THE NEW HEBRIDES.

Timaru Herald, Volume LV, Issue 5517, 20 September 1892, Page 3

THE NEW HEBRIDES.

— - 0 The Key. Mr Gillies has received, and handed to us for publication, the following most interesting letter from the Her. Dr Lamb, lately appointed a missionary to the 1 JSew Hebrides, giving his impression of the islacdp The letler is as follows : — 1 Mikaius, Epi, New Hebrides, July 20th. Dear Sir. — W» have been through the ' group dow nearly twioe, and made the } . acquaintance of nearly every white person c hare— set tiers Dnd missionaries— ppd feel 9 qualified tp give ft first-sight opinion, whjflh - of course may bo modified by further experience. Our first imprpjßioDß were not * wholly favourable, A warm welooffle met ub at every door of bouse or hut, but mewt of the whito faces that firat greeted us scorned iiiosp c . of men and women who bad just returned 1 from the grave— so white and emaciated wore they. It was the end of Iho hot ee»son, an unusually hot ono, ond "la grippe," alone jpjth fever (malarial), bad boon prevalent. s' StiU.lVyo wore a few who were looking well, a and some who,, aj> yat, have not known what o fever means. Tbe«o ■apve (be exception. Tho univorsul exporience, so far, has been that the roses of health which bloom m other »co^s ape doomed to wither m these islands. The deejp blacfa toil with rank vegetation forms a steaming bathed of fever and ague. But the ferer is mild, neldom causing more than weakness and emaciation, from which, with tbe proper remedie.B, mco^ry j» rapid, Settlement nod cuUWntion, letting «) the ajp Bnd sunsbins, may ultimately dispel th,e y miasm ; but rauoh musolo must wbb>;b and ° maay lives be oxpeaded before thsf. condition will be achieved. Tbe islands are truly beoutifli!, but theli a beauty has been just sufficiently overpraised to deprive one of tho delight of eurpnsos j ??here ia variety and contrast, beaches blaol t and wbilp, flat if lets and lofty mountains 0 still logcwne flnd foaming reefs, roeknp j inmpß aud jjlowi^ig, rprnbling craters. Noi ' is the vegetation eyeryph.ore quite alike cie i Ambrym and Aoba are .vaet gor.^swfl $ cocoa' 0 wit palms. Tongoa and Kpi s\rs tpqyfll} j the doom of wild creepers, which ovettop lb< . talleot troco, w.id bury all except the towering '' palu) beneath (tie ogp green mantle. All the 1 norlhorn islands are coVqio^ }-)J floneo Iropical fore*t ( ;n whioh tbe banyan is fv*u|( ( y}}))p th« shado is beautified by a luxuriance of ftrn, ' snd many-hued firptpoi. Iho group an o

