,,children ,,of ,,africa                
,illustration3 ,,boys ,,hunting         
,,children ,,of ,,africa      ,,by      
,,james ,b4 ,,baird      ,,author ,,of  
8,,nyono ,,at ,,school ,,and ,,at       
,,home0      ,,with ,,eight ,,coloured  
,,illustrations      ,illustration      
,,fleming ,h4 ,,revell ,,company        
,,new ,,york      ,,chicago             
,,toronto            ,,printed ,,by     
,,turnbull ,,and ,,spears    ,,edinburgh
          ,,contents        ,,chap4     
,,page         ,i4 ,,introductory       
#i        ,,ii4 ,,the ,,dark ,,continent
                     #aj       ,,iii4   
,,the ,,great ,,races ,,of ,,africa     
#ad        ,,iv4 ,,an ,,african ,,house 
#ag         ,v4 ,,the ,,african ,,child 
#bb        ,,vi4 ,,an ,,african         
,,village                     #be       
,,vii4 ,,games                          
#cb      ,,viii4 ,,fairy ,,tales        
#dj        ,,ix4 ,,animal ,,stories     
#dc         ,x4 ,,finger ,,rhymes ,,and 
,,riddles              #di        ,,xi4 

,,food ,,and ,,ornaments                
#ef       ,,xii4 ,,the ,,african',s     
,,belief                   #fb          
,,xiii4 ,,the ,,african ,,in ,,sickness 
#ff       ,,xiv4 ,,magic ,,medicine     
#gb        ,,xv4 ,,the ,,dance ,,and    
,,musical ,,instruments      #gf        
,,xvi4 ,,hindrances ,,to ,,the ,,gospel 
#hj      ,,xvii4 ,,methods ,,of         
,,mission ,,work                #hd     
,,list ,,of ,,illustrations        #a4  
,,boys ,,hunting                        
,frontispiece                           
,,page      #b4 ,a ,,village ,,hut      
#ah      #c4 ,,his ,,first ,,suit       
#bb      #d4 ,,an ,,african ,,village   
#cj      #e4 ,a ,,bathing ,,pool        
#fj      #f4 ,,drill ,,replaces ,,the   
,,dance                  #gh      #g4 ,a
 ,,mission ,,school ,,class             
#hh      #h4 ,,attacked ,,by ,a         
,,leopard                     #ib       
,in preparing his coloured pictures1 the
 artist has received much    help from  
photographs kindly supplied by ,mr ,j4  

,w4 ,skinner and ,mr ,a4    ,j4 ,story4 
,,children ,,of ,,africa                
,,chapter ,i    ,,introductory          
8,from ,greenland's icy mountains1      
,from ,india's coral strand1    ,where  
,afric's sunny fountains      ,roll down
 their golden sand1    ,from many an    
ancient river1      ,from many a palmy  
plain1    ,they call us to deliver      
,their land from error's chain40        
,there is not one of you1 my dear boys  
and girls1 who does not know  this      
oft-sung missionary hymn4 ,but if there 
is1 then of this ,i am  sure1 there is  
not one who knows it who does not love  
it1 for it is  one of the most beautiful
 of all our hymns4 ,since it was written
 many  years ago by ,bishop ,heber1     
hundreds and hundreds of young voices   
have  sung it2 hundreds and hundreds are
 singing it to-day2 and hundreds and    
hundreds will yet sing it4    ,it is a  
great call to us who know ,christ our   
,saviour to spread abroad  into all     
heathen lands our knowledge of ,him who 

came down from heaven  and died to save 
mankind4 ,and nobly has the call been   
responded to4 ,the  ,christian ,churches
 have sent forth messengers into all the
 ends of the  earth to preach the 8glad 
tidings of great joy which shall be to  
all  people0 in obedience to the command
 of their risen ,lord who said1 8,go    
ye1 therefore1 and teach all nations40  
,so in our own day we find that         
,christ's ambassadors have gone into    
every continent and penetrated into the 
most distant lands2 that the  ,bible1 or
 some part of it at least1 has been     
translated into many  different         
languages2 and that the lives of        
countless numbers of native  peoples    
have been made purer and holier and     
happier by their knowledge  of ,him who 
loves them4    ,as you all know one of  
the continents of the earth is called   
,africa--the dark ,continent2 and it is 
about ,africa and its children ,i  want 
to write to you4          ,,chapter ,,ii
    ,,the ,,dark ,,continent            

,africa has been called the ,dark       
,continent1 and the name is suitable  in
 more ways than one4 ,to the ,european  
people it was for ages a dark           
continent1 because it was unknown1 that 
is1 unexplored by them4 ,the  name is   
also appropriate because ,africa is the 
home of millions of  dark-skinned       
people4 ,but from a ,christian point of 
view ,africa is the  dark continent1    
because over most of its inhabitants    
there still hangs  a black cloud of     
heathen darkness that shuts out the     
glorious rays of  the ,gospel of ,light 
and ,love4    ,of course you must know  
that ,africa has not all been an unknown
 land4  ,the northern part of it1 which 
borders the ,mediterranean ,sea1 has    
been  known from ancient times4 ,and is 
not ,egypt the land of the ,nile and the
  home of the ,pharaohs in ,africa1     
although we sometimes do not realise    
it8 ,but it is not so much of these     
northern lands that ,i want to tell  you
 as about the far greater portion that  

stretches away south over  the ,equator 
right down to the ,cape4 ,this part was 
until not so long  ago the dark unknown 
continent1 the land of those teeming    
millions of  dark-skinned people who    
lived out their lives without ever      
hearing the  ,gospel story and without  
knowing the love of ,god for the        
children of  men4    ,for hundreds of   
years very1 very little was known of    
this vast land  lying away to the south4
 ,the ancient peoples must have been    
afraid to  explore it1 and it is no     
wonder1 for ,africa is a land full of   
dangers  and difficulties that must have
 appeared overwhelming to the ancients4 
,here is a description of part of a     
voyage along the ,african ,coast made   
in the old days4 ,i read it the other   
day in a nice book about ,central       
,africa4 8,having taken in water we     
sailed thence straight forwards until   
we came to a great gulf which the       
interpreter said was called the ,horn   
of the ,west4 ,in it was a large island1

 and in the island a lake like a  sea1  
and in this another island on which we  
landed2 and by day we saw  nothing but  
woods1 but by night we saw many fires   
burning1 and heard  the sounds of flutes
 and cymbals1 and the beating of drums1 
and an  immense shouting4 ,fear came    
upon us1 and the soothsayers bade us    
quit  the island4 ,having speedily set  
sail1 we passed by a burning country    
full of incense1 and from it huge       
streams of fire flowed into the  sea2   
and the land could not be walked upon   
because of the heat4 ,being  alarmed we 
speedily sailed away thence also1 and   
going along four days  we saw by night  
the land full of flame1 and in the midst
 was a lofty  fire1 greater than the    
rest1 and seeming to touch the stars4   
,this by  day appeared as a vast        
mountain called the ,chariot of the     
,gods4 ,on the  third day from this1    
sailing by fiery streams1 we came to a  
gulf called  the ,horn of the ,south40  
,after reading such a description do you

 wonder that the ancients left  the land
 to the south severely alone8 ,we to-day
 can give a very simple  explanation for
 the above fiery exhibition4 ,these     
ancient mariners had  evidently visited 
that part of ,africa at the time of the 
bush fires and  were consequently       
appalled4    ,in the year #adhf a       
,portuguese navigator1 called ,diaz1    
sighted the ,cape  of ,good ,hope2 and a
 fellow countryman1 ,vasco da ,gama1 a  
few years  later1 discovered ,natal and 
the ,cape route to ,india4 ,but of      
inland  exploration there was little or 
none till men like ,james ,bruce and    
,mungo ,park made their famous journeys 
in the interior1 the one on the  ,blue  
,nile1 and the other on the ,niger4     
,then bit by bit our knowledge  of the  
interior of ,africa was added to by such
 brave men of whom ,dr  ,livingstone is 
the most famous4    ,if you ever get the
 opportunity of looking at an old map of
 ,africa  you will find that most of the
 interior is blank4 ,but now the map of 

,africa is filled with names and        
features that are known to us through   
exploration4 ,mighty rivers and great   
lakes have been discovered1 and         
mountains of which the ancients only    
dreamed are familiar to us4 ,all  honour
 to the brave men who have laid us so   
heavily under their debt1  and to no one
 more than to ,david ,livingstone1 whose
 noble example was  as an inspiration1  
and who as missionary and explorer laid 
down his  life for the ,dark ,continent4
    ,but for many years the ,european   
nations only looked upon ,africa as  a  
land whence slaves were to be taken for 
their plantations in the  ,new ,world4  
,and this part of the history of ,africa
 is a dark blot upon  their fair fame4  
,what with the ,european slave-buying in
 the ,west1 the  ,arab slave-hunting in 
the ,east1 and the chiefs perpetually at
 war and  enslaving one another's       
people1 the lives of countless numbers  
of these  ignorant people were made     
miserable in the extreme4    ,the       

village lies slumbering peacefully in   
the hollow in the midst of  its gardens 
of maize and sweet potatoes4 ,it is     
silently surrounded  before dawn by the 
cruel ,arab and his men4 ,shots ring    
out4 ,the startled  inhabitants rush    
forth into the grey morning with shouts 
of 8,nkondo60  78,war607 8,nkondo60     
78,war607 ,the men who resist or try to 
flee are  ruthlessly shot down4 ,houses 
and gardens are burned and destroyed1   
the  dead and dying are left where they 
fall1 round the necks of the living  is 
riveted the hateful slave stick1 and the
 gang is on its way to the  coast       
leaving behind only the abomination of  
desolation4 ,too often1  alas6 have the 
children of ,africa tasted of this      
bitter cup4    ,and now that the        
,european people know the sin from which
 they were  freed by the mercy of ,god1 
it behoves them to try their best to    
make up  to the black people for the    
injury they formerly did them4 ,that    
much is  being done we know for the     

whole continent is marked out as        
belonging  to the different ,european   
nations and is ruled by them4 ,so the   
days of  the old tribal wars are over   
and the slave-hunter has disappeared    
from  the land4    ,the future of the   
,dark ,continent you will then see lies 
now to a large  extent in the hands of  
the people of ,europe4 ,the old rule of 
the native  chiefs has in most places   
passed away1 and in others is rapidly   
passing4 ,the power has gone into the   
hands of the white man4 ,pray ,god  he  
may use it wisely and guide his black   
brother towards the green  pastures as  
becomes a follower of our ,lord and     
,saviour1 ,jesus ,christ4               
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,the ,,great ,,races
 ,,of ,,africa      ,before ,i begin to 
speak to you about the children of      
,africa1 ,i would  like you to          
understand how the people of ,africa are
 separated into  different families or  
divisions4 ,there are in ,africa nearly 
two hundred  millions of people1 but    

they do not all belong to the same race4
 ,the  three big families are the       
,berbers in the north1 the ,negroes in  
the  middle1 and the ,bantus in the     
south4 ,besides these there are some    
smaller divisions to which belong the   
,pigmies or ,dwarfs1 those strange      
little people whom ,stanley encountered 
on his famous journey through  the      
terrible forests of the ,congo4 ,then   
there are the ,hottentots and  the      
,bushmen of the south-west corner of    
,africa1 who have been driven  into the 
desert and hilly places by the more     
powerful invading ,bantu  tribes4       
,many long years ago the whole of the   
northern part of ,africa was  invaded by
 large numbers of fierce ,arab tribes4  
,they were very warlike  and soon       
overran the whole country and settled   
down in it1 and lived  side by side with
 the original people of the country as  
their masters1  but with whom they      
afterwards mingled4 ,so the ,north      
,africans of to-day  are1 you see1 a    

people of mixed race4    ,these hordes  
of conquering ,arabs who overran the    
country were  ,mohammedans1 and they    
forced their religion upon the people   
among whom  they settled4 ,mohammedanism
 is therefore the chief religion of the 
north of ,africa4 ,now these ,berber    
tribes are very dark-skinned when       
compared with ,europeans1 but they do   
not belong to the black people4  ,they  
are1 in fact1 classed along with the    
white races4    ,the true black people  
are the ,negroes1 and their home is in  
the middle  part of ,africa which       
stretches eastwards right across from   
the ,west  ,coast4 ,they are the people 
with the black skins1 the woolly heads1 
the  thick lips1 the flat noses1 and the
 beautiful white teeth4 ,it is they     
whose forefathers were bought as slaves 
and taken to ,america where we  find    
their descendants to-day4 ,they were a  
heathen people1 and had many  cruel     
customs1 and some of them were          
cannibals4 ,mohammedanism has come  upon

 them from the north and the east1 and a
 great many of them now  belong to that 
religion4    ,the home of the ,bantu    
people is the great southern portion of 
,africa4  ,the ,bantus are not so black 
as are the ,negroes1 nor are they quite 
so thick-lipped and flat-nosed4 ,but in 
all other ways they are very  similar to
 their ,negro neighbours4 ,they are a   
heathen people although  ,christianity  
has made good progress among them4 ,they
 are brave and  intelligent1 and are    
showing themselves able to adopt a      
higher and  better way of living4       
,the other smaller tribes1 the ,pigmies1
 the ,hottentots1 and the ,bushmen  are 
far below the ,negroes and ,bantus in   
intelligence4 ,the first of  these1 the 
,pigmies or ,dwarfs1 inhabit the dense  
forest region of  the ,congo1 and not   
very much is known about them even      
to-day4 ,the  ,hottentots and the       
,bushmen live away down in the extreme  
south-west  of ,africa and the ,kalahari
 ,desert4 ,it is said that they are the 

descendants of the older inhabitants of 
,africa1 who had to seek refuge  in the 
hills and deserts from the powerful     
,bantu tribes who invaded and  seized   
their country4    ,now ,i think this    
will be quite enough information about  
the different  races dwelling in        
,africa4 ,what ,i want you to understand
 is that the  whole of the northern     
portion of ,africa is ,mohammedan1 that 
the ,negro  people are many already     
,mohammedan1 and that others are rapidly
 being  converted to that religion1 and 
that the ,bantu people are mostly yet   
heathen1 while some have become         
,christian1 especially those of the     
south4    ,in ,africa there is a great  
war going on4 ,three mighty forces or   
powers  are fighting against one        
another1 and victory cannot go to them  
all4  ,these great forces are           
,mohammedanism1 heathenism1 and         
,christianity4 ,but  to those of us who 
know the ,african1 it is plain that the 
great fight  will be between the first  

and the last1 that the ,africans will be
 ruled  by the ,cross or the ,crescent1 
that the ,bible or the ,koran will be   
their  ,holy ,book1 that ,mohammed or   
,christ will be their guide in this     
life4    ,already we see that the whole 
of the north follows the ,prophet of    
,mecca4 ,the nature-worship of the      
,negro and ,bantu1 although yet strong1 
will pass away with the passing years4  
,the south is largely ,christian1  and  
,christianity is pushing up northwards4 
,christian missions are  attacking the  
strongholds of ,mohammedanism and       
heathenism in the north1  west1 and     
east1 in ,egypt and the newly opened    
,soudan4          ,,chapter ,,iv    ,,an
 ,,african ,,house      ,you must be    
wondering when you are going to hear    
about the children of  ,africa1 for ,i  
am sure you want to know about them now1
 the little sons  and daughters of the  
big black people ,i have so far written 
about4    ,well1 it so happens that ,i  
am sitting writing this story in a      

native  hut in ,africa1 many thousands  
of miles away from you2 and if any of   
you  wanted to come and join me here and
 see for yourselves1 you would have  to 
travel a good many weeks to reach me4   
,will you let me first try to  describe 
this house ,i am in1 and the village of 
which it is part1 as  being what most   
,african huts and villages are like1 and
 in which black  boys and girls are born
 and play4    ,this hut is a square one1
 and a good deal larger than you would  
imagine4 ,it is the size of a small     
cottage at home4 ,long ago most of  the 
huts were round1 ,i believe1 and indeed 
many of them are so yet4 ,but  square   
ones have come into fashion here1 for   
even in far-off ,africa  there is such a
 thing as fashion1 and it can change    
too4 ,this hut is  divided into three   
rooms4 ,the middle one is provided with 
a door to the  front and another to the 
back4 ,the rooms on each side have very 
small  windows like spy holes looking   
out to each end4 ,all round the house   

runs a verandah which prevents the      
fierce rays of the sun from beating     
against the walls of the house and      
throws off the heavy showers of rain  of
 the wet season clear of the house4 ,the
 whole house is built of grass  and     
bamboos1 and is smeared over with mud   
inside and out4 ,the roof1  supported by
 stout cross beams in the middle of the 
partition walls in  which other forked  
beams stand1 slopes not very steeply    
down to the  verandah posts which hold  
up its lower edges4 ,it is heavily      
thatched  with fine long grass4 ,the    
owner knows by experience what a        
tropical  thunder-shower means1 so he   
leaves nothing to chance in thatching   
his  house4    ,in the middle of the    
floor in the room with the doors a small
 hole  has been scooped4 ,it is         
surrounded with stones and forms the    
cooking  hearth1 although there is also 
attached to this house a very small     
grass shed about a dozen yards away at  
the back of the house1 which is  used as

