| Show FRIENDLY ISLANDS 4 I 1 0 D merrill herrill writes an interesting 0 letter THE PEOPLE AND country r the collection churches Church ss and traders take more ilan 0 they bri brine U r in alia lu u F friendly r ady rill ay I 1 is islands nov ov is ll 11 MR josfin aio so I 1 utah DEAR DEAP brathen BI OTHER in accordance with I 1 now write ou a few lines I 1 have enjoyed myself very touch much since I 1 left home last april ns a all of truth do i hile ti ying dying to perform their july duty I 1 had it a very pleas pleasant sint ocean journey not having an any sea sick nesa 3 while on oil the american steamer we stopped one day at tle tile sandwich islands and then continued the voyage for samoa Pir arriving riving there the hilt day of heio I 1 met eider george U E drowning broning plies ident of tile the south son sea island mission ion and several other elders and two 10 w lo ho A serc ere al a 1 glad to sea me as I 1 had just come from zion here lepetit leeral pleasant dao dab looking around the alie island and stiv studying iving tile the vegetation of that fertile place it nas aas here that I 1 gol goi the he appointment to labor as an emba ador of life and salvation among the people of the islands so in accord accordance slice with this appointment I 1 boarded the union steamer upolu on f saturday evening may and early sunday the sailors weighed neighed ancl anchor I 1 or and we set off for another ocean 1011 journey riley ille peal vas a little rough for the pacific and it was then I 1 felt rity my first leal ical sea sickness but it soon eoon passed off and I 1 enjoyed the trip as biell we II 11 its as could bo be expected As all were stranger sand hobt of I 1 licin natives whom I 1 did not care to be among consequently most of was spent inthe in tho cabin reading ue car arrived at tile tho island of the friendly group at four ion day and hero here took in a cargo of oranges which took all the rest of tile the day the next day being queen victorias to riis birthday the chip crew had a holiday and every place on the ship w where here a n 11 ag could be put was filled wilh one and during the day all had a good time we started for another ocean trip at roan noon on the and pulled in ili at the wharf at at line stay may octh this place is this the capital of the friendly group and is is on oil tho the island of Tonga tabu at the south end of the archipelago about 7 deg west longitude and 22 degrees south latitude it is about forty five miles mile long and ten tell miles wide vi devery very low and flat not a hill bill of 0 any any size eize on tho ilia whole island neither are there any an springs or streams of water the soil is very fertile ferto farto and tile the abundance of mois moisture to re that falls in rain and a very heavy dew each night nights causes everything to grow very luxuriantly and where ever tile the land is s not kept clear by continual grubbing it very soon coon is coveted with brush nod and trees almost anything of a tropical nature will grow here and were it not for car of tile the people they might goon econ be well off the climate is one of the finest in in the world it being from 50 deg in ill efiem ber to 00 deg in feb and march there have been no hard bard winds since I 1 came hero here but almost always a gentle bea breeze it rains daring the year about days there are about inhabitants inh abitanta on oil this island the inot of whom are the same game race of at people as those of samoa and the islands east of here beille being no doubt Lam Lama aniles who came from rain america in art an early dy day bool book ozior of inon alma 8 historians give them the name of being tho the best race of people on the islands oi of the pacific they build the best houses bouse sare are the most indus it ious and are the best sailors of any of the islanders in eaily caily days they N ocic el e also a warlike people ind and beet up tip their a OH n kingdom and conquered tile people of and samoa samo i and the present eu A king george kobory fought his way to the throne at tile tho present tile alicy ale aie very peaceable and all are christians a anait I 1 it is very unpopular not to go to eteng I 1 bey told service three times limes each and once almost every day in the week a eek usually N ery cry early in the morning I 1 am often awakened at tive five by their siti singing ging alicie are three churches here the catholic beslian and tongan free church and aad they each try to get tile tho most money from the people and tile they are foolish enough to give every cent they can act scrape rape together when they desiro desire to take up a collection they got up chal they call P a illi li baaba li it means throw azil baaba meares money 1 and each man tries to see who ca can n throw tile the most money into tho the plate I 1 have been told yat that was collected at one of these gatherings the other day such work I 1 think to lie be an abomination in it the si sight ht of god but t the lie poor da deluded eded keopf people aro to not to be blamed no for it they think of course that their salvation depends upon tile the amount they gic ghe the men are not at all lazy for when he n they are riot not at a least or gathering coco anuta to sell they are at some kind of sport L aein generally ene rally playing cricket and getting ready for a matched game for there are two or three of these every now they also alo have a company something like an opera company and ana ting and let act out some great plot I 1 thought at first it was only a lot of foolishness but on becoming better ac quainter quain ted I 1 could see a 3 gr n nt deal I 1 in it anti and the time I 1 lie kp sli ami g alin 0 order with which it is jarrie I out would oven teach a le soll to allne of the tl best e et drilled associAtion i 0 n ss a civilized civil ired country vista are english slid and Cerni german lill traders berv and almost every thing thine in tile the may of clothing can bo be bought hero here che cheaper siper than ut at chonle bomo ilow how is ia that thai they are made in england or Geri winy and are sent first to sydney or auckland and pass through a liol enlo bouse there anil and of 0 course counge they make seine profit then shipped here a 1 tida nd a ten tell per cent duty added to their co cost con n ind and still sell bell tit nt about to third of 0 what they can be bought for tit nt horne home the traders have u halt I 1 call ft a snap lor for they send away aay in ill produce 0 1 more inore than tile they bring back in ili kooda goods anti and I 1 lacall rall r all those femi ca large for a bucall like this ibis no capital is invested here in manufactures so I 1 cannot see dullere it goes it if not lot into the packets oi of ho trad eis enough of this for this time tince my iny anival liero here I 1 liao late been b haid trying to learn to talk to this people and have now pot got so ca I 1 ran all do a little at it but find thelo theio ig a a t great rl hl bill yet ind itis a thorny it in ill one way and my nl earnell desire is to KO go with a 1 careful and a steady step and pluck the ha roses rosea from awong anong tile alio briers politics for tile the prefect ire aro laid to ono one side aide and 1 I am mini to show the people here the way uny to tain gain eternal life I 1 lam am interested in llie and it seems very queer to tile me that it is so an hard to get to pro fee its beauties I 1 hope bope dinall in all of the lie excitement at home yn yen atil ill work harder for those principles that will stand for ever tb thin in for anything else cle hoping to licar hear brutin you at our cai liest convenience f your brother in ili the cause ol 01 of truth 0 D |