s ' wbolo is volcsdi'o. The soil m tbe south ii ft somewhat barreD, the land more topen ; r towards the north N&ture is more bountiful i and there is abundance of deep black mould 1 c Already a trade has sprung up m coffee ol 0 the Goeet quantity, ia copro and maizo, J Ootton, tobacco, ond ougaroane grow admir. r ably. Bananas— some 30 Bpeoies— arrowroot, 1 pioe apples, oranges, lemons, chillies, the r oastard apple, peanuts, and ginger grow without cultivation. Tains, (aro, sweet potatoes and the bread-fruit, aro among tbe staple products of the nativo gardens. Somoof our com- • mon vegetables and grasses, when introduced, flourish well. Out tie, goats, pigs, and possibly cheep, thrive, as do "II our domestic potc Some kinds of leehe (It n::r abound, ond there ure plenty of fish, though t"?e natives are but poor fishermen. Kuuri, a bard wood like , teak, and a light durable wood that seems to resist the white snt, are among the timbers. 1 These islands are of great value, destined to , be tt garden of tropical fruits and spices— -a gem among the possessions of Australasia ... if the colonies be wise m time. To judge from the action of the Queensland ', Legislature, which has staked its reputation , on the aivantages to be reaped from the labour , traffic, one would suppose that tho natives too wore a valuable race. It is the very , poverty and abjeotnesi of the Kanakas that [ make them such valuable slaves to the sugar , planter. Once removed from their own , ifland, nay their own particular district, few , of them, m their present condition, are ! capable of exhibiting either stamina or inde- ; pendence. Of 12 lads romoved by a labour i ship from Erroruanga last year, 10 nro already reported dead. The New Hebrides and sister , groups form a strange chapter m the study of human history. Here life is at ita lowest i ebb, and tho people are bo tbe washed up foam ! and debris at the margin of sand and wave. ; The jet blnok and much-coveted nut brown , complexion nre found m members of tho same small village. A single itlct is the homo of Mtlny and Papuan. In tho New Hebrides alone there are somo 30 different dialects, needing almost us amny versions of Scripture. The Acbans aro fair skinned and olean, their neighbours tho Ambrymoro are black and filthy. Hero on Kpi there are three msin ' dialects, and ihoso who speak one are 1 foreigners to the rest. Every village, though comprising only fire or six huts, is an indepen- ' dent unit, and, according to its si'eo, is strong or weak, the iriend or foe of its neighbours, fearing and being feared. There ia uo suoh thing as a natural death. If a man die, it ' must be duo to 7nmi (v kind of witchcraft), and tho suspect is shot ; war and devasta- ' Mon follow. Truo, thers are many specimens | of the niblo savage, but the people as a whole ar« of a low typo, and me falling a prey to tho violence of their own superstitions, 1 and to disease, constitutional and parasitic. Besides Iho contagious and epidemic diseases introduced by whitop, or brought buck from the colonies, — vis., " specific" tinea, scabies, whooping cough, inraslcs — there are nativo clnphttntiaiis, consumption, bronchitis, and a farm of iitruma almost univero.il, mtinifesling 1 its nature m offensive übecesacp, glandulir swellings, and ulcora of slin and bone. Groat is the multitude of liazirusei with no pitying dogs ' to lick their cores. Tho people need to be ' better bcuced, better fed, and better clothed. Despite the locs of the picturesque m native 1 dress, wh.ch followß tho introduction of European clothing, ond which ethnologists deplore, Ihe people absolutely need soroo simple garmonts to enable them to withstand tbe effect of the rapid changos of their own climate. Let some lover of the picturesque deviso a garment that will combine simplicity and taste. Here we have had a capital rest while planning and preparing for another step m advance. And we aro Iho bottor physically for tho quiet, after nearly b year of enforced globetrotting. The mission station is built on a spur, which, beyond tho reed enclosure and a cluster of cocoa palms, drops down 250 feet into tho sea. A zigzag path leads up the face of tho stcop, and the climb makes ono pant and perspire. But once up, you are fully rawnrded. A freßh breeze of absolute purity ie always blowing off. tho sea —the SK. trade wind— and the air is dolicioutly cool. The scenery, too, is equal to any m the Pacific. Hight at our feet is an immensn fringing reef on whioh the billows unceasingly break m milk white flood with deafening mar — which, reeohoed from tha mountain slope] and blending with the rustle of tbe palms suggests m the pitchy night tho preaonce of Alpine heights, and rushing torronts. To the right end left are wooded hays and headlands, also fringed with roofs, and right m front stands Lopvei, an almost perfect cone, 5000 feet high, down whose slope the black lava pours sheer into the ocean. From the centre of the crater a thin .column of smoke or steam curls upward, warning the few inhabitants of a slumber that may any day give place to activity, as happened 10 years ago, when the refugees on this very shore were clubbed and eaten by their professed friends. To the right of Lopevi is the open sea, and to its loft is Paama, with Ambrjm m tbe background. The face of Haturo changes with every passing hour. The colours of the sea, tbe gorgeous cloud scenery at sunrue and sunnot, the weird effect of black Bhadow and silver glow chasing each other on the surface of the deep on a oloudy moonlight night, all are ours juit noi*. We are dwelling amid seems that dwarf the works of the greatest masters, surpassing theni m extent and magnificence as Nature can surpass art. Last Saturday, a small party, we went down to tho shore to pionio and to sea the corn! reef. The tide was low, and we could go a long way out. With old shoos to protect tho feet, and armed, with a hnmmor and cold ohisßl, wo waded abont, peeping into the pools and knocking off choice lumps of coral. Tho fish m the pool? aro email but exquisitely beautiful — green and gold, peacock blue, pink and white, silver and biaok, red and green, all colours, m almost endless diversity. Ac for the coral, it is a very different thing from what you see under glass cases. Our attention was first caught by what looked like a rhododendron blossoming m a shallow pool. It we, a lovely growth of coral, a pale pink or purple. And then we began to find almost as many colours of coral as of Sah — cream white, emerald, ljlan or lavender, dark browns and pnrples, pale follow and sky blues, Within a small area we collected Boms eighteen different varieties, classifying them according to form. After gathering till we wore about tired, we had a delightful timeon the beach. The native servants and tjsoae attached to tbe mission ' bad come down to tlio reef for a holiday too, 1 and bad gathered several small baskets of 1 shell fish. Tha " billy " was on the boil, and after our substantial lunch and some fun m pelting one another with the green berries 1 that autumn showered down on our heads, we 1 explored along the shore. A. sucoossful hunt t after orabs and shells added zest to the walk. Besting on the olean sand and white coral debris washed up by tbe hurricane tides, one ■ fojt £bat. after all there were pleasures to ooui- , pensat,e fat Hying on a cannibal island. It has 1 taken me a day aryj a half, while waiting for 1 the steamer, to boil and oiea^jo the coral, tub--1 fu) after tubful being put on the Sr^. The I colours fa/ja rapidly, once l.be polyps are out >of the water, and the smell' as they die is l repulsive. 80 to whiten our specimen we ! boil them for a few hours m 9 sojution of . washing soda, then pour oloan water on thouj , from a height, and lastly expose them to the t sun and rain 1 On Sunday, the day after tbe pionio, we ) had a sorvice iv the naive-built schoolhouse, i about 10 a.m. There was a fairly large >< fudipoce, over 80 m all. It is not easy to ■ epeoi.to catiypp. you have to do it m concrete a terms, and very figuratively or you won't be 1 understood. There is scarcely sa abstract > term m their language. They have httle'br . no idea of what is meant by a city and nose 1 perhaps, had ever seen a lamb, both of these 3 wordy 'n e }JiK !)P the text. In the aftennoon I i accompany'? Jtftp missionary tp a village at i some distance along the siipro, jn tbo ortpopif^ direction to that we had ggno on Saturday, r Tho ladipo could not go with us, owing to tbo 1 roughness of thp path, or no-path,' whioh ; crossed heapi of huge boulders, tons m weight, t brought down by tho Btorms and transient , torrents from the cliffs overhead. '.There walls t of coral rock and earth, no matter how high, r no matter how steep, are greet) from ba;o to 1, crown with trees and oreeperfl, tbe rock itself • affording abundance of nourishment, otcn for j large trees, whose roots ultimately wedge it gi iniy f raf»mentß. We reached the village and j held Beryls qn a slope on one side of tbe 0 irrogulur circle m tb? pentre of which stood 1 the wooden drutna"iibcr"sj'in^o;j of idolatry. b There were about 50 present. The old cuiof i pst at tho feat of the missionary, and his son, 1 a ihaudeoiu9, strapping, intelligent young

