ON ANEITYUM 119 
“Second, the missionaries had taken coral from the reef 
to make lime for their buildings. The demons, who were 
supposed to have their abode somewhere near the mission 
premises, had smelled the burning coral, and were very an- 
gry at the natives for allowing it to be taken, and to punish 
them for their undutiful conduct, they had made the fish 
scarce. The missionaries told the natives who rules over 
the sea and the dry land, and is the sole Proprietor of all. 
They agreed, however, not to take any more coral, only 
begging to be allowed to burn a kiln which was already pre- 
pared, and without which they could not complete the work 
they had in hand. To this the natives agreed, and so the 
second charge was disposed of. 
“A third charge was that, whereas a small hill behind 
the mission premises was the residence of some important 
demon gods, and the path by which they were accustomed 
to pass from the mountain to the sea lay through a piece of 
ground on which a chapel was being built, yet the mission- 
aries were about to put a fence around the chapel, the path 
would be obstructed, and the natmases would be angry and 
punish the natives with sickness and death. 
“The missionaries again pleaded ignorance. The man 
from whom they purchased the land had not told them any- 
thing about the path of the natmases ; this the man admitted, 
and the matter was amicably arranged by the missionaries’ 
agreeing to leave the path open. Thus all the charges were 
satisfactorily disposed of, and a good understanding was 
again established between the missionaries and the natives.” 
Other things occurred during these early years, some of 
them ludicrously absurd, and others of a more grave char- 
acter; but we must pass them by, and come to the time when 
the truths of the gospel began to take hold upon the hearts 
of the people, and the struggle began in earnest, which ended 
in the downfall of paganism and the triumph of Christianity. 
Toward the close of 1849, Mr. and Mrs. Powell returned 
to Samoa, and Mr. and Mrs. Geddie were left with the 
