A SOWING WITH MANY HARVESTS
1830-1832
“Who loves the Lord aright,
No soul of man can useless find,
All will be precious in His sight,
Since Christ on all hath shined.”
KEBLE.
“Next to the duty of personally receiving the truth is the duty of diffusing it."—DR. CAMPBELL.
ALTHOUGH the expected supplies from England had not arrived, Mr. Williams started upon his voyage to Samoa, about a fortnight after the departure of the Seringapatam. Mr. Barff accompanied him, and the missionaries took several native teachers from Raiatea with them as evangelists for the new sphere of labor which they were opening up. Mr. Williams had been stationed at Raiatea for eleven years when he left that island on the 24th of May, 1830, upon this new expedition. Although it was out of the direct course to do so, The Messenger of Peace visited the Hervey group, arriving at Mangaia after a five days' run. The Mission station came into sight on the Sunday evening, and on the following morning, the missionaries went on shore. It will be remembered that the first teachers had been so shamefully abused by the natives, that Mr. Williams had taken them away from Mangaia. But the two single men, who had subsequently taken up the work, had met with such signal success that near five hundred Christians greeted Mr. Williams. These were of course still very ignorant; but they seized the opportunity presented by Mr. Williams' visit of naming their various difficulties to him. For instance they were greatly exercised as to the lawfulness or otherwise of rat eating. It had been a common native proverb, in describing a delicacy, to say, "It is as sweet as a rat." These rats were caught in holes dug for that purpose; their hair was singed off on hot stones, and then, having been wrapped in leaves, they were baked. Though the natives had previously regarded baked rat as their national dish, the new disciples were troubled with scruples as to the lawfulness of the food. Mr. Williams, in answer to their questions, told them that the wisest course would be to take care of the pigs and goats which he had sent them, and then they would not require rat-meat, which Europeans generally considered to be very disgusting.
A greater difficulty arose from the fact that the women had been previously compelled to labor for hours in the swampy taro (or sweet potato) beds. Mr. Williams interceded on their behalf, and the females were henceforth released from this degrading and unhealthy toil. He was also enabled to soften the hostility of the heathen party, which was strong in Mangaia, and very much enraged against the Gospel. Eventually the conduct of the heathen, who persisted in dancing near the place of worship, repeatedly threatening to kill the Christians and burn their houses, led to a conflict in which the idolaters were beaten. Unhappily the victors were so unmerciful in their conduct towards the vanquished, that the heathen continued bitterly resentful and hostile, though quite impotent to harm the Christians. As yet things had not developed into actual war; and Mr. Williams did his utmost to allay the angry feelings of both parties. He also desired to remove one of the teachers for service in Samoa, but even the heathen requested him not to do so, and the man was permitted to remain in Mangaia.
From Mangaia, The Messenger of Peace proceeded to Atiu, an island distant two days' sail. A great advance had been made here also, under the efforts of the two devoted teachers who had been for some time stationed at Atiu. But the wives of these teachers complained much that their husbands had to work so hard all the week, and especially upon Saturdays, when they went fishing all day in order to provide food for Sunday, that they found it a difficult matter to teach on Sunday. The women themselves, during their husbands' absence, would write down upon slates any portions of sermons which they could remember to have heard from the missionaries, but they begged hard for some sermon helps. "You," they said, "resemble springs from which knowledge is continually bubbling up, so that you have nothing to do but open your mouth, and out it flows.”
After responding to this request to the best of his ability, Mr. Williams visited Mauke and Mitiaro, the chief of which islands was staying in Atiu when he arrived there. At Mauke he was much struck with the pulpit of the little chapel; it had been hewn out of a large tree. At Raratonga, where they now proceeded, they were met with tidings of great disaster. A dreadful pestilence had broken out in the island, immediately after the visit of a European ship, and such were its ravages that, in one district alone, nearly six hundred people had died in a very short time from this fearful plague. Instead of the thousands that had lined the water's edge at his previous visit, only a few children, and still fewer terror-stricken adults, came to tell of their bereavements. Mr. Barff fortunately had a large stock of medicines with him; these were at once landed; and after thus doing all that lay in their power to assist their suffering friends, and alleviate their distress, the voyagers went on to Aitutaki. They landed with the intention of removing the two teachers stationed there in order to convey them to Samoa. But, as at Mangaia, the attachment of the converts to their teachers was so strong, and they begged so piteously that their benefactors might not be taken away, that, as at Mangaia, Mr. Williams consented to their request.
