,,white ,,queen ,,of ,,the ,,cannibals ,the ,story of ,mary ,slessor of ,calabar by ,a4,j4 ,,bueltmann ,contents #a4 ,a ,drunkard's ,home #b4 ,a ,brave ,girl #c4 ,in ,africa #d4 ,on ,her ,own #e4 ,into the ,jungle #f4 ,a ,brave ,nurse #g4 ,witchcraft #h4 ,the ,poison ,test #i4 ,victories for ,mary #aj4 ,a ,disappointment #aa4 ,clouds and ,sunshine #ab4 ,among the ,cannibals #ac4 ,blessings ,unnumbered #ad4 ,journey's ,end #a ,a ,drunkard's ,home ,on the west coast of ,africa is the country of ,nigeria4 ,the chief city is ,calabar1 said ,mother ,slessor4 ,it is a dark country because the light of the ,gospel is not shining brightly there4 ,black people live there4 ,many of these are cannibals who eat other people4 ,they're bad people1 aren't they1 ,mother8 asked little ,susan4 ,yes1 they are bad1 because no one has told them about ,jesus1 the ,saviour from sin1 or showed them what is right and what is wrong4 ,don't they have any missionaries out there1 ,mother8 asked blue-eyed ,mary4 ,yes1 there are a few and they are doing wonderful things for ,jesus1 but there are still thousands and thousands of people who have never heard a missionary4 ,they need many1 many more missionaries4 ,when ,i get to be a big man1 ,i'm going to be a missionary1 said ,robert1 and preach to the black people of ,calabar and ,nigeria4 ,i want to be a missionary2 too1 cried ,mary1 tossing her red hair about4 ,girls can't be preachers1 said ,robert4 ,i want to preach to the black people1 said ,mary1 the tears racing down her cheeks4 ,when ,i'm a missionary1 said ,robert1 ,i'll take you into the pulpit with me4 ,this made ,mary happy and she was much happier when ,mother ,slessor said1 ,perhaps you can be a teacher and teach the little black children of ,calabar4 ,now1 children1 ,i want to be sure you know your memory verse for ,sunday school tomorrow4 ,let's all say it together4 ,and ,mother ,slessor and her six children joined in saying3 ,go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature4 ,as they finished reciting the memory verse they heard a hoarse voice singing3 ,gin a body-hic1 meet a body-hic1 ,coming-hic1 through the rye-hic4 ,it's your father1 children4 ,off to bed with you quickly now4 ,oh1 ,i do hope ,robert has brought some money home with him so that we can buy some food for tomorrow4 ,where'sh the shteps8 ,somebody alwaysh moving the shteps1 said the father1 ,robert ,slessor1 as he staggered drunkenly to the door4 ,mother ,slessor took hold of him and led him to a chair4 ,hello1 dear1 he said thickly4 ,howsh my1 besht gurl8 ,there ish no shoemaker's got a prettier wife-hic-than ,i have4 ,yesh shir1 we drank a li'l toash to you1 my dear4 ,oh1 ,robert1 said ,mother ,slessor to her husband1 ,i do hope you brought home some of your paycheck4 ,we need it badly for food4 ,we don't have any money in the house4 ,all the food we have is what ,i kept back from the children's supper so you could eat4 ,shure1 ,i brought money home1 said ,father ,slessor4 ,all ,i did wash buy my friendsh a few drinksh4 ,mother ,slessor's face brightened4 ,at least they would be able to buy food4 ,her husband reached his hand into one pocket and brought it out empty4 ,then into another pocket and again brought it out empty4 ,finally trying several other pockets1 he held out his hand with a small coin in it4 ,shee1 there ya' are1 ,i brought money home4 ,there'sh a thrippence for ye4 ,oh1 ,robert6 said ,mother ,slessor in dismay as the tears filled her eyes4 ,oh1 ,robert6 ,then because she was used to these things1 ,mother ,slessor heaved a sigh and said quietly1 ,come and eat supper1 ,robert4 ,the father staggered over to the table where ,mrs4 ,slessor had placed the plate of food which the children had saved out of their own small helpings1 that he might have something to eat4 ,who wants shupper8 said ,father ,slessor1 and he threw the precious food into the fire4 ,he staggered to his bed and fell into drunken sleep4 ,with a deep sigh ,mother ,slessor put out the light and she1 too1 retired for the night4 ,early the next morning she was up1 preparing breakfast4 ,carefully she scraped every bit of oatmeal out of the container and boiled it for breakfast4 ,come1 children1 it's time to get up4 ,sunday school this morning1 called ,mrs4 ,slessor4 ,up jumped the six little ,slessors4 ,the older ones helped the smaller ones get dressed4 ,when they had eaten the little oatmeal that ,mrs4 ,slessor had for breakfast1 they lined up for inspection4 ,john1 declared ,mrs4 ,slessor1 you did not wash behind your ears4 ,go with ,mary and let her scrub the dirt away4 ,now ,i'll put a bit of perfume on your hankies1 and here's a peppermint for each of you4 ,there1 off we go to ,sunday school and church4 ,father ,slessor snored in his drunken sleep1 while the family went off to hear ,god's ,word and to sing ,his praises4 ,when they returned1 ,father ,slessor was awake4 ,he was sitting on the side of the bed and holding his head4 ,he had morning after sickness4 ,come1 ,robert1 said ,mrs4 ,slessor1 and sit up to the table4 ,good ,elder ,mc,dougal has given us a bit of meat and some bread1 so we can eat this day4 ,father ,slessor groaned1 but sat up to the table and ate dinner with his family4 ,it wasn't much of a dinner4 ,it would have been even less were it not for the kindness and charity of friends1 because ,father ,slessor had spent all their money for drink4 ,after dinner the children did the dishes and ran out to play4 ,when they were alone1 ,father ,slessor hung his head and said1 ,oh1 my dear1 what can ,i say8 ,i am so ashamed4 ,i did so want to bring my wages home that we might have food for the children4 ,and well--before ,i knew it1 my wages were spent4 ,robert1 said ,mrs4 ,slessor1 you have said again and again that 'tis your friends who lead you astray4 ,would it not be well to move away to some other town where you can find new friends who will not drink and who will not tempt you to drink8 ,aye1 my dear1 that no doubt would be the best4 ,but where shall we go8 ,i have heard that there is plenty of work in ,dundee1 with the mills and all4 ,let's sell our things here and move to ,dundee4 ,aye1 let us do that4 ',tis certain it won't be worse than here for you and the children4 ,very well1 then4 ,i shall tell the children and we shall move before the week is out4 ,when ,mother ,slessor went outside to call the children1 she found ,mary seated on the steps with her stick dolls about her4 ,well1 ,mary dear1 what are you doing8 ,i am the teacher and these are the black children of ,calabar4 ,i am teaching them about ,jesus4 ,i am telling them that ,he saved them from their sins4 ,mother ,slessor hugged her little teacher and told her about the move they planned to make4 ,then the other children were called and told1 too4 ,there was much excitement1 especially when the furniture was sold and the ,slessors with their remaining possessions took the train to ,dundee4 ,it did not take long to find a place and get settled4 ,mother ,slessor at once looked for a church they might attend4 ,she found the ,wishart ,church1 named for the famous preacher1 ,george ,wishart1 who in #aedd had preached near the place where the church was built4 ,shortly afterward he was killed for preaching about ,jesus4 ,but ,father ,slessor did not do better in the new home4 ,he could not overcome the drink habit1 and probably did not try very hard to overcome it4 ,in the meantime a new baby came to the ,slessor home4 ,they called the baby ,janie4 ,how happy her brothers and sisters were to welcome ,janie6 ,mother ,slessor was not altogether happy because she knew there was another mouth to feed4 ,father ,slessor promised to give up drinking1 but that did not mean anything1 because he never kept those promises4 ,the money they got from selling their furniture in ,aberdeen slowly melted away4 ,sickness came to the ,slessor home4 ,robert ,junior1 who was going to be a missionary to ,calabar1 became sick and died4 ,two other of the children also died1 and only ,mary1 ,susan1 ,john1 and ,janie were left4 ,but even that did not make ,father ,slessor give up his drinking4 ,the ,slessors had less and less money to buy food4 ,at last ,mrs4 ,slessor went to work in one of the factories4 ,mary had to take care of the home4 ,but the wages ,mrs4 ,slessor received were very small4 ,somehow they had to find ways of getting more money4 ,when she was eleven years old ,mary went to work in the factory1 too4 ,would she ever get a chance to be a missionary or must she give up that dream8 ,mary1 ,mary1 called ,mrs4 ,slessor1 it's five o'clock4 ,time to get up and go to work4 ,ho1 hum1 said ,mary1 ,i'm still tired1 but ,i'll get right up4 ,i don't want to be late6 ,at six o'clock in the morning ,mary was at work4 ,she had to tend to the shuttles on the weaving machines4 ,the weaving sheds where ,mary worked were damp and dark4 ,all morning long she heard the whirring of the belts and the clacking of the looms4 ,in the afternoon she went to school4 ,by the time she was fourteen years old she was an expert weaver4 ,she now began to work full time4 ,the hours were long4 ,twelve hours every day for six days a week the fourteen-year-old girl worked in the factory4 ,and the pay was very small4 ,but it was a joy when she received her pay on ,saturday night4 ,mary hurried home4 ,mother1 ,mother1 she called happily as she hurried into the house1 here is the money ,i earned this week4 ,oh1 ,mary1 that is so good of you1 said ,mother ,slessor4 ,she wiped tears from her eyes with the end of her apron4 ,she felt sad that ,mary had to work in a factory4 ,she thought of her own childhood in a happy home where there was always plenty to eat and plenty of money to buy things that were needed4 ,she quickly hid ,mary's wages in the same place where she hid her own wages1 so that her husband would not find the money and spend it for drink4 ,mary did not lose courage by the long hours in the factory4 ,she remembered that ,david ,livingstone1 the great missionary1 had worked in a weaving factory1 too4 ,if ,i want to be a missionary1 ,i must study1 said ,mary4 ,when can ,i find time8 ,again ,mary remembered something ,david ,livingstone did when he was a boy4 ,he would take books to work and read them when the weaving shuttles were working right and did not have to have someone attend to them4 ,mary did the same thing4 ,she read many books from the ,sunday school library4 ,she read books like ,milton's ,paradise ,lost4 ,but most of all she read the ,bible4 ,conditions at home grew worse4 ,mary's drunken father became meaner and meaner4 ,saturday nights were the worst4 ,mary and her mother would sit waiting1 after the younger children had been put to bed1 for the father to stumble home4 ,one night he was so mean to ,mary1 she had to run out of the house to get away from him4 ,the whole family was unhappy because of ,mr4 ,slessor's sinful habit4 ,finally1 one morning he did not waken from the drunken sleep4 ,in the night his soul fled to face the ,judge in ,heaven4 ,the death of the father was really a great blessing to the family1 for he had brought them only sorrow and trouble4 ,now the family felt free4 ,the load they had borne was lifted4 ,mary at once began to take a more active part in church work4 ,if ,i want to be a missionary1 ,i better have some practice4 ,i know what ,i can do1 ,i'll ask the ,sunday school superintendent for a class to teach4 ,she did1 and was given a class of girls4 ,she enjoyed teaching the girls very much4 ,she called them her lovable lassies4 ,but ,mary was not satisfied4 ,she wanted to get more practice4 ,on her way home from the factory ,mary passed through the slums of the city4 ,mary herself did not live in a fine house2 in fact1 it was a very poor one4 ,but in the slums the children lived in small1 dark apartments4 ,the streets on which they played were narrow and dirty4 ,the children here did not know about the ,saviour4 ,they grew up rough and tough1 cursing1 swearing1 stealing1 and doing many mean things4 ,mary's heart ached for these children of the slums4 ,she wanted to teach them that ,jesus could make them happy4 ,she talked with many people about it4 ,at last her church opened a mission in the worst part of the slums4 ,mary went to the superintendent4 ,i want to teach a class in our mission1 said ,mary4 ,i am sure you can use me better there than you can here4 ,but ,mary1 said the superintendent1 you are doing a fine job here in the church2 why do you want to go to the mission8 ,there are many who will gladly teach a class here at the church1 but not so many who are willing to teach at the mission4 ,i am willing4 ,i will teach there if you will give me a class4 ,please do4 ,but ,mary1 those children are tough and mean4 ,you couldn't handle them4 ,you could not make them behave4 ,you are hardly more than a child yourself4 ,oh1 please let me try1 said ,mary1 ,i do so want to tell those boys and girls about my ,saviour4 ,please let me try4 ,then if ,i don't make good1 you can get someone else in my place4 ,very well1 said the superintendent1 ,i will give you a class1 but ,i warn you those children are tough and mean and hard to handle4 #b ,a ,brave ,girl ,quit pestering us to come to church4 ,if you don't let us alone1 we'll hurt you1 shouted ,duncan1 the leader of a group of tough boys in the slums4 ,mary prayed ,god to make her brave and then said1 ,i will not stop trying to get you to come to church4 ,i will not stop trying to tell you about ,jesus1 the ,saviour4 ,do whatever you like4 ,these boys had often tried to interrupt and break up the services1 but ,mary went out into the streets and tried to persuade and coax the young people to come and hear the ,word of ,god4 ,all right then1 said ,duncan4 ,here goes4 ,he took a piece of lead from his pocket and tied it to a long string4 ,he began to swing it around his head4 ,each time he whirled the lead1 it came closer to ,mary's face4 ,mary did not move4 ,the gang watched4 ,they held their breath as it came closer and closer to her blue eyes4 ,mary did not blink4 ,finally1 it grazed her forehead4 ,still ,mary did not move4 ,duncan dropped the piece of lead to the ground4 ,we can't scare her1 boys1 he said4 ,she's game4 ,there is ,someone who is far braver than ,i am4 ,he's the ,one who makes me brave4 ,won't you come to the services and hear about ,him8 asked ,mary4 ,all right1 ,spunky1 ,i will1 said ,duncan4 ,and the rest of the fellows will1 too4 ,come on1 boys1 we're going to the church tonight and no funny business4 ,this was not the only time that ,mary had to face the tough boys and girls of the slums4 ,but she had a ,friend who was closer to her than even her dear mother4 ,he made her strong and brave and true4 ,mary loved her ,saviour1 and was ready to do whatever ,he might want her to do4 ,her class grew larger all the time4 ,she visited the members in their slum homes4 ,she fitted herself into the family4 ,if the baby needed tending1 she tended to it4 ,if someone was sick1 she helped to nurse the sick person4 ,always she told the family about ,christ and ,his power to save4 ,the people of the slums came to love this home missionary and many of them were won to ,christ through her work4 ,the years went by4 ,did ,mary still remember she wanted to be a missionary in ,calabar8 ,yes1 she remembered1 but now she had all she could do to support her family4 ,since ,robert1 the would-be missionary1 had died1 ,mother ,slessor hoped that her youngest son ,john would be a missionary4 ,but ,god had other plans4 ,john became sick4 ,he was sent to ,new ,zealand for his health1 but died when he arrived in that country4 ,was there to be no missionary from the ,slessor family8 ,whenever missionaries came to the ,wishart ,church or to ,dundee1 ,mother ,slessor1 ,mary1 ,susan and ,janie would go to hear them4 ,at home they would read the stories of missionaries and their work4 ,they read missionary magazines4 ,they read about the missionaries in ,china1 ,africa1 ,japan1 ,india1 and even ,calabar4 ,one day ,william ,anderson1 a missionary to the ,west ,coast of ,africa1 came to the little church4 ,he told of the great need for missionaries in ,africa4 ,he told of the bad things which the people did who did not know ,jesus4 ,sitting in church1 listening to the missionary1 ,mary saw in her mind a picture of ,africa4 ,it was not a beautiful picture4 ,she saw captured ,negroes being taken to other lands as slaves4 ,she saw alligators and crocodiles swimming in the muddy waters1 ever ready to eat black children who would come too close to the river4 ,she saw cannibal chiefs at their terrible feasts and fearful battles with spears and arrows4 ,she saw villages where trembling prisoners dipped their hands in boiling oil to test their guilt2 where wives were killed to go with their dead chief into the spiritland4 ,but these things did not frighten the ,scottish girl who was afraid to cross a field if a cow was in it4 ,she longed to go to ,africa4 ,why don't ,i become a missionary8 ,mary asked herself as she worked the looms in the factory4 ,can ,i leave my home8 ,does ,mother still need my help8 ,susan and ,janie are working now4 ,they could get along without me4 ,but will ,i be brave enough8 ,there are tropical jungles1 and black men who eat people4 ,there are wild animals1 sicknesses1 and death4 ,god can make me brave to face all of these things4 ,mary prayed1 ,o ,god1 if it is ,your will1 let me go as a missionary to ,calabar4 ,let me be a teacher to teach these black people the story of salvation4 ,you have commanded us1 ,your disciples1 to carry the ,gospel to the farthest parts of the earth4 ,use me1 ,o ,lord1 to help carry it to ,calabar4 ,hear me1 for the sake of ,jesus1 my ,saviour4 ,it was #ahgd4 ,the news flashed around the world3 ,livingstone is dead4 ,the great missionary had died on his knees in ,africa4 ,everywhere people were talking of this great man who had given his life to tell the people of ,africa about the ,saviour4 ,mary made up her mind6 ,she must go to ,calabar6 ,but what would her mother say8 ,and if her mother agreed1 would her church send her out to that field8 ,mary went to her mother4 ,i want to offer myself as a missionary1 said ,mary ,slessor to her mother4 ,are you willing8 ,my child1 ,i'll willingly let you go4 ,you'll make a fine missionary1 and ,i'm sure ,god will be with you4 ,thank you1 ,mother1 said twenty-six-year-old ,mary4 ,i know ,god will be with me and will make me strong and brave to serve ,him4 ,mother ,slessor was very happy4 ,there was going to be a missionary in the family after all4 ,but there were some people who did not agree with ,mother ,slessor4 ,they shook their heads in doubt4 ,others thought ,mary was very foolish to risk her life in that way4 ,you're doing real well at the factory1 said one of them4 ,and you're doing missionary work right down there at the mission4 ,why rush away to those people way off in ,africa8 ,seems to me missionary work ought to begin at home4 ,yes1 said ,mary1 it should begin there1 but not end there4 ,there are some who cannot go to ,africa4 ,they can do the work at home4 ,if ,god lets me1 ,i want to take ,his ,word to those people who have never heard of ,him or ,his love4 ,the next year1 #ahge1 ,mary offered herself to the ,foreign ,mission ,board of her church4 ,she asked to be sent to ,calabar4 ,then she waited4 ,waiting is hard sometimes4 ,mary had to wait until the ,board had a meeting4 ,then when the meeting was over1 she had to wait for the secretary of the ,board of ,foreign ,missions to write her a letter4 ,early in #ahgf the letter came4 ,how excited ,mary was6 ,her hands shook as she tried to open the letter4 ,had they accepted her offer or refused it8 ,mary dear1 said her mother1 you are so nervous1 you had better let me open that letter4 ,i'll manage1 ,mother1 said ,mary4 ,she finally got it open1 and she read3 ,dear ,miss ,slessor1 ,i take great pleasure in informing you that the ,board of ,foreign ,missions accepts your offer to serve as a missionary1 and you have been appointed teacher to ,calabar4 ,you will continue your studies for the teaching profession at ,dundee4 ,may ,god richly bless you in ,his service4 ,oh1 ,mother1 ,i'm accepted6 ,they're going to send me to ,calabar6 ,praise ,god from whom all blessings flow1 said ,mother ,slessor4 ,that is wonderful news indeed4 ,to ,calabar6 ,oh1 ,i'm so happy ,i could shout for joy6 ,in ,march another letter came4 ,this letter told her that she was to spend three months at a teachers' college in ,edinburgh4 ,all ,mary's friends in ,dundee gathered at the train as she got ready to leave for ,edinburgh4 ,come1 ,mary1 said ,duncan1 the tough boy from the slums1 who was now a grown man and a faithful worker at the mission1 give us a speech4 ,i can't make a speech1 said ,mary1 but ,i'll just ask you this3 ,pray for me4 ,while ,mary was at the school in ,edinburgh1 some of the other girls she met there tried to talk her out of being a missionary4 ,they did not want her to go off to ,africa where there were wild animals and man-eating heathen1 and all kinds of terrible sicknesses4 ,don't you know that ,calabar is the white man's grave8 asked one of her school friends4 ,yes1 answered ,mary4 ,but it is also a post of honor4 ,since few volunteer for that section1 ,i wish to go because my ,master needs me there4 ,at last the time had come for ,mary to leave for ,africa4 ,for fourteen long years she had worked at the looms in the weaving factory4 ,as she worked1 she had dreamed of ,calabar4 ,now her dream was going to come true4 ,mary went to the city of ,liverpool4 ,there she went on board the ship1 the ,s4 ,s4 ,ethiopia4 ,as she got on board she looked around4 ,everywhere were barrels of whiskey4 ,hundreds of barrels of whiskey1 but only one missionary1 said ,mary sadly4 ,the boat whistle blew4 ,the engines chugged4 ,the ,s4 ,s4 ,ethiopia was on its way4 ,it was ,august #e1 #ahgf4 ,mary saw the shoreline of ,scotland become dimmer and dimmer4 ,she looked forward to seeing the coast of ,africa and the land of ,calabar4 ,at last ,i am on my way to ,calabar1 said ,mary ,slessor as the ,s4 ,s4 ,ethiopia1 sailed southward4 ,how ,mother would like to be with me6 ,how often she prayed that ,god would send more missionaries to ,calabar4 ,i didn't think then that ,i would really be one of them4 ,it did not take ,mary long to make friends on board the ship4 ,among the friends she made were ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,thomson4 ,so you are going to ,calabar1 said ,mr4 ,thomson4 ,aren't you afraid of that wild country8 ,oh1 no1 said ,mary1 because ,god is with me4 ,he will take care of me4 ,jesus said1 ',lo1 ,i am with you alway1 even unto the end of the world1' and ,i am trusting in ,his promise4 ,do you know what this country is like8 asked ,mrs4 ,thomson4 ,only what ,i have read about it1 said ,mary4 ,you've been there before1 haven't you8 ,yes1 we have1 said ,mrs4 ,thomson4 ,my husband wants to build a home where tired missionaries can rest and rebuild their strength for their wonderful work4 ,he has explored the ,west ,coast and chosen the ,cameroon ,mountains as the place for that home4 ,we are going there now to build this home for missionaries4 ,missionary work in ,africa is so hard that missionaries need a place where they can rest from time to time4 ,i think that's wonderful of you6 said ,mary4 ,i know the ,lord will bless the work you are doing4 ,won't you tell me about ,africa8 ,well1 said ,mr4 ,thomson1 the climate is very hot4 ,the sun is so strong and hot that white people don't dare go out without a hat to protect their heads4 ,the rivers are very muddy and often flow through dark1 gloomy swamps that white people can hardly get through4 ,but often1 broke in ,mrs4 ,thomson1 there are beautiful green banks with the most beautiful flowers4 ,you will see the prettiest birds in all the world dressed in the brightest reds and greens and blues and purples4 ,you will see the long-legged cranes and the funny pelicans with their big beaks4 ,and don't forget the man-eating crocodiles that are swimming in the river or lying on the banks4 ,they look like an old log1 but if you get near them1 look out6 ,they seem lazy and slow1 but they can snap off a leg or drag you into the river as quick as a wink4 ,then in the jungles are the lions1 and elephants1 and other wild animals4 ,i am most frightened of the swift and terrible tornadoes1 said ,mrs4 ,thomson4 ,and1 ,miss ,slessor1 said ,mr4 ,thomson1 don't forget that the natives are wild and fierce and many of them are cannibals who would be glad to eat you4 ,i shall not fear1 said ,mary4 ,god is leading me4 ,he is my good ,shepherd4 ,he can protect me from fierce beasts and the wild people4 ,i am happy ,he has chosen me to bring the messages of the ,saviour to these wild people4 ,he will call me home to ,him when the work ,he has for me is done4 ,till then nothing can really harm me4 ,four weeks passed4 ,the ship was plowing through the tropical sea4 ,the air was warm1 but the sea breezes made it very pleasant4 ,the ship turned landward and soon ,mary could see the shore of ,africa4 ,how thrilled and happy she was--,africa at last6 ,on ,september #aa the ship entered the tumbling1 whirling waters of the ,cross and ,calabar ,rivers which here joined and poured into the sea4 ,mary had read about these rivers1 and now she actually saw them4 ,she saw1 too1 the pelicans and the cranes4 ,she saw crocodiles1 about which ,mr4 ,thomson had told her1 lazily slide off the sandbanks into the muddy waters of the river4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,thomson stood with ,mary at the rail of