The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 45

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

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45

“The mother clasped the bones and cried, ‘Oh,
why did you eat my child? ‘It was so beautiful
and fat,’ they said, and the mother was pacified.

“T shuddered at the ghastly details, but before
I could speak, Olembeck went on: ‘Yes,’ he said,

‘some hlackfellow likem fat too much. You savee

that one boy. Him bin spearem. Belonga Daniel’s
camp.’ And he mentioned the name of a boy who
had been speared by the mainland natives just a
A story full of revolting details
Whether the details are correct, I do not

few weeks before.
was told.

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know, for Olembeck was not a witness; but the fact
that the body was eaten is common knowledge.

“Nongarawia loved his wife, and she returned
his affection. Her will was not strong enough, how-
ever, to repel an ardent lover who was of the Un-
gurula tribe and who pressed his suit. The wife
was persuaded to go away with her lover, but she
soon returned and confessed to her husband. The
lover and wife were warned, but the lover still per-
sisted in making overtures on every possible occa-
sion, and the wife once more confessed.

“This time she was beaten unmercifully, and
then Nongarawia set out to have an understanding
with his rival. He was accompanied by several
friends, and, unfortunately for them, they met the
lover and his companions while it was yet daylight.

A wordy conflict took place, and the upshot was
a fight. Nongarawia had listened to the teaching of
the missionaries on many occasions, and he had
absorbed something of their faith. He urged his
iriends to retire from danger and let him fight his
own battle. His friends readily agreed, but Non-
garawia was fighting against too many odds, and
he was fatally speared.

“When he was disabled, the spear-throwing
stopped, and all present gathered around. In his
dying moments Nongarawia expressed his Christian

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Missionary and Group of Native Pupils, Koonibba, South Australia.

faith and declared to his enemy that, while his body
had been killed, they could not harm his soul,
which would soon be taken away to:be with Jesus.

_ “Some of his friends went to spread the news
and -bring assistance, but his enemies rémained and
counseled with each other. They had not grasped
the Christian faith, nor had they partaken many.
times of the food that was so freely distributed by
the missionary society. They were hungry, rayen-
ously hungry, for fat. Nongarawia’s body was fat,
fat because he had fed so freely on the food of the
white man. His breath slackened, and his: heart-
beats became slower and slower. A deep sigh, and
the soul of Nongarawia passed away. The watchers
touched his staring eyes to see if he still lived. His
glazed eyes were unresponsive. They: pinched his