Show I 1 H SEA ISLAM or of earby Eart fi paradise described sy by a youad youn d habits and Cit of the islanders island ers their carious ways of preparing a 4 meal maty mady other peculiar features FEat f of the place and people the following is a borlin of a y I 1 ater hecei pd ed by mrs john need f haibi 0 of t this his city from elder eider frank goff goffan at papette Pa peete tahiti one of the solety rici ety mands in the pacific ocean As it is a very interesting description of the land and people if has haq been handed THE JOURNAL for publication three long years are slumbering in the past no more to corns come a again ain since we met in dour your quiet little c ty and there took the petting hand since then the greater reater part of my nv lime has as been spent inclusively enjoying native society in the tropical islands of the vast pacific ocean and durin during the whole of 1 that time I 1 have edve had bad aralle ample room il to rejoice as my health has been S that of the beckt and it is still my near and comforting 0 companion f AW for which I 1 give all praise honor and thanks to the father of ii lights abts ii whose hose chil child dica iea we are it is ite 7 who has life and happiness 0 a be si stow upon all those who love honor and obey his commandments lion ilow very com oling it is to be in p ake ion of the p conas vema ra MR plover wb who has eter rial I 1 sappiness Lap ap in ill reserve for those ii nho ho work diligently and for him and by so doing we find that lie he is a god of truth and cannot lie and what ile he promises pio ile he will surely give ive true some may mav come short hoit of the reward they think they de serve erve while others may receive much more than they anticipate but we can rest alured that he is a righteous judge and will recompense recompensa each and every one of us according to the ways of our doings for paul informs us for we will all have to appear before the judgment 0 seat peat of christ that every on one e may receive the things done in the body according to that he be hath bath done one whether it be good or bad slay may we all prove faithful and work out our sojourn hero here in this frail world with much fear and trembling 0 that we will be num bared with those who will receiver receive the glad words well done thou 6 good food and faithful servant enter thou into the joys of thy lord and there receive the end of our faith v ivsich aich is salvation for our souls so much that style perhaps a brief sketch of my lal labor iorg the character of the people e and a description of the islands will prove of some interest to you so go will endeavor to write them i in company with thirteen other elders eiders I 1 left salt lake city feb 25 1893 at 1125 1 p m arrived at ogden and stayed there the rest of lie he night at the hour of 8 a m of the lett ogden and on the at the hour of 1 1 p 11 m found ourselves at the brooklyn hotel clotel in the wicked city of san francisco visited sutro If heights eights the golden gate park the palace hotel and other places of interest inte iest and at the hour of 12 a m on oil the I 1 ast 1st st of march bade goodbye good bye to five of the elders who iho were going to set sail for now new zealand in a few lays days and then we ei eight bt of us in company with a catholic bishop a priest j and two sisters besides others tok ccok passage on the little galling ailing A acly T k A F I 1 A FE R i t lp V 1 AT C L fai CLUMS AT 00 14 CIE 1 a L A D rf ZA C I 1 s lck ARRIVAL afi E PORTE coll C 0 a to L RID THE c marriane MARR IAre of tiff WE iss K N ah W 5 L C 6 M 6 A WA iriri N hark P ry biot E R F htwa rio ti GOLE vessel galilee for the society islands way down ira in the southern souther sea while we saw several whales at work squirting water up into the air flying fish and shark were also seen crossed the equator on the passed some of the danged dangerous ous lower archipelago ids on the evening of the which was a sight never to be forgotten add at the hour of p m on the we cast anchor in side the large coal reefs in the peaceful harbor of papette Pa peete just three years tomorrow tince mince th then en and you need deed not think I 1 write the feelings we possessed at that time as we feasted our eyes upon the green foliage that hat almost hid bid the island from our view it was at this place that I 1 spent the first eight months of my time tahiti is the largest island in the society group and is commonly known throughout the pacific as the paradise of the pacific and no doubt but what it la Is like all other islands of the group it is of volcanic formation and ia surrounded by large coral reefs that afford great protection to its beautiful sandy shores the boisterous breakers come pouncing upon these large reefs with the roar of thunder as if they would grind them to powder and then they furm form a continuous cataract of loam foam for miles in length tahiti has one of the finest harbors harbora throughput the pacific it is called the day bay of papette Pa peete meaning 41 water basket u when hen literally translated into our lad language aage the island has towering vegetation covered mountains the highest of which reaches an a n altitude of feet above the level of the sea it is estimated that there are in all about inhabitants which 11 number is comprised of europeans americans swede chinese anc natives there are I 1 understand some chinese who aro are all becoming quite wealthy the largest city is the city of Pa papette peete which is a pretty little place many of the arts of civilization are pursued there the prevailing religions are as follows the protestant catholic seven day adventist josephite and mornion mormon the catholics have fine large churches and many converts all over the island as also do the protestants several papers in the foerch and tahitian language are printed regularly at Pa peete te day and sunday schools are carried on regularly by the two above named churches tahiti was first discovered in the year ear 1767 by captain geo wallis wallie and nd later on by captain cook the year 1841 18 tl brought with it no little alarm and uneasiness to the natives as that was the beginning of the four years war with th e french who after such a long fight succeeded in taking possession of the fair island and immediately established tab dished their government there since that time the natives have been gradually going down in morals and honor and at present truth honor and virtue ale aie almost unmeaning terms with a great many of them and the laws of chastity are violated on nearly every hand sunday is the da day singled out by them as a day of merriment and drunkenness and the streets on those days are crowded with drunken men and and all smoking cigarettes the english missionaries narie landed here as early as the year I 1 think and not until they had been here a term of 50 long years did they succeed in getting the bible translated into t the he tahitian language no one can lead of the mission ary work in the pacific without admiration for the ibe men who boned home and friends to go to unknown