,,the ,,fetish ,,folk ,,of ,,west ,,africa ,illustration3 ,,amvama1 ,a ,,fang ,,catechist 7,see p4 #caf74 ,the ,fetish ,folk of ,west ,africa ,by ,,robert ,h4 ,,milligan ,author of 8,the ,jungle ,folk of ,africa0 ,,illustrated ,illustration3 ,logo ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,toronto ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,,london ,,and ,,edinburgh ,copyright1 #aiab1 by ,,fleming ,h4 ,,revell ,,company ,new ,york3 #aeh ,fifth ,avenue ,chicago3 #abe ,north ,wabash ,ave4 ,toronto3 #be ,richmond ,street1 ,w4 ,london3 #ba ,paternoster ,square ,edinburgh3 #ajj ,princes ,street ,preface ,in this book as in the one that preceded it1 ,the ,jungle ,folk of ,africa1 the author endeavours to exhibit the humanity of the ,african as it impressed himself4 ,the difference between the two books is chiefly a difference of emphasis1 and is indicated in the titles4 ,in the former the ,african is described in relation to his surroundings--his exterior world4 ,much is said about the forest--deep1 solemn1 vast1 impenetrably mysterious--wherein he roams at large with nature's own wild freedom2 contending also with its mighty forces1 and wresting from it the means of existence by his own resourcefulness of expedient4 ,in the present volume the author essays the more difficult task of revealing the interior world of the ,african--his mental habits and beliefs4 ,much is said about fetishism and folk-lore4 ,if1 despite all that is said herein1 the philosophy of fetishism should remain obscure--and there is no doubt of it2 if the reader should close this book with the consciousness of a broad1 comprehensive ignorance of the subject1 it may be to some extent the fault of fetishism itself1 which is the jungle of jungles1 an aggregation of incoherent beliefs4 ,the world of the ,african is as wild and strange as the weird world that we often visit on the brink of sleep4 ,it was far from ,africa that ,siegfried thought it worth while to encounter the dread dragon1 ,fafner1 and slay him for the possession of the magic tarnhelm forged by the ,nibelung4 ,in ,africa everybody has a tarnhelm4 ,second-hand tarnhelms are for sale everywhere4 ,i myself had a rare one2 but ,i have lost it1 or mislaid it4 ,to us1 who think of nature as the realm of law1 order1 and uniformity1 the world of the ,african seems to have gone mad4 ,this madness1 however1 is more apparent than real4 ,the ,african thinks in terms of the miraculous2 natural effects are explained by supernatural causes2 supernatural1 but not therefore unintelligible1 still less irrational4 ,therefore1 if we should not find the fabled thread out of this amazing labyrinth of fetishism1 it may be possible to find a thread into it2 and not only possible1 but also worth while1 if within the labyrinth we shall find the ,african himself and come to know him1 mind and heart1 a little better4 ,one need not apologize for the space given to folk-lore so long as ,brer ,rabbit and ,brer ,fox retain their present popularity with old and young2 for in ,african folk-lore we have the originals of the stories of ,uncle ,remus4 ,aside from the entertaining quality of folk-lore1 its idealism has a human value4 ,in ,mr4 ,lecky's essay1 ,thoughts on ,history1 published since his death1 the great historian pays the following remarkable tribute to idealism3 8,legends which have no firm historical basis are often of the highest historical value as reflecting the moral sentiments of their time4 ,nor do they merely reflect them4 ,in some periods they contribute perhaps more than any other influence to mould and colour them and to give them an enduring strength4 ,the facts of history have been largely governed by its fiction4 ,great events often acquire their full power over the human mind only when they have passed through the transfiguring medium of the imagination1 and men as they were supposed to be have even sometimes exercised a wider influence than men as they actually were4 ,ideals ultimately rule the world2 and each1 before it loses its ascendency1 bequeaths some moral truth as an abiding legacy to the human race40 ,inasmuch as the history of most ,african tribes must ever remain unknown to us1 their legends and all that is included in their folk-lore possess additional anthropological value as a medium through which to study the ,african mind4 ,the ,african1 despite his degradation1 is interesting2 and that1 not merely as an object of religious endeavour1 but on the human level1 as a man4 ,the testimony of ,mr4 ,herbert ,ward--traveller1 adventurer1 soldier and artist--who first went to ,africa with ,stanley1 and afterwards went a second time and spent several years1 is the testimony of all sound-hearted men who have lived in ,africa4 ,mr4 ,ward1 in ,a ,voice ,from the ,congo1 says3 8,there was a good side even to the most villainous-looking savage4444 ,they appealed strongly to me by reason of their simplicity and directness1 their lack of scheming or plotting1 and by the spontaneity of everything they did40 ,and again3 8,it has been my experience that the longer one lives with ,africans1 the more one grows to love them4 ,prejudices soon vanish4 ,the black skin loses something of its unpleasant characteristics1 for one knows that it covers such a very human heart40 ,nevertheless1 the degradation of the ,african is a fact4 ,and it is being proved that there is no power of moral renovation for him inherent in material progress4 ,christianity1 and nothing else1 vitalizes his moral nature2 and therefore it contains the potentialities of civilization4 ,when ,mr4 ,giddings1 and other sociologists of a certain class1 ignoring spiritual values1 demand a gospel for the life that now is1 we offer them the same ,gospel of ,christ1 and point to its actual results in ,africa2 maintaining that the missionary is the chief agent in ,africa's civilization1 and affirming that civilization is but the secular side of ,christianity4 ,one of the stories in this volume appears also in ,dr4 ,robert ,h4 ,nassau's admirable book1 ,fetishism in ,west ,africa2 and two of the stories are told1 in slightly different form1 in ,mr4 ,r4 ,e4 ,dennett's interesting book on the folk-lore of the ,fjort4 ,most of the illustrations are from photographs taken by ,mr4 ,harry ,d4 ,salveter4 ,,robert ,h4 ,,milligan4 ,new ,york4 ,contents ,i ,,the ,,white ,,man',s ,,grave #ae ,the ,coast--,the ,old ,coaster--,his obsession--,angom--,loneliness--,gaboon- -,the seasons--,ice that burned--,a peculiar climate--,the mosquito--,quinine--,frightened into fever--,a matter of coffins4 ,,ii 8,,the ,,wise ,,ones0 #bi ,from palm-oil to trousers--,mpongwe and ,fang--,making a king--,caste--,domestic slavery--,ndinga1 a human leopard--,a ,gaboon belle--,native courtesy--,a fight--,a war-custom--,the cause of the tide--,a dying confession--,a case of witchcraft--,curing the sick--,a secret society4 ,,iii ,a ,,dying ,,tribe #db ,women who cannot marry--,the slave-trade--,the rum-traffic--,elida--,augustus--,trade and polygamy--,too proud to speak--,destruction of authority--,customs not irrational--,the dowry--,the foreign governments--,the whipping-post--,a fatal defect4 ,,iv ,a ,,living ,,remnant #ef ,a difficult work--,the ,jesuits--,iguwi--,single blessedness--,a chicken breakfast--,buttons--,a remarkable illustration--,a service--,fluency--,toko ,truman--,izuri--,ntyango--,sara--,lucin a--,uncle ,remus--,the ,tortoise and his ,creditors--,the ,wag--,a battle in canoes--,a captive father--,a graveyard4 ,v ,,african ,,music #gb ,a taste for comic opera--,an organ and an organist--,the origin of music--,musical instruments--,the sense of melody--,a decomposed tune--,unfamiliar scales--,mourning--,rhythm--,extremely musical--,three songs4 ,,vi ,,pests #he ,the ,ten ,plagues--,killing flies--,the driver ant--,other ants--,the jigger--,the sandfly--,the mosquito--,the centipede--,the cockroach--,the white ant--,divers other pests--,internal parasites--,rats--,snakes4 ,,vii ,,the 8,,cannibal0 ,,fang #aaj ,a discriminating palate--,not the worst cannibals--,appearance--,the ,negro face and the ,greek face--,legs--,the wheel--,dress--,an overdressed woman--,food--,cannibalism--,an affair of honour--,native art--,curiosity--,turning them into monkeys4 ,,viii ,,manners ,,and ,,customs #abe ,the native resourceful--,unambitious--,trade--,comm unism--,boiling the ,bible--,a quarrel--,marriage--,the dowry--,a case of torture--,the head-wife--,the tongue a woman's weapon--,polygamy--,ogula and her ,ngalo--,tragedy--,dancing--,the story-teller--,an interesting liar4 ,,ix ,,funeral ,,customs #ade ,a talking corpse--,a world of magic--,sympathy and expectoration--,the dirge--,premature burial--,a funeral incident--,death customs--,conventional mourning--,an incident of the grass-field--,a horrible burial custom--,two death scenes1 a contrast4 ,x ,,the 8,,dorothy0 #aeh ,a godsend--,a gasoline palaver--,canoeing--,the rapids--,a pilot--,a sudden stop--,passengers--,the mangrove swamp--,a wheelman and a bottle--,pirates--,towing a town--,nkogo--,ndutuma--,ndong ,bisia--,a saucepan and a ball of twine4 ,,xi ,,schoolboys #agi ,lolo--,unwashed--,washed--,a flying bucket--,a little friend--,the blessed ,melchisedec--,a parting--,ko-ko-ko-ko--,the centre of a fight--,the poetry of soap--,a threat of suicide--,the eloquence of sounding brass--,a 8rotten road0--,savages as soldiers--,ngema's father--,across our bow--,a tornado4 ,,xii ,a ,,school #aih ,mendam1 the big brother--,clothing--,a day's program--,cutting grass--,a python--,rations--,a collapse--,the dormitory--,the dispensary--,the jigger-palaver--,not stupid--,a head that got hit--,singing--,interruptions--,a picnic--,games--,war-dances--,stories--, a ,tug-of-,war--,a ,race--,the ,leopard and the ,antelope--,an evangelistic force4 ,,xiii ,,the ,,mental ,,degradation ,,of ,,fetishism #bai ,the horseshoe--,the charm--,the fetish--,the relic--,the fetish-doctor--,a psychological consequence--,the ,african idea of nature--,incredible beliefs--,confession of a chief's son--,two babes--,the idea of ,god--,the mental atmosphere--,making the rainbow--,a problem--,first lessons--,why the river is crooked--,an old woman's illustration4 ,,xiv ,,the ,,moral ,,degradation ,,of ,,fetishism #bcc ,a lost child--,worship of snakes--,demoralizing factors--,a chief's fetish--,ingredients--,human sacrifice--,a royal death--,wives and witchcraft--,concluding a war--,destiny--,man's nature--,new conceptions--,a revolt from cannibalism--,heaps of skulls--,deliverance4 ,,xv ,,fetishism ,,and ,,the ,,cross #bdf ,a precocious boy--,killed his friend--,essentially moral--,cure for lying--,the ordeal--,a trial and death--,the sense of guilt--,expiatory rites--,the new ideal--,the atonement--,self-sacrifice and self-assertion--,ndong ,koni builds a church--,onjoga cuts grass--,makuba's rheumatism--,what is a missionary8--,onjoga's wife--,children at play4 ,,xvi ,,missions ,,and ,,social ,,progress #bfd ,the noble savage--,story of a feud--,society and the individual--,progressive and unprogressive--,interdependence--,conque st of nature--,education--,authority of custom--,work--,trustworthiness--,a civilizing experiment--,a communion service--,equality of woman--,a salutation--,attitude towards nature--,a thirst for knowledge--,service--,legitimacy in government--,the home--,thy kingdom come4 ,,xvii ,,the ,,critics #bhf ,the missionary blamed for everything--,bewildering inconsistency--,professor ,starr--,misfits--,criticism unjust--,unbelief--,antipathy towards the native--,cruelty--,vice--,lowering of ideals--,missions sociologically sound--,the let alone policy too late--,miss ,kingsley4 ,,xviii ,,saints ,,among ,,savages #caj ,the best apologetic--,mb',obam--,sara--,a matrimonial bureau--,angona--,a pot-palaver--,a narrow escape--,amvama--,a clean knife--,a bet--,proving himself--,a dowry palaver--,opposing a chief--,robert ,boardman--,son of a 8prince0--,blindness--,incident of a pipe--,his love of music--,his wife--,a near-elopement--,walking in the light4 ,illustrations ,,amvama1 ,a ,,fang ,,catechist ,frontispiece ,facing page ,,mission ,,house ,,at ,,baraka #bb ,,women',s ,,secret ,,society #da ,,trading-,,house ,,at ,,gaboon #ed ,,an ,,mpongwe ,,wedding #fe ,a ,,fang ,,family #aaj ,,fang ,,traders ,,with ,,ivory #abh ,,the ,,dorothy #aeh ,,crew ,,of ,,the ,,dorothy #aga ,,the ,,primary ,,class #agi ,a ,,little ,,scholar #ahg ,,the ,,daily ,,clinic #ahg ,,schoolhouse ,,and ,,dormitory ,,at ,,gaboon #bje ,,several ,,strides ,,towards ,,civilization #bfd ,a ,,fashionable ,,wedding ,,in ,,kamerun #bhc ,,anyoroguli #cjf ,,returning ,,from ,,the ,,gardens #cjf ,,fang ,,christians #cbc ,i ,,the ,,white ,,man',s ,,grave ,for that matter the whole west coast of ,africa is called by the natives ,the ,white ,man's ,grave2 and everywhere the fever stalks along the beach like a grim sentinel warning the stranger to stay away and ready to beat him into delirium and death if he lands4 ,but the name1 ,the ,white ,man's ,grave1 is especially attached to several of the oldest of the coast settlements4 ,notable among these is ,gaboon1 in the ,french ,congo1 almost exactly at the equator1 where ,i lived for nearly six years1 the period of my second term in ,africa4 ,on the long voyage of five weeks from ,liverpool to ,libreville ,i had been duly prepared for the worst by the ,old ,coasters on board1 who deem it their duty to instruct all newcomers in regard to the evils of the climate and the certainty of an early death4 ,this duty constitutes a daily exercise during the entire voyage and is discharged faithfully and conscientiously4 ,each morning at the breakfast-table the young missionary is told that the ,african fever is inevitable1 and to expect it will bring it on in two days4 ,the healthy die first4 8,missionaries die like flies40 ,the abnormal mortality among missionaries is due to several persistent delusions2 chief among them1 the temperance delusion1 and the quinine delusion4 ,according to the ,old ,coaster1 everybody whose mind is open to conviction knows that temperate habits are no defense and that total abstinence is a quick method of suicide4 ,quinine only aggravates the fever2 everybody knows that also2 but missionaries will not admit it4 ,then there is the minor delusion of the umbrella4 ,all those people who regularly carried umbrellas are dead4 ,those who didn't carry them are dead too1 but they lived longer4 ,the dreadful racking pain of the fever is adequately described1 and then there is added the consoling thought that a man may sometimes escape having it fatally by having it frequently4 8,fatally1 or frequently30 the poets among them dwell fondly on the alliteration4 ,after we have begun to call at the ,african ports this elementary instruction is reinforced by a circumstantial and realistic account of the death of the 8poor chaps0 who have 8pegged out0 since the last voyage4 ,the number is large3 ,i did not know there were so many white men on the coast4 ,many among them were of my particular build1 complexion and general appearance--,i was told4 ,it is not that the ,old ,coaster is indulging a barbarous sense of humour in trying to frighten the newcomer1 but he has become fairly obsessed with the thought of the climate4 ,sooner or later this morbid distemper seizes upon most of those who live for any length of time in ,west ,africa4 ,after such an unappetizing conversation at the breakfast-table1 a certain young missionary escaped to the upper deck where he was soon joined by an ,old ,coaster who asked him if he happened to have a prayer-book4 ,delighted that the conversation had taken a turn 7and such a good turn7 he replied that he hadn't a prayer-book1 not being an ,anglican1 but that he might procure one from a fellow passenger4 8,i'd be ever so much obliged10 says the ,old ,coaster1 8if you would2 for ,i want to write down the burial service4 ,you see1 no matter how a man may have lived1 it's a comfort to him out here on the coast to think that he'll have a decent burial2 so we're neighbourly1 and we read the service for one another40 ,in one last desperate effort to turn the conversation from the dead to the living1 the missionary remarked1 with considerable force3 8,but people don't all die of fever out here6 ,what about those that don't80 8,oh1 no10 he replies2 8they die of many other things besides fever4 ,let's see20--and he counts them off on his fingers3 8,there's kraw-kraw4 ,kraw-kraw is an awful nasty disease that just decomposes a man's legs and nothing can stop it4 8,there's dysentery4 ,a lot of people die of that4 ,there's every kind of tuberculosis4 ,there's abscesses4 ,there's pneumonia4 ,there's ulcers----0 8,and kraw-kraw10 says another ,old ,coaster1 coming up behind him4 8,why1 there was my friend ,so-and-so----0 8,i've already said kraw-kraw10 says the other1 and he passes on to the next finger4 8,there's ,portuguese itch4 ,maybe you think you know what itch is1 but you don't if you've never had the ,portuguese itch of the coast4 8,there's the ,guinea worm4 ,it favours the leg and is sometimes ten feet long4 ,you may possibly get it out if you don't try to wind it from the tail2 but anyway it leaves a wound that doesn't heal in this climate4 8,there's enlarged spleen4 ,there's----0 8,kraw-kraw10 says another arrival4 8,why1 there was ,so-and-so----0 8,i said kraw-kraw10 answers the leader4 8,there's smallpox--in frequent epidemics10 he continues4 8,and there are so many other parasites feeding on a man1 inside and out1 that one who has lived on this coast for several years ought to be able to furnish in his own body a complete course for a class of medical students40 8,did you mention kraw-kraw80 says a late arrival4 8,kraw-kraw80 interposed the missionary4 8,i know all about kraw-kraw4 ,the highest authorities on tropical diseases have declared that it is not a physical1 but a mental1 malady that attacks the ,old ,coaster4 ,the victim imagines that he is an old crow1 and he goes around flapping his wings and crying1 #8,kraw-kraw4'0 ,one morning at the breakfast-table1 when the conversation turned for a moment to the cheerful subject of cocktails1 a youngster exclaimed3 8,gentlemen1 gentlemen1 ,i protest against this cheerfulness4 ,for a whole minute the conversation has been utterly irrelevant4 ,men are mortal and the dead are accumulating4 ,let us therefore return to the obsequies40 ,a solemn-eyed ,old ,coaster leaned towards his neighbour and in a loud1 sepulchral whisper remarked3 8,i give him a month40 8,i give him two weeks10 replied the other4 ,many of those who came aboard1 especially those from the more lonely places1 looked like haunted men4 ,extreme isolation invites madness4 ,there were moments when the heart of the traveller faltered or stood still1 almost crushed by the pathos and tragedy of it all4 ,at the annual mission-meeting ,i was appointed not to ,gaboon1 but to ,angom1 seventy miles up the ,gaboon ,river4 ,angom had a peculiarly evil reputation even in ,africa1 and the appointment was made only after a prolonged discussion in which some contended that the place ought to be abandoned and the climate of that particular station pronounced impossible4 ,the facts arrayed in support of this opinion presented such a gloomy outlook that when1 in conclusion1 a missionary physician and his wife and myself were assigned to ,angom1 the appointment sounded in our ears somewhat like an order for our execution4 ,three weeks after we reached ,angom ,i stood one morning on the bank of the river1 exceedingly lonely as ,i gazed after the boat that bore away the physician and his wife1 both of them sick and returning to the ,united ,states4 ,i remained alone at ,angom only a few months1 but ,i was expecting to remain for the entire year1 sixty miles from the nearest white man1 and unable as yet to speak the language of the jungle folk around me4 ,and besides the barrier of an unknown language between them and me1 there was at first such a mental and moral aloofness from the natives that their presence1 and especially the sound of their constant laughter1 only drove me to the centre of a vaster solitude4 ,often in those first days ,i fought against loneliness and fever together1 each aggravating the other4 ,when loneliness would make its most terrible onslaught it assumed a disguise--and invariably the same disguise4 ,more than half the battle was fought when ,i had penetrated the disguise and learned to recognize the foe even from afar4 ,it invariably approached in the form of discouragement--the intolerable feeling that all ,i was doing was useless2 that ,i was the fool of a pathetic delusion whose only redeeming feature was a good intention4 ,the doubt suddenly emptied life of all that was worth while and left an aching void2 and nothing in the whole world can ache like a void4 ,in our nobler aims and enthusiasms doubt is the worst foe of courage--the thought that one may be making a fool of himself2 the highest courage is to resist the doubt1 and the highest wisdom is to know when to resist it4 ,i think ,hawthorne said something like that4 ,let me anticipate the years so far as to say that1 although ,i was always more or less alone in ,africa1 and drank the cop of solitude to the dregs1 ,i completely outlived these attacks4 ,and1 strange enough1 the very question which had been my dreaded foe became my strongest ally and defense1 namely1 the question1 ,is it worth while8 ,for ,i fought that question out to a sure affirmative4 ,in later years the dominant feeling1 that which constituted the irresistible attraction of missionary life1 and made its privations as nothing1 was the constant feeling that life in ,africa was infinitely worth while1 and that nowhere else in the world could my life count for so much to so many4 ,the first letters from missionaries at the coast advised that ,i should not think of staying alone at ,angom1 but should move to the coast and join them at ,baraka1 our ,gaboon station4 ,this did not seem to me advisable1 since it would separate me from the interior tribe1 the wild ,fang1 among whom ,i was expecting to work and whose language ,i was learning4 ,the coast tribe1 the ,mpongwe1 were already provided for and did not need me4 ,but as time passed letters came from all over the mission making so strong a protest that it seemed inadvisable to 8insist upon being a martyr0--as my fellow missionaries expressed it1 with nave candour4 ,one friend added that if ,i died1 or rather when ,i died1 ,i would have no one to blame for it but myself4 ,that settled it4 ,the idea of dying with no one to blame for it1 after the lonely life at ,angom1 was entirely too unsensational2 so ,i moved to ,baraka1 where some one could be blamed when ,i died4 ,the name ,gaboon is used1 especially by the ,english1 in a general way to designate not only the river of that name but all the adjacent territory4 ,most people prefer it to the name ,libreville1 because it is of native origin2 and they like the far-away sound of it4 ,if we would be strictly accurate1 however1 the name belongs only to the great estuary of the river4 ,the ,gaboon ,river is not long1 but it receives many tributaries and for the last hundred miles from the sea it is magnificent4 ,forty miles before it reaches the sea it bends northward by northwest and widens out into a broad estuary from five to fifteen miles in width and forty miles long1 which ,i have always called the bay4 ,it is one of the few1 and one of the best1 harbours on the entire coast of ,africa4 ,libreville1 the old ,french capital of the ,congo ,franais1 and ,baraka1 our mission station1 are situated on the east bank of the estuary and opposite its broad mouth4 ,they look therefore directly over the sea4 ,gaboon was known in the ,middle ,ages and probably in the early centuries4 ,travellers and adventurers of a superstitious age1 passing upon the high seas1 reported that it was a dreadful land where at night strange fires bursting from the earth leaped to the clouds and reddened the sky1 fires which probably came from 8inferno0 not far beneath4 ,it is quite possible that the fire which they saw may have issued from ,mount ,kamerun1 farther to the north1 which is now an extinct volcano2 but there is a more likely explanation4 ,the country around ,gaboon is more open than most parts of ,west ,africa4 ,a dense undergrowth of shrubbery and long grass grows up each year1 which towards the end of the dry season is burned off by the natives1 in some places to clear their gardens1 and in some places for the fun of seeing it burn4 ,as seen from the mission hill the fires are seldom extensive1 though the effect is a ruddy glow upon the clouds and is beautiful4 ,but as ,i have seen them when out upon the bay at night1 and upon the sea1 the effect of their full extent1 the glowing sky and its reflection in the sea1 were sufficient to inspire awe and impress deeply the superstitious mind of a sailor gazing on a strange land of savage people4 ,libreville as it is approached from the sea is one of the most beautiful places on the entire ,west ,coast4 ,the government buildings stand upon a hill1 the ,plateau1 from which a handsome boulevard runs to the south parallel with the beach1 between rows of giant coco-palms4 ,on this boulevard are the trading-houses1 ,french1 ,portuguese1 ,german and ,english4 ,the buildings are nearly all white1 including the iron roofs2 but some of them have roofs of red tile4 ,there are many beautiful trees4 ,the houses are only half visible through screens of foliage2 and along the walks every unsightly thing1 every deserted building or decaying hut is overgrown with vines of delicate beauty and the wildest profusion of scarlet1 purple and lavender flowers4 ,the beach is strewn with logs of ,african mahogany of great value1 which the traders are preparing to ship4 ,for these they have exchanged a variety of goods4 ,they carry a large stock of flint-lock guns especially for the interior trade4 ,the average price of a trade-gun is five dollars4 ,they are called 8gas-pipe0 guns in the vernacular of the coast4 ,the barrel is three feet four inches long1 and the bore ,mr4 ,richard ,harding ,davis compares to an artesian well4 8,the native fills four inches of this cavity with powder and the remaining three feet with rusty nails1 barbed wire1 leaden slugs1 and broken parts of iron pots40 ,this dreadful weapon 8kicks0 so violently in the recoil that it is always a question as to which is the more dangerous end4 ,of course1 if the contents of the barrel should actually enter a man's body it would tear him all to pieces4 ,but there is always a doubt about the aim1 and there is no doubt about the kick4 ,two miles south of the ,plateau there is another hill nearly as high1 and having the finest outlook towards the sea4 ,on this hill is the mission station1 ,baraka4 ,illustration3 ,,mission ,,house ,,at ,,baraka1 ,,gaboon4 ,the roof is of palm thatch1 upon which poles of bamboo are placed4 ,the house1 as one approaches it1 appears through a screen of palms and orange-trees1 of the strong-scented frangipani1 the scarlet hibiscus1 and oleander growing as high as the house4 ,there is an abundance of roses everywhere4 ,there are also a few coffee-trees in the yard1 and one exquisite cinnamon4 ,the view from the veranda of the mission house at ,baraka is a scene of magic beauty4 ,the joyous lavishness of colour excludes from the mind the thought of the deadly serpent and the relentless fever-fiend that stealthily glide within the shadows4 ,the long hillside sloping to the beach is half covered with mangoes and palms1 oleander and orange-trees1 and the graceful plumes of the bamboo that wave to and fro and tumble in the breeze like children at play4 ,in front is the open sea4 ,on the left1 looking up the estuary1 one sees in the bright morning light a fairy island of deep emerald set in a silver sea1 and beyond it a distant shore in dim purple and gold4 ,and even while one is looking1 the island1 the silver sea and the golden-purple shore gradually dissolve and disappear in the haze that gathers and deepens as the day advances4 ,but again1 and always1 it appears in the clear evening light1 more beautiful than ever4 ,i found it impossible to persuade my friends that ,gaboon is not the hottest place in the world1 since it is not only in ,africa1 but at the equator4 ,this was also my own idea of ,gaboon until it was corrected by experience4 ,it is not as hot at the equator as it is several hundred miles north or south of it4 ,the thermometer ranges between #gb and #hf1 seldom going above or below this range4 ,but the humidity is extreme 7not surpassed1 ,i believe1 in the world7 and this makes it seem hotter than these figures would indicate4 ,the atmosphere feels as if it were about fifty per cent4 hot water4 ,at the coast there is the delightful sea-breeze--but as soon as one says it is 8delightful0 he is reminded that it is very dangerous4 ,one hears from the natives of the coast more complaints of cold than of heat and in the hottest weather their black skin is always cool4 ,the hot months are ,december and ,january2 and the coolest are ,june and ,july4 ,the wet and dry seasons of ,gaboon are very distinct4 ,the dry season begins in ,may and lasts for four months1 during all which time there is not a shower4 ,then the wet season begins in ,september and lasts four months1 during which it rains almost incessantly4 ,this is followed by a short dry season of two months and a short wet season of two months1 thus completing the year4 ,this succession of the seasons is as regular and distinct as our winter and summer4 ,the effect of the long dry season corresponds in some respects to our winter1 giving vegetation a rest4 ,europeans delight in the dry season1 although towards the last they long for the rain4 ,but the natives dislike the dry season1 which is too cool for their comfort2 and since the land-breeze is very strong1 and their bodies but slightly protected with clothing1 there is much sickness among them in these months4 ,i never told the ,africans about ice1 nor described snow1 lest it would overtax their credulity and discredit me2 for if they should doubt ,i had no way of proving it4 ,but after the ,french hospital was built the ,gaboon people not only heard about ice but many of them actually saw it4 ,one day we obtained a piece of ice at ,baraka1 sufficient to make ice-cream4 ,when we had finished eating ,i took some of it out to the men of my boat-crew and after telling them that it was something which we liked very much1 ,i gave a teaspoonful to ,makuba1 the captain4 ,no sooner had it entered his mouth than he leaped into the air with a wild yell--wild even for ,africa4 ,he shouted3 8,i'm killed6 ,i'm burned to death6 ,i'm burned to death60 ,the extremest sensation of cold seems to be not distinguishable from that of extreme heat4 ,never having tasted anything cold1 it is positively painful to them4 ,despite the exaggeration of the ,old ,coaster we are constantly reminded that1 after all1 ,gaboon is ,the ,white ,man's ,grave4 ,there were a number of ,anamese prisoners of war whom the ,french had transported from ,anam4 ,they were employed in the construction of two miles of road along the beach4 ,during the few months of work seventy out of one hundred died4 ,in this dreadful death rate there were probably unusual factors4 ,the road crosses a marsh that is a first-class incubator for mosquitoes4 ,and besides1 it is not likely that the men were reasonably provided with food or medical attendance4 ,even upon the subject of the climate opinions differ4 ,there are some persons--very few--who1 after living in ,west ,africa a number of years1 become so used to its death record that they seem to think that every other place is just the same4 ,one or another of these occasionally becomes an indignant champion of the climate4 ,at one of our annual mission meetings ,i offered a resolution appealing to the ,board of ,missions in ,new ,york for an extra allowance for health changes1 in view of the 8hostile climate40 ,a veteran missionary1 whose many years in ,africa made him the wonder of the coast1 objected to the word hostile1 declaring that unless it were stricken out he would vote against the resolution4 ,but with charming inconsistency he added that he fully realized the need of the extra allowance and he would gladly vote for it if only1 for the word hostile1 we would substitute the word peculiar4 ,next morning after breakfast1 ,mr4 ,gault1 in whose home ,i was staying1 said to me3 8,apropos of the objection made yesterday to the word hostile as applied to this salubrious climate1 have you observed that every one who asks a blessing at the breakfast-table seems to be thankful--and surprised--that none of us has been stricken down during the night and that we are all again able to get to the table8 8,the more remarkable10 he added1 8when we recall that we were chosen by the ,board not because we were either good or clever1 but chiefly because of our constitutions40 ,it was only a short time afterwards that ,mr4 ,gault himself one morning was not able to get to the breakfast-table4 ,two days later they buried him at ,batanga4 ,he was one of the truest and best men ,i have ever known4 ,there is less fever now than there was a few years ago1 and the death record is decreasing4 ,not that the conditions are much improved2 but common sense has prevailed1 and men as soon as they become seriously ill hasten away on the first steamer4 ,besides1 the proper use of quinine as a preventive is better understood as the result of the knowledge of the sources of malaria and its various stages4 ,the mosquito theory--that the ,anopheles mosquito is the carrying agent of the malaria parasite--is of course generally accepted4 ,the late ,dr4 ,koch advised that a liberal dose of quinine every eighth or ninth day ought to be an effective preventive with most persons4 ,major ,ronald ,ross1 head of the ,liverpool ,school of ,tropical ,medicine1 advised the destruction of the mosquito1 chiefly by drainage1 and the segregation of white people from the natives4 ,the natives have become at least partially immune2 but there are numerous malaria parasites in their blood constituting the source from which it is carried by the mosquito1 which after biting a native bites a white person2 and when the white man's blood is malarious a little exposure to the tropical sun1 a slight chill1 even a mental shock or undue strain1 anything that lowers the vitality1 is likely to precipitate the fever4 ,i myself1 after several years of frequent fever1 at last gained practical immunity by taking five grains of quinine every night1 which ,i did without omission for three years1 until ,i left the coast4 ,if my vitality had not been already reduced to the minimum ,i would not have required so much quinine4 ,many persons1 instead of taking quinine regularly1 wait until the fever actually comes and then take very large1 nerve-shattering doses for successive days1 from thirty to sixty or even ninety grains a day4 ,one may recover from the fever1 but one does not entirely recover from the quinine until he leaves the coast4 ,sometimes the newcomer is fairly frightened into a fever by those who have lived in ,africa long enough to have become obsessed with the thought of the climate and whose conversation it completely absorbs4 ,near the end of my voyage to ,africa ,i spent a night ashore at a certain mission1 where a good lady who was in a very sociable mood1 having shown me to my room1 stood in the doorway telling me of the various persons--not a few--who had died in that particular room1 and giving some graphic detail of each death4 ,it was gradually borne in upon me that there must be some horrible fatality attached to that room4 ,finally she advised me not to lock my door4 8,for10 said she1 8,mr4 ,p----1 who always locked his bedroom door1 was found dead in bed one morning in this very room1 although he went to bed looking as well as you do now4 ,about noon next day they broke the door open1 and sure enough there he was--lying right there60 ,i replied3 8,my dear lady1 won't you please knock on my door very early in the morning1 and if ,i do not answer1 open the door and walk in2 for ,i fully expect to be dead40 ,a certain ,american lady1 who was a missionary for some years in ,liberia1 tells how that when she landed1 expecting to proceed to a station some distance inland1 where she would join several other missionaries1 she was met with the news that the missionaries of that station 7four1 ,i believe7 had all died of fever a few days before she landed1 one immediately after another4 ,nevertheless1 the person who had the authority for her appointment escorted her to that desolate station and left her there alone4 ,a partition of boards in the house was nearly all gone2 it was only a few feet from the floor4 ,she asked the explanation of this appearance and was told that the boards had been used to make coffins4 ,having received this interesting1 though somewhat curious information1 she was left alone to find what comfort she could in the reflection that there was enough of the partition left for one more coffin4 ,she told me about it herself--many years afterwards4 ,,ii ,,the ,,wise ,,ones ,at ,gaboon1 in the ,french ,congo1 one sees all the successive stages in the process of civilization4 ,first1 there is the savage1 whose whole apparel is a little palm-oil and a bit of calico half the size of a pocket-handkerchief2 then there is the man who wears 8two fathoms0 of cloth wound about him gracefully and falling below his knees2 next1 there is the man who wears this same robe with a shirt2 then the man who discards the native robe and wears a shirt and trousers1 