, and were examined in reading, writing,
geography, arithmetic, and Scripture recitations. Some of the pupils
read and wrote well, and many gave evidence of bright and active minds.
I spoke to parents and children on the salvation through Christ and
on the value of education. In the evening the little church of six
members, together with the missionary Kaivi and his wife, and three
from the _Morning Star_, partook of the Lord’s supper. Here were some
of the first-fruits of the Gospel among the Marquesans. There sat the
tall and dignified Natua, now baptized Abraham, with his quiet wife
Rebecca. Abraham was a chief and a man of influence, and we hoped he
might be the leader of many faithful disciples. The other members were
Eve, a very aged woman, Joseph, Solomon and his wife Elizabeth.
[Sidenote: _The Cannibals of Omoa._]
All these had eaten human flesh, and drank the blood of their enemies.
They were now sitting at the feet of Jesus, and in their right minds,
eating and drinking the emblems of that body which was broken, and that
blood which was shed for man. It was a precious season, and one which
may be remembered with joy during eternal ages.
But notwithstanding the success which has attended the Gospel and
the school at Omoa, the large heathen party are still bloodthirsty
cannibals, and always at war with the people in Hanavave, a valley five
miles distant. The watchful belligerents kill and cook one another,
whenever they can do it secretly. Only a short time before our visit
a robber came within ten yards of the missionary’s house to kill a
woman who was alone in her hut. Kaivi and his wife heard the rustle
of the dry fallen leaves and went out softly under cover of shrubs
and descried the assassin, and began to throw stones, when he ran,
and the woman was taken into Kaivi’s house for protection. On another
dark night a blind woman was sleeping alone, her husband having gone
on board of a vessel, when a cannibal with a long knife entered the
house to dispatch her; but before the bloody deed was done, a large dog
seized the monster, and in the struggle the neighbors were aroused, and
the invader fled up a steep precipice and escaped to his own place on
the other side of the ridge.
A spy also came to Omoa professing great love for the people and hatred
for those of his own valley. So insinuating was he, that the Omoans
were deceived, and adopted him as a friend. He became a favorite with
parents and children, and after some days he invited two boys to go
with him upon the ridge dividing them from Hanavave, where they would
find ripe berries. The boys went cheerfully, and when they had ascended
high and were out of sight of the people below, he drew a large knife,
seized one of the lads, and severed his head from his body. The other
boy fled for his life down the hill and gave the alarm, but the
assassin went on and down to his valley with the bloody trophy in his
hand.
We visited the hostile Hanavave in two of the ship’s boats, as the
distance is only five miles, and the sea smooth. The natives of Omoa
were afraid to go with us, lest they should be killed, but our Hawaiian
missionaries are safe and free to travel where they please, so Kaivi
went with us.
The sail along the lofty sea-wall was delightful, and the white foaming
streamlets rushing down deep and precipitous gorges, or leaping from a
height of 1,500 feet, presented a scene of exquisite beauty.
[Sidenote: _Hanavave Valley._]
Our missionaries in this valley are the Rev. Lot Kuaihelani and his
wife. We examined a school of twelve boys and girls under the care of
Mrs. K., who taught them to read, write, and sing. Then after a season
of prayer and exhortation with the people who came together, we took a
stroll through the valley. It was a scene of charming loveliness, but
most of the people looked wild and savage.
Bare-legged soldiers were strutting about with old muskets, rusty
swords, and bayonets fastened on poles, and all seemed to feel as
important as imperial guards. Near the center of the valley we found
a military captain with a squad of soldiers engaged on a zigzag
fortification of stone six feet high, four feet thick, and nearly half
a mile long, pierced with loopholes for muskets. I asked the stern man
in command, why they fortified with so much labor and zeal. He replied,
“To protect my people.” “But suppose you make peace with your enemies
and live quietly?” “I can’t; they come in the night, and lie in their
canoes behind the rocks, and when we rise in the morning they fire at
us, and their bullets whiz and strike our trees and houses, and kill
our men and women.” “Yes, and you try to kill them.” “That’s right; we
good, they bad. You go talk with our enemies in Omoa.” “I have been
there and told them to love their enemies and stop fighting, and they
say yes if you will stop.” He replied, “They are _bloody liars_; they
will come to kill us, and I must defend my people.” And then lifting up
his foot, he showed me a scar where a bullet had gone through his leg.
Another came and turned his naked body to me, asking me to look at his
shoulder-blade which had been pierced by a bullet, and then feel the
ball lodged just within the skin of his breast. I examined and found it
so. I said to him, “Let me cut that bullet out, it can easily be done.”
“No, no,” said he, “I will always carry that bullet in my breast. It
makes me strong to fight!”
Only three weeks before our arrival, there was a sea-fight between
three double canoes of Hanavave valley and three whale-boats of Omoa.
One man of the canoe party was shot through the body, and the canoes
made a hasty retreat.
We returned to the _Star_, and the next day sailed for Puamau, on the
northern side of Hivaoa. This is the station of Rev. James Kekela and
his good wife Naomi.
Puamau is a large valley, with 500 inhabitants. With Kekela and
Kauwealoha, I went all over it to its head, two miles inland, where it
terminates in an abrupt precipice 2,000 feet high. We passed over hill
and vale, and through forest and open spaces, and saw the houses and
large numbers of people and many bright-eyed children.
[Sidenote: _Stone Images at Puamau._]
We visited the tabu houses and grounds, and in a forest of lofty
trees we saw their great _Heiau_, or place of feasting, dancing,
and of offering human sacrifices. Walled terraces were built up of
large stones, and with great labor, and a paved floor was prepared
for dancers, who with naked, oiled bodies, adorned with feathers and
fantastic ornaments, keep up the most obscene orgies all night till
daybreak.
On these terraces stood several stone images of enormous size, in the
form of men and women. Some had fallen, some were mutilated, but one
stood perfect in gigantic proportions. This figure was nine feet high
and three feet six inches in diameter, with head, eyes, mouth, neck,
breast, trunk, and upper and lower limbs. The base of the stone was
planted deep in the ground. It was made in ancient times, and brought
half a mile from the quarry to this place. Probably it would weigh ten
tons. The natives have been offered one hundred dollars to remove it to
a ship, but the present generation know of no mechanical power to do it.
It was to this place of infernal rites that Mr. Whalon, first officer
of the American whale-ship _Congress_, was brought in 1864, bound hand
and foot for slaughter, and to be devoured by savages.
A Peruvian vessel had stolen men from Hivaoa, and the people were
waiting for an opportunity to revenge the deed. Mr. Whalon went on
shore to trade for pigs, fowls, etc., and the natives, under the
pretence of hunting pigs, decoyed him into the woods, where, at a
concerted signal, large numbers of men had been collected. Mr. Whalon
was seized, bound, stripped of his clothing, and taken to this _heiau_
to be cooked and eaten. This was in the afternoon. The savages then
began to torment him, bending his thumbs and fingers backward, pulling
his nose and ears, and brandishing their hatchets and knives close
to his head. Kekela, our missionary, was then absent, but a German,
hearing of the affair, went to the place and begged the savages to
release their victim. This, with ferocious grins, they refused to do,
saying that they relished human flesh, and they were now to feast on a
white man. On the return of Kekela the following morning, he hastened
to the scene of action, and begged for the life of the poor man.
But the savages were inexorable, unless for a ransom. They demanded
Kekela’s boat and all his oars. It is said that a chief of another
clan objected to the boat being taken from him, as they were often
accommodated with it on going on board ships.