John G. Paton · 36 of 48

Chapter IX. Letters From Aniwa · Part 2

“Here I am at the end of my fourth sheet, and have not even begun to tell you of the nice Ladies’ Meeting we had at Aniwa, or the lively time we have had with visitors ever since the Vessel returned with the Missionaries on board for the annual Synod....

“That was a refreshing visit on the return of the Vessel from the Synod; and we had a cheery houseful, for in addition to our four husbands, whom as canny Scots say, ‘we were not sorry’ to see after a three weeks’ absence, Mr. and Mrs. Inglis and Dr. Steele (the latter to remain with us) came and stayed from the Saturday till the Monday,—the vessel going out to sea with the rest of the Missionaries, who declared it would kill me outright to have any more! Those who came tried to make me promise just to give them a pillow and a blanket on the floor, but we got them snugly stowed away in beds and on sofas, and we so enjoyed their society. It is especially delightful to hear their voices mingling in the Psalm at Family Worship. It makes one think of the great company of the redeemed, singing the ‘New Song.’

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“The Sabbath was such a blessed day too, and it was quite an event in the Church history of Aniwa to see six Missionaries on the platform, and five ladies in the Missionary’s pew. Mr. Inglis preached at the first service, Mr. Annand at the second (John of course translating), good Gospel truth; and Dr. Steele gave us a white sermon in the evening in the drawing-room, upon the ‘Prayer of Jabez.’ The language was very beautiful, and the Doctor suited himself to his audience,—leaving out his appeal to unconverted Sinners!...

“Every one in the house is asleep, and my eyes will hardly keep open; so I must say Good-night to you all, with heart’s love from your ever-loving daughter and sister,

“Maggie Whitecross Paton.”

(1875.)

TO THE FAMILY CIRCLE.

“My dearest Sisters and Brothers,—

“If I could only put one of the Earthquakes we’ve had into this journal it would produce a sensation,—descriptions seem so very tame after one has experienced the awful feelings they produce! But I must begin and go forward as best I can, there being no possibility of gratifying you in that direction.

“You know, it was not till very near the time of the Vessel’s sailing that we decided last year to remain; and I sent my last ‘Journal’ on board with an aching heart. We had been so nearly going to see our precious boys, and till I saw the Dayspring slowly disappear in the distance I did not know how intensely my heart had been set upon seeing them!...

“To crown all, John got very ill, and sunk so low we feared he might not live to see the return of the Dayspring. But all the time I had an inward conviction that God had not kept him on Aniwa just to die, after giving us such encouragement to remain, and we had waited so confidingly upon Him just to show us the way. And He did not keep us long in suspense, for one event transpired after another to show how wisely we had been guided.

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“The first of these happened about a month after the vessel left, and as John was slowly recovering from his illness. We heard, one lovely day, as I was setting the copies for afternoon School (I managed to keep it going all the time), a cry of ‘Sail O!’ which set us all into a fine pitch of excitement. School was the last thing to be thought of, and the Natives scampered off towards the other end of the Island, where the vessel lay. John was unable to walk so far; but you may be sure we were quite on the qui vive for news, and I waylaid the first returning Native, who shouted to me in Aniwan, ‘Missi, what do you think has happened? A whole shipload of Tannese, men, women, and children, have been driven off their own Island by war, and have come over to live on this little Island, because the Worship is strong, and they know they are safe. They are many in number for the people of Aniwa; and where are we to get food for them, Missi? for they had to escape at night with what little baggage they could bring in the vessel.’

“Another Native soon arrived with letters from Mr. and Mrs. Neilson, confirming the report, and we were rather dumbfounded at this turn of events; but, like most of the other Missionaries, when they heard of it, we were also deeply impressed with God’s mysterious ways. Tanna was the Island upon which John’s whole heart was set; and it was one of the bitterest disappointments of his life when the Mission Synod would not allow him to return there, instead of coming to Aniwa nine years ago; but we both felt we were following God here, and now He had brought the Tannese to Aniwa; for those who had come were from around Port Resolution, and some of them were John’s old friends!

“Some of the Islanders themselves were as much struck with the event as we were. And at last Mission Synod, Mr. Neilson amused all the Missionaries by giving the outline of a speech made upon the occasion by one of the Aneityumese Teachers on Tanna, apt as all Natives are in drawing illustrations from daily life to point their addresses on Sabbath. He took the story of Joseph for his subject, and made out ‘Missi Paton’ to be Joseph driven from Tanna by his wicked brethren the Tanna[301] men, but that God had gone with him to Egypt, alias Aniwa, and prospered him and the land for his sake, and prepared it for them to go and live upon, and thus save much people alive!...