but with the shirt always outside the trousers2 and1 last of all1 the gentleman who wears his shirt inside his trousers4 ,these several classes are somewhat distinct4 ,one does not classify the man with a taste for simplicity who wears a rice-sack with holes for his head and arms2 nor the untutored dude who wears a pink ,mother ,hubbard or a lady's undergarment4 ,these freakish modes represent attempts to hasten the process of civilization and to pass prematurely from one of the above classes to another4 ,in general1 the distinction of culotte and sansculotte indicates the difference between the ,mpongwe--the old coast tribe--and the ,fang--the interior tribe1 who have only reached the coast in recent years4 ,the ,mpongwe is the most civilized of all the tribes south of the ,calabar ,river4 ,many of them1 besides wearing trousers1 live in deck-houses1 that is1 houses with wooden floors4 ,the first floor ever seen by the natives was the deck of an ,english ship2 hence the name deck-house4 ,it was also from contact with ,english sailors that the native learned to speak of a 8fathom0 of cloth4 ,the ,mpongwe are the proudest people of ,west ,africa4 ,an ,african woman is never allowed to marry into an inferior tribe2 although the men may do so4 ,and since the ,mpongwe have no social equals among the adjacent tribes1 it follows that no ,mpongwe woman can marry outside of her own tribe1 unless with a north-coast man or a white man4 ,the ,fang1 the great interior tribe1 are mere 8bush-animals0 in the mind of the ,mpongwe4 ,a ,fang man1 though he were perfectly civilized1 and even educated in ,france1 would not be allowed the social status of the meanest ,mpongwe4 ,the coast women can all speak ,fang2 for they trade with them and buy their daily food from them2 but they are ashamed to be heard speaking it4 ,often when ,i addressed them in ,fang they would shake their heads as if they had never heard the language before2 whereupon ,i nearly always asked them a question on some matter of interest to themselves2 the price of a parrot1 for instance1 if ,i knew that the lady was anxious to sell it4 ,such a question invariably made the dumb to speak4 ,the ,mpongwe call themselves ,the ,wise ,ones4 ,and other tribes generally admit their claim and take them at their own self-estimate4 ,in former days1 when they had real kings1 they buried their kings in secret1 not more than ten persons knowing the hidden grave1 lest some other tribe might steal the body1 for the sake of obtaining the brains1 which would be a very powerful fetish and would make them wise like the ,mpongwe4 ,the king was chosen from among the people by the elders and was selected for his wisdom4 ,the ceremonies of his enthronement were such that he required not only wisdom1 but also courage1 physical strength and a superb digestion4 ,the man's first intimation that he had been chosen by the elders was an onrush of the people--not to do him honour1 but to abuse and insult him4 ,they would hurl opprobrious epithets at him1 curse him1 spit upon him1 pelt him with mud and beat him4 ,for1 they said1 from this time he would do all these things to them1 while they would be powerless to retaliate4 ,this1 therefore1 was their last chance4 ,they also reminded him of all his failings in graphic and minute particulars4 ,if the king survived this treatment1 he was then taken to the former king's house1 where he was solemnly invested with the insignia of the kingly office1 in the shape of a silk hat4 ,no one but the king was permitted to wear a silk hat4 ,following the inauguration ceremony1 the people came and bowed before the new king in humble submission1 while they praised him as enthusiastically as they had before reviled him4 ,then he was fed and fted for a week1 during which time he was not allowed to leave his house1 but was required to receive guests from all parts of his dominion and eat with them all4 ,these ceremonies ended1 he turned to the comparatively easy and commonplace duties of his kingly office4 ,this custom1 like many others1 has passed away under the influence of civilization4 ,in former days the ,mpongwe were divided into three distinct classes4 ,there were1 first1 the slaves1 the largest class of all4 ,then there was a middle class1 of those who although free were of slave origin1 or had some slave blood in their veins--even a drop4 ,and then there was a very small aristocracy of pure ,mpongwe4 ,of these three classes the middle class probably had the hardest time4 ,they had freedom enough for initiative and trade enterprise and they often became rich4 ,but so sure as they did1 they were at once an object of envy and class hatred on the part of the aristocracy1 with the result that they were in constant danger of being accused of witchcraft and put to death1 their goods being confiscated for the benefit of the governing class--the aristocracy4 ,since slavery has been formally abolished by the ,french government the line between slaves and this middle class has almost disappeared--but not quite1 for slavery has not been entirely abolished4 ,but the 8aristocracy0 is as distinct as ever4 ,domestic slavery is rarely attended with the usual horrors of alien enslavement4 ,mpongwe slaves were serfs rather than slaves4 ,until the advent of the white slaver they were rarely sold or exchanged4 ,mpongwe slaves were sometimes taken for debt and sometimes stolen from other tribes4 ,several ,mpongwe men have told me that their slaves were children of the interior whom they had rescued when their parents had thrown them away1 either into the bush to perish by the beasts1 or into the river4 ,they must have been driven to this by some cruel superstition2 for the ,african loves his children1 and the mother of his children is his favourite wife4 ,perhaps the children were twins4 ,in many tribes there is such a fear of twins that they are often put to death and their mother with them4 ,in some of these tribes they are believed to be the result of adultery with a spirit4 ,many former slaves have chosen to maintain the old relationship--somewhat modified--rather than accept full freedom1 and be left without friends1 family or possessions2 a peculiar misfortune for those who have never had an opportunity to acquire a habit of independence4 ,at one time a man named ,ndinga was working for me4 ,he was a faithful workman1 except for one inexplicable fault4 ,occasionally he would stay away half a day or the entire day without asking to be excused1 or notifying me4 ,several times he did this when ,i was about to make a trip up the river1 and was depending upon him to make one of the crew4 ,at length ,i dismissed him and he departed without explanation or complaint4 ,but one of the other men came to me and told me ,ndinga's plight4 ,he was really the slave of an ,mpongwe chief1 right under the eyes of the government4 ,the master allowed him to work for himself1 but ,i imagine he took part of his wages4 ,he also exercised the right to call upon him at any time for personal services1 and each time that he had stayed away from his work he had been called by the master1 who ignored my claim upon ,ndinga and the consequent inconvenience to me1 though he claimed to be my personal friend4 ,ndinga was sufficiently civilized to feel the degradation of his position1 and the poor fellow submitted to rebuke and final dismissal rather than tell me he was a slave4 ,i learned also that he had lost several other positions in the same way and had usually been dismissed with cursing and abuse4 ,i sent for him immediately1 and without explanation told him that ,i had changed my mind and that he could return to work4 ,meantime1 ,i called the master1 and reminding him that slavery was strictly forbidden1 ,i told him that if he should again call ,ndinga away from work ,i would notify the government4 ,there was no further trouble4 ,this man1 ,ndinga1 was in pitiable need of a friend4 ,it is extremely easy for a slave to get a bad reputation1 and ,ndinga was said to be a 8leopard-man10 that is1 a man who changes himself into a leopard--either in order to kill an enemy or devour a sheep4 ,i have heard ,ndinga accused of this frequently2 and there were many who regarded him with great fear4 ,every hysterical woman who thought that she saw a leopard was ready to swear that it was ,ndinga4 ,if the leopards had been active in the community at that time all their doings would have been charged against him4 ,the ,mpongwe women are regarded as the best-looking and most graceful women on the entire coast4 ,wherever there are communities of white men1 even hundreds of miles north and south of ,gaboon1 there are ,mpongwe women2 for it is with them more than the women of any other tribe that white men form temporary alliances4 ,the ,gaboon belle has a brown complexion and faultless skin1 fine features and dreamy dark eyes with long lashes4 ,she moves so easily that she carries her folded parasol1 or bottle of gin1 or other indispensable1 on her head4 ,she dresses her hair neatly and with great pains2 usually parting it in the middle and arranging it in numerous small braids which she fastens behind4 ,her dress is a large square robe of bright colours1 often of fine material1 wound around her1 immediately below her arms1 reaching to her feet and kept in place by a roll around the top of it--a peculiar twist of leger de main which only a black hand can perform4 ,somewhere in this roll her pipe is usually hidden away4 ,this dress leaves her graceful shoulders and arms uncovered4 ,she wears slippers with white stockings1 and upon her head a very large silk handkerchief of bright colour1 beautifully arranged in a turban4 ,add to this a lace or silk scarf thrown over one shoulder1 not forgetting her silk parasol carried unopened on her head2 then add a lot of jewelry and plenty of perfume1 and her attire is complete4 ,moreover1 she has a soft voice1 and does not yell except when she quarrels1 and she seldom quarrels when she is dressed in her best4 ,most of the ,christian women wear an unbelted wrapper1 or ,mother ,hubbard4 ,the ,mpongwe people are peculiarly gentle1 and courteous in their manners2 and in this respect the men even surpass the women4 ,travelling in a boat with an ,mpongwe crew1 one is always surprised at their courtesy and thoughtful consideration4 ,courtesy1 indeed1 which some one calls 8benevolence in little things10 is a racial characteristic4 ,i was once obliged to make a very hard journey from ,batanga to ,benito1 a hundred miles down the coast4 ,for this purpose ,i purchased a bicycle in a ,german trading-house at ,dualla1 the capital of ,kamerun4 ,the bicycle weighed fifty pounds1 and cost me a dollar a pound4 ,i did not realize what ,i was undertaking4 ,the sea-breeze was against me2 portions of the beach were of soft sand and parts of it were so rough and rocky that ,i had to climb steep banks and stretches of rock1 carrying the fifty-pound wheel on my shoulders4 ,i had been long in ,africa and my strength was greatly reduced4 ,several times1 almost overcome with exhaustion1 ,i threw myself down upon the beach and lay there for half an hour before ,i could go on4 ,there were various misadventures along the way and a sensational escape from quicksand4 ,it was an opportunity1 however1 to test the kindness of the native4 ,i took no food1 but depended upon the hospitality of those to whom ,i was a stranger2 although if hospitality had failed1 ,i could have paid for food2 but not once did it fail along the way4 ,wherever there was a stream to be waded1 if a native was anywhere in sight1 either on the beach1 or fishing out on the sea1 in his canoe1 ,i called or beckoned to him1 and he came and carried me over--for a white man must not get wet when he is exposed to the wind2 then he went back and got my wheel4 ,in one place the water was to the man's shoulders1 and there was a current1 but he held me in a horizontal position above his head1 and exerting his whole strength1 with firm1 slow step he proceeded1 and set me down dry on the other side4 ,then he cheerfully turned about and went after my wheel4 ,in another place heavy crags projected into the sea and at high tide there was no beach for a quarter of a mile1 so that ,i was compelled to carry the wheel4 ,at this place1 ,i met a native carrying a load who was evidently returning from a journey to the interior2 and upon my request for help1 he at once hid his load by the way and taking my wheel carried it over the rocks1 nearly all this distance1 to the better beach beyond4 ,in every case ,i told the man beforehand that ,i did not expect to pay him for his service except in friendship1 and friendship sufficed4 ,nor did ,i pay anything for my food2 and not once on the entire journey had ,i the least difficulty in procuring it4 ,some of these people were of other tribes2 but in courtesy the ,mpongwe surpass them all4 ,they generally live at peace within the family and the village4 ,the men1 at least1 rarely fight4 ,whenever ,i heard that an ,mpongwe fight was in progress1 ,i rushed to the scene2 but ,i must confess to mixed motives4 ,for a fight among ,mpongwe men is decidedly picturesque and entertaining1 since they fight by butting each other in the stomach with their heads4 ,the women are much more quarrelsome1 and these very belles1 whose beauty ,i have praised1 have frequent quarrels and occasional fights1 the latter usually involving a number of women2 for though the quarrel commences with two women1 when it gets to a real fight the family and relations of each woman take part in it4 ,from this moment it proceeds somewhat formally4 ,they line up on two sides1 and with a lively accompaniment of appropriate language1 they rush upon each other1 not usually striking1 nor scratching1 but each woman seeking to tear off her opponent's robe4 ,i witnessed such a fight in which eighteen women engaged4 ,a woman1 when her robe is taken off1 admits defeat4 ,for this reason1 instead of preparing for a fight by donning her oldest clothes1 she prepares by putting on her newest and strongest1 which she doubles and ties about her waist1 letting it fall to her knees1 but she wears no upper garment4 ,there is a strange war-custom in all the tribes of ,west ,africa unlike anything ,i have ever heard of elsewhere4 ,sometimes when one of their number is killed1 or a woman stolen by an enemy1 instead of avenging his death directly they will kill some one of a third town which has nothing whatever to do with the palaver4 ,this third town is then expected to join with them in punishing the first town1 which1 being the original offender1 was the cause of all the trouble4 ,in ,the ,jungle ,folk of ,africa ,i have described this custom thus3 8,among the ,mpongwe1 in the old days before the foreign power was established1 and among the closely related tribes south of them1 this custom prevailed in an extreme form4 ,a woman being stolen1 the people of the offended town would hurry to another town near by1 before the news had reached them1 and would kill somebody4 ,this town would then hurry to the next and kill somebody there1 each town doing likewise until perhaps five or six persons of as many different towns would be killed in one night4 ,the last town would then1 with the help of the others1 demand justice from the first4 ,it may be that the object of this frightful custom was to restrain men from committing the initial crime1 that might be attended with such wide-spread death1 bringing upon themselves the curses of many people4 ,for above all things the ,african cannot bear to be disliked and cannot endure execration40 ,the ,mpongwe now have no war-customs4 ,and ,i am not sure that peace has proved an unmixed blessing4 ,they have lost something of courage and virility4 ,despite the veneer of civilization1 ,i fear that this amiable and graceful people--excepting only the few ,christians--are as superstitious as ever4 ,nature is still inhabited by myriad spirits to whose activity natural phenomena are due4 ,they still speak of the great spirit who causes the flow and ebb of the tide by dropping an enormous stone into the sea and again removing it4 ,trial by ordeal is common even among the most intelligent4 ,and not a death occurs among them that is not attributed to witchcraft4 ,a man dying in the hospital at ,gaboon turns his solemn1 beautiful eyes towards one who sits beside him1 and tells in confidence what has brought about his death4 ,it is strange how approaching death1 as if to testify to man's divine origin in the hour of his most appalling defeat1 dignifies the features and countenance of the lowest with a mysterious dignity that transcends all differences of colour1 transforms even natural ugliness1 and brings all men to one level4 ,the greatest is no more than human2 the lowest is no less4 ,this dying man tells how that some weeks past1 having gone on a journey to a certain town forty miles north1 and during the night having wondered what his friends at home might be doing1 he thought he would visit ,gaboon1 leaving his body while his spirit alone travelled through the air4 ,but on the way he met a company of spirits making a similar journey1 one of whom was an enemy2 who1 recognizing him1 gave him a fatal thrust in the side4 ,he quickly returned to his body2 but in the morning he felt the weakness resulting from the fatal stroke1 and from that day had grown weaker and weaker until death was upon him4 ,i was present at the trial of a slave1 in a leading ,mpongwe town1 who was accused of causing the death of one of the relations of the chief1 a man who had been ill for a long time with tuberculosis4 ,i had been calling on the sick man regularly4 ,one day1 going again to the town1 ,i saw a crowd of people gathered in the street who were very much excited4 ,the man had just died1 and as usual the panic-stricken people were determined to blame somebody4 ,the chief who was trying the case was a well-educated man who had been closely associated with white people all his life and was prominent in trade4 ,arbitrary suspicion had about settled upon this slave--for slaves are always the first to be suspected--when a boy came forward and said that on the preceding night he had discovered the slave standing behind the sick man's house and that he had watched him while he opened a bundle of leaves which he had in his hand and in which was a piece of human flesh like a fish in size and form4 ,no more evidence was necessary4 ,no one asked the boy how he knew that it was not a fish which he had seen2 nor how he knew that it was human4 ,they would have killed the man instantly but for their fear of the ,french government2 for the town was close beside the capital4 ,when ,i tried to reason with them1 they answered me with the all-sufficient exclamation3 8,ask the boy6 ,ask him yourself60 ,those who took the leading part in this trial were dressed like ,europeans4 ,sickness and death1 they believe1 may be caused by fetish medicine1 which need not be administered to the victim1 but is usually laid beside the path where he is about to pass4 ,others may pass and it will do them no harm4 ,the parings of finger-nails1 the hair of the victim and such things are powerful ingredients in these 8medicines40 ,an ,mpongwe1 after having his hair cut1 gathers up every hair most carefully and burns it lest an enemy should secure it and use it to his injury4 ,when sickness continues for a length of time they usually conclude that some offended relation has caused an evil spirit to abide in the town4 ,an ,mpongwe man1 ,ayenwe1 had a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism4 ,i was going to see him regularly and doing what little ,i could for him4 ,but his mother's people1 who lived in a town four miles away1 concluded that it was a spell of witchcraft1 inflicted by his father's people4 ,so they came one stormy night at midnight and stealing him out of his house1 put him in a canoe and carried him on the rough sea to their town4 ,the patient can always be prevailed upon by his relations1 if there are enough of them to wear out his resistance4 ,however strongly he may object at first he will finally throw up his hands and say3 8,kill me if you will then4 ,the responsibility is yours2 ,i have nothing more to do with it40 ,a man's very soul is not his own in ,africa4 ,an ,mpongwe woman1 ,paia1 was suffering greatly from salivation1 through the injudicious use of calomel4 ,she was a ,christian woman and a member in the ,mpongwe ,church1 although her relations were all heathen4 ,she was in agony and a fellow missionary and myself had already reached the point where we could do nothing more for her4 ,the numerous heathen relations were all present4 ,they sat on the floor smoking and expectorating in gloomy silence1 with the windows closed1 and filled the house so that ,i could hardly pass in and out4 ,i tried my best to get them to take ,paia to the ,french hospital1 but they were horrified at the bare suggestion4 ,the tales in free circulation concerning the hospital--poisons administered by the doctor1 mutilation1 and death by slow torture--would fill a volume4 ,several days passed3 ,paia was worse4 ,they concluded that the house was bewitched--and perhaps the whole town--and resolved to carry her away to another town1 across the river4 ,in such cases it is advisable to put a body of water between the victim and the bewitched town4 ,paia told me that she was more than willing to go to the hospital if they would let her2 but she said they would never consent4 ,next morning about daylight ,i suddenly appeared before her door with four strong men and a hammock swung on a pole4 ,before her relations knew what had happened one of the men had carried her out to the hammock1 and we started to the hospital4 ,the ,french doctor1 one of the very best on the coast1 at my request gave her special attention1 and in a few days she was well4 ,illustration3 ,,women',s ,,secret ,,society ,,of ,,gaboon4 ,the lowest reach of ,mpongwe degradation is represented by the woman's secret society1 to which a majority of the ,mpongwe women belong--practically all1 except the ,christians1 who regard it with abhorrence4 ,i know of nothing in any interior tribe more degrading and immoral4 ,in former times of cruelty and oppression the society probably served for the protection of women against their husbands2 but in these times it is the husbands who need protection1 and the society1 having outlived its usefulness1 has degenerated4 ,the women of the society frequently meet together at night1 usually in an arbour of palms1 and sing unspeakably lewd songs--phallic songs--which are heard all over the village4 ,there is always a crowd of young men gathered around the arbour2 and the badinage which passes between them and the women is shocking4 ,and yet these same persons1 on all other occasions in their daily intercourse1 observe a degree of decorum which would astonish those who think that there is scarcely any such thing as decorum in ,africa4 ,,iii ,a ,,dying ,,tribe ,this amiable and attractive people1 the ,mpongwe tribe1 is now but a dying remnant1 hurrying to extinction4 ,it is not long since they were numbered by tens of thousands2 now there are probably not more than five hundred pure ,mpongwe4 ,there are women among them for whom marriage is impossible4 ,for1 as ,i have already said1 their social superiority makes it impossible for them to marry into other tribes2 but1 within their own tribe1 many ,mpongwe women are related1 nearly or remotely1 to every surviving family1 and the very strict laws of consanguinity forbid the marriage of related persons4 ,it is expected1 therefore1 that these women will make their alliances with white men2 that is1 that they will not marry at all4 ,the first exterminating factor was slavery4 ,sir ,harry ,johnston1 in ,the ,civilization of ,africa1 has this to say in regard to the fatal adaptability of the ,negro to a condition of slavery3 8,the ,negro in general is a born slave4 ,he is possessed of physical strength1 docility1 cheerfulness of disposition1 a short memory for sorrows and cruelties1 and an easily aroused gratitude for kindness and just dealing4 ,he does not suffer from homesickness to the overbearing extent that afflicts other peoples torn from their homes1 and1 provided he is well fed1 he is easily made happy4 ,above all1 he can toil hard under the hot sun and in the unhealthy climates of the torrid zone4 ,he has little or no race-fellowships--that is to say1 he has no sympathy for other ,negroes2 he recognizes and follows his master independent of any race affinities1 and as he is usually a strong man and a good fighter1 he has come into request not only as a labourer but as a soldier40 ,sir ,harry1 speaking as an eye-witness of the capturing and the exportation of slaves1 gives a lurid description of their sufferings1 which1 he says1 8were so appalling that they almost transcend belief40 ,he makes a conservative estimate that in the modern period of the slave-traffic twenty million ,africans must have been sold into slavery4 ,the ,mpongwe was one of the tribes that suffered most4 ,a large portion of their country was depopulated4 ,the slave-traffic was frightfully demoralizing to the ,africans themselves4 ,it excited fiendish passions1 stifled every instinct of humanity and inspired craft and cruelty far surpassing anything hitherto known4 ,it was said that three men of the same family dared not leave their town together lest two of them should combine to sell the third4 ,more than half a century has passed since the last slave ship sailed out of ,gaboon harbour and disappeared over the western horizon with its cargo of grief and rage1 many of them wailing vengeance in a mournful chant1 improvising the words as they sang4 ,for the ,african sings his bitterest grief as well as his joy4 ,he sings where the white man would weep1 or curse2 but to the accustomed ear no cry could equal the pity of his song4 ,it was in this region that ,du ,chaillu hunted the gorilla and gathered much of the material for his famous books4 ,an interior chief1 in appreciation of ,du ,chaillu's visit to his town1 once presented him with a fat slave2 and when ,du ,chaillu kindly declined the offer1 protesting that he would not know what to do with him1 the chief exclaimed in astonishment3 8,you must kill him and eat him1 of course40 ,du ,chaillu spat violently upon the ground--the ,african way of expressing disgust and abhorrence4 8,then10 said the bewildered chief1 8what do you do with all our people who are sent down the river and far away to your country8 ,we have believed that you fatten them and eat them40 ,it is supposed that our present mission station was formerly the site of a slave pen1 where slaves were kept until they were shipped--a barracoon2 hence the name ,baraka4 ,the slave-traffic was succeeded by the rum-traffic2 and it would not be easy to say which of the two has proved the greater evil for ,africa4 ,there is more drunkenness in ,gaboon1 among the ,mpongwe1 than in most places on the coast4 ,except among the few ,christians1 an abundance of rum is used at every marriage and every funeral and both men and women drink to drunkenness4 ,the women drink as much as the men1 and there are a greater number of hopeless dipsomaniacs among them4 ,one day1 as ,i was walking along the beach1 ,i met a bright-looking ,mpongwe woman who surprised me by addressing me in ,english4 ,i was eager to know who she was4 ,she said her name was ,elida ,harrington1 and that when she was very young the wife of one of our missionaries1 for whom she had been working1 took her to ,america when she went on furlough and that during the period of the furlough she had attended school in ,america4 ,those early days were evidently a sweet memory1 and ,elida's face was aglow with pleasure as she told me4 ,finally ,i asked her why ,i had never seen her at the mission4 ,the glow faded from her face1 and after a moment of gloomy silence she replied3 8,you'll know soon enough40 ,i afterwards learned that ,elida1 when she was young1 was married to a man who was given to nagging4 ,he was continually making petty and groundless charges of infidelity against his wife4 ,there is no surer way to inspire the dislike of the ,african4 ,they are wonderfully generous in forgiving impulsive cruelty1 but continual nagging will alienate them4 ,at last1 just to spite her husband1 ,elida told him that all his charges were true2 that she had done all those things1 and much worse--such things as he had never thought of charging against her4 ,her husband1 when he recovered from a paroxysm of rage and astonishment1 told her to pack her things and leave his house2 to which she quietly replied that she would be glad to do so1 since she had already decided upon that very course4 ,soon after my first meeting with ,elida ,i called at her house4 ,it was then that ,i learned why she kept away from the mission4 ,she was so intoxicated that she could not get to the door4 ,and this was habitual4 ,one day ,elida went to see her sister ,jane1 who was sick in bed4 ,jane wanted some bread and gave her the price of a loaf and asked her to go out and buy it for her4 ,poor ,jane never got the bread4 ,and poor ,elida6 ,she went only as far as the first rum-shop4 ,i think of another1 a young man who bore an honoured name1 ,augustus ,boardman1 and who from his childhood was closely connected with the mission4 ,he spoke ,english not like an ,african but as if it were his native tongue4 ,i never knew a native who understood the finer feelings of white people as ,augustus did4 ,i never knew a native who had in himself so much of what we call sentiment4 ,on one occasion he went with me to ,angom where ,mr4 ,marling was buried4 ,mr4 ,marling1 who had been dead for five years1 was the missionary whom ,augustus had known best and loved most4 ,in the evening1 just before leaving for the coast1 ,i happened to pass ,mr4 ,marling's grave1 and there ,i saw a beautiful wreath of flowers carefully woven1 which ,augustus had laid upon the grave4 ,the ,african is strangely indifferent to flowers1 and ,i have never known another who would have done what ,augustus did4 ,on another occasion ,i received a letter from him when he was up the ,ogow ,river4 ,he wrote that while visiting at our old mission on the ,ogow he had come across an ,english song-book1 in which he had found a song1 the words of which were the most beautiful he had ever read in his life2 so beautiful that he had committed them to memory2 and he was wondering whether it was well known and commonly sung among ,english-speaking people4 ,he copied the words of the entire song and enclosed them in the letter4 ,the song was ,the ,lost ,chord4 ,the anguish of the lost chord in his own life was the secret of the deep impression that the song made upon him4 ,in ,america a child can be kept out of the way of the worst temptations until he has reached years of discretion1 but such separation is impossible in ,africa4 ,this boy1 when he was a little child1 was taught to drink rum2 his mother died a hopeless victim of it2 and by the time he was a young man the appetite for it was insatiable and complete master of him4 ,the finer feelings which characterized him seemed to make him all the more the victim of this inordinate desire4 ,he fought it as he might have fought a python of his native jungles1 but in vain4 ,on one occasion1 in the presence of ,mr4 ,marling1 he pledged himself with the solemnity of an oath never to taste it again4 ,a few days afterwards he was walking down the street of an interior town when most unexpectedly he met a boy with a bottle of rum4 ,he sprang at the boy1 snatched the bottle from him and drank the contents4 ,other efforts ended similarly4 ,he afterwards made such promises to me1 weeping and fairly prostrated with shame and humiliation2 yet he soon fell again4 ,he became at length quite hopeless1 and it was necessary to dismiss him from all service in the mission4 ,he got several good positions1 but lost them immediately4 ,when ,i last saw him he was a moral wreck and almost an outcast even in ,africa1 where there are no outcasts4 ,augustus has since died2 one more victim of poisoned rum4 ,he is full of compassion and plenteous in mercy4 ,and1 knowing ,augustus as ,i knew him1 ,i dare to hope that he has again at last heard the long-lost chord1 and the sound of the great ,amen4 ,the native is constitutionally incapable of being a moderate drinker4 ,and1 besides1 drunkenness is not disgraceful2 they have not the spirit that revolts from it4 ,i have personally seen little children intoxicated4 ,i have seen them intoxicated in the schoolroom4 ,i have known of parents getting their own children to drink to intoxication for their amusement4 ,it is doubtful whether there is another tribe in all ,west ,africa so besotted with alcoholism as the ,mpongwe4 ,physicians agree that it is one of the chief causes of their increasing sterility4 ,another factor in the extermination of the ,mpongwe is the demoralization of domestic life incident to methods of trade4 ,the ,mpongwe man is a trader by instinct4 ,in shrewdness and diplomacy ,i doubt whether he has a superior among all the tribes of ,west ,africa4 ,this shrewdness he expresses in many homely proverbs2 as1 for example1 when he says3 8,if you must sleep three in a bed1 sleep in the middle40 ,white traders all along the coast employ the ,mpongwe as middlemen between them and the interior people1 who possess the export products4 ,the white man gives the middleman a certain quantity of goods on trust4 ,with these he goes to the interior and establishes a small trading-post in one or several towns4 ,it is a life of privation and danger1 a lonely1 miserable existence1 but he endures it with patience for the joyful hope that at the end of a year or two he may return to his beloved town and family in ,gaboon1 so rich that he can afford to 8rip0 for six months2 to dress so that the women will adore him and the men hate him4 ,his goods being soon exhausted by his numerous relations as well as himself1 he starts off for another year or two4 ,he has a wife1 or wives1 at ,gaboon1 and he takes to himself a wife or two at each of his interior trading-centres4 ,in the dangers of these middlemen and the necessities of trade ,miss ,mary ,h4 ,kingsley finds a plausible argument for polygamy1 amounting1 in ,miss ,kingsley's opinion1 to a full justification4 ,indeed1 for various reasons1 the majority of traders defend and advocate native polygamy4 ,the journeys of these native traders to the interior are dangerous1 and ,i agree with ,miss ,kingsley that they deserve credit for their courage4 8,certainly they run less risk of death from fever than a white man would2 but1 on the other hand1 their colour gives them no protection2 and their chance of getting murdered is distinctly greater2 the white governmental powers cannot revenge their death in the way they would the death of a white man1 for these murders usually take place away in some forest region1 in a district no white man has ever penetrated40 ,there are two reasons why so many of them nevertheless survive4 ,the first is that trade follows definite routes and the trader is expected about once in six months by all the towns along the way1 in which the people are eager for trade-goods1 the men 8fairly wild for tobacco0 and the women impatient for beads and other ornaments4 ,under these circumstances1 for the people of any one town to kill the trader would mean trouble between that town and the other towns along the route4 ,but this consideration alone is not sufficient2 and ,miss ,kingsley gives us the means that he employs for his further safety1 as follows3 8,but the trader is not yet safe4 ,there is still a hole in his armour1 and this is only to be stopped up in one way1 namely1 by wives2 for you see1 although the village cannot safely kill him and take all his goods1 they can still let him die safely of a disease1 and take part of them1 passing on sufficient stuff to the other villages to keep them quiet4 ,now the most prevalent disease in the ,african bush comes out of the cooking-pot1 and so to make what goes into the cooking-pot--which is the important point1 for earthen pots do not in themselves breed poison--safe and wholesome1 you have got to have some one who is devoted to your health to attend to the cooking affairs2 and who can do this like a wife8--one in each village of the whole of your route4 ,i know myself one gentleman whose wives stretch over #cjj miles of country1 with a good wife base in a coast town as well4 ,this system of judiciously conducted alliances gives the black trader a security nothing else can1 because naturally he marries into influential families at each village1 and all the wife's relations on the mother's side regard him as one of themselves and look after him and his interests4 ,that security can lie in woman1 especially so many women1 the so-called civilized man may ironically doubt1 but the security is there1 and there only1 and on a sound basis2 for remember that the position of a travelling trader's wife in a village is a position that gives the lady prestige1 the discreet husband showing little favours to her family and friends1 if she asks for them while he is with her2 and then she has not got the bother of having a man always about the house1 and liable to get all sorts of silly notions into his head1 if she speaks to another gentleman1 and then go and impart these notions to her with a cutlass1 or a kassengo1 as the more domestic husband1 ,i am assured by black ladies1 is prone to40#a ,footnote #a3 ,travels in ,west ,africa1 p4 #beb4 ,this picture is not untrue to the facts4 ,and yet some of us who have