To supply the vacancy thus created in the number of his workers, he selected two of the converts of Aitutaki as missionaries for Samoa. He was very much pleased with the missionary ardor of the Christians in Aitutaki; they placed in his hands the (for them) magnificent sum of £103 as a contribution towards the London Missionary Society. This large amount had been realized by the sale of pigs. Each family in the island had dedicated a pig to "help the good work of causing the Word of God to grow;" and these, when sold to vessels that had touched at Aitutaki, had realized the amount of money named before. Greatly encouraged by this liberality, and also by the highly successful classes that had been conducted by the teachers, Mr. Williams now steered to Savage Island. Five days' sail brought the missionaries to this rightly named place. With very great difficulty they at length induced a chief to come on board, but he proved utterly untamable. When offered a piece of cloth to cover his naked form, the old man tore it from him, and shouted, "Am I a woman that I should be encumbered with this stuff?" During the whole time he was upon the deck, this savage maintained a fearful howl; he danced up and down furiously, and gnashed his teeth, concluding the exhibition by thrusting his beard into his mouth, and gnawing it viciously. Nor did he appear exceptionally repulsive; all his fellow-countrymen appeared like him. The teachers intended for Savage Island begged hard not to be left among such degraded creatures. Mr. Williams deemed it prudent to accede to their request, but he induced two young men from Savage Island to come on board, and took them away with him. He hoped that after they had learned to love the missionaries, these young men would influence their fellow-countrymen for good.
With these two savages on board, The Messenger of Peace made a quick run of 350 miles to Tonga, where they stayed for a fortnight. The Wesleyan missionaries, who were stationed there, accorded their visitors a hearty reception. At Tonga, Mr. Williams met with Fauea, a Samoan chief, who consented to accompany him to Fauea's native land. As Fauea was related to the chief families in Samoa, it was considered a fortunate circumstance that they had met with him; and, as he was a Christian, it was expected that he would be of great service to the mission.
Another providential circumstance was that here Mr. Williams was warned that the natives of Erromanga were much exasperated by the conduct of some white men who had landed on their island. Mr. Williams, after due consideration, took the advice of his friends, and did not go on to Erromanga as he at first intended; had he done so, in all probability he would have then met with the fate that nine years afterward befell him at that island. Thus God's watchful care over His servant was equally evident both in the opening of the way to Samoa, and in the closing of the course to the New Hebrides.
While at Tonga, a chief of the Fiji Islands expressed his desire for teachers, and it was agreed between the missionaries that the Wesleyan Society should undertake the Fiji group, leaving the Samoan Islands to the London Missionary Society. The extreme wisdom of this arrangement is self-evident; in all probability the wonderful success of both missions is a result of the fidelity with which this compact has been observed. From the differences of mental temperament, there must of necessity exist varieties of belief among those who equally hold the doctrines that cluster round the Cross; it is, however, surely wise in dealing with the heathen not to make a religion of such trifles, to the serious detriment of the new converts. After concluding this important arrangement, Mr. Williams, accompanied by Mr. Cross, one of the Tongan missionaries, went on to Lefuga, a station of the Wesleyan Society. The pilot, unfortunately, mistook the channel, which placed the ship in some peril. For two days they made their way through sunken rocks, sand-banks, and small islands, before they reached a safe anchorage.
At Lefuga, they fortunately found Finau, a chief of the Vauvau Islands, where Mr. Williams intended leaving a teacher. But Finau, though he promised to protect the life of any teacher who might be placed with him, declared that, should any of his own subjects become Christians, he would certainly put them to death. This they found was likely to prove no mere threat, as the chief had for a long time been resolute in his opposition to the Gospel. When the chief of Lefuga, who was his relative, abandoned the worship of idols, Finau had sent him a large war canoe, as a bribe to induce him to return to heathenism. But the chief of Lefuga nobly refused to accept the present, and declared that, valuable as the canoe was, the conditions upon which it was offered rendered it only so much firewood in his estimation. In Vauvau many were equally resolute in their adherence to the Gospel; and, as Finau persecuted them, they abandoned their families and possessions and came to Lefuga, where they enjoyed Christian teaching, and possessed religious liberty. Mr. Williams saw clearly that there was no opportunity for religious work at Vauvau, and, without wasting time in attempting the impossible, he made sail at once for Samoa.
