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Samoa Under the Sailing Gods

II

II

On October 17, 1832, the Messenger of Peace was again approaching Samoa. On this voyage John Williams determined to touch at every island in the group, taking them from east to west in rotation. Everywhere he met with amazingly good receptions, natives introducing themselves as "sons of the Word," and demanding that missionaries be given them. This included even Massacre Cove, where M. de Langle and eleven companions had been slain—forty-five years before.

On the day after leaving Tutuila the Messenger of Peace was off Upolu, when natives from various parts of the island approached her in canoes, saying as usual that they were "sons of the Word," and that they were waiting for the "religion-ship" of Mr. Williams to bring them missionaries.

"In one of these we perceived two Englishmen. Upon being admitted on board, and learning who I was, thinking that it page 37would afford me pleasure they began to describe their exploits in turning people religion, as they termed it. Wishing to obtain all the information I could from these men, I inquired the number of their converts, which they stated to be between two and three hundred; and, having asked how they effected their object, one of them said, 'Why, sir, I goes about and talks to the people, and tells 'em that our God is good, and theirs is bad; and, when they listens to me, I makes 'em religion, and baptizes 'em.' 'Sure,' I exclaimed, 'you baptize them, do you? How do you perform that?' 'Why, sir,' he answered, 'I takes water, and dips my hands in it, and crosses them in their foreheads and in their breasts, and then I reads a bit of a prayer to 'em in English.' 'Of course,' I said, 'they understand you.' 'No,' he rejoined, 'but they says they knows it does 'em good.'

"In addition to this, I found that these two individuals had pretended to heal the sick by reading a 'bit of a prayer' over them, for which they extorted property from the people, I remonstrated with them upon the fearful wickedness of their conduct, and they promised that they would not again pursue such a course. This is only a specimen of many similar interviews which we had with persons of the same class, and shows the great importance of Christian exertion on behalf of British seamen."