the ship as it sailed up the river4 ,they would point out to her interesting sights as they passed along4 ,look1 said ,mrs4 ,thomson1 there is ,duke ,town4 ,that is where your mission is4 ,mary saw clay cliffs4 ,she saw mud houses with roofs of palm leaves4 ,duke ,town did not look in the least like ,dundee or the other cities in ,scotland which ,mary knew4 ,duke ,town did not look pretty1 but ,mary did not care4 ,to her it looked beautiful1 because here she would have the chance to serve the ,lord4 ,soon native canoes came out to the steamer4 ,then the boats of the traders4 ,all was hurry and bustle as the great ship anchored and prepared to unload the part of its cargo that had been sent to ,duke ,town4 ,mary looked about1 wondering how she was going to go ashore4 ,a tall ,negro came up to ,mary4 ,he bowed and said1 ,are you the new white ma that is coming to the mission8 ,by ma the native meant lady4 ,they called all white ladies ma4 ,yes1 ,i am1 said ,mary4 ,mr4 ,anderson sent me to bring you ashore and take you to the mission house4 ,mary was lowered from the great ship into a large canoe4 ,her baggage was brought down and placed in the boat4 ,then with powerful strokes the rowers sent the boat skimming across the water toward ,duke ,town4 ,mary was helped ashore by the tall ,negro who had come for her4 ,at last1 she said to herself1 at last ,i am in ,calabar4 #c ,in ,africa ,welcome1 welcome1 ,mary1 said ,mammy ,anderson1 as she hugged ,mary4 ,mammy ,anderson and her husband1 ,william ,anderson1 were among the first missionaries at ,duke ,town in ,calabar4 ,this is ,daddy ,anderson1 said ,mammy ,anderson1 and ,daddy1 this is ,mary ,slessor1 just come from bonny ,scotland to help us4 ,daddy and ,mary shook hands4 ,long ago you preached in our church in ,dundee1 said ,mary4 ,you told how many missionaries were needed4 ,i wished then ,i could help you4 ,i hope ,i can4 ,mary liked this fine ,christian couple from the start4 ,the mission house where they lived was high on a hill above the town4 ,mammy took ,mary around the house and the yard1 which they called a compound4 ,she showed ,mary where the workers stayed who helped at the mission house4 ,she showed her the school where the little black children were taught to read and write and told of the dear ,saviour who had died for them1 too1 that they might be saved from sin and ,hell and go to ,heaven4 ,and here1 said ,mammy1 is the bell4 ,i am putting you right to work4 ,one of your jobs will be to ring the rising bell for morning prayers4 ,you ring this at six o'clock4 ,then everyone will get up1 and we will have prayers in the chapel4 ,that was ,mary's first job1 but alas6 ,mary often overslept and did not ring the rising bell in time4 ,one morning she awoke and saw that it was very bright outside4 ,dear me1 said ,mary1 ,i've overslept again4 ,she jumped out of bed1 slipped into her clothes and rang the bell1 loud and long4 ,soon the workers began coming1 rubbing their eyes and yawning4 ,what's the idea of ringing the bell now8 asked one of them4 ,it's much too early4 ,but look how bright it is1 said ,mary4 ,daddy ,anderson laughed4 ,mary1 ,mary1 he said1 it's only two o'clock in the morning4 ,the light you see is our bright tropical moon4 ,it's not the sun4 ,and all the workers laughed1 and ,mary laughed with them4 ,i guess ,i'm not a very good bell-ringer1 she said4 ,mary's real job was to teach the children in the school on ,mission ,hill4 ,she remembered how she had played when she was a little girl that she was teaching the children of ,calabar4 ,now she was really doing it4 ,she loved the little black children4 ,after school she would take long walks with them into the bush4 ,there they saw beautiful birds of many bright colors1 and beautiful flowers of all kinds4 ,mary ran races with the black children4 ,how they loved that6 ,she climbed trees as fast as any boy4 ,the black children loved their white ma who taught them and played with them4 ,but playing with the children often made ,mary late for meals4 ,mary1 ,mary1 scolded ,mammy ,anderson gently1 you are late again4 ,i am going to punish you4 ,you go to your room4 ,since supper is over1 you'll just have to go to bed without it4 ,mary went to her room4 ,in a little while she heard a knock at her door4 ,it's ,daddy1 ,mary1 said a deep voice4 ,please open your door4 ,mary opened the door4 ,there stood ,daddy ,anderson with his hands full of biscuits and bananas which he was bringing to her with ,mammy's consent4 ,i thought you might be hungry1 said ,daddy ,anderson4 ,you and ,mammy are perfect dears1 said ,mary4 ,i don't deserve all your kindness4 ,mary soon began to visit the different yards or compounds in ,duke ,town4 ,missionaries had been here for thirty years1 but there weren't many of them4 ,they worked chiefly in ,duke ,town1 ,old ,town1 and ,creek ,town--three towns at the mouth of the ,calabar ,river4 ,they also had opened a station at ,ikunetu and ,ikorofiong on the ,cross ,river4 ,one day ,mary was at one of the stations with another missionary4 ,when he finished his talk1 he said1 ,mary1 won't you speak to these people8 ,mary stood up4 ,please read ,john #c3a-ba1 she said4 ,the missionary did4 ,then ,mary told the people how they could be born again4 ,she told them of the joy that they would have if they took ,jesus into their hearts4 ,she told them of the hope of life after death with ,god in ,heaven4 ,the natives listened4 ,they liked her talk4 ,after that whenever she came to that district1 crowds would come to hear her speak4 ,mammy1 said ,mary1 after she had come from a trip to the outstations1 it hurts my heart to see how cruel these people are4 ,and those awful1 ugly1 cruel gods they pray to4 ,the chiefs are so cruel and mean and have no mercy4 ,and then that terrible secret society1 the ,egbo4 ,i saw some of their runners dressed in fearful costumes scaring the people and whipping them with long whips4 ,i saw a poor man whom they had beaten almost to death4 ,then there is that horrible drinking4 ,they are worse than wild animals when they become drunk4 ,and worst of all is that they have slaves and sell their own people as slaves4 ,ah1 lassie1 said ,mammy ,anderson1 you haven't seen anything yet4 ,there are millions of these black people in the bush and far back in the interior4 ,most of them are slaves4 ,they don't treat a slave any better than a pig4 ,the slaves sleep on the ground like animals4 ,they are branded with a hot iron just as animals are4 ,and just as the farmers back home fatten a pig for market1 so the girls are fattened and sold for slave wives4 ,the slaves can be whipped or sold or killed4 ,when a chief dies1 the tribe cuts off the heads of his wives and slaves and they are buried with him4 ,the tribes are wild and cruel4 ,many of them are cannibals1 who eat people4 ,they spend their lives in fighting1 dancing1 and drinking4 ,but the way they treat twins is one of the worst things they do4 ,what do they do to twins8 asked ,mary4 ,they kill them1 said ,mammy ,anderson4 ,sometimes they bury the twins alive and sometimes they just throw them out into the bush to die of hunger4 ,the mother is driven into the bush4 ,no one will have anything to do with her4 ,she is left to die in the jungle or to be eaten by the wild animals4 ,but why do they do such cruel1 wicked things to harmless babies8 asked ,mary4 ,they believe that the father of one of the twins is an evil spirit or devil4 ,but they don't know which one's father was a devil1 so they kill both to be sure of getting the right one4 ,that must be stopped1 said ,mary4 ,i will fight it as long as ,i live4 ,i will never give up4 ,jesus loves twins just as much as other children4 ,the natives must learn that4 ,they must learn that ,god said1 ',thou shalt not kill4' ,i'll teach them4 ,mary made many friends1 not only among the children whom she taught1 but also among the grown-up natives4 ,one day she heard a chief speaking to his people about ,god and ,his love4 ,he was a ,christian4 ,mary thought that he made a very fine talk4 ,she could tell he was very sincere4 ,he talked so that everyone could understand him4 ,who is that chief8 asked ,mary of the man standing next to her4 ,that is ,king ,eyo ,honesty ,,vii1 said the man4 ,king ,eyo ,honesty8 ,i must talk to him4 ,as soon as she could1 ,mary went up to the chief4 ,king ,eyo ,honesty1 said ,mary1 ,i am ,mary ,slessor4 ,many years ago the missionaries told my mother about you4 ,they told her what a fine ,christian you were4 ,she told us4 ,she will be very happy when ,i tell her that ,i have met you4 ,i am very happy to have met you1 said ,king ,eyo ,honesty4 ,perhaps ,i could write a letter to your mother and tell her how happy ,i am that ,i have met you4 ,i would tell her how happy ,i am that her daughter has come to teach my people about ,god4 ,mother would be very happy1 ,i know1 to get a letter from you4 ,for many years the ,african chief and ,mary's ,scottish mother wrote letters to one another4 ,every day when school was over1 ,mary went to visit the natives in their homes4 ,she would tell them about ,jesus and how ,he loved them4 ,she told them ,jesus wanted to save them4 ,she told them that ,jesus had paid for their sins by dying for them4 ,if they loved and trusted in ,jesus1 ,he would take their sins away4 ,one ,sunday morning as she was walking through the village1 she saw one of the old men who came to church all the time sitting at the door of his mud house4 ,he looked very sad4 ,ekpo1 said ,mary1 why aren't you on your way to ,god's house8 ,mr4 ,anderson will be looking for you4 ,he will miss you4 ,if your heart were sad1 would you go any place8 asked ,ekpo4 ,but why is your heart sad8 ,my son1 my only son1 is dead4 ,even now he is buried in the house4 ,ekpo1 let me tell you a story1 said ,mary4 ,a long time ago there were two sisters4 ,they had a brother4 ,they loved him very much4 ,they loved him like you loved your son4 ,he became sick4 ,the two sisters sent a messenger to ,jesus to tell ,him4 ,when ,jesus came1 the brother was dead4 ,martha1 the one sister1 said to ,jesus1 ',lord1 if ,you had been here my brother would not have died4 ,i know that even now ,god will give ,you whatever ,you ask ,him4' ,jesus said1 ',your brother will get up from the grave4' ,martha said1 ',i know that he will get up from the grave in the resurrection at the last day when all the dead shall come out of their graves4' ,jesus said to her1 ',i am the resurrection and the life4 ,he who believes in me1 even though he dies1 he will live4 ,whoever lives and believes in me shall never die4' ,did the brother get up from the grave8 ,yes1 ,jesus went to the grave and said1 ',lazarus1 come out1' and ,lazarus did4 ,but1 ,ekpo1 later ,lazarus died again4 ,then his body stayed in the grave1 but his soul was with ,god4 ,he was happy4 ,all ,christians are happy with ,god4 ,your son was a ,christian1 wasn't he8 ,oh1 yes1 ,ma1 he was1 said ,ekpo's wife1 who had come to the door while ,mary was talking4 ,then don't you see1 ,god has taken him4 ,he is with ,god4 ,he is happy4 ,if you believe in ,jesus1 then some day you1 too1 will be with ,god and will see your son again4 ,well1 said ,ekpo1 if ,god has taken him1 it is not so bad4 ,come1 then1 said ,mary1 let's go to ,god's house and thank ,him that your son was a ,christian and is now with ,god in ,heaven4 ,mary knew there was a great deal to do4 ,there were so many people who did not know about ,jesus4 ,there were so many who were terribly mean and cruel4 ,but ,mary knew that with the ,lord on her side she would not lose in the fight against sin and wickedness4 ,every day she would tell the natives about ,jesus4 ,every day she would show them their sins and the ,saviour4 ,for three years ,mary worked hard4 ,then she became sick4 ,it was the terrible coast fever4 ,sometimes she was so sick1 she did not know what was happening4 ,she was very tired4 ,she wished that she could see her mother and sisters4 ,calabar needs a brave heart and a strong body1 said ,mary4 ,i don't have much of a brave heart1 but ,i often feel the need of it when ,i am sick and lonely4 ,mary1 you must go home to ,scotland and rest1 said ,mammy ,anderson1 then you will get well from the fever4 ,you will never get well here4 ,that's true1 ,mammy1 said ,mary1 but you know that ,i cannot leave my field of work was until the ,board of ,missions says ,i may4 ,that's right1 but you have a furlough coming4 ,i do hope we hear from the ,board soon4 ,in ,june1 #ahgi1 the letter came4 ,mary read it gladly4 ,it told her that she could come home for a year's vacation4 ,it did not take ,mary long to pack4 ,she left for ,scotland on the next steamer4 ,there were tears in her eyes as she stood on the deck4 ,there on the shore were her black friends waving good-by to their white ma4 ,they were crying1 too4 ,come back again6 ,come back again6 ,god bless you and keep you6 they said4 ,mary waved to them4 ,i will be back1 she said4 ,mary loved ,africa4 ,she loved the people there1 but she knew if she wanted to get well she would have to go home4 ,then1 too1 she was anxious to see her mother and sisters again4 ,the ocean trip did ,mary much good4 ,the cool ocean breezes blew the fever away4 ,it made her cheeks pink again4 ,every day she prayed for the people of ,africa4 ,she prayed that she might go back again4 ,she prayed that more missionaries would be sent out to show these poor people the way to ,heaven4 ,how happy ,mary's mother and two sisters were to have her with them again6 ,and how happy ,mary was to be with them6 ,they could not hear enough about ,calabar4 ,it made ,mary's mother very happy to know that her daughter had taught the black children the way to ,heaven4 ,she was glad to hear about the other missionary work which ,mary had done4 ,but other people1 too1 were anxious to hear about ,calabar4 ,so ,mary had to speak at ,wishart ,church and other churches4 ,mary told about the heathen1 the wicked things the heathen natives did to twins1 the mean way they treated slaves1 and the many other cruel1 wicked things these people did4 ,there is only one thing that will change these people1 said ,mary4 ,there is only one thing that will turn these heathen from their sins4 ,that is the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ1 the good news about the ,saviour4 ,but who will tell these people about ,jesus8 ,we need many1 many more missionaries4 ,if you cannot go yourself1 you can send gifts and offerings for this work4 ,we need money so the missionaries can buy food and clothing4 ,we need money so that they can build homes and churches and hospitals4 ,have pity on these poor people6 ,pity the poor little children6 ,help them now6 ,above all1 pray for these people1 and pray for your missionaries that ,god will bless their work with these lost souls4 ,everywhere ,mary went she won friends for ,calabar4 ,the people who heard ,mary wanted to help make ,christians of the heathen people4 ,many prayed4 ,many gave4 ,men and women gave gifts of money for the work4 ,boys and girls brought their little gifts1 too4 ,they knew the hymn3 ,if you cannot give your thousands ,you can give the widow's mite4 ,and each gift you give for ,jesus ,will be precious in ,his sight4 ,mrs4 ,slessor was not well4 ,living in the crowded1 dusty1 smoky city made her sick4 ,mary found a little home out in the country4 ,here were clear blue skies and pleasant fields4 ,mary's mother was much better after they moved her4 ,mary's sisters enjoyed it also4 ,the months passed quickly4 ,soon the year would be over4 ,what do you want to do when you go back8 asked ,mrs4 ,slessor4 ,i want to go on up the river4 ,i want to go where missionaries have never been4 ,i want to go to ,okoyong and tell the people there about ,jesus4 ,i am praying ,god that sooner or later ,he will let me go and work there4 ,isn't it much more dangerous there8 asked ,mrs4 ,slessor4 ,yes1 it is1 answered ,mary1 but ,i am not afraid because ,i know that ,god is with me and ,his angels are watching over me4 ,june came4 ,mary had been home a year4 ,now she was in good health again4 ,she wanted to get back to ,africa4 ,july1 ,august1 ,september went by and then the good news came4 ,mary was to leave in ,october for ,calabar4 ,it was a happy day for her when she got on the ship that would take her back to the ,africa she loved4 ,on the ship she found the ,rev4 and ,mrs4 ,hugh ,goldie4 ,they1 too1 had been missionaries in ,calabar for many years1 and now after a short vacation were going back once more4 ,all the way to ,africa the friend talked about the great work of winning souls for ,jesus1 especially the souls of the people of ,calabar4 ,at last the big steamship entered the mouth of the ,calabar and ,cross ,rivers4 ,it was not far now to ,duke ,town4 ,soon ,mary would learn what work she should do4 ,would it be work she wanted to do8 ,would it be work in the jungles8 ,mary would soon know4 #d ,on ,her ,own ,mary1 how would you like to have a mission station of your own8 asked ,daddy ,anderson4 ,why1 ,i'd love it1 answered ,mary4 ,it is hard work and very unpleasant at times1 said ,daddy ,anderson4 ,i don't care how hard or unpleasant it is1 said ,mary1 as long as ,i can work for my ,lord4 ,good1 then you will be in charge of the ,old ,town ,station1 two miles up the river4 ,it did not take ,mary long to pack her things and move to ,old ,town4 ,but what a sight greeted her when she arrived6 ,the first thing she saw as she came into the village was a man's skull hanging from the end of a pole and swinging slowly in the breeze4 ,where is the mission house8 asked ,mary of one of the natives4 ,down that way at the end of the road1 ,ma1 he answered4 ,mary found the mission house4 ,it was an old tumble-down shack4 ,it was made of long twigs and branches1 daubed over with mud4 ,the roof was made of palm leaves4 ,it was not nearly as nice a home as the one on ,mission ,hill in ,duke ,town4 ,when ,mary went inside1 she found that it was whitewashed and somewhat clean4 ,mary got busy cleaning up her house1 and as she did1 she began to make her plans4 ,i don't care if my house is not so fine4 ,i am nearer to the jungles4 ,i want to get into the jungles sometime and win those poor1 ignorant heathen people for ,jesus4 ,i am going to live in a house like the natives and use the tools and things they do--only ,i'll be a lot cleaner4 ,then they will feel that ,i am one of them and ,i'll be better able to win them for ,jesus4 ,then1 too1 it's cheaper to live that way and to eat bananas4 ,i will be able to send more money home to my poor mother in ,scotland4 ,living this way will also help me get ready for the time when ,i can go into the jungles4 ,then ,i will have to live that way4 ,mary held services every ,sunday4 ,she started a day school for the children4 ,the grownups came1 too4 ,mary was so friendly and kind that the natives loved her4 ,more and more came to hear about ,jesus4 ,mary showed them that ,he was the ,saviour of the blacks and whites alike4 ,many came from faraway places to hear the white ma and go to her school4 ,mary soon visited all the villages in the neighborhood and every place she went she would tell the people about ,jesus4 ,at one place the king of that part of the country came regularly to hear the white ma4 ,he would sit on the bench with the little children and listen to ,mary tell about the ,saviour who loves all people4 ,one thing still bothered ,mary very much4 ,this was the way the natives treated twins4 ,as soon as twins were born1 they would break the babies' backs and stuff the little bodies into a jar made out of a big gourd4 ,then they would throw the jar out into the jungle4 ,the mother would be sent away out into the jungle to die4 ,it is very wicked for you to kill these twin babies1 said ,mary to the people4 ,it is a sin against ,god1 who said1 ',you shall not kill people4' ,jesus loves all children4 ,he loves the twin babies1 too4 ,the natives would not listen to her4 ,they were afraid of the evil spirits4 ,one day ,mary heard about some twins that were born4 ,she rushed over to the house and took the babies before they were killed4 ,she brought them to her house and took care of them4 ,she will have lots of trouble taking an evil spirit into her house1 said one of the natives4 ,just you wait and see4 ,maybe she is a friend of the evil spirit1 said another4 ,but weeks and months went by and nothing happened4 ,the people began to see that ,mary was right4 ,everywhere the people began to call ,mary the white ma who loves babies4 ,another wicked thing the people did was to kill the babies of slaves who died4 ,they did not want to bother taking care of them so they killed them4 ,mary began to take these little orphans into her home and take care of them4 ,but it began to be too much work for ,mary alone4 ,she wrote a letter to the ,mission ,board asking for someone to take care of these children4 ,one day a trader came and knocked at ,mary's door4 ,he was carrying a little black baby in his arms4 ,i found this twin out in the bush1 said the trader4 ,the other one was killed4 ,this baby would have died1 but ,i know how you love these little ones1 so ,i brought it to you4 ,thank you1 said ,mary1 taking the tiny baby in her arms4 ,i shall call her ,janie1 after my sister4 ,mary adopted the little baby and the baby brought ,mary much joy and happiness4 ,one time ,mary took a baby six months old into the mountains4 ,the baby was sick4 ,in the valley it was very hot4 ,this child shall not die if the cold can save him1 said ,mary4 ,up in the mountains it was much cooler than in the valley4 ,mary pitched her tent and stayed there for a time so the baby could get well4 ,one night ,mary woke up4 ,she heard a growling noise4 ,she looked around4 ,a panther was in the tent6 ,he had the baby in his mouth6 ,he was going to carry it away6 ,mary jumped up4 ,she grabbed a burning stick from the fire and rammed it into the panther's face4 ,with a wild howl the panther dropped the baby and ran off4 ,mary picked up the baby who was crying now4 ,she looked him over1 carefully4 ,he was not hurt4 ,softly she sang to the baby and rocked him to sleep4 ,after the baby was well1 ,mary went back to the mission station in the valley4 ,another time news came that twins had been born4 ,all the people had thought a lot of the mother1 even though she was a slave4 ,now everyone hated her4 ,the other women in the house cursed her4 ,they broke up the few dishes she owned4 ,they tore up her clothes4 ,they would have killed her but they were afraid of ,mary ,slessor and what she would do4 ,they took the two babies and stuffed them into an empty gin box and shoved it at the woman4 ,get out6 ,get out6 they said1 you have married the ,devil4 ,you have a devil in you4 ,they threw rocks at her and drove her out of the village4 ,mary met the poor woman carrying her babies in the box on her head4 ,the screaming1 howling crowd of people were following her4 ,go back6 ,go back to your village1 ,mary told the crowd4 ,then turning to the woman she said1 ,give me the box and come with me to my house4 ,when ,mary opened the box1 she found one child dead4 ,the baby's head had been smashed when it was jammed into the box4 ,mary buried the poor little baby4 ,soon the owner of the woman came and took her back4 ,she was willing to do this as long as she had no children4 ,the little baby stayed with ,mary and became another of her family4 ,one evening ,mary was sitting on the porch of her mission house talking to the children4 ,suddenly they heard a loud noise4 ,they heard the beating of drums4 ,then they heard men singing loudly4 ,what's that8 asked ,mary4 ,she took the twin boys that were with her and rushed down to the road to see what was going on4 ,here she found a crowd of people4 ,they were all dressed up4 ,some wore three-cornered hats with long feathers hanging down4 ,some had crowns4 ,some wore masks with animal heads and horns4 ,some put on uniforms with gold and silver lace4 ,some just covered their bodies with beadwork and tablecloths trimmed with gold and silver4 ,when ,mary came1 the shouting stopped4 ,the king came forward to meet her4 ,ma1 said the king1 we have had a palaver4 ,we have made new laws4 ,the old laws were not ,god's laws4 ,now all twins and their mothers can live in town4 ,if anyone kills twin babies or hurts the mothers1 he shall be hung4 ,god will bless you for making those wise laws1 said ,mary4 ,the mothers of the twins who lived at the mission and other mothers1 too1 gathered around ,mary4 ,they laughed and shouted4 ,they clapped their hands1 and with tears running down their cheeks1 cried3 ,thank you6 ,thank you6 ,they made so much noise that ,mary asked the chief to stop them4 ,ma1 how can ,i stop these women's mouths8 asked the chief4 ,how can ,i do it8 ,they be women4 ,mary was happy1 but after a while some of the people began to forget the new laws4 ,quietly and underhandedly they began to go back to doing the old bad things again4 ,this was because they were not ,christians4 ,they did not love and trust the ,saviour4 ,mary knew that the main thing to do if she were to get them to live right and do right was to change their hearts4 ,new laws could not really change them4 ,only faith in ,jesus could do that4 ,i must help them more4 ,i must lead more of them to ,jesus1 said ,mary4 ,many are sick4 ,i will give them medicine1 and at the same time tell them about ,jesus who makes the soul well and the body1 too4 ,as ,mary gave out medicine1 many people would often crowd around her to hear her ,jesus talk4 ,she told them of ,jesus' love for them4 ,she told them how ,he had died that they