 a kitchen on most occasions4 ,the doors
 are made of grass and  bamboos1 and at 
night are put in place and held firm by 
a wooden cross  bar4 ,such is the house 
of a well-off native of ,africa4 ,it    
takes but a  few weeks to build and     
lasts but a few years4    ,of course in 
a house with such small windows it is   
always more or less  dark4 ,in the end  
rooms with the spy holes it is always   
dark to me4 ,but  black boys and girls  
do not seem to mind this4 ,in fact ,i   
believe they  are like owls and cats1   
and can see in the dark4 ,i am certain  
though of  this that they can see ever  
so much better than white children can4 
,illustration3 ,a ,,village ,,hut       
,there is not much to look at in the way
 of furniture in a black man's  house4  
,here is a table made in imitation of a 
,european one and some  chairs too1     
whose backs look forbiddingly straight1 
a few cooking pots1  some sleeping mats1
 a hoe or two1 some baskets1 and some   
odds and ends  complete the list4 ,what 

surprises a white man is the number of  
things the black people can do without4 
,for instance1 if a white man  wants to 
travel in this country1 he must first of
 all gather together a  crowd of natives
 to carry him and his belongings4 ,he   
must have a tent  and a bed1 pots and   
pans1 boxes of provisions1 a cook1 and  
servants1  before he can travel in      
comfort4 ,but if a black man goes on a  
journey  he simply takes a pot and some 
food with him1 and maybe a mat and      
blanket1 takes his stick in his hand and
 his bundle on his shoulder and  off he 
goes1 it may be to walk hundreds of     
miles before he comes to his            
destination4    ,to-day there is no fire
 in the hearth4 ,there is no chimney in 
this  house so ,i could not have a fire 
and enjoy my stay4 ,the owner1 however1 
would not mind the smoke from the       
firewood4 ,he is used to crouching  over
 a fire and his eyes get hardened4 ,i   
see in one corner there is a  heap of   
grain called millet1 and in another a   

white ant-heap4 ,it has  risen in the   
night for ,i did not notice it before1  
and ,i am glad that  none of my         
belongings were in that corner of the   
room4 ,nothing but iron  seems amiss to 
the white ant4 ,his appetite is terrible
 and he can play  sad havoc with one's  
property in a single night4 ,there is   
grain in one  corner ,i have said1 and  
consequently there are rats4    ,the    
,pied ,piper of ,hamlin of whom you have
 all heard would find plenty  of rats to
 charm in any ,african village4 ,then in
 the houses there are  many kinds of    
biting insects1 and some that don't     
bite1 but look ugly4  ,the mosquito is  
calling ping6 ping6 everywhere1 and     
night is made  endurable only by        
retiring under a mosquito net4 ,the     
mosquito is the  most dangerous insect  
in ,africa1 for it has been found out by
 clever  doctors that it is the mosquito
 bite that causes the dreaded malaria   
fever4    ,in tropical ,africa nearly   
all the insects bite or sting1 even     

innocent-looking caterpillars1 if       
touched1 give one itch4 ,nor may  you   
pull every flower you see1 for some of  
them are more stinging  than nettles4   
,to-day ,i came across two boys hoeing a
 road4 ,one was a  bright fellow who    
kept things lively by singing snatches  
of songs and  whistling at his work4    
,when ,i came near ,i spied a fine large
 glossy  black beetle hurrying away     
after having been thrown up by the hoe4 
,i  asked the lively youth what kind of 
insect it was4 ,in reply he dropped  his
 hoe and pounced upon the unfortunate   
beetle and held it up to me  for        
inspection4 8,does it bite80 ,i asked1  
astonished4 8,oh6 yes10 he  said1       
8look40 ,so saying he stuck the point of
 one of his fingers close  to the head  
of the angry creature1 which promptly   
seized it with its  pincers4    ,but one
 gets used to these pests1 and even the 
sight of a spider the  size of a        
two-shilling piece running up the wall  
does not disturb one4  ,there is one    

insect1 however1 you may not despise1   
and which you can  never get accustomed 
to1 the red ant4 ,he comes in millions1 
and if he  deigns to pay your house a   
visit while on his journey1 you had     
better  leave him in possession of the  
place4 ,unless you happen to head him   
off  early with burning grass and red   
hot ashes you need not stay to argue    
with him4 ,everything living disappears 
before him1 rats1 mice1 lizards1  cats1 
dogs1 boys and girls1 men and women give
 way before his majesty1  the red ant4  
,i remember watching for half an hour an
 army of red ants on the march4  ,they  
were streaming out from a small hole in 
the grass1 crossing  over a hoed road1  
and disappearing into another hole in   
the grass  on the other side4 ,each was 
carrying a tiny load that looked like a 
small grain of rice1 and was hurrying   
after his neighbour as if the  whole    
world depended on his speed4 ,here and  
there on each side of the  hurrying     
companies were scouts and officers      

without loads evidently  engaged in     
keeping the others in order and in      
watching for enemies4  ,what ,i thought 
were grains of rice1 the boys told me   
were 8ana a  chiswe10 that is white     
ant's children4 ,somewhere underground  
there must  have been dreadful war and  
the red ants were carrying off the      
spoils of  victory4    ,next there came 
along a poor little lizard home by eager
 and willing--,i  had almost said       
hands--pincers4 ,here a pair were fixed 
in1 there  another pair4 ,everywhere    
that a pair of pincers could find a grip
  there was the pair4 ,i pulled the     
lizard out but it was quite dead4 ,so   
,i pushed it back into the excited line 
and it was soon on the march  again4    
,after a little there came past a       
curious round little object  into which 
dozens of ants were sticking and which  
with ants swarming  atop was being      
carried along with the stream4 ,i       
rescued this strange  thing too1 because
 ,i was anxious to find out what it     

was--the thing  inside this living ball 
of ants4 ,one of the boys got a basin of
 water  and plumped the ball into it1   
and with a piece of wood scraped the    
angry insects and frothy-looking stuff  
off4 ,then there was revealed a  tiny   
toad which the boys called 8,nantuzi40  
,it was just like a little  bag with    
four legs1 one at each corner4 ,when    
annoyed it swells itself  up like a ball
 and refuses to budge4 ,when seized by  
the ants it had  promptly covered itself
 with a frothy1 sticky spittle1 and so  
was  little hurt4 ,had ,i not rescued   
it1 however1 it would have been eaten   
at last overcome by numbers4 ,then ,i   
got tired watching1 and left the        
never-ending ant army still on the      
march4          ,,chapter ,v    ,,the   
,,african ,,child      ,inside such a   
house as has been described1 and in many
 a smaller one1  are born the children  
of ,africa4 ,at first and for a few days
 they are  not black4 ,i am told they   
are pink in colour and quite light1 but 

that they soon darken4 ,the mothers and 
grandmothers are very pleased  to       
welcome new babies and bath and oil them
 carefully4 ,nearly all the  women one  
meets about a village have children tied
 on their backs1 or  are followed by    
them toddling behind4 ,these mites      
glisten in the sun as  they are well    
oiled to keep their skins in good       
condition4    ,in some tribes very      
little children have no names4 ,you ask 
the  mother of an infant what she calls 
her baby1 and she replies1 8,alibe      
dzina0--,it has no name4 ,i once asked  
the father of a plump little  infant    
what the name of his child was4 ,he told
 me that it had not been  named yet but 
that when the child would begin to smile
 and recognise  people it would get a   
name4 8,well10 ,i said1 8when he smiles 
call him  ,tommy40 ,months after ,i saw 
the child again1 a fine boy he was too1 
and  ,tommy was his name4 ,but alas6    
,tommy did not live more than two years4
  ,he took some child trouble and died4 

,illustration3 ,,his ,,first ,,suit     
,sometimes the father or the mother may 
give a child its name1 or  sometimes a  
friend may name it4 ,many of the names  
have no special  meaning1 but some of   
them refer to things that happened or   
were seen  at the time the child was    
born4 ,boys' and girls' names differ    
from  one another although the          
difference is not clear to the white    
man4  ,but if he stays long enough among
 the black children he will begin to    
know what are boys' names and what are  
girls'4 ,i know a bright boy who  is    
called 8,mang'anda40 ,in ,english you   
would have to call him ,master          
,playful4 ,another child ,i can recall  
is called 8,handifuna10 which means     
8,miss they don't want me40 ,but        
wherever the white man is settling in   
,africa the people are picking up       
,european names2 and it is a pity1 ,i   
think1 that the old names will pass     
away4    ,little black children are not 
nursed and tended so carefully as white 

children are4 ,from a very early age    
they are tied on to their mother's      
backs and are taken everywhere4 ,it is  
seldom that an accident happens  through
 a child falling out1 for the black     
children seem to have an  extraordinary 
power of holding on4 ,if mother is too  
busy another back  is soon found for    
baby to show his sticking-on ability4   
,in any village  you may see a group of 
women pounding corn in their mortars    
under a  shady tree4 ,it is hard work1  
this daily pounding of corn4 ,up and    
down  go the heavy wooden pestles4      
,backwards and forwards go the heads of 
the babies tied on the mothers' backs4  
,at each downward thud baby's  neck gets
 a violent jerk1 but he is all          
unconscious of it1 and sleeps  through  
an ordeal that would kill his white     
brother4 ,again a woman with  an infant 
on her back may go a journey of many    
miles exposed to the  full blaze of the 
,african sun4 ,yet baby is quite        
comfortable and never  gives a single   

cry unless when he is hungry4    ,then  
black children have no cribs and cradles
 as have white ones4 ,when  mother is   
tired of baby1 and there is no other    
back at hand1 she simply  lays him down 
on a mat and leaves him to himself to do
 as he likes4 ,if  he makes a noise1    
well he can just make it4 ,he will      
disturb nobody1  and is allowed to cry  
until he is tired4 ,unless he is known  
to be ill1  his squalling1 be it never  
so loud1 will attract no attention4     
,most of  the mothers are very proud of 
their children1 and oil them and shave  
their woolly heads with great care4 ,but
 in spite of all this care on  the      
mother's part1 great numbers of the     
babies die4 ,very often they are  really
 killed through their mother's ignorance
 of how they ought to be  fed and nursed
 when sick4 ,then diseases like smallpox
 pass through the  villages at intervals
 and carry off hundreds of children4    
,a black infant is not clothed like a   
white one4 ,if his mother is very  proud

 of him he will have a string of beads  
round his neck or waist4  ,round his fat
 little wrist or neck you will often see
 tied on by string  a small medicine    
charm1 put there by his fond mother to  
protect him  against disease or evil    
influence4 ,when the babies are big     
enough to  toddle they begin to look out
 for themselves1 and when they have     
fairly  found their legs they go        
everywhere and do almost anything they  
like so  long as they do not give       
trouble4    ,a little boy's first       
article of clothing may be made of      
different  coloured beads carefully     
woven into a square patch1 which he     
wears  hanging down before him from a   
string of beads encircling his waist4   
,or  it may perhaps be only the skin of 
a small animal worn in the same way  as 
the square of beads4 ,he may1 however1  
begin with a cloth from the  beginning4 
,if so his mother provides him with a   
yard of calico1 rolls  it round him1 and
 sends him out into the world as proud  

as a white boy  with his first pair of  
trousers4    ,he gets no special food   
because he is a child4 ,he eats whatever
 is  going and whatever he can lay his  
hands upon4 ,thus he grows up not       
unlike a little animal4 ,there is not   
much trouble taken with him4 ,if he     
lives1 he lives2 and if he dies--well1  
he is buried4 ,no fond lips have  bent  
over him and kissed him asleep1 for     
kissing is not known to his  people4    
,nor has he learned to lisp the name of 
,jesus at his mother's  knee4 ,it is not
 that his mother does not love him1 for 
she does in her  own peculiar way4 ,but 
all are shrouded in ignorance1 father1  
mother and  children1 all held in the   
grip of dark superstitions from which   
nothing  but the light of the ,gospel of
 ,love can free them4          ,,chapter
 ,,vi    ,,an ,,african ,,village       
,shall we go round the village now8     
,well come away and we'll have a walk   
through it4 ,but as we are strangers and
 white1 ,i must warn you that  many     

pairs of curious eyes will be watching  
us when we know not1 and  all we do and 
say will be the talk of the village for 
a long time to  come4 ,it is not every  
day that the villagers get such a good  
look at  a white person1 and they will  
take advantage of their chance to-day4  
,babies on backs will cry if we come    
near them1 and little mites that  can   
run will disappear behind their mothers 
and peep out at us1 feeling  safe but   
very much afraid4 ,in fact1 many of the 
women frighten their  naughty children  
by telling them that if they do not     
behave better they  will send them to   
the white people1 who will eat them4    
,consequently  when a white man comes   
along the children often scatter in     
terror as  from a wild beast4 ,and would
 not white children do just the same    
from a  black man if they were told that
 he might eat them4    ,in a certain    
,african ,mission not long after school 
had been started for  the first time1 it
 was found necessary to build a kiln for

 the burning  of bricks4 ,but the eyes  
of the children had been watching the   
building1  and whatever could it be but 
a large oven in which to cook them4 ,so 
the  whole school fled pell-mell to     
their homes4 ,of course you must        
remember  that in several different     
parts of ,africa some of the tribes were
  cannibals1 and even in our day there  
are still tribes among which the  eating
 of human flesh is not unknown4    ,here
 we come to a house not unlike the one  
we have already described to  you1 but  
smaller and not so neatly finished4 ,the
 owner will not be so  well-off as the  
owner of that we occupied4 ,let us go   
near along this  path4 ,here comes an   
old lady to receive us1 and there go the
 children  round the corner1 and off    
goes baby yonder into tears1 and even   
the  dogs begin to bark4 ,banana trees  
grow all round the house1 and yonder  is
 a small grove of them on the other side
 of the courtyard4 ,they are  waving a  
welcome to us with their large ragged   

leaves4 ,the fruit is  hanging in       
bunches here and there on the old trees1
 and is evidently  not yet ripe4    ,but
 before we are introduced to the old    
lady1 who is coming to meet  us1 let us 
take a hasty glance round about4 ,first 
we see that the  children are getting   
braver1 and are1 beginning to show      
themselves  now4 ,ragged looking little 
things they are1 who do not look        
overclean4  ,the skin of their bodies is
 too white to have been washed recently4
  ,isn't it strange that a black boy    
when he is dirty looks white2 just  the 
opposite from a white boy1 who1 when he 
is dirty1 looks black4 ,the  mother of  
the crying child has turned round so as 
to shut us off from  baby's frightened  
gaze4 ,in one corner of the courtyard is
 a pot on a  fire1 the contents of which
 are boiling briskly4 ,this we are      
informed  is to be part of the evening  
meal which is in preparation4 ,it seems 
to  us but a mass of green vegetable4   
,really it consists of juicy green      

leaves of a certain kind plucked in the 
bush4 ,over there in the shade  of the  
bananas stand one or two mortars in     
which the women pound their  grain1 and 
without which no village1 however small1
 is complete4 ,on the  verandah of the  
house stands the mill--a very primitive 
one4 ,a large  flat stone slightly      
hollowed out holds the grain which is   
ground down  by another stone1 a round  
one1 being rubbed backwards and forwards
  over the hollow one4 ,snuff too is    
ground from tobacco in this way1 for    
many of the men enjoy a pinch of snuff  
and not a few of the women like  to     
smoke a pipe4 ,a fierce-looking little  
cat is blinking up at us1  watching us  
narrowly through the dark slits in its  
large yellow-green  eyes1 seeming in    
doubt whether to run off or to put up   
its back at us4  ,a sleeping mat1 made  
of split reeds1 and spread out on the   
ground near  the mortars1 is covered    
with maize ready to be pounded4 ,two or 
three  baskets are lying about1 some    

shallow1 some deep1 some large1 and some
  small4 ,that stump of a tree there    
serves as a seat when the shade of  the 
bananas is thrown on it4 ,and down on   
the whole is pouring a flood  of        
tropical sunshine1 so hot that we are   
glad to retire into the shade  of a     
friendly tree4    ,but the old lady is  
come and offers us her left hand4 ,her  
arms from  the wrist almost to the elbow
 are covered with heavy bracelets1 and  
her legs1 from the ankles half way to   
her knees1 are laden with great  heavy  
anklets of the same metal4 ,clank6      
clank6 clank6 like a chained  prisoner  
goes the poor old soul when she walks4  
,long ago she would  carry these huge   
ornaments with no difficulty1 and not a 
little joy4  ,but now1 although proud of
 them still1 no doubt1 they must be a   
trouble  to her slipping up and down on 
her withered arms and legs1 for she has 
tried to protect her old ankles by      
wrapping round them a rag of calico  to 
keep the brass from hurting4 ,she is    

dressed in a single calico1  none too   
new1 but1 we are pleased to see1 very   
clean4 ,other calicoes  doubtless she   
will possess1 carefully stored away and 
hidden in a  basket in the darkest      
corner of her house4    ,her old face is
 a mass of wrinkles and she has lost    
nearly all her  teeth4 ,but her upper   
lip6 ,what a sight6 ,poor old creature1 
what a huge  ring there is in it4 ,why1 
we can see right into her mouth when she
  speaks1 and to us it is not a pleasant
 sight4 ,this ring1 seen in many  old   
women1 is called here a 8pelele40 ,men  
do not wear it4 ,when a girl  is young  
her upper lip is bored in the middle and
 a small piece of  bone is put into the 
hole to keep it open4 ,gradually larger 
and larger  pieces are put in until the 
full sized 8pelele0 is reached4         
,sometimes  these rings are as much as  
two inches in size1 and the upper lip is
  fearfully stretched by wearing them4  
,it hangs away down over the lower  lip1
 and the tongue and inside of the mouth 

