| Show I i Jensens Travels r tBTTIH NO XXII Wtdntlihr August l Jn < I slatted out from my lodging In Suva Fill lora lor-a morning walk along the bay and the day being cool and peasant I contmuil anti the on put the Colonial prison being situated Sun graveyard the latter ed about two mica north ol the center of Suva near the point where the Tam atua item pull into the bay The strum looting clear and btautilul I jlelded to the temptation ol taVlnga balh but found the water rather cold which ll no wonder as this Is l Fijian winter The Tamavua river Is I quite wide at In mouth but It not very long From that stream the Suva water works obtains III i supply of water Through the courtesy of lltnry Mdlen r Esq the upeilrt ndent of all the government prisons of the Fil n group twit hown through the entire prison J premises by the tailor Mr Tied SabMn is The ground cover aeveral acres and male sad 9 fe I there are present I7S l9f male oflcnden IncatctialeJ Of Ihe male ionvlcn three are hiltS and one It a half cast the rest are KijUna and coolies natives ol llondoilan and the Last Indies Only eight ate Imprisoned for life most ol the others are In for short terms and about half ol them are sen uil offenderspeople who have been convicted of adultery and tornlcall in against which offences there are very stnntentla Formerly when a man seduced his neighbors wile or daughter the husband or lather ef the woman thus wronged would watch fur an opportunity oppor-tunity to club the offender to death this being the custom of the country but since the English fairly got control the government this custom has been abolished by law and Imprisonment varying In length Irom one twelvemonths twelve-months substituted lieu thereof Unfortunately Un-fortunately ibis law U I Inoperative far as the whites are concerned Mr Sabbm was ol the opinion that white oflcnders of which then undoubtedly are many had succeeded 10 aria clearing themselves them-selves by paying certaIn amounts ol money as none ol them had as yet been convicted or sent to Jail for annual 1 crimes The oflicera ol the prison there me at present a Urge number ol I n he sub uflicert two ul whom are women sometimes have to resort to I stringent mtaiuies Inh order or preserve peace In the hoUiehold Thus I whoa w-hoa a regular Hogging post to which ollcnileii occasionally ale bound while t their backs ale being t larhed with a floe > forked piiion thong The number of lashes bllicted vary IT the yb from two to twenty and are administered by a powerlul tutve guard wade the victim Is securely lied lo thcixut by Itae wrists acd auk his body leaning forward for-ward at an angle tit about tort live degrees i to r h gteea I only saw one prisoner in chains lie uses dtspeiita Inolan or coolie who tried to escape from the jail a ahori tine ago The great majority of the prison fll sleep In A roomy and well venlllIed bunkhouse while the worst trimin is are locked up at nights In leparat cell wl Icli are prey m cii In a sma I adlacnt i concrete building The women prisoners prison-ers occupy a small home by Ihemstlves and the I Kun nuns also eecupv sr parale PVrlr iuarurs 1 ramA able bodied prliontrs have loork on Ihe outside about eight hours a dip They arc mostly employed ot Ya i 70U ed In making roads and around working In the government Luildinis and In the harbor While strotllng along In the neighborhood neighbor-hood r ul f the graveyard I suddenli came upon a small party of natives armed with ot trlJ t long starpttaded 1 knives For a moment mo-ment all the horrors of canubalum I joshed lornjr mind but as they simpl I j dih rl IT smiled and shook their j heads mat I ad drrsicd them In lingual and IIIAUO no move toward sell ng met soon breathed I mere freely and al u Olicovertd that their long Lnivis were Intended lor culling grass bread ol human beings As they could understand nelthei lug I Irh or IXinlih neither my very limned nli slocV if Hawaiian Jt anj their sounds fadnglo mIke me elitist wiser or better we parted whit L smiles alt around and after walking a short rim lance lilt don hy Ihe toad side and read the fallowing from Stanfords Compendium of Geography and travel The manners and morals ol the Fijians are In many respects those of a civilised people jet perhaps nowhere In the wo Id nn human life been 1 so recklessly l destroyed or cannibalism been reduced 10 aunt a eatem IS her Human I llesu was o a he 1 Jims greatest lu ury and not only emies i or slaves but surneilmes even wives children and friends were sacr ficed to ratify It At great lcaltslt was nol unellmmon totem twenty human bodies cooked at time and on the Otnin ul a tike for long pig which Is their euphemism td lor a Ifj nuintn body hs attendants would rush out and kill me first person they nut lather than fall to gratify him No less honlble were Ihe human sacrifices w hlch attended post of their ceremonies When a chief died a whole heelo b ot wives and slaves hid lobe burled alive with him When a duels house was built the hole lor each post mUll have a stave to hold It up and In buried with It When a great war canoe was to be launched or lo be brought home It must be dragged toot Irom Ibo water over living human beings lied between two p anion stems lo nerve as rollers Stranger still 1 and altogether Incredible l were u not ouclud lot by Independent testimony ot the most satutaclory octet Ihesc people scrupled boon otter themselves lu a liorrlile death lo sunup Ihe demands of custom or lo avoid true finger ol