https://mariststudies.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Girard0471Girard0471 - Revision history2026-05-04T18:28:09ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.1https://mariststudies.org/w/index.php?title=Girard0471&diff=5254&oldid=prevMerv at 08:33, 23 May 20132013-05-23T08:33:32Z<p></p>
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<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;">Revision as of 20:33, 23 May 2013</td>
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<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[12]: On 1 December we arrived at the farthest point of our mission. Bishop Epalle immediately claimed possession in the name of the most Blessed Virgin as he tossed over a few medals of the Immaculate Conception and said a few prayers. We would have preferred to give this action some solemnity but the presence of a totally Protestant crew stopped us arranging a ceremony they wouldn’t have understood and which might have been the occasion of blasphemy on their part; it all passed off without fuss or noise. On the second, we dropped anchor at San Cristobal on the southeast coast and the Bishop went ashore to see if it might be possible to set up a mission station at least later on, because for the moment his single goal - was to establish in a central area from which he could extend and there he was at one of the farthest points of his vicariate. How surprised we were, my dear Henri, when we saw at close range the natives of the Solomon Islands who had been described to us as wild animals, unable to be tamed and whom the captain of our ship feared to the extent that he had had some boarding nets prepared, a huge shelf of ropes rising several feet above the bow of the ship forming a sort of wall, and for several days the crew had been busy moulding bullets, preparing cartridges and sharpening cutlasses! The natives looked quite friendly. They flocked to us bringing yams, taros, coconuts and they seemed quite happy with the iron, glass beads and bottles we gave them in exchange. They even showed fairness and generosity to the extent that we felt almost angry with those who seemed to insist on maligning them. Nevertheless for a number of reasons we had to leave them but we didn’t then know God’s plans for these people.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[12]: On 1 December we arrived at the farthest point of our mission. Bishop Epalle immediately claimed possession in the name of the most Blessed Virgin as he tossed over a few medals of the Immaculate Conception and said a few prayers. We would have preferred to give this action some solemnity but the presence of a totally Protestant crew stopped us arranging a ceremony they wouldn’t have understood and which might have been the occasion of blasphemy on their part; it all passed off without fuss or noise. On the second, we dropped anchor at San Cristobal on the southeast coast and the Bishop went ashore to see if it might be possible to set up a mission station at least later on, because for the moment his single goal - was to establish in a central area from which he could extend and there he was at one of the farthest points of his vicariate. How surprised we were, my dear Henri, when we saw at close range the natives of the Solomon Islands who had been described to us as wild animals, unable to be tamed and whom the captain of our ship feared to the extent that he had had some boarding nets prepared, a huge shelf of ropes rising several feet above the bow of the ship forming a sort of wall, and for several days the crew had been busy moulding bullets, preparing cartridges and sharpening cutlasses! The natives looked quite friendly. They flocked to us bringing yams, taros, coconuts and they seemed quite happy with the iron, glass beads and bottles we gave them in exchange. They even showed fairness and generosity to the extent that we felt almost angry with those who seemed to insist on maligning them. Nevertheless for a number of reasons we had to leave them but we didn’t then know God’s plans for these people.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[13]: We made our way towards Isabelle, hugging the southeast coast of Guadacanal. On the 12th we arrived and at once were surrounded by dugouts with rowers who seemed to us more lively and noisier than at San Cristobal. However the gestures of friendship and the commercial proposals they put to us made us feel optimistic about them. We anchored about midday; at 4 o’clock, the Bishop was already visiting our friends; but showing us a place about two leagues away, they went on to say that bad fellows lived there who would kill us if we went to where they live. At least, that’s what we understood. We told this to the Bishop who thought that the word ''matemate'' they had used possibly meant a sickness caused by fever and was the sign of an unhealthy area or else that the natives were only talking like this because of hostile feelings. The visiting continued. On the evening of the 14th, we made other comments to the Bishop. We had seen bracelets, necklaces, belts made of human teeth and they’d told us enough to ensure we no longer doubted that the natives were cannibals. But what’s more, since no one showed any reluctance about remaining there, it was decided to see anyway if we might find a place for a base. On the 15th, the Bishop returned late, wet to the bone and overcome by exhaustion.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[13]: We made our way towards Isabelle, hugging the southeast coast of Guadacanal. On the 12th we arrived and at once were surrounded by dugouts with rowers who seemed to us more lively and noisier than at San Cristobal. However the gestures of friendship and the commercial proposals they put to us made us feel optimistic about them. We anchored about midday; at 4 o’clock, the Bishop was already visiting our friends; but showing us a place about two leagues away, they went on to say that bad fellows lived there who would kill us if we went to where they live. At least, that’s what we understood. We told this to the Bishop who thought that the word ''matemate'' they had used possibly meant a sickness caused by fever and was the sign of an unhealthy area or else that the natives were only talking like this because of hostile feelings. The visiting continued. On the evening of the 14th, we made other comments to the Bishop. We had seen bracelets, necklaces, belts made of human teeth and they’d told us enough to ensure we no longer doubted that the natives were cannibals. But what’s more, since no one showed any reluctance about remaining there, it was decided to see anyway if we might find a place for a base. On the 15th, the Bishop returned late, wet to the bone and overcome by exhaustion.