s fellow, recently returned from Queenslandj ; But on tho rook beside me, and looked , on my book. The gospel hat had a powerful influence on the people, who are now boginf Ding to understand the missionary and look . up to him as their friend. Peace is eetab- • lished, and thero is comparative safety m , travelling. Tho Datives come to barter, and ; to buy medioino and books, from villages at ! considerable distancos. Several of theae nre ■ asking for teachers, and alas ! there are none ; to send. Although thero are already 180 such . teachers m the field, atill tho one great need , of the New Hebrides is more native teachers i Hence the demand for an institute m whioh . to develop and strengthen for this servioe, j the phytical, mental, and moral fibre of tbo ; most promising of the native young mon and i women. i On our return, wo stepped aoide to visit a . few huts, and see some of the sick. At the i entranos of three of these kennel-liko abodes \ we stopped and called to the inmates, when \. m eaoh oass, forth there orawled an old man black with dust and Boot, ihrivelled, nude, ! and ashamed of his soron. The oldest eueo, : was, perhaps, the most pitiable. Pardon ' the description, but the truth must be told. i From head to foot ho was suffering from a ' loathsome contagious skin disease, while from ; every too pus was oozing. This hardly ' seemed the worst feature He lived within a , stone throw of the flea, and was yot so foul ' that the groy hair Boemed rooted ia earth, i rather than m a human scalp, Somo one has . coarsely romarked that medical and surgioal > work among these people ie several degrees below that of a veterinary surgeon, but these savages are after all, members of the human family, and though its waifs, and have the same hope. Capital cases tbeso for the medical missionary to score by ; that if, to exemplify to tbe nativo mind m tho most telling way, the real nature of of tho Gospel of Christ.. Let no one infer that nothing has yet been done for them. Tho Presbyteriau Church throughout tho world has sont into this field men and women, who, for half a contury have sorrowed and wept with the heathens m their degradation, seeking to raise them to hotter things, not with much success. Perhaps tbo most striking though Bilent witness to this is the fact that nearly every mißsinn station has ita own little eraveyard. 1 here aro churches and congregations here that put to shame many a Colonial settlement. Still much remains to bo none. Bvery missionary is doing more or less medical work, but as Christianity has founded its free hospital m every civilized community, so tho necessary complimont of the teaching here given is a similar institution. We look to all the coloniu! churches interested m these islands to give us the encouragement and moans to compasß these two great wants. By this time- 1.30 p.m.- to-morrow wo expect to be at Dip Point, everyone of our party, including several nativo holpers, busy felling bush and clearing a site for our cump. This done, and tho tents pitched, wo bogin forthwith to select tho site, and lay Iho foundation for our now station. Tha weather at present is mcft propitious. Tt ie tho heart of the season— cool for the tropics, and ovoryone of ub feels as brink or more so, than we can expect to be at any other season of the year The tnormometer registers 75deg. Fab. m Iho shade. Our one desire ia that the way muy bo opened up before us m Becking to lead those people to a higher piano of manhood, and co far nearer to God. Toura very truly, , Bodbht Lamb.