old-fashioned ideas of morality are not convinced that polygamy is thereby justified with its beastly immorality on the part of those men and of all those women who prefer not to have husbands hanging about the house with silly notions--that is to say1 moral notions--about the behaviour of women4 ,and however heartrending may be the condition of those interior men and women1 without tobacco and without beads1 we cannot agree that their necessity justifies any such degrading practice for its relief4 ,as for the slight excess of rubber and ivory that civilized folks obtain by this means1 it may soothe the civilized breast to know that all1 or nearly all1 this trade produce would reach the coast in other and more legitimate ways without these middlemen1 whose presence is a curse to the interior people1 whose absence is a curse to their own tribe1 and who are above all a curse to themselves4 ,this demoralization of domestic life is even worse for the ,mpongwe women than for their absent husbands4 ,there is a large settlement of white men in ,gaboon1 most of them government officials4 ,and because of the climate the white population is always rapidly changing4 ,nearly all the ,mpongwe women become the mistresses of those men4 ,and the worst of it is that instead of being deemed disgraceful this only gives them social prestige among their own people4 ,a woman said to me one day3 8,iga is so proud she won't speak to me any more40 8,why80 ,i asked4 8,oh1 she is living with a white man now10 was the reply4 ,the marriage tie in ,gaboon has long ceased to be a 8tie40 ,it was much more binding before the advent of the white man1 and it is more binding to-day among the uncivilized ,fang4 ,the dreadful diseases that have been imported into ,africa are certainly a factor in the extermination of the ,mpongwe4 ,but the subject is too unpleasant to discuss at length in this place4 ,again1 the disregard of native institutions and the destruction of tribal authority by the foreign government tends to break down all authority and remove all moral restraints4 ,this is more or less true in all ,west ,africa4 ,the native form of government among the ,mpongwe is somewhat patriarchal2 authority belongs to the head of the family1 the head of the clan and the head of the tribe4 ,the native reverence for the authority of these men is the saving virtue that sustains the tribe4 ,but the chief's authority and this reverence are destroyed together when the people see him tied up occasionally and flogged2 or ruthlessly flung into prison2 or his authority superseded by that of a native policeman4 ,the kingly office goes begging for an occupant when men find that the grandeur of royalty consists in being held more or less responsible for all the misdoings of all the tribe1 while1 perhaps1 some black mistress of a government official has more real power than the native king4 ,the authority of custom1 in former times1 even exceeded the authority of kings4 ,but the foreigner ignores native customs1 or ridicules them1 or even condemns and forbids them--often without understanding them4 ,the tribal customs of ,africa1 from the most trivial to the most revolting1 are not arbitrary1 but have a moral meaning and significance2 though they sometimes outlive their usefulness4 ,they either embody such rude justice as the ,african has attained2 or else they represent the operation of the law of self-preservation4 ,one can give a rational explanation even of the most cruel and revolting custom that ,i have ever known in ,africa1 namely1 the custom of burying a man's wives alive with him when he dies4 ,africa abounds with deadly poisons1 and ,african wives frequently contract an unpleasant habit of using them in the cooking-pot4 ,how common the practice is may be judged by the ,african proverb3 8,we don't eat out of the same dish10 used for instance as follows3 8,so-and-so is angry but what do ,i care8 ,we don't eat out of the same dish40 ,the wife prepares her husband's food and has the daily opportunity of using this deadly weapon4 ,but this burial custom--the fact that when he dies she will be buried with him--gives her a personal interest in keeping him alive4 ,it is scarcely necessary to say that ,i think that this custom ought to be suppressed and its observance severely punished4 ,but meantime something ought to be done to improve the morals of the ,african wife4 ,the dowry paid for a wife among the ,mpongwe is forty dollars4 ,among the uncivilized ,fang it is several times this amount1 although the ,fang are very poor in comparison4 ,the ,mpongwe dowry was reduced by the ,french government as a step in the direction of its abolishment2 for it is nothing more than a purchase price4 ,but the result of this forced reduction of the dowry has been demoralization rather than civilization4 ,the custom among all tribes is that if a wife desert her husband her family must pay back the dowry or send back the wife4 ,it is not easy to send back a large dowry1 and the people1 being unable or unwilling to do it1 will send the woman back unless she has a very strong case against her husband4 ,but forty dollars can easily be raised1 especially if there should be several white men to help4 ,so there is nothing to prevent the ,mpongwe woman from leaving her husband when she pleases2 and it pleases her to change him frequently4 ,until the ,african attains the moral sentiment that makes the marriage bond sacred it is better that there should be the bond of outright purchase and ownership rather than no marriage at all4 ,it is so with the whole body of custom4 ,it expresses the inward life of the people4 ,it contains such rudimentary morality as they know1 or embodies a principle that is necessary for the preservation of society4 ,it is on the level of the ,african's moral culture4 ,it corresponds with his beliefs and has the consent of his mind4 ,the foreigner may by sheer force change his outward condition1 but unless there be also a corresponding inward change he does not respond to the new obligations2 his moral responsibility is not equal to the new demands1 and the result is moral degeneration followed inevitably by physical degeneration4 ,this very matter of the dowry illustrates the different method of the missionary and1 ,i believe1 the true principle of progress4 ,our early missionaries made no church laws against the dowry1 but they faithfully preached the equality of woman and the higher idea of marriage2 and as the ,christians became imbued with this sentiment they themselves abolished the dowry within their own society4 ,but they did it at the instance of a moral sentiment which made marriage more secure than ever4 ,the inward preceded the outward change4 ,the missionary does as much harm as anybody else when he adopts the easy method of ruthless and indiscriminate assaults upon native customs and beliefs4 ,it was not the ,master's method4 ,even slavery ,jesus did not attack with violence2 that were as vain--if ,i may use the illustration of ,dr4 ,richard ,storrs--as vain as to attack an ,arctic ice-field with pick and drill2 but ,he turned upon it the summer sunshine and it slowly melted away4 ,he inspired men with a sentiment of human brotherhood and destroyed slavery by expelling the spirit that made it possible4 ,the ,african has a rooted antipathy to the pick and drill1 but he loves the sunshine2 he is responsive to truth and capable of high and transforming affections4 ,it is said on the coast that ,england rules her ,african colonies for commerce1 ,france for revenue and ,spain for plunder4 ,the ,english policy gives the utmost encouragement to native enterprise and thrift1 and on the whole the ,english colonies are the most prosperous and promising4 ,the ,french policy of revenue imposes such a burden of taxation that life no longer consists in eating and drinking and talking palavers1 but in paying taxes4 ,and the enormous import and export duty stifles enterprise and in the end defeats its own purpose4 ,but it must be said that the ,french officials1 of all classes1 in their personal intercourse with the natives1 are free and friendly1 and in consequence are much better liked than the ,english officials1 who1 though usually just1 are often arrogant1 and1 while they care for the welfare of the native1 care nothing for his feelings4 ,one recalls that in the early days of ,america the ,french got on with the ,indians much better than the ,english4 ,the ,german policy cannot be described in one word4 ,their policy is commercial2 but they love government for its own sake and they govern far too much4 ,there is an element of militarism in their rule that is entirely too rigorous for the ,african1 and must ultimately destroy him unless it becomes modified through knowledge and experience4 ,it is certain that ,germany has not yet solved the problems of colonial government in ,africa4 ,some years have passed since ,i lived in ,kamerun and it may be that conditions have improved--though ,i doubt it2 but it used to be that the first visible institution of government in a new district was the whipping-post4 ,whatever ,germany does she does with all her might1 and the activity of this institution made the proximity of a government station an undesirable neighbourhood if one chanced to have a human heart4 ,the outpost of civilization in ,africa is frequently a whipping-post4 ,illustration3 ,,trading-,,house ,,at ,,gaboon4 ,the beach strewn with logs of mahogany in preparation for shipment4 ,the fatal defect1 both of trade and government1 as independent civilizing agencies1 is that they have forcibly altered the outward conditions of the native without changing the inward man4 ,the ,african is somewhat in the position of the poor ,indian in our own country a few generations ago4 ,he was a hunter in a land stripped of game1 a warrior deprived of arms and obliged henceforth to seek his rights by legal technicalities--while he was still the very same old ,indian1 inwardly not a whit better1 and by no means equal to the demands and moral obligations which the new conditions imposed upon him4 ,one may clip the claws of the tiger and even pull his teeth1 but he is still a tiger2 and a ,french uniform on an ,african cannibal does not make him a vegetarian4 ,,iv ,a ,,living ,,remnant ,the diminishing number of the ,mpongwe1 the hostility of the climate1 the insistence by the government that ,french must be the language of the schools1 the great difficulty of procuring a corps of ,french-speaking missionaries1 the curse of rum1 the presence of a large community of white men and the natural irresponsibility of the white man in ,africa--all these have combined to limit the work of our mission among the ,mpongwe and to make it exceedingly difficult4 ,and besides1 there is1 especially1 the strong opposition of the ,french ,jesuits who have a large mission in ,gaboon and any number of missionaries that the work may demand4 ,their hostility makes coperation impossible4 ,their methods1 of course1 are ,jesuitical4 ,we have the authority of certain historians for the statement that in the early days of missions among the ,american ,indians the ,jesuit ,fathers taught the ,iroquois of ,canada that ,jesus was a big ,indian ,chief who scalped women and children4 ,if that was ever true--and ,i doubt it--their object of course was to gain first the outward adherence of the ,indian1 submission to their authority1 with the intention of afterwards instructing him in the full content of ,christianity1 as they understood it4 ,the ,french ,jesuits1 perhaps with the same good intention1 have baptized nearly all the polygamy1 drunkenness1 immorality and fetishism of ,gaboon1 and they call it ,christianity4 ,but ,i believe it is more inaccessible to moral and spiritual influence than it was before4 ,one day shortly after the news of the death of ,pope ,leo ,,xiii reached ,gaboon1 and before ,i had heard of it1 ,i was passing along the beach when ,i heard in a small village the ululu of women who were wailing for the dead4 ,their mourning has usually a local occasion1 and ,i had no doubt but that somebody was dead in their own village2 so ,i hurried over4 ,the mourning ceased abruptly at my approach--a triumph of curiosity over grief4 ,when ,i asked who was dead1 the leader answered3 8,the ,pope60 ,she followed the answer with a prolonged howl in which they all joined1 and the tearless mourning proceeded4 ,that is how ,i learned of the death of ,leo ,,xiii4 ,the ,protestant ,christians of ,gaboon are a very small community2 but they are the best ,christians1 and the dearest people1 ,i have known in ,africa4 ,they alone1 of the ,mpongwe1 have good-sized families of healthy children4 ,they are the living remnant of a dying tribe4 ,when ,i moved to ,baraka the ,mpongwe work1 the oldest in the mission1 was in charge of a fellow missionary1 ,mr4 ,boppell1 and ,i had not expected to take any part in it4 ,but before the first year had passed1 ,mr4 ,boppell's health compelled him to leave ,africa1 his wife having died at the beginning of the year4 ,from that time ,i had charge of the ,gaboon ,church1 besides the work among the ,fang4 ,in particular ,i undertook the training of an ,mpongwe candidate for the ministry1 who since ,mr4 ,boppell's departure was occupying the pulpit and preaching very acceptably4 ,this man1 ,iguwi1 ,i instructed four hours each week2 but after most of the year had passed1 ,i felt that ,i could perhaps spend the time to better advantage4 ,iguwi was the best educated and the most eccentric man of the entire ,mpongwe tribe4 ,he was a monk by nature4 ,the ,african is distinctly a marrying man4 ,he is usually very much married4 ,but ,iguwi at the age of forty-five was still single and was therefore a mystery to the natives4 ,he and myself were the only two single men in the entire region of ,gaboon4 ,my own case seemed strange enough to the natives4 ,they never lost an opportunity of asking me for an explanation4 8,mr4 ,milligan10 says a wistful and sympathetic inquirer1 8you nebber get wife80 8,no1 ,i nebber get one40 ,after a period of silence3 8,well1 ,mr4 ,milligan1 why you nebber get wife8 ,you no have money for buy her8 or she done lef' you and run 'way wid odder man80 ,in reply to these frequent queries1 ,i gave so many answers that ,i have almost forgotten which was the right one4 ,iguwi was the only ,african ,i have ever known who was not a marrying man4 ,i have known other single men among them1 but they were either busy laying plans to run away with some other man's wife1 or were working day and night and stealing1 according to opportunity1 to obtain sufficient dowry4 ,iguwi was extremely bashful2 and in this also he was an exception to his race4 ,on one occasion1 an elder of the church and his wife1 intimate friends of ,iguwi1 invited him to a chicken breakfast4 ,they lived beside him and he passed their house several times a day4 ,nevertheless1 he replied in a letter that he hoped they would excuse him on account of his bashfulness2 but that he would be very grateful if they would send him his portion of the chicken4 ,iguwi was born in slavery1 and as he became educated and somewhat cultivated he was very sensitive in regard to his birth4 ,this indeed may account largely for his bashfulness4 ,but quite as prominent as ,iguwi's bashfulness and quaint eccentricities was his transparent sincerity and goodness4 ,his religion had not the ,african tendency to exhaust itself in mental transports4 ,the poor always had a friend in him4 ,i have had to remonstrate with him for giving away all that he had4 ,on one occasion1 he came to me and asked the monthly payment of his salary in advance4 ,i expressed surprise at his need of it1 seeing that only a few days before ,i had paid him for the past month4 ,but ,i found afterwards that he had expended the whole mouth's payment in helping a poor widow to repair her house4 ,she was not in any way related to him2 and she had relations who were able to help her2 but she had a sharp tongue and had turned them away from her1 and when poverty and distress came there was none to help her4 ,the most degraded of the heathen believed in ,iguwi and would never have doubted his honesty or truth4 ,in this sense1 indeed1 he was a 8living epistle0 of ,christ which all could read and which none misunderstood4 ,for so gentle a spirit he had a set of categories that were especially drastic4 ,on one occasion1 when ,i asked him how many persons had attended his village prayer-meeting1 he replied3 8,fifteen ,christians and six sinners40 ,the attendance on the preceding ,sunday was 8ninety ,christians and twenty-five sinners40 ,iguwi was a remarkably good preacher4 ,he had been taught in the mission school at ,baraka in the old days when ,english was still permitted1 but at best he received there only the equivalent of a primary-school education4 ,after he decided to study for the ministry he received further training in a theological class4 ,it was a mystery to me how a man so bashful and diffident had ever chosen the ministry for a profession4 ,but when ,iguwi stood on the platform his diffidence disappeared entirely and his speech was perfectly free and courageous4 ,the people all enjoyed his preaching and were helped by it4 ,he was so absent-minded1 however1 in regard to his dress1 that a committee should have been appointed to look him over before he went into the pulpit1 in order to see that nothing essential had been omitted1 and that his clothes were fastened on him securely4 ,a perpetual problem to the native mind is how to get clothes to stay on without buttons--a problem of which polite ,african society anxiously awaits the solution4 ,even with buttons1 the imported garments of civilization are still uncertain1 when worn by those who are not to the manner born4 ,sometimes1 as if by a sudden act of disenchantment1 the buttons simultaneously unfasten1 strings untie and clothes fall off4 ,iguwi's trousers were supported by a red sash1 which often got loose and began to unwind slowly as he preached4 ,when the loose end of the sash touched the floor1 it was a question as to what the climax of the sermon would be4 ,i finally advised him either to preach shorter sermons or wear a longer sash4 ,iguwi's sermons were thoughtful and spiritual4 ,it was strange how so unpractical a man could preach such practical sermons4 ,they must have come to him by intuition rather than by any exercise of judgment4 ,it was also indicative of a remarkable intellect that a man without any library1 who had read only a few books that he had borrowed from missionaries1 could preach sermons that were always well constructed and thoughtful4 ,i happen to recall an outline which he submitted to me one day on the text1 8,for as many as are led by the ,spirit of ,god1 these are sons of ,god40 ,his three main points were3 ,first1 ,the ,spirit leads to the cross of ,christ2 second1 ,he leads to moral conflict 7,iguwi probably said to 8war072 third1 ,he leads to victory4 ,when ,i was leaving ,africa1 ,i gladdened ,iguwi's heart with a set of ,matthew ,henry's commentaries--which more than doubled his library4 ,the quaintness1 the homely simplicity and spirituality of ,matthew ,henry were not unlike ,iguwi himself4 ,i have said that outside the pulpit ,iguwi1 with all his goodness1 was utterly unpractical4 ,often1 indeed1 he seemed to lack common sense4 ,i once gave him a book to read in which the writer1 by way of illustrating the evanescence of human glory1 referred to the gorgeous palace of ice which was built by ,catherine of ,russia1 and so soon dissolved beneath the sun4 ,iguwi had heard of ice and knew very well what it was1 but being unfamiliar with its resources of illustration he was deeply impressed4 ,while he was still reading this book1 one night in prayer-meeting he offered a prayer in which ,i1 who did not understand the ,mpongwe language1 was suddenly startled by the ,english words1 ice1 palace1 ,catherine1 ,russia4 ,even if the congregation had known ,english the illustration would still have been unintelligible to them4 ,for aught they knew ,russia might be the name of an ,african tribe1 or a river in ,america1 and they were as ignorant of the other words2 and since those four words comprised the whole illustration1 the force and beauty of it must have been somewhat lost upon them4 ,it occurred to me at the time that a library1 instead of being a help to ,iguwi1 would probably have spoiled his preaching4 ,iguwi was so unpractical it seemed best not to ordain him4 ,if the worst heathen of ,gaboon had asked admission to the membership of the church ,iguwi would have received him with a ,god-bless-you4 ,but he continued to visit the sick and to give away his living to the poor4 ,his goodness shone along all the lowly paths of service4 ,a service in the ,gaboon ,church is much like a service in one of our best coloured churches in ,america4 ,there is perfect order and good attention1 and we need not labour too much to be simple1 for they listen intelligently4 ,occasionally1 however1 one is reminded that it is really ,africa and not ,america4 ,i have seen a man1 in the first pair of shoes that he ever possessed1 come to church unusually late1 tramp as heavily as reverence would allow in coming up the aisle1 and then sit in the end of the seat1 assuming an unnatural and uncomfortable position in order to keep his feet in the aisle4 ,what is the use of spending money for shoes and wearing them with so much discomfort if people are not to know that you have them8 ,shoes for the ,african trade are purposely made with loud-squeaking soles2 the ,african will not buy shoes that do not 8talk40 ,sometimes1 in localities further from the coast1 the head of the family will enter the church alone1 wearing the shoes1 and upon reaching his seat will throw them out of the window to his wife1 who also will wear them into the church1 and perhaps others of the family after her4 ,among the ,mpongwe it was deeply impressed upon me that the sincerity of piety is not to be judged by its fluency4 ,most white people who acquire the art of public speaking1 especially in religious meetings1 are obliged to cultivate it2 and only a small minority of ,christians can offer a prayer in public4 ,but the ,african speaks with perfect freedom and entire absence of selfconsciousness4 ,he can offer a public prayer long before he becomes ,christian1 or has any such intention4 ,it took me a long time to put the proper estimate upon fluency4 ,one day ,i visited a woman1 ,nenge1 who was going further and further astray through rum and other ,mpongwe vices4 ,i was so greatly impressed by her eloquent expression of ideals and aspirations that ,i inferred a great change in her life4 ,i prayed with her and asked her if she would pray for herself4 ,without the slightest hesitation she began a prayer of considerable length that almost brought tears to my eyes4 ,she prayed for herself and me4 ,but ,i found out afterwards that she had not the least intention of parting with either of her great sins1 and she was surprised that ,i had so misunderstood her4 ,she had not meant to deceive me4 ,the truth is that any native could offer such a prayer4 ,after several such experiences ,i became wary4 ,it is a great gift1 however1 when it is truly consecrated4 ,an ,mpongwe prayer-meeting never lags4 ,the ,gaboon ,church in its early history was ministered to for many years by ,toko ,truman1 probably the most eloquent native preacher who was ever trained in the ,west ,africa ,mission4 ,he was entirely blind for seven years before he died4 ,the first time ,i visited ,gaboon ,toko was still living4 ,i was on my way home to ,america and was detained several days at ,gaboon1 waiting for a ,french steamer4 ,i had heard much of ,toko1 and ,i visited him every day4 ,among ever so many incidents of interest which he related ,i recall his reply to a certain white trader1 a very profane man1 who took pleasure in mocking at ,toko's faith and self-denial4 ,one day the trader remarked that if there was any such place as heaven1 he himself was as sure of an entrance there as anybody4 ,toko replied3 8,i have read the words of ,jesus1 #8,not every one that saith unto ,me1 ,lord1 ,lord1 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven1' that is to say1 not even all those who pray shall enter2 and the chances would seem to be small for you1 who do not pray at all4 ,heaven is not as cheap as you think40 ,izuri is an elderly woman1 a member in the ,mpongwe ,church1 whose charity towards the ,fang of the interior presents a striking contrast to the spirit of the coast people generally4 ,i have already said that1 in the mind of the coast people1 the ,fang belong to the orders of lower animals1 and that the coast women are ashamed to be heard speaking ,fang1 though they all speak it2 for they trade with them daily4 ,izuri1 when ,i had charge of the ,mpongwe ,church1 was sewing for a trading-house one whole day each week1 thereby earning twenty cents1 which she gave to help support a native missionary among the ,fang4 ,the ,fang come down the river long distances to sell food and building material in the ,gaboon market4 ,they must travel with the tide1 and often they remain at the coast all night4 ,it is sometimes hard for them to obtain shelter2 and1 moreover1 they are subjected to every form of temptation by those who would get from them the money or goods they have procured for their produce4 ,izuri might often be seen going along the beach in the evening1 inviting these homeless people to her town where she gave them shelter in a house which she owned but did not occupy4 ,and often in the evening1 sitting down in their midst1 she would talk to them in their own language1 fairly scandalizing her neighbours4 ,i presume ,izuri still continues her ministry to the poor ,fang4 ,an ,mpongwe man1 ,ntyango1 showed this same spirit towards the ,fang and went among them and preached to them4 ,he died about the time ,i went to ,gaboon1 and was buried in the mission graveyard4 ,some years afterwards the workmen were cutting grass in the graveyard4 ,among them was a ,fang man named ,biyoga1 whom ,ntyango had taught to read when he was a small boy4 ,as ,biyoga was cutting grass and occasionally spelling out the names on the tombstones he found ,ntyango's name on one of them4 ,sacred memories stirred the heart of the wild ,fang4 ,the next day he came to me and told me that since the days1 long ago1 when he had known ,ntyango he had never met another man like him4 ,all the time since finding his name and while working beside his grave he had been thinking of him1 recalling his kindness to the ,fang1 especially to the children1 and his ,christian teaching1 and now he wished only to be the kind of man that ,ntyango was4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,mpongwe ,,wedding4 ,the bride is a daughter of ,lucina1 who stands at the left of the bride4 ,i think of ,sara whose honesty and goodness had beautified her face4 ,left a widow with five young children1 and very poor1 she often felt the burden of care too heavy for her shoulders2 but she went bravely on4 ,when her daughter was married and the customary dowry of forty dollars was offered ,sara by the young husband1 she refused to take it1 believing that it was not in accord with ,christian principle4 ,the king of the ,mpongwe tribe1 being jealous for old customs1 resented ,sara's action1 and having invited her to his town made her a prisoner1 thinking to intimidate her2 but he failed even to pick a quarrel with her1 and after a few days he released her4 ,i think of ,lucina1 than whom the ,mpongwe ,church never had a more faithful member4 ,lucina's husband1 preferring a dissolute life of drunkenness and polygamy1 left her with five young children4 ,indeed1 when he took other wives he had to leave her2 for her character embraced the sensibility as well as the faithfulness of ,christian wifehood4 ,she brought up her children under great difficulties1 working for them like a very slave2 and though she was young1 educated and extremely attractive1 the breath of scandal never tarnished her reputation4 ,when her husband accepted a dowry for their daughter and sent a portion of it to ,lucina1 she sent it back to him saying that if he had sold their daughter for a price1 her conscience would not allow her to share it with him4 ,and1 among others1 there was ,sonia1 a white-haired old man with the heart of a child4 ,sonia had as many stories as ,uncle ,remus2 but his best stories were the incidents and adventures of his own life4 ,one still night as we lay at anchor1 in the middle of the swift-rolling river1 with the moonshine lying in silver ringlets across its surface1 the boat-boys asked ,sonia to tell them a story4 ,as usual his first reply was that he did not know any stories--excepting a few foolish old stories that they had heard till they were tired of them4 ,but at length--as usual--he thought of one1 and then another1 and still another4 ,he first told a typical story about the tortoise and his creditors4 ,the tortoise in ,african folk-lore is notorious for unscrupulous cunning4 ,once upon a time there was a great famine in the land and food was very dear4 ,so the tortoise called upon his friends1 the worm1 the cock1 the bushcat1 the leopard and the hunter1 and borrowed from each a box of brass rods1 promising to pay them at the end of the season on different days4 ,on the day appointed the worm appeared and asked for the payment of the loan4 ,then the tortoise asked him to wait until he should go and fetch the money4 ,so the tortoise went off to get the money1 and the next day he came back with the cock1 who also came according to appointment for the payment of his loan4 ,then the worm and the cock met1 and the cock ate the worm4 ,then the cock asked for his money and the tortoise asked him to wait until he should go and fetch it4 ,and he went off again1 and came back next day with the bushcat1 who had come for the payment of his loan4 ,then the cock and the bushcat met and the bushcat killed the cock and ate him4 ,then the bushcat asked for his money and the tortoise asked him to wait until he should go and fetch it4 ,and he went off again1 and came back the next day with the leopard1 and the leopard killed the bushcat and ate it4 ,then the leopard asked for his money1 and the tortoise asked him to wait until he should go and fetch it4 ,and he went off again1 and came back with the hunter4 ,and the hunter and the leopard killed each other4 ,then the tortoise laughed at them all for being fools4 ,and the moral is that it is not wise to lend to a man lest he may wish you evil and seek to kill you4 ,but ,sonia reminds the boys that the story contains only the wisdom of the heathen1 and that ,jesus teaches us to help those who need our help even if we should lose by it4 ,after various comments on the moral of the story1 to the effect that 8loan oft loses both itself and friend10 ,sonia tells a story of two friends and a wag4 ,there were two friends who had been friends from childhood1 and who were more than brothers to each other2 and these two friends had never been known to quarrel4 ,now there was a wag in a neighbouring town1 who one day1 when he heard the people talking about these two friends who had never quarrelled1 declared that he would make them quarrel4 ,that day he put on a coat of which one side was blue and the other side red and then walked down the road that ran between the two men's houses4 ,in the evening the friends met as usual and one of them said3 8,did you see the wag pass to-day with a red coat on80 8,yes10 said the other1 8,i saw him pass2 but it wasn't a red coat4 ,it was blue40 8,i am sure it was red10 said the first4 8,but it wasn't4 ,it was blue10 said the other4 ,and so they disputed until one of them called the other a fool2 and then they fought4 8,take that10 said one4 8,and that10 said the other4 ,so they fought until their wives came running to them and parted them4 ,but they went to their houses with heavy hearts4 ,for they had been friends for a lifetime and now their friendship was broken4 ,and all the people felt sorrow4 ,but the wag1 when he came along1 laughed and told them how he had worn a coat which was red on one side and blue on the other4 ,and the friends and their wives ever afterwards hated the wag4 ,sonia's stories were most interesting when he recounted real incidents in his own life4 ,when a young man1 he told us1 he had lived as a trader at this ,fang town opposite which we were anchored4 ,the noise of drumming1 dancing and singing had ceased and the town was wrapped in untroubled sleep4 ,there is no stillness in the world like that of an ,african town in the night4 ,sonia told us about a battle he had witnessed1 which was fought upon the river1 at this very place where we lay2 a battle between this town and a town which then stood on the opposite bank1 but of which nothing now remained4 ,this town was already old at the time of the war but the other was new1 the people having come recently from the far interior1 being driven forth by the hostility of more powerful clans behind4 ,there was no quarrel between the towns2 but the people of the old town thought that it would be good policy to give their new neighbours a whipping upon their arrival in order to insure a wholesome respect4 ,first1 ,i believe1 they stole a woman4 ,then followed a guerrilla warfare1 in which each side killed as they had opportunity1 waylaying individuals1 or rushing from ambush upon a party of venturesome stragglers from the enemy's town4 ,in this way a number were killed on each side2 and the war1 which was first undertaken more as a vain exploit or adventure than from any serious motive1 was soon prosecuted with feelings of deadly hate and a purpose of revenge4 ,every night1 from each town1 the wail of mourning for the dead was wafted across the river2 and curses were mingled with the mourning4 ,at length one canoe attacked another in the river1 where they had been fishing4 ,immediately other canoes came to their help1 and still others1 ever so many of them1 pushing off rapidly from each side until all the men of the two towns1 young and old1 were in the middle of the river where they fought to a finish4 ,when fighting in canoes1 whatever other weapons they may have1 they carry a small battle-ax1 which is used especially to prevent the capsizing of the canoe by those who are already in the water4 ,sonia told how that1 again and again1 at a blow they severed a man's hand1 or completely disabled him4 ,they swim so well that they could still make a strong fight after being capsized4 ,the battle was long1 and the river ran red with their blood4 ,those who were killed were carried by the current out to the sea to feed the sharks4 ,the people of the new town lost4 ,those of them who were left pulled down their town and moved to another place4 ,in a few years nothing remained of it but one or two skeletons with the grass growing through their ribs4 ,but for years afterwards the superstitious native passing along the river in the dead of night heard again the noise of battle--fierce cries and dying groans4 ,and whenever this sound is heard1 they say1 again the river runs red like blood4 ,one incident of the war1 prior to the final battle1 ,i recall1 as ,sonia told it that night4 ,the people of the old town captured a man of the other side1 and his son1 a little boy4 ,they bound the father1 and before his eyes deliberately killed his son--and ate his flesh4 ,the main motive of cannibalism1 under such circumstances1 would be neither wanton cruelty nor a vicious appetite1 but fetishism4 ,by eating one of their number they render the enemy powerless to do them any farther injury4 ,some time afterwards they slew the father4 ,but already they had broken his heart1 and with hands uplifted he welcomed the death-blow4 ,the emotion with which old ,sonia told this whole story indicated how his own heart had been wrung4 ,he said not a word about any effort of his to dissuade the people from their cruelty2 but ,i knew him well1 and ,i was confident that the part he had taken was not unheroic4 ,that is a story that was never told4 ,sonia in his latter years1 between long intervals of sickness1 was a missionary to the ,fang4 ,they all regarded him with love and reverence4 ,the oldest savage among them1 and the wildest1 were as children when they addressed him4 ,in the little graveyard1 on the mission hill at ,baraka1 are the graves of those who have thought that life itself was not too great a price to pay for the saving of such men and women from degradation4 ,henry ,drummond said that while in ,africa he had been in an atmosphere of death all the time1 and that he realized1 as never before1 the awful fact of death and its desolation as something calling for an answer4 ,one of my first experiences in ,gaboon reminded me that ,i was again in the land of death1 when ,i assisted in the burial service of the beautiful young wife and bride of a fellow missionary1 less than three months after their arrival in ,africa4 ,so far away from home we enter deeply into each other's sorrows4 ,i was standing by in the last hour1 when with pale face the stricken but silent husband stepped to the open door and nervously plucked a flower growing there1 a large crimson hibiscus1 the beauty of the tropics1 which he laid on the pillow beside his unconscious wife1 and the two broken flowers drooped and died together1 while the shadows darkened around us and the night came on4 ,in the unconscious act there was something more affecting than in any words of grief4 ,it seemed to relate this death to all death everywhere1 in a world where forms of life appear only to vanish into darkness