“John immediately set to work revising his Tannese, which he had well-nigh forgotten, so that when the Tanna gentry declined to come to Church he was soon able to go to them and first read his addresses and then preach to them in Tannese. How it did remind us of the early Aniwan days, when our worthy parishioners used to enjoy a pipe or a nap, as they lay on their backs listening to the sermon!...

“The Hurricane began in earnest about noon on January 14th, after a heavy thunderstorm which had blackened the air all the morning. As we sat at dinner the wind suddenly became furious; we had to jump up and make preparations, as the house was shaking and creaking, the thatch standing on end, and the rain pouring in. Immediately trees, fences, etc., began to occupy a horizontal position; so the children and I took refuge in the Study, which seemed to stand firmer than the rest of the house, and from the windows watched the progress of the storm,—a magnificent sight, tall trees bending and falling before the awful force of the wind. John came in greatly dejected, saying that if it continued much longer the Church would go, as it was already bending, notwithstanding its being so strongly propped. There was a lull just then in the storm, which cheered me; but his more experienced eye led him to pronounce it the stillness that precedes a great storm, it was still so black and ominous. And sure enough, just before dark, a terrific blast sent us flying down to the Cellar, our usual place of refuge.

“John and a couple of the girls made a final attempt to get into the house for one or two loaves, and whatever else they could grab,—we were now awfully hungry, having been so unceremoniously interrupted at our dinner. My faithful little cook was precipitated into the Cellar before a great blast, puffing and panting and holding on to a kettle of boiling water, which was an unexpected luxury in the circumstances. So we managed to make a very jolly meal off the top of a box; and all our stores being in the Cellar, we got hold of a tin of salmon.—the[302] girls had thoughtfully brought a great basin of milk for the children,—and when F. found we were all to eat the salmon out of one plate, his joy knew no bounds, and he stuck his fork into the biggest bit in the dish, which proved too large for his wee mouth, causing great merriment!

“The storm raged till midnight, when we were all thankful to get up to our beds, and found our own room, fortunately, the only habitable part of the house. But oh, what utter desolation the morning light revealed! Our fine large Church a mass of ruins, with one great pillar standing solitary and upright through the rubbish against the clear blue sky. The School House in the same condition, at the other side of the Imrai (= public meeting ground). With the exception of our cook-house and printing-office, not an outhouse was left standing on the Mission Premises; but oh, how thankful we felt that our dwelling-house stood secure, as John was in no condition to have attempted building another. Not even a pane of glass was broken, though of course the roof could not escape, and consequently everything was soaked. The day proved fortunately very hot, and we got all the mats lifted, and mattresses, blankets, etc., washed and dried. The pigs were in their glory, running riot over all the plantations, and I am sure if they could have spoken they would have said in Scotch, ‘It’s an ill wind that blaws naebody guid!’

“Almost every Native on the Island was at work before daylight at his fences; dwelling-houses—and there were not a dozen standing uninjured on the Island—being left till the plantations were secured. School duties were not even thought of. It was so sad to see the destruction of food,—fine large breadfruit and cocoa-nut trees torn up by the roots, and bananas with the fruit half formed lying useless on the ground. But the greatest lamentation seemed to be about the Tafari Moré (= House of Worship), though the general Public were complacently viewing it as a judgment from ‘Teapolo’ (= His Satanic Majesty, in Aniwan), for their being ‘so strong for the Worship.’ This is a popular error; and John guarded them against it next Sabbath, preaching an impressive sermon from the text, ‘Labour not for the meat which perisheth,’—rather apropos to the occasion!...

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“It was altogether a sad time, that, for we had been so tried with Hutshi, the girl I had last time with us in Australia, and who turned out a complete vixen; the first of my girls, I am thankful to say, who has not turned out well. She was married to one of our best young lads, and went quite gracefully through the whole affair—I think I wrote you all about it before—but all the while she was dying for my handsome young cook, who is engaged to the little table-maid. She began, soon after the marriage, to persecute her husband and flirt with the other, going from bad to worse, notwithstanding all we could say to her; and one day she behaved so frightfully, that, when we were told of her guilt, John and I sank down on the nearest seats, perfectly overpowered with disappointment and horror. I could hardly have believed that any woman, either black or white, could have so deliberately planned to lead others so young and innocent into sin.

