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The Land of the Hibiscus Blossom




(1888)
Country of origin: Australia Australia
Available texts by the same author here Dokument


XXII. Yule Island.

   THEY made Yule Island about ten o'clock. Here they were met by the two French missionaries, Fathers Ambrose and Durand, who, having been denied permission to land on any portion of the mainland, took up their station upon the island, which is divided by only a narrow strip of water from the mainland.
   Indeed, it is a wonderful system this law of permits in New Guinea, where three or four people grant, or deny permission to people wishing to land, as they--the three or four representatives of this protective Government--think proper to decide, without chance of appeal or redress. Of course, it is only a moral obligation which makes the simple--minded traders or visitors bend under this very illegal system of justice, and the Governor does not often strain his despotic authority; still that the system prevails is vile as a precedent, and that those Catholic preachers were compelled to resort to stratagems, before they could preach the charity of Christianity, is almost too great a sacrifice in this liberal nineteenth century.
   When I say moral obligation I mean that these permits are only farces, which the good temper of the genial traders humours; for what is there to prevent three or four men from landing at any time on the shores of New Guinea, in spite of all the permits issued or refused by any Government? The land is theirs in exactly the same sense as it belongs to the Government or to the missionary, i.e. it belongs to neither.
   Father Ambrose, like nearly all Papist missionaries, did not value his life much when he took up his work in this Protestant-abandoned island; he lay down to sleep each night, at first, expecting only to wake in the company of saints and martyrs. He saw that with the old savages the rites of Christianity were idle ceremonies, and that to try to teach them religion was a hopeless task, so he made up his mind to be content with getting a baby baptized now and again, meantime seeking by force of example, till he had learnt their language, to give them some faint notion of the laws of health.
   By dint of indomitable perseverance he mastered, in a very short time, their dialect, and then he went amongst them healing their sick and modifying, as far as he best could do, their savage, bloodthirsty customs;--in eight months his mild example, patient forbearance, and ready help had worked almost a reformation on Yule Island and the adjacent mainland occupied by his rivals in the good work.
   He did not gain his present influence without danger, hardship, or sacrifice; once, when they made up their minds to slaughter him and his two companions, he mastered them by courage only.
   One of the chiefs had received from him payment for some work to be performed; the chief, like most people paid beforehand, thought how he might evade his promise, and appeared before him with a plausible story, thinking it an easy matter to take in the gentle Frenchman.
   He told his lie badly and was discovered, upon which Father Ambrose sternly ordered him never to come before him again unless it was to pay his debt.
   The chief threatened him with death, at which the missionary only smiled, and passed indoors, leaving the native to go off with vengeance in his heart.
   That night Father Ambrose was awakened by yells outside, and getting up he muttered a quiet prayer in the dark.
   "Come out, you white pig, and let us see you. We want your head to roast!"
   These were the words which he heard as he rose from his knees, and without a pause he opened the door and went out into the moonlight.
   Over two hundred naked and armed savages stood in the clear space in front of his palisade, with the chief, his enemy, in front.
   A little awe still held them back, for the fire of the white man was known to them, and they did not yet fully gauge the extent of his power. A dark, threatening, howling crowd, with waving arms and clashing spears, while the full moon-rays shone upon their supple, smooth skins and wicker-work shields, casting black shadows on to the ground, dancing shadows, like tangible and contorted figures with grey phantoms above them.
   "I am here; what is it you want?"
   "Your head, white pig!" shouted the tall chief, advancing swiftly with quivering lance poised above his head.
   "Well, come and take it."
   The savage paused in a stupor of amazement. Father Ambrose stood quietly but upright, clad only in trousers and shirt, his thin face gleaming pale in the white light, with his shirt taking on silver edges where surfaces of the folds were exposed; his brown beard looked soft and surrounded with a strange lustre, as the rays caught it with a softened shine--a mild, patient head they wanted, like the misty outlines of St. John.
   They saw he was unarmed, and, as they looked at his folded hands and meek head, a strange terror ran like a thrill through all. Never had enemy seemed so formidable to them, this passive resistance filled them with feeling as of a supernatural power; surely he must be immortal to wait so quietly, and no spear could pierce him!
   "What! Do you think we cannot kill you?" cried out the chief, plucking up some faint show of courage.
   "Kill me, if you like."
   The words were simply and softly spoken, as by one about to receive his reward; but the effect was instantaneous. With a universal howl of dismay and horror the camp broke up, and the warriors fled back to their village, no man resting till he had covered his head with his wife's rauma.