and day hurries to the night4 ,soon after our patient sufferer had ceased to breathe1 in the midst of the stillness that followed the prolonged struggle with the fever1 a storm that had been gathering with the darkness broke forth with great violence that shook the house4 ,i had only arrived in ,africa4 ,i went out into the storm unspeakably oppressed with doubt1 to which it was a kind of relief4 ,was it a noble sacrifice8 or an appalling waste8 ,in the intervals of the storm1 and mingling with it1 there came the sound of a dirge1 the hopeless death-wail1 from a village close by1 where the poor natives were mourning for one of their number who had died that day1 a young man at whose bed ,i had stood a few hours earlier1 the only son of a heart-broken mother4 ,those who have always known the words of ,one who brought life and immortality to light cannot realize the heathen view of death1 and the abysmal darkness of the invisible world4 ,there is no sound so well known in ,africa1 and none that so haunts the memory in after years1 as the mourning dirge1 in which with united voices they chant their sorrow for the dead--their despair and desolation2 the sound that is borne upon every night-wind and becomes to the imagination the very voice of ,africa4 ,the groaning of the palm-trees in the darkness of that night1 as they bent beneath the tempest1 and in the distance the sound of the troubled sea1 were the fitting accompaniment and interlude4 ,but in our house1 beside our dead1 there was light--and doubt was vanquished4 ,there1 hope was whispering to a stricken heart sweet promises of life2 and faith was saying3 8,let not your heart be troubled1 neither let it be afraid40 ,v ,,african ,,music ,it was many years ago1 among the ,bulu1 in ,kamerun4 ,dr4 ,good and myself were holding a religious service in the town of a great chief1 ,abesula1 whose thirty-five wives were seated around him4 ,after we had sung several hymns ,dr4 ,good began to preach1 but had not proceeded as far as secondly when ,abesula1 interrupting1 exclaimed3 8,say1 white man1 won't you stop talking and sing again8 ,and ,i wish you would dance with your singing2 for ,i don't care for singing without dancing2 and ,i don't like preaching at all40 ,we found that ,abesula's whole family were united in this preference for comic opera4 ,but ,dr4 ,good and ,i were in hopeless disagreement as to which of us should do the dancing4 ,besides1 the ,africans themselves are expert dancers and qualified judges2 and if our music had 8charms to soothe the savage breast10 ,i am afraid that our dancing would have made more savages than it would have soothed4 ,after a few months among the ,bulu ,i had an organ brought up from the coast1 a baby-organ1 which when folded a man could carry on his head4 ,the people had heard that something wonderful was coming with the next caravan2 and on the day of its arrival it seemed as if the whole ,bulu tribe had assembled on our hill4 ,having unpacked the organ ,i set it on the porch while they all stood on the ground below4 ,the tension of suspense during the slow progress of preparation was a test of endurance4 ,at last1 everything being ready1 ,i sat down at the organ1 filled the bellows1 and amidst profound silence suddenly sounded a loud chord4 ,instantly the crowd bolted4 ,nothing was to be seen but disappearing legs4 ,the men1 being more fleet of limb1 reached the hiding-places first2 then the women and larger children1 the smaller children being left to their fate4 ,to them the organ was of course a fetish1 and full of talking spirits4 ,gradually they came out from their hiding-places4 ,then1 as fear subsided1 each one began to laugh at the others and to tell his ancestors all about it4 ,in the ensuing noise the organ had a rest4 ,they soon became devotedly fond of it1 and it was a great help in our mission work4 ,regularly on ,sunday morning after the service ,i would set the organ on the porch and play for them until ,i was tired--and that was not very long2 for in that climate the bellows were soon in such condition that the playing was prominently spectacular1 done with the feet1 reinforced by all the muscles of the body4 ,in after years1 among the ,fang of the ,french ,congo1 ,i always carried an organ with me4 ,to all the interior natives1 ,bulu and ,fang1 and even to the coast tribe of ,batanga1 my playing of that little organ was much the most wonderful thing about me4 ,in going to ,africa a second time1 after four years' absence1 on my way to ,gaboon ,i landed at ,batanga for a few hours4 ,the natives remembered me as having a beard1 and ,i was now shaved4 ,but there was with me a fellow traveller who had just such a beard as mine had been2 so that1 to the natives1 he looked more like me than ,i did myself4 ,they of course mistook him for me2 and the stranger got a friendly reception which pleased him as much as it surprised him4 ,he said he never had met such friendly natives4 ,but upon my protest they discovered their mistake and began to pay me some attention4 ,i insisted that they had forgotten me and that my feelings were hurt2 at which they made the most excited remonstrance4 ,they remembered that ,i had played the organ4 ,one of the boys1 in his eagerness to convince me that they had not forgotten me1 began to imitate my motions at the organ1 which he exaggerated to an outlandish caricature in which hands1 feet1 head1 mouth and eyes were equally active1 saying as he performed3 8,look me1 ,mr4 ,milligan2 this be you40 ,following his example1 they all engaged in a performance that would have scandalized any company of self-respecting monkeys1 saying the while3 8,this be you1 ,mr4 ,milligan2 this be you40 ,my fellow traveller1 who may have felt somewhat chagrined at finding that the hearty reception accorded him was intended for me1 turned to me and made some remarks that have no rightful place here4 ,we are all familiar with the legend that ,pythagoras invented the first musical instrument after listening to the blacksmith's hammers4 ,longfellow repeats it in the poem1 8,to a ,child03 8,as great ,pythagoras of yore1 ,standing beside the blacksmith's door1 ,and hearing the hammers1 as they smote ,the anvils with a different note1 ,stole from the varying tones that hung ,vibrant on every iron tongue ,the secret of the sounding wire1 ,and formed the seven-corded lyre40 ,shakespeare also refers to this reputed origin of music in 8,the ,two ,noble ,kinsmen40 ,pirithous1 relating the death of ,arcite1 tells how he rode the pavement on a horse so black that the superstitious would have feared to buy him1 a prancing steed whose iron-shod feet seemed only to touch the stones--as if counting them1 rather than trampling them1 and-- 8thus went counting ,the flinty pavement1 dancing as 'twere to the music ,his own hoofs made--for1 as they say1 from iron ,came music's origin40 ,nevertheless1 this story--like many others that cluster about the name of ,pythagoras1 as1 for instance1 that he was seen in two cities at the same time--is seriously vulnerable1 and is probably pure myth1 without enough of fact to qualify as a legend4 ,the obvious objection1 that various hammers striking upon an anvil give out1 not different notes1 but the same--for the notes vary with the anvil and not with the hammers--,longfellow meets by using the plural1 anvils4 ,in the latest of ,mr4 ,h4 ,e4 ,krehbiel's learned and interesting books1 ,the ,pianoforte and ,its ,music1 the writer holds that the first of all stringed instruments was the bow4 ,every boy knows the musical twang of the bowstring at the moment that the arrow flies4 ,in the ,iliad1 ,apollo1 the god of music1 is also the god of archery1 and is called the 8bearer of the silver bow40 ,mr4 ,krehbiel also recalls the passage in the ,odyssey in which ,ulysses tries his bow1 after the suitors of ,penelope1 one by one1 had tried and failed2 and when ,ulysses drew the arrow to its head and let it go1 the string rang shrill and sweet as the note of a swallow4 ,this theory of the origin of musical instruments is strikingly supported by the instruments in present use among the savage and primitive tribes of ,west ,africa4 ,a ,kombe cook1 at ,gaboon1 each day after dinner1 lay down for a nap and played himself to sleep upon an instrument which was nothing but a bow with a single string4 ,the string was made of a certain runner1 the fibre of which is very tough and gives a resonant note4 ,the cook found that by plucking the string with a metal1 rather than with his fingers1 he produced a better note2 so for this purpose he regularly used the bread-knife and took it to bed with him4 ,when ,i first heard this unclassical music ,i thought he was playing on a ,jew's-harp4 ,the native improves this instrument when he attaches to one end of it a gourd or calabash1 in the shape of a bowl1 to augment the sound--the first sound-box4 ,when he plays he places the flat side of the gourd against his chest4 ,he improves the instrument immensely when he adds three strings1 making four in all1 successively shorter4 ,the four strings pass over a central bridge1 which is notched at different heights for the different strings4 ,this makes eight strings and produces eight different notes4 ,the gourd1 or sound-box1 is placed in the middle of the bow1 opposite the bridge4 ,this instrument is usually made from the midrib of a palm-leaf4 ,the bent midrib itself forms the bow2 while the strings are the loosened fibres of its own tough skin4 ,these are made taut by the vertical bridge1 and their vibrating length is regulated by strong bands passing around the ends of the strings and the bow4 ,another native instrument is a harp1 both in shape and in principle4 ,the upper end is a bow1 or half-bow2 the lower end is an oblong sound-box covered with a perforated skin--monkey-skin or goatskin4 ,the upper ends of the strings are attached to pegs inserted in the bow1 by which the strings may be tuned4 ,there is also a five-stringed lyre1 with a sound-box somewhat like the harp1 but instead of a single bow at the end1 there are five bent fingers1 each with its string4 ,there is a very rudimentary dulcimer1 and a xylophone1 and various modifications of the instruments which ,i have described4 ,the favourite of all these instruments1 and the one of largest musical capacity1 is the harp4 ,the native uses it most frequently to accompany his singing4 ,there are professional singers among them1 whose position is somewhat analogous to that of minstrels several centuries ago in ,europe4 ,the songs of these professional singers are usually lengthy ballads--traditional tales in lyric form4 ,the monotony of the solo1 which is a dramatic recitative1 is broken by a somewhat regular and frequent choral response4 ,the singer half closes his eyes and sways his body as he sings4 ,he seems oblivious of time and place4 ,i have sometimes thought that there was an element of hypnotism in his influence upon his audience4 ,upon the instrument he plays a running and unvaried accompaniment to his song4 ,but it would be a great mistake to judge the song1 or the ,african capacity for melody1 by the miserably inadequate instrument4 ,the singer's voice far exceeds the instrument1 both in range and in the division of intervals4 ,the fact is1 however1 that the only one of his musical instruments which the ,african regards with profound respect is his dearly-beloved tom-tom--the drum to which he dances4 ,from this some have inferred that1 to the ,african savage1 rhythm without melody is music1 which of course is a mistake4 ,it is even doubtful whether his sense of melody be not altogether as keen as his sense of rhythm1 though not equally appealed to4 ,the drum is very easy to construct2 but not so the harp or viol2 and the ,negro is so lacking in mechanical genius that he cannot invent an instrument capable of reproducing his melodies4 ,therefore the melodies are always vocal4 ,they do not dance to the drum1 by itself2 for they invariably sing when they dance4 ,dancing without singing is almost impossible2 at least ,i have never seen it during seven years in ,africa4 ,they are passionately fond of singing and have good voices4 ,the voices of the men are much better than those of the women and have sometimes the resonant sonority of a deep organ-tone1 or an exquisite melancholy1 which it is to be hoped they may never lose through future conditions of civilization4 ,the native songs are elementary but fascinating4 ,few white men1 however1 can sing them2 for the scales1 or tone-systems1 upon which most of them are based1 are entirely different from our major and minor modes4 ,their scales have not a distinct tonic1 that is1 a basal tone from which the others in the system are derived1 as1 for instance1 the first tone1 do1 of our major scale4 ,it follows that the cadences of their music are not clearly defined2 or1 as a friend of mine would say1 8,they don't taper off to an end like ours40 ,although their music is so difficult for the white man1 the natives learn our music with astonishing ease1 even their oldest men and women1 and sing it well--if they have half a chance4 ,but is it surprising that--since our scales are new to them--they at first need a little careful training1 or at least the lead of a clear-toned organ reasonably well played8 ,otherwise they are not unlikely to substitute the tones of their own scales4 ,the result is indescribable4 ,imagine a large congregation singing the doxology with all their might1 and about half of them singing it in ,g minor instead of ,g major6 ,but the comparison is inadequate4 ,the singing in some mission congregations is enough to cause a panic4 ,the first ,sunday that ,i spent in ,africa was at ,batanga1 where the people had learned the hymns before any white missionaries went to live among them4 ,i was near the church when the large congregation started the first hymn4 ,it was a translation of 8,god is the ,refuge of ,his saints1 ,when storms of sharp distress invade40 ,the tune of this storm of sharp distress was good old ,ward1 but1 alas1 in such a state of decomposition that ,i did not recognize it until they had sung it through twice4 ,and so it was with many of the tunes4 ,their own music has no extended range of high and low notes2 and so1 in these hymns1 whenever they came to a high passage1 or even a single high note1 they sang it an octave lower1 and the low notes they sang an octave higher4 ,it was a vocal feat1 and no audience of white people could have done it without training2 but it did not sound much like music1 still less like worship4 ,so great a musician as ,dvorak1 when he came to ,america1 was profoundly moved by the original melodies of the ,american ,negro1 and became their enthusiastic champion4 ,indeed1 they inspired the most beautiful of all his symphonies1 the one entitled1 8,aus der ,neuen ,welt40 ,i do not refer1 of course1 to the so-called ,negro melodies composed by white men4 ,some of these are beautiful2 but they are not ,negro melodies4 ,they do not express the ,negro's emotional life and he does not care much for them4 ,those wonderful songs of the ,fisk ,jubilee ,singers are the real thing4 ,some of those very melodies may have originated in ,africa4 ,others are more developed than any that ,i heard in ,africa2 but they are very similar1 and they use the same strange scales1 which makes them unfamiliar to our ears and difficult to acquire4 ,among them1 ,i really believe1 are occasional motives as capable of development as those of ,hungary4 ,for a long time the music of ,africa defied every attempt on my part to reduce it to musical notation4 ,very few persons have made the attempt2 for it is easier to reduce their language to writing than their music4 ,at first it seemed as inarticulate and spontaneous as the sound of the distant surf with which it blended1 or the music of the night-wind in the bamboo4 ,the melody of ,african music is strange to our ears1 because1 as ,i have said1 it is usually derived from tone-systems that are unlike either our major or minor scales4 ,they have the pentatonic scale1 that is1 a major scale without the fourth and the seventh notes1 thus avoiding the use of semitones2 but their other scales are strange to most people4 ,among them are some of the scales of the plain-song of the ,roman ,catholic ,church--the ,gregorian chant4 ,the plain-song is the only survival 7among ourselves7 of ancient music4 ,modern music is based upon harmony1 and consists essentially in a progression of chords4 ,the successive tones of a modern melody acquire their character not chiefly from their own sequence1 as do ancient melodies1 but from the chords to which they belong2 and the chords even when they are not voiced are always understood4 ,but harmony itself is modern1 dating from about the thirteenth century4 ,african melodies cannot always be harmonized1 and when the harmony is added it is not usually effective4 ,but in ,african music another scale is employed which is not ,gregorian1 but oriental4 ,it is a minor scale with an augmented interval--a tone and a half--between the sixth and seventh notes1 that is1 with a minor sixth and a major seventh4 ,this peculiarly effective interval imparts an intense melancholy4 ,verdi1 with delightful propriety1 makes use of this very scale in ,ada1 in the hymn of the ,egyptian priestesses in the first act1 where an extant ,arab melody is introduced4 ,this scale is probably the oldest tone-system in the world and may have come originally from the banks of the ,ganges1 in the far-distant past4 ,the ,african1 like the oriental1 conceives of the scales1 and the melodies derived from them1 as moving downward1 instead of upward like our own4 ,all ,african music sings downward4 ,another striking peculiarity is that they lack tonality1 as the musician would say2 that is1 they seem not to be in any particular key4 ,the strong feeling of the key-note which characterizes our major scale is entirely absent2 and this1 of course1 accounts for the absence of a well-defined cadence1 to which ,i have alluded4 ,the weird fascination of the ,african dirge is largely due to this absence of tonality4 ,musical genius could hardly surpass this instinctive expression of despair--the desolation of an everlasting farewell4 ,the emotion which it represents1 however intense1 is rather disappointingly transient4 ,sometimes it is even unreal2 ,i mean to say that it is sometimes indulged for its own sake4 ,and this is true of the ,negro everywhere4 ,a few days ago ,i came upon an article in an old magazine1 in which a ,southern woman1 in 8,rambling ,talks ,about the ,negro10 tells of a mourning party of ,negroes that assembled one night beside her house to finish a mourning ceremony that ought to have been a part of a funeral a few days earlier2 but a storm had interrupted it4 ,the unearthly mournfulness of their music was intensified by their beautiful voices until it became unbearable1 and the woman bowed her head upon the window sill and cried without restraint1 while imagination conjured up fictitious woes1 such as the sudden death of her children and of all her friends1 until she was alone in a bleak world4 ,then it occurred to her that it was wrong for people to indulge a voluntary anguish and make a luxury of misery2 so she sent a servant to offer a barrel of watermelons to the party of mourners on condition that1 instead of mourning1 they should dance and jollify2 to which they heartily responded1 after first making sure that the melons were in good condition1 for they really preferred to mourn4 ,when1 to the peculiar scales which ,africans employ1 one adds the further fact that in ,african music 7and indeed in the ,negro melodies of our ,south7 the note which corresponds to our seventh in the scale 7a step below the tonic7 is seldom a true seventh1 but is slightly flatted1 enough to make a distinct note with a character of its own1 one has probably accounted for the peculiar plaintiveness1 the elusiveness1 the vague mysteriousness1 which constitutes the charm of all true ,negro music4 ,the rhythm of ,african music is a further impediment to our appreciation4 ,in the music of the dance the rhythm is of necessity somewhat regular4 ,but even in this music it is variable and does not conform throughout to any one time-scheme but changes back and forth from duple to triple within the same melody4 ,this also is characteristic of oriental music4 ,in most ,african music the rhythm is regulated by the words1 like the recitative1 the rhythmic imitation of declamatory speech4 ,but it has the symmetry that feeling secures4 ,the best way to learn the ,african's song is to watch the swaying of his body and imitate it1 and if the words have meaning let their feeling possess one4 ,mr4 ,william ,e4 ,barton1 the compiler of a small collection of choice ,negro melodies1 tells how that 8,aunt ,dinah10 who had been trying to teach a ,negro hymn to a young lady1 at last seeing her begin to sway her body slightly and pat her foot upon the floor1 exclaimed3 8,dat's right1 honey6 ,dat's de berry way6 ,now you's a-gittin' it sho nuff6 ,you'll nebber larn 'em in de wuld till you sings 'em in de sperrit40 ,the ,african sings not only his joy1 but his grief2 not only his love1 but his anger1 his revenge and his despair4 ,livingstone was greatly surprised1 upon approaching a slave caravan1 to hear some of them singing4 ,but as he listened he found that they were singing words of grief and vengeance--for usually they were betrayed and sold by some of their own people4 ,so it was everywhere1 as old men of ,gaboon have told me2 they went away chanting their desolation and their curses upon those who had betrayed them4 ,there is no doubt that music is the art-form of the ,negro4 ,he is the most musical person living4 ,his entire emotional life he utters in song4 ,he has not yet done any great thing4 ,his day is still future4 ,but ,i believe that when he comes1 he will come singing4 ,illustration3 ,,dance ,,song ,,of ,,mpongwe ,the time signature is only approximately correct1 and forces a rhythmic symmetry which ,african music does not possess4 ,the energetic momentum is characteristic of ,african dance music4 ,illustration3 ,,canoe ,,song ,,of ,,gaboon ,all ,african music1 like ,oriental music1 sings downward4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,mourning ,,dirge ,this is chanted by an individual1 or a succession of individuals1 and is not the usual wail in which all join1 though it is much like it4 ,african music is not always based upon harmony2 nor does harmony always improve it4 ,,vi ,,pests ,it is part of the squalid commonplace of life in ,africa that the most exciting adventures are not with elephants but with ants1 and our worst danger is not the leopard but the mosquito4 ,and this struggle against minute enemies requires more patience than the fight with beasts1 both because it is not occasional1 but an unremitting warfare1 and because it does not appeal to our love of the heroic1 nor stimulate with the promise of praise4 ,when ,paul tells us that he fought with beasts at ,ephesus1 our hearts swell with admiration2 but if he had said3 8,i have fought with the mosquitoes in ,africa10 he would have elicited no sympathy and some ridicule2 although the latter is also a fight for life1 and attended by greater danger and weariness and pain4 ,it is significant that it was in ,africa that ,moses summoned the ten plagues to his aid in humbling the haughty ,pharaoh4 ,if ten had not been sufficient he might have summoned ten times ten1 and without exhausting the domestic resources4 ,we are grateful that common houseflies are not sufficiently numerous to constitute a pest1 except where cattle are bred in large numbers4 ,in ,gaboon there was no need for screens on doors and windows4 ,but there are many kinds of flies1 and the natives who have not learned to wear clothing commonly carry a fly-brush made of a bunch of stiff grass about two feet long1 that they may defend the whole area of the back1 where the fly usually makes its attack4 ,when one sees a fly on a neighbour's back it is regarded as a duty of friendship to come up behind that neighbour slowly and stealthily1 giving the fly full time to bite his worst and so be deserving of death1 then to strike an awful blow on the neighbour's back1 fit to bring him to his feet with a yell4 ,it seldom harms the fly1 but it expresses great indignation1 and1 by implication1 sympathy with your neighbour4 ,the habit of killing flies1 or attempting to kill them when they alight1 is an obsession with the native1 and it seems a physical impossibility for him to resist4 ,he does it in church4 ,when ,i first preached in ,batanga1 to a large congregation1 ,i was very much disturbed by this unlooked-for and constant slapping on bare backs4 ,and whenever ,i saw a man creep quietly across the aisle or forward several seats to perform this friendly office1 ,i could not help watching until ,i heard the slap1 when ,i always felt like stopping the discourse long enough to ask3 8,did you kill it80 ,for in the mind of all those around there seemed to be nothing else going on in that church but this exhibition of applied ,christianity4 ,forgetting that the white man is protected by his clothing1 they vie with each other in the discharge of this courtesy2 and the exasperating blows that the white man receives from his black friends are the chief discomfort that he suffers from the larger flies4 ,one day shortly before leaving ,africa ,i was riding in an open boat when a native man sitting behind me suddenly gave me a slap on the back that actually hurt1 and so startled me that ,i did some fool thing a little short of leaping into the sea4 ,i turned around and asked the man in a tone of cold politeness whether he was trying to make my back the same colour as his4 8,why1 no10 said he1 8,i am killing flies40 8,i'm no fly10 ,i replied frigidly4 ,a few minutes later1 when ,i was indulging in a somnolent reverie1 he struck me again--,i think it must have been in the same place1 it hurt so much worse than the first time2 whereupon ,i turned about and1 striking a very dangerous attitude 7for a missionary71 ,i threatened that if he did it again ,i would land him a blow in the stomach whether there was a fly there or not4 ,my boat-boys1 who knew the uses of clothing and appreciated the immunity of my back from fly-bites as well as the greater tenderness and sensitiveness of the white man's body1 laughed at this interesting diversion4 ,then they undertook to enlighten their friend from the bush as to the white man's view-point1 combining theoretical instruction with practical sense by removing him to another seat3 for they well knew that if he should see another fly on my back1 even while they were talking1 he would strike again4 ,he cannot help it3 the habit is coercive4 ,among the worst pests1 and peculiar to ,africa1 is the driver ant4 ,they go together in countless and incomprehensible numbers4 ,the first sight that one gets of them is a glistening black1 rapid-running stream about two inches wide crossing the path before him4 ,upon closer inspection he finds that the stream is composed of ants2 and recognizing the driver ant of which he has heard many incredible stories on the way to ,africa1 he feels like shouting 8,fire60 and running for his life4 ,but as a matter of fact he may with impunity examine them as closely as he pleases so long as he does not touch them4 ,they are so occupied with their own serious purpose that they will take no notice of him4 ,in the middle of the black stream are the females1 about the size of our common1 black wood-ant1 while along the sides run the soldiers guarding from attack1 and these are about four times the size of the others4 ,the defense of the females is no matter of necessity1 but rather gallantry1 for those female viragoes are abundantly able to defend themselves4 ,no creature so small ever had such a bite4 ,they are all provided with jaws and with stings and they know how to work both vigorously4 ,some fine day as the newcomer saunters along1 his eyes engaged with the beauty of the landscape1 he walks into the ants4 ,it may be one minute1 perhaps two1 and possibly five1 before he knows anything of the serious mistake he has made4 ,then suddenly he experiences a sensation which is usually compared to numerous red-hot pincers applied implacably2 for these ants do not let go4 ,if he follows the course prescribed by ardent advisers1 he will do either of two things3 he will instantly strip off his clothing1 even if he should be in the governor's courtyard1 yelling the while at the top of his voice so that those who object may go some other way2 or he will make a dash for the nearest rain-barrel and tumble into it4 ,fortunately1 their bite is not poisonous and leaves no bad effects afterwards4 ,after this experience he will never allow more than one eye to dwell upon the charm of the landscape2 the other will be directed to the path before him4 ,if a man must go out at night he always carries a lantern4 ,when these ants come to a place where there is food to their liking1 they scatter and spread out over a large area4 ,then1 of course1 they are not so quickly discovered1 and one may easily walk into them4 ,they are one of the trials of bush-travel1 and the worst living nuisance of the bush1 where the undergrowth hides them even from the keen eye of the native4 ,there is seldom a day on a bush journey that the caravan does not march into the drivers4 ,then there is some wild yelling by those in the lead2 the cry1 8,drivers60 goes all along the line and each man as he comes to them makes a lively dash through them1 stamping heavily as he runs2 for it is possible thus to keep them off or to shake them off before they get a hold4 ,all other insects and animals flee before them1 including the python and the leopard4 ,travellers have frequently told how that the silent1 sleeping forest has suddenly become all astir and vocal1 the angry boom of the gorilla or the frightened bleat of the gazelle alternating with a cry of the leopard and the scream of the elephant2 all forgetful of their mutual hostility and vying with one another in the speed of their escape from the driver ant1 abroad on a foraging expedition1 to the number of infinity4 ,they make frequent visits to the native villages and the white man's premises1 usually in the night1 spreading over the whole place1--the ground1 the houses1 inside and out1 and through the roofs4 ,here they act as scavengers1 driving before them all other insect nuisances1 such as the cockroaches and centipedes1 which especially infest the thatched roofs4 ,nevertheless1 if one should hear the language of the average white man1 upon the occasion of one of these nocturnal visitations1 when the drivers have wakened him rudely and driven him headlong out into the dark1 and perhaps the rain1 there to shiver during this untimely house-cleaning1 one would not for a moment mistake it for an expression of gratitude4 ,setting hens must be kept carefully out of their way4 ,in one instance ,i knew of the drivers visiting a nest one night when the young chickens were just coming out of the shells4 ,the empty shells were there in the morning1 but no chickens4 ,if they should gain undiscovered access to a chicken-house in the night1 they would leave nothing but bones and feathers4 ,at ,efulen we built our chicken-house against the workmen's house1 on the side away from the bush1 so that the drivers on their approach should first visit the workmen and we should be warned in time to save our chickens4 ,we had been there only a short time when we were awakened one night by the familiar outcry as the men were driven out of their house4 ,but the drivers had come from a different direction that night1 and when we went to the chicken-house we found it already in their possession4 ,it was but the work of a minute or two to tuck our pajamas inside our socks1 bind our sleeves with handkerchiefs around the wrists1 tie another handkerchief around the neck and pull a cap down over the head4 ,thus prepared ,i entered the chicken-house1 the ground and walls of which were a glistening black mass4 ,stamping my feet all the time1 ,i snatched the chickens one by one from the roost1 stripped the handful of loose ants from their legs and handed them out to ,dr4 ,good and ,mr4 ,kerr1 who picked off the remaining ants1 after which we brought the chickens into our house and put them on the pantry shelves until morning1 meanwhile building a line of fire around the house to keep the drivers back4 ,but it was not long after this that they found the house unguarded one morning just at daylight when ,i was alone at ,efulen4 ,i was awake but not yet ready to rise when ,i heard a low1 rustling sound upon the floor of my room4 ,after a few minutes1 observing that it was becoming more distinct1 ,i drew back my mosquito-net and looked out4 ,almost the entire floor was black with the drivers1 and they were close to the bed4 ,from the foot of the bed towards the door it was still possible for me to escape by a good jump2 and in a moment ,i found myself shivering out in the yard while my clothes were still in the house4 ,one day1 as ,dr4 ,good and ,i were entering a native village1 ,dr4 ,good walked through some stray drivers4 ,he began to preach to the people1 who as it happened were already gathered in the street where they had been taking a palaver4 ,before he had been preaching more than a minute ,i observed that his gestures were more animated than ,i had ever seen before4 ,soon they became violent1 noticeably irrelevant and even of questionable propriety4 ,it was a little like ,brer ,rabbit1 one evening when the mosquitoes were bad1 telling the wolf about his grandfather's spots4 ,i looked on with increasing amazement and consternation1 until at last even ,dr4 ,good's indomitable will was overborne1 and he shouted3 8,drivers60 and bolted abruptly for the bush4 ,i tried to go on with the service1 but it was almost impossible because of the laughter of the audience4 ,each one insisted upon telling his neighbours all about it1 to the accompaniment of a broad caricature of ,dr4 ,good's gestures4 ,there was once a native man in ,gaboon who was slightly deranged in his mind4 ,the government advised1 and at last insisted1 that he should not be allowed at large4 ,his family1 being averse to confining him1 chiefly1 ,i imagine1 because of the care it would entail upon them1 sent him to a village of their relations across the river ten miles distant4 ,there he remained for some time4 ,the people there bound him at night lest he might set fire to the town while they slept4 ,he objected to this and at last became troublesome by calling out continually during the night4 ,then they improvised a rude shelter back a short distance from the town1 where they placed him at night and as usual bound him4 ,one night he was more noisy than ever before1 yelling and screaming hideously so that he wakened the people4 ,they thought that he had become demented but no one went to him until morning1 and then they made the horrible discovery that the drivers had attacked and devoured him4 ,in some tribes criminals are sometimes punished by being bound to the ground in the track of the drivers4 ,one can hardly conceive of anything more horrible2 for they would enter ears and eyes and nostrils4 ,but ,i believe this is very rarely done4 ,when death is decided upon1 the ,africans usually accomplish it by quick means4 ,there is another ant which ,i would say is worse than the driver1 were it not that as yet its distribution is limited and it may be only transient4 ,it is a very small red ant difficult to see with the naked eye except in a good light and on a white surface4 ,it takes to dark closets1 upholstered furniture1 hair mattresses and those who would sleep upon them4 ,it has not been long known in those portions of ,west ,africa that are familiar to the white man4 ,it has come from the southeast towards the coast4 ,in #aijj it took possession of our mission-house at ,angom1 which was not occupied at that time4 ,it is doubtful whether this ant would be likely to infest a house when the grass around it is kept closely cut and the house well opened to the light and air2 but when once infested it is not clear that these precautions would drive it out4 ,one of ,woermann's trading-houses on the ,ogow had to be abandoned because of it4 ,my first experience with it was in #aijj when ,i visited ,angom and slept in the mission-house that had been occupied only occasionally for more than a year4 ,i was no sooner asleep than ,i was awakened by an extremely painful sensation1 as if red-hot pepper had been sprinkled all over me4 ,i felt no sharp bite1 but only this intolerable smarting pain4 ,it occurred to me that ,i might have been poisoned during the day by some violently poisonous herb in the bush or the overgrown garden2 but ,i remained in bed never thinking that the cause of it was there4 ,the natives told me in the morning what it was4 ,my flesh was badly inflamed and ,i had fever all that day4 ,after that ,i always slept in the boat1 or in later years1 the launch1 when ,i visited ,angom4 ,among ,african pests there is another red ant1 very small1 though not so small as the last4 ,it does not bite nor attack the person1 but is nevertheless a great nuisance1 particularly to housekeepers4 ,all table food must be kept out of its way4 ,any food remaining on the table even an hour is covered with them4 ,they are especially fond of sugar2 and if it is left on the table or unprotected from one meal to the next1 it is found a living red mass4 ,by what powerful instinct they immediately discover the place where food is1 and where