“The young Chief came to ask John how she ought to be punished, as something would have to be done; but he hesitated to give advice, never having been called upon to legislate in a similar case, being indeed too vexed to collect his thoughts; only he strongly forbade them to shoot her, as one or two of the enraged fathers proposed, and advised them to be guided by the Aneityumese Teachers, two wise Christian men from Mr. Inglis’s Station. They said that the punishment inflicted on Aneityum by the Chiefs was to tie up the guilty parties, collect all the goods of those most deeply involved, and distribute them among the people at the other side of the Island, so as not to tempt those around to bring false accusations against neighbours for the sake of their property.

“This was accordingly done in the case of Hutshi; and we had an invitation to be present at the ceremony, which we declined, as John told them it was better he should not be too much mixed up in these things. The only way in which he did interfere was to shorten the time to three hours, instead of the twenty-four they were determined to keep her tied, and which, in my opinion, she richly deserved! Two or three Tannese happened to arrive at her village before she was unloosed, and expressed their disgust at the consequences entailed by the[304] Worship, saying they could have as much ‘fun’ on Tanna as they liked without being punished for it. But one of our Aniwans answered, with a sly wink at his neighbours, that bad as the Worship might be, it had at least not driven them from their own land!...

“I wish I could say that was the last of the trouble we had with Mistress Hutshi; for she professed great repentance, and sent one of the girls, two or three weeks afterwards, to say she wanted to tell me all her badness, as that would make her feel better. She had not been allowed to come near the Mission Premises, nor had we since taken any notice of her. We had very little faith in the young lady’s repentance, but feared to crush any yearning after amendment, if it did exist; and I thought that God might give me a word for her. So we had a long interview; but I felt all the time there was no change in her, as was immediately proved, for she went back tossing her head and telling the others they might talk as much as they liked, she didn’t care, for the Missi was quite satisfied with her now!

“She did not improve, but the Church members round kept such a watch upon her that she did not do anything very flagrant. She did, however, lead her husband a miserable life; and I never believed that a Native could have borne with patience what he did; at last, being able to stand it no longer, he came to bid us Good-bye, saying he was going to live about three miles distant (it was as far away almost as he could get on Aniwa, either in one direction or the other, as his lady-love lived close to us in the centre of the Island!) and that he freely bestowed her upon any man who might be fool enough to take her, as henceforth he would have nothing to do with her.

“She had, out of pure bravado, professed to elude their vigilance and implicated a Tanna man, as well as Rangi (the wildest man on Aniwa), who both proved their innocence. Perhaps Rangi agreed with me that he had enough sins of his own to account for without being blamed for what he really did not do; and being an out and out Savage in his disposition, we feared trouble when he came with all the Tanna men at his heels to inquire about it one morning after her husband had[305] left her. We little expected, however, the scene there really was enacted, right outside our gate too, for it was there Rangi caught hold of her. She gave one spring to John for protection, but the gate was between them, and Rangi wrenched her from it, and the savage yells that got up nearly sent me frantic with terror.

“John stood leaning carelessly against the gate, viewing it all—the calmest person there! He felt that his presence would be a sufficient check, though it would have been folly to interfere. My girls were groaning and crying; and Yawaci (the girl I have here) was unconsciously doing her best to wrench the handles off the dining-room door in her despair, groaning out, “Missi, blood will be spilt!” while I was on my knees in the middle of the floor calling upon God to interfere. But my little F. stopped me, saying, “Mamma, Mamma, I don’t like to see you look up and talk like that! Are you ill?” So I tried to be myself again to the wee man, and felt comforted in having left the case with the Lord. Only I must see Rangi, though I had very slender hope of influencing him; and I put my careful husband into a fine consternation, as he would rather have seen an apparition than me coming on such a scene. I had only a very dim notion, then, of his gestures and entreaties, being deaf and blind to everything except Rangi, who came nearest my idea of a demon of anything I had ever seen!

“The poor girl was tied, with her arms backward, to a cocoa-nut tree, pale with terror, and a hundred muskets bristling round her. The Tannese were in full Heathen costume, which means paint instead of clothing; and the Church members stood calmly, like John, looking on, except two or three of them, who kept guard around her with loaded muskets for her defence from murder, if necessary. Her life was all they or we wished to see spared, for she richly deserved any punishment short of death. I caught Rangi’s eye at last. At a sign he came quietly forward, and I began to tell him he should not dare to shoot my girl, but being too excited I ended in sobs and was marched off,—but not before Rangi earnestly assured me that he would not touch a hair of her head, or let any one else do it, only, he said, she deserved to be tied and ought to be well beaten for[306] blackening his character! We could not keep from smiling, even in the excitement, at Rangi’s care for his reputation, which was truly as black as it well could be.