For seven long days his course lay through violent storms, which they were the less able to contend against on account of an influenza that incapacitated all on board. At length, to their no small relief, they sighted the peaks of Savaii, the largest island of the Samoan group. These islands, sometimes called, "The Navigators' Islands" (Mr. Williams suggests that the name was given on account of the superior skill displayed by the natives in the construction of their canoes, as well as on account of their great dexterity in the water), number eight, which are divided into the Windward and Leeward groups. The natives of the Windward group give a nasal sound to many words, as do not the others. Samoa is the native name for the cluster. The mountains of Savaii are clothed with luxurious foliage right up to their summits, and the peaks are visible at a distance of seventy miles.
The soil of Samoa is very fertile, and since the introduction of the Gospel it has been cultivated with great advantage. Large crops of maize, cotton, nutmegs, coffee, sugar-cane, arrowroot, tapioca, barley and rice, are now obtained from these dry soils. The water supply is excellent, and it is derived both from springs that are never dry, and from the abundant rainfall. Nearly every ravine boasts of its torrent, which is fed by innumerable rivulets and dashing waterfalls. It is true that few of these streams ever reach the sea, for they are absorbed by the thirsty lands, that imbibe them as would a sponge. Thus a bed of dry stones alone marks the channel near the sea of what inland is a large river.
The natives, when first discovered by Mr. Williams, were of course not so successful in farming as they are now, after they have been instructed by European teachers. But that they were naturally ingenious appeared from the construction both of their canoes and of their houses. Their boats were made from small pieces of bread-fruit, which were very neatly fitted together. Along the edge of each section was a small ridge, which was pierced with holes. Through these holes lashings of civet, which is the native twine, were passed, and thus the whole was held firmly together. The outer surface was quite smooth, and Mr. Williams says that “a new canoe is really a handsome and ingenious piece of workmanship, very different to the thick, awkward Tahitian canoes. I do not think that they are excelled in the construction and workmanship of their canoes by any islanders in the South Seas, with the sole exception of the King's Mill Islanders. These latter build their canoes very much like a whale-boat, and that out of small pieces of plank which are not any of them above two inches wide; these sections are all lashed firmly together by cinet.”
“In the construction of their houses "continues the journal from which we have just quoted," they also display considerable taste. The spacious houses which are intended for public entertainments are neatly and firmly put together. In shape, they are between a round and an oval. First, two or three large posts are fixed in the ground in order to support a short ridge pole, of from four to six feet in length. Rafters and thatch are then placed upon this ridge pole; and they then form the round ends for the narrow extremities of the building. The rafters are placed endways, and are formed from the wood of the bread-fruit tree; some of them are no thicker than the middle finger. They are also in pieces of not more than two feet in length, but are so neatly united and the joint is so firmly lashed round by cinet, that the joints are not perceptible. They use the sugarcane leaf for thatching, but the thatch inside the house does not look so neat and pretty as that of the Tahitian houses. But the rafters are much more so, for they are so small, so carefully and regularly arranged, and are moreover neatly joined together. These large public buildings are generally open all round at the sides, and are covered with mats as a carpet. They are often from forty to fifty feet long, and about thirty or five-and-thirty feet wide. The dwelling-houses of the natives are similar both in material and in shape, but they are much smaller and lower of course.”
Our illustration on page 87 represents a native Samoan village.