they come from in such numbers1 are among the mysteries that the white man will often ponder4 ,most of our food is imported1 in tins1 and once a tin is opened it is kept away from these ants by being placed in a safe suspended from the ceiling by tarred rope4 ,the safe is a light frame of wood covered with wire screen or netting4 ,besides these1 there are numerous other varieties of ants1 less harmful1 or altogether harmless4 ,the ground is so infested with them that neither white man nor native ever thinks of sitting down upon it1 as we might sit upon the grass in this country4 ,altogether1 more than five thousand varieties of ants have been described and classified2 and most of these are found in ,africa4 ,among the worst of the ,african pests is the jigger4 ,those who are most sensitive to it would without doubt call it the worst of all4 ,if the pest of the small ant travels from the interior towards the coast1 this pest began at the coast and is extending towards the interior4 ,it has evidently been imported--tradition says from ,brazil1 in the cargo and sand ballast of sailing vessels4 ,the older inhabitants along the coast remember when it first became known1 and ,i am sure that it made itself known very soon after it arrived4 ,the jigger is a tiny species of flea1 so small that the naked eye sees it with difficulty4 ,it has all the reprehensible habits of its kind4 ,the males hop all over one's person in a playful manner1 giving him a nip here and a nip there2 but the females burrow beneath the skin4 ,the favourite place is the feet1 especially under the nails1 but they are frequently found also under the finger nails and sometimes in the elbows and knees4 ,here the female1 unless discovered and removed1 forms a sac which expands to the size of a small pea1 and which contains hundreds of little jiggers who soon begin to 8jig0 for themselves1 and burrow again in the same flesh4 ,many of them however are scattered on the ground2 those that remain keep multiplying1 until if neglected the whole foot becomes a festering sore4 ,to the ,african child the jigger is the occasion of its worst suffering4 ,i have seen children who could not walk1 some with toes eaten away1 and several with nearly the whole foot gone4 ,for1 to the ,african and to some white men1 they are not irritating while boring beneath the skin1 and afterwards they are very hard to see1 especially in the black skin of the native4 ,one may know nothing of their presence for several days1 after which they are so hard to remove that the native child will bear the irritating itch that they first occasion rather than submit to the pain of removing them2 and when the itch has become a painful sore1 no child could remove them4 ,some ,african mothers watch their children's feet closely but others neglect them cruelly4 ,i am glad to say that those who allow their feet to get full of jiggers1 or mothers who neglect the care of their children's feet1 are looked down upon1 as lousy persons would be among us1 though not to the same extent4 ,the jiggers are less troublesome in the wet season4 ,but with the dry season their numbers increase rapidly1 and towards the close of the season the soil and the sand are fairly alive with them4 ,if possible1 missionary boarding-schools ought to have vacation at this time2 for the white missionary is sure to get them in the schoolroom2 and the dormitories1 which usually have only earthen floors1 become so infested with them that even native children are often kept awake at night1 and the amount of discipline necessary to make them keep their feet in order may demoralize the school4 ,there are always children1 large and small1 who need no supervision1 and are sufficiently self-respecting to keep their feet clean2 but their task is made exceedingly difficult by the presence in the same dormitory of those who breed jiggers by thousands4 ,as a rule1 with but few exceptions1 the children who keep their feet clean are those who have been in the school before and are known as mission-boys and mission-girls4 ,in my boys' boarding-school of later years one would see a strange sight each day during the dry season4 ,the whole school filed out at recess and sat down along either side of the path leading to the mission-house4 ,a committee of boys examined the feet of the others and reported to me the name of every boy who had jiggers in his feet2 while ,i stood with note-book in hand and wrote down their names4 ,then when the food was given out at noon these boys were left without food until their feet were pronounced clean4 ,the larger boys were responsible for those of their own town or family who were too small to attend to their own feet4 ,i once kept a boy more than a day without food until he removed his jiggers1 and one hopeless boy ,i at last expelled from the school for the offense4 ,for rigid insistence upon this discipline1 ,i felt1 lay close to moral instruction4 ,the white man of course suffers from jiggers1 but not so much as the native1 because of his shoes1 his cleaner house1 and because his feet are more sensitive1 so that he becomes aware of them after several days at the most1 when they can be removed without injury1 if it is very carefully done4 ,after one has been in ,africa a length of time he will detect their presence as soon as they begin to burrow4 ,some white men have a native boy examine their feet every night or morning2 for the boy has very sharp eyes1 and he removes the jigger with surprising skill4 ,it can be done with a pin2 a needle is better and a pair of tweezers is still better4 ,if the sac that is formed after several days be broken in the removal1 it may cause a sore that will take some time to heal4 ,indeed1 if one be greatly reduced in health and the blood in bad condition1 it may not heal at all until he leaves the country on furlough4 ,i have known men who for weeks were not able to wear a shoe because of jigger sores4 ,after ,i had been a few months in ,africa1 one day1 while in bed with fever1 ,i said to a friend that in allowing my feet to touch the floor beside the bed where natives had been standing1 ,i must have caught the itch2 for a most irritating itch had been troubling me for several days4 ,my friend at once suggested jiggers as the cause4 ,i answered with great assurance that it certainly was not jiggers1 for ,i had watched my feet very closely1 having determined from the first that ,i should get no jiggers--which of course was true1 but ,i suppose ,i had been watching for creatures the size of potato-bugs crawling over my feet ,i at once called a native boy1 however1 wishing perhaps to assure my friend1 and the boy found seven colonies of jiggers4 ,it took my feet a long time to heal4 ,but it never happened again4 ,the male jigger1 as ,i have said1 does not burrow in the flesh1 but disports himself upon the surface and makes himself very numerous4 ,he is one of the great variety of influences that keep the white man constantly scratching4 ,the native scratches too1 scratches most of the time1 and often with both hands1 but he does not get excited about it1 nor attract so much attention4 ,but the habit is disgusting in the white man1 and after all it is a habit rather than a necessity4 ,a minority exercise the strongest self-restraint1 a larger number exercise restraint sometimes2 many white men1 however1 exercise no restraint at all1 but scratch continually1 regardless of the occasion4 ,the sandfly1 or midge1 not known at the coast1 but widely distributed in the interior1 must be counted among the worst of ,african pests4 ,they also are exceedingly small4 ,they do their utmost to make life intolerable in the early morning hours after daylight1 and again in the evening before dark4 ,some are more sensitive to them than others4 ,when ,i was living in the interior1 ,i bathed my hands and face in kerosene or turpentine each morning and evening as their hour approached and sometimes repeated it once or twice before they retired4 ,the mosquitoes are so bad1 especially in the low places along the coast1 that even the natives must sleep under mosquito nets4 ,in the song of our childhood we were impressed with the possibilities of such minuti--as little drops of water1 little grains of sand and little moments of time1 when these are multiplied by infinity4 ,but infinity is the status of all insect life in ,africa4 ,in order to realize the pest of the mosquito in towns adjacent to mangrove swamps one must multiply the insect until it seems to compose about fifty per cent4 of the atmosphere4 ,its music too is impressive4 ,wherever possible the white man builds his house upon a well-cleared hill and so escapes them1 sometimes almost entirely as at ,baraka4 ,but this is not always possible4 ,many missionaries have told of writing letters while sitting cross-legged on their beds with the mosquito-net drawn down around the bed4 ,the centipede is common1 especially in those houses that have thatch roofs4 ,the ,african centipede is very large1 and its bite is poisonous1 though rarely fatal4 ,my first experience with it was one morning1 in my bedroom1 when ,i took a bouquet of flowers off the table and held them to my face4 ,a large centipede glided out of the flowers1 and running swiftly across my hand and along my arm to the elbow1 dropped to the floor4 ,fortunately1 my sleeve was short1 else ,i should have been bitten4 ,but one morning that ,i shall not forget ,i put on a sock1 and there was a centipede in the toe of it4 ,unfortunately the sock was in a state of good repair2 there was no hole in the toe4 ,i was badly bitten1 for it was some time before ,i could get the sock off2 and the sickening feeling of repulsion was worse than the bite4 ,i afterwards acquired the habit of shaking socks and shoes and clothing before putting them on4 ,it is well worth while2 for if one is disappointed in the matter of centipedes1 one may perhaps shed a scorpion or several roaches1 or sometimes even a snake4 ,there are scorpions in all parts of ,africa and in some places they abound4 ,their bite is always bad1 and that of some varieties is dangerous4 ,but if ,i were asked my opinion as to the very worst pest in ,africa1 ,i would name the roach1 or cockroach1 and ,i think that the majority of white men would agree with me4 ,my aversion to this creature is so strong that ,i do not pretend to be able to give a dispassionate judgment4 ,it is a beast of an insect4 ,it is much larger than the familiar cockroach of this country and is often two inches long2 and all its powers and qualities of disposition are proportionately developed4 ,it multiplies with amazing rapidity4 ,it has an odour that for real nastiness takes preminent rank even in malodorous ,africa4 ,it has a voracious appetite1 eats almost everything and seems to get fat on arsenic1 which ,i have fed to it in large quantities2 though some persons declare that it thrives on arsenic by not eating it and by detecting it even when mixed with sugar or anything else4 ,it is found in the pantry1 in clothing1 in the library1 in furniture1 in every drawer and every corner1 and a thatch roof is soon full of them4 ,even in bed one is not always free from them1 for during sleep they often nibble one's nails and hair4 ,the only way to kill the cockroach is to crush it1 and the result is so disgusting that one will feel that it has more than avenged its death4 ,once in a while in the evening all the cockroaches take to flying1 as if seized with a panic or madness4 ,and when they do this they make one forget all the other pests of ,africa4 ,if the least bit of butter or grease should touch a suit1 one may depend upon it that unless it is put in a roach-proof trunk the roach will find that spot1 and in the morning a hole will be eaten through4 ,they devour wool as a horse eats hay2 but they will leave both wool and grease for the starch contained in cloth bookbindings4 ,they show a decided preference for new books1 the starch being softer in these4 ,if1 in a moment of supreme folly1 one should leave a book uncovered on a table over night1 he will find it in the morning with several spots upon it the size of a dime1 where the starch and colour are eaten out and the bare gray threads exposed4 ,this happened to my ,memoirs of ,tennyson2 both volumes were badly defaced in one night4 ,of course one will cover with heavy paper--when he has the paper--every book in his library1 or1 at least1 those that are not already spoiled by the time he gets round to them2 but books so covered lose their identity1 like friends in masquerade4 ,besides1 books thus kept in paper in that damp atmosphere will soon be covered with mould4 ,if one adds to this that while roaches or mould are destroying the outside of his books white ants are doing their best to get at the inside1 he will see that the obstacles incident to literary pursuits in ,africa are well-nigh insuperable4 ,i cannot dismiss the white ant with this passing notice1 for it also is one of the pests of ,africa2 indeed1 there are many who regard it as the worst of the ,african pests4 ,it is characteristic of the impudent hypocrisy of this stealthy insect that it should somehow get itself called a white ant1 when1 as a matter of fact1 it is not an ant at all1 and is not white4 ,it is a dirty-yellow termite1 a soft-bodied insect1 in appearance like a very small piece of impure tallow4 ,it is commonest in ,africa1 but is also found in ,south ,america1 ,india and ,ceylon1 and one species1 it is said1 is even found as far north as ,bordeaux4 ,the admirable and interesting features of the white ant 7and it has some7 have nowhere been better described than in ,henry ,drummond's charming chapter in ,tropical ,africa4 ,the white ant lives underground in colonies of enormous numbers4 ,it feeds chiefly on dead wood1 and its presence is the explanation of the noticeable fact that there is very little dead wood--rotting logs or fallen branches--in an ,african forest4 ,it does not wait until dead branches fall1 but climbs the trees in search of them4 ,but as its body is choice food for birds and other insects1 and as it is defenseless and even blind1 it protects itself whenever it comes above ground by building an earthen tunnel over itself as it climbs4 ,this yellowish brown tunnel1 a half tube in form1 and half an inch wide1 one will see running up trees and posts everywhere in ,africa4 ,in building it they carry the earth in grains or little pellets from below the ground through the tunnel to the open end of it2 then having covered the pellet thoroughly with a sticky secretion they place it firmly in its proper position and hurry away for another4 ,the soldiers of the colony1 which are very few comparatively1 are armed with formidable jaws4 ,two or three of these guard the open end of the tunnel where the work is being done4 ,they take no part in the work of construction4 ,but if an enemy1 usually in the form of an ant1 draw near with the object of capturing a worker1 the soldier in an instant will be upon him4 ,he may pound him to death1 or thrust him through1 or using his mandibles like a pair of scissors may cut him in two1 or hurl him from the battlement as with a catapult2 these different methods representing different species4 ,after this the workers again proceed with the building of the tunnel4 ,these tunnels are for temporary use and are not nearly as substantial as the nests4 ,they crumble into dust after a few weeks and are blown away by the wind or washed down by the rain4 ,the ant-hills and the ground below are filled with an intricate network of tunnels4 ,professor ,drummond tells us that in the elevated plains of ,central ,africa these ant-hills are mounds ten or fifteen feet high and thirty or forty feet in diameter1 and even then the greater part of the ant habitation is underground2 and that the amount of reddish-brown earth plastered upon the trees is sufficient to give tone to the landscape4 ,and this he says is the great agricultural process of the tropics1 which in temperate zones is accomplished by the earthworm carrying the under soil to the surface1 transposing the upper and the lower layers1 doing thoroughly what man does rudely with the plough4 ,in the lower plains of ,west ,africa1 the white ant is not so abundant1 nor the ant-hills nearly so large as those which ,professor ,drummond saw4 ,nor is there any such need of them1 for the earthworm is common enough4 ,the more numerous ant-hills are two or three feet high and are often shaped like a series of bowls turned upside down one on top of another2 but the shape varies4 ,a good way to provide for young chickens is to send a boy to the bush to get an ant-hill1 then break off several small pieces at a time and give to the chickens4 ,it will be full of ants1 and the happiness of the chickens will be ample reward3 there is nothing that they like better4 ,and that reminds me that ,schweinfurth1 in ,the ,heart of ,africa1 relates that he himself ate white ants in unlimited quantities4 ,he says they are especially good with corn4 ,and then he recommends them as best when they are 8partly boiled and partly fried40 ,i never tried them that way4 ,the most painstaking study and the most elaborate description of the white ant that has ever been made is probably that of ,karl ,escherich1 whose book1 ,termitenleben auf ,ceylon1 has recently been published4 ,escherich spent three months in ,ceylon studying the white ant4 ,he describes thirty-five species of termite existing in ,ceylon4 ,in the nest 7the termetarium7 of many of the species of white ants there are tunnels and chambers devoted to the growing of a certain fungus--real fungus gardens4 ,sometimes two different species of termite inhabit the same nest1 or termites and ants4 ,they live in different galleries which intermingle but never open into each other4 ,if by the breaking of a wall they should come together fierce battles ensue4 ,sometimes other insects1 certain beetles1 for instance1 live with the termites as guests1 to whom they even feed the larv4 ,their presence is probably a protection against their enemies2 and they seem to have many4 ,an army of marauding ants will sometimes invade the nest and seek to carry off the occupants4 ,there are several distinct castes in the social organization of the termites2 the queen1 the males1 the soldiers1 the workers and the larv4 ,the queen is enormous in size as compared with the workers2 sometimes three inches long4 ,and exalted to the throne she never moves again1 but confines her activities to the laying of eggs1 which she deposits at the rate of several thousand a day4 ,but more remarkable than either her size or her ugliness is the fact 7stated by ,escherich7 that she sweats out to the surface of her body a substance which is eagerly devoured by the workers4 ,it is this 8exudate0 which binds them to her and for which they feed and cherish her4 ,the workers are continually licking her and ,escherich declares that he saw one worker tear out a piece of the mother's hide and eagerly drink the liquid which flowed from the wound4 ,and as her body was scarred in many places it would seem that this was not uncommon4 ,a certain 8ant-exterminator0 has been used successfully in destroying the white ant4 ,it consists of a charcoal stove on one side of which is a hand-pump and on the other a hose4 ,a powder of eighty-five parts of arsenic and fifteen parts of sulphur is thrown upon the glowing charcoal and by means of the pump and the hose the fumes are forced into the nest4 ,then the entrance is plugged and the nest is left thus for several days4 ,but perhaps somebody is asking why an insect so wonderful and interesting should be destroyed at all4 ,and that reminds me that ,i classified the white ant as a pest--and one of the worst pests in ,africa4 ,when the white ant devours an object1 a dead branch1 for instance1 it works inside1 consumes the whole interior and leaves the thinnest shell of an exterior1 an empty shape1 which yields at a touch and falls into dust or nothing4 ,and unless one watches very closely1 or provides some special protection1 it will do this same thing with his house or the furniture in it1 or the wooden posts under it4 ,white men's houses are built upon posts and elevated several feet from the ground4 ,a post beneath the house1 though of the hardest wood1 and appearing to the eye to be quite sound1 may in fact be a hollow cylinder which will collapse at a kick4 ,iron pillars are now generally used instead of wood1 iron being about the only substance which the white ant cannot eat4 ,but one must watch the iron pillars closely for the earthen tunnel leading from the ground to the wooden beams above2 for once they get into a house they can never be gotten out4 ,a board in the floor will collapse1 or a trunk1 of which they have left only a shell4 ,they are very fond of paper2 so one must especially watch his library1 or some day he will take down his favourite poet only to find that there is nothing of it but cover and the edges of the leaves4 ,i know this very thing to have happened4 ,i contracted a special prejudice against them when they came out of the floor into my barrel of sermons--and ,i remembered the particular quality of food they are supposed to relish4 ,i was not using those sermons in ,africa and it is not likely ,i should ever have used them again anywhere2 neither am ,i the victim of any delusion in regard to the loss that the world sustained in their destruction4 ,the loss was mine alone1 and was chiefly sentimental4 ,but a minister usually has a unique regard for his sermons1 a regard proportioned to the extent that they represent the sweat of the brain and the heart4 ,in this instance the destruction was only partial2 for by a mere accident ,i discovered them before they had entirely chewed and digested all my sermons4 ,these are a few of the most troublesome insect pests1 and there are others4 ,there is the big flying beetle1 purblind and stupid1 that comes in the evening and looks the size of a bat2 that circles around the table several times1 with a noisy boom1 tumbles at length into the gravy and then flops into your face4 ,there is the hippo fly1 like an enormous horsefly1 that thrusts a stiletto into one through his clothing4 ,in the upper part of the ,gaboon ,river1 where navigation with a launch was dangerous and ,i stood constantly by the engine1 ,i had a boy1 sometimes two boys1 standing beside me with fly-brushes to keep them off4 ,there are caterpillars the very touch of whose hair is poisonous and produces an irritation of the skin4 ,there are wasps that daub nests of mud on frames and furniture and even on clothing if it is left hanging for a while without being disturbed4 ,in many parts there are myriads of may-flies that swarm about sunset1 that is1 about dinnertime4 ,sir ,harry ,johnston complains that these may-flies give soup an aromatic flavour4 ,there is the boring beetle that burrows into the rafters1 reducing them to dust4 ,there is the walking-stick1 a slender dead twig1 six or eight inches long1 with lateral stems1 which you sometimes find hanging to your curtains or mosquito-net1 and which1 when you take it in your fingers to throw it out1 suddenly spreads aborted wings1 nearly transparent and of purple hue1 and flies around you1 a creature of only one magnitude--length without breadth2 a conglomeration of dark lines plunging through the air4 ,then1 startled out of your wits1 you think you have seen the devil for sure4 ,i have not touched upon the numerous internal parasites that prey upon humanity4 ,only a scientific expert ought to risk telling extensively of these incredibilities4 ,among them is the eye-worm1 one of the ,filaria1 which in spite of its euphonious name is an abomination4 ,it is a white1 thread-like worm1 an inch long1 that goes all through the body beneath the epidermis4 ,it becomes visible only in the white of the eye1 and while there a doctor can remove it4 ,but it must be done1 not only with extreme care1 but promptly1 for it does not stay long in one place4 ,it is extremely irritating in the eye1 but in other parts of the body1 although it causes distressful itching1 it is not so irritating as one would expect4 ,it sometimes causes swelling1 especially in the back of the hand4 ,every few days my forearm or my hand was swollen from the presence of this worm4 ,i have seen a ridge across the nose where a colony was passing4 ,i have been told that the eye-worm and the worm that circulates beneath the epidermis are not identical4 ,i am not sure about it2 but ,i hope there are not two of them4 ,the guinea worm belongs to the same family1 with the beautiful name1 the ,filaria4 ,the larva enters the human body in drinking-water and makes its way to the subcutaneous tissue of its host's leg1 where it often causes serious abscesses4 ,it grows rapidly1 curling round and round and raising the skin4 ,it often reaches a length of ten feet and sometimes more4 ,all ,african houses are infested with rats and mice4 ,the white man has introduced the cat4 ,but there are still very few and they are so highly valued that among the ,fang in late years a cat has been made a part of the dowry which a man pays for his wife4 ,it was several months after our first house was built at ,efulen before we were able to procure a cat from the coast4 ,in that time the rats had full possession of the house and merely tolerated us4 ,they gambolled all night over the beds in which we were sleeping1 and over ourselves1 sometimes even getting under the cover4 ,i had always abhorred them1 and ,i was led to use a mosquito-net1 not for mosquitoes1 but to keep the rats out4 ,i never got so used to them but that ,i sprang out of bed whenever they got into it4 ,finding that the mosquito-net did not altogether suffice1 ,i hit upon the happy expedient of keeping a lamp lighted in my room all night4 ,this was effective to some extent1 but only by driving them into the rooms occupied by my fellow missionaries1 ,dr4 ,good and ,mr4 ,kerr1 whose abhorrence of them1 however1 was not equal to mine4 ,they wondered why ,i kept the lamp burning1 but ,i did not tell them2 for if we all had lamps the rats would have no choice of room1 and surely a man has some right to profit by his own discovery4 ,i desisted from this practice as soon as ,dr4 ,good solved my purpose1 which he did one night after he had gone to bed1 and instantly announced it with a shout4 ,but at last a new missionary arrived in the shape of a gray cat1 and we welcomed her with a lavish entertainment of sport and feast1 delicately adapted to the instinct and the palate of her feline ladyship4 ,all that night there was wild riot in the pantry where we had put her4 ,in the morning that cat was the shape of a beer-barrel2 and1 besides1 there lay on the pantry floor nine dead rats4 ,when ,i slept in native houses ,i always wore socks at night4 ,the natives declare that the rats attack them during sleep1 especially their feet4 ,and they say that the rat blows upon the wound that it makes so that the sleeper will not feel it4 ,from this belief there is a current proverb which they apply to a flatterer1 or to one who1 while using smooth words1 would inflict an injury3 8,he blows upon the wound that he makes40 ,the natives are perhaps more afraid of snakes than anything else1 and with good reason4 ,africa is the home of deadly snakes4 ,most of them are nocturnal1 and as the white man stays within doors at night1 he may be in ,africa many months before he realizes how abundant they are4 ,whenever it was necessary to go out at night1 ,i always carried a long staff which ,i pushed along the path ahead of me4 ,one of our schoolboys at ,gaboon1 one night about eight o'clock1 was walking down towards the beach in the middle of a wide road1 when he stepped on a small snake4 ,it bit him1 and in about half an hour he died in great agony4 ,at ,batanga a woman one night1 stepping out of her door1 placed her foot on a snake that was coiled upon the door-step4 ,she was bitten and died immediately4 ,sometimes they get into the thatch roofs of the houses1 and between the bamboo walls2 but this rarely happens in the better houses in which the white man lives4 ,one of our missionary ladies at ,benito1 while she was sick in bed with fever1 found a snake coiled under her pillow4 ,the natives upon being bitten by a snake immediately cauterize the wound with a red-hot iron2 or1 when that is not procurable1 they will cut out a piece of the flesh around it1 often cutting off a finger or a toe to save a life4 ,they seem to have the idea that all snakes are deadly1 and if one ask1 in regard to a particular snake1 whether it is poisonous1 the certain response will be an exclamation of astonishment at his ignorance4 ,they solemnly declare in regard to many varieties that they will spring at a man and go straight through his body4 ,this is a strange delusion1 considering their usual accuracy of observation and knowledge in regard to animals4 ,it is probably accounted for by the superstitions that attach to snakes4 ,in many ,african tribes the snake is sacred4 ,in those tribes they are frequently used by the priests as an ordeal in discovering criminals4 ,the people are ranged about the priest1 who is a snake-charmer4 ,he passes around bringing the snake into contact with each person4 ,the person whom it bites is adjudged guilty4 ,the characteristic snakes1 especially the deadly vipers which abound1 are of bright and variegated colours1 green1 red1 yellow and black4 ,some call them beautiful1 but in most of us the association of ideas makes it impossible for us to see any beauty in a snake4 ,their colours are the very colours of nature around them2 and therefore1 instead of making them conspicuous1 are really an approximation to invisibility--though ,i believe that the protective colouration of animals1 as a principle1 has been exaggerated4 ,a recent traveller says that in crossing the entire continent of ,africa he saw only two snakes1 and he adds that since he succeeded in killing both of them there are now no snakes in ,africa1 so far as he knows4 ,i am reminded of a vivid experience when an ,american friend1 ,mr4 ,northam1 stayed some months in ,gaboon and collected biological specimens4 ,mr4 ,northam asked me whether there were many snakes around ,gaboon4 ,i told him that there were very few4 ,at his suggestion ,i told my schoolboys that he wished to collect snakes and would give them something for all the valuable snakes they would bring to him4 ,the immediate result was enough to make a man think that he had been suddenly precipitated into a state of delirium tremens4 ,i had not supposed that there were so many snakes in all ,africa4 ,a continual procession of boys passed my door1 each with some horrible kind of snake dangling from a stick1 or dragging along the ground4 ,and ,i had said there were but few snakes in ,gaboon6 ,the explanation is that ,i kept to the paths while abroad1 and snakes are seldom found in the paths in the daytime2 for they are mostly nocturnal in their habits1 and ,i was not4 ,but the boys know where to find them at any time4 ,after all1 life in ,africa is quite tolerable4 ,as ,i think back over this formidable array of pests1 ,i am somewhat surprised that ,i was not more conscious of them while in ,africa1 and that ,i had leisure to do anything else but fight them4 ,the explanation is that1 although one is fighting some of them all the time1 one is never fighting them all at the same time4 ,,vii ,,the 8,,cannibal0 ,,fang 8,the ,mpongwe have plenty of salt in them10 said one of my boat-boys4 ,he was a ,fang1 and he was speaking of the coast tribe4 8,the ,mpongwe have plenty of salt10 he repeated4 ,i drew out my note-book and credited the boy with a very interesting and expressive designation of a moral quality4 ,such an improvement on our word sand6 ,it was not less interesting1 however1 when ,i found that he meant it not morally1 but literally--that he was speaking not metaphorically1 but gastronomically4 ,as a matter of fact1 not one of these boat-boys had ever tasted human flesh1 and they would have been insulted at the imputation of cannibalism2 but it is not long since their fathers emerged from cannibalism1 and tradition still distinguishes the flesh of the various surrounding tribes1 ascribing a preferable flavour to this or that tribe4 ,it is generally understood that the coast tribes are better flavoured than those of the interior4 ,the ,fang are nearly always referred to as the cannibal ,fang2 and the casual reader might suppose that they were the worst cannibals in ,africa4 ,but the cannibalism of the ,fang does not compare1 either in extent or hideousness1 with that of the ,congo tribes1 as we shall see4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,fang ,,family4 ,the ,fang is one of the largest and most important of the ,west ,african tribes4 ,for many years they have been moving from the far interior towards the coast1 burning1 killing and even eating their way through the older coast tribes4 ,they have now emerged at many points along the coast1 of which ,gaboon was probably the first4 ,the tributaries of the ,gaboon form a network of waterways1 which are also the highways4 ,there are but few bush roads in this part of the jungle and they are of the worst kind2 in the wet season mud to the knees alternating with water to the waist1 and deeper4 ,along the rivers and streams the ,fang have built their towns4 ,the population of a town varies from fifty to two hundred4 ,most of my work was done among the ,fang4 ,from ,baraka ,i reached their towns by boat and canoe1 in later years by the launch ,dorothy4 ,the ,fang are brown1 not black in colour1 and are several shades lighter than the coast tribes4 ,their colour is quite to their liking4 ,they regard themselves as far better looking than white people4 ,the men are usually tall1 athletic and remarkably well formed1 though not as full in the chest as a perfect physique would require4 ,most of the younger men are fairly good looking4 ,many of the younger women have pretty faces1 but they are not nearly as intelligent looking as the men4 ,many of the children are beautiful1 with sweet faces and lovely eyes4 8,they think they are better looking than white people40 ,and why not8 ,i myself do not so regard them2 but ,i may be wrong4 ,questions of beauty are decided by reference to some standard in the mind2 but whether the standard depends upon custom1 and varies with it1 is a matter of doubt and dispute4 ,my own judgment1 like that of others1 was modified as ,i lived among the black people4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds advanced the notion1 according to ,hazlitt1 that beauty was entirely dependent on custom4 ,i feel1 with ,hazlitt himself1 that custom1 though powerful1 is not the only principle of our preference for the appearance of certain objects more than others2 that what constitutes beauty is in some way inherent in the object1 and that 8if custom is a second nature there is another nature which ranks above it40 ,hazlitt in his argument contrasts the ,greek and the ,african face1 doing injustice1 ,i believe1 to the latter4 ,yet in general one must admit that ,hazlitt is right4 ,in the ,greek face he finds a conformity to itself1 a symmetry of feature with feature and a subtle1 involuted harmony of lines1 which he says is wholly wanting in the ,african face4 ,the ,greek face is beautiful1 8because it is made up of lines corresponding with or melting into each other20 the ,african face is not so1 8because it is made up almost entirely of contradictory lines and sharp angular projections40 8,the general principle of difference between the two heads is this3 ,the forehead of the ,greek is square and upright1 and1 as it were1 overhangs the rest of the face1 except the nose1 which is a continuation of it almost in an even line4 ,in the ,negro1 or ,african1 the tip of the nose is the most projected part of the face2 and from that point the features retreat back1 both upwards towards the forehead1 and downwards towards the chin4 ,this last form is an approximation to the shape of the head of the animal1 as the former bears the strongest stamp of humanity40 ,the ,african physiognomy1 he further observes1 is made up of jagged1 cross-grained lines1 starting out in every oblique direction1 and in fact appears 8splitting in pieces40 ,but the ,african physiognomy is also consistent with itself2 its abruptness is uniform4 ,there is regularity in the violence of its changes2 and may not this also constitute beauty to an accustomed eye8 ,it is certain that there is in such a face the possibility of an extraordinary expression of grandeur and moral force2 and these also are aspects of beauty1 as well as the intellectual and affectional elements that constitute the expression of the ,greek face4 ,there is a beauty of mountains as well as of meadows4 ,however it may be1 we who have lived long among the ,africans1 and without the distemper of racial prejudice1 do invariably find that our ideas1 or our standards1 gradually undergo such a change that the ,african face appears to us in varying degrees of beauty1 much as that of the white2 beauty which at first we did not see4 ,even the nose1 which bears a striking resemblance to the ace of clubs1 at length1 with custom1 ceases to appear ugly1 and seems the absolutely proper nose for the ,african physiognomy4 ,and they surely have beautiful eyes4 ,yet one must admit that it is not eyes1 nor noses1 nor even faces1 but legs1 that are most in evidence in ,african society4 ,i suppose it is because we are not used to seeing those honourable and useful members exposed that they are so conspicuous4 ,looking at an ,african crowd1 