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="−"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[14]: On the 16th, having got up later than usual, he made his meditation which he preferred should come before his office and went off. He had two noteworthy sayings at the time: If I listened only to nature, I will let myself off fatigue duty today.....and I’ll come back early. He surely wasn’t wrong; at 11 o’clock, he was brought back to us covered in his own blood, with five axe blows to the head, two spear thrusts and bruised all over. Four days later, we were burying his mortal remains in an isolated corner of an uninhabited island, and were trembling too at the possible loss of our Father provincial, <del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"> (4)</del><ref></ref> who had been hit as well in this attack with two club strikes. The tribe which had been described as ill-disposed was responsible for it all. After surrounding the group on the foray, they had suddenly attacked them and it was only with some difficulty that Reverend Father Chaurain had been able to recover the body of his bishop. The ship’s second officer had also been wounded. You can understand, my dear Henri, what a blow the death of the Bishop was for us. We were young soldiers, going into battle for the first time and our captain fell on the field of honour. If God hadn’t supported us, we would have lost all courage. But Mary came to our aid and what now surprises me is the calmness which prevailed in our decisions despite our sadness. It was then that I well understood the power of the state of grace. </div></td><td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[14]: On the 16th, having got up later than usual, he made his meditation which he preferred should come before his office and went off. He had two noteworthy sayings at the time: If I listened only to nature, I will let myself off fatigue duty today.....and I’ll come back early. He surely wasn’t wrong; at 11 o’clock, he was brought back to us covered in his own blood, with five axe blows to the head, two spear thrusts and bruised all over. Four days later, we were burying his mortal remains in an isolated corner of an uninhabited island, and were trembling too at the possible loss of our Father provincial,<ref><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Jean-Pierre Frémont (cf. [[Girard0451|doc. 451]], § 23; [[Girard0469|469]], § 5; also [[Girard0448|doc. 448]], § 12).</ins></ref> who had been hit as well in this attack with two club strikes. The tribe which had been described as ill-disposed was responsible for it all. After surrounding the group on the foray, they had suddenly attacked them and it was only with some difficulty that Reverend Father Chaurain had been able to recover the body of his bishop. The ship’s second officer had also been wounded. You can understand, my dear Henri, what a blow the death of the Bishop was for us. We were young soldiers, going into battle for the first time and our captain fell on the field of honour. If God hadn’t supported us, we would have lost all courage. But Mary came to our aid and what now surprises me is the calmness which prevailed in our decisions despite our sadness. It was then that I well understood the power of the state of grace. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[15]: We continued our visits as if nothing had happened; but looking back carefully on it all, we thought it was too dangerous to take upon ourselves the responsibility of exposing a whole mission establishment to the risks. (Dangers which will disappear quite soon when as a result of contact arranged with the natives of the various islands, they’ll learn what we’re about and when we can speak a little of their language.) We also recalled that our Divine Saviour had told his apostles to flee from persecution and we picked up once more the San Cristobal route, this time following along the northwest coast of Guadacanal.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[15]: We continued our visits as if nothing had happened; but looking back carefully on it all, we thought it was too dangerous to take upon ourselves the responsibility of exposing a whole mission establishment to the risks. (Dangers which will disappear quite soon when as a result of contact arranged with the natives of the various islands, they’ll learn what we’re about and when we can speak a little of their language.) We also recalled that our Divine Saviour had told his apostles to flee from persecution and we picked up once more the San Cristobal route, this time following along the northwest coast of Guadacanal.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[16]: We arrived on the northwest coast on the 28th among a tribe in which there were three natives who, having been in Sydney, knew English and understood something of European ways. This was a great advantage for us; but God didn’t want us there. Besides the fact that there was little possibility of setting up a station there which could provide for 12 people, the anchorage was so bad that the captain refused to stay there. And so we left, but we took with us one of the natives who had been in Sydney.</div></td><td class="diff-marker"></td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>;[16]: We arrived on the northwest coast on the 28th among a tribe in which there were three natives who, having been in Sydney, knew English and understood something of European ways. This was a great advantage for us; but God didn’t want us there. Besides the fact that there was little possibility of setting up a station there which could provide for 12 people, the anchorage was so bad that the captain refused to stay there. And so we left, but we took with us one of the natives who had been in Sydney.</div></td></tr>
</table>Mervhttps://mariststudies.org/w/index.php?title=Girard0471&diff=5253&oldid=prevMerv: Created page with "==February 1846 - Father Xavier Montrouzier to his brother, Henri Montrouzier. SJ, San Cristobal== ''Translated by Natalie Keen, May 2013'' ''From the copy, APM OMM 208 Mo..."2013-05-23T08:26:20Z<p>Created page with "==February 1846 - Father Xavier Montrouzier to his brother, Henri Montrouzier. SJ, San Cristobal== ''Translated by Natalie Keen, May 2013'' ''From the copy, APM OMM 208 Mo..."</p>
<a href="https://mariststudies.org/w/index.php?title=Girard0471&diff=5253">Show changes</a>Merv