p. 164 | The Missionary by Stephen Nelson Haskell

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Apr 6, 1882

The Missionary.

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

The White Man and the Sandwich Islanders.

THERE are doubtless very few persons who are not more or less acquainted with the adventures of Captain Cook, in connection with the Sandwich Islands. It is well understood that civilization and Christianity go hand in hand, and while the white man boasts of carrying civilization to a greater state of perfection than any other race, the manner in which he has many times introduced himself to those who are uncivilized has brought great discredit on the cause of Christianity. Even the savages themselves are not guilty of more atrocious acts than have sometimes characterized white men in their dealing with native barbarians. To a great extent this was true of those who first visited the Sandwich Islands, although there were a few honorable exceptions. This, as will be readily seen, rendered the work of missionaries in after years far more difficult than it would otherwise have been.

While on a voyage of discovery in 1778, Captain Cook came in sight of several of these islands and dropped anchor near one of them. The natives having never before seen ships of any kind, or any people but themselves, were greatly astonished at the sight thus offered them. Having learned something of the value of iron from scraps which had been washed on shore, their attention was at once attracted to the large quantities which they discovered about the ship. Entirely ignorant of the persons who were paying them a visit, one of the natives proposed to go and seize this iron, and upon attempting to do so, was shot by one of the ship's company.

As the vessel moved about on the water, the natives very naturally concluded that it was a vehicle of some of their gods, and proceeded to render to the commander, Captain Cook, the homage which they supposed would please him, giving him the name of Lono, a Polynesian deity. Upon his landing and going on shore, some of the people bowed down and worshiped him; others fled away in fear. At length a priest approached him, and after placing a necklace of scarlet bark cloth upon his shoulders, stepped back and presented hogs and other offerings with rapid incantations and prayers; then leading him to their sacred temple, he worshiped him as one of their long acknowledged deities. The king also presented him with some of his most valuable articles, brilliant feather mantles, plumed rods, etc., showing him great respect. To this religious homage it appears that no objection was raised by Captain Cook, and for the favors received, he made but small returns.

The deluded natives were, however, soon undeceived by the overbearing, and in other respects criminal, course of the captain and his crew, and a spirit of resentment and hostility was aroused which resulted in a hand to hand fight, in which the captain, four of his men, and thirty of the natives were killed. Had the captain pursued an upright course, following the example of St. Paul at Lystra, a city of Lycaonia, Acts 14:8-18, no one can estimate the good that would have resulted therefrom. He would thereby have achieved great honor to himself, while an opposite course brought to him disgrace and death.

Although barbarians, and sunken in idolatrous degradation, the natives were at first unsuspecting of evil toward the white men, and seemed to be awed into reverential subjection by their superiority. Such was the influence of this tragedy upon the civilized world that for seven years no ship visited these islands.

In 1789 another revolting scene was enacted, in which savages were out-savaged by one Captain Metcalf, of the American ship Eleanor. While the watchman of the vessel, who was asleep in it, was stolen by two natives, the captain discharged the whole broadside of his vessel into the multitude which had assembled on the shore, thereby killing over one hundred defenseless, unresisting, and unoffending, natives, and wounding many others.

It requires no very lively imagination to form an idea of the impression which any people, however ignorant and degraded, would receive from acts of this kind, and of the barrier which they would erect against the introduction of Christianity. Yet men and women have possessed a degree of fortitude and self-sacrificing love for souls which has led them to leave all that was dear to them in a loved and peaceful country, in order to break down such barriers, and contend with vice, ignorance, superstition, and degradation for Christ's sake. Of missionary efforts on the Sandwich Islands we may speak at some future time. S. N. HASKELL.