especially when seated on the ground as in a village service or listening to a native 8palaver10 with their knees elevated in front of them1 there seems to be ten times as many legs as people4 ,their variety also commands attention4 ,there are long legs and short legs1 lean legs and fat legs1 straight legs and crooked legs1 gnarled legs1 knotted legs1 brown legs and black legs4 ,probably nowhere in the world is life more primitive4 ,how little a man can live on6 ,how much he can do without6 ,an ,african can be happy with a pot1 a pipe and a tom-tom4 ,i have shown some of them a wheel for the first time1 making use of a toy1 and have explained its use while they wondered4 ,at ,vivi1 on the ,congo1 they tell that when they began to build the railroad they unloaded a shipment of wheelbarrows and ordered the workmen to use them in removing the dbris4 ,a little later they observed the workmen marching in single file with the loaded wheelbarrows on their heads4 ,they have only the vaguest idea of passing time4 ,they never know their own ages1 of course2 neither can they understand why anybody should want to know4 ,a man of middle age makes a serious guess that he is ten years old4 ,a ,french judge in ,senegal tells how that a man1 brought before him1 gave his age as five years--when he had been weaned at least twenty-five4 ,the ,fang when they first come from the interior go almost entirely naked4 ,the men wear a bit of bark-cloth1 the women a few leaves1 children to the age of nine or ten years wear nothing4 ,but as soon as they come in contact with coast people they all begin to wear imported cloth4 ,a chief soon attains the dignity of a shirt4 ,if they have little use for clothes they are passionately fond of ornamentation4 ,when they first come from the interior they are fairly loaded with beads and brass1 the latter made into heavy arm-rings1 leg-rings1 neck-rings and coiled bracelets which cover the entire forearm4 ,at first they regard clothes also as ornamentation and they think that white people1 in comparison with them1 are exceedingly vain4 ,i was holding a service in a ,bulu town when a woman entered and immediately engaged the attention of the feminine portion of the audience4 ,on the preceding day she had visited the mission and ,i had dressed and bandaged an ulcer on her leg4 ,the white bandage had caught her fancy and she removed it that she might keep it clean2 and now she came to the service with it round her neck4 ,the women looked at her1 drew a long loud breath and nudged their neighbours4 ,it was very plain that in their opinion she was much overdressed4 ,and1 strange to say1 she impressed me in that same way4 ,at least1 compared with the others1 she looked as if she might be dressed for a sleigh-ride4 ,the staple food of the ,fang is cassava--that which ,stanley calls manioc--which is the root of a shrub1 a little like our elder in appearance1 from which our tapioca is prepared4 ,they use it however in a much coarser form than tapioca4 ,the root is left macerating in water for several days which has the effect of removing certain poisonous principles4 ,then it is placed in a wooden trough and beaten into a mass with a wooden pestle4 ,after this it is made into straight slender rolls a foot long1 wrapped in plantain leaves1 bound around with fibre and boiled4 ,it tastes a little like boiled tapioca4 ,but whereas we are accustomed to eat the tasteless tapioca with cream and sugar1 the native has neither of these and thinks himself very fortunate if he has a little salt to season it4 ,sometimes in travelling ,i have used it for several days2 but ,i have improved it by frying it in butter4 ,the cassava when properly prepared is evidently wholesome2 but one may frequently see it soaking in a dirty1 stagnant pool1 the same pool that the whole town has used1 for that and other purposes1 week after week and month after month4 ,no one can imagine the variety of germs that it may soak up during the several days that it lies in such a pool4 ,the native is chronically full of worms4 ,he knows it and attributes most pain to their presence4 ,in declaring that he has a headache he places his hand on his forehead and says3 8,worms are biting me40 ,a little kind teaching in the better preparation of their food would be good missionary employment4 ,besides cassava1 they have plantains1 bananas1 sweet potatoes1 corn1 groundnuts and a few other foods that are less common4 ,none of these food products are indigenous4 ,most of them1 including even cassava1 it is said1 were introduced by the ,portuguese1 at intervals within the last three hundred years4 ,meat is not regarded as a necessity1 although there is a chronic hunger for it1 to which some have attributed their practice of cannibalism4 ,in most towns there are a few goats and sheep and chickens2 but they are reserved for feasts and festive occasions4 ,they hunt and trap all the wild animals of the forest and are not averse to eating any of them1 including snakes1 even in an advanced stage of decomposition4 ,on the lower ,gaboon they have abundance of fish1 which they catch with various baskets1 nets1 and seines4 ,there are certain insects1 grubs and caterpillars which they also eat4 ,one day a boy reported to me that the natives of a near-by town had found a bee-tree1 and they wished to know whether ,i would buy the honey4 ,buy it8 ,i should think so6 ,i could scarcely wait for it4 ,they brought it at length2 but instead of smoking the bees out1 they had smoked them in2 they offered me a great mass of honey and grubs and dead bees4 ,they do not eat eggs2 neither do they ever drink milk or use it in any form and our use of it is somewhat disgusting to them4 ,a friend once offered milk to a ,kru-boy just to try him1 and he replied contemptuously3 8,milk be fit only for piccaninny2 ,i no be piccaninny40 ,they have seen white men milk the goat1 which always requires a number of natives to hold the animal4 ,and once when ,mr4 ,gault of ,batanga was explaining to a group of natives about the cow1 which gives the milk that we import in tins1 describing her size and her great horns1 one of the natives suddenly turning to the others exclaimed3 8,say1 he is lying4 ,how could they hold her80 ,since that time most of them have seen cattle4 ,the ,fang wife prepares the food for her husband and sets it in the palaver-house1 or public-house of the town1 where he eats with the other men4 ,she does not eat with them4 ,there is no regular time in the day for eating2 and when they have begun to eat there is no regular time for stopping4 ,the quantity of food is the only limit4 ,on a journey they can go without food a very long time1 far surpassing the endurance of the white man4 ,and they are often compelled to travel with empty stomachs from their habit of eating all their food the first day4 ,but afterwards they will make up for this abstinence1 however prolonged4 ,indeed1 it is by their gluttony1 rather than in other ways1 that they first exhibit their degradation to the white man4 ,i have said that the children were usually pretty2 but sometimes they are dreadfully misshapen by a distended stomach4 ,the last mail brought me a charming picture of a little three-year-old missionary boy of ,gaboon1 prodding the stomach of a native child with his finger1 and with eyes of wonder1 asking3 8,is dat your tummy80 ,one of their first efforts1 after coming in contact with the white man1 is an attempt to acquire the noble art of eating with a spoon4 ,but in the first practice of it if they forget themselves for a moment they are very likely to put the hand to the mouth in the old way and drive the spoon round to the ear4 ,considering their ignorance they are surprisingly cleanly in their persons and their habits4 ,after eating they invariably rinse their mouths with water and they regularly brush their teeth4 ,for the latter purpose they commonly use a brush of soft wood with transverse ridges4 ,they are very particular about this4 ,often a carrier in the bush will carry his brush along with him4 ,sometimes it is the sum-total of his personal effects4 ,everybody knows that the ,african has beautiful teeth4 ,but in some tribes1 and even among the ,fang of the far interior1 they often file the front teeth to a point1 thinking to add to their beauty1 but in fact adding greatly to their ugliness4 ,i have said that the ,fang are cannibals4 ,but this loathsome custom is not as common among them as travellers have generally reported4 ,i doubt whether the ,fang eat any but their enemies--captives taken in war4 ,and their chronic meat-hunger is not the only reason for eating their enemies4 ,it is done as an insult to the enemy1 the most deadly insult that can be offered1 and means that the war will be fought to a finish1 or at least until the other side has eaten one of the enemy4 ,but the practice of cannibalism in war is intimately related to fetishism4 ,it is believed that after eating one of the enemy1 the latter can do them no harm4 ,their bullets will glance harmlessly off their bodies1 or will even go through them without hurting1 if indeed they hit them at all4 ,cannibalism affords them the strongest possible fetish protection4 ,the cannibalism of the ,upper ,congo tribes is much worse than this and is almost indescribable4 ,some of them eat their own dead4 ,sir ,harry ,johnston tells us that the ,basoko tribe bury none but their chiefs4 ,others1 who would not eat their own dead1 exchange them for the dead of a neighbouring clan4 ,this vicious taste often becomes a mania with the ,african1 an obsession1 like the ungovernable appetite for rum1 until he thinks of man chiefly as food to satisfy this craving4 ,among such tribes raids are made on their neighbours for the express purpose of cannibalism4 ,sir ,harry ,johnston speaks of the son of a celebrated chief who once exclaimed3 8,ah6 ,i wish ,i could eat everybody on earth60 and also of a ,bangala chief who ate his seven wives in succession1 inviting his friends and close associates to the feast4 ,it is more than possible that these lowest forms of cannibalism are due to the demoralization incident to the slave-raids of the ,arabs4 ,the ,arabs were succeeded by the ,belgians2 but some of those who are best qualified to judge think that the rgime of the ,belgians has been worse than that of the ,arabs4 ,among tribes to whom such forms of cannibalism would be revolting1 there are probably individual inhuman ghouls1 who exhume the bodies of the dead in the night and eat them4 ,and it may be from this fact that witches are always accused of eating people4 ,if it be true1 then1 throughout the entire ,fang tribe1 that they eat only their enemies it will be seen that their cannibalism is very different in extent and even in loathsomeness from that of some other tribes4 ,it is a fact1 however1 that the cannibal tribes are not necessarily lower than the others1 but may be quite as gentle and tractable and quite as capable4 ,and from this some have argued that1 after all1 our horror of cannibalism is purely conventional1 due to custom and training2 and that there is no essential difference between eating human flesh and that of the lower animals1 except in imagination4 ,but the readiness with which whole tribes renounce the custom1 become ashamed of it1 and contract the white man's abhorrence for it1 confirms the belief that it is never legitimate and must always be regarded as a vice4 ,in such matters imagination may be closer to our moral natures than we know4 ,a certain town on the ,gaboon named ,alum--when ,i left ,africa ,i knew personally most of the men1 women and children of the town--is populated by one of the most intractable clans of the ,fang4 ,though peculiarly fierce in war1 they are otherwise gentle and courteous4 ,the venerable chief ,i regarded as a particular friend4 ,he had a long beard--somewhat rare among the ,fang and highly esteemed4 ,it was braided tightly and tied on the end with a string as venerable as the beard itself4 ,the braid was not for fashion or beauty4 ,it was intended to prevent the possible loss of stray hairs that might fall into the hands of an enemy and be used as a powerful fetish against him4 ,upon my leaving the town at the conclusion of a visit it was in accord with custom for him to express his personal regard for me by taking my hand in his and spitting in it4 ,in order to appreciate this beautiful custom one must regard it spiritually--if he can4 ,it is called 8blowing a blessing40 ,the blessing is blown with the breath and the spitting is a trivial accessory4 ,it was when these people first migrated from the interior bush that the following incident occurred--which was told to me by ,sonia of ,gaboon who knew all the persons concerned4 ,a certain man's wife having several times eloped with a man of another town and having caused the husband much trouble and humiliation1 he at last became so enraged that instead of seeking to procure her return he determined upon a bloody revenge4 ,with several companions he immediately started in a canoe for the town where her father and mother lived1 arriving before they had heard the news of their daughter's latest elopement4 ,at some distance from the town they left the canoe and entered the forest4 ,all the others of the party hid themselves near the path while the man himself went on to the town and professed to have come just to make his mother-in-law a friendly visit4 ,addressing her as ,mother1 he told her that he had killed a bush-pig in the forest and that he had come to ask her to go with him to get some of it before he should take it home4 ,the woman1 without doubting1 followed him along the path4 ,after a while she said3 8,son1 it is far and ,i am old40 ,he told her that it was only a short distance ahead2 so she went on4 ,soon again she exclaimed3 8,ah1 son1 it is very far and ,i am old40 ,he replied that it was now very near1 thus enticing her far from town4 ,at last he exclaimed3 8,mother1 here it is60 ,at his word the party in ambush sprang upon her and with their swords killed her4 ,they then cut from her body one entire leg1 which they took to their town and ate4 ,he had avenged his injured dignity and had removed his shame4 ,he had no longer any reason to feel ashamed6 ,he sent a brief message to the unfaithful wife3 8,stay where you are2 the palaver is finished40 ,i must say that this incident is not fairly representative of the ,african savage4 ,not that it exaggerates his brutality1 when he is enraged2 but there is in it an element of treachery which is oriental rather than ,african4 ,he does not usually conceal his anger1 but hastens to express it in passionate words4 ,and when one has succeeded in allaying his passion and soothing his feelings1 and he has again smiled and sworn friendship1 one may reckon assuredly that the palaver is ended and that the smile does not conceal malice nor intent of revenge4 ,he is passionate but not vindictive1 cruel but not treacherous4 ,a few years have made such changes that the ,fang of the ,gaboon1 instead of boasting of cannibalism1 would indignantly deny it4 ,in the interior they still practice it as an insult to the enemy4 ,but on the ,gaboon they insult the enemy by charging it against them4 8,the ,african10 says ,booker ,t4 ,washington1 8lives like a child1 in the realm of emotion and feeling40 ,and a white man among ,africans lives much in that same realm4 ,his experience is largely a succession of contrasting emotions4 ,sick with disgust and hopelessness1 when brought into contact with such loathsome features of degradation as we have been considering1 he consigns the whole black race to perdition1 and anon some pathetic circumstance reveals a wealth of moral possibilities1 which touches the heart and makes him ashamed2 some unconscious action of real friendship and confidence in the white man1 it may be2 some expression of the profound affection on the part of a savage towards his mother and children2 or some rude work of art which he displays with pride1 something upon which he has expended astonishing labour for beauty's sake alone--crude enough1 to be sure1 but giving 8thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears40 ,he has a shapely stool which he cuts out of a solid block of light mahogany1 with only one tool1 a rude adz of his own making4 ,he has absolutely no knowledge of joinery1 so he cuts it out of the solid block1 expending upon it an amount of patient labour of which he is usually considered incapable4 ,he also pyrographs it with artistic decorations4 ,why all this labour when the solid block itself is quite as serviceable1 and far more stable8 ,he has an inward sense of beauty to which he must make it conform1 an ideal which commands him and which he strives to execute4 ,the brass handle of his sword he decorates by ingenious and not unskillful repouss designs4 ,the mats that the women weave are decorated with patterns in colours1 requiring care and skill in their making4 ,the curiosity of those who have not seen a white man before1 or are not used to seeing him1 is unbounded and at first attaches to everything that he possesses4 ,magic is their easy explanation of everything they do not understand4 ,a match 7until they become accustomed to it7 will scatter a crowd as quickly as a ,gatling gun4 ,it is the supernatural of which they are most afraid2 as with us1 those who believe in ghosts are more afraid of them than the worst of living enemies4 ,nothing of ours is more wonderful or more desired than the looking-glass4 ,yet they are not always conceited in regard to their appearance4 ,one poor interior woman1 seeing her face in the looking-glass for the first time1 sank to the ground with a little cry1 and said3 8,i did not think ,i was so ugly40 ,their wonder is not always directed as we would expect4 ,it is not the greatest achievement that excites the greatest wonder4 ,one day1 after my return to ,america1 in company with a friend ,i was passing one of the greatest buildings of ,chicago1 when the friend said3 8,what would your ,africans think of such a building80 8,my ,africans10 ,i replied 7pointing to a man on the corner with a tin monkey climbing a string71 8would be so entirely occupied with that tin monkey climbing a string that you could not get them to look at the building40 ,in the invention of the monkey they would have some comprehension of the difficulties to be overcome1 while not knowing how it had been accomplished2 hence the mystery4 ,but in the case of the great building they have no present knowledge which would enable them in any measure to realize the difficulties1 or the principles involved4 ,the ,african wonders most at those things which bear some relation to his present knowledge4 ,for wonder is not exactly an expression of ignorance1 as it has been called1 but rather an expression of imperfect knowledge4 ,all things in our possession of which they did not know the use were regarded as fetishes4 ,i wore glasses when studying4 ,one day at ,efulen ,i came out of the house with the glasses on4 ,a group of women were standing in front of the house2 and several of them1 seeing me look at them through the glasses1 fell flat on the ground2 whereupon ,i discovered that they supposed my glasses were a fetish by which ,i might 7as one of them said7 turn them into monkeys4 ,they supposed that we were 8spirits10 and so they called us4 ,looking at my black shoes one of them exclaimed3 8,the spirit's hands and face are white1 but his feet are black1 and ,i suppose the rest of his body is black40 ,another said3 8,the spirit has feet1 but he has no toes40 ,another said3 8,what an ugly colour6 ,but he would be a beauty if he were black40 ,dear reader3 ,were you ever an object of curiosity8 ,of course you have been on some single occasion--for a passing moment1 or even a whole evening4 ,but ,i mean day after day1 and all the time1 for an indefinite period4 ,if so1 you have my profound sympathy4 ,,viii ,,manners ,,and ,,customs ,the ,fang is a resourceful man1 though he has no genius for mechanical invention4 ,he wrests from nature all that he needs and does not depend upon his neighbour4 ,he lives in a house of bark or bamboo with a roof of thatch1 for which he gathers the materials1 and builds it all himself4 ,in his primitive condition his only clothing is bark-cloth which he skillfully hammers out of fibrous bark4 ,with the fibre of the pineapple1 he weaves a powder-pouch1 or other similar convenience4 ,he makes himself an excellent canoe and is scarcely surpassed as an expert in its management4 ,he is also a fisherman2 and he knits his own fish-net4 ,for the latter he now uses imported string2 but without the imported string he could use some vegetable fibre4 ,if he wishes to improve his primitive bed of poles he makes a grass mat4 ,an old woman one day taught me the art of mat-making4 ,i sat beside her at the loom1 in the street1 and worked under her supervision until she declared me quite proficient--so much so1 she said with some anxiety1 that there was no need of my doing any more4 ,the ,african's knowledge1 too1 however meagre1 is as varied as his skill4 ,as he becomes civilized he will specialize4 ,there will be division of labour in the community and mutual dependence upon one another4 ,no doubt he will gain much2 but he will also lose something1 he will lose in resourcefulness2 he will lose something of freedom and the spirit of independence4 ,and unless he gain much in that which is moral and spiritual1 his loss will be a misfortune wholly grievous4 ,i venture the statement that the ,african is not lazy--at least not very lazy4 ,he is idle not so much because he hates work1 but rather because he is unambitious and the unfortunate victim of a habit of content4 ,he will not work for the sake of working1 because1 unlike the white man1 he can be supremely content in idleness4 ,but offer him something that he really desires or deems worth while and he will work amazingly4 ,there are only one or two things that the ,african will work for2 that is to say there are only one or two things that he wants4 ,he will work to earn a dowry in order to marry2 especially if he has in mind some particular woman as the prospective wife4 ,month after month he will labour and even for a year or two he will engage in the hardest work4 ,but just as the white master is about to reverse his opinion of the whole black race and proclaim that they are the greatest workers in the world the man completes the amount of the dowry1 and immediately he quits4 ,no inducement will tempt him to continue4 ,to offer him double wages would only lower his estimate of your intelligence4 ,he will work for an end that he desires2 but the ordinary motives of the white man do not appeal to him at all4 ,he will never work for the mere sake of accumulating wealth4 ,the men do all the building1 and when a new garden is made the men cut down the trees4 ,their hardest work is incident to war or hunting1 but it is occasional1 and most of their time is spent in absolute idleness4 ,the regular work is done by the women4 ,it is chiefly that of caring for the gardens 7which are sometimes far from the town71 carrying home the produce1 gathering wood and carrying it from the forest1 and cooking the food4 ,they rise at daylight and start for the gardens1 leaving the care of the babies to older children or to their husbands4 ,i have seen the husband of six wives taking care of several hungry babies whose mothers have been long in the gardens2 and it seemed to me that he1 rather than the wives1 had the heavier end of the domestic responsibilities4 ,there is one other instinct besides that of matrimony that will stir the dormant energy of the native1 and that is the love of driving a bargain4 ,he is a born trader4 ,but if prices1 however high1 should become hopelessly fixed1 and shrewdness have no advantage1 ,i am not sure that he would care any more for the trade4 ,wherever a foreign government has not interfered with ,african custom the produce of the interior1 chiefly rubber and ivory1 is carried from the far interior1 in brief stages1 by successive caravans4 ,the original owners of the ivory start coastward in a company4 ,beyond a certain limit they cannot go1 as the people will not allow them to pass4 ,they must give over the ivory to others who will carry it over the next stage and in turn deliver it to others4 ,there may be five or six stages in the journey to the coast4 ,the first company when they deliver the produce to the next do not return home but remain in the town of the second company until their return1 often assuming their marital relations in their absence4 ,the second company does the same in regard to the third1 and the others likewise4 ,since the goods received in payment must come from the coast1 no bargain is made until the return journey4 ,the last company carries the ivory to the coast and obtains goods in payment1 returning to their town1 where the preceding company is waiting4 ,then follows a great palaver and oceans of oratory4 ,the company in possession seek to keep as large a portion as possible of the goods and to give as little as possible to the interior people4 ,the palaver at last being settled1 this company starts for home and again1 after an exciting palaver1 divides the goods with the next company1 whom they find still waiting for them4 ,this is repeated with each successive stage until at last the original owners1 after weeks of waiting1 get a small remainder of the goods1 or at least a souvenir1 for their ivory4 ,the principal satisfaction is perhaps not the actual amount of the goods1 but the big palaver1 and the driving of a shrewd bargain4 ,with the establishment of the ,european government this trade method is sooner or later reversed4 ,the white trader sends native sub-traders into the interior to buy produce as directly as possible from the original owners4 ,this cuts off the people of the intermediate stages from what they regard as their exclusive right of participation as middlemen4 ,the dissatisfaction usually grows until it ends in war4 ,germany in her various colonies is frequently engaged in this one-sided war2 and she wages it ruthlessly4 ,meantime the ,fang of the lower ,gaboon and some other tribes similarly situated have found far better employment4 ,the ,fang raise food--cassava and plantains--for the market at ,libreville4 ,for there are usually about seventy-five white men in ,gaboon1 all of whom eat plantains2 and there are throngs of natives1 servants of the white men1 and others employed by the government4 ,besides1 the ,mpongwe women1 except the ,christians1 are mostly unwilling to care for gardens and they must buy food for themselves and their families4 ,the ,fang therefore can easily sell all the food they can raise4 ,in the morning looking from the mission-house one may see the bay covered with white sails like a flock of sea-gulls--the sails of the ,fang canoes bringing food to the market4 ,this is surely the best fortune that can fall to any people in ,west ,africa4 ,while it still gives opportunity for their trade instinct1 it turns them to agriculture1 the most wholesome of all occupations for such a people4 ,it keeps them at home1 provides healthful work1 extends opportunity to all and distributes prosperity4 ,illustration3 ,,fang ,,traders ,,with ,,ivory4 ,the white man in setting out for ,africa divests himself of every superfluous possession and provides only for the bare necessities of life4 ,if he is bound for the interior he must feel that he has consecrated himself to poverty4 ,it is strange1 therefore1 and surprising to find the natives regarding his meagre stock of goods as fabulous wealth and himself as a sort of multi-millionaire4 ,but it is stranger still that he himself should gradually accept their judgment and regard himself as rich4 ,for the sense of wealth depends upon having more than one's neighbours2 and there is no feeling of privation in not being able to procure those things that nobody else has4 ,the white man's privations may be many1 but they are inevitable2 he has all that is procurable in his situation1 and far more than those around him4 ,he therefore has a comfortable feeling of wealth1 the more pleasant because unexpected4 ,but this attitude of the natives towards the white man1 especially in new tribes1 forebodes trouble4 ,there is not much danger of robbery or violence1 but there is danger to his moral influence4 ,a kind of communism obtains among them4 ,a man having our 8abundance0 would divide with the men of his town1 all of whom are related to him4 ,if a man hunting in the forest should kill a monkey or a python he will bring it to his town before he cuts it up and it will be divided equally4 ,for this reason it is very hard to buy any game from them2 no one person has authority to sell it4 ,even at the coast and in the old semi-civilized settlements1 when a native1 after being employed by a white man1 returns to his town with his wages he will be expected to assist everybody in the town who happens to want anything and has not the price--and there are always some of them who want to get married and have not succeeded in raising the dowry4 ,so the wages of a hard year's work are dissipated in less than a month4 ,it is hard1 but it is custom4 ,it cannot be denied that the custom fosters an easy-going content and precludes the unhappiness and cruelty of worldly ambition4 ,but1 with ambition1 energy also and industry are discouraged and a premium is put upon laziness4 ,the tyranny of custom in ,africa and other uncivilized lands is not easy for those to realize who have not witnessed it4 ,it is 8the only infallible rule of faith and practice40 ,the people of the interior1 when the white man first goes among them1 invariably expect him to divide his goods with them just as soon as they understand that he professes to be their friend4 ,such a profession seems hypocrisy while he keeps his goods4 ,they can yield intellectual assent when he reasons that the white man has a right to his own customs2 but in the consideration of a particular custom it still remains that theirs is right and his is wrong2 and when they actually see the goods1 greed masters reason and they are often enraged4 ,all worldly prosperity in ,africa depends upon the possession of proper fetishes4 ,they are therefore quick to conclude that we have very powerful fetishes2 and it is inevitable that before long they should conclude that the ,bible is the missionary's fetish4 ,at ,efulen1 among the ,bulu1 when we had been there but a short time1 a band of men1 setting out upon the war-path with their guns upon their shoulders1 marched up to our hill and asked if we would give them a ,bible to take with them to make their guns shoot straight and procure their success4 ,one day ,dr4 ,good missed a ,bible4 ,it had been stolen4 ,he heard nothing of it for a month2 after which he was one day walking through a native village where the people1 expecting to go to war next day1 were preparing a very powerful fetish or 8war-medicine0 by boiling together in a pot several of their most reliable fetishes2 and in the boiling pot he found his ,bible4 ,perhaps it is the frequency of war between towns that keeps the people within a town1 or in a company1 generally at peace among themselves4 ,it is surprising how one can trust workmen or carriers or schoolboys to divide their food without quarrelling4 ,in this respect they far surpass white workmen1 or white schoolboys4 ,where we would expect a quarrel no quarrel occurs4 ,and then again1 just when one has declared that 8,africans never quarrel10 a scandalous quarrel breaks out over some infinitesimal matter4 ,individuals1 especially women1 often have a reputation for quarrelling4 ,some towns are notorious4 ,i once visited such a town1 where no white man had been before4 ,i found the stormiest people ,i ever met in the jungles4 ,during the two days that ,i remained in the town there occurred an almost continuous succession of palavers1 each of which seemed to involve the whole population of the town--men1 women and children4 ,long after they went into their houses for the night some of them continued yelling their anger loud enough to be heard by all whom it concerned4 ,the occasion of a general quarrel the day that ,i arrived was this3 ,a certain man's hen had laid an egg in another man's house1 and the latter man had kept the egg4 ,the town was rent in twain over the ownership of that egg4 ,forcible arguments were presented on either side but without avail4 ,before it was settled something else had happened that required a vigorous exercise of lungs for its adjustment1 and the egg palaver was laid on the table4 ,there was not a spare moment in which to resume it before ,i left1 and it may be undecided to this day4 ,even while ,i was preaching1 a woman in the congregation1 sitting immediately in front of me1 continued the palaver1 occasionally yelling unladylike remarks to some other woman whom she evidently supposed to be at the end of the universe4 ,in all such quarrels there is much of bluff and bluster1 but not so much anger as one might suppose4 ,such a quarrel1 if anything should appeal to their keen sense of the ridiculous during its progress1 might break up in a laugh4 ,when two ,fang women engage in a prolonged quarrel--usually sitting immediately within the door of their respective houses and cursing each other in shrill tones1 heard all over the town--the people sometimes become impatient and demand that they shall come out into the street and fight4 ,i have witnessed such a fight4 ,they prepare for it by throwing off even the shred of clothing that they wear4 ,they fight more like men than women--if it be true that women usually scratch and pull each other's hair when they fight4 ,when one of them is repeatedly thrown to the ground she confesses defeat4 ,at least it may be said to their credit that this usually ends the matter2 and the next day they may be as friendly as ever4 ,the marriage relation1 of course1 dominates all customs and is the foundation of the whole social structure4 ,with the ,africans love is not so closely linked with sex as among most modern races4 ,friendship is deemed nobler than romantic love4 ,this of course is due to the inequality of the sexes2 woman is not regarded as fit for companionship with men4 ,a wife is expected to love her own people more than her husband4 ,a man loves his brothers and his friends at least as much as his wife2 his children he loves far more1 and his mother he loves most of all4 ,indeed1 his love of his mother is the deepest emotion of his heart and his best moral quality4 ,the ,african young and old thinks he has fully justified the most violent assault upon another when he says3 8,he cursed my mother40 ,any uncomplimentary reflection more or less serious is a 8curse40 ,a wife is bought with a price and is part of a man's wealth4 ,a man's wealth is always reckoned by the number of his wives4 ,the chief of the town is the man who has the most wives4 ,but most men have only one wife and some have none1 because they cannot procure a dowry4 ,the size of the dowry differs in different tribes4 ,among the ,fang it is enormous1 considering their very primitive condition4 ,the following dowry was paid by a ,fang near the coast3 ten goats1 five sheep1 five guns1 twenty trade-boxes 7plain wooden chests of imported material71 one hundred heads of tobacco1 ten hats1 ten looking-glasses1 five blankets1 five pairs of trousers1 two dozen plates1 fifty dollars' worth of calico1 fifty dollars' worth of rum1 one chair 7with one leg missing7 and one cat4 ,in addition to such a dowry a man is required to make frequent presents to his wife's relations1 who may be expected to arrive at any time1 and in any number1 for an indefinite visit4 ,if he should fail in this they will induce his wife to run away and return to her town1 and it will cost him many presents and perhaps a war to get her back again4 ,a dowry is often kept intact so as to do service repeatedly4 ,a man is fortunate if he have one or several sisters2 for with the dowry which he procures for them he will get himself as many wives4 ,children are frequently betrothed to each other by their parents4 ,a girl thus betrothed is taken to her husband's town and raised by his mother4 ,little girls1 even infants1 are sometimes betrothed to old men4 ,i knew of an instance where a child was betrothed before it was born1 the dowry being kept intact so that it could be returned in case the child should not be a girl4 ,the frequent betrothal of little girls is partly due to the fact that less dowry is paid for a child than for 8a whole woman10 as the ,fang would say4 ,for those who are not so fortunate as to inherit a dowry or to have a sister the proper thing is to steal a woman from some adjoining town4 ,most women are glad to be stolen and the affair is often an elopement4 ,this will precipitate a war between the two towns4 ,at least nine out of ten wars among the ,fang begin this way4 ,after several or many have been killed the 8palaver0 is settled by the whole town paying the dowry4 ,if a man have many wives it is regarded as magnanimous for him to take little notice of infidelity4 ,seldom1 however1 does he rise to this level of magnanimity and many wives mean constant palavers4 ,in either case it means boundless immorality4 ,the aggrieved husband1 in a case of adultery1 may punish with terrible severity1 if he feel so disposed4 ,in some tribes it is punishable with death4 ,in a tribe immediately south of the ,fang the injured husband frequently cuts off the ears and even the nose of the guilty woman4 ,in one instance that ,i knew of1 on the ,ogow ,river1 a man cut off his wife's