LUCKY ESCAPE FROM MASSACRE BY BUSH NATIVES ON ISLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18349, 29 December 1927, Page 9

LUCKY ESCAPE FROM MASSACRE BY BUSH NATIVES ON ISLAND.

TWO PASTORS SAVED BY CHANCE AT MALAITA. SYDNEY, December 4. If a new syringe had not unaccountably fallen to pieces, two. other white men—Pastor Anderson and Pastor Peacock—would, without doubt, have been involved in the sinarango massacre at Malaita. Pastor Anderson and Pastor Peacock are engaged in mission work for the Seventh Day Adventists, and Mr Anderson's station is at Ura Harbour, not far from Sinarango. In a letter sent to headquarters in Sydney, Mr Peacock -thus described what happened :—- “We arrived safely at our anchorage, and we were glad of the quietness that prevailed at Ura Harbour. The next morning we went to a place where Mr Bell, the Government D. 0., was anchored, as we desired to apply for a lease for s()me land afc Ura for mission purposes. We lodged our application, and then went back to the cutter to give some natives, who were suffering from yaws, injections cf neosalvarsan.

Saw Bush Natives. “ I had just given one of the men an injection, and was cleaning the syringe when it fell to pieces. I could not understand this, as it was only a new syringe, and as I was only cleaning it there was no pressure. For spme time. I could not understand it. When it fell to pieces, we concluded that there was nothing for us to stay for, so we pulled up anchor, and went to investigate a call, for a missionary that had come from some people on the opposite side of the bay.. “ As we were leaving, we noticed a lot of bush people coming in to the Government rest house to pay their taxes. This did not seem unusual, as I had seen such sights before, and did not take much notice as they filed up to the rest house. “ We anchored on the other side of the bay, and then walked for about an hour to the village from where the call had come. The people were pleased to see us. and were already starting to build the house for the missionary they were expecting. After staying with them for a while, we said good-bye, and began the return journey.

News of Massacre. We had heard in the meanwhile that the bush people had attacked the Government folk, but, as the bush is always full of rumours, we did not take much heed of the report. However; some of our boys met us'on the road, and told us that the two white men had been killed and many native police. “We pulled up to Mr Bonnard’s boat to hear the news, and found that he had on his boat one police hoy who was dying of wounds. The engine boy on the Government boat had been killed, so he had sent his own engine boy to help the bo’sun—the only one of the crew of the Government boat alive to bring the two white men and wounded police boys away. We do not know how many of the bush men were killed or wounded. The natives made oft to the mountains, taking the dead and wounded with them. Heads Shockingly Injured. “ The two white men were in a shocking condition. Mr Bell, the D. 0., had his head smashed in with the butt of a musket, and his assistant, Mr Lillie’s, head was nearly cut off. We then decided to bury the native people where they had fallen, and to take the Europeans to an island where some white people had been buried some years ago.

“ Mr Bonnard, the recruiter, offered to take the Government boat with the wounded to Tulagi, and inform the Government of the trouble. We then set sail for the place where we intended to bury the white men, and reached there after dark. “ After dressing the wounds of the wounded natives as be§t we could, we buried the two Europeans and one native who had died of wounds. The Government boat having put out to Tulagi, we returned home, reaching there about eleven o’clock at night. We thank God for His kind providence, for if the hypodermic syringe had not broken we might not be here to-day to tell the story.”