HUNTED BY JAPS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 1, 2 January 1943, Page 8

HUNTED BY JAPS

MISSIONARY NURSES

( REFUGE IN JUNGLE

' To nave lived in the dense, tropical heart of the Solomon Islands jungle for five months, hunted by the Japs, Has been the experience of two misiSnary^nursesjho arrived [ reeerAly ..« A.if»ir*lnT.d They are Miss J*.. J-ieia, 3-SS£-fe^*M-£, M Woods who comes from London, who were SSng the last whtte women i*► leave. When the Japs raided $ c Mela^esian Mission Hospital at these women with others of the mission, SS to the bush, and were forced ?n>?main there for five months, be;?ame SeSy had an outpost only 25 miles away, at.Cape Astrolabe. * In an interview the sisters told of •xcitinir. primitive experiences that SS: of terror by ful loyalty and kindness of the natives who sheltered them. WARNED BY NATIVES. When Japan entered the war. Miss tield Sid Miss Woods were stationed on the^land of Ugi, but because of it*«nall size they removed to Malaita, Jo tS hoSitel on the coast. One morntog^nS^bout 80 Japanese arrived S a Mhooner. The native orderlies Sd workboys close to the hospital ran to warn Dr. J.. D. ■ Thomson .(formerly of SfScargill) and his assistant, Mr. g Muffettf gof Norfolk^land^Others went to an inland village about four miles away, where Miss Field, Miss Woods, S^Miss Stead, from EngSSdrwere living.. At daybreak three of the bolder natives went_ down to Se beach to see the Japs. The spokesSan was Charlie, a big, brawny, cheerfulnative, who ran the electric light Aeratorv Speaking in pidgin English gSmy asked^questions^bout the White neonle. Charlie lied brigntiy SaftheSers had gone^toJWew^aland or Australia a long time beiore, bS^rS fo?ced to admit that the.white people were still on the island, but, he laid, were ailqng way back m the bush. ?'•'■•'•'. -, ■. ' ' THE EYES OF A JAPANESE. "*. Asked'whether it was not strange for the natives: to go to meet the Japanese, the missionaries said, Yes. we wer^vSy cross with them. But they wire IS curious. Charlie said.afterwards Sat he 'wanted to look in the ev«^of a Japanese.' ' But, he added, I leVer want to again. They were awful, ?sS.^After that he went about wsirning the natives about the Japan--On the retiitn of two natives, Peter andlfcomas, from a deUberately Juccessftil search for the nurses, CharHe Sested that he should go and find them. Surprisingly, enough, the Japanese agreed. Charlie warned the nurses of their perE, by carriers, they set off into the jungle. It was a terrible journey. Fortunately, both the nurses were familiar with fee country, and acclimatised, Miss Field having been in the Solomons for 10 years and Miss Woods 8* years. "Shoes were our difficulty," Miss Woods said. "The going was so hard that Miss Field decided to wear a pair of men's shoes, size B—and naturally miles too big—and I had a pair of slippery sand-shoes." "....-. ADOPTED BY WIDOWS. • With Dr. Thomson and Mr. Buffett, they camped in the jungle, among native villages. They had a ■ bamboo house. They were quite well off for food, although they ran out of flour in May and meat in July, but they had kumeras, also a swamp . vegetable, plenty of tea,, sugar, milk, and jam, and fruit. At one time they were adopted by three native widows, who looked after them and cooked all their ■ lood. ■-'■•.*■ ■'■■.' '■ Tha nurses painted a dreary picture of a bamboo grove in which they jived lor seven weeks. It rained; all flie*time. Every now and again they had to lift up the floor and clean out dead frogs that accumulated under it. sil their clothes became mildewed. The malarial mosquitoes were bad and Sfiis Field had a bout of the fever. The nurses were not idle. Natives •Same to them for injections, and Dr. Thomson spent his time travelling about, opening up dispensaries. While in the jungle they had the thrill of witnessing the first American bomber go over, after seeing only Japanese planes. They also heard the Coral Sea battle, and were often withih the sound of the guns.