are seen when the old  8pelele0 wearer  
speaks4    ,the old dame is very polite 
but you can see that she is afraid of us
  and will be quite glad when we go     
elsewhere4 ,she says her cat is not a   
bit fierce but is a first-rate ratter1  
so much so that there isn't a  single   
rat in her house4    ,now to the next   
house through the bananas4 ,it is like  
the last and very  much the same kind of
 things are lying about4 ,but instead of
 a cat we  are met by the usual ,african
 yellow-haired dog4 ,he1 too1 is        
suspicious  of us1 but retires growling4
 ,a hen is busy scraping among the      
rubbish  at the side of the house to    
provide food for her numerous offspring 
that chirping follow her motherly cluck6
 cluck6    ,between this house and the  
last stand the grain stores1 round giant
  basket-like things with thatched      
roofs4 ,the largest ones are for        
holding the maize1 and the small ones   
for storing away the beans4  ,that low  
building there built of very strong     

poles is the goat house4  ,it needs to  
be strong as the hyna and leopard1 and  
even the lion  sometimes pay the village
 a visit at night4 ,and woe betide the  
poor  goats if a fierce leopard should  
get in among them4 ,not satisfied with  
killing and eating one he will tear open
 as many as he can1 simply for  the pure
 love of killing4    ,the houses in the 
village are all much the same as that   
you have  already read about and number 
about twenty4 ,they are built here1     
there1  and everywhere with no regard to
 plan or regularity4 ,the corner of  the
 verandah of this one projects out over 
the footpath1 and we have  actually to  
cross the verandah to get down to the   
well4 ,the owner only  laughs when we   
ask him why he built his house so near  
to1 and partly  upon the path4 ,some day
 he says he will hoe a new path to go   
round  about his house4 ,that is        
,african all over4 ,he will do things   
some day4  ,he thinks the ,european mad 
to be such a slave to time4    ,the     

owner of each house greets us with a    
smile1 and we are well  received by all 
except some of the old people who are   
really afraid of  white people1 and who1
 while glad to see them when they come  
to visit  their village1 are still more 
glad when they go away4 ,we have        
gathered  quite a crowd of little people
 about us1 and they follow us round very
  respectfully1 watching all we do1 and 
looking at all we have on4 ,many  of    
them you see suffer from ulcers4        
,here and there are patches of tobacco  
and sweet potatoes1 but most  of the    
gardens are outside the village proper4 
,their chief crops are  maize1 millet1  
sweet potatoes and cassava root4 ,paths 
twist about and  cross one another in a 
marvellous manner4 ,this one leads down 
to the  stream1 that to the next        
village2 this to the graveyard in yonder
  thicket1 a place shunned by the       
children1 that to the hill4 ,a white    
stranger promptly gets lost in ,african 
paths and has to give himself  up to the

 guidance of the native4 ,the whole     
country is a vast net-work  of such     
snake-like paths1 and ,i verily believe 
you could pass from one  coast to the   
other along them4    ,illustration3 ,,an
 ,,african ,,village    ,but just as we 
get to the far end of the village there 
is something to  interest us4 ,it is a  
very small house well fenced in4 ,on the
 roof and  exposed to the sun and rain  
are spread and tied down a blanket and  
various calicoes4 ,this must be the     
grave of someone important4 ,it is1  and
 we ask to be allowed to see inside4    
,permission is given because it  would  
not be polite to refuse it1 not because 
it is given willingly4 ,it  proves to be
 the grave of the headman of the village
 who died about a  year ago4 ,his       
clothes and blanket1 of no further use1 
have been spread  over the roof covering
 the grave1 and on the grave itself are 
lying his  pots and baskets and drinking
 cups4 ,in a small dish some snuff has  
been  placed4    ,his house which was   

only a few yards away had been destroyed
 with much  ceremony after the death of 
the owner1 and the site is now heavily  
overgrown with castor oil plants and    
self-sown tomatoes4 ,not far from  where
 his house had been is the tree at the  
foot of which he had  offered up        
sacrifices to the spirits of his        
forefathers4 ,being the  chief of the   
village he was buried beside his house  
and not away in the  bush where the     
common people are laid to rest4 ,i asked
 the children if  they were not afraid  
of this grave in the middle of the      
village1 and  they said that during the 
day they were not afraid because the    
noises  of the village kept the spirits 
away4 ,all the time we were visiting    
this sacred place the old woman with the
 8pelele0 was following us at a  short  
distance1 not at all too pleased to see 
us pry into such places1  but too afraid
 to tell us so4 ,she was much relieved  
when our steps were  turned elsewhere4  
,such is the home of the ,african       

children4 ,here they are born and  grow 
up and play and laugh and cry to their  
heart's content4 ,it is  a careless1    
easy life with nothing beyond food and  
clothing to be  interested in1 and not a
 thought for the morrow4 ,but we are    
here to  give them a new interest in    
life4 ,in this large courtyard we gather
 all  the people of the village         
together1 and with the western sun      
shining  upon the little crowd we tell  
them of ,jesus and give them something  
more to talk about than ourselves and   
our clothes4 ,here in the quiet of  this
 ,african village1 surrounded by the    
banana trees1 is told once more  the    
story of the love of ,jesus4 ,the old   
woman with the ring in her lip  says our
 words are only white men's tales1 and  
will go on in her own  way teaching the 
children the superstitions of her       
forefathers4    ,the seed we sow will   
not all fall on stony places4 ,some of  
it will fall  on good ground and bear   
fruit in the lives of these simple      

village  people4          ,,chapter     
,,vii    ,,games      ,when black       
children are small1 the boys and girls  
play together2 but  when they grow up a 
bit the boys separate themselves from   
the girls and  have their own games4    
,they would never dream now of playing  
with the  girls4 ,the latter are not    
strong and brave like boys1 and must    
play  by themselves4 ,in this respect   
they are just like white boys who feel  
ashamed to play with girls4    ,one of  
the boy's greatest enjoyments is to go  
hunting in the woods with  their bows   
and arrows4 ,it is small birds they     
want1 and their keen eyes  scan the     
leafy boughs for victims of any kind4   
,it does not matter how  small or pretty
 a bird may be1 down it comes struck by 
a heavy-headed  arrow4 ,victim and arrow
 fall back down at the feet of the      
cunning  shooter4 ,the reason why the   
boys kill even the smallest bird is that
  everything1 no matter how small1 will 
be eaten4 ,they do not eat meat as      

white people do4 ,all they want is just 
enough to make their porridge  tasty and
 to let them have gravy4 ,so any small  
animal1 such as you  would despise1 is  
acceptable to them4    ,pushing through 
the bush is difficult work1 but the     
black boys do not  seem to mind it      
although the grass towers far above     
their heads4 ,all  they fear is1 that   
perhaps they may tread upon a snake or  
disturb a  wild beast1 but in the       
excitement of the chase they soon forget
 all  about snakes and wild beasts4     
,should a boy be very good at imitating 
the call of birds he gets ready an arrow
 with many heads--six or seven4  ,this  
he makes by splitting up one end of a   
thin bamboo and sharpening  each piece4 
,these ends he ties in such a way as to 
separate them from  one another1 leaving
 one in the middle4 ,he then takes his  
bow and his  newly made arrow and goes  
off to the bush4 ,having selected a     
likely  spot he quickly pulls the grass 
together loosely over his head to hide  

him from above1 crouches under it and   
begins to imitate the call of  a certain
 bird of which kind he sees many about4 
,in a short time the  birds come        
hovering over the grass concealment1 and
 the boy1 watching  his chance1 sends   
his arrow into their midst4 ,in this way
 several birds  are obtained at a time4 
,then the boys hunt small game1 such as 
rabbits1 with their dogs4 ,the  dogs    
chase the rabbits out of the long grass1
 and the boys stand  ready to knock them
 over with their knobbed sticks4        
,another favourite  occupation is to go 
down to the gardens with hoes and dig   
out  field-mice which are relished just 
as much as the birds are4    ,traps of  
various kinds are set to catch game4    
,some are made with  propped-up stones  
that fall down and crush the unwary     
victims4 ,some are  made with a running 
noose that strangles the unfortunate    
beast4 ,a very  simple kind for catching
 birds is made out of a long bamboo4 ,a 
spot is  first chosen where birds are   

likely to gather together quickly4 ,the 
bamboo is then split up the middle for  
about a third of its length4 ,the  ends1
 which if left to themselves would      
spring together with a snap1  are held  
wide apart by a cross-pin of wood4 ,to  
this pin is attached  a long string     
which goes away over to the grass where 
the youthful  trapper lies hidden4 ,a   
handful of grain is then scattered over 
the  space between the split ends of the
 bamboo4 ,when everything is prepared   
the eager youth retires to hide in the  
grass and watch the birds4 ,it is  not  
long before several are enjoying the    
bait1 and when a sufficient  number have
 entered1 the boy pulls the string which
 displaces the  cross-pin and the two   
ends of the bamboo close together with a
 snap4  ,the poor birds are not all     
quick enough to escape1 and several lie 
dead  to reward the cunning of the      
trapper4 ,such doings you would hardly  
call  games1 but so they are considered 
by the black boy1 for whenever ,i  ask  

them to tell me what games they play at1
 hunting and trapping are  always among 
those given me4    ,of games proper1    
hand-ball is a great favourite1 and is  
played in the  courtyard or any other   
cleared space4 ,this is a kind of       
ball-play in  which two sides contend   
against one another for possession of   
the ball1  which is usually just a lump 
of raw rubber4 ,when the sides have been
  chosen1 and it matters not how many a 
side so long as there are plenty1  the  
game is started by a player throwing the
 ball to another boy on  his side4 ,thus
 the ball passes through the air from   
player to player1  it being the         
endeavour of the opposite side to       
intercept it and of the  first lot to   
retain possession of it4 ,every time the
 ball is caught all  the players with   
the exception of him who holds the ball1
 clap their  hands together once and    
sometimes stamp with their feet4    ,the
 players may dodge about as they like   
and jump as high as they like  in their 

endeavour to catch the ball4 ,it is an  
excellent game and a  hard one1 and     
would be enjoyed1 ,i am sure1 by white  
boys1 for no lazy  bones need ever think
 he would get the ball4 ,only he who is 
quick of  hand and eye would ever get a 
chance1 and the more clever the players1
  the harder is the game4 ,after the    
ball has gone round one side a  certain 
number of times the players on that side
 shout out a little  chorus and clap    
their hands to proclaim their victory4  
,then the game  begins afresh and is    
carried on with such vigour that when   
finished  each boy is sweating freely   
and glad to retire to a cool place to   
rest4    ,a quiet game in contrast to   
the hand-ball is the native game of     
draughts in which the opponents 8eat0   
one another to use the native           
expression4 ,four rows of little holes  
are made in a shady place4 ,the         
opponents sit on opposite sides and each
 has command of two rows4  ,sometimes   
there are six and at other times eight  

holes in each row4  ,each player has a  
number of seeds or little pieces of     
stone or other  small things1 about the 
size of marbles and he places one in    
each  hole leaving a certain one empty4 
,then begin mysterious movements of     
taking out and putting in4 ,so it seems 
to the ,european at first4 ,but  there  
are rules1 and the black boys know them 
well4 ,the idea is to  move one's own   
8men0 one hole along at a time1 until   
those in any hole  surpass in number    
those in the enemy's hole opposite when 
they are  taken and placed out of the   
game4 ,the game is won when one is able 
to  take the last remaining 8man0 on his
 opponent's side4 ,to the boys it is  a 
very engrossing game1 and they often    
forget all about time over it4          
,sometimes the holes are chiselled out  
on a board and the game played by  the  
grown-up people on the verandah of their
 houses4    ,quite a different game from
 any of those described is that played  
by  both boys and girls among the       

cassava bushes in the gardens4 ,when one
  finds a single leaf growing in a fork 
of a bush he calls out to his           
neighbour1 8,i have bound you40 ,the    
neighbour considers himself bound  till 
he finds a leaf in a similar position1  
when he calls out1 8,i have  freed      
myself40 ,he who first finds the leaf   
binds the other1 and so the  game goes  
on till the children are tired of it4   
,the boys have another  use for the     
cassava leaf4 ,they pluck a nice big    
one4 ,then the left hand  is closed     
fist-like1 but leaving a hollow in the  
hand4 ,the leaf is then  laid across the
 hollow1 resting on the thumb and the   
bent fore-finger4  ,the open1 right hand
 is now brought down whack upon the     
leaf1 which is  split in two with a loud
 report4    ,hide-and-seek you all know4
 ,i think it must be played by children 
all over the world4 ,it is played by the
 black children of ,africa and  enjoyed 
very much4 ,there are splendid          
opportunities for hiding in  the long   

grass4 ,you have only to go into it a   
few feet1 and you are  completely       
hidden4 ,sometimes the black children   
vary the game from  the ordinary        
hide-and-seek4 ,the seeker will be a    
wild beast--say a  lion--and the hiders 
will be deer4 ,they go off and hide in  
the grass  and the lion has to find his 
prey4 ,sometimes the hider will         
represent  a deer and go and conceal    
himself1 and the seekers will be hunters
 on  the chase4 ,then if there is water 
near one will hide in the water and     
pretend to be a crocodile1 and when the 
others come down to the stream  to bathe
 or draw water the crocodile rushes out 
on them and tries to  seize them by the 
legs4    ,the boys also play at war with
 tiny bows and arrows made of grass     
stalks4 ,they stand in rows facing one  
another and try to 8kill0 one  another  
with their arrows4    ,there is another 
good game played by the boys called     
8nsikwa40 ,it has  no ,english name or  
,i would have written it instead of the 

native one4  ,there are sides in this   
game1 but two boys can play it4 ,of     
course the  fun is better when there are
 perhaps four or five a side4 ,the boys 
sit  in the courtyard in lines facing   
one another and about ten feet apart4   
,in front of each player is placed a    
small piece of maize cob about two  or  
three inches high1 from which the grain 
has been taken4 ,it is then  very light 
and easily overturned4 ,in his right    
hand each player holds  a native top4   
,when all are ready1 the players send   
their tops spinning  across the clear   
space with great force and try to knock 
down the piece  of maize cob belonging  
to the player opposite4 ,to and fro in  
the battle  are whirled the tops to the 
accompaniment of shouts and laughter of 
opponents and onlookers4    ,most of the
 games ,i have seen are boys' games1 but
 the girls of ,africa  can play too like
 the girls of other lands4 ,but their   
play mostly  consists of trying to do   
what they see their mothers do4 ,thus   

the girls  will seize the pestles and   
try to pound at the mortars4 ,others    
will  take the winnowing baskets and try
 if they can do as well as mother  in   
sifting out the hard grains from the    
fine flour4 ,they also play at  keeping 
house and marriages4 ,they borrow pots  
and cooking utensils  from their mothers
 and go to the bush and build little    
houses and make  believe to set up house
 on their own account4 ,if they play    
this game in  the village the girls mark
 out the walls of the supposed houses   
with  sand1 and say1 8,here is my       
hearth1 there is my sleeping place1 and 
this  is the doorway40 ,they also make  
food with mud and invite one another  to
 afternoon mud cakes1 and pretending to 
eat them throw the mud over  their      
shoulders4    ,when the big people of   
the village go to work in the gardens   
the  children often go to the bush and  
build little houses and bring flour  and
 maize and other kinds of food and play 
at a new village4 ,then one  will be    

chosen to be a hyena and another will be
 a cock4 ,the hyena goes  off to the    
grass and hides1 and the cock struts    
about the village4  ,then someone will  
call out1 8,it is night1 let us go to   
sleep40 ,so they  all go to sleep1 and  
in a short time the cock will crow1     
8,kokoliliko10  which is the black boys'
 way of saying 8,cock-a-doodle-do40 ,the
 hyena  will also roar4    ,those in the
 house will awake1 and one will say1    
8,it is daybreak10 but  others will say1
 8,it is only that foolish cock crowing 
in the middle  of the night40 ,then     
hearing the hyena one will get up1 open 
the door  cautiously1 and chase the     
beast away4 ,when the big people go back
 to  the village the children are not   
long in following them4    ,boys and    
girls also play at funerals4 ,one will  
pretend to be dead1 and  the others will
 gather round in sorrow and mourn over  
the dead one  and lift him up with great
 ceremony and bear him off for burial4  
,but  if ,i make this chapter any longer

 ,i am afraid ,i may tire you4 ,let me  
finish with just one more pastime4 ,some
 of the black children play at  making  
little animals out of mud1 just as white
 boys and girls play  at mud-pies4 ,the 
,african women do not bake pies1 so the 
children know  nothing of the pleasures 
of mud-pie making4 ,instead1 they make  
little  mud dogs and hens and lions and 
snakes4 ,these they put out into the sun
  where they get baked hard4 ,they can  
then be carried about and played  with4 
,these games are some of the many played
 by ,african children1 and ,i  hope you 
will like reading about them4 ,if you   
could only see the black  children play 
them in this sunny land ,i am sure you  
would enjoy it and  want to join them4  
,i have watched them often1 and as often
 wished ,i had  a camera to take living 
pictures of ,african children at play so
 that  you children at home might be    
able to see with your own eyes something
  of what ,i have but feebly tried to   
describe to you4          ,,chapter     

