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The Story of John G. Paton: Chapter 71 - "Knock The Tevil Out!"


      ONE of the last attempts ever made on my life resulted, by God's blessing, in great good to us all and to the work of the Lord. It was when Nourai, one of Nasi's men, struck at me again and again with the barrel of his musket; but I evaded the blows, till rescued by the women--the men looking on stupefied. After he escaped into the bush I assembled our people, and said, "If you do not now try to stop this bad conduct, I shall leave Aniwa, and go to some island where my life will be protected."

      Next morning at daybreak, about one hundred men arrived at my house, and in answer to my query why they came armed they replied, "We are now going to that village where the men of wicked conduct are gathered together. We will find out why they sought your life, and we will rebuke their Sacred Man for pretending to cause hurricanes and diseases. We cannot go unarmed. We will not suffer you to go alone. We are your friends and the friends of the Worship. And we are resolved to stand by you, and you must go at our head to-day!"

      In great perplexity, yet believing that my presence might prevent bloodshed, I allowed myself to be placed at their head. The old Chief followed next, then a number of fiery young men; then all the rest, single file, along the narrow path. At a sudden turn, as we neared their village, Nourai, who had attacked me the Sabbath day before, and his brother were seen lurking with their muskets; but our young men made a rush in front, and they disappeared into the bush.

      We took possession of the Village Public Ground; and the Chief, the Sacred Man, and others soon assembled. A most characteristic Native Palaver followed. Speeches, endless speeches, were fired by them at each other. My friends declared, in every conceivable form of language and of graphic illustration, that they were resolved at any cost to defend me and the Worship of Jehovah, and that they would as one man punish every attempt to injure me or take my life. The orator, Taia, exclaimed, "You think that Missi is here alone, and that you can do with him as you please! No! We are now all Missi's men. We will fight for him and his rather than see him injured. Every one that attacks him attacks us. That is finished to-day!"

      In the general scolding, the Sacred Man had special attention for pretending to cause hurricanes. One pointed out that he had himself a stiff knee, and argued, "If he can make a hurricane, why can't he restore the joint of his own knee? It is surely easier to do the one than the other!"

      The Natives laughed heartily, and taunted him. Meantime he sat looking down to the earth in sullen silence; and a ludicrous episode ensued. His wife, a big, strong woman, scolded him roundly for the trouble he had brought them all into; and then, getting indignant as well as angry, she seized a huge cocoanut leaf out of the bush, and with the butt end thereof began thrashing his shoulders vigorously as she poured out the vials of her wrath in torrents of words, always winding up with the cry, "I'll knock the Tevil out of him! He'll not try hurricanes again!"

      The woman was a Malay, as all the Aniwans were. Had a Papuan woman on Tanna or Erromanga dared such a thing, she would have been killed on the spot. But even on Aniwa, the unwonted spectacle of a wife beating her husband created uproarious amusement. At length I remonstrated, saying, "You had better stop now! You don't want to kill him, do you? You seem to have knocked 'the Tevil' pretty well out of him now! You see how he receives it all in silence, and repents of all his bad talk and bad conduct."

      They exacted from him a solemn promise as to the making of no more diseases or hurricanes, and that he would live at peace with his neighbors. The offending villagers at length presented a large quantity of sugar-cane and food to us as a peace-offering; and we returned, praising God that the whole day's scolding had ended in talk, not blood. The result was every way most helpful. Our friends knew their strength and took courage. Our enemies were disheartened and afraid. We saw the balance growing heavier every day on the side of Jesus; and our souls blessed the Lord.