might be saved from everlasting death and be made pure4 ,mary had her hardships4 ,often she would not be able to get home at night and would have to sleep in the open4 ,it was not easy to be a missionary1 but ,mary was gladly willing to do it because she was working for ,jesus and saving souls4 ,one day a man came to the mission house4 ,i am the servant of ,king ,okon4 ,king ,okon has heard of the white ,ma4 ,king ,okon has heard how the white ,ma loves our people and is kind to them4 ,king ,okon invites the white ,ma to come and visit our country4 ,i shall be glad to come if ,i may tell your people about ,jesus1 the ,saviour1 said ,mary4 ,sure1 said the messenger1 you come and make ,jesus-talk4 ,when ,king ,eyo ,honesty ,,vii1 ,mary's old friend1 heard of this invitation1 he said3 ,our ,ma must not go as an ordinary traveler to this savage land and people4 ,she must go as a lady and our mother1 one whom we greatly respect and love4 ,he brought his own canoe to ,mary and said1 ,the canoe is yours to use as long as you wish4 ,mary's eyes filled with tears of thankfulness4 ,king ,eyo1 she said1 ,i thank you from the bottom of my heart4 ,i accept the offer of your canoe in ,jesus' name4 ,i know ,god will bless you for your kindness4 ,god has blessed me1 said the king4 ,he has sent our white ,ma to us4 ,the canoe was long and slim4 ,it was painted in bright colors4 ,at the front end bright-colored flags were flying4 ,in the middle of the canoe was a sort of tent to protect ,mary from the sun4 ,the ,christian natives had brought gifts of rice and these were put in the boat4 ,crowds of people came to say good-by to the white ,ma4 ,at last it began to get dark4 ,the thirty-three natives who were going to row climbed into the boat4 ,torches were lit and the boat started upstream4 ,as ,mary lay down in her tent in the middle of the boat1 she heard the rowers singing as they rowed4 ,ma1 our beautiful beloved mother1 is on board1 they sang1 ,ho6 ,ho6 ,ho6 ,she thanked ,god that ,he had protected her in ,old ,town4 ,she prayed that ,he would protect her still as she went into a part of the country where no one had yet brought the news about a loving ,saviour4 ,she prayed that ,he would bless her speaking1 so that many people would believe in the ,lord ,jesus and be saved forever4 ,as she prayed1 the rowers continued singing their made-up song3 ,ma1 our beautiful beloved mother1 is on board4 ,ho6 ,ho6 ,ho6 ,mary fell asleep and the canoe carried her silently through the night to a new part of the country and to new adventures4 ,when the sun arose the following morning1 the canoe carrying ,mary ,slessor arrived at ,king ,okon's village4 ,a great shout went up from the people when they heard the white ,ma had come4 ,you have my room1 said the chief4 ,it is the best room in the village4 ,it may have been the best room1 but it was not a very comfortable one4 ,rats and big lizards were running back and forth across the floor4 ,there were insects and fleas and lice everywhere4 ,the people were much interested in the white ,ma4 ,they had never seen a white woman before4 ,they crowded into the yard4 ,many of them touched and pinched ,mary to see if she were real4 ,some were afraid4 ,their friends laughed at them and pulled them into the yard4 ,they watched ,mary eat4 ,they watched everything she did4 ,mary did not care4 ,she used their interest in her to tell them about ,jesus who loved them4 ,she told them that they must love ,jesus and trust in ,him for salvation4 ,twice a day she held services and great crowds came to hear her4 ,she cut out clothes for the people and taught the women how to sew4 ,she gave medicine to the sick and bandaged the wounds of those who got hurt4 ,king ,okon1 said ,mary1 ,i would like to go into the people's homes in the jungle4 ,may ,i go8 ,no1 white ,ma1 ,i cannot let you go4 ,this is elephant country4 ,the elephants go wild and run over everything in the jungle4 ,these stampedes have been so bad my people have had to leave off farming and make their living by fishing4 ,i cannot let you go4 ,you might get hurt or killed4 ,one night ,mary saw that the people looked very angry4 ,some were sad4 ,what is the matter8 asked ,mary4 ,two of the king's young wives have done wrong4 ,they have broken a law1 answered one of the natives4 ,they thought nobody was looking and went into a room where a young man was sleeping4 ,each of them will be hit a hundred times with a whip4 ,mary went to the king4 ,she asked him to be kinder to these girls4 ,she begged him not to beat them so much4 ,ma1 you are right1 said the king4 ,i will call palaver of all the chiefs4 ,if you say we must not whip girl1 we must listen to you as our guest and ,ma4 ,but the people will say ,god's ,word be no good1 if it keeps the law from punishing those who do wrong4 ,mary saw the king was right4 ,she turned to the girl-wives of the king4 ,you have brought shame to the king and the tribe by the silly foolish things you did4 ,god's ,word teaches men to be kind and merciful and generous1 but it does not pass over sin or permit it4 ,i cannot ask the king not to punish you4 ,ask ,god to help you in the future1 so that you will not do bad or foolish things4 ,all the chief men of the tribe grunted their approval of what ,mary had said to the girls4 ,but then ,mary turned to the chief men and said3 ,you are to blame4 ,your custom of one man marrying many wives is wrong and cruel4 ,these girls are only sixteen years old and still love fun and play4 ,they are too young to be married4 ,they meant no real harm4 ,the men did not like to hear that4 ,they did not like to hear that their ways were wrong4 ,if punishment is hard1 said the old men1 wife and slave will be afraid to disobey4 ,king ,okon1 said ,mary1 show that you are a good king by being kind and merciful4 ,don't be too hard on these young girls4 ,all right1 ,ma1 said the king1 ,i will make it only ten blows with the whip4 ,also we will not rub salt into the wounds to make them sting4 ,when the whipping was over1 ,mary took the girls into her room4 ,there she put healing medicine on their backs while she told them about ,jesus who could heal their souls4 ,at last it was time for ,mary to go back to ,old ,town4 ,the king and the people were sorry to see her go4 ,on her homeward way a tropical storm struck the canoe and the people in it4 ,mary was soaked4 ,the next morning she was shaking with sickness and fever4 ,the rowers feared their white ,ma would die4 ,they rowed as fast as they could for ,old ,town4 ,mary was so sick that she had to take a long rest4 ,a few months later a big storm tore off the roof of her house and again she was soaked as she worked to save the children4 ,again she became very sick4 ,you must go home to ,scotland1 said ,daddy ,anderson4 ,you must go home and rest and get well4 ,since you tell me to do that and the ,board has ordered it1 too1 ,i can only obey1 said ,mary4 ,i am going to take my little black ,janie with me4 ,it is too dangerous to leave her here where some of the heathen might steal her and kill her because she is a twin4 ,with a heart that was sad at leaving ,calabar1 but glad to have a chance to see her dear ones in ,scotland again1 ,mary sailed for ,dundee in ,april1 #ahhc4 #e ,into the ,jungle ,oh1 ,mary1 it is good to see you again1 said ,mother ,slessor when ,mary arrived once more in ,scotland4 ,and this is little ,janie about whom you have written us so often6 ,we are happy to have you with us1 ,janie4 ,i am glad to be home1 ,mother1 said ,mary1 but ,i am anxious to go back to ,africa as soon as ,i can4 ,there are so many souls there to be won for ,jesus4 ,mary soon got over her sickness and was well and strong again4 ,now she went to the churches in ,scotland to tell about the missionary work in ,calabar4 ,she made many friends4 ,some of the young people who heard her wanted to become missionaries4 ,miss ,hoag1 ,miss ,wright and ,miss ,peabody decided to become missionaries and later worked in ,calabar1 too4 ,mary was so successful in interesting the people in mission work that the ,board of ,missions asked her to stay longer and visit more churches4 ,mary did what the ,board asked1 although she was anxious to get back to ,africa4 ,at last this work was finished4 ,now she could go back4 ,mary was getting ready to go back to ,africa when her sister ,janie became sick4 ,you will have to take her to a warmer climate1 said the doctor4 ,that is the only way she will get well4 ,mary could not afford to take her sister to ,italy or southern ,france4 ,i will ask the ,board of ,missions if ,i can take my sister with me to ,africa4 ,anxiously ,mary waited for an answer to her letter4 ,at last the letter came4 ,we are sorry1 but we must answer your question with a ,no4 ,we feel that to take your sick sister along to ,africa would be an unwise mixing of family problems and missionary work4 ,what should ,mary do now8 ,a friend told her to take her sister to southern ,england where the climate was warmer than in ,scotland4 ,she wrote to the ,board to ask whether they would let her be a missionary if she took out the time to take care of her sister4 ,the ,board of ,missions wrote3 ,dear ,miss ,slessor3 ,when the way is clear for you to return to ,calabar we will be glad to send you out again as our missionary4 ,in the meantime we will be glad to pay your missionary salary for three more months4 ,mary was glad that she could go back again1 but she would not take the missionary salary when she was not working as a missionary4 ,this left her with a sick sister and no salary4 ,she took her sister ,janie and her mother to southern ,england4 ,they had been there only a short time when ,mary's sister1 ,susan1 in ,scotland1 died4 ,it made her sad to lose a sister1 but she was happy in the thought that ,susan was now with ,jesus her ,saviour in ,heaven4 ,after a while ,janie was better and ,mary packed up and got ready to sail once more to ,africa4 ,just as she got ready to go1 her mother became sick4 ,what should ,mary do now8 ,she took her troubles to ,god in prayer4 ,as she prayed1 a thought came to her which showed her a way out of her problem4 ,i will send for my old friend in ,dundee to come and take care of ,mother and then ,i can go to ,africa4 ,mother ,slessor agreed that this was the thing to do4 ,soon the friend came and now ,mary was free to go to ,africa4 ,the weeks at sea were a good rest for her and she was in the best of health when she landed once more at ,duke ,town4 ,ten years had gone by since she first came to ,africa4 ,where should ,i go now8 asked ,mary of ,daddy ,anderson after she was once again in the mission house on ,mission ,hill4 ,this time you are being sent up to ,creek ,town1 said ,daddy ,anderson4 ,oh1 ,i'm glad1 said ,mary4 ,that is the settlement farthest up the river4 ,you will work with the ,rev4 and ,mrs4 ,h4 ,goldie1 continued ,daddy ,anderson4 ,that makes me happy1 too4 ,they are old friends4 ,i met them on the trip the time before this one4 ,as soon as she was settled in ,creek ,town1 ,mary worked harder than ever for the salvation of the natives4 ,she did not care about her health4 ,the only thing she could think of was how she could win more of the natives to ,christ4 ,she spent very little on herself because the money from her salary was needed back home in ,scotland4 ,one day very sad news came from ,scotland4 ,mother ,slessor had died4 ,mary was very sad4 ,her mother was the one who had interested her in missionary work by telling her stories about it when she was only a little girl4 ,her mother had always encouraged her in her work4 ,her mother was willing to do anything and suffer anything so that ,mary could be in the work of saving souls4 ,her mother was always interested in everything that ,mary did4 ,no wonder ,mary was sad even though she knew that her mother was now with the ,saviour in ,heaven4 ,there is no one to write and tell my stories and troubles and nonsense to4 ,all my life ,i have been caring and planning and living for my mother and sisters4 ,i am now left stranded and alone4 ,but she was not alone4 ,the words of ,jesus1 ,lo1 ,i am with you alway1 came as sweet comfort to her heart4 ,heaven is now nearer to me than ,scotland1 she said4 ,and no one will be worried about me if ,i go up country into the jungles4 ,mary was very anxious to go to the deep jungles to ,okoyong1 but every time she mentioned it the ,board and the ,andersons said1 ,no1 not yet4 ,the tribes were cruel and wicked4 ,they were always fighting among themselves and with other tribes4 ,they did more bad and nasty things than any of the tribes she had ever worked with4 ,they killed twin babies4 ,they stole slaves and when they caught some stranger they made him a slave4 ,they would hide along jungle paths and when someone went by1 they would kill him4 ,they hated the people of ,calabar and the ,british government4 ,at different times missionaries had tried to get into this land1 but always they had to run for their lives4 ,the natives of ,okoyong trusted no one4 ,it was to that country that ,mary wanted to carry the love of ,jesus and the story that ,he died for them4 ,every day she would pray3 ,lord1 if this is ,your time1 let me go4 ,meanwhile ,mary worked hard at ,creek ,town4 ,besides her missionary work she was taking care of a number of native children4 ,some were twins she had saved from death1 some were the children of slaves4 ,mary took care of these children at her own expense4 ,in order to take care of them and have enough food for them1 she ate only the simplest of foods1 sometimes nothing but rice for a long time4 ,one day a man came to ,creek ,town to see ,mary4 ,i am the father of ,janie1 the twin1 he said4 ,i am glad you have taken care of her4 ,come and see her1 said ,mary4 ,no1 no6 said the man1 the evil spirit will put a spell on me4 ,you won't be hurt if you stand far away and look at her1 said ,mary4 ,as he watched ,janie1 ,mary took him by the arm and dragged him to the little girl4 ,she put his strong black arms around her little shoulders4 ,at last the man took the little girl on his lap and played and talked with her4 ,after this he came often to visit his little girl and brought her food and presents4 ,at last the time came when word reached ,calabar that the ,mission ,board had decided that the ,gospel should be preached in ,okoyong and that ,mary could go4 ,mary was very happy4 ,at last ,god had answered her prayer4 ,she was going into a wild country4 ,she was going to go ahead of the other missionaries to find a place where they could build a mission house and church4 ,when ,king ,eyo ,honesty ,,vii heard of it1 he came to see ,mary4 ,so you are going into the wild country1 to ,okoyong1 he said4 ,yes1 and ,i am so happy4 ,those people need to have their hearts and lives changed4 ,i am happy that ,i shall be able to tell them about the ,saviour4 ,aren't you afraid to go among these wicked men8 ,what if they should go on the warpath when you arrive8 ,i am not worried4 ,god is on my side4 ,if it is ,his will1 ,he can keep me from all harm4 ,if it is ,his will that ,i should die1 then ,his will be done4 ,if giving my life will help open ,okoyong to the ,gospel1 ,i will gladly give it4 ,god bless you1 ,ma4 ,i am going to let you use the king's canoe for this trip4 ,my rowers can take you there swiftly4 ,they will do anything you ask1 because they love you4 ,thank you1 ,king ,eyo2 that will help me very much4 ,king ,eyo fixed up his canoe for ,mary1 as though she were a queen4 ,he put a carpet in it1 and many cushions4 ,he put a sort of tent on it so that ,mary could be alone when she wanted to be4 ,the boat was loaded with homemade bread1 canned meat1 rice1 and tea4 ,at last everything was ready for the trip into the wild country4 ,mary said good-by to her friends1 the missionaries1 and to her native friends4 ,then the thirty-five rowers pushed out from the shore and headed upstream toward the wild country4 ,on both sides of the river were banana and palm trees4 ,there were beautiful plants and flowers of many colors4 ,the light shimmered on the flowing river as the rowers pulled the oars and sang their songs4 ,what will happen if the ,okoyongs are on the warpath8 ,mary asked herself4 ,what will ,i do then8 ,mary knew the answer4 ,i will put my trust in ,god and not in man4 ,she lay back on the cushions and prayed to ,god to protect her in the wild country and to lead her in ,his way4 ,the rowers rowed swiftly and sent the canoe shooting up the river toward the wild country4 ,there is the landing place1 said the chief rower4 ,now we must walk the rest of the way to ,ekenge4 ,mary got out of the boat4 ,the rowers followed her4 ,they carried the packages ,mary had brought with her4 ,they began to walk through the jungle4 ,it was four miles to ,ekenge where ,chief ,edem lived4 ,as they came near to the little village of mud huts1 the chief rower whispered to ,mary1 ,there is ,chief ,edem4 ,praise ,god1 he is at home and sober4 ,mary1 too1 thanked ,god that the ,okoyongs were not on the warpath and she asked ,god's blessing on her visit with them4 ,when the people of ,ekenge saw ,mary they began to jump up and down and shout1 ,welcome1 ,ma4 ,welcome to ,ekenge4 ,chief ,edem bowed to her and said1 ,you are welcome ,ma ,mary4 ,it is an honor to have you come to us4 ,we are happy because you did not come with soldiers4 ,we know now that you trust us4 ,i have set aside a house for you as long as you stay with us4 ,thank you1 ,chief ,edem4 ,i am happy to be here4 ,this is my sister1 ,ma ,eme1 said the chief4 ,mary liked ,ma ,eme at once and ,ma ,eme liked ,mary4 ,they were friends as long as they lived4 ,i want to go to visit the next village now1 said ,mary4 ,i want to go to ,ifako4 ,oh1 no1 ,ma1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,the chief is a very bad man4 ,he is not fit for you to meet4 ,besides he is drunk now and he doesn't know what is going on4 ,you must stay at ,ekenge4 ,very well1 said ,mary1 ,i will stay1 but call the people together so that ,i can have a ,jesus-talk4 ,when the people had all come together1 ,mary told about ,god's great love for them4 ,she told them about ,jesus who died that they might be saved4 ,she told them about the happiness ,jesus would bring to their village by changing their lives when they came to ,him4 ,that night ,mary did not sleep very much4 ,the chief had given her one of the best houses in the village1 but we would not think it was much of a house4 ,her bed was made of a few sticks with some corn shucks thrown over them4 ,in the room all night were plenty of rats and insects4 ,but ,mary's heart was happy4 ,later ,mary went to ,ifako4 ,the chief there liked ,mary very much4 ,he and ,chief ,edem agreed to let her start a mission in their villages4 ,each one promised to give her ground for a schoolhouse and a mission house4 ,mary chose the places for the buildings4 ,they were a half-hour's walk apart4 ,now ,i must go back to ,creek ,town1 said ,mary4 ,when ,i come back again1 it will be to stay4 ,come soon1 ,ma1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,it will make us very happy to have you stay with us4 ,as they rode down the river1 ,mary could not sleep at first because the rowers kept whispering1 ,don't shake the canoe or you will wake ,ma1 or ,don't talk so loud so ,ma can sleep4 ,at last1 however1 tired from her days of work in ,ekenge and ,ifako1 she fell asleep and did not wake up until she came back to ,creek ,town4 ,now she was very busy getting ready to move to ,ekenge4 ,one of the traders heard about her going to ,ekenge4 ,do you trust those wild people8 he asked4 ,do you think you can change them8 ,what they need more than a missionary is a gun-boat to tame them down4 ,no1 my friend1 answered ,mary1 they need the same thing that every person in the world needs and that is the ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4 ,only ,jesus can change the hearts of sinful people4 ,at last ,mary was packed up4 ,she was taking with her the five children she had saved from death4 ,another missionary1 ,mr4 ,bishop1 was going along with her4 ,now at last ,mary was going to work in the jungles as she had wanted to do4 ,she had been in ,africa for twelve years4 ,she was now forty years old4 ,when ,mary was ready to leave1 all the people of ,creek ,town gathered around her4 ,they told her good-by and wished her ,god's blessing4 ,we will pray for you1 they said4 ,one of the young men she had taught in school said1 ,i will pray for you1 but remember you are asking for death when you go to that wild country4 ,it was getting dark when ,mary's boat landed near ,ekenge4 ,the rain was pouring down4 ,it was a four-mile walk to ,ekenge4 ,mary and the five children started out4 ,mr4 ,bishop and the men who carried the baggage were to follow4 ,an eleven-year-old boy was in the lead4 ,he was the oldest of the five children4 ,he carried on his head a box filled with tea1 sugar1 and bread4 ,an eight-year-old child followed him carrying a teakettle and cooking pots4 ,next came a three-year-old who held tight to little ,janie's hand4 ,then came ,mary carrying a baby girl and a bundle of food4 ,the children slipped in the mud4 ,they became soaked by the rain4 ,the jungle was dark around them and strange noises came from all sides4 ,the children began to cry4 ,they were hungry and scared4 ,don't cry children1 said ,mary4 ,remember ,jesus is watching over us4 ,he will take care of us4 ,soon we will be in the village and then we can have something to eat and we can put on dry clothes4 ,they marched on4 ,at last they came to the village4 ,the village was dark and still4 ,hello1 hello1 called ,mary4 ,is anyone here8 ,no one answered4 ,mary called again4 ,at last two slaves came4 ,ma1 said the oldest slave1 the chief did not know you were coming today4 ,the mother of the chief at ,ifako died and all the people have gone to ,ifako for the burying4 ,all right1 said ,mary4 ,we will wait here then for ,mr4 ,bishop and the baggage carriers4 ,i will send a messenger to ,chief ,edem1 said the slave1 to tell him that you have come4 ,mary took some of her food and cooked it over an open fire in the pouring rain4 ,she fed the children and put them to bed4 ,at last ,mr4 ,bishop came to the village4 ,i am sorry1 ,miss ,slessor1 he said4 ,the carriers will not bring anything until tomorrow4 ,they are tired4 ,they are afraid of the jungle trail4 ,but tomorrow is ,sunday1 said ,mary4 ,it would be a bad example for them to do work for us on ,sunday4 ,i will not have them work tomorrow4 ,john1 said ,mary1 turning to a young man who had come with ,mr4 ,bishop1 you go back and tell the carriers they must come tonight for we need food and dry clothing4 ,after the young man had gone1 ,mary decided she should go and help4 ,she took off her muddy shoes and started back through the dark and fearful jungle4 ,mary was afraid when she heard the snarls of animals in the jungle1 but she put her trust in ,god and went on4 ,as ,mary came near to the beach she met ,john4 ,ma ,mary1 he said1 the men will not come4 ,they will not bring the things until the daylight chases away the hidden dangers of the jungle4 ,i will talk to them1 said ,mary4 ,she plodded on through the mud4 ,she came to the canoe4 ,the men were all sound asleep4 ,mary woke them and put them to work4 ,in the meantime ,mr4 ,bishop had coaxed some of the slaves from ,ekenge to help4 ,soon all the things ,mary had brought were being carried to ,ekenge4 ,sunday morning was cloudy4 ,mary got things ready for church4 ,church time came4 ,but where were the people8 ,mary and ,mr4 ,bishop and the children began to sing hymns as loud as they could4 ,still no one came4 ,how discouraging6 ,all the people had been at the burying4 ,when they buried somebody1 especially somebody important like the chief's mother1 they would have a wild party4 ,the people would get drunk and do many other wicked things4 ,the next day they would be too tired and sick to do anything4 ,mary and the children and ,mr4 ,bishop kept on singing4 ,at last a few women came4 ,mary gathered them around her and told them the story of ,jesus and ,his love4 ,the women listened but they did not say anything4 ,after the service was over and the women had gone to their huts1 ,mary knelt down and prayed4 ,o ,god1 my heavenly ,father1 with ,your help ,i have made a beginning in the jungles of ,okoyong4 ,things look black and discouraging now1 but ,i know that if it is ,your will ,you can change all that4 ,if it is not ,your will that my work is successful here1 then send me wherever ,i can work best for ,you4 ,forgive my sins4 ,make me a better and more faithful worker for ,you4 ,and bless the work here in ,okoyong4 ,i ask this for ,jesus' sake4 ,amen4 ,would the work in ,okoyong be a failure or a success8 ,time would tell4 ,mary knew that it depended on ,god4 ,at last ,chief ,edem and his people came back from the wild1 drunken party at ,ifako4 ,welcome ,ma ,mary1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,i am glad you have come4 ,i have a place for you4 ,you take this room here in my women's yard4 ,it is for you4 ,thank you1 ,chief1 said ,mary4 ,it was a dirty1 filthy room1 but it was the kind of room all the people of ,okoyong used4 ,mary cleaned out the dirt4 ,she had a window put in4 ,she hung a curtain over the door4 ,while she was working a boy came up to her4 ,ma ,mary1 he said1 ,i am ,ipke4 ,i want to help you4 ,ipke worked hard4 ,he helped ,mary as much as possible4 ,whatever there was to do1 ,ipke was ready to do it4 ,a few days later ,mary looked out of her room4 ,she saw ,ipke4 ,he was standing near a pot