nose and lips4 ,among the ,fang ,i have never seen such mutilations1 but in the far interior the practice is probably not unknown4 ,a man suspecting his wife of wrong-doing1 especially after a prolonged absence from town1 may upon the impulse of his own suspicion and without a shred of evidence resort to torture to compel a confession4 ,and this recalls to my mind an occasion upon which ,i administered physical chastisement4 ,i may say that there were three such occurrences during more than twice so many years1 and that in each instance the occasion of my wrath was the outrageous treatment of a woman4 ,one ,sunday morning in a town named ,angon ,nzok1 on a branch of the upper ,gaboon1 ,i was about to hold a religious service when ,i heard1 in the other end of the town1 a woman crying4 ,for a long time she had been moaning and crying in a low tone which had escaped my attention1 though ,i heard it4 ,but now there followed an outburst of piteous cries4 ,i sprang to my feet and ran quickly in the direction of the cries and to the house from which they seemed to issue1 but the door was closed as if no one were within4 ,at first ,i thought that ,i had not rightly located the sound1 but ,i was told that a man and his wife were within the closed house1 the man torturing his wife to extort a confession of unfaithfulness1 and the name of the partner in the wrong4 ,the closed door was a sign1 almost sacred to the ,fang1 that no man must enter1 but ,i disregarded it4 ,the man had returned from a journey1 and without the least evidence had accused the woman and had then resorted to torture to extort a confession4 ,he bound the woman's hands together1 palm to palm1 by means of two bamboo sticks1 which passed across the back of the hands1 the ends being tightly bound together4 ,her hands were then raised above her head and kept there by a cord which was attached to the roof4 ,this mode of torture may not seem horrible as one tells it2 but it really is exceedingly painful1 and if long continued is enough to drive a woman mad4 ,the man at the moment when ,i entered was probably tightening the cords or making them more secure2 wherefore the screams of the poor woman4 ,in the animated exercise which followed the revelation of what was occurring behind that closed door my mind retains a vivid recollection of three prominent and important movements4 ,the first movement was a kick that broke the door in and landed me in the middle of the cabin2 the second was another kick that carried the man to the door2 the third was another kick that lifted him into the street1 where he stood paralyzed with astonishment and rubbing his injuries4 ,it took only a moment to cut the cords and set the woman free4 ,i then went out and found the man1 who of course was not much hurt but was greatly humiliated4 8,now10 ,i said to him1 8if you will solemnly promise never to do this again1 the palaver will be finished and you and ,i will be friends40 ,after a brief conversation we vowed eternal friendship and he came to the service4 ,but long after the service the woman was still crying with the pain1 while other women poured warm water upon her tortured hands1 and murmured their sympathy4 ,it may be supposed that this man would carry out his purpose when ,i had left the town1 and perhaps with increased severity4 ,but this he would not do4 ,the ,african is peculiarly superstitious in regard to interruptions4 ,and an interruption so extraordinary in the performance of such an act would be regarded by him as a sign that the act would be attended by misfortune to himself1 and he would not repeat it4 ,nevertheless ,i thought it well to keep myself carefully informed for some time1 so that in case he should act in defiance of superstition he might not be disappointed in his expectation of misfortune4 ,a man may punish his wife for any misdemeanour or neglect of duty2 and many of them bear upon their backs ugly scars and wounds inflicted by the sword of an enraged husband4 ,however abused1 it is vain for her to appeal to the town2 for it is the town of the husband's family1 and she is the stranger4 ,and1 besides1 the saying among them is that you must never tell a woman that she is right1 lest she despise her husband4 ,a source of injustice1 in the case of polygamy1 is the influence of the head-wife2 for every man who has several wives recognizes one of them as the favourite1 and head over the others4 ,not that she sits in idleness while the others work2 for it is more likely that she is the favourite because she works well and cooks well4 ,but she has every opportunity to tyrannize over the other wives and make their lives a bitter bondage4 ,if they desire anything from the husband there is but little chance of obtaining it unless the head-wife favours the request4 ,in a dispute between two of them the husband's judgment would depend upon the head-wife4 ,she exercises authority over all his children1 even the children of other wives4 ,yet1 not to leave an exaggerated impression1 it must be said that there is much less quarrelling than one would expect between wives of the same husband4 ,the ,african wife also has far more independence in actual life than their theories allow4 ,she owns the garden1 and her husband is dependent upon her for his food4 ,if she runs away she leaves him much the poorer2 at least there is always a risk that he will not recover either her or the dowry4 ,and1 then1 he is mortally afraid of her tongue1 her chief resource2 and well he may be2 for in an outburst of passion it is the tongue of a fiend1 and scorches like hell fire4 ,frequent storms of unrestrained passion give to the face of the woman of middle age a permanent expression of weakness and dissipation4 ,she is the victim of so much oppression and cruel wrong that one would like to depict her as innocent2 for it is human nature to attribute virtue to those who suffer4 ,but it most be confessed that the ,african woman is at least as degraded as the man4 ,he is more cruel2 but she is more licentious4 ,it is exceedingly difficult to learn the attitude of the ,african woman towards polygamy4 ,still1 ,i believe it is contrary to her natural instinct4 ,i have known instances of heathen women cursing ,christian husbands because they would not marry other wives1 and it happens--though infrequently--that women leave their husbands for this reason4 ,but in all such cases ,i believe that the woman acts upon the impulse of some lower motive and at the expense of her better self4 ,in civilized lands are there not those who marry for wealth or social position1 even without love8 ,in ,africa1 wealth and social position are represented by a plurality of wives4 ,the wife of a monogamist is a 8nobody10 and1 besides1 has an unusual amount of work to do4 ,but ,i believe that the majority of women in ,africa have in them enough of the true woman to hate polygamy4 ,their fables and folk-lore are full of this hatred4 ,certain phases of polygamy one cannot discuss frankly4 ,children are not weaned until the age of two or three years4 ,during this period of lactation the husband and wife observe absolute continence in regard to each other4 ,but he has other wives and this continence imposes no restraint upon him4 ,and to the woman it is a source of so much unhappiness and jealousy that she frequently refuses to bear children1 and resorts to abortion4 ,this practice of abortion1 and its relation to polygamy1 is curiously overlooked by those who advocate polygamy for ,africa4 ,it is doubtless more common in some tribes than in others4 ,but while polygamy is obnoxious to the woman's instinct1 it is impressed upon her that the instinct is selfish and ought to be suppressed1 and that it is right to be willing to share her husband with other wives4 ,it is just at this point that the teaching of ,christianity makes so strong an appeal to the ,african woman2 and her response is whole-hearted4 ,it truly 8finds0 her4 ,i know women in ,gaboon who have suffered inexpressible humiliation and grief when their husbands took other wives1 and who immediately separated from them and lived their remaining years in widowhood4 ,the ,orungu tribe1 immediately south of ,gaboon1 from whom ,i often obtained workmen1 have a peculiarly large body of stories and legends1 which form a kind of commentary on all their customs4 ,the following is an example3 ,once upon a time there was a very great king1 ,ra-,nyambia1 who had many sons and daughters1 and whose servant was ,wind4 ,now1 one of this king's daughters1 ,ogula1 had an ngalo4 ,the ngalo is a very powerful fetish4 ,some favoured persons are born with it4 ,it is never acquired by others4 ,ogula1 when she became a 8whole0 woman1 declared that she was not willing to have a husband who would have other wives1 but must have one who would be all her own4 ,she waited a long time1 but found no man who was fit to be her husband4 ,then she consulted her ngalo1 who told her what to do4 ,one day shortly after this1 when her father's people were going hunting1 she said to them3 8,find for me a wild goat1 and do not kill it1 but bring it to me alive40 ,so the hunters brought her a wild goat2 and when ,ogula saw it she said3 8,it is well40 ,she then requested one of the hunters to kill the wild goat and skin it most carefully4 ,she also requested another hunter to fill her canoe with water4 ,the skin she burned in the fire till all that was left was ashes1 and the ashes she carefully wrapped in plantain leaves and put away in a safe place4 ,then she commanded that the entire body of the wild goat should be placed in the canoe1 which was full of water4 ,there she left it for three days4 ,on the third day1 standing beside the canoe1 she addressed her ngalo and said3 8,oh1 ngalo mine1 turn this goat into a handsome and stylish man40 ,immediately there leaped out of the canoe a very handsome and stylish man4 ,then ,ogula sent her servants to her father1 ,ra-,nyambia1 and bade them say to him that she had procured a husband and that she was coming to present him to her father4 ,ra-,nyambia made ready to receive them properly4 ,he called his servant1 ,wind1 and told him to clean up the street2 whereupon ,wind got busy and swept the street clean4 ,and ,ra-,nyambia put on his best ornaments4 ,soon ,ogula appeared with her new husband walking by her side1 while all the people followed in astonishment and admiration1 saying to one another3 8,where did ,ogula get this handsome and stylish husband80 ,ra-,nyambia was greatly pleased2 and ,ogula and her husband returned to her house4 ,but everywhere1 through all the towns1 there went out a report of ,ogula's handsome and stylish husband4 ,now there lived in a town not far away a beautiful woman1 named ,ogondaga1 the daughter of a king2 and ,ogondaga had no husband4 ,at length ,ogondaga said3 8,i am tired of hearing of ,ogula's handsome and stylish husband4 ,this day ,i shall go and see him for myself40 ,she ordered her father's servants to take her in a canoe to ,ogula's town1 saying also to her father that she would return that same day4 ,this1 however1 she did not intend to do2 for she had determined to win the love of ,ogula's husband4 ,ogula received ,ogondaga very kindly1 and when her husband returned from the forest she said to him3 8,this is my friend ,ogondaga40 ,in the evening ,ogondaga's servants came and said to her3 8,it is time to go home40 ,but she replied3 8,you must go without me2 for ,i am going to visit my friend ,ogula40 ,then they asked her when they should return for her1 and she said3 8,you need not come for me at all4 ,i shall go home when ,i please40 ,ogula treated ,ogondaga very kindly1 and gave her plenty to eat and a good bed4 ,the next day ,ogula's husband said to her3 8,i love ,ogondaga2 you must speak to her for me4 ,will you do so80 ,and ,ogula1 though her heart was sore1 said3 8,i shall speak to her40 ,this she did2 and her husband went with ,ogondaga and neglected her4 ,the next day they had work to do together and she called him2 but he was angry4 ,and so it was the next day1 and the next4 ,now this continued for four days2 whereupon ,ogula1 taking some of the ashes of the goatskin1 which she had so carefully kept1 came upon her husband while he was washing1 and suddenly rubbed the ashes upon his feet4 ,instantly his feet were changed to hoofs4 ,he stamped upon the ground and cried out3 8,what is this8 ,what is this80 ,his wife replied3 8,it is nothing at all4 ,why don't you go out on the street80 ,then he pleaded with ,ogula until she relented and by the power of her ngalo changed his hoofs again into feet4 ,but again he abandoned her4 ,then ,ogula1 taking all the ashes of the goatskin1 and watching her opportunity1 while he was washing threw the ashes over her husband's body1 saying3 8,go back where you came from40 ,immediately her handsome and stylish husband was changed into a wild goat and began leaping around the room4 ,ogula opened the door1 outside of which ,ogondaga was sitting1 and the goat sprang through the door into the street and scampered off into the forest1 while all the people laughed and shouted1 saying one to another3 8,so1 ,ogula's handsome and stylish husband was only the wild goat which ,ra-,nyambia's people caught in the forest40 ,but ,ogula turned to ,ogondaga and said3 8,do you see your man8 ,call him to you4 ,he always comes when you call40 ,then ,ogula called ,ogondaga's people to her town4 ,she also told her father1 ,ra-,nyambia1 to prepare for a big palaver4 ,so ,ra-,nyambia called ,wind and told him to sweep the town clean4 ,when ,ogondaga's people came ,ogula brought them before ,ra-,nyambia1 together with all ,ra-,nyambia's own people4 ,then ,ogula told the whole story3 ,how she had got a handsome and stylish husband for herself2 how ,ogondaga came2 how kindly she had received her2 how she was even willing that ,ogondaga should share her husband's heart2 and how ,ogondaga had taken1 not a part1 but his whole heart4 ,finally she said to her visitors3 8,you may go back now to your town2 but ,ogondaga is not going with you4 ,she must stay here and be my slave as long as she lives40 ,and ,ra-,nyambia and all the people said that the judgment was just4 ,so ,ogondaga became ,ogula's slave4 ,and that's the end of the story4 ,the ,african woman is not cynical enough to mean that the difference between a man and a goat is chiefly a matter of the skin4 ,but the wild goat of the story reminds one inevitably of the ancient satyr1 which was half man and half goat2 which men also imitated in pagan festivals1 covering themselves with goatskins1 and singing and dancing4 ,hence the origin of the word tragedy1 which means a goatsong1 and which came to us by way of the ,greek drama1 which was developed from those early religious festivals4 ,the ,fang have a variety of amusements to which they are devoted4 ,they have many games4 ,a few of these are always associated with gambling4 ,but their chief and constant amusements are music1 dancing and story-telling4 ,of music ,i have already said enough4 ,the tom-tom supplies the rhythm for dancing1 but the melodies are vocal4 ,the songs are solos with responsive chants sung in chorus4 ,they dance with the whole body1 setting in motion the limbs1 head1 shoulders1 thighs and stomach4 ,in many of their dances they simulate love-making or hunting1 and the various animals they pursue4 ,sometimes the movements of the dance are very obscene4 ,among the women there are professional dancers2 and these are nearly always women of low reputation4 ,men and women sometimes--not often--dance simultaneously1 but never in couples1 nor is there any physical contact between them4 ,there are solitary dancers1 men and women1 who dance themselves into a frenzy1 leaping into the air or whirling round and round until they fall in a swoon1 or a trance1 during which1 or immediately upon recovering1 they name persons who are guilty of witchcraft4 ,but no person is more popular among the ,africans than a good story-teller4 ,there are professional story-tellers whose performances correspond to those of the theatre among civilized people4 ,one of these takes his place in the middle of the street with the whole population of the town sitting on the ground before him4 8,shall we tell a story80 he says4 8,a story60 they respond in chorus4 8,then let us away60 8,away60 ,in such a story as that of 8,ogula and her ,ngalo10 already told in this chapter1 the story-teller would occasionally break into song or chanting2 whereupon the audience will take up the chant as a refrain and repeat it over and over1 until he is ready to proceed with the story4 ,the ,african is a born story-teller4 ,and we should expect this from the fact that he is the most sociable man in the world4 ,he cannot easily be killed with work2 but isolation will kill him quickly4 ,the old men sit in the palaver-house all their spare time 7that is1 all the time between naps and meals7 entertaining and amazing the younger generation with the narration of their past exploits--how many women have gladly eloped with them1 how many others they have captured1 how many enemies they have killed in war1 and how they have fought wild animals with unheard-of bravery4 ,the conversation is often a lying-match4 ,but they turn out interesting tales4 ,an old man--a famous hunter in former days1 according to his own story--tells at great length of a fierce fight between a leopard and a gorilla which he witnessed2 and having at last exhausted his resources of invention1 but utterly unwilling that the story should end in an anticlimax1 he tells how the gorilla1 watching an opportunity1 suddenly seized the leopard's tail and swung him around his head so swiftly that the leopard was hurled into space leaving his tail in the gorilla's hand4 ,observing the look of incredulity in the faces of his audience1 he gravely adds3 8,and this ,i saw with my own eyes4 ,and when both the leopard and the gorilla had gone ,i picked up the tail and brought it home to my town1 thinking that ,i would use it to keep the flies off my back4 ,many people of the town saw this tail2 but all those who saw it are dead4 ,for1 you see1 it was a human leopard 7a leopard that was formerly a man7 and it haunted the town so long as the tail was there1 and inflicted a plague upon the people1 so that every one who saw the tail died4 ,and at length1 for the sake of the town and the health of the people1 ,i carried the tail to the forest and left it where the leopard would find it4 8,and that's the end of the story40 ,,ix ,,funeral ,,customs ,a ,kru workman died at an ,english trading-house1 it is said--or was supposed to have died--and his uncoffined form was being borne to the grave upon an open bier by his fellow workmen1 when he suddenly embarrassed the funeral cortge by addressing the bearers and demanding that he be instantly informed of what they were intending to do--and why4 ,the affrighted bearers hastily dropped their load and set out for the interior of ,africa4 ,encountering a body of water on the way they plunged into it and submerged themselves as long as nature would allow1 in order to effect a disconnection with talking spirits--which are supposed to have an aversion to water--and their fear being thus quenched1 they returned4 ,the corpse meanwhile got off the bier and went home4 ,premature burials are common enough in ,africa1 for reasons which ,i shall mention later4 ,but the ,african might offer an easier explanation and say that the ,kruman was really dead and came to life again4 ,for the ,african lives in a world of confusion and disorder1 where there is scarcely any such thing as a 8course of nature02 but1 rather1 a succession of unrelated wonders4 ,elsewhere every effect has a cause2 but ,africa is run by magic1 and things happen without a cause4 ,elsewhere1 as some sage has remarked1 every beginning has an end--implying that the end bears a logical relation to the beginning and may even be foreseen2 but in ,africa a beginning is just a beginning1 and affords no clue to the end--if there should be any end4 ,one goes to a wedding1 and it turns out that the groom is a leopard in the form of a man1 who in the midst of the ceremony carries off the bride4 ,one goes to a funeral and the corpse sits up and talks or breaks loose and runs away4 ,this is the atmosphere in which the ,african lives4 ,among the semi-civilized ,mpongwe of ,gaboon1 when sickness seems likely to prove fatal1 the friends and relations from far and near gather into the house of the sick1 as many as can crowd inside1 and sit about on the floor1 quietly expectorating1 or smoking and expectorating1 but always expectorating4 ,the effect of sympathy upon the salivary glands has not been duly considered by physiologists4 ,there is more than one reason for their hastening to the bedside of the sick4 ,it is1 of course1 expected as an expression of sympathy2 and if the sick one should recover he will resent the omission of this customary courtesy4 ,but if he should die there are sure to be charges of witchcraft1 and suspicion is likely to fall first on any who did not come to sympathize1 the supposition being that they were kept away by a sense of guilt4 ,the low wail of mourning starts as soon as it appears that the sick one is dying1 although he may still be conscious4 ,then when the death is announced there is a great outburst of cries and shrieks1 accompanied by frantic actions of grief and protest4 ,but this wild outburst soon subsides into the regular wail of the mourning dirge4 ,the mother is always the chief mourner4 ,however formal the mourning of others1 hers is a poignant anguish that rends the hearer's heart4 ,as she chants she breaks forth into a rhapsody in which she recites the story of her loved one's life1 dwelling upon those incidents the memory of which only a mother cherishes4 ,she sings because she must4 ,no other expression would be adequate2 and certainly no other would be so affecting to the hearer4 ,one reflects that the strongest emotions naturally resort to music for their expression1 and that singing is as natural as laughter or tears2 and one understands how that ancient orators--accounted the world's greatest--chanted1 or intoned their orations without lessening1 but rather deepening the impression of sincerity and passionate conviction4 ,the mourning continues without interruption until the burial1 except while the coffin is being made--for the ,mpongwe use coffins4 ,the coffin is made in the street1 in front of the house4 ,if there should be any wailing at that time the departed spirit will not like his new house1 and some of those who helped to make it will surely die before the year is over4 ,i have seen a man1 who heard the least sound of a wail while he was working on the coffin1 fling his hammer on the ground in great anger and refuse to continue the work4 ,the mourning is also suspended during the digging of the grave1 if it is near by4 ,the making of the grave must not be interrupted1 but continued until it is finished4 ,upon its completion a stick or other object is thrown into it to keep other spirits from taking possession before its proper resident comes to occupy it4 ,the corpse1 having been prepared for burial by being dressed in its best robe1 is laid upon the floor1 the mother or nearest relation taking the head upon her lap and leading in the mourning4 ,but1 before this1 all the relations put on their oldest rags and as few of them as decency will allow4 ,the most civilized among them1 unwilling to disrobe1 often turn their dresses inside out4 ,owing to the peculiar climate bodies are not usually kept long4 ,the funeral sometimes takes place within twelve or even eight hours after death4 ,from the stories of natives one must conclude that premature burial is far from uncommon4 ,the short interval which custom allows between death and burial is a partial explanation4 ,and it may also be accounted for among many tribes by the frequency of religious trance1 mistaken for death4 ,the trance is usually self-induced1 for the purpose of reading the future1 or when they commune with the spirit of the moon2 but the practice would probably make them subject to involuntary trance4 ,they have abundant opportunity of proving the fact of premature burial1 since they so frequently exhume the bodies of the dead2 sometimes they find the body in an altered position4 ,there are various reasons for exhuming the bodies of the dead4 ,sometimes the spirit of the departed is dissatisfied with the grave and becomes troublesome to the living1 subjecting them to annoyance and injury until the body is placed in another grave4 ,if the departed was a person of small importance the people may resent these posthumous activities and seek to disable the spirit by exhuming the body and throwing it into the sea1 after cutting off the head4 ,among the interior tribes the body is frequently exhumed in order to obtain the brains or the skull for fetish purposes4 ,thus the evidences are found of premature burial4 ,but1 besides the haste with which they bury their dead1 and the frequency of the trance1 there is still another explanation of premature burial4 ,they are disposed to regard a person as dead as soon as he becomes unconscious1 although the heart may still be perceptibly beating4 ,they cannot dissociate the personal spirit from seeing1 hearing and feeling4 ,they will therefore say of the unconscious one that he1 the person1 is gone1 and that only the life of the body is left2 and they will lose no time in preparing for the funeral4 ,the spirit of the deceased knows all that is going on and is supposed to be very sensitive in regard to the amount of mourning and the details of the funeral4 ,among the ,fang1 the wives of a man who has died1 when they are not put to death1 are often beaten severely to augment their sorrow1 and they are compelled to go entirely naked for a length of time--sometimes a whole year4 ,no one must speak to them1 nor give them food4 ,it is especially respectful to the dead to manifest reluctance in burying the body4 ,and to act unreasonably at such a time1 or to seem a little foolish1 is very pleasing to the departed4 ,the bearers usually belong half to the father's family and half to the family of the mother4 ,the coffin is of plain boards covered with blue cotton4 ,there are no handles3 the bearers carry it on their heads4 ,the practice in former times1 but not so common now1 was for some of the bearers on the way to the grave to refuse to go further1 as if unwilling to bury the body of their friend and relation4 ,the others would insist upon burial1 and a strange altercation would take place1 with some pushing1 the bearers halting and starting1 and halting again1 but at last yielding to necessity and mastering their feelings4 ,a short time before ,i left ,gaboon there was a peculiar revival of this custom4 ,a woman had died who was a member of the church4 ,according to our custom1 they were allowed to bury her in the mission cemetery4 ,the cemetery is on the back part of the premises and it is necessary to pass through the front yard to reach it4 ,the family of this particular woman were all heathen1 and ,i presume they had been drinking2 for rum is now regarded as a necessity at an ,mpongwe funeral1 except among the ,christians4 ,during the procession of the funeral1 as they were entering the cemetery1 some of the bearers objected to going further1 and began to push the other bearers back1 according to the good old custom4 ,but in this instance custom was outdone4 ,the two parental families to whom the bearers belonged had not been friendly4 ,the pushing of some was resented by the others1 and soon each party1 under the guise of conventionality and revered custom1 delivered real blows upon the other and paid off some old scores4 ,in the ensuing fight the coffin was precipitated to the ground4 ,leaving it where it fell1 the whole funeral procession started for the police court4 ,and experience with ,french justice having taught them that much depends upon getting there first1 each party tried to outrun the other4 ,some of the mourners1 however1 fearing trouble with the officials if the body were not buried immediately1 dissuaded them from their purpose before they reached the court1 and they all came back together and buried the body4 ,the coast tribes have regular burying places4 ,but most interior tribes bury in the street1 or in the garden1 and sometimes even beneath the earthen floor of the house4 ,a prominent man in ,batanga1 whom ,i knew1 buried his favourite wife under his door-step4 ,in such burials probably something more is sought than merely to honour the dead4 ,they may also intend to procure health and protection for the household4 ,this idea is borne out by the customs of certain far-interior tribes1 among whom when a great chief would build a house he first kills a number of slaves and buries them beneath the foundation4 ,among the ,fang1 back from the coast1 who have not been influenced by contact with the white man1 all the funeral customs are more rude and barbarous1 and often revolting4 ,the dead are buried without coffins1 usually in a sitting posture1 and in very shallow graves4 ,some of the tribes adjacent to the ,fang on the south do not bury at all4 ,they have regular cemeteries in which they leave the bodies above the ground and cover them with palm branches or woven mats4 ,in most tribes offerings of food and drink are placed beside the grave4 ,as the drink evaporates and the food wastes they say the spirit is consuming it4 ,fire-wood is left on the grave that the body may be kept warm4 ,in the case of those accused of witchcraft they often seek to disable the spirit by burning the body4 ,for the spirits of the dead still retain some connection with the body4 ,for this same reason when slaves die1 or others whom they have especial reason to fear1 they sometimes beat the body with heavy clubs until they break every bone and reduce it to a shapeless mass4 ,wives charged with witchcraft are usually buried alive with the dead body of the husband4 ,in one instance1 in a certain town that ,i knew well1 a very large grave was dug in the middle of the street1 and the body of the man--a chief--was placed in the middle of it4 ,then his seven wives1 charged with having bewitched him1 were brought forward1 and they were about to break their legs and throw them into the grave1 when the timely arrival of the missionary prevented the deed and saved the women's lives4 ,he interposed no physical force2 but1 knowing his feelings1 they were not willing to commit such an atrocity in his presence4 ,the human shrinking from the dead with them takes the form of fear that the dead will harm them1 even their own nearest relations4 ,no matter how they may have loved one while he was alive1 yet they will not desire that his spirit should linger2 but rather in their mourning they often entreat the dead one to depart4 ,it is heartrending to hear a mother in the midst of her grief entreat her child to stay far from her and not to touch her4 ,they resort to various expedients to get rid of the spirits of the dead4 ,sometimes1 upon the announcement of a death1 while the women indulge in frantic shrieks1 or the mourning wail1 the men beat drums or fire off their guns to frighten the spirit away4 ,nevertheless1 the spirit remains in the house as long as the body is there and accompanies it to the grave4 ,therefore the bed that the deceased lay upon is occupied continually between death and burial to the supposed discomfort of the spirit4 ,after the burial they hurry home1 sometimes running1 in order to escape from the spirit1 which may not be able to find its way back to the town alone4 ,on the way home it is advisable1 if possible1 to plunge into water4 ,if one should fall while thus running he will die within a year4 ,sickness and other troubles are often attributed to the spirits of those who have recently died4 ,little children whose mothers have died often die themselves soon after2 it is because the dead mother cannot resist the temptation to embrace them4 ,among the ,mpongwe blue is worn as mourning4 ,the men also shave their heads4 ,the mourning chant is continued at night1 usually for a month after the funeral4 ,near relations remain as visitors in the town during the period of mourning4 ,the usual activities are suspended and children are neglected4 ,the white man's rum is now regarded as a necessary factor in relieving hearts surcharged with sorrow4 ,as time passes gossip becomes incessant and engenders estrangements and hatreds4 ,there are also criminal intimacies4 ,indeed1 a period of mourning is perhaps the most demoralizing experience through which a community can pass4 ,with most of the mourners the mourning wail itself is purely conventional1 serving only for the assumption of a sham grief rather than the relief of a real one4 ,but no one forgets the possible charges of witchcraft2 and to avert suspicion it is wise to be prompt and eager in the mourning1 especially on the part of those who were known to be estranged from the deceased4 ,a certain ,mpongwe woman1 entering a house of mourning where a friend had just died1 asked the husband of the deceased to excuse her from mourning because she had a sore ear and it hurt her to mourn4 ,grief1 however1 is often very deep and real among the ,africans2 and it can never in any land be measured by conventionalities4 ,the grief of parents for the loss of children is1 as ,i have said1 the most poignant grief of the ,african heart4 ,again and again1 when ,i have asked a father or mother to explain to the session of the church their long absence from its services1 they have confessed in tears that they had been unable to believe in the ,christian's ,god since ,he had taken away their little child--sometimes an only child--and had left the parent heart cold and joyless4 ,one day1 walking across the lonely grass-field of ,gaboon1 the stillness broken only by the rustle of the long grass around me and the distant boom of the sea beyond the horizon1 ,i met a man of ,gaboon who was returning home after a trading expedition into the forest4 ,he was a shrewd man who had traded successfully both with white and black and who seemed to care for nothing else but trade1 a man of materialistic mind and peculiarly inaccessible to any spiritual message4 ,we sat down and talked for some time1 first of course about trade2 but gradually the conversation became more intimate and he talked about himself1 at length revealing a great sorrow that years ago had darkened his life and left it dark1 like the setting of the sun4 ,he had lost in succession three little children--all he had4 ,he tried to tell me about it1 but he had not accustomed himself to speaking of it1 and the story ended half-way in a flood of tears4 ,i told him that little story that every minister tells more than once in the course of his ministry--the story of the kind shepherd1 and the willful mother sheep that would not cross the stream to the good pasture and the safe fold on the other side2 and how the shepherd took the lamb in his arms and carried it across1 and how the mother sheep stood a while and looked after it with longing and then followed her lamb to the other side4 ,it was a familiar incident to him--some such thing he had done himself--and the simple story moved him deeply4 ,i never saw him again2 for ,i left ,africa shortly afterwards4 ,but ,i have not forgotten the human tenderness that was revealed beneath the surface hardness of the man's heathen heart2 and ,i hope that if he be still alive he may not have forgotten the vision of the 8sweet fields beyond the swelling floods10 and the message of ,god's love and kindness which he heard that day1 like a still1 small voice sounding across the storms that had wrecked his life4 ,the tribes north of the ,calabar ,river--the real ,negro tribes--are more cruel in all their customs than the tribes further south4 ,even apart from any accusation of witchcraft1 when a man dies a number of persons are frequently put to death to accompany his spirit to the other world4 ,when a great chief dies wives and slaves are killed that the chief may enter the spirit world as a person of consequence4 ,for it is supposed that slaves sent with him will still be his slaves and wives will still be wives4 ,i have known an instance of a native dying on shipboard1 and when the body was cast into the sea1 the female relations actually tried to leap after it in order to accompany the spirit of the deceased to the other world4 ,among some of the tribes of the ,niger it was the custom 7until the ,english government suppressed it7 that when a chief died a number of persons1 perhaps twelve or more1 usually women and slaves1 were buried alive with him1 and without any accusation against them4 ,an enormous grave was dug2 and all these persons were lowered into it together with the dead body of the chief4 ,then the grave was covered over with a roof1 a small opening being left1 upon which a stone was placed4 ,each day the stone was removed and the question was asked of those below whether they had yet followed the chief--each day until at last no voice replied4 ,among the ,fang ,i have not known of any such practice4 ,the only persons put to death on such occasions are those who have been charged with witchcraft4 ,but multitudes die daily on this charge4 ,my first contact with death in ,africa was among the ,bulu1 at a little town called ,mon ,nlam 7if ,i remember correctly7 close to ,efulen4 ,one afternoon when ,i was alone at ,efulen ,i was startled by the firing of guns in the little village at the foot of our hill4 ,there were cries also and shrieks such as ,i had never before heard4 ,several of the