John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brotherPaton, John Gibson
Religion
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brother
Paton, John Gibson
Missionaries -- Vanuatu -- Biography; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
We launched it, but now he refused to let us go till daylight. He had
always been one of my best friends, but now appeared bent on a quarrel,
so I had to exercise much patience with him and them. Having launched
it, he said I had hired the canoe but not the paddles. I protested,—
“Surely you know we hired the paddles too. What could we do without
paddles?”
But Arkurat lay down and pretended to have fallen asleep, snoring on the
sand, and could not be awaked. I appealed to Nowar, who only said—
“That is his conduct, Missi, our conduct!”
I replied, “As he has got the blankets which I saved to keep me from
ague and fever, and I have nothing left now but the clothes I have on,
surely you will give me paddles.”
Nowar gave me one. Returning to the village, friends gave me one each
till I got other three. Now Arkurat started up, and refused to let us
go. A Chief and one of his men, who lived on the other side of the
island near to where we were going, and who was hired by me to go with
us and help in paddling the canoe, drew back also and refused to go.
Again I offered to leave the canoe, and walk overland if possible, when
Faimungo, the Chief who had refused to go with us, came forward and
said,—
“Missi, they are all deceiving you! The sea is so rough, you cannot go
by it; and if you should get round the weather point, Miaki has men
appointed to shoot you as you pass the Black Rocks, while by land all
the paths are guarded by armed men. I tell you the truth, having heard
all their talk. Miaki and Karewick say they hate the Worship, and will
kill you. They killed your goats, and stole all your property yesterday.
Farewell!”
The Teachers, the boy, and I now resolved to enter the canoe and attempt
it, as the only gleam of hope left to us. After Faimungo came, the man
to whom the canoe belonged had withdrawn from us, it having transpired
that Miaki would not attack us that night, as other game had attracted
his savage eyes. My party of five now embarked in our frail canoe;
Abraham first, I next, Matthew after me, the boy at the steering paddle,
and Abraham’s wife sitting in the bottom, where she might hold on while
it continued to float. For a mile or more we got away nicely under the
lee of the island, but when we turned to go south for Mr. Mathieson’s
Station, we met the full force of wind and sea, every wave breaking over
and almost swamping our canoe. The Native lad at the helm paddle stood
up crying,—
“Missi, this is the conduct of the sea! It swallows up all who seek its
help.”
I answered, “We do not seek help from it but from Jehovah Jesus.”
Our danger became very great, as the sea broke over and lashed around
us. My faithful Aneityumese, overcome with terror, threw down their
paddles, and Abraham said,—
“Missi, we are all drowned now! We are food for the sharks. We might as
well be eaten by the Tannese as by fishes; but God will give us life
with Jesus in heaven!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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