of boiling oil4 ,a crowd of people stood around yelling and shouting4 ,chief ,edem came up to the crowd4 ,then a man took a dipper and filled it full of boiling oil4 ,ipke stretched out his hands in front of him4 ,suddenly ,mary knew what was happening4 ,she rushed out of her house1 but she was too late4 ,already the man had poured the boiling oil over ,ipke's arms and hands4 ,why have you done this8 asked ,mary4 ,chief ,edem said nothing4 ,he turned and walked away4 ,the other people also kept still4 ,mary took ,ipke to her room4 ,she put medicine on the burns4 ,why did they do this to you1 ,ipke8 she asked4 ,it is because ,i helped the white ,ma4 ,the people say ,i do not follow the old ways4 ,it is bad to follow new ways4 ,i must be punished4 ,the bad spirit must be burned out4 ,o ,god1 prayed ,mary1 heal this boy and help me to change the wicked heathen ways4 #f ,a ,brave ,nurse ,it was strangely quiet in the village of ,chief ,okurike4 ,the chief was sick4 ,all the magic of the witch doctors could not make him better4 ,if he died1 many of his wives1 slaves and soldiers would be killed to go with him into the spirit-world4 ,a woman from a neighboring village came to the house of ,chief ,okurike's wives4 ,you are sad because ,chief ,okurike is dying1 said the woman4 ,i know someone who can help him4 ,far away through the jungle at ,ekenge lives the white ,ma4 ,with her magic she can make devils go out of your chief4 ,my son's child was dying4 ,the white ,ma saved her4 ,she is well today4 ,the white ,ma has done many wonderful things by the power of her juju4 ,let your chief send for her4 ,then he will not die4 ,the wives talked it over4 ,we must tell the chief1 said the head wife4 ,he must send for the white ,ma4 ,if he dies1 many of us must die too4 ,we do not want to die4 ,they told the chief about the strange white ,ma at ,ekenge4 ,let her be sent for1 said the chief4 ,send swift runners to ask her to come4 ,all day long the men hurried through the jungle along the narrow paths4 ,they went through many villages but they did not stop4 ,at last after eight hours1 they came to the village of ,ekenge4 ,we are the men of ,chief ,okurike1 said the men to ,chief ,edem4 ,chief ,okurike is very sick4 ,we want the white ,ala who lives in your village to come and heal him4 ,she will say for herself what she will do1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,he sent a man to tell ,mary some men from ,chief ,okurike wanted to see her4 ,mary came at once to see what was wanted4 ,ma1 said the men1 ,chief ,okurike sent us4 ,he is very sick4 ,come and bring your magic medicines and make him well4 ,what kind of sickness does your chief have8 asked ,mary4 ,maybe ,i can send the medicine with you4 ,they shook their heads4 ,they did not know what the sickness was4 ,i must help1 said ,mary to herself4 ,if the chief dies1 then according to their heathen way the tribe will kill all his wives and slaves so he will have company on the long trip to the spirit-world4 ,i must go and teach them about the ,good ,shepherd who is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death4 ,if the chief should die and the tribe think that it is because of witchcraft it will be even worse4 ,many people will be killed because the tribe will think they used witchcraft to kill the chief4 ,i will go with you1 said ,mary4 ,there are warriors out in the jungle and you will be killed4 ,you must not go1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,it is a long journey1 said ,ma ,eme4 ,there are deep rivers to cross4 ,it is raining very hard4 ,you will never get there4 ,if ,chief ,okurike dies1 there will be fighting and killing4 ,you will be in great danger1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,don't go4 ,mary knew that if anything happened to her1 ,chief ,edem would go to war against the tribe of ,chief ,okurike1 because she was his guest1 and a chief must protect his guest4 ,mary prayed to ,god about it4 ,then she said to ,chief ,edem1 ,i am sure that ,god wants me to go4 ,it will be a chance to tell these people about ,jesus who heals the soul-sickness4 ,god will take care of me4 ,well1 ,ma1 ,i do not like it1 but you may go if you wish4 ,i will send women with you to look after you4 ,i will send men to protect you4 ,early the next morning they started on the journey4 ,it was raining hard4 ,after they had left ,ekenge1 it began to pour4 ,the jungle was flooded and steaming hot4 ,it was hard to go1 but ,mary and the guard pushed on4 ,soon ,mary's clothes were soaked through4 ,they became so heavy she could hardly walk4 ,her boots became water soaked4 ,she took them off and threw them in the bush4 ,soon her stockings wore out and she walked through the jungle mud barefooted4 ,she knew she was doing ,god's work1 and even fearful rainstorms were not going to stop her4 ,after three hours the weather began to clear1 but now ,mary's head began to ache from fever4 ,as ,mary and the guard passed through the jungle villages1 the people looked at ,mary with surprise4 ,but nothing would stop ,mary4 ,she pushed on1 and after walking through the jungle for eight hours1 she stumbled into the village of the sick chief4 ,some of the people were crying4 ,they expected to be killed when the chief died4 ,others were laughing and shouting4 ,they were going to have fun when the chief died4 ,they were going to kill people and have a wild party4 ,mary was tired and sick1 but she went at once to the chief's house4 ,he was stretched out on a dirty bed4 ,his face was gray with sickness4 ,he was moaning and groaning4 ,he was very near death4 ,mary examined the chief to see what his sickness was4 ,she opened her little medicine chest and took out some medicine4 ,she gave the chief a dose4 ,it made the chief a little better4 ,i don't have enough of this medicine with me1 said ,mary4 ,she knew that away on the other side of the river another missionary was working4 ,she knew he had some of the medicine4 ,she went to the men of the village4 ,you must go across the river to ,ikorofiong for more medicine1 said ,mary4 ,no1 no1 we cannot go1 said the men of the village4 ,our enemies are on the other side of the river4 ,they will kill us if we go there4 ,but ,i must have the medicine1 said ,mary4 ,there is a man from that village down the river a little ways4 ,he is living in his canoe on the river4 ,maybe he will go1 said one of the men4 ,some of the men ran down to the river4 ,they found the man4 ,they promised him many things4 ,at last he said he would go4 ,the next day he brought the medicine to ,mary4 ,for days ,mary nursed ,chief ,okurike4 ,she taught one of his wives how to help her4 ,she also told the chief and his family about ,jesus4 ,whenever she could leave the chief for a short time she would talk to the tribe about the ,saviour and how ,he would change their lives if they believed in ,him4 ,day after day ,mary prayed for ,chief ,okurike4 ,at last prayer won out4 ,chief ,okurike got well4 ,the people were very happy4 ,ma ,mary1 they said1 we want to learn book4 ,they meant that they wanted to learn about the ,bible4 ,i am glad you do1 said ,mary1 but then you must do what the ,book says4 ,we will1 said the people4 ,we will make peace with ,calabar4 ,we will not kill the traders who come to our land or the other white people4 ,then ,i will always be your worker and ,i will send you a teacher as soon as ,i can1 who will teach you of the ,saviour who died for you to pay for your sins4 ,mary went back to ,ekenge4 ,here she found that ,chief ,edem was very sick4 ,he had some very bad boils on his back4 ,mary put medicine on the boils4 ,every day she came to his house and took care of him4 ,one day when she came in she saw feathers and eggs lying around the room4 ,this was witch doctor medicine4 ,on the ,chief's neck and around his arms and legs were witch charms4 ,oh1 ,chief ,edem1 said ,mary1 how could you do this8 ,surely you know that doing witchcraft is a sin against ,god4 ,i do not see how you could go back to it after you had learned to know about ,jesus4 ,ma1 you don't know all about these things4 ,someone is the cause of this sickness4 ,you don't know all the badness of the black man's heart4 ,look1 here are the proofs that someone is working witchcraft against me4 ,the only one who can fight that is the witch doctor4 ,he is the only one who can make me well4 ,see1 here are the things that were taken from my back4 ,chief ,edem pointed to a collection of shot1 egg shells1 seed and other things which the witch doctor said had come from his back4 ,he believed the witch doctor4 ,he believed that someone using witchcraft had sent them into his back4 ,mary knew what would happen4 ,everybody whom the chief thought might have done the witchcraft would have to take poison4 ,the people thought that if the person who took the poison died1 he was guilty1 but if he was not guilty he would live4 ,the tribe would also use other tortures like pouring boiling oil on people to get them to confess4 ,that is all wrong1 said ,mary4 ,the sickness is because you have not eaten good things or taken care of yourself and kept as clean as you should have4 ,don't believe the bad witch doctor4 7,god said something about that in ,exodus #bb3ah47 ,chief ,edem would not listen4 ,he had everyone he thought might have the witchcraft made a prisoner4 ,the witch doctor took the chief and his wives and chief men and prisoners to a nearby farm4 ,mary was not allowed to come to this farm4 ,mary knew of ,someone who could help her4 ,she prayed to ,god again and again to keep these people from doing the bad things they planned4 ,days went by4 ,mary prayed that ,chief ,edem might get well4 ,god heard ,mary's prayers4 ,he did what she asked4 ,he made ,chief ,edem well again4 ,when ,chief ,edem was well again he decided not to kill the prisoners1 the people he thought might have done witchcraft against him4 ,he let them go free4 ,then the chief and his wives and the chief men came back to the village4 ,the tribe had a big party to celebrate4 ,they were happy the chief was well4 ,it was the wildest party ,mary had ever seen4 ,the people stuffed themselves with food until they became sick4 ,they got drunk4 ,they had wild dances4 ,they did many wicked things4 ,mary had often prayed that ,god would turn the heathen people from their wicked ways1 but here they were carrying on worse than ever4 ,the only answer to her prayers that she could see was that the prisoners who were going to be killed had been set free4 ,am ,i doing anything for my ,saviour8 ,mary asked herself4 ,am ,i having any success in winning people for ,jesus8 #g ,witchcraft ,one day ,chief ,njiri and his warriors came to visit ,chief ,edem4 ,they stayed several days4 ,they had wild parties every day4 ,they drank native beer until they became drunk4 ,then they would quarrel and fight4 ,they asked ,mary to settle their quarrels and decide who was right4 ,mary was praying every day that there would not be bad fights and that no one would be killed4 ,finally it was the last night of the visit4 ,the men were so drunk that ,mary knew there would be trouble4 ,when the chief and his men were ready to leave1 everyone was excited4 ,the people were shouting and pushing4 ,some shots were fired and the men began stabbing with their swords4 ,they were too drunk to know what they were doing4 ,mary ran into the crowd4 ,she went up to ,chief ,njiri4 ,chief1 said ,mary1 your visit is over4 ,go now before trouble starts4 ,she took hold of the chief's arm and led him out of the village and his men followed him4 ,they started for their own village4 ,i'm glad that's over1 said ,mary1 but she had spoken too soon4 ,on their way home1 as they were staggering along1 ,bakulu1 one of ,njiri's men1 cried out1 ,look6 and pointed with his finger4 ,the chief and his men stopped4 ,it is witchcraft1 said ,bakulu4 ,see the little banana plant with palm leaves1 nuts and a coconut shell close by6 ,don't go past it1 said one of the other men4 ,it is bad medicine4 ,you will get sick and die4 ,it is the people in the last village we passed through4 ,they did it4 ,let us punish them1 said ,chief ,njiri4 ,yes1 let's punish them1 shouted the men4 ,mary had been following the men to make sure they would go home4 ,she heard the shouting4 ,now the men started running past her4 ,she tried to stop them1 but they slipped away4 ,mary took a short cut through the jungle4 ,she reached the road to the village before the men did4 ,god1 our ,father in ,heaven1 prayed ,mary1 help me for ,jesus' sake to stop these men1 so there will not be a bloody battle4 ,stop1 she cried as the first men came in sight4 ,stop1 ,i want to talk to you4 ,the men stopped4 ,the others soon came running up4 ,they had to stop1 too4 ,you men are planning to do something bad4 ,you do not know that the people of this village did bad things to you4 ,you only think they did4 ,you have drunk too much beer4 ,you do not know what you are doing4 ,go home4 ,but ,ma1 said ,njiri1 they have made bad medicine against us4 ,they made witchcraft4 ,they must be punished before we are hurt4 ,njiri and his men argued with ,mary1 but finally they listened to her4 ,they turned around and once more started for home4 ,mary went with them to make sure they would get there4 ,at last they came again to the banana plant and the witch medicine4 ,they were afraid to pass it4 ,if we pass it1 we will get sick and die1 said ,njiri4 ,that is sinful foolishness1 said ,mary4 ,that banana plant and those other things will not hurt you4 ,i am not afraid of them4 ,mary picked up the banana plant1 the palm leaves1 nuts and coconut shell and threw them into the jungle4 ,now1 brave men1 come on4 ,i have cleared the path4 ,let us go to your village4 ,timidly the men tiptoed past the place where the medicine had been4 ,then they went on to their own village4 ,once more ,mary thought that all would be peaceful now for a while4 ,she started for the village of ,ekenge4 ,no sooner was ,mary gone than the people of ,njiri began drinking again4 ,then they started quarreling and fighting4 ,one of the men in the village ran and told ,mary4 ,i will fix that1 said ,mary4 ,she took some of the men of ,ekenge with her4 ,she went to the village of ,njiri4 ,with the help of the men of ,ekenge and some of the people of the village1 they tied some of the most drunken men and the wildest fighters to the trees4 ,they left them there to cool themselves in the breezes of the jungle4 ,after several hours ,mary untied them because she was afraid that some lions might come and kill and eat them4 ,now that things were quiet1 ,mary again started for home4 ,on the way she picked up the little banana plant that had caused so much trouble and took it with her4 ,i will plant it in my own yard and see what witchcraft can do6 said ,mary4 ,early the next morning1 a man from ,njiri's village came running into ,ekenge4 ,he went to ,mary's house4 ,ma1 said the runner1 ,chief ,njiri was very sick last night4 ,he suffered very much4 ,the witch doctor took sticks and shells and shot from his leg4 ,it is because he walked past the banana plant and other magic medicine4 ,give me the little banana plant for the chief4 ,no1 ,i cannot do that1 said ,mary4 ,she knew that if the banana plant was taken to the chief1 someone would die because of the witchcraft belief4 ,but you must send it1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,if you do not send it1 he will make war on us4 ,very well1 said ,mary1 ,i will send it4 ,but ,i know there will be much trouble4 ,so he took the banana plant to ,chief ,njiri4 ,when he received it1 he and his warriors went to the village which he thought was working witchcraft against him4 ,he made all the people of the village come to him4 ,in great fear they came4 ,every one of you must swear that you did not make that bad medicine against me4 ,i am going to find out who is working that witchcraft to hurt me4 ,all the people of the village swore they had not done it4 ,i am going to take one of your finest young men with me4 ,if ,i find that you have told me a lie1 ,i will kill him4 ,njiri's warriors captured a young man and took him along4 ,if the villagers had tried to rescue him1 he would have been killed1 and many of them would have been killed also4 ,they sent a man to ,mary4 ,ma1 said the man1 please help us4 ,please get ,njiri to free ,kolu4 ,i don't like to have anything to do with ,njiri4 ,he is very wicked4 ,but ,i will go and try to get ,kolu free4 ,mary went to the village of ,chief ,njiri4 ,she walked right up to the chief4 ,the warriors of ,chief ,njiri looked at her with angry faces4 ,they shook their spears at her4 ,chief ,njiri1 said ,mary1 why have you taken this young man8 ,he has done you no harm4 ,you are doing a bad thing4 ,ha1 ha1 laughed ,chief ,njiri4 ,do you think ,i am so foolish1 ,ma8 ,i know these people put bad medicine in my path4 ,i saw the sticks and shells which the witch doctor took from my leg4 ,if sickness comes1 ,i will kill this man4 ,the village people have sworn to you that they did not put those things in your path1 said ,mary4 ,perhaps they are lying4 ,they are not lying1 but you have lied4 ,you promised to go home and not harm these people4 ,you lied to me4 ,you have made trouble4 ,you went to their village and made them swear4 ,you stole this young man4 ,it is wrong to lie4 ,god will surely punish those who speak with a lying tongue4 ,please set this young man free so that he may return to his village and his people4 ,ma1 answered ,chief ,njiri1 you do not understand these things4 ,you do not know the badness in the hearts of these people4 ,you do not know the bad things they want to do against me4 ,you do not know about witchcraft4 ,oh1 yes1 ,i do1 said ,mary4 ,i know that ,god will punish those who do witchcraft4 ,he will punish those who are foolish enough to believe in it4 ,the people who trust in ,jesus do not fear witchcraft4 ,why do you not trust in ,jesus8 ,i don't need ,jesus4 ,i am a strong chief4 ,i have many warriors4 ,no one can harm me4 ,if no one can hurt you1 why don't you set this young man free8 ,i will not set him free4 ,if ,i keep him1 his people will be afraid even to try hurting me4 ,but think1 ,chief1 how you would feel if you were captured and taken away from your people8 ,think how sad this young man feels4 ,great chiefs show mercy and kindness to the weak4 ,will you show mercy and kindness to the people of the village and free this young man8 ,a great chief is not weak4 ,he does not act like a woman4 ,a woman shows kindness and love4 ,i am not weak4 ,i will punish4 ,i will revenge myself on those who would do evil to me4 ,revenge belongs to the true and powerful ,god4 ,he will punish those who do evil4 ,i beg you1 ,chief ,njiri1 to set this man free4 ,ma1 if ,i were not a good chief ,i would have killed you a long time ago4 ,but go now4 ,i do not want to hear your talk4 ,i will not set this young man free4 ,maybe ,i will kill him4 ,maybe ,i will not kill him4 ,but ,i will not set him free4 ,go1 before ,i become angry with you4 ,i will go1 but remember ,chief ,njiri1 the great and powerful ,god who sees and knows the badness in your heart4 ,he knows the evil you do4 ,please turn to ,him and believe in ,him before it is too late and you end in ,hell1 the place where bad people suffer forever4 ,go1 said ,chief ,njiri angrily1 get out of my village4 ,go back to ,ekenge4 ,sadly ,mary started back to ,ekenge4 ,i have failed these people who asked for my help4 ,o ,god1 soften the heart of ,chief ,njiri and keep ,your protecting hand over the young man ,kolu4 ,when ,chief ,edem heard that ,njiri would not set the man free1 he said1 ,njiri has insulted our ,ma4 ,let the warriors get their spears and shields4 ,let us get ready for war4 ,the women slipped quietly into ,mary's room to tell her the latest news4 ,it made ,mary sad that these men were getting ready for a war1 but neither one of the chiefs would listen to her4 ,mary knew where to go for help4 ,she prayed to ,god4 ,o ,god1 prayed ,mary1 ,you can stop this war4 ,you can soften the hearts of these cruel chiefs4 ,please stop this war so that the warriors may not be killed and their wives made widows and their children orphans4 ,hear me for the sake of ,jesus1 my ,saviour4 ,a man knocked on the door of ,mary's hut4 ,ma1 ,ma1 he cried1 ,kolu has been set free4 ,chief ,njiri let him go1 and he is back at the village4 ,there will be no war6 ,thank ,you1 ,father in ,heaven1 prayed ,mary4 ,thank ,you that ,you heard my prayers and that peace and quiet will again be in the villages4 ,mary had a true friend in ,ma ,eme1 the sister of ,chief ,edem4 ,she helped ,mary often4 ,she did everything she could to help ,mary and the mission1 but one thing she never did1 that was to confess ,christ openly4 ,she and ,mary talked of many things as they worked together4 ,one day ,ma ,eme said1 ,when my husband died1 ,i had to go through the chicken test4 ,what is that8 asked ,mary4 ,all of my husband's wives1 ,i too1 were put on trial4 ,the witch doctors were trying to find who caused my husband1 a great chief1 to die4 ,each of us had to bring a chicken4 ,the witch doctor chopped off the heads of the chickens one at a time4 ,if the headless chicken fluttered one way1 the witch doctor said the wife was innocent4 ,if it fluttered the other way1 he said she was guilty4 ,what happened when they cut off the head of your chicken8 asked ,mary4 ,it fluttered wildly in the right direction4 ,the witch doctor said ,i was innocent4 ,but the strain had been so great ,i fainted and had to be carried to my hut4 ,but many of the other wives were killed4 ,you do not believe in the witch doctors1 do you8 asked ,mary4 ,ma ,eme looked all around4 ,then she stepped close to ,mary and whispered1 ,no1 but ,i would not tell anyone else4 ,they are too strong and tricky4 ,they could cause me much trouble if they knew ,i was against them4 ,i shall fight the witch doctors as long as ,god gives me strength4 ,god is against the witch doctors who do such evil things4 ,chief ,edem had promised ,mary a house1 and the people of the village had said they would build it4 ,but whenever ,mary wanted to start1 they would say1 ,tomorrow1 we will start1 ,ma4 ,but tomorrow just did not come4 ,at last ,mary and the children she had adopted and the native children cleared the ground4 ,they stuck sticks in the ground for the wall4 ,they began to make the roof4 ,then some of the lazy people of the village began to help1 and at last the house was built4 ,mary also wanted to build a church and school at ,ifako4 ,the chief there had promised to help4 ,but the people of that village were lazy1 too4 ,they were always putting off doing the building4 ,one morning a man came from ,ifako4 ,my master wants you1 he said4 ,mary went to ,ifako4 ,the chiefs were together at a cleared piece of ground4 ,see1 ,ma1 here is your ground4 ,here are the sticks1 and mud1 and palm leaves and other things we need to build4 ,shall we build the church today8 ,it did not take long for ,mary to say yes4 ,the people of the village forgot to be lazy4 ,they were having fun building the church4 ,when it was finally finished it was twenty-five feet wide by thirty feet long4 ,we would not think that was a very big building1 but it was the biggest in the village4 ,see1 said the ,chief of ,ifako1 it is much better than the house at ,ekenge4 ,it is a fine church1 said ,mary4 ,now we must keep it clean and nice4 ,there should be no dirty things in or around ,god's house4 ,we would not think it was such a fine church4 ,the walls were made of dry mud and sticks4 ,the roof was made of palm-leaf mats4 ,the floors were made of mud and so were the seats4 ,but everything was polished and rubbed as smooth as possible4 ,there were no windows or doors in the building4 ,there were just holes in the wall to let in the light for windows and a larger hole to serve as an entrance4 ,but ,mary thought it was a fine church because it was the best in that part of the country and because it was a place where people could hear about the ,saviour and learn book4 ,we will hold our first service in the new church next ,sunday1 said ,mary4 ,i want you all to come4 ,we will come1 ,ma1 promised the natives4 #h ,the ,poison ,test ,tomorrow we will have our first service in our new church4 ,you must dress right for it1 said ,mary4 ,she took out of her mission boxes clothes of all kinds and colors which the people in the homeland had sent to her4 ,you must wear these to church tomorrow1 said ,mary4 ,in ,god's house you must be clean4 ,you must be dressed4 ,you must not bring your spears into church4 ,can we come8 asked the children4 ,indeed you can1 said ,mary4 ,the children can come and the slaves can come4 ,god's house is open to everyone4 ,the next day was indeed a happy day for ,mary4 ,the church was filled with people4 ,many of them came just out of curiosity1 but there were many who had learned to know and love and trust in ,jesus4 ,mary now started day classes and these too were crowded because many wanted to learn book4 ,they wanted to learn about ,ma's ,god and about the ,saviour who took away sins4 ,it was not long before a change could be seen in many of these people4 ,they had become ,christians4 ,the look of fear was gone from their eyes4 ,they no longer feared the demons because they had a ,saviour who loved them and took care of them4 ,they did not do the wicked things they had done before4 ,they tried to live as ,god wanted them to live4 ,mary was happy4 ,now she wanted to build a larger and better mission house in ,ekenge4 ,chief ,edem wanted that too4 ,he felt that the church