,,viii    ,,fairy ,,tales      ,all     
,africans are great story-tellers4 ,at  
night round the fire1 when  darkness    
covers the land and the boys appetites  
are appeased1 many are  the tales told4 
,let me translate one or two for you4   
,,the ,,story ,,of ,,naling',,ang',a    
,long ago there lived a man named       
,naling'ang'a4 ,he was a very foolish   
man1 for he smoked bhang1 and the fumes 
of this deadly weed had run  off with   
all his wisdom4 ,one day the chief of   
the village in which  ,naling'ang'a     
lived ordered all the people into his   
gardens to hoe for  him1 so that the    
maize might not 8walk0 with the         
grass--that it1 might  not be overgrown4
    ,all the people obeyed the chief's  
words and went early in the morning  to 
the gardens1 followed by the chief      
himself4 ,but ,naling'ang'a  lingered on
 in the village to have a morning pipe  
of his favourite  bhang4 ,afterwards1   
when all the people were already in the 
gardens  hoeing away under the eye of   

the chief1 ,naling'ang'a came on alone4 
,on  his way he crossed over a stream   
and arrived at the plain near which     
were the chief's gardens4    ,lying on  
the side of the path was an old skull   
that had been there  for many a day1 and
 which ,naling'ang'a had often passed4  
,but to-day1  because he had been       
smoking bhang1 he was annoyed at it1 and
 took the  handle of his hoe and struck 
the skull1 saying1 8,tell me1 what      
killed  you80 ,to his horror the skull  
moved1 and said1 8,my tongue killed me40
    ,poor ,naling'ang'a was dreadfully  
afraid1 and his knees shook under him   
hearing this dead thing speak so4 ,but  
he plucked up courage and struck  it    
again to see if it was really true1 and 
again the skull spoke the  same words4  
,being unable to stand it any longer1   
for his courage at  this second         
exhibition had deserted him1 he turned  
and fled as fast as  his tottering legs 
could carry him to where the people were
 digging in  the chief's gardens1 and   

lost no time in telling his story4      
,at first the people refused to believe 
him1 but because of his  earnestness and
 his frightened condition the chief     
ordered all the  people to stop hoeing1 
and follow him back to the plain where  
he1 the  chief1 would himself see this  
wonderful thing4 ,arrived at the spot   
the  people stood round about in a      
frightened circle with ,naling'ang'a and
  the chief in the centre4 ,naling'ang'a
 was brave now because of the  crowd of 
people and1 lifting his hoe1 struck the 
poor skull a violent  blow1 saying1     
8,tell me1 what killed you80 ,but the   
skull answered not a  word4 ,again and  
again he struck it and demanded it to   
tell1 but never a  word spoke it4       
,the people saw now that they had been  
deceived1 and the chief was mad  with   
rage at having been made appear foolish 
before the eyes of the  people and at   
the loss of time from the hoeing4 ,so he
 ordered poor  ,naling'ang'a to be put  
to death there and then1 and his head to

 be cut  off and thrown beside the skull
 as a warning to all to speak the truth4
    ,when the execution was over and the
 people had all departed the skull      
turned round to poor ,naling'ang'a's    
head1 and said1 8,my friend1            
,naling'ang'a1 tell me1 what killed     
you80 ,and ,naling'ang'a replied1  8,my 
tongue40 8,as with me10 said the skull1 
8my tongue caused a great  quarrel and  
the people killed me40      ,,the       
,,story ,,of ,,the ,,freeman ,,and ,,his
 ,,slaves    ,there was a freeman that  
had many slaves and he went with them on
 a  journey4 ,when they were on the     
journey the slaves sent the freeman1    
saying1 8,go for water40 ,but he        
refused1 and the slaves themselves went 
and drew water4 ,when they returned with
 the water the freeman said1  8,give me 
some water to drink40 ,but the slaves   
refused1 saying1 8,we  don't want you to
 drink our water4 ,go to the well and   
draw water for  yourself40 ,so the      
freeman had to go to the well himself4  

,when he was  about to drink1 the slaves
 pushed him into the water and killed   
him4  ,but a drop of blood leapt upwards
 and fell on a leaf of a tree1 and      
thereupon became a bird and sang3--     
8,ku6 ,ku6 ,ku60    ,the slaves got     
ready for their journey1 but the bird   
went before them  and came to the       
village1 and said1 8,they killed me4    
,make beer when the  strangers come40   
,when the slaves entered the house to   
drink the beer  the people set fire to  
the house and burned them4      ,,the   
,,story ,,of ,,the ,,children ,,and     
,,the ,,serpent    ,there was a certain 
man that hoed his garden1 and said1     
8,now that ,i  have hoed my garden1 what
 shall ,i do8 ,these children finish the
 food  in the garden40 ,then he went to 
look for bark and made a rope out of  it
 and put it into the garden4 ,when the  
children said1 8,let us steal10  the    
rope became a serpent that drove off the
 children1 who ran to the  village1 and 
said1 8,father1 in the garden yonder    

there is a snake40 ,and  he said1 8,let 
us go there and see40 ,when they came to
 the garden the  father said1 8,look    
now1 that is a rope4 ,you thought it was
 a snake4 ,is  it that you were stealing
 the maize8 ,you must never do so       
again40           99       99       99  
99       99    ,such are ,african fairy 
tales1 but there is a very great        
difference  between a written story and 
one told by word of mouth4 ,the teller  
stands up and1 with hands going and eyes
 rolling and body bending  backwards and
 forwards1 imitates whatever birds or   
beasts1 their calls  and their cries1   
there are in his tale4 ,at intervals he 
sings out a  line or two of chorus1     
which is taken up by the audience and   
sung with  great delight4 ,many         
additions are made in the spoken tale1  
and the  written one is but the shadow  
of the other4          ,,chapter ,,ix   
,,animal ,,stories      ,now let me get 
you a few animal stories of which ,i am 
sure there must  be hundreds stored up  

in the hearts of the black boys and     
girls4 ,where  they learn them ,i know  
not1 but they all seem to be able to    
tell  stories4 ,i really do believe they
 are born with them in their hearts  all
 ready for the telling4    ,among the   
animals1 strange to say1 the rabbit is  
considered the  cunning one4 ,white     
children are accustomed to hear of the  
sly fox who  said the grapes were sour2 
his place in ,africa is taken by ,mr    
,rabbit4  ,many are the tricks he plays 
on animals big and small1 and even on   
people4 ,the foolish animal is the      
hyena1 and on him very often falls  the 
punishment that ought to be borne by the
 cunning rabbit4      ,,the ,,story ,,of
 ,,the ,,rabbit ,,and ,,the ,,elephant  
,a rabbit made friends with an elephant1
 and they agreed together to hoe  a     
large garden4 ,while they were busy     
hoeing1 the head of the rabbit's  hoe   
fell out1 and as he could not see a     
stone on which to knock his  hoe1 he was
 at a loss to know what to do4 ,suddenly

 a good plan entered  his head1 and1    
turning to the elephant1 he said1       
8,friend ,elephant1  let me knock in my 
hoe on your head40 ,the elephant agreed1
 and the  hoe was knocked in by the     
rabbit4 ,then they went on hoeing again4
 ,not  long after the head of the       
elephant's hoe fell off4 ,so1 turning to
  the rabbit1 he said1 8,friend ,rabbit1
 let me knock in my hoe on your  head40 
,but the rabbit1 being afraid that the  
elephant would kill him1  refused and   
ran off4 ,on his way he met a hyena1 who
 asked him why he  was running at such a
 break-neck speed4 8,ah60 replied the   
rabbit1 8the  elephant has much meat in 
the garden yonder4 ,go to him and you   
will be  sure to get a bit4 ,i am       
running to get a knife to cut it up40   
,when the  elephant saw the hyena       
coming1 he thought it was still the     
rabbit who  had 8bewitched0 himself to  
be like another beast4 ,so he caught him
 and  killed him4      ,,the ,,story    
,,of ,,the ,,rabbit ,,and ,,the         

,,hippopotamus    ,a rabbit1 going down 
to the river to drink1 met a            
hippopotamus and  began to speak to him4
 ,not far away was an elephant feeding  
on the  trees near the bank of the      
river4 8,come1 let us try our strength10
 said  the rabbit to the hippopotamus1  
8you try to pull me into the water  and 
,i shall try to pull you to the bank1   
and whoever is pulled over  must pay the
 other40 ,but the hippopotamus would not
 listen to such a  proposal and laughed1
 saying1 8,why should ,i waste time     
pulling with a  creature so small as    
you80 ,but the rabbit urged him very    
much to have a  try1 so at last he      
consented4 ,then the rabbit went off to 
find a rope1  but in passing the        
elephant1 who was feeding quietly1 he   
challenged him  to a similar trial of   
strength1 but this time the rabbit was  
to try to  pull the elephant into the   
water4 ,like the hippopotamus1 the      
elephant  at first refused4 ,but in the 
end he consented4 ,so the rabbit gave   

him  one end of the rope1 saying that he
 would go down into the water and  begin
 to pull4 ,when he reached the river1   
however1 he gave the other  end of the  
rope to the hippopotamus1 saying he     
would now run back and  begin to pull4  
,then the rabbit1 pretending to go to   
pull his end of  the rope1 slyly lay    
down in the grass and watched4 ,then the
 two great  animals began to pull and   
tug against one another but neither     
could  pull the other over1 and all the 
time the rabbit lay laughing in the     
grass4 ,all day the great beasts heaved 
and tugged at the rope4 ,about  sunset1 
quite worn out1 they gave up the        
tug-of-war4 ,the rabbit ran to  the     
river bank where the hippopotamus was   
standing exhausted half out  of the     
water with the sand all trampled round  
about4 8,well10 said the  rabbit1 8how  
did ,i pull80 ,the poor hippopotamus had
 to own up that he  was beaten and      
agreed to pay4 ,thereupon the rabbit ran
 to where the  elephant still panted    

amidst trampled grass and brushwood1 and
 said1  8,well1 how did ,i pull80 ,the  
elephant also had to own defeat and     
agreed  to pay4 ,thus was the rabbit    
made rich in a single day4      ,,the   
,,story ,,of ,,the ,,rabbit ,,and ,,the 
,,lion ,,cubs    ,a rabbit once wanted  
to wear a lion's skin1 so he said1      
8,where shall  ,i find one80 ,but his   
friends said1 8,you don't mean it4 ,the 
lion is a  fearful animal40 ,but the    
rabbit said1 8,i shall deceive it40 ,so 
he went  to a lion's den where there    
were cubs1 stood in the courtyard1 and  
clapped his hands4 ,the lioness came out
 and received his salutation  and said1 
8,well1 what80 ,and the rabbit replied1 
8,i have come to stay40  ,so the lioness
 said1 8,pass into the house there and  
take care of the  children4 ,remain with
 them1 and ,i myself shall go to kill   
game40 ,then  she went away to kill     
game4 ,not long afterwards the lioness  
came  back and stood in the path and    
called out1 saying1 8,rabbit40 ,and the 

rabbit said1 8,here ,i am40 ,and she    
said1 8,take this meat4 ,are all the    
children well80 ,and the rabbit replied1
 8,yes1 they are all well40  8,all      
right10 said the lioness1 8bring them   
that ,i may see them40 ,so  the rabbit  
brought them1 and said1 8,this is one1  
this is another1 and  this another40 ,in
 all there were three4 ,quite pleased1  
the lioness  said1 8,take the meat and  
give it them40 ,the rabbit went and     
received  the meat1 but ate it all      
himself and the children got none4 ,then
 the  lioness went off to kill more     
meat4 ,when she had gone the rabbit took
  one child1 killed it1 took off its    
skin1 and went away to hide it4 ,the    
lioness soon returned1 bringing more    
game1 and said1 8,are the children      
well8 ,bring them that ,i may see them40
 ,so the rabbit brought them1  saying1  
8,this is one1 this is another1 and this
 another10 but one he  brought twice4   
,again1 well pleased1 the lioness went  
away for more  game1 and the rabbit     

killed another cub1 took off its skin1  
and went  away and hid it4 ,in the      
evening the lioness again returned1     
bringing  meat1 and said1 8,are the     
children all well80 ,as usual the rabbit
  replied1 8,yes1 they are all well40   
,so he showed the lioness the same  cub 
three times1 and said1 8,this is one1   
this is another1 and this  another40    
,again1 well pleased1 the lioness said1 
8,take this meat and  give it them40    
,but the rabbit ate it all1 and         
afterwards killed the  cub that was     
left1 skinned it1 and went off to hide  
the skin4 ,then1  afraid of the return  
of the lioness1 he went to get string4  
,next he  cut a small slave stick and   
tied himself by the neck4 ,then he      
twisted  cords and tied his legs and    
bound himself to the stick again1 and   
with  another cord tied his arms4 ,then 
he made a great noise1 and called out1  
8,war6 ,war6 ,war against the lion4     
,war60 ,the lioness came bounding back1 
and said1 8,what is the matter80 ,so the

 rabbit said1 8,the children are  all   
taken1 the soldiers carried them off40  
,and the lioness demanded1  8,soldiers  
from where80 ,and the rabbit said1 8,i  
don't know4 ,untie me40  ,the lioness   
set about untying1 and the rabbit said1 
8,wait for me1 ,i  shall go in search of
 them40 ,so the rabbit went away and    
found monkeys  spinning their tops1     
saying1 8,go6 ,go60 ,but the rabbit     
said1 8,yes1  nonsense1 but you should  
say1 #8,i have killed a lion and taken  
off  his skin4'0 ,the monkeys said1     
8,yes1 very good10 and the rabbit left  
the monkeys repeating these words4 ,he  
himself went back and met the  lioness1 
and said1 8,the children were killed by 
these monkeys40 ,so the  lioness said1  
8,deceive them1 saying that we will do  
trade in tops40 ,so  the rabbit went    
back to the monkeys1 and said1 8,let us 
deal in these  tops40 ,so they said1    
8,with what goods80 ,and the rabbit     
said1 8,with  beans40 ,then the monkeys 
said1 8,well1 bring them that we may    

buy40 ,so  the rabbit went back and told
 all to the lioness1 who said1 8,weave a
  basket and tie me into it40 ,and the  
rabbit wove a basket1 tied in the       
lioness1 and put a few beans on top1    
lifted the basket1 and departed4  ,when 
he arrived at their courtyard he found  
the monkeys spinning their  tops4 ,so he
 called out1 8,i have brought that      
merchandise40 ,and they  replied1 8,we  
shall buy it40 ,just then a monkey sent 
his top spinning1  saying1 8,i have     
killed a lion's cub and have taken off  
its skin40 ,so  the rabbit whispered to 
the lioness1 8,listen1 those fellows    
killed the  children20 then to the      
monkeys1 8,let us go and sell in this   
house40  ,then the rabbit took a knife  
and cut the ropes that held the lioness1
  who sprang out upon the poor monkeys  
and killed them all4 ,but the  rabbit   
went for his skins and took them home   
and wore them4      ,,the ,,story ,,of  
,,the ,,tortoise ,,and ,,the ,,monkey   
,once a tortoise and a monkey made      

friends1 and the monkey said to  the    
tortoise1 8,friend ,tortoise1 come to my
 home and visit40 ,so the  tortoise went
 and the monkey cooked food for him1    
but1 wishing to  play a trick on him1   
placed it on a high platform which the  
tortoise  could not possibly reach up   
to4 ,then he called the tortoise1       
saying1  8,friend ,tortoise1 go into the
 house and eat40 ,when the tortoise went
  in expecting a feast he found the food
 so high up that he could not  reach it4
 ,so he came out very angry1 and said1  
8,friend ,monkey1 you have  been        
insolent to me40 ,so he went home1 and  
brooded over the insult for  three days4
 ,then he sent a messenger to invite the
 monkey to his home1  saying to himself1
 8,yon monkey was cheeky to me1 ,i also 
will be cheeky  to him40 ,so when the   
monkey came he found food already cooked
 and eyed  it greedily4 ,but the        
tortoise said1 8,friend ,monkey1 there  
is no water  in the house1 go down to   
the stream and wash your hands40 ,so the

 monkey  went down through the burned   
grass and washed his hands in           
anticipation  of the feast4 ,but in     
coming back from the stream he had to   
pass again  through the burned grass and
 his hands were as black as ever4 ,so   
seeing  through the tortoise's cunning  
he got angry1 and said1 8,my friend has 
played a trick on me10 and departed to  
his own home4          ,,chapter ,x     
,,finger ,,rhymes ,,and ,,riddles       
,now ,i have told you four ,african     
tales of animals1 and perhaps you are   
tired of such stories4 ,if1 however1 ,i 
can remember a very good one  before ,i 
am finished writing to you ,i shall put 
it into this chapter4    ,let me now    
tell you about the black boys and girls'
 riddles1 and there  are one or two     
nursery rhymes that ,i know of4 ,i am   
sure you would like  to hear them1 so ,i
 shall write them down for you as they  
are spoken  here1 and then translate    
them for you4 ,here is one of them3--   
8,uyu ndi mtecheteche1      ,uyu ndi    

mpwache wa mteche1        ,uyu ndi mkala
 pakati1          ,uyu ndi mkomba mbale1
            ,uyu ndi chitsiru chache1   
,tikumenya iwe3 ,go6 ,go60    ,can you  
guess what this is all about8 ,you have 
a rhyme that means just  the same4 ,well
 this is what these funny words mean3-- 
8,this is the shaky little finger1      
,this is his younger brother1           
,this is the one in the middle1         
,this is the plate-scraper1             
,this is an old fool1    ,i beat you    
thus3 ,go6 ,go60    ,it is you see an   
,african finger rhyme4 ,you have all one
 of your own1  but ,i am sure in it you 
never call your fore-finger a           
plate-scraper1  nor your thumb an old   
fool4 ,but if you had to eat without    
spoons and  knives and forks1 and wanted
 to make your plate very clean you would
  have to use your fore-finger a good   
deal1 and you would then understand  why
 the black children call it a           
plate-scraper4    ,this is another      
finger rhyme for counting up all the    

