Among the Cannibals of Santa Cruz 
In the year 1856, John Coleridge Patteson left New Zea- 
land in the missionary schooner, “Southern Cross,’ on a 
voyage among the islands of the western Pacific. On board 
the schooner was also the celebrated Bishop Selwyn, the 
founder of the Melanesian Mission, and missionary of long 
experience to the Melanesian races. The purpose of the 
voyage was to consider how the work of the mission might 
be extended, and, incidentally, to introduce Mr. Patteson to 
the unchristianized savages who then peopled every part of 
the territory of the mission. The island of Mota in the 
Banks group (lying north of the New Hebrides), was nom- 
inally the place of the mission headquarters, but in the later 
developments of the work, Norfolk Island, where the educa- 
tion and training of native workers was centered, became 
the chief base of operations. 
Although Mr. Patteson had been connected with the mis- 
sion at its college in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, for 
more than a year before this eventful voyage was under- 
taken, it can be truthfully said that his life of wonderful 
service for the natives of the Melanesian groups really be- 
gan with this voyage. From that time it was evident to all 
with whom he had to do, that his heart was so entirely in 
the work which he believed God had given him to perform, 
that he seemed to have forgotten all about his own needs and 
comforts, and to count no personal risk too great, no hard- 
ship too severe, to be accepted and endured if it but provided 
opportunity to make known to the dark-hearted people all 
about him the unsearchable riches of Christ. Called from an 
English home of unusual attractiveness and comfort, learned, 
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