THE HURRICANE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9343, 12 April 1893, Page 3

THE HURRICANE IN THE NEW HEBRIDES.

The following letter giving particulars of the terrible destruction wrought by the recent hurricane in the New Hebrides has been received by a temporary resident in Napier, and as it will interest many of out readers we gladly give it insertion :— Dip Point, Amboym, New Hebrides, sth March, 1893. My dear friend,— Thank God I am here to day to tell the tale of the feaTinl hurricane that swept over ns last night, leaving ns and the whole island desolate. Oar houses are all swept away, the trees blown out of the ground, and all onr native food blown into the sea or laid ageless upon the ground at our feet. It is now a case of patting ourselves upon short allowance till we get aid, which I doubt not the Good Lord will send, yet we must be np and doing, for we have nothing to cover our heads with but the fragments of our wrecked buildings. Please ask the Christian friends to help as. We shall need £200 for a house to live in. We have also about 4000 people who will | be down upon us for food, and for these 1 we shall require rice for at least four or five months. This is only an outline of our situation, id wbich there is no exaggeration. Now I will relate more fully about tbia fearful gale. Saturday, 4th March, set in wet with a steadily increasing wind, but we followed our work in the wet, for our timber was suffering from exposure to the sun and water, and we had decided upon stacking it in a better position. All went well till the evening, when we wsre made aware that the sea was rising and onr boat in danger. I went down to look after her, when we found our neighbor coming to our aid with his men, for he had been down to his boat and had noticed onr boat in danger also. It was ] plain to os all that we were in for a Btiff gale, for far out we conld see two vessels doing all they could to reach Port "SnotaftlJi, which I trust they did, but as thfy passed usone^of ife»%-had_her,fi?re; sails carried away. "We had not as yet much of the storm, and onr gla3s did not indicate anything to alarm us, so we retired for the night about 7.30 o'clock, believing everything snag The storm, however, continued to increase in violence, and at 830 it was a perfect hurricane. But, still, as our barometer did not fall, we thought it would soon blow over, At half-past 9 1 bad to turn out, as the native boy* bad come up to tell me that the rain was coming in upon them. I should have mentioned that the rain was falling in clouds of water. I can only compare it to that. After I had had a walk round to see how things were^dunng which timber was flyiDg in all directions, I reported the state of affairs to Dr. Lamb, who had seen me pass when a vivid flash of lightning lit up the place. I returned again to my iron shed (for that is all it is). A thin partition divides my comer from Mr and Mrs M'Dowall'sroom, so we were able to exchange opinions upon the weather and cheer one another up a bit. It was impossible to sleep, as we feared every moment that our building would be blown over, which only too soon became a reality. Before midnight the roof was blown off, and we had to make a hasty retreat to the doctor's house, snatching up a few things as we went Besides the few things I had on I conld only manage to save roy desk. All the rest had to be left to the meroy of the wind and rain. With some difficulty we mansged to reach the doctor's cottage in safety. But it was very doubtful whether we wonld be safe even here, for his barometer was falling at an ularming rate. It was falling in jump?, and was for all the world like a vacuum gnage, rising and falling at every gust of wind. I conld Bee it moving up and down from where I stood at the other side of the room. The native boys were I terribly frightened— in fact I think we all were ; it was enough to frighten the ' stoutest heart— and they also sought refuge in the cottage. The gale still Increased, and was really awful and terrible in its velocity. Sheets of iron were blown find bent about like pieces of paper, and limbs of trees were falling thick and fast around ns, and beat against our remaining shelter like cannon balls, At midnight all bands were at work on the windward side ef the house endeavoring to keep the side trom breaking Jd. But it was no use, and after a hurried consultation we decided that It was not safe to remain any longer in the honse. But where weie we to go ? Only out into the raging storm, trusting to tbe Lord to shield and shelter ne. Every shelter we sought was blown down, so on we went throueh fallen and falling trees till we at last reached a native village about a quarter of a mile away, and without invitation entered the chief's house, where, we found him and bis wife and pig. The hut was not more than I2ft x 6ft, hut here we passed the night. Oh, such a night ! I trust I may never witness the like again. Like St. Paul of old we longed for the morning, bnt before that came a iull, and then the hurricane came from the other direction, having gathered fresh force, and what the firpt did not do the second fully accomplished. We had had the pTospect of a splendid crop next month of bread frnir, which is the food of the natives, but now I do not think there is a trace of it left standing on the island, and what is still worse 50 per cent of our cocoanut trees are levelled to the ground. Aa it takes from seven to eight years before a planted tree will bear fruit, you can pretty well under-, stand what the result of the damage done means, but more especially when I tell you that the cocoanut is the natives' principal food throughout the year. The yar"! " ro P' * on > WD i°h next month would be "" rujtare enough for digging up for use, DSB aleo b een completely destroyed. '££8 condition of the natives is truly pitiable, a£d the prospects before ns nnd them are em.*. l^* 1 t° damp the ardonr of tbe brightest am£iSßt us. But we have every faith in our all-wise Providence, who knows our condition, ?D^ WD -° will faring good out of this seeming ?vll. He will also send us belp from the Christian world when they hear of our calamity. He controlleth tbe hearts and generosity of His people, and will persuade them to give of their abundance. Wo look particularly for help from the Presbyterians of New Zealand, who sent us here. We have lost our dwellings through — well I must not blame the Church, that hag tbe cause at heart, bat really, if more means had been provided, a building to withstand the severe storms we experience here might have been erected in the first place. Dr. Lamb's house only measured 21ft by 12ft, divided into two rooms, and without furniture save two or three chairs of onr own make, and our house was only a shed. Now this ought not to be. If the mission [s to be a success its missionaries ought to be securely housed in s strong structure that will withstand the storms. Besides, our health mnet be.qonsidered. I have already had tbe fever twice, and we are more liable to take it if our dwelling house is poor, damp, and leaky. It was with joy that we sighted the little steamer Croydon this morning (7th Marcb). We had feared for ncr safety. We tried to hail her with signah? of distress, but evidently the sea was too rough for her to approach, for she passed on. We may, however, have comtnußication with her on her return. It is three days now since tbe storm, and still we are in a terrible plight, I can hardly describe it to you, Yet God has been kind to us in the past, and we will trust Him for the future. I hope some day to be able to tell yon of the great preservation He has extended to ns, for now that it is all over we can trace His almighty hand in it all, in helping us to get away from our falling building and sheltering ns from the falling trees on our way to the village. Now, dear friend, I muse conclave this haety letter, but In my concluding words let me again urge upon you to try and do eornetiijog. for us, if it Is only to circulate this story. The Lord will do the rest. By the time this reaches you we will be hard' np Indeed, so lose no time, I am bopiDg the provisions I ordered from yon in January are onboard the Croydon, We are now trying to build a covering for onr heads oat of the ruins of our late dwelling. I tend you some photographs of the latter wbich I have taken, [and whirt will gire yoa tome Mea of tbe dewts-

tatiOD wronjjhr. It looks more X\\a\ the nuns of a fin: than sxstoiin, bnl [ ci.mint write more now. I am iii «oo(l heulUi, and truat to remain so many days. The Lord is good, and my henit is bound up iv I Him.— l remain, yonrs He,, > 3. W, Mahspiei.d.