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See Also:
   Preface
   Chapter 1 - Our Cottage Home
   Chapter 2 - Our Forebears
   Chapter 3 - Consecrated Parents
   Chapter 4 - School Days
   Chapter 5 - Leaving the Old Home
   Chapter 6 - Early Struggles
   Chapter 7 - A City Missionary
   Chapter 8 - Glasgow Experiences
   Chapter 9 - A Foreign Missionary
   Chapter 10 - To the New Hebrides
   Chapter 11 - First Impressions of Heathendom
   Chapter 12 - Breaking Ground on Tanna
   Chapter 13 - Pioneers in the New Hebrides
   Chapter 14 - The Great Bereavement
   Chapter 15 - At Home With Cannibals
   Chapter 16 - Superstitions and Cruelties
   Chapter 17 - Streaks of Dawn Amidst Deeds of Darkness
   Chapter 18 - The Visit Of H. M. S. "Cordelia"
   Chapter 19 - "Noble Old Abraham"
   Chapter 20 - A Typical South Sea Trader
   Chapter 21 - Under Ax And Musket
   Chapter 22 - A Native Saint and Martyr
   Chapter 23 - Building and Printing for God
   Chapter 24 - Heathen Dance and Sham Fight
   Chapter 25 - Cannibals at Work
   Chapter 26 - The Defying of Nahak
   Chapter 27 - A Perilous Pilgrimage
   Chapter 28 - The Plague of Measles
   Chapter 29 - Attacked with Clubs
   Chapter 30 - Kowia
   Chapter 31 - Martyrdom of the Gordons
   Chapter 32 - Shadows Deepening on Tanna
   Chapter 33 - The Visit of the Commodore
   Chapter 34 - The War Chiefs in Council
   Chapter 35 - Under Knife and Tomahawk
   Chapter 36 - The Beginning of the End
   Chapter 37 - Five Hours in a Canoe
   Chapter 38 - A Race for Life
   Chapter 39 - Faint Yet Pursuing
   Chapter 40 - Waiting at Kwamera
   Chapter 41 - The Last Awful Night
   Chapter 42 - "Sail O! Sail O!"
   Chapter 43 - Farewell to Tanna
   Chapter 44 - The Floating of the "Dayspring"
   Chapter 45 - A Shipping Company for Jesus
   Chapter 46 - Australian Incidents
   Chapter 47 - Amongst Squatters and Diggers
   Chapter 48 - John Gilpin in the Bush
   Chapter 49 - The Aborigines of Australia
   Chapter 50 - Nora
   Chapter 51 - Back to Scotland
   Chapter 52 - Tour Through the Old Country
   Chapter 53 - Marriage and Farewell
   Chapter 54 - First Peep at the "Dayspring"
   Chapter 55 - The French in the Pacific
   Chapter 56 - The Gospel and Gunpowder
   Chapter 57 - A Plea for Tanna
   Chapter 58 - Our New Home on Aniwa
   Chapter 59 - House-Building for God
   Chapter 60 - A City of God
   Chapter 61 - The Religion of Revenge
   Chapter 62 - First Fruits on Aniwa
   Chapter 63 - Traditions and Customs
   Chapter 64 - Nelwang's Elopement
   Chapter 65 - The Christ-Spirit at Work
   Chapter 66 - The Sinking of the Well
   Chapter 67 - Rain from Below
   Chapter 68 - The Old Chief's Sermon
   Chapter 69 - The First Book and the New Eyes
   Chapter 70 - A Roof-Tree for Jesus
   Chapter 71 - "Knock The Tevil Out!"
   Chapter 72 - The Conversion of Youwili
   Chapter 73 - First Communion on Aniwa
   Chapter 74 - The New Social Order
   Chapter 75 - The Orphans and Their Biscuits
   Chapter 76 - The Finger-Posts of God
   Chapter 77 - The Gospel in Living Capitals
   Chapter 78 - The Death Of Namakei
   Chapter 79 - Christianity and Cocoanuts
   Chapter 80 - Nerwa's Beautiful Farewell
   Chapter 81 - Ruwawa
   Chapter 82 - Litsi Sore and Mungaw
   Chapter 83 - The Conversion of Nasi
   Chapter 84 - The Appeal of Lamu
   Chapter 85 - Wanted! A Steam Auxiliary
   Chapter 86 - My Campaign in Ireland
   Chapter 87 - Scotland's Free-Will Offerings
   Chapter 88 - England's Open Book
   Chapter 89 - Farewell Scenes
   Chapter 90 - Welcome to Victoria and Aniwa
   Chapter 91 - Good News From Tanna, 1891

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