Shortly after this I was called to see a young woman who had been under medical treatment by the Protestant ministers for four months. Her name was Maui. She had been reduced to a mere skeleton, and was unable to stand alone. When I came, she said she had heard of the doctrine that I had preached to the people, and knew it was true, "for," said she, "it is all in the Bible." She was the foremost scholar of the district, and was highly respected by the ministers as well as by the whole people. When it became known that I had been called to see her, it aroused an excitement, and many people came together, insomuch that the house could not hold them all. As I talked with her on the first principles of the Gospel, she would say, "Yes, that is so, for it is in the Bible;" and she said, "I am willing to be baptized now, for I know that what you tell me is the truth." I asked the consent of her parents and of her young husband, who readily acceded to her desire. Then I told them that if they would take her to a suitable place by the creek, I would meet them there and attend to the baptizing. Accordingly, they carried her to the creek, some ten or twelve rods away, where I met them, prepared for the work. There were probably one hundred people assembled. After singing and prayer, I went into the water and the friends of the young woman helped her to me, I having to aid in holding her on her feet while I said the baptismal ceremony. When she came up out of the water she thanked God, saying, "I am healed of the Lord," and walked out of the water and home without assistance, although her friends offered aid. This excited the people so much that some of the young woman's particular friends prepared to come into the water of baptism, but the older ones prevailed on them to wait a while, saying maybe they would all go together.
When I had changed my clothing and had gone to where the new convert was, I found her sitting on the bed and praising God, bearing her testimony that she was healed of the Lord, and that we had the true Gospel. The baptism of this young woman was the first that I had administered, she being my first convert. The house where we had assembled was crowded to overflowing, and when I had confirmed her I returned to my stopping place, the people following me. There must have been at least three hundred of them. Several brought bedding and camped under the trees around the house, while others were preparing a feast for the occasion, in which they roasted eleven big hogs, and gathered fish, fruit and vegetables for the roast.
This was too much for the Protestant ministers, for, as I was sitting at a table expounding the scriptures to the people, in came a lusty Frenchman in citizen's clothes. He took a seat among the people for a short time, then slipped away and donned his police uniform, with belt, sword and pistol; then, with a comrade similarly attired, he reappeared at the door and asked me if I had a permit from the governor. I told him I had one at home, but not with me. At that he, in a rather rough tone of voice, bade me follow them. Without hesitation I did so, and about a hundred of the people came after us to the mission station, where I was ushered into the presence of Messrs. Chisholm, Howe and Davis. All of them were what were called English or Protestant missionaries. Mr. Howe acted as chief spokesman or prosecutor, while Mr. Chisholm filled the role of justice, Mr. Davis appearing to be his assistant. Thus arrayed, they told me that I had been arrested and brought before them because I had raised a very unusual excitement among the people, and I could not produce a permit from the government as a resident on the island. They said I was capable of making much disturbance among the people, and the decision they had come to was that if I would not agree to leave the place by 8 a.m. next day I would be locked up in a dungeon until I did agree to leave.
Of course I consented to depart at the appointed time, thinking I could get my permit and return in a few days. Then they told me I was at liberty, but they did not release me until they had scored me unmercifully with their tongues for belonging to such a set of impostors as "Old Joe Smith and the Mormons" were. Said Mr. Chisholm, "You are a fine young man, capable of doing much good if you had not been deceived by that impostor, Old Joe Smith." They told me to cease my preaching and deceiving the people, and that I had better go home. At that I pocketed their insults and left them. Many of the people followed me to my stopping place, some of them shouting triumphantly for the young Mormon missionary, and calling shame on the English ministers.
A house full of people had assembled, and we sat up till a late hour that night talking on the principles of the Gospel. Early next morning our boat was filled with the family and provisions, and we sailed at 8 o'clock. I put on a fisherman's suit and took the helm, facing outward from the shore. I did not have any particular object in view at the time in doing this, yet it seemed to serve a purpose, for we had sailed but a few miles when we saw two mounted gen d' armes come out of the woods to the sandy beach, where they stopped and watched our boat till they seemed satisfied there was no missionary on board, and passed on. Then it occurred to us that if I had not been in the unintentional disguise they would have stopped our boat and arrested me, for they were well armed, and could have reached us easily with their firearms. As we afterwards learned, they passed on to where we had come from and made a thorough search for me, going through houses, turning up the beds, and scouring the coffee groves and every place the supposed Mormon missionary could have hidden. Then they and the Protestant missionaries called a meeting of the people and thoroughly warned them against the Mormons, and especially against young Iatobo (James), as they called me. At this mass meeting Mr. Baff, one of the oldest of the English missionaries, appeared with the others I have mentioned.
There was another incident that seemed to be very providential, though disagreeable at the time. The wind died away to a perfect calm, and when we came to an opening in the outlying coral reef, we thought that by going out through the opening we might catch a breeze, and could hoist the sail and make better headway; so we steered for the open sea. There we found that we had to row all day before we could get back within the reef. Thus we were carried so far from the land that passers-by could not discern who we were, and we were kept from the gen d' armes till sundown. Then we landed away from the thoroughfare, in heavy timber. In that way we escaped our enemies, for next morning we were off and out in the open sea soon after sunrise. We rowed all day and till 11 o'clock p.m., then landed in an obscure place, and were up and off again by sunrise, putting out to sea and keeping there till we reached the western passage to the harbor of Papeete. There we went ashore near a large American tile establishment's wholesale and retail department. Just in front of this lay a large American warship. The water was very deep, so that the vessel was moored to the shore, the gangway resting upon the street, where a great many people had gathered.
As soon as we landed I stepped into the retail department referred to, on some little errand. In a couple of minutes or so I was confronted by the Rev. Mr. Howe, who has been mentioned before. He was a fine-looking English gentleman of thirty-five or forty years of age. He came up and shook hands with me, saying, "Mr. Brown, are you aware that the gen d' armes are in search of you? You must have been in hiding somewhere. They have searched Papara for you, and now are searching this town, and there is great excitement over your actions. You had better be cautious what you are about." I could not understand at first what he meant, so I asked him what I had done to create such a great excitement as to have the police hunting for me. I said I had not been in hiding at all, had not thought of such a thing. He replied, "Why, sir, you have gone and plunged a young lady head and ears into the cold water, and we have had her under medical treatment for four months, and expected her to die. Now you have endangered her life by plunging her into cold water. She is one of the most talented and smartest women of this island. We have taken great pains to educate her, and she is widely known and respected by everyone who knows her."
"Well," said I, "what harm have I done? She was healed of her sickness, as she and her mother testified to me before I left, and every person who was present can bear witness of the same."
"Ah, well," said he, "you have such a fierce countenance and expressive voice as to excite a person under the most excruciating pain until they would not realize they had any suffering at all. She may relapse and die, then you will have grave responsibilities to meet for your unwarranted act." He continued talking, turning to intimidation and abusive language until he said it was a great pity that one of my natural endowments lacked in educational attainments, for if I had been taught in Greek or Latin I would have understood that baptism was baptiso in Latin, and meant merely the application of water, and not to plunge people head and ears in the shameful and ridiculous manner that he said I had done.
By this time we were talking so very loud as to attract the attention of all around. Finally Mr. Howe said, "Do you teach the people that baptism is essential to the salvation of man or the soul?" I told him I did. "Then," said he, "you teach a lie, and I will follow you up and tell the people that you are a liar and teach false doctrine." As my calling as a missionary would not admit of a violent retaliation, I merely said to him that in my country that would be very ungentlemanly language for one minister to use towards another, but I supposed it was some of the Greek and Latin that he had been learned in. Then I turned away from him.