But we must now relate the events that followed the arrival of Mr. Williams. His landing in Samoa at this juncture was remarkable and opportune, and is an example of the mysterious leadings of Providence. God had from afar been preparing the way for him in a most remarkable manner. The attention of the Samoans had been arrested by a recent prophecy delivered by a dying chief. He predicted that the worship of the Spirits should soon cease throughout Samoa, and that a great white chief should come from beyond the distant horizon, who would overthrow their religion, and that all this would happen very shortly after his own death. This singular statement, which predisposed the people in favor of Mr. Williams, was only one of several circumstances that equally conduced to the same result. The most notable of these was, that a few days before his arrival, Tamafainga had been killed. There had not been time enough to elect a successor, and thus an almost insuperable obstacle to the success of the Gospel was removed out of the way. So keenly did his friend Fauea, the Samoan chief, realize this, that, upon learning the fact of Tamafainga's death, he shouted as he danced upon the deck, "The devil is dead! The devil is dead! Our work is done! The devil is dead" Subsequently they learned that this Tamafainga had possessed despotic spiritual and temporal power, because he was supposed to be an incarnation of the evil spirits. For this reason, he had been adopted in his infancy by a great chief. He was esteemed so sacred, that he was not tattooed; and though he possessed little property himself, all the chiefs paid homage to him, because they believed that "the spirit of the devil resided in him, and that he had power to inflict disease and death at his will." He was consulted as an oracle upon all occasions, and as his predictions had sometimes been fulfilled, he was held in great esteem.
As an example of his shrewd guessing, or whatever else his gift was, it is related that a trading canoe once kidnapped a young woman in place of a runaway slave. Tamafainga comforted the parents by assuring them that a foul wind would drive the robbers back on the next day; and as this was so, Tamafainga received additional glory from what was probably his weather wisdom. We are not informed as to how many failures he may be credited with. Attended by a bodyguard of six wild young men, he went through Samoa, his companions robbing and destroying in wanton mischief and sheer love of wickedness. At length, an act of more than usual atrocity, that cannot be detailed here, enraged the people of Upolu so much that they destroyed this monster of wickedness, for such he really was.
Although the chiefs were not sorry to be delivered from the odious tyranny under which they, as well as their people, had suffered, the system of blood revenge, and above all the need of securing their own authority, compelled them to avenge Tamafainga's death. Malietoa, the king, was making war upon the murderers when The Messenger of Peace dropped anchor at Sapapalia, his capital. His brother, Tamalelangi at once dispatched a messenger requesting the king to return home immediately, and, pending his brother's arrival, Tamalelangi exerted himself to welcome the missionaries. Fauea was now among his own friends, and he earnestly exhorted them to receive cordially both the strangers and their message.
Encouraged by him, the natives became so familiar that they began to examine the dress of the missionaries, and while doing so, one of them pulled off Mr. Williams' shoe. The Samoans were amazed to find that apparently the white chief had no toes, and whispered this astounding discovery to Fauea. That chief replied at once that the white man had clothes upon his feet, a statement which they verified at once to their own satisfaction. Fauea now rendered the missionaries a great service, for when Tamalelangi, the king's brother, sent cocoanuts, pigs, and bananas to the ship for sale, he informed this chief that The Messenger of Peace was a praying vessel. Upon hearing this, Tamalelangi refused to accept payment for the food which he had sent on board. Stimulated by this act of generosity, the teachers determined to land; accordingly eight men with their wives and children went on shore.
Those who remained on board beheld dense columns of smoke mingled with flame arising from the direction of Upolu. Here Malietoa was avenging the death of Tamafainga, while his brother, at Sapapalia, was welcoming the ministers of that Gospel which is peace and goodwill towards men. In the course of the evening, Malietoa himself arrived from the seat of war, and came off to the vessel. While he was conversing with the white chiefs, Mr. Williams experienced another marvelous deliverance from death. Malietoa took down a brass blunderbuss which the captain had previously loaded with no less than eight bullets, and, after curiously examining the weapon, pointed it at Mr. Williams, and was about to pull the trigger. The captain, at this instant, rushed into the cabin, and prevented him from firing off the weapon. Thus, once again, God interposed to save the life of His servant, who was, as we all are, immortal until his work was fully done. The next day, after sunset, Messrs. Williams and Barff landed. An immense crowd met them, some having lighted torches, and others, more timid, climbing, Zacchæus-like, into the trees, there to catch a' glimpse of these singular strangers. As Mr. Williams complained of feeling fatigued, he and his comrade were seized and carried at full length for about half-a-mile, and then deposited safely in the presence of Malietoa, who gave them a very hearty welcome, and invited them to take up their residence with him. They preferred, however, spending their time with the teachers, who were soon to be left alone in Samoa, and therefore went to the house which Tamalelangi had given them.