fingers3--      8,mbewa zagwa2          
,zagweranji8        ,zagwera mapira2    
,ndikazikumbe2            ,ndiopa uluma4
      8,mzanga ,likongwa1      ,ali     
kukaku2        ,amanga mpanda2          
,ndikamtandize2            ,wata ,kale40
    ,this is the ,english for it3       
8,the mice have fallen2      ,why have  
they fallen8        ,they have fallen   
for the millet2          ,i go dig them2
            ,i fear to be bitten4       
8,my friend ,mr ,weasel1      ,he is at 
the chiefs house2        ,he builds a   
fence2          ,i go help him2         
,he's finished long ago40    ,then about
 guesses4 ,i have tried to pick out one 
or two just to let you  hear what like  
they are4 ,many of the answers to       
riddles ,i have heard  seemed to me to  
have little or no point in them4 ,so it 
is with the  stories4 ,but when ,i have 
failed to see the joke and have not     
laughed  the black boys have not failed4
 ,they have their own funny stories and 
laugh at them heartily4 ,but our jokes  

they do not understand1 nor do  they    
play pranks on one another as white boys
 do4 ,let me try to tell  you how you   
can make black boys and girls roar with 
laughter1 and yet  to a white man there 
is nothing to laugh about4 ,if you are  
telling  them about people scattering   
helter-skelter and say that the people1 
8nalimenya10 which means go off         
helter-skelter1 the boys will go into   
fits of laughter4 ,now ,i can see       
nothing to laugh at in this1 and ,i am  
sure you can't either1 and1 if another  
word had been used1 neither  would the  
black boy4 ,but here is the peculiar    
thing4 ,it is the 8li0 in  the middle of
 the word that makes it funny to        
,african children here4    8,menya0     
means 8beat10 but 8limenya0 means 8run  
off helter-skelter40  ,again 8,sesa0    
means 8sweep10 but 8lisesa0 means 8run  
off  helter-skelter20 and so on with a  
lot of other words1 the addition of  the
 syllable 8li0 makes them change their  
meanings entirely1 and become  8run off 

helter-skelter10 and so very funny that 
black boys and girls  cannot keep from  
laughing4 ,now for the guesses3--       
8,what is yonder and here at the same   
time80          ,answer--,a shadow4     
8,i built a house with one post40       
,answer--,a mushroom4      8,it goes    
yonder yet remains here40               
,answer--,a belt4      8,i had a big    
garden1 yet got no food from it40       
,answer--,the hair of the head4      8,i
 built my house without any door40      
,answer--,an egg4      8,my hen laid an 
egg among thorns40                      
,answer--,the tongue and the teeth4     
,i think you will understand these      
answers to the above guesses1 but  what 
do you think of this one8      8,in my  
mother's house there is money40         
,answer--,baldness4    ,i am certain you
 and ,i would never have thought of such
 an answer4    ,here are one or two of  
their proverbs3--      8,sleep knows no 
friendship1 has no favourite40    8,if  
your neighbour's beard takes fire1      

quench it20    which latter means--     
8,help your neighbour now1 for some day 
you may need help40    ,by means of     
these guesses the ,african children     
while away the time and  amuse          
themselves on wet days or on cold nights
 round the fire by asking  them from one
 another4 ,now let me close this chapter
 by telling you the  story of      ,,the
 ,,rabbit1 ,,the ,,lion1 ,,and ,,the    
,,wild ,,pig    ,there was once a lion  
that knew all about medicine4 ,he did a 
good trade  with people who came to buy 
it4 ,one day some people from a far     
country  came and begged him to come    
with them to heal their sick4 ,so the   
lion  agreed1 and set about to get a    
servant to carry his bundle on the      
journey4 ,finding a wild pig near1 he   
called him1 saying1 8,come1 friend      
,pig1 will you go on that journey80 and 
the pig agreed4 ,so the lion gave  him  
the load to carry4    ,when they were on
 the way the lion said to the pig1      
8,look there1 ,master  ,pig1 that is the

 medicine for porridge4 ,if they make   
porridge for us at  the end of our      
journey you must run and get some of    
these leaves40 ,the  pig said1 8,all    
right10 and they went on their journey4 
,while they were passing another bush   
the lion said again1 8,look there1      
,master ,pig1 that is the medicine for  
rice4 ,if they make rice you must  run  
and get some of these leaves40 ,the pig 
again said1 8,all right10 and  they     
continued their journey4    ,when they  
reached the village of the sick people  
the lion and pig were  well received4   
,in the evening porridge was cooked for 
them1 and the  lion said to the pig1    
8,master ,pig1 go and get yon leaves40  
,so ,master  ,pig ran off to get the    
leaves4 ,when he came back with them he 
found  that the lion had finished all   
the porridge4 ,so that night ,master    
,pig  went to bed hungry4 ,next evening 
the people cooked rice1 and the lion    
said to the pig1 8,master ,pig1 go and  
get yon leaves20 and ,master ,pig  set  

off in a hurry to bring the leaves4 ,but
 when he got back1 all  puffing and     
blowing1 he found that the lion had just
 finished the rice1  and he had to go   
hungry to bed4    ,next day they        
returned home1 and the poor pig arrived 
at his village in  a famished condition1
 to the great sorrow of his wife and    
children4    ,not long afterwards other 
people came requesting the services of  
,dr  ,lion to heal their sick1 and he   
agreed to go4    ,looking around for a  
carrier he spied the rabbit1 and said1  
8,come1  friend ,rabbit1 will you go on 
that journey80 and the rabbit agreed4   
,so  the lion gave him his load to      
carry4    ,when they were on the way the
 lion said to the rabbit1 8,master      
,rabbit1  do you see that bush8 ,that is
 the medicine for porridge4 ,if they    
make  porridge for us at the village you
 must run and get these leaves40 8,all  
right10 said the rabbit1 and they       
continued their journey4 ,but they had  
not gone far when the rabbit stopped1   

and said1 8,where is my knife2 ,i  must 
have left it where we rested4 ,let me   
run back to get it40 8,all  right10 said
 the lion1 8don't be long40 ,so the     
rabbit ran back1 pulled  some leaves    
from the medicine bush1 and hid them in 
the load4 ,when he  reached the lion    
they resumed their journey4 ,soon the   
lion stopped  again at another bush1 and
 said1 8,master ,rabbit1 do you see that
 bush8  ,that is medicine for rice4 ,if 
they cook rice for us at the village you
  must run and get these leaves40 ,the  
rabbit said1 8,all right10 and they     
went on their way4    ,but in a short   
time the rabbit stopped1 and said1      
8,where is my knife8  ,i must have left 
it where we rested4 ,let me run back for
 it40 ,the lion  was very angry this    
time1 and said1 8,what kind of a servant
 are you1  always losing your knife8    
,don't be long40 ,so the rabbit ran back
 not to  find his knife but to pull the 
medicine leaves for rice1 which he hid  
in his bundle4 ,when he made up on the  

lion again they continued their  journey
 and soon arrived at the village4    ,in
 the evening porridge was cooked for the
 visitors1 and the lion said  to the    
rabbit1 8,master ,rabbit1 go and get yon
 leaves40 ,so the rabbit  untied his    
bundle and produced the leaves4 ,the    
lion was so angry at  seeing the leaves 
thus produced that he could not eat a   
bite1 and the  rabbit had all the       
porridge to himself4 ,next evening rice 
was cooked  for them1 and the lion said 
to the rabbit1 8,master ,rabbit1 go for 
yon  leaves40 ,but the rabbit again just
 opened his load and produced the       
leaves1 and the lion was so sick and    
angry that he could not touch the  rice1
 which the rabbit ate all to himself4   
,next day they started on their homeward
 journey1 and the first night  slept in 
the same house1 the lion in a bed1 the  
rabbit on a piece of  bark4 ,during the 
night the rabbit said out aloud1 8,he   
who sleeps on  bark will be fresh for   
his journey in the morning1 but he who  

sleeps in  a bed will walk heavily and  
with pain40 ,the lion on hearing this   
got  out of bed1 saying1 8,you little   
one1 get off that bark1 ,i myself will  
sleep there40 ,so they changed sleeping 
places4 ,in the middle of the  night the
 rabbit got up and lit a fire while the 
lion slept4 ,the heat  of the fire soon 
caused the bark to shrivel up and       
tightly enclose the  sleeping giant4    
,then the rabbit ran off home and left  
him4    ,in the morning great roars were
 heard coming from the house and the    
people1 wondering what had befallen ,dr 
,lion1 rushed in and found him          
struggling to free himself4 ,with their 
axes they soon had him out1 and  he went
 home a hungry and sorrowful beast4     
,when his wife and children  saw him    
looking so thin1 they set up a great    
crying4    ,and so people who believe   
that they are very clever1 will soon    
find  others more clever than they4 ,the
 lion thought himself very cunning  when
 he deceived the poor pig1 but he found 

the rabbit too much for him4            
,,chapter ,,xi    ,,food ,,and          
,,ornaments      ,the principal dish of 
the ,african is a kind of maize porridge
 made  rather thick1 so as to hold      
together in lumps4 ,it is for flour to  
make  this porridge that the women are  
continually pounding at the mortars4    
,the porridge is always eaten with      
something tasty to send it down1 and  is
 never eaten without this relish4 ,now  
this relish may be simply juicy  leaves 
got in the bush and boiled as we boil   
cabbage1 or it may be meat  of some kind
 no matter what1 or it may be fish no   
matter how high1  but it is oftenest    
beans--porridge and beans being the     
everyday food4  ,african children have  
but two regular meals in the day and the
 porridge  one is the afternoon meal4   
,the forenoon one may be made of sweet  
potatoes1 or green maize or pumpkins1 or
 cucumbers--anything that does  not     
require much cooking on the part of the 
mothers4 ,but from early  morning       

onwards the children always have an eye 
for anything that will  help to appease 
their hunger4    ,thus the boys go off  
early with their bows and arrows to     
shoot birds1  or they may go digging for
 field mice1 or setting traps for any   
small  kind of animal that may be       
foolish enough to enter them4 ,these    
little  creatures are skinned and       
roasted1 spitted on bamboos1 and kept   
ready  for porridge time4 ,at certain   
seasons of the year a kind of           
caterpillar  is gathered to be roasted  
to make relish4 ,i have seen children   
with  their hands full of yellow-green  
crawling things as proud as if they  had
 been a handful of sweets4 ,then when   
the sky is dark with locusts  the       
children are glad4 ,knowing the locusts 
cannot fly till the sun has  warmed     
them1 the boys and girls go out early in
 the morning and gather  baskets full of
 them4 ,the legs and wings are torn off 
and the bodies  roasted4 ,then again at 
the time when the winged white ants are 

issuing  forth from underground to fly  
off and make another home1 the cunning  
children place a pot over the hole and  
catch hundreds4 ,these also they  roast 
and consider delicious4 ,their sweets   
are very few--wild honey  and           
sugar-cane4 ,they do like sugar-cane1   
and tear it and munch it with  their    
strong white teeth4 ,it is very sweet   
and not unpleasant to chew4  ,but a     
white man must get it cut into little   
bits for him before he can  enjoy it4   
,he cannot eat it as the black people   
do4    ,some of the tribes eat frogs and
 snakes and land-crabs and snails1 but  
many of them do not4 ,those who do not  
eat such things look down upon  those   
who do1 and consider them savages and   
altogether to be despised4  ,then again 
in every tribe there are certain        
superstitious customs as  regards food4 
,a mother will warn her child1 saying1  
8,my child1 you must  never eat rabbit4 
,if you eat rabbit your body will be    
covered with  sores40 ,so this child    

will refrain from rabbit1 and so on with
 other  kinds of meat1 each child has   
something or other that is forbidden to 
him4    ,i remember once1 when some boys
 of mine had gone rabbit-hunting1 asking
  a very small boy who had been left    
behind if he was looking forward to  the
 feast that was to come when the other  
boys returned1 and how he  would enjoy  
rabbit4 8,i don't eat rabbit10 he       
replied1 in a disconsolate  voice4 ,i   
asked him why4 8,does not everyone1 even
 the white man1 eat  rabbit60 8,yes10 he
 replied1 8but my mother forbade me to  
eat rabbit1  saying if ,i did1 ,i would 
be covered with itch40 ,i advised him to
 try  but he was afraid4 ,later on in   
the day1 towards sunset1 after the boys 
had returned from the woods4 ,i saw the 
little disconsolate one all  smiles4 ,he
 was holding in his hand two miserable  
field mice1 and was as  happy as a king4
 ,the other boys had remembered he did  
not eat rabbit1  and had put off half an
 hour to capture some mice for him that 

he might  be able to join in the feast4 
,besides the food from the gardens there
 are many bush fruits that the  ,african
 children eat4 ,so1 as far as food is   
concerned1 the black boys  and girls are
 very well off4 ,they have none of the  
pleasant things you  may buy with your  
pennies4 ,but then they know nothing of 
your nice  things1 and so they do not   
feel the want of them4 ,give the        
,african  child bananas and sugar-cane  
and ground nuts1 what you call monkey   
nuts1 ,i think1 and he is as happy as   
you with your toffy and chocolate  and  
other sweets4    ,when a black boy or   
girl gets up in the morning1 he or she  
has just  a small wash4 ,the real wash  
comes later on in the day when it is    
warmer4 ,but they are very particular   
over their teeth and take very  good    
care of them4 ,in keeping them clean    
they use toothbrushes which  they make  
out of little pieces of the wood of a   
certain tree about the  length of a lead
 pencil but rather shorter and stouter4 

,one end is  cut and cut into again and 
again and teased out till it makes a    
very  good toothbrush1 and with it the  
black boy keeps his teeth in good       
condition4 ,of course it must be easy   
for him1 because he can open his  mouth 
so very wide4    ,at the real washing he
 goes down to a quiet pool and has good 
fun in  the water with his companions4  
,i have often come across little groups 
of them1 and1 of course1 when a white   
man comes along the children  squat down
 doubled up to try to hide their        
nakedness1 making themselves  just like 
a group of brown giant frogs4 ,their    
feet they clean with  broken pieces of  
rock1 and1 would you believe it1 the    
soles of their  feet1 and the palms of  
their hands are white4 ,it is strange1  
but so  it is4 ,their feet1 too1 are    
very large and strong compared with     
ours1  but their hands are generally    
very neat and shapely4 ,on these feet   
they can walk mile after mile and not   
feel tired4 ,if a small white  boy      

walked five miles on a journey and five 
miles back he would boast  of his       
endurance4 ,but it is a common thing for
 a small black boy to  walk twenty and  
even thirty miles in a single day and   
think nothing  about it4 ,in fact1 if he
 could not do it1 he would consider     
himself a  weakling4    ,of course in   
cold weather the children do not wash at
 all1 and1 in some  places1 when the    
grown-up people are not particular1 the 
children wash  but seldom4 ,but on the  
whole they like to be clean1 especially 
after  having come into contact with    
white men1 for most white men insist on 
the black children keeping themselves   
clean4    ,illustration3 ,a ,,bathing   
,,pool    ,if you had a black woolly    
head1 like those of the ,african        
children1 how  would you do your hair8  
,you would find all your brushes        
useless1 and  your combs would break on 
the first trial4 ,they would not be     
nearly  strong enough to get through the
 mass of short curls4 ,have the black   

children no combs then8 ,oh1 yes6       
peculiar combs they make1 the teeth  of 
which point out like fingers1 and with  
these they comb their woolly  pates4    
,but it is in arranging their hair that 
they excel4 ,one boy will  train a tuft 
of hair over his forehead to grow up    
like a horn4 ,another  will think he    
ought to shave out bald spaces4 ,some   
cut the hair on both  sides and leave a 
ridge in the middle like a cock's comb1 
while others  tie the hair with grasses 
into little tufts1 and make their heads 
like  miniature cabbage gardens4 ,and   
after a death in the family the hair  is
 shaved clean off altogether1 and the   
black boy appears with a head  like an  
ostrich egg4 ,feathers and sometimes    
flowers are stuck into the  hair as     
decorations4    ,teeth1 too1 come in for
 some attention4 ,they are not always   
allowed to  grow as nature wills4 ,in   
some of the tribes the boys and girls   
teeth  are filed by their mothers1 each 
tribe having its own peculiar way of    

filing4 ,sometimes all the teeth are cut
 into little notches4 ,sometimes  only  
the two upper front ones are done4 ,but 
the custom is dying out1  and many of   
the children of the present generation  
are not made to  submit to such an      
indignity4 ,tattooing is also practised 
by many  tribes4 ,face1 arms1 breast1   
and back are often done4 ,again         
difference  of tribes is shown by these 
markings4 ,this is how it is performed4 
,the cuts are first made and allowed a  
day or two to heal partly4 ,they  are   
then opened up again and charcoal rubbed
 in4 ,the wounds are then  allowed to   
heal which they do as broad black       
raised-up lines4 ,these  tatoo marks are
 quite different from what is seen on   
some white people  at home4 ,they are   
not drawings1 but simply little lines1  
some straight1  some curved1 done into a
 certain tribal design4    ,in some     
tribes the ears are pierced and the hole
 made rather large4 ,so  large are they 
in some cases that ,i have seen a native

 carry a roasted  mouse hanging through 
his ear4    ,i have already told you    
about the ring in the upper lip called  
the  8pelele10 so ,i shall not mention  
it again4 ,but some of the women who    
have given up the 8pelele0 have taken to
 wearing a button of lead in  one side  
of the nose1 which1 from our point of   
view1 does not improve  their           
appearance4    ,their persons they adorn
 with anklets and bracelets of brass4   
,but in  places where there are plenty  
of elephants one finds the girls wearing
  great ivory bracelets made from the   
tusks4 ,all kinds of grass bracelets    
are plaited and worn by young girls who 
can't afford to have better  ones1 and  
,i have sometimes seen a necklace made  
by stringing parts of  locust's legs and
 beads together4    ,of the beads there 
is an infinite variety bought from the  
trader4 ,these  are strung together in  
many ways and made into bracelets and   
necklaces  and various other things     
which only the patience of ,african     