“Well, here was mistress Hutshi practically put up for public sale; for, according to Native law, whoever dared to unloose her from that tree had to take her for his wife, her husband having renounced all claim to her. Rangi reminded them of this when he tied her up, saying that the Missi only could alter that law if he wished. The Missi did not feel inclined to do any such thing, having devoutly wished her at Jericho ever since she commenced her pranks, as she was proving a curse to the place, and now only hoped that the most tyrannical unmarried man on the Island would take her off bodily as far away as the limited circumference of Aniwa would permit (so did the Church members); but for John to say so would only be the beginning of mischief. He was so anxious they would not appeal to him for advice, for we both felt that for her Native law was the best. But though a score of young men would have gone down on their knees for her before she was married, there she stood for about three hours without a single bidder!

“John had got the whole crowd dispersed to go and cut wood for the lime pits (you know he is of a rather practical turn of mind and likes to utilize the most unlikely occasions), which they did with great energy, having the steam up; so she was left alone, as the women had all to run and cook food. I had a grand donation for the labourers besides the tea, that day, as we had a calf killed the evening before, and I was giving orders about it when I saw John waving me to the study with such an amused face. It seems that Hutshi’s old sweetheart had rushed to him in eager haste, saying, ‘Missi, I never will have such a chance for a wife! Will you marry me to Hutshi, if I untie her?’ John said he certainly could not, and that if he took her it must be à la Native, and that he would have to discontinue his attendance at the Candidates’ Class, of which he was a member. He explained, at the same time, that it was not like running away with another man’s wife, as her behaviour (which in Britain would have divorced her) had led her husband to give her up; only that, for the sake of example, he could not[307] countenance such proceedings on the part of intending Communicants. Sarra said, in that case he would have nothing to do with her. But, alas, female influence prevailed, and he unloosed her an hour or two after, amid the Hurrahs of the passers-by and our intense though secret delight; for though Sarra is obliged to confess he has ‘caught a Tartar,’ yet he manages to keep her in tolerable check, being a determined fellow.

“We heartily re-echoed the sentiments of one of our Church members, when speaking of Hutshi, viz., ‘that it was awful what a woman could do, when she was bent upon mischief!’ Indeed, according to the Natives, we have her, along with the two murderers, to thank for those awful Earthquakes which nearly frightened us out of our senses, though on Aniwa very little damage accrued from them.

“The first, at least the first to speak of, occurred near midnight on the 28th March (the second anniversary of our Lena’s birth), and woke us up with a vengeance, being the worst we ever had, the Earth heaving so awfully that we expected every moment to be swallowed up, and were almost paralyzed with terror, but M. and F. slept through it all. After it, a tremendous rush of the sea seemed to take place, from the noise it made, and which we found next morning was the case, carrying our boat from where it lay, high and dry about one hundred yards inland, also canoes, two of which were smashed.

“I lay in awful terror after the Earthquake till three o’clock, and was dropping off to sleep, when another terrible one sent us flying out of the house in our night gowns, John dragging the children out of their beds, and the girls rushing out of their house. There was not a breath of wind, and it was awful to see in the bright moonlight the great trunks of the trees swaying back and forward, and to feel the ground going to and fro with such force. We had one or two slight ones after that, and then just at daybreak an awful repetition,—every one of us simultaneously rushing out of doors! This was number five; and before breakfast we went to see the damage done to the boat (but it was uninjured); and we had two more violent shocks ere we got home, making seven in all before breakfast, after which we had a commotion of another kind.

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“John felt so exhausted, and had just got fast asleep on the study sofa (a most unusual occurrence with him), when I heard high words between Taia, one of our Church members, and Nalihi, an Erromangan. I knew not what to do, for Natives never waste time on high words—they at once rush to arms; and I was unwilling to wake John to more excitement, as it was exactly that day two years since he had been seized with that awful fever, and I had been in fear of its return, as people predicted it would, about the same time of the year. Well, I actually made up my mind to show my wifely devotion,—and it was a good test for me, I beg leave to say, I always had such a foolish terror of a loaded musket anywhere, and infinitely more so in the hands of an enraged Savage,—by going between the combatants myself. To make matters worse, all the men about had gone that morning to bring lime-coral, and only a few women had collected, and one or two timid fellows who stood at a safe distance.