Though not in the true order of time, an amusing incident may be here transcribed from Mr. Williams' journal., During his stay at Samoa, six or eight vampire bats were captured, and as the missionaries were then unacquainted with their habits, the bats were suspended by their hind legs from a string in the vessel's cabin. When the cabin light went out, the bats began to examine their new abode, and one of them, while doing so, fell into the treacle barrel. By means of his claws, he managed to get out; what followed may be best told in Mr. Williams' own words. “His companions, being attracted by his superior sweetness, began to lick him. He, being annoyed by the furious licking of his friends, took to his legs or rather claws, and hooked himself away with all possible speed. All the others gave chase, and in they went to the bed of my brother missionary, who was awoke by all these animals crawling over him. It was in vain to try and shake them off the clothes, as with their beaks they held on so very fast.
To take them off with the hands was a more fearful experiment, as they are angry little things, and use their teeth to advantage. Hearing the bustle in my neighbor's cabin, I inquired the cause. He replied, That all these little devils had come into his cabin to torment him.' On obtaining a light, we enjoyed a hearty laugh at the expense of our friend, for in addition to seeing six or eight black imps sprawling and crawling about the bed, we saw the bed bedaubed with treacle, and all of them chasing and licking the unfortunate sweet one, who was so annoyed and angry, that he fought like a fury. After this exhibition of their tormenting powers, we banished them from the cabin.”
From the same journal, we extract a recipe for what Mr. Williams calls, "a good substitute for a hot cup of tea or a basin of gruel." Of this Samoan delicacy, he says: "It is prepared from the young cocoanut. The young nut, when about a quarter of an inch thick on the shell, is soft; this being scraped out, is squeezed between the hands till it is broken into very small pieces. The water of the nut is then poured with it into a wooden bowl, and hot stones put into it. It is then put into cocoanut shell cups, and served up. I had it for breakfast every morning, and got to like it very much. The chiefs generally have it very early." Mr. Williams also remarks: "They make soups also from fish, boiling them in leaves; they not having the art, which the Fiji Indians possess, of making fire-proof earthenware." Before continuing the narrative, we may also notice a singular mode of expressing mourning which was common in Samoa. Only women practiced it, and they were spotted all over with dark patches which formed designs. This appearance was obtained by twisting up a piece of native cloth and setting fire to it. The skin was then touched by-the flame, and, of course, was raised into a blister. This blister, when healed, was darker than the rest of the skin, and it is said that these dark patches were not displeasing to the eye. From this, it will readily be believed that the natives are not free from vanity; with them the large blue bead was in such esteem, for personal adornment, that a large hog was eagerly given for six of them.
Returning now to the course of our narrative, the morning after Mr. Williams landed, a public meeting was held to discuss his proposals. According to custom, Mr. Williams gave presents to both Malietoa and his brother. Tamalelangi, with unwonted generosity, handed nearly all the gifts that he had received to his brother the king. Malietoa, though evidently much gratified by his brother's kindness, refused to accept these goods from Tamalelangi's hands. The royal brothers readily promised to protect the teachers, and the latter were themselves much delighted with the reception they had so far received from the natives. Before leaving Samoa, Mr. Williams received a visit from Matatau, the gigantic chief of Manono. Matatau requested a teacher for his island, and declared that when he had one, "he would make his people place themselves under instruction." Mr. Williams promised to bring him a teacher upon his next visit to Samoa, and advised him rather to set a good example to his people, as the employment of any coercion was quite opposed to the Gospel. Mr. Williams conveyed this chief to his own island, and, accompanied by Malietoa, who was returning to Upolu, The Messenger of Peace left Samoa.
In reviewing the incidents of this memorable voyage, Mr. Williams remarks very beautifully, "There are two little words in our language which I have always admired, TRY and TRUST. You know not what you can or cannot effect until you TRY; and if you make your trials in the exercise of trust in God, mountains of imaginary difficulty will vanish as you approach them, and facilities will be afforded which you never anticipated." Certainly no better example of the power of Try and Trust can be found than in Mr. Williams' own career; the two words might almost be called the motto of his life. By trying, he accomplished far more than he could have anticipated, and by trusting in God and in man, he secured the opportunity for further service.
