The Night of Heaihenisrn. 225 
bones of their fathers/* and served to add Satanic ferocity to 
the conflict. 
People who died a natural death were always buried : only 
those were eaten who were killed; and considering the large 
numbers of slain, whether for feasts or out of revenge, in war 
or by treachery, together with the victims of the cruel cus- 
toms of wife-murder and infanticide, it seems wonderful that 
Fiji was not utterly depopulated. Indeed, we are told that 
many towns and villages were depopulated at the first visits 
of missionaries, but that to all their inquiries on the subject, 
only vague answers were returned. The terrible legends of 
cannibalism assist one in forming an idea of the depopulating 
process, as well as bring vividly before the mind the system 
of terror and torture under which the people lived. Of all 
the dark places of the earth, Fiji seems to have been the 
darkest ; and so recently has the change come to pass, that 
many thousands of Christian Fijians can testify of their 
own personal knowledge, as well as participation in such 
horrible doings. Many a Christian woman in the native 
churches, owns with contrition her deeds of child-murder 
in past times ; and many a praying man can tell of the 
scores of bodies he has eaten. Well may the missionaries 
regard these people as trophies of grace. 
The Rev. John Watsford, stationed at Mbau, tells us that 
in that island, some thirty years since, twenty-eight victims 
were cooked and eaten in one day at a cannibal feast. The 
poor wretches were seized while fishing, knocked on the 
head, stunned, but not all killed, and thrown into the ovens. 
The fierce heat brought back some of the poor wretches to 
consciousness^ and they begged piteously for life, entreating 
to be let out. No mercy, however, existed in the breasts of 
their captors, and they were driven back to be baked alive, 
and a few hours later were eaten. 
Q 