schoolhouse in ,ifako quite outshone the little two-room house in ,ekenge4 ,mary wanted doors and windows in the new house4 ,she could not make them4 ,the natives could not4 ,they had never seen any4 ,mary wrote to the ,mission ,board about it4 ,the ,mission ,board put a notice in the magazine they published asking for a practical carpenter who was willing to go to ,calabar4 ,mr4 ,charles ,ovens saw the notice4 ,this is ,god's call to me1 he said4 ,i have wanted to be a missionary ever since ,i was a little boy4 ,i could not study to be a minister4 ,i learned to be a carpenter4 ,now ,i can be a carpenter for ,god4 ,i can build mission houses and churches and while ,i build ,i can tell the people about my ,saviour4 ,it was in ,may1 #ahhi1 that ,mr4 ,ovens started for ,calabar4 ,in ,duke ,town he found a native helper and the two of them went to ,ekenge4 ,mary was very glad to have him come4 ,he was a very jolly man4 ,he sang at his work4 ,everyone liked him and the natives gladly helped him in building the houses4 ,for a long time ,mary had been trying to get the chiefs of ,okoyong to trade with the traders on the coast4 ,they would not listen4 ,now she invited them to her new house4 ,she showed them the things she had and how useful they were4 ,the chiefs looked at the door and windows4 ,they liked them4 ,the women looked at the clothes and at the sewing machine4 ,they liked them4 ,they looked at the clock on the mantel4 ,they liked it1 too4 ,we will trade with coast people1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,mary wrote to the traders and invited them to ,okoyong4 ,she told them to bring dishes1 dress goods1 mirrors1 clocks1 and the like to trade for ivory1 oil1 and bananas and other things in the jungle4 ,it is too dangerous to come up-country1 answered the traders4 ,we are afraid the native guards on the jungle paths will kill us4 ,mary wrote to good ,king ,eyo1 of ,duke ,town4 ,she asked him to invite the ,okoyong chiefs for a conference4 ,she promised they would bring jungle goods to trade4 ,king ,eyo invited the chiefs4 ,they did not want to go4 ,mary told them of the interesting things they would see on the coast4 ,she told them of the good things they could get by trading4 ,at last they agreed to go4 ,they collected two canoeloads of bananas1 barrels of oil and other jungle crops4 ,then the chiefs and warriors came marching down to the river to go to the coast4 ,wait1 said ,mary4 ,you cannot take those spears and swords and guns along4 ,you will only get into trouble4 ,you must leave your swords and spears1 your guns and knives at home4 ,when ,mary said this1 many of the natives disappeared into the jungle4 ,they would not go without their weapons4 ,ma1 you make women of us1 argued those who remained4 ,would a man go among strangers without arms8 ,you may not take arms1 said ,mary4 ,you are not going to war4 ,you are going for a friendly visit4 ,if we cannot take our swords and guns we will not go4 ,we will stay home4 ,but you promised and ,i promised ,king ,eyo that you would come4 ,will you go back on your word and make me a liar8 ,for two hours they argued with ,mary4 ,the beach filled with natives from the village who wanted to see the chiefs start on their trip4 ,the chiefs did not want to look like cowards to the people of the village4 ,at last they took off their swords and gave their guns to their white ,ma4 ,those who had run away to the jungle came back and decided to go along4 ,we do not like this1 said the chiefs1 but we will go4 ,we will not make you a liar1 ,ma4 ,they got off into their boats4 ,as one of the boats rowed off1 one of the bags shifted4 ,mary saw the gleam of flashing swords4 ,stop6 cried ,mary4 ,the rowers stopped4 ,mary took the swords and threw them into the river4 ,shame on you1 said ,mary4 ,i did not think you would try to fool me like that4 ,the chiefs said nothing4 ,they just rowed down the river4 ,the chiefs who went to ,duke ,town had a wonderful time4 ,they went to the church services4 ,king ,eyo ,honesty talked with them about the ,gospel and what it meant for their lives4 ,he took them to his house and had a big dinner for them4 ,they traded the bananas1 oil1 and other things which they had brought for things to take home like mirrors1 clocks1 and white people's clothes4 ,then the next day they rowed back to ,ekenge4 ,the village people were all gathered down at the landing place to welcome the chiefs home4 ,they watched patiently for the boats4 ,when the boats came the people shouted for joy4 ,welcome home1 ,chief ,edem1 said ,mary4 ,how was your trip8 ,did you enjoy your visit at ,duke ,town8 ,the trip was fine1 ,ma1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,duke ,town is a big village4 ,they have a big churchhouse4 ,we saw many things4 ,did you need your guns and swords8 asked ,mary4 ,no1 ,ma1 you were right4 ,we did not need guns or swords4 ,king ,eyo was good to us4 ,we have many fine things4 ,if you work hard and get things to trade1 you can get many more fine things1 said ,mary4 ,we are going to work hard4 ,we want many of those fine things we saw4 ,the men did work4 ,because they were busy they had less time and less desire to get drunk and quarrel4 ,mary's missionary work was having its effect on the lives of the people4 ,slowly they were changing from their heathen ways1 but there was still much to do4 ,one day while ,mary and ,mr4 ,ovens were working on the mission house they heard a wild scream from the nearby jungle4 ,mary jumped up4 ,something is wrong in the jungle1 said ,mary4 ,johnny1 go and see what it is4 ,one of her orphan boys ran off to find out what was wrong4 ,in a few minutes he came back4 ,ma1 ,ma1 he cried1 a man is hurt4 ,maybe he is dead4 ,come quick4 ,mary grabbed her case of medicines and followed ,johnny into the jungle4 ,when she reached the place where the young man was lying1 she looked into his face4 ,it is ,etim1 the son of our chief1 ,edem4 ,he is going to get married soon and is building his house4 ,a tree fell the wrong way and hit him4 ,he cannot move his arms or legs4 ,this means bad trouble4 ,the people will say it is witchcraft4 ,mary with her helpers quickly made a stretcher to carry ,etim4 ,they carried him to his mother's home at ,ekenge4 ,i will nurse him1 said ,mary to ,etim's mother4 ,for two weeks ,mary took care of him night and day4 ,she prayed ,god to spare the young man's life4 ,she did everything she knew to help him4 ,etim did not get better4 ,day by day he became worse4 ,sunday morning came4 ,mary could see that he did not have long to live4 ,she left him for a short time to arrange for ,mr4 ,ovens to take care of the church services4 ,hearing ,etim groaning and crying out1 she rushed back to the house where he was4 ,the natives were blowing smoke into his nose4 ,they were rubbing pepper into his eyes4 ,his uncle1 ,ekponyong1 shouted into his ears4 ,they thought they were helping him to get well4 ,instead they made him die sooner4 ,in a moment he gave a cry and fell back dead4 ,etim is dead6 cried the people in the house4 ,witches have killed him6 ,they must die6 ,bring the witch doctor at once6 ,the people who were in the house quickly disappeared1 and soon only ,mary and ,etim's relatives were left4 ,when the witch doctor came1 he did all kinds of queer things1 which he said would tell him who had made the young man die4 ,he pretended to be listening to the dead boy talk4 ,it is the people of ,payekong4 ,they are to blame4 ,they put a spell on him1 said the witch doctor4 ,chief ,edem called for the leader of his soldiers4 ,take my warriors and go to ,payekong1 said ,chief ,e'dem4 ,capture the people and burn down the houses4 ,quickly now6 ,the warriors were too late4 ,chief ,akpo1 the chief of ,payekong1 had heard the news4 ,he and his people had run off into the jungle4 ,only a few people were left in the village4 ,those were captured by ,edem's soldiers and brought to ,ekenge4 ,mary was sure that ,chief ,edem would make the people take the poison bean test4 ,this is how the test was made3 ,a small brown bean full of poison was crushed and put into water4 ,the person who was tested had to drink the poison water4 ,the natives thought that if the person drank the water and died1 he was guilty2 if he lived1 he was innocent4 ,that is no way to honor your son1 ,chief ,edem1 said ,mary4 ,you know it is wrong and sinful to kill people4 ,but they are bad people4 ,they deserve to die4 ,you do not know that4 ,that water is poison4 ,anyone who drinks it would die4 ,oh1 no1 ,ma1 if the one who drinks it is innocent he will live4 ,i do not agree with you4 ,come1 let us honor your son in a better way4 ,mary wrapped the young man's body in silk4 ,she dressed him in the finest suit she could find4 ,she wrapped a silk turban around his head and then placed a high red and black hat with bright colored feathers on his head4 ,no chief had ever been dressed so fine for his burial4 ,the body was carried out into the yard and seated in a large chair under an umbrella4 ,a silver-headed stick and a whip was placed in his hand4 ,this showed he was a chief's son4 ,a mirror was also put in his hand so he could see how wonderful he was4 ,on a table beside him were placed all his treasures4 ,those included skulls he had taken in war4 ,then the people were let into the yard to see ,etim4 ,the people shouted4 ,they were so happy they danced around4 ,they called for whiskey to drink4 ,chief ,edem gave them much whiskey to drink4 ,they became wilder and wilder4 ,mary and ,mr4 ,ovens took turns watching the prisoners4 ,they were afraid the people would kill them4 ,as ,mary was going to her house for a little rest1 she saw some poison beans on the pounding stone4 ,this filled her with fear4 ,she was not afraid for herself1 but for the poor prisoners4 ,she fell on her knees and prayed4 ,dear ,father in ,heaven1 prayed ,mary1 watch over these poor people4 ,do not let harm come to these prisoners4 ,keep the other people from doing murder4 ,give me the courage to face the chiefs and tell them they are wrong4 ,in all these things may ,thy will be done4 ,i ask this in ,jesus' name4 ,after she had prayed ,mary got up and went to ,chief ,edem and his brother ,ekponyong4 ,you must forbid the poison bean test1 said ,mary4 ,it is wrong and sinful4 ,god is watching what you do4 ,do not do that sinful thing4 ,that is my business1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,i am the chief of this tribe4 ,i will do what seems good to me4 ,mary argued with the chief1 but he would not listen4 ,ekponyong1 his brother1 encouraged ,edem to make the prisoners take the poison bean test4 ,mary then went to the yard where the prisoners were kept4 ,she sat down in the gateway4 ,she was not going to let anyone get the prisoners4 ,this made the chiefs very angry4 ,the crowd of village people howled and yelled4 ,chief ,edem's warriors shook their swords and guns at her and stamped the ground angrily4 ,raise our master from the dead1 shouted the people1 and we will free the prisoners6 ,mary kept her place4 ,she wrote a note to ,duke ,town asking for help and sent it off secretly by one of her orphan boys4 ,still she watched over the prisoners4 ,she would not leave her place in the gate4 ,the people were angry with her1 but still many of them loved and respected their white ,ma and would not hurt her4 ,suddenly a man pushed his way through the crowd4 ,he shoved ,mary aside4 ,he grabbed one of the women prisoners4 ,he dragged her in front of the body of ,etim4 ,he handed her the cup of poison4 ,drink6 he cried4 ,drink and prove that you are innocent1 or drink and die6 #i ,victories for ,mary ,oh ma1 do not leave us4 ,please do not leave us1 begged the other prisoners as the poor woman prisoner got ready to drink the poison4 ,lord1 help me and help these poor people1 prayed ,mary4 ,mary went up to the woman4 ,the woman raised the cup of poison to her lips4 ,mary grabbed her arm4 ,run1 she whispered4 ,run to the mission house4 ,before the crowd knew what was happening1 ,mary and the woman had run far into the jungle4 ,they went to the mission house4 ,no one would dare to harm anyone in the mission house4 ,mary then went back to the other prisoners4 ,o ,god1 ,i thank ,thee that ,i was able to help this poor woman get away4 ,help me to save these other prisoners also4 ,when ,mary got back to the other prisoners1 the argument with the chiefs started again4 ,an innocent person will not die if he drinks the poison1 said ,ekponyong4 ,only a bad1 guilty person will die4 ,that is not right1 answered ,mary4 ,poison will kill anyone1 good or bad4 ,chief ,edem1 you know it was an accident that your son died4 ,it was not the fault of any of these people4 ,please let them go free4 ,i want my son to be buried in a box like the white people1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,will ,bwana ,ovens make a fine box for my son8 ,i will make a coffin for your son if you will let the prisoners go free1 said ,mr4 ,ovens4 ,no1 no1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,then ,i will not make a box for you4 ,well1 then ,i will let some go free1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,no1 you must not let them go free1 said ,ekponyong4 ,if ,i want to let them go free1 ,i can1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,i am chief1 don't forget that4 ,show that you are a great and wise chief1 said ,mary4 ,let them all go free4 ,chief ,edem thought a while4 ,then he spoke4 ,if ,bwana ,ovens will make a fine box for my son then ,i will let all go free but ,mojo1 ,otinga1 and ,obwe1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,but why keep them8 asked ,mary4 ,mojo and ,otinga are related to ,etim's mother4 ,they planned bad things against my boy4 ,obwe is related to ,chief ,akpo who has run away because he is guilty4 ,now if ,i let these others go will you build me a box ,bwana ,ovens8 ,yes1 ,i will build you a box1 said ,mr4 ,ovens4 ,please let the three go free1 too1 said ,mary4 ,they have done you no wrong4 ,we have done more for you than we have ever done before4 ,we will do nothing else1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,he turned his back on ,mary and walked away4 ,people from other villages came to take part in the wild parties that were always held when there was a funeral4 ,mary tried again and again to get ,edem to free the three prisoners4 ,mary and ,mr4 ,ovens managed to take ,mojo and ,otinga to the mission house where they were safe4 ,again ,mary pleaded for ,obwe4 ,chief ,edem was very angry4 ,will you not have me honor my son8 ,you have run off with my prisoners4 ,i will burn down the mission house4 ,i will send you back to ,duke ,town4 ,then you cannot trouble me any longer4 ,brother1 you do not speak wisely1 said ,ma ,eme1 ,e'dem's sister4 ,the white ,ma has done many good things for us4 ,if we burn down the mission house you will have a bad name among all tribes4 ,chain ,obwe in the white ,ma's yard so that the village people cannot harm her4 ,she cannot get away and you can find out later whether she is guilty or not4 ,very well1 said ,chief ,edem1 ,i will do that4 ,but the three must be killed for the funeral4 ,what kind of a funeral will that be for a chief's son if no one is killed8 ,he will have no one to go with him on the way to the dark land4 ,the next day two missionaries came from ,duke ,town in answer to ,mary's note4 ,it was a great honor to have so many white people at a funeral4 ,chief ,edem was no longer as angry as he had been4 ,the missionaries showed slide pictures4 ,the natives had never seen anything like it before4 ,it pleased them very much and it also quieted them down4 ,the next day when the funeral was held1 a cow was killed and put in the coffin with ,etim instead of the people who were thought to have worked witchcraft against him4 ,mary was glad and thankful to ,god that she had been able to save the prisoners4 ,the last of the prisoners was let go free on the promise that if ,chief ,akpo was caught he would take the poison test4 ,mary heard that ,etim was the only chief in ,okoyong ever to be buried without some people being killed as a human sacrifice4 ,the people of the jungle thought ,mary was wonderful indeed4 ,mary thought that this trouble was over1 but a short time later ,etim's uncle1 who lived in a nearby village1 was accused of having killed the young man4 ,he came to ,ekenge and met with the village chiefs4 ,i am willing to take the poison bean test1 said the uncle1 if all of the chiefs will take the test4 ,that means you1 too1 ,edem4 ,those who are innocent will not be hurt4 ,i will take the test1 but all the other chiefs must1 too4 ,when ,mary heard that ,etim's uncle was going to take the poison bean test if the other chiefs would1 she rushed to the village4 ,the men were arguing4 ,they were shaking their swords and guns at one another4 ,mary looked around until she found the bag of poison beans4 ,she took them and ran off with them4 ,the chiefs could not find the poison beans4 ,finally1 they quieted down4 ,chief ,edem went to ,mary4 ,give me the poison beans1 he said4 ,i know you have taken them4 ,yes1 ,i took them1 said ,mary1 but ,i will not give them to you4 ,there has been enough trouble and sadness and fear4 ,when will you be satisfied that your son's death was an accident8 ,chief ,edem turned around and went back to the village4 ,he sent all the chiefs home4 ,nothing more was said about the poison bean test4 ,now ,mary began to plead for ,akpo1 the chief of the village which the witch doctor had said had caused ,etim to be killed4 ,chief ,edem1 let him come home4 ,forgive him4 ,he has done you no wrong4 ,god softened ,edem's heathen heart4 ,after several weeks he agreed to let ,akpo come home4 ,you may tell him1 ,edem said to ,mary1 that all thought of revenge is gone from my heart4 ,if he wishes to return to his own village1 he may do so1 or he may go anywhere in ,okoyong in safety4 ,nothing like that had ever been done before in the jungle4 ,the heathen people did not forgive4 ,they always took revenge4 ,akpo did not believe ,edem had forgiven him4 ,he did not want to trust ,edem4 ,at last ,mary convinced him that ,edem meant just what he said and that ,akpo could really go home4 ,mary and ,akpo came to his home village of ,payekong4 ,the houses had been burned4 ,the cattle had been stolen4 ,but it was still home4 ,tears came to ,akpo's eyes4 ,thankfully the chief kneeled at ,mary's feet4 ,oh1 ,ma1 thank you1 thank you for what you have done for me and my people4 ,i and my people will always do whatever you ask4 ,akpo kept his promise4 ,other chiefs often argued with ,mary and threatened to hurt her1 but ,akpo and his people always helped her and did whatever she wanted them to do4 ,chief ,edem now was kind to ,akpo and his people4 ,he built houses for them and helped them get their gardens started again4 ,he gave them some cattle1 too4 ,after some time had gone by1 ,chief ,edem came to ,mary4 ,he kneeled down before her4 ,thank you1 ,ma1 for being brave4 ,thank you for keeping after me until ,i let those prisoners go4 ,i am glad that people were not killed at the time of ,etim's death4 ,your ways are better than ours4 ,we are tired of the old ways4 ,many other people came and told her how glad they were that the old ways were changing4 ,they said that they knew the old ways were bad4 ,mary had had a very hard time in the jungles1 but now things were going better4 ,she was busy all the time1 teaching and preaching and nursing4 ,she journeyed through the jungle where the wild animals were1 but she did not fear4 ,she was trusting ,god to take care of her as ,he had taken care of ,daniel in the lions' den4 ,always she told the people of the loving ,saviour who had died for their sins4 ,after a time ,mary fell sick4 ,she caught the jungle fever4 ,she became very weak4 ,mary1 said ,ovens1 you must take a vacation4 ,you must get away from the jungle for a while4 ,you must go to ,england for a long rest4 ,that way you can get well and come back to work here at ,okoyong4 ,you are right1 said ,mary4 ,much as ,i hate to leave my work here1 ,i know ,i must go4 ,i will ask for a furlough at once4 ,for three years ,mary had worked in ,okoyong4 ,but already there was a change among the heathen people4 ,the ,gospel of ,jesus has a wonderful power to change hearts and lives4 ,as soon as word came that another worker was being sent to take her place1 ,mary got ready to leave for ,england4 ,at last the day came that ,miss ,dunlop1 the new worker1 arrived4 ,mary was ready to leave4 ,her friends carried her trunk and suitcases down to the ,ekenge landing4 ,a great crowd had come to the landing to tell her good-by and wish her a safe journey4 ,mary was telling them to help ,miss ,dunlop and to remain true to the ,bible teaching4 ,suddenly a man was seen running through the crowd4 ,he ran up to ,mary4 ,come1 white ,ma1 a young man has been shot in the hand1 and he wants your medicine6 ,don't go ,ma1 said ,ma ,eme1 ,mary's friend4 ,you are tired and sick4 ,you must get back to ,england4 ,if you go with this man you may miss your boat4 ,let someone else go4 ,it is a bad tribe4 ,they are always fighting4 ,it is dangerous to go1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,do not go with the man4 ,you cannot go1 said her other friends at ,ekenge4 ,you are too sick to walk4 ,the wild animals in the jungle will kill you4 ,the wild warriors are out4 ,they will kill you in the dark1 not knowing who you are4 ,but ,i must go1 said ,mary4 ,if you must go1 said ,chief ,edem1 then you must take two armed men with you4 ,you must get the chief of the next village to send his drummer with you4 ,when the people hear the drum1 they will know that a protected person is traveling who must not be hurt4 ,it was night4 ,mary ,slessor and the two men marched out into the darkness4 ,the lanterns threw strange shadows that looked like fierce men in the darkness4 ,at last ,mary and her guard came to the village where they were to ask for the drummer4 ,they told the chief what ,chief ,edem had said1 but the chief did not want to help them4 ,you are going to a fighting tribe1 said the chief4 ,they will not listen to what a woman says4 ,you had better go back4 ,i will not protect you4 ,you don't think a woman can do much4 ,maybe you are right1 said ,mary to the chief4 ,but you forget what the woman's ,god can do4 ,he can do anything4 ,i shall go on4 ,mary went on into the darkness4 ,the natives watched her go4 ,she must be crazy1 they thought4 ,she had talked back to their chief who had the power to kill her4 ,she had walked on into a jungle where wild leopards were ready to jump on her4 ,she was going where men were drinking and making themselves wild4 ,but ,mary was not afraid4 ,once in talking about her trips through the jungle ,mary said1 ,my great help and comfort was prayer4 ,i did not used to believe the story of ,daniel in the lions' den until ,i had to take some of those awful marches through the jungle4 ,then ,i knew it was true4 ,many times ,i walked alone1 praying1 ',o ,god of ,daniel1 shut their mouths6' and ,he did4 ,after pushing on through the darkness1 ,mary saw the dim outlines of the huts of the village4 ,all was quiet4 ,suddenly she heard the swift patter of bare feet4 ,she was surrounded by warriors shouting1 pushing and shaking their spears4 ,what have you come for8 asked the chief4 ,i have heard a young man is hurt4 ,i come to help him4 ,i also heard that you are going to war4 ,i have come to ask you not to fight1 said ,mary4 ,the chief talked with some of his men4 ,then he came up to ,mary4 ,the white ,ma is welcome1 he said4 ,she shall hear all we have to say before we fight4 ,all the same we shall fight4 ,here is my son wounded by the enemy4 ,we must wipe out the shame put on us4 ,we must get even for this bad thing4 ,now ,ma you may give my son your medicine4 ,then you must rest4 ,women1 you take care of the white ,ma4 ,we will call her at cockcrow when we start4 ,mary fixed the young man's hand4 ,then she laid down in one of the huts for an hour's sleep4 ,it seemed as though her eyes were hardly shut1 before she heard a voice calling her4 ,ma1 they are going to battle4 ,run1 ,ma1 run6 ,the warriors were on the warpath4 ,mary could hear their wild yells and the roll of the war drums4 ,mary ran after them4 ,she was tired from the hard trip to their village4 ,she was weak from the sickness she had4 ,but nothing could stop her4 ,she caught up with the warriors just as they were getting ready to attack an enemy village4 ,behave like men1 she yelled1 not like fools4 ,be quiet now4 ,do not yell and shout4 ,the warriors became silent4 ,god says that revenge is wrong1 said ,mary4 ,he will pay back wicked people for the wrong things they do4 ,you should not try to get even4 ,leave that to ,god4 ,no1 no1 said the chief4 ,if we do not pay back for the wrong done us1 the tribe will not be afraid of us4 ,they will do more bad things to us4 ,yes1 yes1 shouted the warriors4 ,they kept shouting and shaking their swords and guns4 ,did the whole village hurt you8 ,did the whole village shoot the young man8 ,when you fight against the village you will hurt many women and children4 ,they are innocent4 ,they have done nothing4 ,let us pray to ,god about it4 ,all the warriors were quiet as ,mary prayed4 ,she asked ,god to please stop the war if it was ,his will4 ,she prayed for the young man who had been hurt4 ,she prayed for whoever it was that hurt him1 that he might turn away from his wickedness and become a ,christian4 ,she prayed for the people of the village4 ,then ,mary spoke to the warriors4 ,you stay here1 she said1 ,i am going over to the village4 ,fearlessly she walked over to where the line of village warriors were drawn up with their swords and spears4 ,hello1 said ,mary4 ,the warriors said nothing4 ,mary looked over the angry faces4 ,then she laughed4 ,nice bunch1 she said4 ,is this the way you welcome lady visitors8 ,the warriors stirred uneasily4 ,they did not say anything4 ,where is your chief8 asked ,mary4 ,surely he is not afraid to talk to me4 ,an old chief stepped out from behind the village warriors4 ,to ,mary's surprise he kneeled down in front of her4 ,ma1 he said1 we thank you for coming4 ,it is true we shot the young man1 the young chief of those who have come to fight us4 ,but it was one man who did it4 ,the whole village was not at fault4 ,please make peace4 ,tell us what we must do4 ,mary looked into the face of the chief4 ,it was ,chief ,okurike4 ,long ago she had made a hard trip through the jungle in pouring rain to help when he was deathly sick4 ,because of what she had done then1 he was now at her feet asking her to make peace4 ,mary shook hands with ,chief ,okurike4 ,then she spoke to his warriors4 ,stay where you are1 she said4 ,some of you find a place where ,i can sit in comfort4 ,i am hungry4 ,bring me breakfast4 ,i will not starve while men fight4 ,the warriors did as she told them4 ,now1 she said1 choose two or three men to speak for you4 ,we shall have a palaver4 ,in that way we will settle this thing4 ,the four men met and talked with one another while ,mary ate breakfast4 ,why do you want to fight and kill because one drunken man wounded your young chief8 ,mary asked the men from the fighting tribe4 ,let the tribe of the drunken youth pay a fine4 ,a long talk followed4 ,sometimes it became very exciting4 ,the arguing grew loud4 ,the father of the young man wanted to have the man who had shot him punished hard4 ,when the men became angry1 ,mary would stop them4 ,let us pray about this1 ,mary would say4 ,after she had prayed they would settle the point4 ,finally ,mary and her ,god won out4 ,the fighting tribe at last agreed to be satisfied with a fine4 ,the village paid the fine4 ,they did not use money4 ,so the fine was paid in barrels and bottles of trade gin4 ,now ,mary was worried4 ,what should she do8 ,she knew the warriors would drink the gin right away4 ,she knew this would make them fight after all in spite of their promises4 ,a quick thought came to her4 ,according to the law of these people1 clothes thrown over anything gave it the protection of your body4 ,no one else could touch it4 ,mary snatched off her skirt4 ,she took off all the clothes she could spare4 ,she spread them over the barrels and bottles4 ,now no one could touch them4 ,mary took the one glass the tribe had4 ,she gave one glassful to each chief to show that there was no trick and that the barrels and bottles were really filled with gin4 ,then she spoke to them about fighting4 ,if all of you go to your homes and don't fight1 said ,mary1 ,i'll promise to send the stuff after you4 ,i must go away4 ,i have been sick and ,i must go where ,i can get strong again4 ,i am going across the great waters to my home4 ,i shall be away many moons4 ,will you promise me that you will not fight while ,i am gone8 ,it will make me very happy if you will make that promise4 ,it will make me sad if you don't1 for ,i will always be wondering whether you are fighting and hurting one another4 ,i will promise1 said the chief of the village1 if the other chief will4 ,all the warriors looked at the chief whose son had been hurt4 ,for a long time he said nothing4 ,his tribe had always been fighters4 ,it would be hard for them to give up fighting4 ,the chief rubbed his chin4 ,he scratched his head4 ,yes1 ,ma1 he said finally1 ,i will promise that we will not fight while you are gone4 ,the two villages kept the promise made by their chiefs4 ,when ,mary came back the two chiefs could say1 ,it is peace4 ,mary was very tired4 ,slowly she tramped through the hot jungle4 ,after many hours she came to ,ekenge4 ,we have sent your trunks and things on ahead1 said ,chief ,edem4 ,here are my best rowers and best soldiers4 ,they are ready to take you to ,duke ,town4 ,mary once more stepped into the canoe4 ,this time there was no one to call her back4 ,little black ,janie1 whom ,mary had adopted1 was with her4 ,good-by1 good-by1 ,ma1 shouted the crowd4 ,god keep you safe and bring you back to us again4 ,the rowers pulled their oars strongly1 and swiftly down the slow moving river went the canoe4 ,three years ,mary had spent in ,okoyong4 ,already she had seen a change in the heathen people4 ,a greater change was still to come4 ,mary was going to see more of the power the ,gospel has to change heathen hearts and lives4 #aj ,a ,disappointment ,mary wrote to the ,mission ,board2 ,charles and ,i are very much in love4 ,we would like to be married4 ,charles is a wonderful ,christian and a very fine teacher4 ,he would be a very great help in my jungle work4 ,we hope that you will agree to our marriage and let ,charles go into the jungle with me4 ,i am ready to do what you say4 ,i lay the whole matter in ,god's hands and will take from ,him what ,he sees best for ,his work in ,okoyong4 ,my life was laid on the altar for that people long ago1 and ,i would not take one jot or tittle of it back4 ,if it be for ,his glory and the advantage of ,his cause there to let another join in it1 ,i will be grateful4 ,if not1 ,i will be grateful anyway1 for ,god knows best4 ,the ,board was very much surprised to get this letter4 ,if the ,board members had thought about it at all1 they had thought that ,mary would never marry4 ,she was forty-three years old and ,charles ,morrison1 her sweetheart1 was twenty-five4 ,he was a mission teacher at ,duke ,town4 ,the difference in their ages did not bother the sweethearts4 ,they met and had fallen in love4 ,they wanted to marry4 ,i will marry you if the ,mission ,board will agree to letting you work in the jungle with me1 said ,mary4 ,but suppose the ,board will not let me go into the jungle1 wouldn't you be willing to come back to ,duke ,town with me8 asked ,charles4 ,no1 ,charles1 ,i couldn't4 ,i love you very much1 more than anyone ,i have ever known1 but my work for ,god is in the jungles4 ,there no one else has yet planted the ,gospel seed4 ,to leave a field like ,okoyong without a worker and go to one like ,duke ,town with ten or a dozen workers where the people have the ,bible and plenty of privileges--that's foolish4 ,if ,god does not send you into the jungle with me1 then you must do your work and ,i must do mine where we have been placed4 ,it was not long after ,mary had returned to ,england that the ,mission ,board gave its answer to her request4 ,the answer was no4 ,what the ,lord decides is right1 said ,mary4 ,i believe that the ,mission ,board is giving me ,god's answer because they are ,his servants4 ,what ,mary suffered no one knew4 ,she longed to have a life's partner by her side in the great work of bringing the ,gospel to the jungle1 but having given her life to ,god1 she felt that ,he must be her first love4 ,charles ,morrison1 however1 took the refusal very hard4 ,he became sick and had to go home4 ,later he went to ,america where he died4 ,now that ,mary was home in ,england1 she soon got over the jungle fevers4 ,people wanted to hear about the missionary work in ,africa4 ,mary went from church to church telling about her work4 ,she did not like to do this4 ,she would rather be in the jungle telling the natives about ,jesus4 ,it is hard for me to speak1 said ,mary1 but ,jesus has asked me to do it1 and it is an honor to speak for ,him4 ,i wish to do it cheerfully4 ,everywhere people were thrilled to hear about the work for ,jesus in the jungle4 ,they wanted to do something1 too4 ,they gave money4 ,they sent boxes of clothes and food and other things out to ,africa to help the heathen4 ,then ,mary got sick with influenza and bronchitis4 ,she could not go around speaking any more4 ,instead1 she wrote some articles for a missionary paper4 ,the ,gospel must be preached to the people of ,calabar1 she said4 ,then the people ought to be taught some trades4 ,they should learn to be carpenters and farmers and the like4 ,we ought to send out people who can teach them these trades so that they can make a living4 ,this was a new idea to many people4 ,they wrote to other missionaries to find out what they thought about it4 ,later a school1 ,the ,hope ,waddell ,training ,institute1 was started4 ,this school taught the boys and girls of ,calabar many trades4 ,mary was slow in getting well4 ,she and ,janie1 the black girl she had brought with her1 went to the southern part of ,england1 where the climate was milder4 ,it was hoped that the sea breezes and the mild climate would bring back her health4 ,days and weeks went by4 ,little by little ,mary got better4 ,the year #ahia came to an end4 ,the bells rang in the ,new ,year4 ,soon we can go back to dear ,calabar1 said ,mary4 ,oh1 how ,i want to get back and tell more people there about the ,lord ,jesus4 ,in ,february1 #ahib1 ,mary and ,janie sailed for ,calabar4 ,what new adventures awaited them in ,africa8 ,welcome home1 ,ma1 welcome1 shouted the people of ,okoyong4 ,god bless you4 ,praise the ,lord for sending you back to us6 ,when ,mary came back to ,okoyong1 things were much different from what they had been the first time she came4 ,now there was a fine mission house4 ,churches and schoolhouses had been built in many of the villages4 ,the people were slowly but surely turning away from their heathen customs4 ,formerly no chief ever died without the sacrifice of many human lives1 but this was not done any more4 ,one of the chiefs said1 ,ma1 you white people are ,god ,almighty4 ,no other power could have done this4 ,there were still many chiefs who liked to go to war and to fight with other tribes4 ,but ,mary had friends who would tell her of the plans of these chiefs4 ,she would have to go to them and persuade them not to fight4 ,one of ,mary's dearest friends was ,ma ,eme4 ,when she would hear of trouble1 she would send a messenger to ,mary with a medicine bottle4 ,this would mean1 ,be ready for trouble4 ,mary was so good at settling the arguments between the chiefs that the ,british government made her a vice-consul4 ,this was something like a governor and judge4 ,the jungle people would not let the white men come and make new laws or settle their arguments1 but they did listen to ,mary4 ,she was a very fair and honest judge4 ,the people loved and obeyed her4 ,but life was not easy4 ,not all the natives were ,christians4 ,even those who were1 were not always good ,christians but would sometimes slip back into the old heathen ways4 ,then it was hard for ,mary and her helpers to get to the different places4 ,there were no easy roads through the jungles1 and wild animals were always there ready to kill the careless traveler4 ,mary received many gifts both from the natives and from her friends in ,england and ,scotland4 ,one of the gifts she loved the best was a little steamboat1 which the natives called smoking canoe4 ,the boys and girls in ,scotland had given the money to buy this boat4 ,but ,mary was not satisfied4 ,she did not want to take life easy4 ,as soon as she had built a church and the people were beginning to become civilized1 she wanted to move on to wilder places4 ,i want to start new work1 said ,mary4 ,let those who are younger and who have not been in this work as long as ,i have1 take the places where the work has been begun4 ,many of ,mary's friends among the natives had gone to ,akpap1 which was a village south of ,ekenge4 ,this village was about six miles from the ,cross ,river4 ,it was a large trading center4 ,many heathen came to this village to trade their goods for other things they wanted4 ,mary wrote to the ,mission ,board and asked them to let her begin work in this new place4 ,we cannot at this time let you start work at ,akpap1 wrote the ,mission ,board4 ,to start there we would have to build a mission house1 and we do not have the money for that4 ,besides the nearest landing place is ,ikunetu4 ,this is six miles from ,akpap4 ,the forests are wild and hard to get through4 ,we believe you should continue the work at ,ekenge4 ,mary wrote again and again1 trying to persuade the ,board to let her start work at ,akpap4 ,at last the ,mission ,board agreed to let her start work there4 ,they promised to build a mission house and a boathouse for her steamboat4 ,mary did not wait for the house to be built4 ,in #ahif she built a two-room native shed4 ,here she began her work4 ,the house was not as good as the first house she built in ,ekenge4 ,this did not bother ,mary4 ,she was more concerned about bringing the ,gospel to the heathen4 ,the work here was like that in ,ekenge4 ,the chiefs came with the troubles they were having in their tribes4 ,they wanted her advice4 ,the people came with their family problems and wanted her to tell them what to do4 ,there were many heathen people who came from the jungle to visit her4 ,mary taught her classes4 ,she conducted ,sunday services4 ,she was busy all the time4 ,then one day the smallpox sickness broke out4 ,you must all be vaccinated1 said ,mary to the natives4 ,i will scratch your arm with this medicine and the smallpox will stay away from you4 ,hour after hour1 far into the night1 day after day1 ,mary vaccinated the natives4 ,when her medicine ran out1 she took blood from the arms of those who had been vaccinated to use as vaccination medicine4 ,one day a man came running to the house where ,mary was living in ,akpap4 ,he had run a long way4 ,he was scratched up and sweating4 ,he had run through the jungle without stopping4 ,ma1 ,ma1 he cried1 the smallpox sickness has come to ,ekenge4 ,chief ,ekponyong and ,chief ,edem are sick and many1 many more4 ,come quick1 oh1 come to ,ekenge or we shall all die4 ,i will come with you at once1 said ,mary to the messenger from ,ekenge4 ,i will help your people fight the smallpox sickness4 ,mary went back to ,ekenge4 ,the smallpox sickness was very bad4 ,nearly the whole village was sick4 ,we must have a hospital1 said ,mary4 ,i know what we will do4 ,we will make my house here a hospital4 ,soon the house was filled to overflowing with sick people4 ,she had to be doctor1 nurse1 and undertaker4 ,many of her close friends died4 ,chief ,ekponyong1 who at first had worked against ,mary and then had become her friend1 died4 ,chief ,edem1 the chief of ,ekenge1 was very sick4 ,the tired missionary did everything she could to save the old heathen's life4 ,but one dark night he died4 ,mary was all alone4 ,mary made a coffin for the chief4 ,she put his body in it4 ,then she dug a grave4 ,she dragged the coffin to the grave and buried it4 ,completely tired out she dragged herself back to ,akpap4 ,just at this time ,mr4 ,ovens and another missionary came up from ,duke ,town4 ,they came to ,mary's hut at ,akpap4 ,all was still and quiet4 ,mr4 ,ovens looked at the other missionary4 ,something is wrong1 he said4 ,he knocked loudly at the door4 ,he knocked and knocked again4 ,finally ,mary awoke and opened the door4 ,the missionaries saw how tired and sick she looked4 ,what is wrong8 asked ,ovens4 ,mary told them about the sickness at ,ekenge4 ,she told them of what she had done4 ,i don't see how you could have done that work alone1 said ,mr4 ,ovens4 ,won't you go and bury the rest of the dead8 asked ,mary4 ,i was just too tired to do it4 ,yes1 we will1 said ,mr4 ,ovens4 ,the two missionaries went to ,ekenge4 ,there they found the mission house filled with dead bodies4 ,they buried these people and preached to those who were still living about the ,saviour4 ,mary was weak and sick1 but she kept right on working4 ,in one of her letters to a friend she tells about some of her work3 ,four are at my feet listening4 ,five boys outside are getting a reading lesson from ,janie4 ,a man is lying on the ground who has run away from his master1 and is staying with me for safety until ,i get him forgiven4 ,an old chief is here with a girl who has a bad sore on her arm4 ,a woman is begging me to help her get her husband to treat her better4 ,three people are here for vaccination4 ,every evening she would have family worship4 ,mary sat on the mud floor in one of the shed rooms4 ,in front of her in a half-circle were the many children she had adopted and was taking care of4 ,behind them were the baskets holding the twin babies she had recently rescued4 ,the light from a little lamp shone on the bright faces4 ,mary read slowly from the ,bible4 ,then she explained the ,bible reading to the children and prayed4 ,then she sang a song in the native language4 ,the tune was a ,scottish melody and as she sang she kept time with a tamborine4 ,if any of the children did not pay attention1 ,mary would lean forward and tap his head with the tamborine4 ,mary did not get her strength back4 ,she was not well4 ,the mission committee at ,calabar decided that even though they had no worker to take her place1 she must go home on a vacation which was long overdue4 ,but who will take care of the work at ,akpap8 asked ,mary4 ,mr4 ,ovens1 the carpenter1 who is building the mission house at ,akpap1 can do the work until we find someone to take your place1 answered the chairman of the committee4 ,but what shall ,i do with my many black children8 ,i don't want them to go back to heathen ways of living while ,i am gone4 ,i don't like to ask the other mission workers to take care of them for me4 ,don't worry1 ,mary4 ,we will find places for them4 ,places were found for all the adopted children except the four black children whom she planned to take along with her4 ,these were ,janie1 who was now sixteen years old1 ,mary was five1 ,alice three1 and ,maggie was only eighteen months old4 ,now ,mary had to find ways of clothing the children4 ,the rags they wore in the jungle would not do for the trip to ,scotland4 ,mary took her trouble to the ,lord1 and ,he wonderfully answered her prayer4 ,when she reached ,duke ,town1 she found that a missionary box had just come1 and it had just the things she needed4 ,mary took her children on board the big ship4 ,it was the biggest canoe that any of the children except ,janie had ever seen4 ,we're on our way to bonny ,scotland1 said ,mary4 #aa ,clouds and ,sunshine ,the other missionaries at ,calabar1 said ,mary1 work as hard1 if not harder1 than ,i do4 ,we need more workers to preach the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ for your lost black brothers and sisters4 ,they have souls just as you do4 ,jesus loves them just as ,he does you4 ,we must tell them of ,his love4 ,i would like to go farther inland to people who have never heard the ,gospel and make a home among the cannibals4 ,mary was giving a talk at one of the churches4 ,as soon as she was well enough to make speeches1 many of the churches wanted to hear her4 ,the people were very much interested in the black children she had adopted and brought with her4 ,many of them had never seen black people before4 ,mary had some trouble speaking in ,english4 ,for many years now she had been speaking almost all the time in the ,african language4 ,it was sometimes hard for her to say the right ,english words1 but the ,holy ,spirit helped her1 and the people remembered her talks and gave generously for the work in ,africa44 ,late in the year #ahih ,mary and the black children got on the big canoe and sailed back to ,africa4 ,they spent a happy ,christmas on the ship4 ,once more strong and well1 ,mary went back to work in ,akpap4 ,she taught the children and grownups4 ,she healed the sick4 ,she visited in the bush and in the jungle4 ,during this time ,mary had the joy of seeing six young men become ,christians4 ,these young men she trained and sent to the neighboring villages as ,gospel workers4 ,she had hoped for more helpers1 but was grateful that ,god had given her these4 ,more and more of the jungle people heard about her4 ,bushmen traveled hundreds of miles to see the white ,ma who told them about ,jesus4 ,mary used every chance she had to tell the ,gospel to heathen who had never heard it4 ,the stories the visiting people told about their lands and the inland tribes filled ,mary with the desire to explore other parts of the country4 ,often in the mission boat or in a canoe she traveled to villages farther away4 ,on one trip the canoe in which ,mary was riding was attacked by a hippopotamus4 ,mary thought her end had come4 ,nevertheless1 she bravely fought off the animal1 using metal cooking pots and pans as weapons4 ,in the southern part of ,nigeria was a strong1 wild tribe called the ,aros4 ,they were a proud but wicked people4 ,they made war on peaceful tribes4 ,they would steal people from peaceful villages and make them slaves4 ,they prayed to the ,devil1 and they killed people as human sacrifices to please their idols4 ,they were cannibals who ate people4 ,the government decided to make this tribe stop doing these bad things4 ,a small band of soldiers was sent against this tribe to make them obey4 ,this made ,mary sad4 ,she knew that sending soldiers to fight against these people would not change them4 ,she knew that only the ,gospel could change the black men's hearts4 ,she wished she could go to this tribe with the ,gospel of ,jesus1 but the government said no4 ,the government officers feared there might be a tribal war which would even come to ,okoyong4 ,they decided that ,mary would be safer in ,creek ,town than ,akpap4 ,sadly ,mary left her friends and spent three months in ,creek ,town4 ,her ,okoyong friends did not forget her4 ,they came often to visit her and brought her gifts4 ,they also brought their quarrels to her to settle4 ,they called her their queen4 ,finally1 ,mary was allowed to go back to ,akpap4 ,three years went by4 ,it was now fifteen years since ,mary had first come to ,okoyong4 ,on the anniversary of the day that she came a celebration was held4 ,seven young men whom ,mary had won for ,christ were baptized4 ,the ,rev4 ,w4,t4 ,weir1 a missionary from ,creek ,town1 helped in organizing the first ,okoyong ,christian ,church4 ,the following ,sunday the church was filled to overflowing4 ,mary presented eleven children for baptism4 ,the ,lord's ,supper was served for the first time to natives and white workers who had accepted ,christ as their ,saviour4 ,after songs had been sung and speeches made by others1 ,mary got up to speak4 ,you must build a church large enough to take care of all who come to hear ,god's ,word4 ,okoyong now looks to you who have accepted ,christ as your ,saviour and who have joined the church for proof of the power of the ,gospel1 more than it looks to me4 ,i am very happy over all that has been done these past fifteen years1 but it is ,god who did it4 ,to ,him belongs all the glory4 ,mission houses1 schools1 and a church have been built4 ,wicked heathen customs have been stopped4 ,chiefs have quit fighting1 and women are much better off than they were when ,i came4 ,let us praise ,god for this and let us go on and do greater things4 ,the ,lord will help us and will bless our work4 ,mary was happy the way the work was going1 but she was not satisfied4 ,she wanted to go to other places4 ,this cannibal land of deep darkness with woods of spooky mystery is like a magnet1 said ,mary ,slessor4 ,it draws me on and on4 ,where is this country where you want to work8 asked ,miss ,wright1 one of the teachers at the ,girls' ,institute at ,calabar4 ,it lies to the west of the ,cross ,river4 ,it stretches for miles and miles toward the ,niger ,river4 ,haven't any missionaries been there8 ,none have gone into the forest4 ,missionaries and traders have gone along the edge of it when they went up the ,cross ,river4 ,what tribes live in this dark and mysterious country8 asked ,miss ,wright4 ,the ,ibo tribe lives in most of the country1 but they are ruled by the ,aros clan1 said ,mary4 ,who are they8 ,tell me something about them1 ,mary4 ,i know so little about the tribes1 except those who come to ,calabar or send their girls to our ,institute4 ,the ,aros clan are a wise but tricky people4 ,they live in thirty villages near the district of ,arochuku1 where ,i would like to begin a mission4 ,they are strong and rule the ,ibo tribe because of their trade and religion4 ,they trade slaves1 which their religion furnishes4 ,when they cannot get enough slaves that way1 they raid ,ibo villages and capture the people who live there and sell them4 ,you say their religion furnishes them with slaves8 ,how is that possible8 ,the ,ibo tribe and the ,aros pray to the juju god4 ,they believe the juju god lives in a tree4 ,they think this tree is holy4 ,each village has its own god and sacred tree1 but the main juju used to be about a mile from ,arochuku4 ,but you haven't told me about the slaves1 interrupted ,miss ,wright4 ,i am just coming to that1 said ,mary4 ,this main juju1 called the ,long ,juju1 was reached by a winding road that goes through a dense jungle and leads at last to a lake4 ,in the center of the lake is an island on which was the ,long ,juju4 ,here hundreds of people came to ask advice from the priests and to worship4 ,when the people came here1 the ,aros clan had captured them4 ,then they were either sold as slaves1 sacrificed to juju1 or eaten by the tribe4 ,how terrible6 ,the ,aros are tricky4 ,one of their tricks1 was to throw some of the people they captured into the water4 ,the water at once turned red4 ,the priests would tell the people that juju had eaten the men4 ,the people believed it1 but really the red was