| Show WEIRD TALE OF THE 07 LAND OF SLAVERY polygamy and witchcraft flourish in island of sumatra VAST MIXTURE OF RACES has population of and could kaslly support missionary gives some interesting facts and figures new york tork weird Is the story of a laud land where slavery polygamy and witchcraft are arc flourishing 7 which earl xa n hibbard first white missionary ever sent to southern sumatra a great island southeast of asia told here recently upon tipon his arrival in new york picture a land where alleged magicians known as paw angs who pro are paid id to be able to call crocodiles from the rivers and wild beasts from tile the jungles are believed to have control over ove r evil spirits and you will catch a glimpse of tile island of superstition in the pacific this curious land said mr rib bard Is destined destine to be one of the great countries of the globe it has population and could easily support or all the people of the united states mr air Is head of tile methodist school in Pa lembang and ano also runs a prosperous christian church the leading christians are chinese chinese are crowding the island rapidly many of them are wealthy merchants our island inland is Is roughly its as long as from new york to chicago and miles broad said mr lIlb bard Pa lembang has people of which GOO are whites hites there Is only one white doctor for the whole city all tile the rest of the medicine and surgery there are in the hands of witches mixture of races there Is a vast mixture of races in my church where I 1 preach in the malay tongue we have noted at a single service Am bonese Mena denese japanese malays balays british indians chinese and javanese besides dutch and english not forgetting that the pastor Is tin an american the people religiously have s unk sunk low most of them are edans but bt of a debased form idolatry witchcraft find and animism are raised mixed with will their tile magicians gic gle ians lans called pawn rigs who call the crocodiles to the binks of the rivers and the wild beasts from the jungles end who pretend to have the evil spirits under their control cont iol are highly thought of it if I 1 have an enemy and will pay a pawning dawang high enough lie he will send a in magic a gle invisible poisoned boned arrow fly by a antu or evil spirit to 1 kill 1111 the person I 1 desire slain so the natives say w every year a great pilgrim pilgrimage ige lasting asting two days Is made to the top of deapo highest mountain on the island and tin nn active volcano and in a shrine there the evil spirits are propitiated polygamy Is Is common wives are put pill away on slight cause women are arc held lightly although they do 10 not wear the veil and have more fr freedom dorn than in other moslem lands slavery also has not been stamped out our christian people fight it nil and of course the dutch administration gives it no legal sanction but it Is there in one cuse case a young man iho hn had become a christian convert bought a little slave girl to save her from a horrible fato fate interested in america the wealthy clas of V bang tire lire tile arabs mid and the iho chinee chine e the school chool of which I 1 am principal Is ig kelf we liiv four in 91 i 11 CO 1030 pupils and ami genii nil all primary and some high school subjects subject including typewriting included limong among the pupils ore are chinese ara arabs bs and dutch besides the nn t h es here as throughout the east there is tile the most intense desire t to learn english everything american Is much sought after goods clothing pictures sewing machines and especially stereopticon and moving picture exhibitions hibit ions one young arab asked me to bring him back an american wife I 1 always get an enormous crowd at one of my illustrated lectures the natives knowing I 1 am tin an american often come to me with their troubles they pour into my ear all especially their eon eom sorts sort 9 of stories pil plaints lints against the government ort on the whole the dutch treat thora them well much in inch of java la IS still wild land inhabited by wild men in the north the asbin ese never have been conquered althou although gil tile tho dutell dutch have fought thorn for WO years there fire are a number of other backward tribes we have lave gr great at tigers which sometimes come r right ight into tile the suburbs of and lid a curious wild elephants a abang rl oti toothed toot lied bird 11 ihling ing on ric flesh h aich which N has as no L engleh Eng lih name so far as I 1 am aare |
