Part 7 (1/2)
Calling the attention of all the asse, I took three fruits froave them one after another to the three Sacred Men, and deliberately said in the hearing of all, ”You have seen ive the remainder to your Sacred Men; they have said they can kill e them to do it if they can, without arrow or spear, club or ainst any one, by their Sorcery”
The challenge was accepted; the Natives looked terror-struck at the position in which I was placed! The ceremony of Nahak was usually perfor in dread, as Europeans would froerly watched their ritual As the three Chiefs arose, and drew near to one of the Sacred Trees, to begin their cere, ”Missi, Iawe? Alas, Missi!”
But I held on at s and incantations, they rolled up the pieces of the fruit from which I had eaten, in certain leaves of this Sacred Tree, into a shape like a waxen candle; then they kindled a sacred fire near the root, and continued theira littlethe upon the wildly atwhether after all they did not believe their own lie, for they seeer than ever to break the chains of such vile superstition, urged the, ”Be quick! Stir up your Gods to help you! I am not killed yet; I am perfectly well!”
At last they stood up and said, ”We must delay till we have called all our Sacred Men We will kill Missi before his next Sabbath comes round
Let all watch, for he will soon die and that without fail”
I replied, ”Very good! I challenge all your Priests to unite and kill ain to your village in health, you will all admit that your Gods have no power overJehovah God!”
Every day throughout the remainder of that week the Conchs were sounded; and over that side of the island all their Sacred Men were at work trying to kill ers arrived fro anxiously after reat excitest the poor deluded idolaters
Sabbath dawned upon e in e numbers assembled, and when I appeared they looked at each other in terror, as if it could not really be I round, I saluted them to this effect, ”My love to you all, ain to talk to you about the Jehovah God and His Worshi+p”
The three Sacred Men, on being asked, admitted that they had tried to killquestioned, why they had failed; they gave the acute and subtle reply, that I also was er had protectedthe multitude, I answered thus, ”Yea, truly; er than your Gods He protectedand true God, the only God that can hear or answer any prayer from the children of men Your Gods cannot hear prayer, but ive heart and life to Him, and love and serve Him only This is my God, and He is also your friend if you will hear and follow His voice”
Having said this, I sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree, and addressed them, ”Come and sit down all around me, and I will talk to you about the love and mercy of my God, and teach you hoorshi+p and please Him”
Two of the Sacred Men then sat down, and all the people gathered round and seated themselves very quietly I tried to present to theh Jesus Christ, as revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures
The third Sacred Man, the highest in rank, a one off for his warrior's spear, and returned brandishi+ng it in the air and poising it at me I said to the people, ”Of course he can kill me with his spear, but he undertook to kill ainst me any weapons of war; and if you let hi you and only tries to do you good, as you all knoell I know that if you kill ry and will punish you”
Thereon I seated myself cale, scolding his brothers and all ere present for listening to me The other Sacred Men, however, took my side, and, as many of the people also were friendly to me and stood closely packed around me, he did not throw his spear To allay the tumult and obviate further bloodshed, I offered to leave withso, I ardently pled with theot safely hoer after o where I would, he would suddenly appear on the path behind ht hand that sa thrown, and I, using every lawful precaution, had all the sa all other results in the hands of Jesus This whole incident did, doubtless, shake the prejudices of et entirely clear of the dread of Nahak
CHAPTER XXVII
A PERILOUS PILGRIMAGE
THE other Mission Station, on the southwest side of Tanna, had to be visited by me from time to time Mr and Mrs Mathieson, there, were both in a weak state of health, having a tendency to consumption On this account they visited Aneityum several times They were earnestly devoted to their work, and were successful as far as health and the tie reached me that they ithout European food, and a request to send them a little flour if possible The war h sea round the coast rendered it ier to life froreat that I could not hire a crew I pled therefore with Nowar and Manu men, to take one of their best canoes, and thee flat-botto lid, and that I pressed full of flour; and, tying the lid firht in the center of the canoe, and as far above water-mark as possible All else that was required we tied around our own persons Sea and land being as they were, it was a perilous undertaking, which only dire necessity could have justified They were all swiest man was placed behind me, to seizeround near the shore all the e had to keep just outside the great breakers on the coral reef, and were all drenched through and through with the foary surf We arrived, however, in safety within two miles of our destination, where lived the friends of erous sea was breaking on the reef Here they all gave in, and protested that no further could they go; and truly their toil all the ith the paddles had been severe I appealed to them, that the canoe would for certain be set on shore, that the provisions would be lost, and some of us probably drowned But they turned to the shore, and re the sea At last their Captain cried, ”Missi, hold on! There's a s; we'll ride in now”
My heart rose to the Lord in tre on; every paddle with all their united strength struck into the sea; and next ull on the crest of the wave towards the shore Another instant, and the wave had broken on the reef with ain clouds of foa wildly about in the sea, Manu on by the canoe, nearly full of water, withto the seat of it, and the very next wave likely to devour us In desperation, I sprang for the reef, and ran for ato reach us; and God so ordered it, that just as the next wave broke against the silvery rock of coral, the h its surf, partly carriedGod, I looked up and saw all the others as safe ason by the canoe in the face of wind and sea, and bringing it with him
Others ran and swam to his help The paddles were picked up amid the surf A powerful fellow came towards me with the pot of flour on his head, uninjured by water! The Chief who held on by the canoe got severely cut about the feet, and had been badly bruised and knocked about; but all the rest escaped without further harst friends at last, they resolved to await a favorable wind and tide to return to their own ho in my heart unto God, I hired a man to carry the pot of flour, and soon arrived at the Mission Station
Supplying the wants of our dear friends, Mr and Mrs Mathieson, e found as well as could be expected, we had to prepare, after a few hours of rest, to return to our own Station by walking overland through the night I durst not reer away, lest h weak in health, my fellow-Missionaries were both full of hope, and zealous in their work, and this soe visit was a pleasant blink aone far on my return journey, the sun went down, and no Native could be hired to accompany me They all told me that I would for certain be killed by the way But I knew that it would be quite dark before I reached the hostile districts, and that the Heathen are great cowards in the dark and never leave their villages at night in the darkness, except in co the sea-shore as fast as I could, walking and running alternately; and, when I got within hearing of voices, I slunk back into the bush till they had safely passed, and then groped uide to find a path
Having erous path, alreat rock round the base of which the sea roared deep Withit, 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 accoht without the exciteuided 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 ht, I missed the point where I had intended to reach it Sh the bush; I heard the voices of the people talking in one of ourback, I nohere I was, and easily foundthe Great Rock, I could not in the darkness find the path down again I groped about till I was tired I feared that I ht, that the savages would kill , with little growth or none thereon, and I searched about to find it, resolved to coain reach the shore and escape forI had found this spot, I hurled down several stones and listened for their splash that I e whether it would be safe
But the distance was too far for h tide the sea there was deep; but at low tide I could wade out of it and be safe
The darkness oit doith considerable force, but neither did it send me back any news