only coloring the priests had thrown into the river4 ,is the juju still there8 asked ,miss ,wright4 ,no4 ,the ,british soldiers went over the ,cross ,river4 ,they had a battle with the natives and beat them4 ,they captured ,arochuku4 ,then they chopped down the ,long ,juju4 ,but of course the natives still have their village jujus4 ,they still do many wicked things4 ,and you want to work among those terrible people8 ,yes1 don't you think they have a great need for the ,gospel8 ,oh1 they do6 ,but ,i would not have the courage to work among them4 ,i have no courage1 said ,mary1 except what ,god gives me4 ,tell me1 ,mary1 have you gone into that country at all8 ,i have made some short exploration trips4 ,i told the traders to tell the chiefs that some day ,i would come to their country to live1 but their only answer was1 ',it is not safe4' ,that is what the people told me when ,i wanted to go to ,okoyong4 ,i trust in my heavenly ,father and ,i am not afraid of the cannibals no matter how fierce and cruel they may be4 ,but ,mary1 did you know that when a chief died recently1 fifty or more people were eaten at the funeral ceremonies1 and twenty-five others had their heads cut off and were buried with the chief8 ,yes1 ,i heard that4 ,but things were almost as bad when ,i came to ,okoyong4 ,god blessed my work1 and ,he can protect me in this strange new land of the cannibals4 ,i do hope the ,mission ,board will let me go and work among the ,aros and ,ibos4 ,the missionaries in ,calabar wanted ,mary to work at ,ikorofiong and at ,unwana1 which were two towns farther up the ,cross ,river from ,akpap4 ,but ,mary did not think these were good places for her work4 ,she wanted to be where she could reach the most people4 ,she wanted to work at ,arochuku1 the chief city of ,aros which was also near the ,efik1 ,ibo and ,ibibio tribes4 ,she wanted to open her first station at ,itu1 which was on the mouth of ,enyong creek1 her second station at ,arochuku and a third at ,bende4 ,the missionaries at ,calabar did not agree1 but they decided to wait until a worker could be found to take ,mary's place at ,akpap4 ,mary would not reave these people until they could be taken care of by ,christian workers4 ,send a minister to take care of a station4 ,i cannot build up a church the way a minister can1 said ,mary4 ,it looked as though ,mary would not get to go to the land of ,aros4 ,then ,miss ,wright1 the teacher from the ,girls' ,institute1 asked to be sent to ,akpap as an assistant4 ,this request was sent to ,scotland for the ,board to approve4 ,mary now decided to start work at once4 ,in ,january1 #aijc1 with two boys1 ,esien and ,efiiom1 and a girl1 ,mana1 whom she had carefully trained1 she loaded her canoe with food and other supplies and set off for the land of the cruel cannibals4 ,they did not know how the people there would treat them1 but they trusted in ,god to take care of them and help them in their work4 ,mary found a house for them4 ,i am leaving you here1 said ,mary to the three natives1 to begin a school and hold church services for the people of ,itu4 ,i must go back to ,akpap but ,i will come again as soon as ,i can4 ,but ,mary had to stay at ,akpap longer than she expected4 ,at last she was able to come again to ,itu and to visit the school and the church services4 ,you have done wonderfully well1 she told the three workers4 ,god has blessed your work4 ,my heart was filled with joy when ,i saw so many people1 young and old1 at the services4 ,and your school is filled with people who want to learn book and learn the will of ,god4 ,now we must build a church and a schoolhouse4 ,mary began mixing the mud and doing the other work that was necessary for building a building in ,africa4 ,the native workers and the people of ,itu helped her gladly4 ,it did not take long with many willing hands to build a church and school4 ,two rooms were added to the church building4 ,these two rooms are for you1 ,ma1 the people said4 ,you must have a place to stay when you come to us4 ,after the church and school were built1 ,mary went back to ,akpap4 ,here she heard good news4 ,the ,board in ,scotland has given me permission to be your assistant at ,akpap1 said ,miss ,wright4 ,wonderful6 said ,mary4 ,now ,i can spend more time at ,itu and more time in the jungle4 ,on a beautiful morning in ,june1 #aijc1 ,mary packed her clothes and supplies and marched the six miles down to the landing beach at ,ikunetu4 ,here she waited for the government boat which would take her to ,itu4 ,she waited and waited4 ,at last she found one of the natives and asked1 ,where is the government boat8 ,is it late8 ,no1 ,ma1 it long time gone4 ,so ,mary had to walk back six miles through the jungle to the mission house at ,akpap4 ,why1 ,mary1 said ,miss ,wright1 what are you doing here8 ,i thought that by this time you would be traveling on the government boat to ,itu4 ,i am in ,god's hands1 said ,mary1 and ,he did not mean for me to travel today4 ,i have been kept back for some good purpose4 ,the next week when she again made the trip to board the boat1 ,colonel ,montanaro who commanded the government soldiers in that part of the country1 was on the boat4 ,i will be happy to have you travel with me and my soldiers1 said the colonel4 ,you will be safer that way4 ,i am going to ,arochuku4 ,that is just what ,i would like to do1 said ,mary4 ,now ,i see why ,god did not let me travel last week4 ,i have been wanting for a long time to visit the chief city of the ,aros4 ,i want to see more about this juju religion4 ,some time before1 the government had sent soldiers into the country to make the chiefs stop the juju worship4 ,the chiefs had promised to stop it1 but it still went on secretly4 ,after reaching ,arochuku1 ,mary followed the jungle paths over which the slaves had been made to walk for hundreds of years4 ,she came to the place of the ,long ,juju4 ,there ,mary saw the human skulls1 the bones and the pots in which the bodies had been cooked4 ,mary shivered when she thought of the cannibal feasts4 ,mary thought the people might be against her1 but instead they welcomed her4 ,they had heard about the good things she had done in the jungle4 ,o ,god1 prayed ,mary1 ,i want to bring the ,gospel to these man-eaters for whom ,christ died4 ,please1 dear ,god1 make the home church and the ,mission ,board see the great need here so that they will let me win this part of the country for ,christ4 ,mary promised the people of ,arochuku she would come again and open a school4 ,then she returned to ,akpap and wrote the ,mission ,board for permission to open a station at ,arochuku4 ,soon the answer came back6 ,we are sorry1 but it will be impossible at this time to open work at ,arochuku4 ,we do not have the money or the workers4 #ab ,among the ,cannibals ,the mission ,board says that they cannot open a mission station at ,arochuku now1 said ,mary4 ,i have asked ,god to give me a mission station where ,his ,gospel can be preached to the ,aros4 ,i trust in ,christ who is able to do more than ,i am able to ask or think4 ,i know ,god will give me what ,i have asked4 ,what are you going to do now8 asked ,miss ,wright4 ,i am going to do what ,i believe ,god wants me to do4 ,i am going to take some native ,christians and make a beginning in the land of the ,aros4 ,mary took some native boys whom she had trained4 ,they were able to help with school-work and church services4 ,mary and the boys went to ,amasu1 a little village which was nearer the creek than ,arochuku4 ,here she opened a school4 ,it was soon filled with boys and girls thirsty for book and the loving ,god4 ,she held church services for the people1 and many of them came to hear the white ,ma teach about ,jesus4 ,at last it was time for ,mary to go back to ,akpap4 ,she left the native ,christians to carry on the work of the school and church4 ,the people of the village gathered around her4 ,they said1 ,come again soon1 white ,ma4 ,if you do not care for us1 who will care for us8 ,as ,mary went down the river in her canoe1 she thanked ,god that ,he had let her open this new field to the ,gospel4 ,suddenly there was a canoe barring her way4 ,in it was a tall native4 ,i have been waiting for you4 ,my master at ,akani ,obio sent me to stop you and bring you to his house4 ,mary told her rowers to follow the native to his master's place4 ,soon they came to a trading place4 ,here ,mary was greeted by a handsome young man4 ,i am ,onoyom ,iya ,nya1 the president of the court and the chief of this district4 ,this is my wife4 ,won't you please honor us by coming into our house8 ,onoyom and his wife led ,mary to a ,european-type house1 which was very nicely furnished4 ,onoyom's wife invited ,mary to have some food with them4 ,while they ate1 ,onoyom talked4 ,many times ,i have sent my servants to find you1 said ,onoyom1 but they never found you until today4 ,i am happy that you have come4 ,but why did you seek me8 ,why did you want me to come to you8 asked ,mary4 ,when ,i was a boy1 said ,onoyom1 ,i served as a guide to a missionary4 ,he told me the ,gospel story4 ,i wanted ,jesus for my ,saviour4 ,but my tribe beat me and punished me in other ways until ,i gave up the white man's religion and followed the juju religion of the tribe4 ,i took part in ,arochuku feasts where we ate 'long pig1' that is1 men and women4 ,but why do you want to talk to me8 asked ,mary4 ,i never forgot what the missionary told me about ,christ4 ,later ,i had troubles and sickness4 ,i tried witchcraft to find the person who placed the troubles and sickness on me4 ,instead1 ,i met a white man4 ,he said to me1 ',how do you know it is not the ,god of the white man who is angry with you8 ,he is all-powerful4' ,i said1 ',how can ,i find this ,god8' ,i hoped he would tell me1 but he said1 ',i am not worthy to tell you4 ,find the white ,ma who goes to ,itu and she will tell you4' ,o ,ma1 please tell us about your ,god4 ,tears of joy ran down ,mary's cheeks4 ,onoyom called all the members of his family and the servants together4 ,mary told them of ,jesus and ,his power to save them4 ,she read from the ,bible1 prayed with the people1 and promised to come back again on her next trip4 ,i will build a church for you1 said ,chief ,onoyom4 ,i have money4 ,i will give #a1ejj for a mission house and school4 ,as ,mary rode down the ,enyong creek she thought of the new missionary work that was opening up4 ,o ,god1 she prayed1 ,i thank ,you for the new places at ,itu and ,amasu4 ,i thank ,you for the chance to build a church at ,akani ,obio4 ,please let me open a station soon at ,arochuku4 ,there with ,your blessing ,i hope to conquer the cannibals for ,christ4 ,i do hope1 she said to herself1 that the ,board will soon send an ordained minister to take over the ,akpap station4 ,i must persuade ,miss ,wright to go with me to ,itu4 ,i am sure ,god will give her courage to come with me4 ,this ,enyong creek region will give us all the work for ,christ we can handle and more4 ,we must go forward for ,christ4 ,mary made many trips to ,akpap1 to ,itu and ,amasu4 ,she stopped at many little villages and lonely huts along ,enyong creek to tell the people about the ,saviour who had died also for those with black skins4 ,often she slept on mud floors4 ,she ate yams and native fruits4 ,god blessed the work at ,itu and ,amasu4 ,the people of ,itu built a church and more than three hundred of them attended the services4 ,at ,amasu the school pew fast4 ,the natives were learning to read4 ,the natives at ,itu started to build a six-room house at ,itu for ,mary4 ,it was to be one of the finest homes in which the missionary had ever lived4 ,i am afraid it is too much work for you1 said ,mary to the natives4 ,it is too big4 ,no1 it is not too much4 said the people of ,itu4 ,nothing is too much to do for you4 ,we shall do it4 ,another time a native woman knelt at ,mary's feet4 ,she washed ,mary's tired feet in warm water4 ,you are so kind to me1 said ,mary thanking her4 ,i have been so afraid1 ,ma1 that you would think us unworthy of a teacher and take her away1 said the woman4 ,i could not live again in darkness4 ,i pray all the time4 ,i lay my basket down and pray on the road4 ,that is good1 said ,mary4 ,prayer can do anything4 ,i know4 ,i have tested it4 ,of course1 ,god does not always answer our prayers the way we want them answered1 but ,he does answer them and in the way that is best for us4 ,trust ,god always4 ,one day ,mary thought of a new plan she wanted to try out4 ,she had been in the jungle for five years4 ,she was due to get a year's vacation at home in ,scotland4 ,instead of this she asked for something else4 ,she wrote to the ,mission ,board3 ,i would like to have leave from the mission station at ,akpap for six months4 ,this time ,i would spend traveling between ,okoyong and ,amasu4 ,i would visit many places which ,i do not have time to visit now4 ,already ,i have seen a church and a mission house built at ,itu1 and a school and a couple of rooms at ,amasu4 ,i have visited several towns at ,enyong and have found good enough places to stay4 ,i shall find my own canoe and crew4 ,i shall stay at any one place just as long as ,i think wise4 ,the members of my family she meant the twins and slave children and other unwanted children she had adopted shall help in teaching the beginners in the schools4 ,i plan to live at ,itu as my headquarters4 ,i will look after the small schools ,i have started at ,idot and ,eki4 ,i will visit and work for ,jesus in the towns on both sides of ,enyong creek all the way to ,amasu4 ,i will live there for a while or travel among the ,aros telling them of ,jesus4 ,then ,i will come back by easy stages to ,itu and home4 ,please send an assistant to help ,miss ,wright at ,akpap1 so ,i will be free to do this new work in the jungle4 ,i would like ,miss ,wright to help me with some work among the cannibals1 in some places1 so that ,i will have more time for pioneer work in the places farther away4 ,itu should be our main station4 ,we can reach the various tribes best from it4 ,it is the gateway to the ,aros and the ,ibibios and near many other tribes4 ,that is why it became a slave market4 ,it could be reached so easily4 ,it is only a day's journey from the seaport of the ocean steamers1 having waterway all the year round and a good beach front4 ,itu is a natural place for our upriver and downriver work to come together4 ,mary was now fifty-six years old4 ,she had suffered much from sickness and from the lack of many things4 ,now she wanted to go on a gypsying tour of the jungle1 as she called it4 ,this was hard and difficult work4 ,there were many dangers from wild animals and wild people4 ,these tribes she wanted to visit did not know anything about the ,saviour1 or ,god's ,word1 but they did know how to do many wicked things like killing and eating people4 ,many a younger and stronger person than ,mary would be afraid to tackle the job she had planned to do4 ,mary was not afraid4 ,god had given her the chance to reach the wild cannibals4 ,she was willing to die trying to bring the ,gospel to them4 ,i am willing to go anywhere1 said ,mary1 provided it be forward among the cannibals4 ,mary anxiously waited for the answer from the ,mission ,board giving her permission to work for six months in the cannibal country4 ,the answer did not come and did not come4 ,at last she decided to go on a short trip through that country to encourage the black workers she had sent there4 ,she went to see the ,wilkies and ,miss ,wright4 ,i am going on a short trip through the cannibal country1 said ,mary4 ,i am inviting you to be my guests on this trip4 ,i want you to see what ,god is doing among the cannibals4 ,won't you come with me8 ,we'll be glad to go with you1 said ,mr4 ,wilkie4 ,mary and her friends first visited ,itu1 where they met ,colonel ,montanaro1 who had first taken ,mary to ,itu4 ,then they went to ,akani ,obio4 ,here ,chief ,onoyom had a big party for them4 ,ma1 when are you going to come and stay a long time with us8 he asked4 ,i want you to bring the ,gospel to me and to my people4 ,i hope it will be soon1 said ,mary4 ,i am praying every day that the ,mission ,board will let me work in your country4 ,mary and her friends now went to ,amasu to see the ,gospel work that was being done there4 ,then they visited the villages around ,arochuku where the ,long ,juju was4 ,then they started back to ,akpap4 ,they visited many very small villages on the way back4 ,everywhere the people said to them1 ,we want to learn book4 ,they meant they wanted someone to teach them to read the ,bible4 ,at last they arrived at ,akpap4 ,here there was the letter from the ,mission ,board4 ,mary's hands shook as she opened the long-awaited letter4 ,would it give her permission to go to cannibal land or would it tell her to come home and take her furlough in the usual way8 ,you may make the jungle trip that you plan1 but you will have to pay your own expenses during this time4 ,we do not have any money for that work4 ,mary was happy4 ,mary took the little money she had and bought supplies at ,duke ,town4 ,then she got her canoe ready4 ,she took a crew of black rowers to row the canoe and a group of the black children she had adopted4 ,it seems strange to be starting with a family on a gypsy life in a canoe1 wrote ,mary1 but ,god will take care of us4 ,whether ,i shall find ,his place for me upriver or whether ,i shall come back to my own people again1 ,i do not know4 ,he knows and that is enough4 ,at last ,mary and her group of travelers came to ,itu1 which was deep in cannibal land4 ,mary had started the work here and then left native workers to carry on4 ,now there were three hundred people in the church4 ,mary found that the mission house at ,itu was not finished4 ,mary herself mixed the cement for the floor while ,janie did the whitewashing4 ,someone asked ,mary how she learned to make cement4 ,i just stir it like oatmeal1 then turn it out smooth with a stick and all the time ,i keep praying1 ,lord1 here's the cement4 ,if it is to ,your glory1 set it1' and it has never gone wrong4 ,every day ,mary made calls and helped to solve the problems of the people of ,itu4 ,in the evenings she would hold prayer in the yards of many of the people4 ,always ,mary told the people of the ,saviour who died for them4 ,the news that ,mary the white ,ma was in cannibal land soon spread far and wide4 ,the tom-toms calling through the jungle told the different tribes where ,mary was4 ,from ,ibibio southward1 the natives sent messages to ,mary4 ,please1 ,ma1 they said1 send us a teacher4 ,it is not book' ,i want1 said a chief in his message1 ,i want ,god4 ,we have three in hand for a teacher1 said ,chief ,onoyom of ,akani ,obio4 ,some of the boys have already finished the books ,mr4 ,wilkie gave us4 ,we can do no more until you send us help4 ,mary spent the night praying to ,god to send more workers to ,africa4 ,o ,britain1 said ,mary1 filled full of ministers and church workers1 but tired of ,sunday and of church1 ,i wish that you could send over to us what you are throwing away6 #ac ,blessings ,unnumbered ,god blessed ,mary's work in cannibal land and more and more people were won for ,jesus4 ,chief ,onoyom stayed true to his faith4 ,come1 he said to his people1 we must build a church here at ,akani ,obio4 ,let us go to the jungle and cut down trees for the house of ,god4 ,chief ,onoyom and his people went to the woods4 ,the chief went to a tree and got ready to cut it down4 ,chief1 they cried1 you are not going to cut that tree1 are you8 ,you know that is the juju tree4 ,i know it is the juju tree1 said ,onoyom1 and ,i am going to chop it down4 ,the juju will be angry4 ,he will not let us4 ,he will kill us1 cried the people4 ,ma's ,god is stronger than our juju1 said ,chief ,onoyom4 ,cut it down4 ,the people began to chop4 ,the trunk of the tree was thick4 ,after a while they stopped4 ,see1 we cannot cut it1 they said4 ,the heathen natives were glad4 ,aha1 they said1 our juju is stronger than ,ma's ,god4 ,the next morning ,chief ,onoyom took some men who wanted to be ,christians4 ,before beginning to chop at the tree they knelt and prayed that the white ,ma's ,god would prove stronger than the juju4 ,then they got up and began to chop4 ,soon the tree fell with a mighty crash4 ,ma's ,god had won6 ,the juju tree was used for a pulpit and seats in the church building4 ,a large group of people came to the dedication services4 ,they were quiet and well-behaved4 ,what a great change the ,gospel had made6 ,only two years before the people were wild savages4 ,mary had to hold services at ,arochuku out-doors1 but now the people built a church and a schoolhouse4 ,at other villages along ,enyong creek congregations were organized1 and churches and schoolhouses were built4 ,in #aije ,mary had to go to the ,mission ,council meeting at ,calabar4 ,during the meeting ,mary was called on to tell about her work4 ,god has done great things in cannibal land4 ,we have congregations at ,itu1 ,arochuku1 ,oko1 ,akani ,obio1 ,odot1 ,amasu1 and ,asang4 ,in all of these places churches have been built4 ,in many of them we have built schoolhouses too4 ,many of the cannibals are being won for ,christ4 ,but we need more workers4 ,in all this wide country of the ,aros1 ,i am the only white missionary4 ,my six months' leave is almost up4 ,who will take care of these people who are as dear to ,god as you or ,i8 ,now they are being taken care of by native workers1 but these have only little training4 ,send workers to cannibal land to change these man-eaters into ,christians4 ,the ,council was thrilled by ,mary's report4 ,they voted that she could spend six more months in cannibal land1 but again they said she would have to pay her own expenses4 ,this did not bother ,mary4 ,she had never been paid1 much salary4 ,in the first years she sent most of it back home to take care of her mother and sister4 ,after they had died she used me most of it for her colored ,christians4 ,she had adopted many black children whose parents had thrown them out4 ,but money never bothered ,mary4 ,she had a little bit saved up4 ,she was happy that she could go to cannibal1 land and win souls for ,christ4 ,but where shall ,i work now8 ,mary asked herself4 ,shall ,i keep on working on upper ,enyong creek or shall ,i go south to the ,ibibios8 ,the ,ibibios are the worst heathen in this part of ,africa4 ,the worse the people are1 the more they need help4 ,i should go to the ,ibibios4 ,meanwhile the ,mission committee in ,scotland decided to build a hospital at ,itu4 ,dr4 ,robertson was to be the head of it4 ,the ,mission committee chose a name for the hospital4 ,they named it1 ,the ,mary ,slessor ,mission ,hospital4 ,the people in ,scotland gave the money so the hospital could be built4 ,it seems like a fairy tale1 said ,mary when she was told about it1 and ,i don't know just what to say4 ,i can just look up into the blue sky and say1 ',even so1 ,father2 let me live and be worthy of it all4' ,it is a grand gift and ,i am so glad for my people4 ,now that ,itu was taken care of1 ,mary had all the more reason to go south to the ,ibibios4 ,in their country the government was building roads and setting up courts4 ,the government people wanted ,mary to come to that country too1 because she knew so much more about the people and customs in cannibal land4 ,get a bicycle1 ,ma1 said one of the government men4 ,here is the road4 ,come as far as you can4 ,and we'll soon have a motorcar for you4 ,mary started out4 ,she took along one of the boys she had adopted4 ,it was twelve-year-old ,etim4 ,he could read and she needed his help4 ,once more ,mary was beginning mission work in a new part of the country where ,christians had never been4 ,mary and ,etim went to ,ibibio-land4 ,mary started a school and a small congregation4 ,etim was made the teacher of the school4 ,he proved to be a very good teacher4 ,soon he had a class of fifty children4 ,it is my hope1 said ,mary1 that ,ikotobong will be the first of a chain of stations stretching across the country4 ,mary went to visit the old chief of ,ikotobong4 ,what do you think of our work here8 ,it is good1 said the chief4 ,i am happy you came4 ,there are many things that are strange to me and my people4 ,we do not understand them4 ,i am glad for the light4 ,we will give ,etim food as pay for teaching4 ,we will help build a schoolhouse and a church4 ,mary was happy that the people were willing and anxious to learn4 ,but she wanted to go to a new part of the country and start more places4 ,the government officer at ,ikot ,expene gave ,mary a bicycle4 ,i think it's ,god's will that ,i learn to ride this bicycle4 ,think of an old lady like me on a bicycle6 said ,mary4 ,the new road makes it easy to ride1 and ,i'm running up and down and taking a new work in a village two miles off4 ,it has done me all the good in the world1 and ,i will soon be able to do even more work4 ,the treatment of the women in ,ibibio was very bad4 ,they were treated worse than slaves4 ,the men could do whatever they wanted to do with them4 ,they were often beaten4 ,they were bought and sold like cattle4 ,mary wanted to help the poor women4 ,i want to build a home for girls1 orphans1 twins and their mothers1 and those who have run away from harems1 said ,mary4 ,i also want to start a school where trades and skills can be taught4 ,all the women know how to farm4 ,they know how to weave baskets and make simple sandals4 ,but ,i want them to know many more things so that they can take care of themselves4 ,i am going to look for a place with good land and pure water near the roads and the markets4 ,then ,i