144 ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH SEAS 
where Williams and Harris were murdered about five years 
before. We had reserved four teachers, in the hope of be- 
ing able to reoccupy that island; the door, however, seemed 
closed, and though our brave teachers volunteered to remain, 
notwithstanding unpromising appearances, we could not take 
the responsibility of leaving them. It would have been very 
grievous, both to them and to us, to take them back to 
Samoa; but what were we to do? We were at our wit’s 
end, and were anxiously pondering as to what course we 
should adopt, and looking to God for guidance, when light 
arose in the darkness from about the last quarter to which 
we should have thought of looking. 
“A small vessel engaged in the sandalwood trade lay at 
anchor alongside of us, and from that most unlikely quarter 
a call came to us which we could not but regard as the voice 
of Providence. The captain of the said vessel came on board 
the ‘John Williams,’ and informed us. that he had just been 
to Vaté, and that he found there the remnant of a large 
party of Tongans (Friendly Islanders) and Samoans, who 
many years before (probably about twenty) had lost their 
way at sea, and had made Tonga, an island of the New 
Hebrides group. There they landed, fought with the na- 
tives, and took possession of two settlements, and remained 
about two years, when they left to try again to find their way 
back to Tonga [Friendly Islands]. They were unsuccess- 
ful in their search, and instead of finding Tonga [Friendly 
Islands], they made Vaté, which lies about forty. miles to 
the south of Tonga [New Hebrides], and landed and took 
up their abode at that part of the island where we found 
them. 
“Out of a party of about fifty only a few individuals re- 
mained at the time of our visit, but among these was a man 
named Sualo, a Samoan, who had acquired great influence. 
He was a daring, energetic fellow; he had as one of his 
wives the daughter of the chief of the district in which he 
lived, and he had made himself famous and formidable by 