children  could produce4                
,,chapter ,,xii    ,,the ,,african',s   
,,belief      ,in this chapter we shall 
tell about something altogether         
different from  what you have been      
reading4 ,we shall go into the spirit   
land of the  ,african children1 and we  
shall try to find out something of what 
they  believe about ,god4    ,in the    
great black part of ,africa there are no
 temples and wonderful  gods to write   
about4 ,there are no old books to be    
found containing the  wisdom of their   
forefathers written down and preserved  
through long  ages4 ,in fact there is   
not very much in native ,african belief 
that can  be made very interesting to   
white boys and girls4 ,but ,i shall try 
to  do my best1 to let you understand   
something about it4    ,some people at  
home think that the heathen tribes of   
,africa know  nothing at all about ,god4
 ,but it is not so4 ,they do know       
something1  be it only a very very      
little4 ,in some tribes it is so very   

little as  to be almost nothing1 and    
shows us how far they have fallen away  
from  a knowledge of their ,creator4    
,let me tell you what some of the tribes
  here believe about ,god4    ,god1 our 
loving heavenly ,father1 is to them but 
a far-away spirit whom  they call the   
old1 old one1 or the great1 great one4  
,he made the world  and everything in it
 and sends rain and sunshine1 and is    
all-powerful4  ,but ,he is very far away
 from us and takes little interest in   
the people  of the earth4    ,when      
people die1 their spirits1 they say1 go 
to the land of this old1  old one4      
,spirit villages are there1 ,i have     
heard it said1 inhabited  by the spirit 
folk4 ,as a man was on earth so is he in
 the land of the  spirits4 ,so a chief  
on earth remains a chief in spirit land4
 ,now1 the  spirits of the chiefs are   
supposed to be on very intimate terms   
with  the old1 old one1 and are allowed 
to do almost whatever they like with    
the affairs of the people on earth4 ,so 

it is the spirit of the dead  chief that
 receives the sacrifices and prayers of 
the people4 ,the old1  old one is felt  
to be so far away and so indifferent    
that he is passed  over1 in some tribes 
forgotten altogether1 and the spirit of 
the chief  receives the homage due to   
the great1 great one1 because the people
  feel that he1 the chief1 has a        
personal interest in them4    ,the more 
famous1 generally the more fierce1 a    
chief was on earth in his  life-time the
 more is his help asked for after he is 
dead1 and has  gone to the land of the  
spirits4 ,it is not considered wise to  
neglect  him in case he revenge himself 
upon the people4    ,the spirits of the 
common people are just ordinary         
inhabitants of  spirit land and are of  
no account1 except to their near        
relatives4 ,a  man in private matters of
 his own may seek the aid of the spirit 
of his  father or of his grandfather4   
,but on the whole1 it is the spirit of  
the  chief whom the people knew and were

 familiar with that is prayed to and    
receives the sacrifices of the people4  
,the spirits when they wish to speak to 
the people may enter into any  person   
and cause that person to rave like a    
madman4 ,he retires to the  darkness of 
a hut while his fit of madness lasts4   
,his sayings are not  set aside as mere 
idle words1 but are remembered and      
repeated to the  interpreter1 generally 
an old person1 who explains to the      
people that  under cover of these words 
spoken in delirium by the person        
possessed  the spirits mean that so and 
so should be done4 ,dreams also are     
thought  of as journeyings to the land  
of the spirits4    ,now ,i think that   
will be enough about the spirits for you
 to understand  a little of what many of
 the ,african children believe about the
 ,great  ,spirit who made everything4   
,it is only when the children are big   
that  they are told all these things    
about the spirits4 ,the people do not   
like to talk about such things1 and the 

children avoid the places where  the    
spirits are supposed to come and visit4 
,they are afraid to give  offence to the
 spirits1 ,i think1 and1 in fact1 all   
their sacrifices  seem to be made with  
the idea of appeasing the anger and     
earning the  good will of the spirits4  
,sometimes the sacrifices are made at   
the base of a tree4 ,very often  a small
 hut is built in which sacrifice is     
offered up4 ,the offerings  are of flour
 or native beer1 and at other times of  
animals4 ,only small  bits of the flesh 
of the sacrificed animal are offered1   
the rest of  the meat being eaten by the
 people4 ,the bits offered up are       
wrapped in  leaves and placed at the    
root of the sacrificial tree4 ,it is the
 chief  who offers up the sacrifice and 
says the prayers4 ,in times of great    
calamity large sacrifices are held in   
which several chiefs join their  people 
together and make prayer to the departed
 ones4 ,sacrifices are  also made for   
rain1 for success in hunting1 for safety

 in travelling1  and for freedom from   
sickness4    ,the prayers are generally 
very simple requests like the following 
one  for safety1 8,watch over me1 my    
forefather1 who died long ago1 and tell 
the great spirit at the head of my race 
from whom came my mother40  ,here is a  
short account of a sacrifice for rain4  
8,the chief goes to  the spirit hut to  
offer sacrifice for rain and the people 
stand round  about having brought the   
meat for the sacrifice4 ,then the chief 
begins  to complain to the spirits      
saying1 #8,give us rain and do not      
harden your  heart against us4' ,with   
many other prayers he continues to      
implore1  while the people round about  
clap their hands1 and some of the women 
sing3--      #8,kokwe ,kolole1 ,kokwe   
,kolole    ,mbvula ya kuno sikudza      
,kokwe ,kolole4'    which means3--      
#8,may there come rain1 sweeping rain1  
,the rain here has not come2    ,may    
there come rain1 sweeping rain4'0       
,when the rain does come the people     

believe that it came because they       
appeased the anger of the great1 great  
one with their sacrifice4    ,but       
wherever the ,gospel of ,jesus is       
preached the people are learning  that  
there has been offered up for them by   
,god ,himself one great  sacrifice which
 has redeemed the fallen sons of        
men--the sacrifice of  ,his only ,son on
 ,calvary's ,cross4          ,,chapter  
,,xiii    ,,the ,,african ,,in          
,,sickness      ,when the children of   
,africa are well and strong1 their lives
 are  carelessly happy1 so long as they 
are not hungry4 ,when they are ill1  all
 the happiness departs1 and they become 
very miserable4 ,you may have  thought  
that because black children can eat     
almost anything that they  are never    
ill4 ,but that is not so4 ,they suffer1 
,i believe1 a good deal  more than white
 children do4 ,for simple troubles they 
get no treatment  at all4 ,they are just
 ill1 they say1 and lie on their mats   
near the  fire or sit huddled up over it

 until they are better4 ,these little   
complaints are mostly all of the        
stomachache kind1 caused by reckless    
eating of anything the children can pick
 up4 ,i have seen black children  eat   
fruit that was quite green and          
hard--such as would kill little         
whites--and still live4 ,and when you   
try to explain that these things  can   
hurt they just smile to themselves and  
go on swallowing them1 for  they don't  
believe you4 ,headaches are treated by  
binding the head  round the temples     
tightly with a piece of string4         
,sometimes1 if the  headache is very    
painful1 the sufferer is bled4 ,little  
cuts are made on  the throbbing temples 
with a sharp knife and the blood allowed
 to flow4    ,it is the mothers who are 
the doctors and nurses of the children4 
,very  often the sick child is attended 
by his grandmother4 ,these old ladies   
are supposed to know a great deal about 
medicine2 and they do know many  plants 
and roots that are useful in simple     

illnesses4 ,for mumps1 which  many black
 children call 8masigwidi10 no medicine 
is given4 ,the mothers  tell the        
children to go to the mortar1 put their 
heads in and call  8,mooo60 ,i don't    
know whether this simple remedy is a    
certain cure or  not4    ,the following 
method of getting rid of the disease is 
considered to be  very effective4 8,the 
person sick with #8masigwidi' goes in   
the evening  to the house of another    
person and claps his hands in           
salutation4 ,when  the inmates reply the
 owner of the house takes mumps1 and the
 former  sick one runs off cured40      
,when a child is seriously ill the      
doctor is called in1 as is the case     
with white children4 ,the disease has   
gone beyond the skill of the  mothers   
and grandmothers1 so better advice must 
be got4 ,the doctor1  when he comes1 is 
first of all paid a fee4 ,a few fowls   
are caught and  handed over to him4     
,then he begins to treat the sufferer4  
,he keeps his  medicine in horns1 not   

having any bottles4 ,and in these horns 
are many  weird mixtures4 ,like the     
grandmothers'1 most of his medicine is  
made  from plants and roots1 yet it is  
wonderful how well they get on with     
these simple things4 ,when the patient  
recovers1 another fee is charged  by the
 doctor4 ,but if the child dies1 unless 
if be from some well-known  disease like
 smallpox1 death may be attributed to   
witchcraft4 ,someone  has used bad magic
 against the patient and nothing could  
save him4    ,in the presence of serious
 trouble1 however1 these doctors are    
very  helpless1 and when accidents have 
happened and bones are broken1 and      
internal injuries are inflicted1 the    
sufferers are beyond their aid4  ,here  
then is the opportunity for the medical 
missionary from the home  land4 ,he is  
able again and again to help the people 
when they are most  helpless4 ,thus he  
gains their confidence1 and a way to    
their hearts for  the ,gospel of        
,christ4 ,his work is a daily putting   

into practice of the  teaching of ,our  
,saviour1 and the lesson learned from it
 is not lost on  the ,african4          
,african children suffer a great deal   
from ulcers1 especially on their  legs4 
,these are painful sores that break out 
on them1 and if neglected1  as they are1
 alas6 too often1 there is grave danger 
to the limb4 ,sores  on the toes are    
common4 ,you may see in almost any      
village1 children  running about with   
some of their toes half eaten away4     
,these sores are  caused by an          
insect--the penetrating flea or jigger  
which bores its  way under the skin and 
seeks in the warm flesh a cosy place to 
bring  forth its young4 ,it generally   
selects a place under the toe nail as   
most suitable4 ,when it enters first1   
the jigger is very small4 ,but in a  few
 days it grows big and may become the   
size of a small pea4 ,if these  pests   
are not promptly removed1 sores break   
out on the toes and the  toes crumble   
away4 ,now little children are unable to

 take them out1 and  if their mothers   
neglect to do so1 the children lose     
their toes4 ,i have  often seen boys    
armed with stout thorns picking the     
jiggers out of  one another's feet4 ,the
 process ,i know1 from experience1 is   
sometimes  painful1 for the toe under   
the nail is very tender1 yet the black  
children seldom wince when the jiggers  
are being taken out4 ,they are  brave   
little things in the presence of        
physical pain1 but they really  do not  
feel so keenly as you children do4      
,their feelings are a good  deal blunter
 than yours1 and so they do not dread   
pain as much as you  do1 for they suffer
 less4    ,there are some diseases found
 among ,african children that are not   
found  among white children4 ,of these  
leprosy1 the most dreadful1 used long   
ago to afflict white children too4 ,it  
is the terrible disease from  which our 
tender-hearted ,saviour freed some poor 
sufferers when ,he was  on earth4 ,alas6
 one comes across it now and again among

 the black races  of ,africa4    ,i     
remember once meeting a leper4 ,he was a
 bright lad and was attending  a class  
for ,bible instruction4 ,some of the    
joints of his fingers were  gone at the 
time ,i saw him1 but he had been a leper
 for some years  then4 ,he told me that 
his father had been a leper1 and that he
 himself  began to suffer from leprosy  
when he was a boy of some twelve years  
of  age4 ,the beginning was like this4  
,one morning he awoke and felt his      
hands and arms sore as if they had been 
burned in spots here and there  during  
the night4 ,so he blamed the other boys 
who slept in the hut for  playing tricks
 on him with a burning stick4 ,but they 
all denied it4 ,it  was the beginning of
 the fatal disease4    ,the ,africans   
have no treatment for the leper4 ,he    
simply lives his life  in the village so
 long as he looks after himself or can  
get anyone  to care for him4 ,but when  
his disease has gone on year after year1
  and he is no longer able to walk or do

 anything for himself1 or has  no friend
 to care for him1 the people used to    
have1 and still have in  many places1 a 
savage way of dealing with him4 ,back   
from the village  a bit in the bush a   
little hut was built1 and one day the   
leper was  carried out1 taken to the    
hut1 shut into it with a supply of food1
 and  left to his fate4 ,either he      
perished from hunger or was devoured by 
a  wild beast1 or was burned to death by
 a bush-fire4 ,the natives firmly       
believe that such lepers are transformed
 into wild animals4    ,i once heard how
 a poor sufferer was otherwise dealt    
with4 ,he had  been ill for years with  
an ulcer on one of his legs4 ,the sore  
had  been neglected at first and then it
 got too bad for treatment4 ,but as     
native doctors cannot cut off limbs as  
white doctors can1 the poor  fellow     
could now do nothing but lie about his  
village1 and depend on  his friends to  
help him4 ,as he got worse and worse1   
and less able to  help himself1 his     

friends became fewer and fewer4 ,at last
 he became  such a source of trouble to 
the people that the men decided to put  
an  end to it4 ,accordingly they went up
 the hillside near and dug a grave  with
 a small niche to one side at the       
bottom4 ,then they returned to  the     
village and carried off the helpless    
sufferer4 ,he guessed at their          
intention and piteously implored them to
 desist4 8,where are you going  with    
me80 he said4 8,do not leave me alone on
 the cold hillside40 ,but  they were    
deaf to his appeals4 ,when they reached 
the grave they quickly  lowered the     
miserable wretch down1 placed him in the
 niche at the side1  shut him in with a 
mat1 drove in a few stakes1 filled up   
the grave1  and left him4    ,not long  
ago ,i passed through a village where   
some years ago ,i had made  the         
acquaintance of the head man4 ,he was   
then a hale and hearty old  fellow1 fond
 of his joke and his snuff-box4 ,but now
 what a change4 ,i  found his people    

mostly gone and he himself but the wreck
 of what he  had been4 ,everything round
 about had a neglected look4 ,some      
disease or  other had laid him low and  
friends had gone4 ,i found him sitting  
on a  mat close to a fire4 ,his poor    
skeleton legs were firmly bound at knees
  and ankles with cords made of bark4   
,he had tried many doctors1 he said1    
and had paid for much medicine1 and now 
he had nothing to do but sit  and wait  
for the end4 ,he was too old to visit a 
white doctor2 he was  accustomed to the 
medicine of his own people and would not
 try that of  strangers4    ,there is a 
great deal of suffering in ,african     
villages silently and  patiently borne2 
and the white doctor can do a great deal
 to alleviate  it4 ,i can assure you    
children that your pennies put into the 
missionary  box to help to support      
hospitals in heathen lands are not given
 in  vain2 and there is no part of      
missionary work that more deserves your 
help4 ,remember what our ,lord said1    

8,inasmuch as ye have done it unto  one 
of the least of these1 my brethren1 ye  
have done it unto ,me40                 
,,chapter ,,xiv    ,,magic ,,medicine   
,in the previous chapter we were talking
 about doctors and medicine4  ,in this  
chapter we shall hear more about        
medicine1 but of another  kind4         
,medicine in ,africa is of two          
kinds--one for the lawful purpose  of   
healing the sick1 the other for the     
unlawful purpose of bewitching  people  
and doing other dark deeds4 ,it is when 
we begin to look into all  that         
surrounds this unlawful medicine that we
 meet 8the heathen in his  darkness40   
,the black people firmly believe in the 
power of medicines to bewitch1  to      
enable the possessor to steal or to do  
some other thing equally bad4  ,anything
 that happens for which they cannot     
account1 they ascribe to  witchcraft    
medicine4 ,the white people are supposed
 to be the possessors  of great stores  
of such medicine1 and from that to      

obtain their power4  ,this belief crops 
up on all sides in their daily life1 for
 there are  unlawful medicines for      
almost everything4 ,all one requires to 
know is  where to find a dealer in such 
medicine1 and he will make it to your   
order1 no matter what you may want it   
for4 ,he will give you medicine to  bury
 against your enemy that he may die1 or 
he will make you medicine  that will    
enable you to kill game easily4         
,everything can be done by the  power of
 medicine4    ,the darkest part of this 
belief in medicines is that in which    
certain  people are supposed to possess 
power to cause the death of others  that
 they may feast upon their dead bodies4 
,such horrible people are  called       
8,afiti0 in this part of ,africa4 ,they 
are supposed through their  medicine to 
have powers of making themselves        
invisible at will1 of  going great      
distances in the smallest interval of   
time1 of changing  themselves into      
beasts1 etc4 ,these 8,afiti0 are        

supposed to gather  during the night    
round the grave of any recently buried  
person to call  the dead man out and to 
feast upon him4 ,the bark of a fox or   
the hoot  of an owl at night is said to 
be the signal call for these wretches to
  assemble for their awful meal4        
,when a mysterious death has happened in
 a village it is at once blamed  upon   
one of the 8,afiti40 ,but who he is     
nobody can tell4 ,it may be one's  very 
own father1 for the 8,afiti0 during the 
day retain their ordinary  form1 one    
never can tell4 ,great fear hangs over  
the village for each  suspects his      
neighbour of being the cause of the     
death4 ,then the  witch-finder is sent  
for4 ,he1 or she--for sometimes the     
witch-finder  is a woman--comes laden   
with medicines and charms and stays in  
the  village4 ,no one now will be seen  
out of doors after dark in case of      
being suspected4 ,after learning all the
 gossip of the village and  finding out 
who was on bad terms with the dead man1 

the witch-finder  proceeds to business4 
,the people are assembled to the sound  
of a large drum and stand in a  circle  
in fear and trembling4 ,the witch-finder
 now begins to dance and  spin round and
 work himself up to a high pitch of     
excitement1 during  which he rushes here
 and there among the frightened people1 
smells  their hands for traces of blood1
 and finally calls out the name of the  
guilty person4    ,then the poison      
ordeal is tried4 ,a poison draught is   
made up with bark  from a certain tree  
and the accused is given it to drink4   
,should he  happen to vomit it up again 
after having taken it1 he is declared to
 be  innocent1 and payment is made to   
him4 ,but should he happen to die1 what 
further proof was necessary8 ,the       
village is now clear of the evil one1   
and great rejoicings are made and       
payment given to the witch-finder4 ,in  
this way hundreds and thousands of      
innocent people have met their end  in  
,darkest ,africa4    ,this belief in    