and savage lands in service of their master but only they who s he have witnessed the results of their labors can fully appreciate the work that has been done in some respects landing among cannibals of whose language and customs they were ignorant themselves and their families in frequent peril and deprived of all congenial society the missionaries for years fought a weary and disheartening battle it is the missionaries of the church of england that I 1 have reference to and although they do not see free the gospel in the light that we do it is no reason that N we e should try to crush them down to the earan bartil with abusive and improper language 0 but speak of them as we t ind find them to bo be honest bone t men to their convictions the way I 1 look at their efforts to bair bring 0 the natives out of their heathenism and in trying to 7 lish the gospel as they understood u it among among them causes me DIO to sympathize 1 with them though some of you may reprimand me for saying so of course they did not as we do go forth without purse puree or script but for money if this was the only incentive that induced them to come here among cani cannibals bals then men I 1 do not think that any sympathy is due them but if they came wholly with the desire of assisting as eting and doing the natives good believing that they were on the b lords I 1 0 i d errand then I 1 agree I 1 that h ef in much g commiseration and sympathy is to their credit the love of money no matter how great could never induce or persuade peas pea udde suade me to forsake all kind friends and loved ones and go to the regions where caniba cannibalism lisin predominated to spend the greater ry life there not knowing the hour when I 1 would be likely to be ba converted into a mutton roast to be devoured by those men eatery no never and I 1 think that those who left their homes in early days to come here when cannibal cannibalism ieni existed must have had something more in view then avarice and therefore I 1 fel feil I 1 to sympathize with them for their grit and strong determination still I 1 am persuaded without the least possibility of a doubt chrt the natives were and are tau taught ht the gospel in its wrong livit light by these ministers and it is the next thing to impossible to get them to see i it t any any other way an and d had these mini ter s not have come here it would be but a matter of a few years until all the natives would be united into the brotherhood of love within the pales of mormonism that is after they had been partially civilized but still these very ministers helped or did civilize them and taught them to read and write and strive to shun evil perhaps enough 0 has been written on mis missionaries siona ries the natives as a rule are very proud self con ceitel and strong I 1 willed and a very deceiving set but believing as we do causes us to be more forbearing with them than we otherwise could had we not the belief I 1 that they are of the chosen seed and that thai great promises are made to them hem if they will only do gods will and keep his commandments the white clique of papette tried hard to show us the impossibility of doing the natives any permanent good and the only argument they could bring up to prove it was our stroll strongest gestone one for the advisability I of our usefulness here viz that the natives were depraved and ignorant they being such proved conc conclusively lusi vely to us that we should remain with them and assist them ain in every possible way by sowing seeds of life and good conduct among them that perchance somri some might fall in good ground take I 1 root and bring brina forth fruit 30 60 or even a hundred bundled fold I 1 th they ey are a stalwart stal wait and fair looking I 1 race and some of the females were I 1 must confess are well if they in our country they would woula be called handsome capt bligh I 1 of the ill fated english ship county in his writing about them said the women of tahiti are handsome wild mild and cheerful in manners and conversation possessed of great sensibility and have sufficient delicacy to make them be admired and beloved the cooking of food is done un 1111 dr der ground as follon follows s A hole is ia dug 0 and filled with rood nood laid cro crosswise and then covered with small heavy rocks the wood is set on fire and by the time thoe it is 1 consumed the rocks are red hot and are leveled oil and covered with beaten up banana trees to preserve the food from the fire the ahe food taro and fish is wrapped rapped i up in green leaves and tied up in bundles that are to lie be neatly laid upon the covered rocks A thick covering of green leaves are placed over the bundles of food fond and then a thick one of earth upon thit that and in the course of a few hours sometimes so me eight the food is nicely baked both sexes do the cookin cooking saturdays are the cooking da days as and are called by them te man mahana maa food days maa meaning roe aning food mahana day and to te man places it in the plural form when the taro which is the staff of life is baked some portion of it is beaten into hopoi which is flavored with the banana etc this is my favorite dish though perhaps I 1 had better not tell you how it is made and flavored for fear of prejudicing you against it and making g you yen as always alway think of it whenever you meet me the fruits that grow here are as follows the orange lime lemon cocoanut coco anut mango banana chestnut pi pineapple pine ne apple mummie bummie apple native apple guaca graca fei melons melon etu etc cotton i coffee and arrowroot arrow root and copra are the chief exports sugar suar su ar and honey and molasses ses are m made ade in abundance the natives in a few cases caser have proven to be clever fel fellows loNs and and 1 have so far advanced that they now dow have good occupation such as printers clerks hip captains carpenters photographer watchmakers ministers cooks tailors etc they ars are all good sea dareing raen men and some gome have mastered the art of navigation almot to perfection fec tion just one more piece about the native and then will change the subject the following is a piece I 1 copied from ro m a book in mr nagles library Tie remarks marks on oil south pacific alanders was waa the heading they arp are given up to sleepy indolence and to sensual pleasures pleasure which causes them to be sensible neither to thame or pity they effect charity and many pious sentiments sentiment but lie with bate baic faced impudence bathing bath rg ei berv erv day they keep masses of filth hin in their louses bouses and under a garb of humility conceal a devilish pride which is but rarely discovered by a vil visitor tor until too late no doubt the above remarks are arc true and in fact I 1 bae icae proven them to ho ba such still I 1 must confess there are exceptions but very few fen for I 1 have met let some come good kind humble hearted natives whole desires were to do ii light lit and have proven friends indeed to me and ancl parting with atheni it touched a tender spot in luy heart ITO TO dr BE CON ti i |