The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea CannibalsPaton, John Gibson
Religion
The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals
Paton, John Gibson
Missions -- Vanuatu; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
Having made half the journey, I came to a dangerous path, almost
perpendicular, up a great rock round the base of which the sea roared
deep. With my heart lifted up to Jesus, I succeeded in climbing it,
cautiously grasping roots, and resting by bushes, till I safely reached
the top. There, to avoid a village, I had to keep crawling slowly along
the brush near the sea, on the top of that great ledge of rock--a feat I
could never have accomplished even in daylight without the excitement;
but I felt that I was supported and guided in all that life-or-death
journey by my dear Lord Jesus. I had to leave the shore, and follow up
the bank of a very deep ravine to a place shallow enough for one to
cross, and then through the bush away for the shore again. By holding
too much to the right, I missed the point where I had intended to reach
it. Small fires were now visible through the bush; I heard the voices of
the people talking in one of our most Heathen villages.
Quietly drawing back, I now knew where I was, and easily found my way
towards the shore; but on reaching the Great Rock, I could not in the
darkness find the path down again. I groped about till I was tired. I
feared that I might stumble over and be killed; or, if I delayed till
daylight, that the savages would kill me. I knew that one part of the
rock was steep-sloping, with little growth or none thereon, and I
searched about to find it, resolved to commend myself to Jesus and slide
down thereby, that I might again reach the shore and escape for my life.
Thinking I had found this spot, I hurled down several stones and
listened for their splash that I might judge whether it would be safe.
But the distance was too far for me to hear or judge. At high tide the
sea there was deep; but at low tide I could wade out of it and be safe.
The darkness made it impossible for me to see anything. I let go my
umbrella, shoving it down with considerable force, but neither did it
send me back any news.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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