will write to my friends and to the ,mission ,board for help4 ,mary's furlough had first been for six months and then was made six months longer4 ,in ,april1 #aijf1 it came to an end4 ,she was supposed to go back to ,akpap1 because the ,mission ,council expected her to settle down in one place and work there4 ,they appointed her to work at ,akpap and that is where they expected her to work4 ,i do not want to settle in one place1 said ,mary4 ,god gives me different gifts2 ,i think my gift is to explore and start new congregations4 ,others are better fitted to take care of them after they are started than ,i am4 ,god is pushing me onward4 ,i don't dare look backward4 ,even if my dear church turns against me and will not have me as its missionary1 ,i must go forward4 ,i can find food for myself and the children4 ,that is all ,i need4 ,god will help me4 ,mary thought and prayed much over this matter4 ,she thought of starting a store or taking a government job so she could earn money to take care of the missionary work4 ,she wrote a long letter to the ,mission ,board4 ,she told how ,god had blessed the work at ,itu and the villages on ,enyong creek4 ,then she wrote3 ,in all this how plainly ,god has been leading me4 ,i did not think of doing these things in my lifetime1 but ,god has led me on4 ,first ,itu1 and then the ,creek1 then back from ,aro1 where ,i had set my heart1 to a lonely1 spooky1 wilderness4 ,there no one ever went1 but now miles of roads are being built4 ,the ,board says ,i am to go back to ,akpap in ,april4 ,i love no other place on earth so well4 ,but ,i dare not think of leaving the crowds of untamed1 unwashed1 unlovely savages1 and take away the little sunlight that has begun to flicker out over its darkness4 ,i know that ,i am pretty old for this kind of work4 ,but ,god will help4 ,whether the church permits or not1 ,i feel that ,i must stay here4 ,i must even go farther as the roads are made4 ,i cannot walk now and ,i must be careful of my health4 ,but ,i can get four wheels made and set a box on them and the children can pull me4 ,i dare not go back4 ,if the ,board insists1 ,i will risk finding some other way to support myself and my family4 ,as ,april drew closer day by day1 ,mary anxiously waited for the ,mission ,board's answer4 ,the ,mission ,board wrote to ,mary3 ,we are sending ,john ,rankin to look over the field where you have been working4 ,after he has made his report we will decide what you should do4 ,mr4 ,rankin visited the different places in cannibal land where ,mary had started congregations4 ,he talked with the chiefs and the people4 ,one chief talking about ,mary and the other women missionaries said1 ,them women be the best men for the mission4 ,he wrote to the ,board3 ,close to ,arochuku1 within a circle of less than three miles in diameter1 there are nineteen large towns4 ,i visited sixteen of these4 ,each of them is larger than ,creek ,town4 ,most of the people are anxious to help4 ,already many of them have begun to live in ,god's way4 ,even the head chief of all the ,aros wants us to do mission work in his country4 ,he told the other chiefs he is going to rule according to ,god's way4 ,he wants missionaries to be sent to his people4 ,he offers to build a house at ,arochuku for any missionary who will come4 ,the ,mission ,board was thrilled when they read this report4 ,they agreed to give the money for the work which ,mary had planned4 ,they appointed ,rankin to take charge of the stations at ,itu and ,arochuku4 ,they agreed to let ,mary go into the new territory4 ,she did not have to go back to ,akpap4 ,this made ,mary very happy4 ,now she could work full time among the ,ibibios4 ,she offered to pay for the building of a mission station among the ,ibibios if there was no money in the homeland treasury4 ,in ,may the government appointed ,mary to take charge of the courts in the ,ibibio district as she had done in ,okoyong4 ,it paid her for this work so now she had money to carry on her mission work whether the ,board paid her or not4 ,court was held at ,ikotobong4 ,three chiefs and a jury helped ,mary in trying the cases1 but ,mary's word was law4 ,mary was fair and kind1 but at the same time she saw to it that those who did bad things were punished4 ,in a letter to a friend she wrote3 ,god help those poor helpless women4 ,they are treated worse than animals4 ,today ,i had a crowd of people4 ,how wicked they were6 ,i have had a murder1 a poison bean case1 a suicide1 a man branding his slave wife all over her face and body1 a man with a gun who shot four people4 ,it is all horrible4 ,but her work as judge did not stop her from doing her mission work4 ,everywhere she went she told the natives of ,jesus' death for them4 ,she opened schools and churches for natives4 ,she also was thinking about the other missionaries4 ,she planned a place for them where they could spend weekends or where they could rest when they were getting over sickness4 ,she chose a place half-way between ,itu and ,ikotobong on ,enyong ,creek4 ,it was high above the lowlands where most of the sickness was4 ,a friend sent her a check for #ajj and ,mary used it as a start for this rest home4 ,she had the ground cleared and a small ,english house built4 ,although ,mary was busy she was not well4 ,during most of #aijf she had been ailing4 ,if you want to keep on with your missionary work1 said the government doctor1 you must go home to ,scotland where you can rest up and get the fever out of your system4 ,mary did not want to leave her work4 ,a few days after her talk with the doctor1 when he came to see her again1 she was much better4 ,it looks as if ,god wants me to stay4 ,does that sound like ,he could not do without me6 ,i do not mean it so4 ,how little ,i can do6 ,but ,i can at least keep a door open for missionary work so others can come and do more4 ,the year #aijg came4 ,mary was much worse4 ,she could walk only a few steps4 ,when she wanted to go anywhere1 she had to be carried4 ,at last she decided to do as the doctor told her and go to ,scotland for a vacation4 ,oh1 the dear homeland6 she said with tears in her eyes4 ,shall ,i really be there and worship in the churches again8 ,how ,i long for a look at a winter landscape1 to feel the cold wind1 and the frost in the cart ruts6 ,how ,i want to take a back seat in a church and hear the congregation singing1 without a care of my own6 ,i want to hear how they preach and pray and rest their souls in the hush and silence of our home churches4 ,mary took her six-year-old ,dan1 one of the many children she had adopted4 ,the government officers were kind and helpful to her in getting ready for her trip4 ,god must repay these men1 said ,mary1 because ,i cannot4 ,he will not forget that they did it to a child of ,his1 unworthy though she is4 ,mary was now a wrinkled1 shining-eyed old lady1 almost sixty years old4 ,she was carried on board the ship that would take her to ,scotland4 ,her friends1 both white and native1 cried and wondered if she would ever come back to ,africa again4 #ad ,journey's ,end ,send us workers for dark ,africa1 said ,mary4 ,if ,i can get the ,board to send us one or more workers1 ,i will give half my salary to add to theirs4 ,i will give the house for them to live in and find the servants4 ,you who have so much1 won't you do something for these poor people of ,africa8 ,mary was speaking in the churches of ,scotland telling about her work in ,africa4 ,after she had returned to ,scotland1 she felt much better4 ,the air and climate was much better than in the steaming jungles of ,africa4 ,as soon as she was strong enough1 she began to go about telling about her work4 ,she urged the people to give money and to send workers to ,africa4 ,above all1 she wanted to get money to support the industrial home for women which she had planned4 ,from ,may until ,october she went among the churches telling about the ,african sheep whom the ,good ,shepherd ,jesus wanted brought in4 ,in ,october ,mary asked to be sent back to ,africa4 ,she wanted to carry on her work there4 ,i am foolish1 ,i know1 said ,mary1 but ,i just feel homeless without any relatives here in ,scotland4 ,i am a poor1 lonesome soul with only memories4 ,back in ,africa ,mary was busier than ever1 holding court1 looking after her home1 and doing missionary work4 ,on ,sundays she held a half-dozen or more services in the nearby villages in which lived the people with whom she worked during the week4 ,on some of these trips she brought back orphan children to join her already overstuffed household4 ,but all this work was too much for her4 ,she became sick again and very weak4 ,now her eyes began to get weak1 so that she could not see as well4 ,but nothing could stop her4 ,she started the building of the industrial home for women and girls4 ,she planted fruit trees there and planned to raise rubber and cocoa and cattle4 ,mary wanted to move again4 ,some natives had come from ,ikpe to see her before she went on her vacation to ,scotland4 ,they asked her to bring the ,gospel to them4 ,now they came again4 ,we have heard of the great white ,mother and we want to learn to be ,god's men1 they said4 ,mary made a two-day canoe trip to their town4 ,ikpe was a large town with many people in it4 ,but the people were very wicked4 ,they did all the wicked heathen things that were against ,god's commandments4 ,but there were people in it who wanted to become ,christians4 ,they had begun to build a small church building to which they had added two rooms for the missionary4 ,mary held a service in the church4 ,many people had gathered to hear for the first time the news of how ,jesus saves us4 ,after the end of the service ,mary decided that it was ,god's will for her to move to ,ikpe4 ,but she had to arrange for someone to take care of her other work first4 ,when she came home from this trip she was sick again4 ,as soon as she was a little better she busied herself with the women's home4 ,she wanted to get that running well before she left for ,ikpe4 ,the natives of ,ikpe sent some more of their people to visit her and beg her to come to ,ikpe4 ,whenever she could1 she made trips to that village4 ,often she took other missionaries with her4 ,in ,november1 #aiji1 she resigned from her court work4 ,the government did not like to lose her because she knew so much about the natives and their customs4 ,but the government knew that ,mary's first love was her missionary work4 ,they let her give up her court work and thanked her for all she had done4 ,just a few more things to take care of1 said ,mary1 and ,i will be ready to start for ,ikpe4 ,those faithful people deserve a worker4 ,they are holding services even though they know very little of ,christianity4 ,i must go there4 ,i know ,god wants it4 ,it was the year #aiaj and ,mary was sure that now she could begin her work in the new territory that looked so promising4 ,suddenly ,mary became very1 very ill4 ,the government sent its official automobile to take her to the ,mary ,slessor ,hospital at ,itu4 ,did ,god want ,mary to work at ,ikpe8 ,or would someone else preach the ,gospel there8 ,for many weeks ,mary lay sick in the hospital at ,itu4 ,at last she was much better4 ,you must go to ,duke ,town for a longer rest1 said the doctor4 ,but1 ,doctor1 said ,mary1 ,i have my work to do1 ,i cannot spend my time lying in bed4 ,if you are unwilling to rest at ,duke ,town1 ,i shall have to send you to ,scotland on a long vacation4 ,very well1 sighed ,mary1 ,i will go to ,duke ,town4 ,the next day the government sent its boat1 the ,maple ,leaf1 to take ,mary down the river to ,duke ,town4 ,here she spent many weeks resting and gaining her strength4 ,at last the doctor agreed that she could go back to her work at ,ikotobong4 ,once more the government sent its boat to take her back to her mission station4 ,i want to go to ,ikpe soon1 said ,mary1 but first ,i want to establish a station at ,ikot ,expene and at other places along the way4 ,whenever she felt strong enough1 she rode her bicycle through the jungle to ,ikot ,expene choosing places for schools and churches along the way1 talking to chiefs1 and getting the things ready for more places where the ,gospel could be preached4 ,the people at ,ikpe were holding services even though they knew very little about ,christianity4 ,soon the white ,ma will come1 they said4 ,she will tell us more about ,jesus4 ,a native teacher from another station1 who had received training from ,mary1 taught the people what he knew about the ,gospel4 ,oh1 why cannot the church send two workers to ,ikpe8 said ,mary4 ,why don't they use the money on hand for that8 ,if there isn't enough money left after two years1 let them take my salary4 ,i shall be only too glad to live on native food with my children4 ,mary was busy collecting building materials and other things for the church of ,ikpe4 ,at last the time came4 ,god wanted ,mary at ,ikpe4 ,how happy ,mary was6 ,how happy were the faithful people at ,ikpe who had waited so long6 ,mary at once was busy with much work4 ,she quieted mobs1 she calmed quarreling chiefs1 she held meetings with the crowds1 and on ,sundays conducted services4 ,one day the smallpox broke out4 ,the government sent down men to vaccinate the natives so the sickness would not spread4 ,mary heard shouting and yelling in the streets4 ,she looked out of her house4 ,the natives were yelling and shouting and waving guns and swords4 ,mary went up to the crowd4 ,what is this8 asked ,mary4 ,the crowd kept yelling4 ,be quiet1 shouted ,mary and held out her hands4 ,let your chief speak4 ,ma1 said the chief1 my people are afraid of the white man's juju4 ,it makes the people sick4 ,he meant the vaccination4 ,the vaccination may make a little sickness1 but it keeps you from getting the big sickness1 said ,mary4 ,then she told them how vaccination had helped other tribes4 ,she showed them her vaccination4 ,after a long talk with the chiefs and the people the matter was peaceably settled4 ,mary wanted to keep in touch with her former headquarters at ,ikotobong4 ,she made many canoe trips back and forth4 ,these trips were very hard on her and she did not rest well4 ,many people wondered how ,mary could keep on working1 but she trusted ,god who made her strong to carry on4 ,during #aiaa a tornado struck ,mary's house at ,use1 one of the stations4 ,she fixed the house herself4 ,during this she strained herself and had a heart attack which was followed by a severe fever4 ,sometimes the fever was so great she was delirious4 ,but still she would not stop working4 ,she continued to teach school and hold worship services on ,sunday4 ,dr4 ,hitchcock of the ,slessor ,hospital came to see her every week4 ,you must not go to ,ikpe again1 he said4 ,you must not ride your bicycle4 ,you must spend more time resting4 ,but ,mary disobeyed the doctor and held services the following ,sunday4 ,it was too much for her4 ,she almost fainted before the service was over4 ,you must stay in bed1 said ,dr4 ,hitchcock1 until you are well enough to get up4 ,all right1 doctor1 said ,mary4 ,and you must eat meat twice a day1 said the doctor4 ,but ,i'm not a meat-eater1 answered ,mary4 ,you're going to be1 or ,i will send you to ,duke ,town for a long rest4 ,mary laughed4 ,i've all my plans made and ,i must not draw a salary without doing something for it4 ,at last the doctor sent her to the ,slessor ,hospital for a rest4 ,because of her hard work1 she had a bad fever sickness4 ,now ,mary saw that she was foolish in not listening to the doctor4 ,life is hardly worth living1 she said1 but ,i am doing what ,i can to help the doctor to help me1 so ,i can be fit again for another spell of work4 ,the ,christians at ,ikpe sent some men to see ,mary to ask her when she would be back4 ,seven weeks1 said ,dr4 ,hitchcock4 ,i may run up sooner than that1 said ,mary4 ,i'm very well if the doctor would only believe it4 ,near the end of #aiaa ,mary was allowed to leave the hospital4 ,she hurried to her friends at ,ikpe4 ,but ,mary still was not very strong4 ,her friends in ,calabar and in ,scotland urged her to take a long-earned furlough4 ,while thinking about this1 ,mary decided to have a box on wheels made so that she could get around since the doctor would not let her use her bicycle4 ,some friends heard about this and they sent her a light cart which could be wheeled by two boys or girls4 ,now ,i don't need a furlough1 said ,mary4 ,instead of going home as ,i had planned1 ,i shall stay here and enjoy going over ground in my cart that ,i couldn't get over otherwise4 ,a new government road was being built between ,ikpe and ,ikot ,expene4 ,mary wanted to start schools and churches all along this road4 ,but she was not strong enough to carry out her idea4 ,her heart was very weak now and she had to rest often4 ,if there had been someone to take her place1 she would have gone home for a rest4 ,mary wrote to a friend3 ,we were never so shorthanded1 and ,i can do what others cannot1 what indeed1 doctors would not allow them to try4 ,no one meddles with me and ,i slip along and do my work using less strength than many would have to use4 ,mary knew if she took a furlough her work at ,ikpe and the other stations would stop because there was no one to take her place4 ,this she did not want to happen4 ,she worked on through the summer of #aiab4 ,in ,september she completed thirty-six years as a missionary in ,africa4 ,i'm lame and feeble and foolish1 said ,mary1 but ,i grip on well4 ,her friends were very much worried about her health4 ,it was suggested that she be sent on an expense-paid trip to the ,canary ,islands4 ,there the climate was milder than it would have been in ,scotland during the winter4 ,she was glad to go4 ,mary wrote3 ,what love is wrapped around me6 ,it is simply wonderful4 ,i can't say anything else4 ,oh1 if ,i only get another day to work4 ,i hope it will be fuller of earnestness and blessing than the past4 ,this vacation was a real blessing to ,mary4 ,the fevers left her4 ,with no committee meetings1 no court cases or other problems to worry about1 she grew stronger very quickly4 ,it was not many months before she was back at ,duke ,town4 ,the doctor gave her an examination4 ,you're as sound as an elephant's ivory tusk1 said the doctor4 ,you are good for many years1 if you will only take care4 ,mary did not like that4 ,she had never been willing to sit and twiddle her thumbs4 ,now her mind was full of new plans for more work4 ,she wanted to get busy with her work for the ,lord4 ,for the next two years ,mary worked hard at ,use and ,ikpe4 ,she traveled between these two places1 sometimes in a canoe1 sometimes in the government boat1 but mostly in her two-wheeled cart4 ,there was still much to do4 ,she was still fighting the juju worship1 the sinful practice of eating people and the murdering of twins4 ,eight years had gone by since ,mary had left ,akpap4 ,a new church was being finished and the missionaries who now worked there invited ,mary to attend the dedication service4 ,mary wanted to see the dear friends she had loved for years4 ,she decided to go and take her adopted children with her4 ,from all over ,okoyong the people had come to see their ,ma1 their ,white ,queen4 ,ma ,eme1 the missionary's old friend1 was there4 ,when they met tears filled their eyes1 they were so happy to see one another again4 ,but ,mary was sad1 too1 because ,ma ,eme had never openly accepted ,christianity4 ,speaking of ,ma ,eme1 ,mary said1 ,my dear and old friend and almost sister1 she made the saving of life so often possible in the early days4 ,it is sad that she would not come out for ,christ4 ,she could have been the honored leader of ,god's work4 ,hers is a foolish choice4 ,and yet ,god cannot forget all she was to me and how she helped me in those dark and bloody days4 ,hundreds of people crowded into the new church at ,akpap4 ,mary remembered the wild parties and drunken fights of the first days of her work among the people4 ,how they were changed6 ,how ,god had changed them through ,his ,gospel6 ,it was wonderful6 ,mary thanked ,god for ,his wonderful blessings4 ,shortly after her trip to ,akpap1 ,mary was honored by the king of ,great ,britain4 ,she was chosen by him to be a member of the order of ,st4 ,john of ,jerusalem4 ,this was an honor given only to ,english ,christians who had done great things for ,god4 ,the government people of ,calabar decided that they must have a public celebration of this great honor4 ,they sent the government boat for ,mary4 ,the little old missionary1 now nearly sixty-five1 was brought to ,duke ,town4 ,here a great crowd filled the biggest hall in town4 ,the governor made a speech and pinned the cross on ,mary's left shoulder4 ,during the speech ,mary sat with her head in her hands4 ,when it came time for her to speak1 she found it hard to talk4 ,turning to the boys and girls who were in the hall she said1 ,be faithful to the government4 ,be ,christians4 ,be friends of the mission and be followers of ,jesus4 ,later she wrote to her friends in ,scotland3 ,don't think there is any change in me because ,i received this honor4 ,i am ,mary ,slessor1 nothing more and none other than the unworthy1 unprofitable but most willing servant of the ,king of kings4 ,the only change the honor made in ,mary was that she worked harder than ever4 ,a government road was opened to ,odoro ,ikpe4 ,mary at once started a mission there and reached out into the small jungle settlements4 ,there she talked with the chiefs and the natives4 ,at last she won their consent to build schools and churches4 ,they gave her the land to do this4 ,now she was beginning all over in a new territory4 ,she had the same hard work1 the same troubles1 the same heathen customs to fight4 ,but ,mary was glad to do it4 ,she thanked ,god for the chance to bring the ,gospel to people who had never heard about it4 ,mary saw to it that a house was built and then began teaching in the school1 holding services1 settling quarrels1 winning souls for ,jesus4 ,in ,august1 #aiad1 rumors reached her that ,europe was rushing into war4 ,this made her feel sick4 ,she knew that this war would not only bring suffering1 horror1 and death to many of her dear friends1 but it would also hinder the work in ,calabar4 ,several months went by4 ,the mail came4 ,mary opened the newspaper4 ,there she read the headlines3 ,russia declares war6 ,france declares war6 ,england declares war6 ,mary fainted4 ,the trouble and excitement were too much for her4 ,for two weeks more she carried on her work but it was too much for her4 ,she became weaker and weaker4 ,on ,sunday1 ,january #aj1 #aiae1 she held her usual church service4 ,after the church meeting she fainted4 ,dr4 ,robertson arrived from the ,slessor ,hospital at ,itu4 ,he was able to bring her to1 but on ,january #ab she found it almost impossible to talk4 ,her last words were a prayer in the ,african language called ,efik4 ,o ,abasi1 sana mi yok1 said ,mary4 ,o ,god1 release me6 ,janie1 the first twin ,mary had saved1 was now a beautiful black woman4 ,she and other children ,mary had saved and adopted were watching beside ,mary's bed through the night4 ,a rooster crowed4 ,day must be dawning1 said one of the girls4 ,day was dawning for ,mary1 ,god's eternal day4 ,she slipped away from the earth to be with her ,saviour in ,heaven4 ,our ,mother is dead1 and we shall be slaves now that our ,mother is dead1 cried the natives4 ,the news that the white ,ma was dead spread rapidly4 ,natives came from all over the country to see the woman they loved4 ,mary's body was taken to ,itu where services were held4 ,then it was taken to ,duke ,town4 ,here another service was held4 ,then the coffin was carried to the beautiful cemetery on ,mission ,hill4 ,from this place could be seen a large part of the city where ,mary had begun her faithful missionary work in ,africa4 ,around her grave the grateful natives gathered and wept for her who had wept and prayed over them4 ,do not cry1 do not cry1 said old ,ma ,fuller1 ,mary's native friend through the years4 ,praise ,god for ,his blessings4 ,ma was a great blessing4 ,first the ,africans called her the white ,ma who lives alone4 ,then they called her the ,ma who loves babies4 ,but lastly they called her eka kpukpru owo1 everybody's ,mother4 ,,the ,,end ,books on ,women ,missionaries 99 99 99 99 99 ,,white ,,queen ,,of ,,the ,,cannibals ,the ,story of ,mary ,slessor ,by ,a4,j4 ,bueltmann ,when ,mary was young1 she heard her mother read about the dangers and rewards of missionary work in ,calabar1 ,africa4 ,this challenged ,mary ,slessor's young heart and she determined to serve her ,lord there4 ,white ,queen of the ,cannibals records her courage as a missionary to the worst of pagans4 ,the story is simply told that it might inspire children to ,christian service4 ,,not ,,alone ,by ,eunice ,v4 ,pike ,many hundreds of languages in the world today have never been reduced to writing4 ,uncounted thousands of people cannot read ,god's ,word4 ,the work of ,wycliffe ,bible ,translators is to master the language of a tribe1 reduce it to writing1 and then teach the people to read the ,scriptures--in their own tongue4 ,eunice ,pike recounts her years spent with the ,mazatec ,indians in ,mexico1 giving them ,god's ,word4 ,,climbing ,by ,rosalind ,goforth ,after returning home from many years of missionary service in ,china1 ,rosalind ,goforth reflects on those incidents that most affected her life for ,christ4 ,written to display the mercy of the ,lord and to help others face life's hard problems1 the author recalls her experiences from childhood to retirement--a life of constant climbing4