Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/440

408 FIJI AOT) THE FIJIAKS. " This people are subject to Rewa, and are too much afraid of becoming Christians to be at once decided. If Rewa would take the lead, we should soon have one hundred thousand 'professed Christians in Fiji. There are four towns on the island of Vatulele ; and it is, altogether, a lovelj spot : * only man is rile.' I left the island, grateful to God for the many precious opportunities I had of preaching Jesus to its ignorant inhabitants. " 19th. — This morning we had a favourable wind, which took us nearly to Nan- dronga ; it then became a perfect calm, so that we were obliged to remain all night at sea. " 20th. — "We caught a large shark this morning, and I obtained his teeth and back- bone for my part of the spoil. We soon after had a breeze, which took us to Xandronga. I went ashore as soon as possible ; — Mr. Wilson, a Lincolnshire man, who is living here, was in good health, and very glad to see me. We waited on the Chiefs that night, and found them disposed to receive a Teacher as soon as the present war is over. There are two principal Chiefs at Xandronga, and two important towns near each other. The Chiefs are of one mind with respect to religion ; and their sons, who now take an active part in the affairs of government, seem quite agreeable to its introduction among them. The white man living there, Mr. Wilson, has already persuaded them so far to observe the Sabbath as not to go to war on that day. I counted the names of one hundred towns which belong to them, or are dependent on them. " Nandronga is a place of great importance. A Missionary there would have direct access to one hundred and fifty towns, and our way would also be opened to the whole of this part o^ the group. The Chief of Xandronga ranks with the Kings of Fiji ; and I consider it, therefore, a good sign, that he is disposed to receive a Native Teacher until he can have a Missionary. I must inform the Committee, that I gave this people every reason to expect an English Missionary. I hope you will not allow me to mislead them. " 22nd. — This morning we left Nandronga for Mba, sixty or seventy miles distant ; a place of bad report in Fiji. We did not reach Mba till the 27th, in consequence of the wind being light and often contrary. I did not think it prudent to go ashore at once, till we had seen some of the natives, and gained a little of their confidence. Several of the Chiefs came off, and seemed much disposed to trade ; so that I saw we were likely to be here some time, in order to make preparations for getting a cargo of biche-de-mar. The second Chief of the place told me, that he wished to have me for his friend, almost as soon as he saw me, I gladly accepted the challenge, and always after called him Xoqui tau, ' My friend ; ' and he did the same to me, and acted accordingly. " 29th. — I went ashore this morning, and my friend Tonggambale took me up a fine river, to see his town. He and one of his men pulled the boat, and I steered her ; so that they had me completely in their power. We called at a small village, about a mile up the river, and remained a short time : the Chief gave orders to prepare food for us by the time we should return, and we then proceeded on our way. We soon reached Yotua, my friend's town. It is large for a Fijian town, and in a fine flat country, covered with large ivi-trees, a kind of chestnut ; the houses being built among them, — which makes the place beautifully shady and cool. We did not remain here very long. I gave a short account of the lotu to a number of people in my friend's house. All was new to them, but they seemed pleased as far as they understood what I said to them. They were de- lighted beyond everything with my umbrella, as they had not seen one before : they ran after me in crowds as I passed along, to gaze upon the wonderful thing. " We returned to the village, where the people were cooking our dinner ; and we found it ready prepared, and had a good appetite to welcome it. After our repast, and a short conversation about religion, we set off back again to the biche-de-mar house, where I had another opportunity of conversing with a people who are the most ignorant of any I have met with, but who are very willing to learn. We returned to the schooner before dark, where I found a patient, whom I had taken on board a day or two before, much worse. She was a New Zealander, the wife of a Mr. Phillips, owner of a schooner called the ' Neptune.' We had spoken with the schooner three days before, and had taken the