8,afiti0 is one of the most difficult to
 deal with which  the missionary        
encounters4 ,you try to explain that    
,god never gave  people such power over 
one another1 but although agreeing with 
you  outwardly1 they secretly cling to  
the old belief and their faith in the   
poison cup1 for there are among them    
people foolish enough to imagine        
themselves possessed of 8,afiti0 powers 
who actually open graves and  steal     
bits1 especially fingers1 from the dead4
 ,it is the occurrence of  such cases   
that causes the people to cling to their
 belief4    ,among the negro peoples the
 makers of medicine are supposed to have
  power over the spirits and to 8bind0  
them into what are called  8fetiches40  
,a fetich may consist of any            
convenient-sized object4 ,it  may be a  
small horn or a snail's shell or a      
stone4 ,but it has power  only when the 
witch-doctor has imprisoned a spirit in 
it4 ,this he does  of course for        
payment4 ,and fetiches are made to meet 

every wish of  the human heart4 ,you can
 obtain them to make you brave1 or wise1
 or  cunning1 or to prevail over your   
enemy1 or to prevent theft1 or to be    
successful in the chase or anything you 
wish4    ,in this part of ,africa when a
 lion begins to prey upon human beings1 
he  is supposed to be one of the        
8,afiti0 who1 to satisfy his craving for
  human flesh1 has transformed himself  
into a lion for the time being4 ,at  a  
certain village on the river ,shir      
several people had been taken by  a     
large crocodile which was well known    
because of its boldness4 ,this  animal  
was believed not to be a real crocodile 
by the people of the  village1 but to be
 one of the 8,afiti0 transformed4 ,after
 the brute had  taken off several       
people1 one of the men of the village   
determined to  put an end to the        
tragedies4 ,seizing a spear he boldly   
went into the  water to try conclusions 
with the monster4 ,but he too in spite  
of his  medicine was taken off and only 

a reddish tinge on the water marked the 
spot where he had been seized and       
dragged down4    ,quite recently ,i     
asked a boy to go an errand for me4 ,his
 destination  was about fifteen miles   
away and he could not possibly arrive   
before  dark4 ,but the road was         
perfectly safe or ,i would not have     
asked him to  go4 ,at first he did not  
want to go1 declaring he was sure       
8,afiti0 would  catch him whenever it   
became dark4 ,if a fire is seen in the  
distance  where no fire should be1 it is
 at once put down to the presence of the
  dreaded corpse eaters4 ,i remember    
another boy who not long ago insisted   
in maintaining that one night an        
8,mfiti0 had come and sat on his chest  
for a long time1 while he remained in   
mortal terror lest it should  begin to  
tear him4 ,explanations of nightmare    
were of no avail4 ,the boy  firmly      
believes to this day that he had a      
narrow escape from being  devoured4     
,some years ago ,i remember seeing a    

medicine man surrounded by a crowd  of  
natives4 ,he was telling them that he   
had medicine to protect him  from being 
hit by any stone that might be thrown at
 him4 ,his word was  just accepted and  
no native ever thought of lifting a     
stone to try4  ,when a white man offered
 to have a throw at him1 he objected1   
saying  that his medicine had power over
 black people only4 ,another man1 ,i    
can recall1 produced a horn containing a
 very powerful medicine that  enabled   
the possessor to enter unseen into any  
house by simply stepping  through the   
wall4 ,he was asked to display its      
powers on the white man's  house4 ,he   
also declined saying that his medicine  
was made against black  men's houses    
only1 which are made of grass1 and not  
against white  men's1 that are built of 
brick4    ,what a magnificent faith     
these poor black people have in their   
magic  medicine6 ,if it fails1 it fails 
only because someone is working  against
 them with more powerful medicine still1

 and a new supply must  be got4 ,the    
belief in the medicine remains as strong
 as ever4 ,if this  unwavering faith    
could only be transformed in a single   
day to ,him who  is the ,light of the   
,world1 what a change would come over   
the ,dark  ,continent4                  
,,chapter ,,xv    ,,the ,,dance ,,and   
,,musical ,,instruments      ,now ,i am 
sure you have learned a great deal about
 the ,african people  and their         
children1 yet there are two important   
things ,i have  not written about1 and  
these are their dances and their musical
  instruments4 ,i had intended to put   
this part into the chapter on  games1   
but ,i thought ,i had better not1       
although the dance is considered  a game
 by the ,african children4 ,in the hot  
season when the moon is  full1 the whole
 country side resounds with the beating 
of drums1 and  the shrill voices of the 
dancers are borne far on the warm night 
wind4  ,there are many kinds of drums   
from the deep bass to the high tenor4   

,they are beaten with the hands and on a
 still night the deep boom of  the bass 
drum can be heard for miles interrupted 
by the short snap  of the smaller ones4 
,the time seems at first very irregular1
 and for  a white man difficult to      
follow4 ,but the dancers move out and in
 and  round about1 and keep up the game 
till sunrise4 ,unfortunately the  dances
 are not all harmless ones1 and the less
 said about some of them  the better4   
,of musical instruments the ,african    
children have quite a large number4     
,one of their favourites is called a    
8,sese40 ,i can best describe it to  you
 by calling it an ,african mandoline4   
,the body is made out of a large  dry   
gourd and the strings are made by       
twisting threads together till  the     
desired thickness and strength is       
obtained4 ,the left hand fingers  are   
used for pressing down the strings which
 are 8tweeked0 by the  fingers of the   
right hand4 ,the music is very pleasing 
when the 8,sese0  player is a short     

distance off4 ,the tunes are quite      
unlike anything  white children hear at 
home1 and charm one by their quaintness4
 ,i have  tried to play the instrument1 
but of course failed4 ,the boys         
themselves  are not all able to play the
 8,sese40 ,only those who are musical   
can1  and after much patient practice4  
,another instrument with which the boys 
amuse themselves is called  the         
8,sansi40 ,it is the ,african piano1 and
 is played a great deal by  river boys4 
,the sounding board in the 8,sansi0 is  
made out of a flat  piece of wood about 
six or seven inches square and about an 
inch deep1  hollowed out4 ,two rows of  
little keys are fixed along this board4 
,the  keys are sometimes made of wood   
but in good instruments are of iron4    
,these keys are all different sizes1 and
 are arranged so as to produce  a kind  
of a scale1 pleasing to the ,african ear
 and not unpleasant to  us4 ,the        
instrument is grasped in both hands and 
the keys are skilfully  played by the   

thumbs and forefingers of both hands4   
,sometimes these  instruments are       
bedecked with beads and pieces of shells
 which cause  a sort of buzzing         
accompaniment to the music4 ,a good deal
 of skill is  necessary to play the     
8,sansi0 properly1 and it is only a boy 
here and  there who can do it well4     
,like the 8,sese10 the 8,sansi0 sounds  
more  pleasant when a bit away4    ,the 
flute is another source of amusement to 
the ,african boy4 ,he makes  his own    
instrument out of a piece of reed1 but  
he can appreciate a good  tin whistle   
from across the sea4 ,from the reed he  
takes the pith and  bores three or four 
holes in the hollow tube1 and his flute 
is ready4  ,the notes produced from the 
native flute always seem to me to be of 
a  weird melancholy nature4 ,the same   
three or four notes are blown over  and 
over again1 and become in time rather   
monotonous to the white man4            
,illustration3 ,,drill ,,replaces ,,the 
,,dance    ,then there is the ,african  

violin called the 8mgoli40 ,it consists 
of  a drum through which sticks are     
passed4 ,there is one string drawn      
tight over a bridge which stands in the 
drum4 ,this primitive fiddle  is played 
with a bow4 ,it is not so difficult to  
play as the others  already described1  
but its music is much more monotonous4  
,the ,african boys are also expert at   
playing on a wooden dulcimer which  they
 call 8,nangolingondo40 ,pieces of hard 
wood tuned to the ,african  scale are   
laid across two pieces of palm stem and 
are fixed in their  places by pegs4     
,then two players squat down on opposite
 sides of  the dulcimer armed with a    
stick in each hand4 ,one player leads   
off  with a few flourishes and is joined
 by the other player whose notes        
overlap and yet fit into and between    
those of the first player's in a        
marvellous manner4 ,the music is fast   
and furious1 but cannot be kept up  for 
a long stretch at a time4 ,as with the  
other instruments1 this one  is heard to

 advantage some distance off4    ,the   
buzzing of a certain kind of beetle is  
also made to do duty with  children as a
 kind of toy instrument4 ,the           
unfortunate beetle is caught  and fixed 
up with grass so that he cannot get     
away1 although his wings  are free to   
buzz with as much as he likes4 ,in order
 to make this  beetle-music the insect  
is held by the grass in front of the    
opened  mouth4 ,according as the mouth  
is opened so does the buzzing sound     
vary4    ,there are many other kinds of 
,african musical instruments1 mostly of 
a very simple kind1 giving forth but a  
note or two peculiar to the  ,african   
and beloved by him4 ,the children are on
 the whole not unmusical  and can be    
trailed to sing very sweetly indeed4    
,but ,i am sure they like  their own    
songs best4          ,,chapter ,,xvi    
,,hindrances ,,to ,,the ,,gospel        
,now ,i think ,i had better not write   
much more about ,africa and its         
children lest ,i tire you4 ,there are   

many other interesting things one  would
 like to tell you but ,i am afraid this 
book is already quite long  enough4 ,in 
,india and in ,china and in other lands 
,i am sure it is harder  than it is in  
,africa to win the people for ,christ4  
,yet there are many  hindrances too in  
the black man's way4    ,if all ,africa 
is to be ,christ's1 then ,mohammedanism 
in the north must  be overcome1 and must
 be prevented from creeping down        
southwards4 ,it is  already well over   
the equator1 especially on the east     
coast1 and1 if  left unhindered1 will   
spread right onwards4 ,but the ,church  
of ,christ  at home must see that this  
does not happen1 and ,christians must   
put  forth all their strength in the    
cause of their ,lord and ,master4 ,and  
you  children too have your part to     
play1 a part which is told you in this  
little hymn of which ,i have copied two 
verses3--      8,the fields are all     
white      ,and the reapers are few2    
,we children are willing1      ,but what

 can we do    ,to work for our ,lord in 
,his ,harvest8      8,we'll work by our 
prayers1      ,by the offerings we      
bring1    ,by small self-denials2       
,the least little thing    ,may work for
 our ,lord in ,his ,harvest40           
,another enemy of ,christ in ,africa is 
the native's belief in the  customs and 
superstitions of their forefathers4 ,the
 old people cling  to these1 and tell   
the children that the ,gospel is only   
white men's  stories4 ,they die hard    
these old superstitions1 but they are   
slowly and  surely disappearing before  
the light of ,god's message4 ,to obey   
,christ  means that a great deal of the 
old life must be given up and put away  
altogether2 and it is here that the     
struggle begins4 ,temptations to  drift 
back into the old way of living beset   
the ,african ,christian on  all sides4  
,they come from without and from within1
 and only the word of  ,god planted in  
his heart can keep him from falling4    
,polygamy is one of the great obstacles 

in his path4 ,i wonder if you  know what
 that big word means4 ,in words it means
 that the men may  marry many wives1 but
 in reality it means that the women and 
children  are living in conditions that 
give them but little chance of rising   
out of the darkness by which they are   
surrounded4 ,i remember how much        
surprised ,i was when told that a       
certain little girl1 who had been at  a 
village school but who was now          
withdrawn1 was married4 ,she was not    
really married of course1 only          
8bespoken0 as it were1 by a big bearded 
man1 who already had more than one wife4
 ,the girl had therefore been  taken    
from school and was lost to ,mission    
influence4 ,in ,africa the  girls have  
but little of the happy girlhood known  
in ,england1 for they  step from        
childhood right into womanhood4         
,there is another enemy of ,christ in   
,africa that ,i do not care to write  to
 you about1 because it comes from our   
own race1 but it would not be  fair to  

make no mention of it whatever4 ,the    
force of example goes a  long long way  
in ,africa1 and often does a great deal 
more than words4  ,it is what you do    
rather than what you say that first     
attracts the  heathen4 ,now if a        
careless white man forgets this and like
 the prodigal  son in the far-off       
country gives himself up to the evil    
ways of living1  he is doing a great    
deal of harm to ,christ's ,kingdom in   
,africa1 and is  putting a serious      
stumbling block in the way of the poor  
black people4  ,if such white men would 
but remember that they come from a      
,christian  land and behave towards     
their ignorant black neighbours as      
,christian  gentlemen this enemy of the 
,gospel would soon be laid low4    ,let 
me now tell you a little how missionary 
work among the heathen  ,africans is    
carried on4 ,in different missions the  
work is carried on  in different ways1  
but the end is always the same--that the
 ,gospel be  preached to the heathen4   

,many of the missions divide their work 
into four parts4 ,one is called         
,evangelistic--that is the part of the  
work in which the ,gospel is  preached  
to the people4 ,another is called       
,medical because doctors and  nurses    
join in the mission work to heal the    
sick and help the helpless4  ,another   
part is ,educational--the teaching of   
the people in school1 so  that they may 
be able to read the ,word of ,god4 ,the 
last part is called  ,industrial1 for in
 it the ,african ,christians are taught 
trades to show  them that work is not   
for slaves only1 and to make them useful
 members  of the community4    ,of      
course in every mission you may not find
 all those four departments  of work4   
,some missions are mainly ,evangelistic1
 others ,industrial1  but in all large  
missions in ,africa you generally find  
the four4  ,in the evangelistic work the
 missionary1 fresh from home1 is at a   
great disadvantage till he has mastered 
the native language4 ,then  this        

difficulty over1 he finds the way open  
to the black man's heart4  ,experience  
however is showing us more and more that
 it is not the white  man who will      
evangelise ,africa1 but the ,african1   
and the work of the  white missionary is
 more and more being reduced to the     
training of the  native evangelists who 
will carry the message of love to the   
people4    ,hospital1 ,school1 and      
,industrial work have1 in ,africa1 been 
practically  forced upon the            
missionaries4 ,the native of ,africa    
sick is most  helpless1 and the native  
of ,africa well is most indifferent to  
sickness  in others4 ,hence the constant
 ministration to his own sick folks by  
white doctors and nurses fills him with 
astonishment1 and causes him to  think  
why this should be done4 ,it is a       
magnificent object lesson to the  native
 of the practice in our lives of the    
,gospel of ,christ4    ,one of the best 
gifts that can be given to any race of  
people is the  gift of the ,bible in    

their own tongue4 ,but to prevent the   
,bible being  a sealed book to them1 the
 people must first be taught how to     
read4  ,so the missionary must turn     
school-master and teach his people their
  letters4 ,here1 then1 is the beginning
 of educational work and it is  found a 
great help to the evangelistic4 ,for in 
school1 reading is not  the only subject
 taught4 ,the children learn1 as they   
never otherwise  could1 the story of    
,jesus4 ,and the teacher is naturally   
the evangelist4  ,so preaching and      
teaching in ,africa go hand in hand4    
,then there is work such as the ,african
 is not accustomed to4 ,he is by  no    
means lazy1 as is so often said by      
ill-informed people2 but he has  to be  
taught that work is not for inferiors   
only4 ,hence all kinds of  useful trades
 are taught in large missions4 ,the     
,africans make very good  carpenters1   
gardeners1 bricklayers1 and printers4   
,in fact1 they pick  up readily such    
trades as are taught them4 ,of course1  

at their present  stage of development1 
they cannot be compared with white      
workman1 and  should never so be        
compared1 but they do exceedingly well  
so far as  they are able4    ,in thus   
educating and training their people the 
missions are  endeavouring to make their
 converts ,christians1 who can read     
their  ,bibles1 and who will prove      
themselves to be useful and industrious 
members of the community in which they  
live4          ,,chapter ,,xvii         
,,methods ,,of ,,mission ,,work      ,in
 this chapter1 which must be the last1  
,i want to let you see as well  as      
possible a little mission work in the   
various departments you read  about in  
the preceding chapter4 ,let me begin    
with the evangelistic4 ,in  a missionary
 magazine ,i have come across a         
description which will suit  the purpose
 very well4 ,here it is1 a visit to a   
village preaching4    8,our machila     
carriers are impatient to be off4 ,they 
are not always so  anxious about an     

early start1 but to-day we can          
sympathise with their  impatience1 for  
the hot weather is upon us1 and         
travelling during the  heat of the day  
is anything but comfortable4 ,a start is
 made at last1  and we are now as eager 
as our #8boys' to see the end of the    
seven or  eight-mile journey4 ,it will  
take us almost two hours to do this     
short  distance--two hours of as        
unpleasant travelling as one could wish 
to be  saved from1 for machila          
travelling is at the best but a mild    
form of  being tossed in a blanket4     
8,the carriers keep up an incessant     
chatter all the way1 varied at times    
with a break into the chorus of one of  
their machila songs4      #8,gurr-r-r1  
,mwana wa mkango1 ,ine      ,child of a 
lion1 ,i am fierce      ,fierce am ,i1  
child of a lion4    ,gurr-r-r1          
,gurr-r-r4'    ,such is the complaint of
 one of the carriers as he sweats at the
  machila pole4 ,he imitates1 with      
wonderful skill1 the deep growl of  the 