   When the missionary opened his eyes he was alone, with the holy moonlight shining over the weapons, flung down in the hurry of that complete rout, lying in confused masses in front of him. Truly a miracle had been performed, as when the Assyrians fled in the night.
   "My hour has not yet come," he sighed, half regretfully, as he knelt down once more to his midnight prayers, while his two brothers, who had stood trembling inside, went quietly out and gathered up the spears and other trophies left behind.
   From that day no native sought to hurt him; the life of the man who wished to be killed was sacred, and the respect born of fear grew up into a child of love, when they came to know and benefit by his goodness.
   Next day the old chief came with the payment of his debt, to implore the pardon of his friend--came on his knees, with his kneeling warriors behind, asking him to forgive them and stay amongst them. To each man he gave back his weapon, consecrated, and with words of pardon and loving-kindness. Thus peace was won with very little trouble; so Father Ambrose pleasantly informed Mr. Bowman.
   The sight of the natives, who came in their canoes, was not reassuring to those on board the steamer--stalwart young men, perfectly nude, who made their catamarans rush through the sunny waves, and the foam hiss from their paddles, while they grunted as they bent their brown backs to the task, and the sinews and muscles moved and swelled--young men who seemed to be without an instinct of fear or caution, as they caught hold of the rope-end hanging over the bulwarks and slung themselves with a single bound on to the deck, where they stood upright and dauntlessly facing the strangers, while the sun-beams glinted on their smooth limbs and shining breasts like burnished copper--young men who came armed with spears, bows and arrows, with mop-heads stuck over with gay feathers and long-handled combs, with cheeks painted with stripes white and black, with sinews of trained athletes, who neither understood fear or displayed astonishment.
   They were the friends of the priest, and, trusting him, trusted all whom he appeared friendly with. He told Bowman and Danby, as he sat down to lunch, that they were now perfectly safe, and offered to show them the beauties of the island; so, as soon as they had finished eating, they accepted his kindly offer, and got into his boat, while the natives once more went ahead and around them in their canoes, leading the way.
   They found a natural stone landing-place as they drew near the shore, a long causeway of slaty-looking rocks, worn flat, and like steps, leading up from the water's edge into a somewhat dense thicket. On each side of this stone landing-place the mango-bushes grew, and dipped into the deep waters.
   Past the landing-place they came to a footpath going through fields of long cane-grass, which closed high above their heads as they passed through it, folding them in so that they had to keep very near to the heels of their guides, and look well to their feet, or they would have been lost entirely, for as they dipped into the hollows this grass grew to the height of ten, twelve, and in parts fifteen feet, of a dry-hay colour, yet strong and fibrous, touching with strong clutches like withes of reeds, and gathering behind them like giant corn-stalks. When they rose to the high places, where the ground was more stony and drained, they could overlook this virgin grass and see the hills: in parts stony, in parts grass--covered, like the ground they traversed, and in detached portions patched with dense jungle, which began and ended abruptly; here the wild boar lay with her litter, and the game-birds hid themselves.
   They were passing by the side of a valley cultivated by the natives. Here, as they looked along, they saw gardens of yams, taro, rice, with plantations of banana, sago, betel, and sugar-cane brakes; over against them, on the further ridge of the valley, they could see above the fields and trees the palm-thatched houses of a native village. This was the only village on the island as yet which held out against the benign influence of Father Ambrose. They were coming in, he observed, as he pointed them out; that is, they didn't throw spears now, as they used to do, when strangers passed, or lie in wait with their man-traps, which was a great concession, certainly.
   Behind them the sea gleamed like a deep sapphire--that intense blue which seems to engross within its centre all the colours from the paler immensity above, taking in light, and giving out again only the suggestion of fathomless depth and movement.
   The little, commonplace, red, white and black painted and varnished Thunder lay upon this lovely indescribable tone of blue, like a child's cheap toy laid upon a widespread sheet of rare spun silk.
   Before them, as they walked, they could see the house which the missionary and his brothers had raised, standing upon a little mound in the valley, with the flag fluttering feebly in the soft breeze from its staff--a white flag, with the device of the bleeding heart wrought upon it in red silk by the little sisters of Thursday Island.
   "Our mission-house, gentlemen," observed Father Ambrose, with a touch of honest pride in his gentle voice; "beyond there lies the sea on all sides, with the coast of New Guinea to the east. No, you cannot see Mount Yule from here; but from the top of that hill you will see it, also the two villages, who now listen to my words. My little chapel lies down by the seashore, between the villages. It does not do to raise jealousy, gentlemen, so, although it is some distance for me to walk, still it is near to them both. I will take you to see it after you have rested in our little station."


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