After bidding farewell to Samoa, Mr. Williams in vain attempted to make for Savage Island, where he intended to land the two natives whom he had brought from thence. But in consequence of contrary winds they were unable to do this, and The Messenger of Peace went on to Raratonga. Upon landing there, to their unspeakable joy, they found that the plague, which had raged so furiously at their previous visit, had now abated. Two or three happy days were spent at Raratonga, and among other friends, Mr. Williams met Buteve, the cripple. During the prevalence of the pestilence, Buteve had courageously confronted a war party and besought them to live at peace, and not to disturb "the peace brought by the Gospel." Although the men threatened his life, the cripple continued to plead with them, saying that though they might spear him, they could not spear God, who could and would conquer them. "This, God has now most effectually done," remarked Buteve, "and Raratonga is again Raratonga." With the greatest reluctance the voyagers resumed their journey, and after a quick run made Tahiti. At Eimeo, the mission settlement, all the Christians assembled to hear an account of the recent voyage. One old chief was so delighted when he heard of what had been accomplished in Samoa, that he was constrained to urge the missionaries to persist in their good work. Not long after this gathering, this chief passed away; while dying he remarked to his friends, "The blood of Jesus is my foundation. Jesus is the best King; He gives a pillow without thorns." Leaving Eimeo with the hearty congratulations of their friends, The Messenger of Peace reached Raiatea in safety.
Here Mr. Williams was called upon, soon after his arrival, to stand by the death-bed of poor old blind Me, one of the trophies of Divine grace in Raiatea. Me had been formerly a famous warrior, and in the days of his heathenism a terror to all the inhabitants of Raiatea. Ever since Mr. Williams' first arrival, however, he had been a diligent attendant upon the means of grace; it was therefore with great sorrow that Mr. Williams bade him farewell. "I saw an immense mountain," said Me to his friend, "with precipitous sides, up which I endeavored to climb, but when I had attained a considerable height, I lost my hold and fell to the bottom. Exhausted with perplexity and fatigue, I went to a distance and sat down to weep, and while weeping I saw a drop of blood fall upon that mountain, and in a moment it was dissolved. That mountain was my sins, and the drop which fell upon it was one drop of the precious blood of Jesus, by which the mountain of my guilt must be melted away." In this faith and confidence he shortly afterward died. Mr. Williams said, “I retired from the overwhelming and interesting scene, praying as I went that my end might be like his." Alas, how little we know of what is to come.
Too full of faith to forbade trouble, it now appeared as if it were God's will that Mr. Williams must return to England. His wife became so ill that her life was despaired of; but her husband was anxious to complete his translation of the New Testament into Raratongan before leaving the South Seas. He, however, assembled the natives, and informed them about the circumstances that were distressing him. They grieved so much at the idea of even a temporary separation, that Mr. Williams agreed to remain at Raiatea, if his wife's health should improve. Contrary to all expectation, this was the case, and Mr. Williams was mercifully able to stay through the troublous times that now came to Raiatea. This trouble arose from various causes, the chief one being a threatened war. It appears that many years before, a chief named Tapoa had conquered Raiatea and the adjacent islands. Now, his grandson of the same name, having succeeded to Tapoa's dominions, claimed also the supremacy that his grandfather once enjoyed, and further, he threatened to support his claim by the force of arms: The anxieties caused by this threatened subjugation accelerated the death of Tamatoa, the aged king of Raiatea. "Beware, lest the Gospel be driven from these islands," was his dying charge to his subjects. To Mr. Williams, he said: "My dear friend, how long we have labored together in this good cause! Nothing has ever separated us; now death is doing what nothing else has done; but who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
Every method having been tried in vain to induce Tapoa the Second to relinquish his designs, which also contemplated the re-establishment of idolatry under his protection, the Raiateans were encouraged by their teachers to resist the expected attack upon their homes and possessions. Notwithstanding the extreme peril to which he exposed himself by so doing (for one of Tapoa's followers actually attempted to kill him), Mr. Williams did his utmost to secure peace. He at length induced the chiefs of Tahiti to interfere, and these mediations effected an agreement which it was hoped would prevent a war. As the conflict thus appeared to have been averted, and as Mr. and Mrs. Smith had arrived to take charge of Mr. Williams' stations, he determined to embrace the opportunity of visiting Raratonga once more. Accordingly, on the 21st of September, 