The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1929, Page 19

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER. 19

of the crater, she ate of the sacred berries growing
there, which were tabu to Pele. Then turning to
her terrified people, she made the region ring with
praises to Jehovah. Then she and many of her
people knelt and prayed to God amidst the uproar
of the crater. In thus openly defying Pele and
heaping indignities upon the dreaded goddess, this
princess of Hawaii did a more courageous deed than
did Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, when he
hewed down the sacred oak of Thor, which for cen-
turies had been -an object of veneration and fear;
for Boniface had never been a slave to heathen
superstitions and had never felt the chains of
idolatry. But when Kapiolani defied Pele, she had

seven ordained missionaries, assisted by sixty helpers.

The movement was preceded by awakened interest

among the members of the churches, especially
among the younger adherents. ‘The services were
attended by great multitudes. Hunger and thirst
for the Gospel was apparent everywhere. And while
there was no undue excitement, hardened sinners
came to the altar, and stubborn resisters of the
truth submitted to Christ’s yoke. At Kailua 4,000
people attended the services. At Kowaihae, also on
the island of Hawaii, as high as 10,000 attended
services on a Sunday. A missionary official) who
made a tour of four of the islands in those days
reported thus: “The savage has become the humble

Hawaiian Natives.

just escaped the bondage of idolatrous superstitions,
and there was no one to urge her on in her coura-
geous enterprise.

The Gospel Seed Grows.

The Christian missionaries were very careful in
their work. They used the utmost care in remoyv-
ing superstition and enlightening the minds and
developing the consciences of those who asked to be
baptized. During the first five years they admitted
only ten to membership, though the churches were
crowded with worshipers. In the first ten years
the growth was very slow. But about fifteen years
after the coming of the first missionaries a great
spiritual awakening dawned upon the people of the
Hawaiian Islands.

At that time there were seventeen stations, with
as many churches, under the supervision of twenty-

follower of the Lamb; the dishonest, brutalized,
libidinous son of earth has become the peaceful
citizen, the zealous promoter of order, sobriety, and
Christian morality.” ’

In his book Roughing It Mark Twain has the
following to say concerning the change wrought
on Oahu Island by the labors of Christian mission-
aries, after having spoken of the human sacrifices
offered to idols in their heathen temples: “Those
were savage times when this old slaughter-house

-was in its prime. The king and the chiefs ruled

the common-herd with a rod of iron, made them
gather all the provisions their masters needed,
puild all the houses and temples, stand all the ex-
penses of whatever kind, -take kicks and cuffs for

thanks, drag out lives well flavored with misery, —

and then suffer death for trifling offenses or yield”
up their lives on the sacrificial altars to purchase —

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