OCR Text |
Show A Dramatic Rescue From Cannibals Set Stage For i - Lincoln Birthday Fetes had two boats loaded with articles of trade and headed toward the shore. When they came in close to the beach, a group of painted Marquesan warriors emerged from the coconut grove, and with them several women, who waved invitingly. The mate had heard about the Marquesan hospitality in friendly villages and decided to go ashore. He vaulted over the bow and splashed ashore through the shallows, ordering the longboats to stand while he ascertained trading conditions." Far back in the valley, the disposition of the Marquesans altered ubruptly. The mate was seized, thrown down and stripped naked. His clothing and buttons were distributed among his captors. Then they started a systematic torturing rite, pinching him, bending his fingers and thumbs over the back of the hands, and striking at his legs, arms and head with hatchets, always missing by a hairs margin. DOWN ON the beach, the whaleships two boats were beckoned to land by a party of cannibals who had returned to lure the others ashore for a similar fate, but a Marquesan girl, living at Kekelas mission station, motioned them off, crying: Pull away! Pull off-shor- away! Missionary James Kekela had been away to the island of Tahuata, to visit a chief named Tahitona, when the seizure took place, and when he returned to the station on Jan. 14, he was told that an American seaman is about to be roasted. Kekela dressed himself in his Sunday preaching clothes V and, accompanied by an assistant by the name of Alexander Kaukau, later to be Joined by Chief Tahitona, rushed up the valley. Kekela addressed the chief Mato sternly: Now, look here, Mato, this is a very wicked thing you do. I am here to ask you to deliver the white man unharmed to me. All white men are alike! cried Mato. They took my son, and he will never come back, nor few of my people! ONLY A SMALL number of the abducted natives had been returned by the Peruvian government, many had died in the mines, or were afflicted with diseases which spread like wildfire through the Marquesas. Remembering, with new bitterness, Mato glared at the Hawaiian missionary, and said: I could roast you, too, Kekela. You come from the white mans island of Owhyhee (Hawaii). I am unafraid," replied Kekela. I am here under the protection of my benevolent Lord. The cannibal chief now came closer and studied Kekela He couldnt reconcile in his mind the rashness of the missionary daring to enter his territory to demand the life of the white sailor. But he saw that the slender figure missionarys was erect, almost heroic in its stance, and that the usually gentle face was of imposing, fearless mien. CHIEF TAHITONA arrived at this precise moment with Kekelas gun and handed it to saying: "Let the gun be yours and this white man ours. Mato wavered. He was im Mato, James Samuel Kekela, grandson of the missionary, stands beside memorial tablet in Honolulu, honoring the courageous deed. The Rev. Kekela is assistant pastor of a church in Honolulu. pressed with Kekelas composure and courage. With a scornful glance at the trembling Whalon, tied up under a native chestnut tree, and over whom Kekela was prayHis flesh ing, he muttered: looks stringy and tough. So Mato finally accepted the musket and ammunition, and other trade goods offered by a German carpenter by the name of B. Nagel, ahd on Jan. 16, 1864, the Congress sailed in close to Puamau, and Kekela and Chief Tahitona delivered the mate to a much relieved CapL Stranburg. The courageous and dramatic roles played by James Alexander Kaukau, Kekela, Chief Tahitona and the German Nagel were reported when the Congress returned to the United States. The full report finally came to the attention of Abraham Lincoln, who was so moved that he sent $500 in gold to Dr. James McBride, United States Minister Resident in Honolulu, for the purchase of suitable gifts for the rescuers of the whalers mate. TWO GOLD hunting-cas- A Marquesan sits, holding an old cannibal sacrificial bowl, by the heathen altar where Johnathan Whalon was prepared for roasting. e watches (made by Ferdinand Cartier of Locle, Switzerland) were specified for James Ke V.VS- V $4 kela and Alexander Kaukau; two double barreled guns, one for the Marquesan chief Tahitona, and the other for Nagel; a silver medal for the Marquesan girl who warned the longboats away, and lastly a spy glass, two quadrants and two charts to the Marquesan mission in all ten presents. The gifts were delivered by the Morning Star, which sailed from Honolulu to the Marquesas in February of 1865. James Kekela acknowledged receipt of the gifts in a personal letter, m Hawaiian, to the President of the United States: Greetings to you, great and good friend: We have received your it is, gifts of friendship indeed, in keeping with all I have known of your acts as President of the United States . . . your deeds are those of love, as said the Scripture: Thou shalt love Jehovah, and shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. . . . And so may the love of the Lord Jesus abound with you until the end of this terrible war in your land. . . ... n SAM KEKELA summed the bravery of his father, When grandfathers Group photo token in Hiva Oa in 896 shows missionary James Kekela and his wife, Naomi, seated, with their children and grandchildren. Samuel Kekela, who told the story is young boy on the left. 1 Salt Lake City, February 12, 1961 up say-in- g: con- verts saw what a wonderful reward he had been given for being a brave, God fearing Christian, and from such a famous President as Abraham Lincoln, they made a vow then that they would forever honor the Presidents birthday. And so it has been to this day. Now, about this watch, friend. . . . At the time I was sorry that I had not bought the watch fom Sam Kekela, who needed the money badly, but later I was gratified to learn that a group of missionaries had purchased it and presented it to the Hawaiian Mission Childrens Society in Honolulu. Many changes have come to the islands of the Marquesas since the days of the whale-ship- s and the James Kekela. But for those who would otherwise forget what the Marquesas were like less than a century ago, James Kekelas memorial tablet by the side of the driveway to the Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu, across from the Hawaiian Mission Childrens Society, bears this inscription as a reminder: In 1864 he was signally rewarded by Abraham Lincoln for rescuing an American seaman from cannibals. . . O Ke Aloha, oia ka molo o na mea pono ame n& me oiaio a pau. Love is the root of all that is good and true. KEKELA. soul-savin- g ... ' 1 |