scorn So tarm was their belief In a tutors slate In wi Icli the actual condition ot lIe dying ptrson I was per wlualed that un Ibo first symptunsol old age and weaknessparents with their own me consent were burled bv ihtlr cbildnn A mmlonary was actually Invited by a young maD lo attend the liberal ul his mute cr nu lienil walk I eu cheenully 10 Ihe grave and was there buried while a young man who was unwell un-well and not able tu sal was voluntarily burled alive because as he himself said K 1 he could not eat he should get thin and weak and the hula would cult him a skeleton and laugh at him He was bulled by his own father and when he asked lobe strangled Arsthewas scolded scold-ed and told to be quiet and be buried like other people and give them no more double and he was buried o dIn d-In Thursday August gilt I took a long walk along the beach and around the peninsula on which Suva Is I situated lsillntf on my way the large and com modkus native government building m cted for the acts mraodailan of Ihose HiJIsns who are In Ihe en ploy tithe government 1 here are quite a mini I er ol these haul dings and nearly all the mate occupants have the title liar chief prefixed to title names tomcat teem Icier members ol the royal family As most of them could speak InjlKti I had no trouble to Introduce rmtelf lo seme nt nu JInl men wlolu 1 turn Introduced me to other Thu I became be-came acquainted will Kadavu Levu a grandson ol Cakobau pronounced Teakombilj the former king of FIJI and his two lady cousins also grandclnldre i of the late kina who were there on a lslr The oldest of these girls whose name Is hello Lydia Cjkoban roost < ne of the prettiest women among the Pjnni she li nineteen years oil and au > ut to he married lo a young chiel nt llewa Her sitter Tclmuinu I Vulk ha J uh seventeen years old Is alto a handsome woman lor a Flan Ilolh rn < as mini r ceases Trroujli Ihe courtesy cl I Kadavu Lev Matililnu Ihe lector and other leading natives I was taken Into several houses and Introduced tom number ot families who all seemed very comfir r i blen everything about their dwellings i dwell-ings tidy and clean Some of the homes I are 4 < j ltd lung by jj feet wide and very i reu oLI qh 01 strongly bull The Interior Is all 1 one ruom but often as many as ball a Bonn doors opens lo the outside Tile floors are all covered with mat > morn that put I which constitutes the bed Is genially raised a loot or so above the rest ol the floor In my walk t passed a Urge gangol prr r ea 5010n prisoners working I on the Mad for which some were quarrying rock and other were picking these rocks on their heads from line quarry or end of tramway lo such pails uf lIe road as needed tnem It was a strange sight to see this long mini of almost nosed men wlkng HI single file with their heavy burdens and it reminded rne very much of Iheplciitrra II nrlhl 1lfJ 1 have seerivrcprescnlint the chlldfn 01 Israel In bonuage In lKVP Moil ol the prisoners were Indians but there were also quite number of Kjlam Iunher on I came tuna Indian village containing about two hundred Urnille who lie in small Incum eutent and deny huts I hey are people who were brought In to the county contract incn lured laborer and who miler serving their five ears a such are trying to lane rice or du something Inn living tin another live years have passed when they are ennltted tuna tree passage back to India nll was told mat mot of f them avail themselves I of this oppormnily not being pleased enough with Ill mae It their permannii home Ilud l InK a young fellow who coM talk auntie a-untie Knglisn I piloted Iy him Into sevtral ruu > es where I had mi opportunity oppor-tunity ol 9iuOlng luriuyseli the Interior arrangements the huu thiseun loituuate pep e In gong Ihrougn the village 1 acemcd 10 arouse consmerable curlo liy as people were peeping t out irons almost every door bu 1 was not molested by anyone 1 wean d considerable consider-able boltlerous language I uscvi in differ ent places I and my guide Informed 1 me rref f that a general quarrel was taking place and that II was an almost every day occurrence the Indians being a very quarrelsome race One little man who came tunning through the village al full speed seemed tabs al war with all the rest as he hwed right and tell and shook his fist ehemmenlly at some women who seemed to make sport of him The Indians ate a very small race of people being In this repeci opnoilte lo the Tillans who are a tall ant sit nr y boils I specimen ol lo humanity TII Indian women are great hands lor ornamenting I U eir persons They decorate their ears nmrs necks arm mats finger ankltt bet etc 1 with all soils of blare term chains and tings Thee are some tines made of gold and silver and In I o her Instances if brass med other cheap materials One women whose curlotltv led her lu come up close tome when I hd III dun 10 ten on the beach was almost covered wilt I in < lh silver money through which hoes had been bored and Ihen ted to cords of various i lengths to suit d Helen rarts ol the limbs and the neck Alter vltlllng Ihe Indian Ullage which Is I sllua ed on the oppodt aide of the lenlntuta I Iron riova I walked across the Intervening hlls la the latlcr place a distance 0 about two and a hall miles being qulu tired aher my days ramble tin ugh I had on y walked about eight miles but the day was hotanJ sultry and a man cant walk In a tropical country the same as lie can In a coder climate ANDUiW jKNSnS SUVA Villltvu Iih August fth 1895 |