“Nalihi was flourishing his musket in Taia’s face, as an accompaniment to an eloquent harangue he was delivering in Erromangan, not being able to speak Aniwan; and Taia, who understood and could speak it perfectly, seemed to be paying him back with interest. They subsided for a few moments, when it was whispered the Missi was there; but on finding that it was only the ‘Missi finé,’ they went at it with renewed vigour. I took no notice of the Erromangan, knowing my only chance was with Taia; so I went over to him, and implored him not to utter another word, whatever provocation he might receive; and though reluctant at first, he behaved nobly and stood what I think few white men would have done in the circumstances. I kept close beside him all the time, and though for three quarters of an hour that villain stood heaping insults upon him, and at last, in his rage, cut down his bananas and fences before his eyes, he never spoke, though his muscles twitched and he clutched at his great club sometimes—one that I knew had done good (?) service in Heathen days under the great brawny arms that wielded it; for Taia is a perfect Hercules, and such a contrast to the little treacherous, sharp-nosed Erromangan, who was dying for an excuse to get a shot at him. When I thought[309] Taia was going to give way, I put my cold white paw (it did feel so cold) on his black arm, and every time I did so he turned and looked down at me with a grim smile, saying, ‘Don’t fear, Missi, I’ll not speak.’

“Now I maintain, that though John sometimes fears Taia’s Christianity is not of the highest type, yet he is undoubtedly a perfect gentleman, or he would not have stood there, the greatest living orator on Aniwa, silent at the bidding of any woman! When I saw the good food being destroyed and so little left from the Hurricane, indignation mastered every other feeling, and I felt it was high time for John to interfere with Nalihi; as no one else dared to speak to him, except master F., who had, by the way, found us out just then, and proceeded without hesitation to deal with him in plain terms. His little figure heaved with indignation, and he drew such a long breath before calling out, ‘O you naughty, naughty man! You’re a wicked man! Jehovah, so angry at you!’ Every one was so amused, and a general titter went round, while Nalihi, with whom F. had been a favourite, began vigorously to defend himself to the child in broken English, at the same time wielding his axe to some purpose amongst Taia’s bananas. So, feeling my own strength would not hold out much longer, I sped off and brought John, who quietly went up to Nalihi and relieved him of his musket and axe (Oh, I was glad to see that musket in dear old John’s trusty fingers, for Nalihi held it in a horizontal position, and it always would point at me the whole time I stood there!) clapped him on the shoulder and had him sobbing like a child in a minute and offering payment to Taia for the damage done, which, however, Taia was too seriously offended to receive, and I do not wonder at it.

“The crowd began to disperse, and John was taking Nalihi off for a day’s work under his own eye, in case of his coming in contact with Taia again, when I put a graceful finish to the proceedings by going off into a fainting fit under the cocoa-nut trees! John said I managed bravely, all except that; but I do think that after seven Earthquakes and such a scene, I had a good right to get up some demonstration, and it was the first I ever perpetrated for the public benefit!

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“We had three more Earthquakes that day, but slight, making ten in all; and I took care at night to provide for emergencies by putting a supply of blankets on the verandah, as there is not a moment to snatch clothes when they come, and we had felt chilly the night before. I got laughed at for what was termed my needless precaution; but we had hardly got into our first sleep, when another violent Earthquake turned us out, and we were thankful for them. It was not so bad as some, however, and we got a sleep till morning without further disturbance, as the grand performance did not come off till next evening at nine o’clock.

“John was busy in the bath-room, with the girls, damping paper for next day’s printing, I was in the dining-room, jotting in my journal the events of the day, when we all had to rush out with the most frightful Earthquake that had yet taken place. The house danced, the windows rattled awfully, and F. woke up with the first of it screaming in terror, but M. took it more gently, telling him it was nice. It might have been nice to feel ourselves rocked on the bosom of mother Earth (we lay down on the ground at a safe distance from the house, which we expected to fall every moment), could we have been sure she would not open up and receive us into a closer embrace!

“The heaving must, I think, have continued nearly five minutes, and we had just got into the house again, still trembling with agitation, when a terrible gust of wind and roar of the sea half prepared us for the shouting of the Natives, who called to us that the sea had actually come close to our gate! We went out and found Natives up to the waist in water, where it had been bush two or three minutes before. We heard something flapping, and Yawaci picked up a large fish about twelve feet from our gate; and as the tidal wave receded, they were left in hundreds, which the Natives spent most of that night and next day in gathering. An enormous turtle was found too among a lot of débris,—‘Jehovah’s turtle,’ the Natives called it, owing to the way in which it was found.