lion1 and fondly compares himself for   
strength to the king of  beasts4 ,the   
other boys with lusty chorus give him   
every support in his  contention1 and   
even we agree1 judging from his deep    
growls1 that he  must really be what he 
says he is1 and soon the chorus ends4   
8,but here we are at ,chentambo's       
village4 ,our machila men promptly      
retire under the shade of the nearest   
tree and stretch themselves out  to     
rest4    8,the service has already      
begun1 and1 if we want to be in time    
next  ,sunday1 we must leave very early4
 ,che ,bernard is giving an address1    
the gist of which is the contrast       
between the old heathen life of         
superstition and darkness and the new   
way of the cross1 of truth and  light   
and life eternal1 of the love of ,god   
for fallen mankind1 and the  great      
sacrifice of ,christ ,jesus1 our        
,saviour4    8,it is skilfully placed   
before the audience1 much better than   
could be  done by a white man4 ,the     

people are interested2 they understand1 
and  they ,,know that ,bernard's way is 
the right one4 ,you can read it on their
  faces4 ,old customs and superstitions1
 however1 die hard1 and to-morrow1      
perhaps1 even to-day many of those eager
 listeners will be the same  careless   
indifferent lot they were yesterday4    
,but the seed is not  falling only in   
stony places2 customs and superstitions 
cannot always  choke it4 ,by and by will
 come the harvest and the triumph of the
 ,word4    8,while ,bernard is speaking 
let us look around4 ,that we are in the 
school is evident1 for there is the     
blackboard and there the easel4  ,over  
on the other side hangs a syllable card4
 ,but on ,sunday1 it is the  #8,nyumba  
ya ,mulungu' 7,house of ,god71 and here 
we are surrounded by such  a crowd as   
never enters school4    8,men1 women1   
and children of all ages are sitting    
upon the poles which  do duty for seats4
 ,but when we run our eyes over the     
crowd we find that  the majority are    

women and children4 ,of grown men there 
are few4 ,where  may they be8 ,they may1
 perhaps1 be out of the district1 on    
plantations1  at the railway1 or down to
 the river for loads1 but they may also 
be  somewhere not so far away1          
beer-drinking4 ,there is1 however1 quite
 a  goodly number of youths among our   
hearers4    8,the audience is happy1    
noisily so4 ,there is no such quiet here
 as is  given to a home preacher4 ,the  
little fat1 brown1 shining babies will  
not be still2 they insist upon making   
themselves heard all through the        
address1 and it is only when one has    
become most outrageous in his  conduct1 
that his mother thinks it necessary to  
let him see the trees  outside4    8,but
 when the white man gets up to begin to 
speak1 all these tiny brown  mortals    
seem by instinct to plot against him4   
,no doubt his white face  is the cause  
of it1 for he is always greeted as only 
black babies can  welcome a white       
speaker4 ,bernard however goes calmly   

on4 ,he is used to  this kind of thing  
and he does not suffer from nerves4 ,so1
 too with his  audience1 not a word is  
lost4    8,crash6 down goes a seat      
broken in two by the weight of some     
half-dozen  ponderous dames4 ,but this  
is quietly ignored by the rest of the   
audience1 and the heavy ones proceed to 
accommodate themselves to a  seat on the
 floor1 as if nothing out of the way had
 happened4 ,then two  dogs have         
disagreed and become unpleasant to one  
another1 till a few  vigorous cuffs and 
a blow from a stick convince our canine 
friends that  to-day they must be on    
their best behaviour1 fit and proper for
 dogs  admitted to such an assembly4    
,but the babies have their own way and  
perform an involuntary accompaniment all
 the time of the service4    8,bernard  
has finished now4 ,he has urged the     
people to come to a  decision to-day1   
not to put off till the to-morrow which 
never comes4  ,now is the time to take a
 stand on the side of truth and         

righteousness4  ,who will take his stand
 now8 ,and so he leaves his audience to 
answer  his final appeal4    8,a hymn1  
one of the few which the school children
 have learned1 has  been given out by   
,bernard4 ,he reads the first verse3--  
#8,mwamva mau a ,mulungu                
,mukabvomeranji ko8            ,kodi    
musandula mtima              ,ndi       
kumvera ,yesu'yo4    ,bvomerani1        
,bvomerani1 ,bvomerani msanga tu4'      
#8,you have heard the call of ,jesus    
,and your answer now must give4         
,turn to ,him your heart so precious1   
,and obeying learn to live4    ,oh      
believe ,him3 ,oh believe ,him3 ,oh     
believe ,him3 quickly do4'    8,the     
singing is robust2 there is no absence  
of sound1 and the hymn is  enjoyed by   
all4 ,it may not be the finest of music1
 but it is living1  real1 earnest4      
8,then follows a short prayer and the   
service is over4 ,in a few minutes  men1
 women1 babies1 and dogs are out into   
the sunshine1 and we are  enjoying1 nay1

 gulping down the fresh air4    8,the   
hearers' class has now assembled1 and we
 endeavour to teach a few  of the great 
truths of our faith to this little      
company of young men  and women4 ,to    
this little class we look for the things
 of the future4  ,here at least the     
ground is not stony4 ,the seed is being 
sown in good  soil and by ,god's        
blessing will bear fruit in the future  
and become the  foundation on which to  
build another church4    8,when the     
lesson is over we have a few minutes    
talk with ,bernard and  some of the     
boys1 to give and to receive words of   
encouragement in  the work4 ,then once  
more to our machila and back home1 our  
#8,mwana wa  mkango' being as fierce as 
ever4      #8,guwr-r-r4 ,mwana wa       
mkango1 ,ine4    ,guwr-r-r2 ,mwana wa   
mkango1 ,ine4            ,guwr-r-r2     
,guwr-r-r4'0    ,illustration3 ,a       
,,mission ,,school ,,class    ,now let  
me send you along with a mission lady to
 visit a village  school1 so that you   

may know a little about the educational 
work of an  ,african mission4 ,but ,i am
 afraid you cannot go to the village so 
,i must  let the lady tell of her visit 
herself4 ,this is what she writes1 and  
had you gone with her you would have    
seen it all with your own eyes3         
8#8,our ,donna is coming6 ,our ,donna is
 coming6' ,thus heralded1 we approach   
the village1 a flock of small boys1 who 
have come to meet us1 dancing  along    
before the machila1 shrieking at the    
pitch of their shrill young  voices4    
8#8,our ,donna has come6' announces that
 we have reached the village  courtyard4
 ,there stands the school1 a little     
grass shed1 with forms  like bird       
perches2 and the teacher1 conspicuous by
 his clean white  clothes1 and          
,kungauma1 the headman1 are waiting     
there to welcome me4    8,after a       
little1 a wheezy horn is blown by a     
stalwart young man1 and  the scholars   
begin to assemble4 ,meantime ,i pay a   
visit to the women's  quarters where the

 older women are busy pounding the maize
 and sifting  the flour4 ,after a few   
words of friendly greeting1 enquires    
about their  work and notice of their   
babies--for a black mother1 as well as a
 white  one1 likes to see #8her bairns  
respeckit like the lave'--,i return to  
the  school4 ,it is full to overflowing4
    8,a hymn is sung and prayers are    
said by the teacher2 then the classes   
arrange themselves on their respective  
#8perches4' ,i begin to examine  ,class 
#a1 while an admiring circle of fond    
mothers and sympathising  friends squats
 outside4 ,after going conscientiously  
through the lessons  of ,class #a1 we go
 on to ,class #b1 and ,i hear them their
 allotted task4    8,but time is flying6
 ,i ask what other classes still remain 
to be  examined4 #8,class #c and an     
,infant1' replies the teacher1          
indicating  their whereabouts4 ,i glance
 at the dozen or so of eager little     
faces  that compose ,class #c and then  
look towards the #8,infant4' ,he may be 

such1 legally so-called1 but to my      
astonishment ,i see the stalwart  young 
man who performed upon the bronchitic   
horn6 ,it turns out later  that he is   
the most advanced pupil in the school   
and is reading an  ,english book1 called
 the #8,infant ,reader'2 hence his name4
    8,leaving him and ,class #c for     
another day1 ,i call the young women and
  girls to begin sewing4 ,forty are in  
my class1 and more would like  to enter1
 but ,i cannot give proper attention to 
a larger number4  ,one is advanced to   
enough sew a child's frock1 several are 
hemming  sashes1 most of them are at the
 elementary #8patch' stage4 ,as ,i give 
out the seams ,i glance at their hands4 
,some1 conscious of cleanliness  and    
virtue1 will voluntarily turn up their  
little pink palms for my  inspection4   
#8,mine are clean1 ,adonna1 look at     
mine6' while others have  to be sent to 
wash4    8,soon the class is hard at    
work4 ,some learn very quickly1 others  
find  the management of the needle      

almost beyond their powers2 some need   
words of praise and encouragement to    
help them to persevere1 while  others   
require judicious fault-finding and     
criticism to nip incipient  vanity in   
the bud4 ,a few words about the use of  
the words #8,please' and  #8,thank you1'
 a few lessons in the elements of gentle
 bearing to each  other--courtesy to my 
self is never lacking--are taken in very
 good  part1 and remembered and put into
 practice4    8,in the course of the    
day's lesson1 which lasts two and a half
 to three  hours1 several may get       
advanced from the #8patch' to the       
#8sash' stage4  ,the price of the       
ordinary sash is sixpence4 7,the work   
done in all the  sewing classes is sold 
later at a little bazaar1 and the       
proceeds are  given to some scheme in   
connection with the native church47 ,i  
hear the  girls planning how they will  
manage to buy the sash when it is       
hemmed4  #8,i have fowls at home worth  
sixpence1' says one4 #8,i have only one 

fowl  but it can lay eggs1' says        
another4 ,some1 having no source of     
income  can but regretfully admire1 and 
envy their more fortunate companion4    
8,about two o'clock ,i take in the work 
again1 and proceed to do a little       
simple surgery1 the binding up of ulcers
 chiefly4 ,anything serious ,i  decline 
to dress1 advising the sufferers to come
 to ,hospital1 but the  simple sores1   
which are sadly common1 are quite within
 my powers4 ,it  brings me into touch   
with the people at another point of     
contact and  increases our sympathy4    
8,the dressings done and the farewells  
said1 ,i call my carriers1 get  into my 
machila1 and off we go1 my men singing  
lustily as they bear me  swiftly along  
the native path4 ,the village lies close
 among the hills1  and the path winds in
 and out through native gardens and bush
 and long  grass1 while two streams and 
a bog have to be forded4 ,on either side
  rise the #8everlasting hills'2 solemn1
 grand1 restful1 beautiful at all       

times1 in sunshine or shadow4 ,in about 
an hour we leave the native path  and   
turn into the dusty high road1 and a    
very short time finds us again  at the  
mission40    ,and now to show you       
mission hospital work4 ,i have found in 
the same  magazine the story of         
,gwebede1 the ,angoni labourer4    8,his
 home was in far ,angoniland--the       
village where his childhood had  passed1
 where he played through many a sunny   
day1 rolling in the sand  till he was   
white1 fighting mock battles with big   
grasses for spears1  #8tying' little    
houses of grass and sticks1 and lurking 
in them--all  play and no school2 and at
 night time sleeping in his mother's    
hut1  close to the fire1 beside the dogs
 and the chickens4 ,now he is a  little 
boy1 perhaps ten years old1 and when his
 brothers and uncles  and companions are
 getting ready to go off to work with   
the white men1  ,gwebede joins the      
party4 ,he will work for three months   
and then come  proudly home with his    

earnings4 ,his earnings will be an      
altogether  unimaginable extent of      
beautiful white calico4 ,perhaps it will
 be  enough to pay his mother's hut tax1
 and when that is paid they will  tuck  
the yellow-edged paper with the stamp on
 it safely away among the  shiny black  
grass on the inside of the roof4    8,so
 he trots gaily along the narrow path1  
carrying on a stick over  his shoulder  
some yellow cobs of maize for food by   
the way4 ,at night  he is very tired1   
and after roasting his corn and grinding
 it up with  his little white grinders  
he very soon drops asleep4 ,the party   
travel  for a day or two1 and then stop 
to work for a day at some village to    
earn food for the further journey4 ,in  
about a week they reach their           
destination and see the coffee planters'
 broad acres of cleared ground  where in
 rows grow the coffee plants1 as big as 
gooseberry bushes1 some  of them a      
little bigger4 ,then is ,gwebede        
installed with hoe in hand  amongst the 

coffee4    ,illustration3 ,,attacked    
,,by ,a ,,leopard    8,now one morning  
early ,gwebede got up and had just      
stepped out of the  grass shelter where 
he slept1 when a great leopard sprang on
 him1  caught him by the back of the    
neck in its mouth1 and bounded off with 
him as easily as a cat would do with a  
mouse4 ,gwebede's brothers are  waked   
from their sleep1 and look out4 #8,a    
leopard6' they shout as they  seize hold
 of the red brands of their evening fire
 and rush out yelling  as they run4     
,into the grass they dash3 yonder is the
 leopard3 after  him6 ,he is frightened3
 he drops the boy3 he is off6    8,then 
they carefully pick up ,gwebede4 ,poor  
little ,gwebede6 ,is he dead8  ,no1 but 
there is a great wound as if the leopard
 had taken a mouthful  away from the    
back of his head4 ,they take him to     
their master1 who  promptly binds up the
 wound1 and sends them off with a letter
 to the  hospital4 ,it is a long        
distance1 and it is late in the         

afternoon when  they reach the mission4 
8,this was the first we saw of ,gwebede4
 ,there did not seem to be much  hope   
for him4 ,a little thin boy with a face 
full of terror1 whom the  slightest     
movement made to cry out with pain4 ,he 
refused to swallow  medicine1 so we     
injected under his skin a little dose of
 that blessed  drug that takes away     
pain1 and in a few minutes he was       
asleep4 ,then we  washed and dressed his
 wound4 ,a leopard's teeth are such     
dirty things  that the wound they make  
is very difficult to get clean4 ,one has
 to  wash and wash and wash for a long  
time1 going carefully into all the      
holes and corners4    8,as the days     
passed the pain became less1 and the    
wound began to heal4  ,for several days 
,gwebede cried a good deal1 and we had  
to repeat the  dose under his skin to   
put him to sleep4 ,then we noticed that 
he was  beginning to enjoy his food1 and
 one day the attendant told us that     
#8,gwebede had laughed4' ,these were    

good signs4    8,a few weeks later if   
you could have seen ,gwebede you would  
have seen  that he was no longer thin1  
but getting quite respectably stout1 and
  also that he was constantly smiling4  
,the night attendant noticed1  however1 
that he sometimes started and cried out 
in his sleep4 ,this  is the way with    
people that have been hurt by wild      
beasts4 ,for long  afterwards they dream
 dreadful dreams4 ,indeed1 some of them 
are afraid  to sleep alone4 ,they can't 
help thinking that a beast will come    
into  the room4    8,one day ,gwebede's 
brothers came to take him home4 ,they   
said that the  whole party from their   
village were about to start for home4   
,we begged  them to leave ,gwebede with 
us to be attended to1 and we asked them 
to  come back for him in a month4 ,they 
said they were afraid to go back        
without him1 because ,gwebede's mother  
would say1 #8,what have you done  with  
,gwebede8' ,we told them that ,gwebede  
was not well enough to do  without      

having his wound dressed4 ,they saw also
 that he was quite happy  in the ward4  
,so they decided to go back to their    
master and do another  month's work1 and
 at the end of the month to come again  
for ,gwebede4    8,the month passed1    
,gwebede walked about slowly and        
sedately1 holding  his head in the air  
because his neck was stiff4 ,he got     
fatter and  fatter1 till his face grew  
like a little round moon--a black       
moon--full  of smiles and dimples4 ,he  
was the jolliest little boy you could   
imagine4 ,then came again the big       
brothers4 ,gwebede's neck was now quite 
healed4 ,the great open wound had closed
 up and now there was only a  scar left4
 ,soon he was dancing and skipping along
 the road with his  brothers1 having    
clean forgotten the stiffness of his    
neck1 and that  was the last we saw of  
little ,gwebede40    ,now that you have 
heard such a great deal about ,africa   
and its  children1 and about mission    
work1 are you not glad1 my dear young   

friends1 that you are enjoying the      
privilege of helping to make ,christ    
known among the black people1 that you  
are helping them to learn to  read and  
write1 that you are helping them to be  
taught useful trades1  and that you are 
helping to bind up their wounds and ease
 their pain8 ,i  know that you are4 ,we 
all want ,africa to belong to ,christ   
and in ,god's  own time it will be so4  
,meantime we must not faint or be weary 
although  the fight against the powers  
of darkness be fierce and long4 ,africa1
  the dark continent must emerge from   
darkness at the call of her ,lord  and  
,master and take her place among the    
nations who live in the ,light  of the  
,saviour of the world4      8,spirit of 
truth and love1    ,life-giving1 holy   
,dove1        ,speed forth thy flight3  
,move o'er the water's face    ,bearing 
the lamb of grace1    ,and in ,earth's  
darkest place        ,let there be      
light40          ,,transcriber',s       
,,notes3      ,italicized text is       

surrounded by underscores3 italics4     
,obvious typographical errors have been 
corrected4    ,inconsistencies in       
hyphenation have been standardized4     
,archaic or alternate spelling has been 
retained from the original4