1831, The Messenger of Peace left Raiatea, and seven days later reached Raratonga. After a brief stay there, Mr. Williams took Mr. Buzzacott with him, on a visit to the various islands of the Hervey group. Mr. Buzzacott noticed especially the cordial manner with which Mr. Williams was everywhere received. "The natives clung around him" he said, "he seemed to be one with them." At Atiu he nearly lost his life. Whilst attempting to row from the shore to the ship, the boat was dashed against the reef, and Mr. Williams was carried to a great depth below the sea. By the assistance of two natives who perceived his peril, Mr. Williams was rescued for the sixth time from a watery grave. Full of devout gratitude for his preservation, he returned again to Raratonga, where he busied himself in completing his translation of the Scriptures. His work was first interrupted by the discovery of a plot to restore tattooing and some other heathen practices, and a fortnight after this nefarious design was suppressed, a worse trouble came upon Raratonga. This was a fearful hurricane, which swept across the island, leveling nearly a thousand houses, and uprooting many trees in every district of Raratonga. The Messenger of Peace was carried on the crest of a wave several miles inland, breaking off branches of trees that were twelve or thirteen feet from the ground, and at length working itself into a hole about five feet deep. Had not its further progress been stopped by a grove of large chestnut trees, the poor vessel would have sunk into a bog, which lay beyond the chestnut trees.
Mrs. Williams herself had a very narrow escape of being killed during this storm, the wall of the house falling upon her bed immediately after she had quitted it. A few days after this peril, she buried another infant who had died in consequence of the storm. A touching incident is related in connection with this bereavement. Just before the coffin-lid was closed, little Samuel, then about four years of age, sobbed out, "Father, mother, why do you plant my little brother? Don't plant him! I cannot bear to have him planted!”
The hurricane which wrought so much mischief, was variously regarded by the natives. Some of them bitterly complained that it was the worst of five calamities that had come upon them since the introduction of Christianity, and in disgust they returned to their former ways. Others more wisely regarded the misfortune as a call to repentance, and comforted themselves with the fact that they had still the Bible left to them. By the judicious distribution of axes and other tools among the people, Mr. Williams encouraged them to repair, as far as possible, the devastation caused by the tempest. But as misfortunes never come alone, he discovered that a cask of oil (which had contained about 180 gallons) required for making chunam, a material used instead of copper to protect the bottom of the vessel from worms and render it watertight, had all leaked away. Some thief had helped himself to the oil, and neglecting to insert the spile, had suffered the contents of the cask to run to waste. This loss could not now be replaced, and while perplexed by the anxiety it occasioned, some natives stole the best boat and put to sea in her. Thus distressed by many concurrent troubles, it was some months before The Messenger of Peace could be extricated from the hole into which she had sunk, and carried overland to the ocean. At length, by dint of hard toil, she was floated again, and as soon as the injuries which she had sustained had been repaired, she started for Tahiti, in order to obtain some provisions for the needy Raratongans, whose food crops had been destroyed by the recent hurricane.
At Tahiti, Mr. Williams heard tidings from Raiatea which might well have caused a less earnest man to despair. A cask of spirits, purchased from a trading vessel, had excited such a craving for drink that soon nearly twenty stills were at work upon the island, with the consequence that scarcely a hundred of the population could be found who were not drunkards. Mr. Williams was not a man to hesitate; he went at once to Raiatea, and by his earnest remonstrances, induced the people to abolish the stills, and form themselves into a Temperance Society. After this success, he returned to Raratonga, carrying with him several barrels of flour, and other articles of food which he had purchased from an American captain. He also took back with him several horses, asses, and some horned cattle, animals previously unknown in Raratonga. These animals amazed the natives, and they gave them singular names. The horse, they called "the great pig that carries man," the dog, they called "the barking pig," and the ass, "the noisy," or "long-eared pig." Although the civilization of the people was only a secondary object with the missionaries, such a cargo as was now brought by The Messenger of Peace, was of immense service to Raratonga. In thus acting, they simply followed the Savior's example, a large part of whose ministry concerned itself with healing disease and supplying the temporal wants of the needy; it is at least questionable if neglect in following His example be not a serious detriment to the success of His Church now-a-days.