16 The Work. e 
desisted ; but the woman threatened that if they didn’t kill her 
she would run to the bush and kill herself. Waihit stationed 
himself at the door, and began to talk kindly to her. It was 
a talk against time; for the thought of the people is that if 
the wife does not get into the other world nearly as soon 
as her husband she will never be able to overtake him; 
and so half-an-hour’s talking put this woman beyond danger. 
Another bloodless battle was fought in 1850. The Natmases 
were becoming very wrathful at the slights and neglects which 
the christianly-disposed natives were putting upon them; and 
so, one Sabbath evening, a messenger arrived to inform Mr. 
Geddie that the mission station was to be attacked next day. He 
immediately went to Nohoat, the hostile chief, to ascertain the 
cause. He was told to give himself no concern—he would be 
saved, but some of his people must die. Mr. Geddie told him that 
all the Christian party were onE, and that if he lifted a weapon 
against any of them he would remove to another island. No- 
hoat, on whose territory Mr. Geddie resided, felt that this 
would be a great loss to him, and agreed, after much talk, to 
change the combat from a war of blows to a war of words. 
“Then leave your weapons behind.” “Our spears we will 
leave, but not our clubs.” The chief gave him his hand, how- 
ever, that he would not fight. On returning to his own people 
Mr. Geddie was delighted to find that they had resolved not to - 
fight—rather to die. Next day the battle came off: during 
two hours Nohoat beat the air with a vehement harangue, be- 
wailing the decay of the ancient religion, and accusing the 
white man’s God of invading their hereditary rights. The 
other side kept silence, or uttered only a few soft words. And 
so when Nohoat had exhausted his power of speech, the war of . 
words came to a sudden end. And thus the reign of Peace 
was consolidated. , 
In 1851 the missionary gained another triumph. A christian 
