Bougainville Is.

Twenty-four Years on Bougainville Is.

Marist Missionary’s Experiences Among New Guinea Savages

HAVING completed 24 years of service for the Marist Mission Society at Tarlena station, Bougainville, New Guinea, Rev. Father L. Chaize arrived in Sydney on furlough by the Malaita on May 21.

Accompanied by Father Griswaort, Rev. Chaize went to Bougainville from France in 1911. At Tarlena station they joined Rev. Seiller, who had been working among the natives for the previous 10 years. By perseverance, courage, and boundless faith in their work through the years, the three missionaries have succeeded in converting to Christianity more than 25,000 natives.

Father Chaize has risked his life on many occasions. He gave a vivid account of his experiences when, on the last occasion, he went in search of a tribe which had never seen a white man.

His guide on that expedition was a young native who admitted shyly that he had often eaten human flesh.

“I did not have any firearms, but, instead, carried a walking stick,” Father Chaize said. “As we neared the village, natives armed with spears were lurking in the trees. At any moment I thought

they would pounce upon us, but they allowed us to proceed to their village.

“When the natives found out that I meant no harm, they surrounded me and inquisitively, but with great caution, examined my body. Not having previously seen a white man, they were astounded at my skin. Lifting up my shirt they pinched and probed the skin on my back, chest and arms. Then, for the first time in my life, I shivered in my boots. The chief rushed up to me. felt the fat on my legs and arms, and cried loudly in his native language, ‘Big fat feller.’ With visions of being dumped into the proverbial pot, I honestly thought my last hour had come.

“Finally, when I had given them mirrors, pocket-knives, and matches, they regarded me as a friend, and childishly played for hours with the glinting mirrors. Unmolested, I remained with them for three days, and on my return to the coast the chief provided me with an escort.”

Praising the work of the New Guinea Administration, Rev. Chaize said that field officers were doing splendid work in opening up hostile areas and controlling the natives. Roads were being built, hospitals established, and doctors visited the villages periodically to give injections and treatment. The Government had given the mission every assistance, he added.