many natives around me belonged to ,mon ,nlam2 and these started for home as fast as they could run4 ,i caught something of their alarm and ran after them to the town4 ,following the lead of the natives ,i ran through the town into the banana garden immediately beyond1 where all the people were gathered4 ,there in the midst were a number of women 7,i forget how many7 shrieking frantically and throwing themselves madly upon the ground4 ,they were entirely naked and their bodies were smeared with white clay1 even their faces and their hair4 ,other women were vainly trying to restrain them1 while the crowd looked on4 ,such a scene was quite new to me in those days1 and the horror of it ,i have never forgotten4 ,i had only the slightest knowledge of the language and it took me some time to find out what had happened4 ,several men1 the husbands of these women1 had gone hunting in the forest4 ,two other towns near by were at war with each other2 but this town had nothing whatever to do with the war4 ,a number of men from one of the two towns were hiding in the forest1 lying in wait for the enemy1 when they espied these men who were hunting4 ,in the dim light of the forest they mistook their friends for their enemies and fired upon them4 ,an ,african would rather kill ten friends then let one enemy escape4 ,they killed all the men of the hunting-party4 ,this was the news that had just reached the town4 ,it was the more pitiable because the town was small1 and the loss of several of its strongest men seriously weakened its defense4 ,there were the usual charges of witchcraft against the women2 and when ,i in amazement pointed out to them that in this instance there was no mystery whatever2 that those men1 as they knew1 had been killed by the bullets of those who had fired upon them1 they replied that while this was doubtless true it was only half the truth2 for those men wore protecting charms that would have made it impossible for bullets to injure them1 and that the spell of witchcraft must have destroyed the power of the charms4 ,i only convinced them that while ,i knew considerable about bullets ,i knew nothing about witchcraft and nothing about wives4 ,the doubt1 however1 which had been thus suggested1 was sufficient to enable us to protect the women from any fatal violence2 although the restraints and sufferings imposed upon widows during their period of mourning is almost intolerable4 ,in contrast with that scene1 where the elemental passions of fear1 grief and rage fairly made demons of men and women1 ,i think of another death that was not in any way horrible or revolting2 it was the death of a ,fang chief named ,ndong1 one of the first of the ,fang ,christians4 ,ndong and his people had come recently from the far interior and had settled on one of the branches of the ,gaboon4 ,he had lived all his life among such death scenes as ,i have just described1 and himself had taken a leading part in punishing witchcraft4 ,when ,i first knew him he had more fetishes than any man in his town2 for he was in ill health and of course supposed that somebody was bewitching him4 ,the fetishes were an attempt to protect himself2 but they were a failure1 and he was in terror of everybody around him4 ,after several conversations with him he boldly renounced fetishism and threw away all his fetishes4 ,he told the people that if ,god desired that he should live ,he would defend and protect him2 and that if ,god was calling him he was ready to go4 ,he lived six months to proclaim this new faith1 and then died1 having been sorely tried by constant suffering4 ,i reached the town just as he died4 ,there was not a fetish in his house4 ,but it was more surprising that there was no heathen mourning4 ,the town was strangely quiet when ,i arrived4 ,an elderly woman said to me3 8,ndong has died4 ,he died as one goes to sleep1 without fear1 and without blaming anybody4 ,we never saw a death like this before4 ,a new day is dawning40 ,x ,,the ,,dorothy ,in response to my urgent appeal1 a gasoline launch1 the ,dorothy1 was given for the work on the ,gaboon ,river1 by a friend of missions living in ,orange1 ,new ,jersey4 ,the gift was a memorial to a little daughter1 ,dorothy1 who had died4 ,the arrival of the ,dorothy was the most joyful event of all my years in ,africa4 ,hitherto ,i had reached the ,fang only by canoe or small sailboat1 the latter depending upon oars more than sails4 ,the area of the work was therefore circumscribed and the incidental exposure dreadful4 ,but now we no longer regarded the heat by day nor the rains by night2 for there was a large cabin provided with every comfort1 including good beds4 ,and this latter was a main consideration4 ,after the arrival of the ,dorothy ,i seldom stayed in a town over night nor slept in a native bed--a few straight poles laid side by side1 sometimes with the additional luxury of a grass mat4 ,besides a bed of poles1 ,i escaped stifling heat1 infinite noise1 rats1 roaches1 lizards1 scorpions1 centipedes1 ants1 fleas1 lice and a staggering combination of odours4 ,in the lower rivers that flow through the mangrove swamps ,i also escaped the vile atmosphere and the mosquitoes by running out to the bay at night4 ,added to these considerations1 its speed was such that ,i could travel against wind and tide2 and by means of it the former work was multiplied many times1 and spread over the whole area of the ,gaboon basin4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,dorothy4 ,the ,dorothy was a house-launch1 and was intended only for the rivers4 ,the walls of the cabin presented such an area to the wind that on the bay or at sea1 unless in the calmest weather1 it rolled as nothing else ever rolled2 and in a storm it was dangerous4 ,ndong ,koni1 who had been long in my service1 was captain of the ,dorothy2 the rest of the crew ,i had to choose with greater care than in former days1 and it was difficult to find men who were qualified both by intelligence and trustworthiness4 ,i discharged one man for disobedience in smoking a pipe over an open tank from which they were drawing gasoline4 ,on one occasion when ,i was preparing for a long trip up the river1 ,ndong ,koni was absent2 and not having time myself to look after every detail of the preparation1 ,i entrusted to one of the crew1 a boy named ,toko1 the work of filling the tank with gasoline4 ,toko was not a ,fang1 but a coastman4 ,he was so black that he seemed to radiate darkness and create a kind of twilight in his neighbourhood4 ,the ,fang were like mulattoes beside him4 ,he had worked some time for an ,english trader and had picked up a smattering of very original ,english4 ,on this occasion ,toko assured me that he 8done fill the tank proper full40 ,but on the return trip the engine suddenly stopped one morning at daylight3 the gasoline was exhausted4 ,we were thirty miles from home3 and it was the rough bay1 not the river1 that stretched between4 ,there was only one thing to do2 and in a few minutes we had anchored the ,dorothy1 and had started for ,gaboon in a canoe1 our purpose being to get the gasoline we required and return immediately4 ,the canoe was large and there were plenty of paddles1 so ,i took with me every man on board except ,toko1 whom ,i left in charge of the ,dorothy1 to spend what ,i supposed would be the longest and most miserable day of his life4 ,for ,i knew that we would not be back before midnight2 and although the bay was now like glass the sea-breeze would rise about ten o'clock and increase all day long4 ,the ,dorothy was anchored in a very bad place and it was enough to make one sick in anticipation4 ,but it was necessary that some one should remain in charge1 and ,i was so indignant at ,toko for his neglect that ,i had no compunction of conscience1 but inwardly gloated like a cannibal over a feast4 ,we are all cannibals by instinct when it comes to eating our enemies4 ,the sea-breeze later in the day became almost a gale1 and was directly against us2 the waves were soon crested with whitecaps and grew bigger and bigger4 ,it took the combined strength of six men with paddles to make any headway in the last several hours4 ,i felt quite safe1 for ,ndong ,koni whom we had picked up along the way was steersman4 ,the skill of the natives in canoeing--their instinctive balancing1 their knowledge of the waves1 and the proper way to receive each wave is marvellous2 for of a hundred waves no two may be alike4 ,the degree of tendency to careen at the stroke of each wave1 or 7if the sea is abeam7 as the peak of the wave passes under the canoe1 must be met by a dexterous stroke of the paddle of the steersman1 or the counterpoise of the body4 ,it is very exhilarating4 ,mind and muscle must act instantly4 ,no sooner is one wave passed than the mind1 dismissing it1 leaps to the next encounter4 ,one finds himself personifying the waves and regarding them as personal enemies whom he must fight or die4 ,but our canoe was large1 and strength as much as skill kept us from being swamped4 ,we reached ,gaboon late in the afternoon and having procured gasoline and rigged our largest sailboat1 the ,lafayette1 we immediately started back to the ,dorothy4 ,it was a wild night and very dark2 but the wind was favourable1 and there was not on all the coast of ,west ,africa a better sailing boat of its size than the ,lafayette4 ,many a night ,i have sailed in her on the open sea1 to ,corisco and ,benito1 sometimes when the night was pitch dark and the wind howling4 ,such a situation is far from conducive to sleep4 ,but ,i had great confidence in the ,lafayette4 ,she combined speed and daring with amiability and was a boat to admire and love4 ,but we are now on our way back to the ,dorothy and to the rescue of poor ,toko4 ,we reached the ,dorothy at midnight4 ,long before this ,i had relented towards ,toko4 ,indeed1 soon after the sea-breeze arose in the morning1 and ,i knew the ,dorothy was rolling in the trough of the sea1 ,i was disappointed to find that ,i was not really enjoying his discomfiture as much as ,i had anticipated4 ,as the wind blew harder ,i experienced an emotional reaction1 and ,i felt more and more sorry for him4 ,when night came on the loneliness of his situation1 far from land1 on a rough sea1 added another appealing element1 and it would have been the easiest thing in the world to have obtained a promise from me to raise his wages if we should succeed in rescuing him from his miserable plight4 ,many hours before we reached him we saw the dim solitary light1 indicating that the ,dorothy was at least afloat4 ,then we could see the light swaying from side to side with the rolling and plunging of the vessel4 ,on we sped1 while the light seemed far away as ever2 then1 all at once1 it flashed with sudden nearness1 and in a few minutes we were at the gangway4 ,i called to ,toko as we approached1 but received no answer4 ,even as we came alongside there was no response to our united call4 ,i sprang on board and rushed into the cabin only to stumble over some unwonted obstacle that nearly pitched me on my head4 ,the obstacle was the living body of ,toko1 who to my question replied3 8,mastah1 ,i done pass fine day4 ,i been sleep all time4 ,all this day and all this night ,i no wake1 only for eat and for make them head-light40 ,i muttered in reply3 8,you incorrigible rascal6 ,you ought to have been sick4 ,you know you ought40 ,several times ,i ascended the upper ,gaboon1 called the ,como2 further than any launch had ever gone1 to a town thirty miles above ,angom1 and one hundred miles from the sea4 ,the ,como on its way to the sea cuts through the ,sierra del ,crystal ,mountains4 ,the course of the river through the mountains is tortuous and through deep gorges4 ,the current is exceedingly swift2 and the channel1 which is deep but narrow1 is filled with projecting rocks and hidden snags4 ,the water pours through these gorges in a succession of rapids1 or waltzes down in whirling eddies1 or1 again1 coils and twists like an angry serpent4 ,in contrast to the repulsive and evil-smelling mangrove swamps of the lower river1 the scenery of the upper river is magnificent and exquisitely beautiful4 ,the hills part before us as if by magic2 while with each short curve the scene is changed4 ,the high banks1 from the tops of the trees even to the water1 are draped with a veil of delicate vines1 covered with flowers of white and lavender1 and festooned upon the banks with long1 drooping ferns1 all swinging in the wind4 ,a picturesque native town1 perched upon a high summit1 is named ,home of the ,moon4 ,navigation through this channel is difficult and dangerous4 ,ndong ,koni had charge of the wheel1 and no white man could have surpassed him4 ,a momentary glance at the surface of the water was sufficient to tell him what was beneath4 ,he knew exactly the allowance to make for the strength of a whirlpool1 or the force of the current in a short curve4 ,an error of judgment1 or a moment's hesitation1 in some places might have been our destruction4 ,the first time ,i ascended this dangerous part of the river ,i engaged a pilot from one of the oldest towns2 a man who had known the river all his life1 who had seen it frequently at the lowest1 and was therefore familiar with the channel2 for the native does not forget a channel1 but has a peculiarly tenacious memory for each snag and boulder that has occasionally been exposed to view4 ,this pilot was picturesque1 being dressed in a nondescript felt hat and scarcely anything else4 ,we haggled for some time over the price of his services1 but at last he agreed to come for a bar of soap and a dose of salts4 ,as we ascended the river ,ndong ,koni stood at the wheel1 in the bow1 while the pilot stood immediately behind him1 indicating with outstretched arms the channel and the dangers on either side4 ,i stood bending over the engine1 with one hand on the lever and the other on the throttle1 in an attitude of strained attention4 ,several times we touched hidden snags that sent a shiver through the launch and strangely affected my own vertebr2 and once or twice we struck with such force as to disconnect the propeller4 ,suddenly the pilot began to 8take on0 like a maniac1 yelling and calling to his ancestors1 throwing his precious hat and pursuing it from one end of the cabin to the other1 as if his mind had given way under the weight of responsibility4 ,i left the engine long enough to rush forward1 seize him by the neck and throw him into a corner4 ,then the truth dawned upon me3 he had seen a fly and was trying to kill it4 ,i have already said that this disposition towards the fly is an obsession with the native4 ,in no other matter is he such a fool4 ,but if he were engaged in a life-and-death combat with an enemy a sudden opportunity to kill a fly might prove his undoing4 ,upon our return we were sweeping down the river with the speed of a locomotive when ,i chanced to look out and found that we were passing ,atakama1 where we were intending to call4 ,i shouted to the mate to stand by1 and added some ungentle words of remonstrance at his stupidity in not observing that we had reached ,atakama1 where ,i had told him we were going to stop4 ,i probably overdid the matter of remonstrance1 for the mate got excited4 ,he sprang to the anchor1 and without a moment's hesitation threw it overboard1 while we were still going at nearly full speed with the swift current4 ,the ensuing jar was such that it took me some time to realize that we were still afloat1 and ,i could never afterwards pass the place without emotion4 ,further down the river we were enlivened by the presence of several passengers going to the coast to work1 or perhaps to visit4 ,visiting is a passion with the ,african4 ,it is regulated by custom1 which prescribes a limit 7though a very generous one7 beyond which it is not lawful to extend a visit4 ,more than once ,i have known of a long-suffering host speeding the departing guest by an appeal to this law4 ,upon every journey with the ,dorothy we were besieged with applications for a passage4 ,no tickets were issued1 but the fare was always a chicken1 regardless of distance or destination4 ,ndong ,koni was purser and looked after the chickens1 collecting them before we started and feeding them on the journey4 ,the people would not sell chickens to me1 but would give them in pay for passage1 since ,i would not accept anything else4 ,i was therefore glad enough to have a few passengers1 as it meant that ,i ate chicken instead of sardines or ,armour's sausage4 ,toko1 who often officiated as cook1 was always glad when he could make the announcement3 8,mr4 ,milligan1 ,i go burn a chicken for your chop40 ,when there were no chickens he had to 8kill a tin40 ,the basin of the ,gaboon with its network of small rivers filled by the tide1 as ,i have said1 is a contrast to the scenery of the upper river4 ,when the tide is high the foliage of the mangrove lies upon the water and the appearance is not displeasing except for its unapproachable monotony4 ,but when the tide is out these streams are empty or nearly so and the receding water leaves the mangroves standing up six or eight feet out of the water on their mass of vertical roots as if on tiptoe4 ,the dripping roots are usually covered with small oysters4 ,below this lies the deep1 black1 slimy mud1 sometimes only half seen through the brooding vapour and stretches forth uncanny fingers and creeps from root to root4 ,the ugliness of it is only equalled by the smell4 ,there is nothing more hideous in the world1 and ,i am sure that the ,styx itself flows through a mangrove swamp4 ,sometimes the receding tide left us stranded in this black batter for several hours1 and the night consigned us to mosquitoes4 ,but as soon as the rising tide floated us we sped to the bay1 leaving mosquitoes and heat and ftid banks behind us1 and blessing the ,dorothy4 ,on several occasions ,i ventured out upon the open sea with the ,dorothy4 ,twice ,i went to ,benito1 one hundred miles north of ,gaboon4 ,on the first of these journeys my old captain1 ,makuba1 was with me instead of ,ndong ,koni4 ,but ,makuba's home was at ,benito1 and he decided to remain there4 ,i hired an intelligent coast man in his place1 one who had had years of experience in sailing-craft and knew the intervening coast perfectly4 ,the sea was so heavy that we kept as close to the shore as we dared1 although it was fringed with rocks and reefs4 ,the night we chose for our return was exceedingly dark and the sea rough4 ,the engine was in an obstinate mood and my entire attention was occupied with it4 ,suddenly ,i became conscious that the sea was abeam1 instead of on our starboard bow4 ,leaving the engine1 ,i ran forward1 and looked at the compass4 ,we were going directly towards the shore4 ,i actually heard the sound of the breakers on the reef4 ,my intelligent wheelman1 in order to render me the best possible service1 had thought to stimulate his mind and muscle with a few swags from a bottle of rum1 which he had thoughtfully brought with him4 ,but1 owing perhaps to the lurching of the vessel1 he swallowed more than he intended1 with the result that he was soon comfortably sleeping while the ,dorothy sped towards destruction4 8,be ye angry1 and sin not10 is the twofold injunction of ,scripture4 ,i may as well confess that ,i concentrated upon the first part of the injunction and clean forgot the second part4 ,the wind blew harder1 and we realized that we were out on a stormy sea with a house-launch4 ,on this occasion a friend1 ,mr4 ,northam1 was with me4 ,the rough sea made very hard work at the wheel1 but the erstwhile pilot lay on the floor in a somnolent drunk4 ,mr4 ,northam and ,i took the wheel alternately an hour at a time1 all that night4 ,for a while it was not a matter of making progress but of weathering the gale4 ,we were seventeen hours running fifty miles1 from ,hanje to ,corisco1 and when at last1 next morning1 we reached shelter and dropped anchor1 we all three1 ,mr4 ,northam1 myself and the ,dorothy were about done out4 ,on one occasion the ,dorothy1 in the interest of humanity1 played the part of a man-of-war4 ,we were out on the bay1 at least a mile from the shore1 when our attention was attracted by the strange manuvres of a large number of canoes all equipped with sails4 ,they were far from us1 and were between us and the shore4 ,we soon saw that it was a case of piracy4 ,in all1 there were six canoes4 ,five of them were sailing in a wide circle around the other2 but the circle became narrower1 and still narrower1 as they closed in upon their victim like white-winged birds of prey4 ,the poor canoe in the centre turned first one way1 then another1 only each time to find its escape cut off by the revolving circle of canoes4 ,ndong ,koni understood every move they made and explained it to me4 ,he begged me to interfere4 ,i consented1 and he sprang to the wheel with a shout4 ,it was necessary at first to conceal our intention lest the canoes should escape to the shore4 ,so he took a course towards a point beyond them1 going towards the shore1 but at such an angle that they supposed we were passing on4 ,then suddenly he turned towards them and at full speed bore down upon them4 ,by the time we had reached them they had closed in upon the central canoe and had taken everything that was in it4 ,there were thirty men against five4 ,the five men in the single canoe had been to ,gaboon with their garden produce1 or perhaps a raft of mahogany logs1 for which they had bought several guns1 one or two whole bolts of calico1 a web of sail-cloth1 and a heap of sundry cheap ornaments for their wives1 which might have been sold by the pound or bushel4 ,the robbers took all these goods and even took some of the paddles the men were using4 ,i was now at the wheel4 ,i kept the ,dorothy under way and cut a circle around them1 while ,i ordered them to return all the stolen goods4 ,they resented it as much as if the goods were actually their own and ,i the plunderer4 ,but while they hesitated ,i ran against their largest canoe1 in which sat the chief1 striking it at an angle1 near the bow1 so as not to break it1 but to send a shiver through it that showed them how completely they were at my mercy4 ,they were willing to do anything in the world if ,i would only agree not to repeat that last manuvre4 ,they restored all the stolen goods2 and since the single canoe was going my way1 ,i took it in tow to the delight of the occupants4 ,one day1 calling at a town seventy miles from the coast1 ,i found it almost torn down and the people in great distress4 ,they had decided1 months before1 to move the entire town to the coast1 and therefore had not planted their gardens that season4 ,a month previous to my visit the people of the town1 with all their goods and chattels1 including chickens1 goats and sheep1 and in some cases even the material of their houses1 had been loaded in a fleet of canoes of every size--some so small that a single man sitting in one of them found it necessary to straddle it and let his legs hang in the water1 and some large enough for a chief and half a dozen wives and twice as many children1 besides a few goats1 and a few bunches of plantains and bananas4 ,when they were ready to start a messenger arrived telling them that the people of ,alum1 a large town thirty miles down the river1 were lying in wait for them1 intending to kill some of them or take them prisoners4 ,these two towns had been friendly of late2 but the people down the river1 knowing that the up-river people with their families and possessions would be at an extreme disadvantage1 knowing also that they could not long delay their journey because of their limited supply of food1 bethought them of some old score resulting from a former war1 and resolved to lie in wait and take several prisoners in the hope of extorting a ransom4 ,so they kept men watching day and night on the river4 ,the unfortunate people of the upper town proved their resourcefulness by proposing to me that ,i should tow the whole town down the river behind the ,dorothy--and do it at night4 ,i1 for some reason1 was fascinated with the idea1 and it took only twelve chickens to persuade me4 ,taking the entire town in tow1 ,i started down the river about nine o'clock at night4 ,shortly after midnight ,i realized that we were approaching the enemy because of the extraordinary silence of those in the canoes1 who hitherto had maintained a deafening noise1 but now were hushed1 having put out their torches1 and were lying down flat in their canoes for safety4 ,the enemy was on the watch2 many canoes were on the river4 ,it was pitch dark1 not a single light or sign of life visible4 ,the ,dorothy as she suddenly burst upon their sight with all her lights1 and going full speed1 must have looked very formidable to people who had never seen anything of the kind1 for she had not before passed at night4 ,they may have supposed that a whole battalion of spirits of all kinds and colours were coming against them4 ,the effect was an immediate panic4 ,calling loudly to each other and to their ancestors they hastened to the bank4 ,it was only after we had passed that they discovered the canoes in tow and suspected that their enemies had outwitted them4 ,i visited the town soon afterwards for the purpose of laughing at them4 ,and they laughed with me2 laughed as only ,africans can laugh4 ,one morning just at the break of day ,toko burst into my bedroom all out of breath and cried3 8,oh1 ,mr4 ,milligan1 ,doroty done loss6 ,doroty done loss6 ,i look him3 he live for beach4 ,i fear he never be good no more40 ,before he had finished ,i had jumped out of bed1 and in pajamas and bare feet was running to the beach where ,i discovered the ,dorothy nearly a mile down the beach1 stranded and lying on her side4 ,it was the worst part of the whole beach1 full of rocks1 a place where no one would think of beaching even a small boat4 ,it was a mystery how she ever got there without breaking to pieces4 ,there had been a violent tornado during the night and her cable had parted4 ,very fortunately she was first carried out to sea4 ,a calm followed and the sea gradually became very quiet4 ,with the turning tide she drifted towards the shore4 ,by the time she was near the beach there was neither wind nor wave and she drifted with the current which of course was strongest where it was deepest and unimpeded by rocks4 ,so she wound in and out1 where no human pilot could have glided her1 until she stranded4 ,then the tide receded before the wind again arose2 else she would have pounded on the beach4 ,when ,i found her she was high and dry4 ,i could not tell how much damage she had received and wondered whether she would ever float again4 ,it was a day of suspense as well as hard work4 ,it took until three o'clock in the afternoon to get her straightened up and ready for the incoming tide to float her4 ,i stayed there all day1 having sent a boy to the house to fetch my breakfast and a pair of trousers4 ,when the tide was low we carefully marked the channel2 and when she floated we towed her until we were past the last rock and then ,i sprang to the engine1 started her up and she was soon going full speed1 nothing the worse for her visit ashore and evidently glad to get back to sea4 ,it was a trying day4 ,i was standing in water most of the time4 ,but the suspense was the hardest of all4 ,it is not easy to imagine all that the launch meant to me4 ,every part of my work depended upon it4 ,i gathered the schoolboys from many towns1 some of them far away1 and at the end of term returned them to their homes4 ,i visited regularly the various groups of ,christians scattered in widely separated towns1 and by means of the launch was preaching in all the towns on the ,gaboon and its tributaries4 ,its loss would have undone my work4 ,and besides1 there was a sentimental attachment which ,i can hardly explain4 ,in that prolonged exile1 this commodious1 and almost luxurious1 launch represented civilization--fine buildings1 libraries1 music1 hotels1 porterhouse steak1 ice-cream and so forth1 besides friends1 home and all that4 ,well1 when the suspense was completely relieved and the ,dorothy was going at full speed back to her anchorage--but no one could understand who has not been an exile from home and civilization4 ,illustration3 ,,crew ,,of ,,the ,,dorothy4 ,at the end of the line1 on the left1 is ,toko2 the tall man at the other end is ,ndutuma2 the small boy is ,nkogo4 ,at last and before very long1 ,i had the kind of crew ,i desired4 ,besides ,ndong ,koni and ,toko1 there were three others in the crew of the ,dorothy1 ,ndutuma1 ,ndong ,bisia and a small boy1 ,nkogo4 ,nkogo was one of the brightest of my schoolboys4 ,he sang remarkably well and often led the singing in the school4 ,his beautiful voice was a great help to me in holding services in the towns4 ,he was the most energetic boy ,i have ever known in ,africa4 ,the rest of us grew tired once in a while1 but ,nkogo never4 ,he was steward1 and my personal attendant besides4 ,in the intervals of his own work he was always relieving somebody else1 ,ndong ,koni at the wheel1 or ,toko at the engine1 or the cook in the galley4 ,often we had to anchor a mile1 or even two miles1 from a town1 because of shallow water1 and go the remaining distance in a canoe1 perhaps against a strong current4 ,nkogo was always the first to volunteer for this extra work1 except when it was necessary several times in one day1 and then it taxed the strength of the men4 ,nkogo was opposed to letting another canoe pass us1 even if they had twice our number of paddles4 ,he thought it was not loyal to the white man4 ,at such times he would still be racing when all his companions had eased up1 or until1 as he used to say1 8the canoe began to get hot40 ,life always presented its humorous side to ,nkogo4 ,it was one of my few entertaining diversions to hear him each night recount1 to those who had remained on board the ,dorothy1 the incidents of our visits in the towns and all that we had seen and heard1 while his audience laughed4 ,i myself had usually seen the sickness1 the suffering1 the ignorance1 the cruelty and all that saddens the heart4 ,but the real truth of ,african life required that my account should be supplemented by ,nkogo's observations4 ,ndutuma was the willing horse that was often overworked4 ,the heavy end always came to him4 ,it was he who cast the anchor and weighed it2 which was exceedingly hard work1 until1 when the ,dorothy had been in ,africa more than a year1 we got a small anchor for the river and used the heavy one only in the bay4 ,he also had charge of the canoe which we towed4 ,if1 upon reaching a town at the ebb of the tide1 an acre of black mud of any or every depth separated us from the town1 it was always ,ndutuma who carried me on his shoulders4 ,he was a large1 homely1 coarse-featured man1 with a good eye and a gentle voice that was the perfect expression of his kindness and good-nature4 ,and he was a direct product of missionary effort4 ,for he belonged to one of the most savage clans of the ,fang4 ,his town was burned several times by the ,french1 and some of the people killed1 because of their unprovoked attacks upon their neighbours4 ,ndutuma was one of ,ndong ,koni's converts and was a ,christian before he ever saw a white missionary4 ,he was at that time about twenty years old4 ,about two years after his conversion there occurred an event in his life which revealed the quality of his faith4 ,until that time he was the only ,christian in his town and the way was hard for him2 but shortly afterwards there were more ,christians in that town than in any other4 ,ndutuma's wife1 preferring a more warlike husband1 managed to get herself stolen by a man of another tribe4 ,the chief of ,ndutuma's town1 with some of his allies1 made war on the offending tribe2 but ,ndutuma himself did not join them in the war4 ,the result was strange enough1 from the ,american point of view--a whole community enraged over an elopement and hotly pursuing the offenders1 while the forsaken husband sat quietly at home singing hymns4 ,in ,africa the interest of each man belongs to the whole community1 including his interest in his wife4 ,it was not that ,ndutuma was glad to be rid of her4 ,for he certainly did want a wife1 and any other that he would get would probably be as bad4 ,moreover he paid a very large dowry for her and had no dowry with which to procure another4 ,it was ,christian principle alone that restrained him4 ,he said he would use all peaceable means to get her back1 and even if such means failed he would not shed blood4 ,the hard part of it for him was the brand of cowardice and the bitter reviling from his people for enduring such an insult1 and for resigning the woman and the goods he had paid for her4 ,it required far more bravery for him to stay at home than to join in the war4 ,but he was firm2 and in their hearts they knew he was no coward4 ,they also learned the meaning of ,christian faith4 ,they were still more willing to learn the lesson when several of their young men were killed in this very war1 notwithstanding the fetishes which they wore for their protection4 ,ndutuma never recovered his wife nor the dowry he had paid for her2 so he was left a poor man4 ,but most unexpectedly a rich uncle died and left him four wives4 ,this was wealth indeed1 and most young men in such luck would have strutted intolerably before their fellows4 ,but ,ndutuma coolly announced that he was not a heathen any more2 that he would take one of these women for his wife1 whichever of them wanted him1 and give the others to his poor relations4 ,he was not a noisy man1 and that was remarkable in ,africa2 but he was a man without a price2 who was ready at any time to act upon his faith without regard to consequences4 ,he made enemies among those who were tenacious of heathen customs4 ,not long after ,i left ,africa he died4 ,his death was wrapped in mystery2 and in ,africa such mysteries are usually related to poison4 ,i do not know that ,ndutuma was a martyr4 ,but he was made of martyr stuff4 ,and many a bloodthirsty man and adulterous woman he led into ways of peace and purity4 ,ndong ,bisia was one of the most interesting boys that ,i met in ,africa4 ,he was not with me very long1 but he was one of those occasional ,africans that appeal directly to the affectional side of one's nature4 ,i have said that the ,mpongwe tribe have an instinct for good manners1 and are the most courteous people in ,west ,africa4 ,but this ,fang boy surpassed them all4 ,he first came to me as a schoolboy4 ,when the school closed at the end of the year ,i took the boys home with the ,dorothy1 and ,i was obliged to stay two days at ,fula where ,ndong and several of the boys lived4 ,i had asked the ,fula boys to do my cooking on the journey4 ,when we arrived at this town1 early in the morning1 the boys hastened ashore pell-mell to see their friends--all but ,ndong4 ,he remembered that ,i would need breakfast and he stayed to prepare it4 ,when he had set everything in order1 he said3 8,mr4 ,milligan1 ,i am going to town to see my people but ,i shall come back and have your dinner ready for you when you return from the town40 ,he did this for two days4 ,some few of the other boys would have done the same thing if ,i had asked them1 but ,ndong did it without being asked3 and it was always so4 ,he was also my best assistant in medical work4 ,afterwards he worked on the launch and was with me all the time1 often in trying circumstances1 but he always presented the same contrast to the ingratitude and selfishness of the heathenism around him4 ,the two boys1 ,ndong ,bisia and ,ndong ,koni1 are associated with an incident in which they displayed a heroism of devotion that may perhaps enable the reader to understand how it is that a white man can love the people of the jungles4 ,one day we started on a journey with the ,dorothy and had gone twenty-five miles1 across the bay1 when an accident occurred which stopped the engine4 ,the remainder of that day1 and a considerable part of the night and all the next day1 ,i tried in vain to make the repair4 ,i then decided to leave the launch and go home in a canoe1 returning immediately with the ,lafayette and crew to tow the ,dorothy back to ,libreville4 ,an approaching fever also warned me not to work any longer at the engine4 ,it chanced that ,i had only a very small canoe in tow4 ,i was therefore dependent upon being able to procure a larger one from some native who might pass that way2 and we were in an out-of-the-way place4 ,at last a canoe came in sight1 in which was one solitary woman4 ,i called loudly to her across the water1 but she was afraid and would not come near4 ,among the heterogeneous and somewhat outlandish variety of goods which ,i always carried there happened to be a dress which had once belonged to a white woman and which had been discarded years before1 when the woman returned to ,america4 ,it was a gorgeous purple affair1 much the worse for wear4 ,the native woman 7to whom ,i offered it71 yelling at the very top of her voice1 answered3 8,what do ,i want with a dress8 ,i'm all right as ,i am2 ,i never had any such thing on in my life40 ,i told her that this was a very fine dress which had once been worn by a white woman4 ,she hesitated1 but again answered3 8,it would only cover my ornaments so that people would not know that ,i have them2 and besides it would not fit me40 ,her 8ornaments0 were half a dozen large brass leg-rings which she wore between her ankles and her knees4 ,but necessity in this instance was not only loud1 but eloquent4 ,i pleaded that she could rattle her ornaments as she walked--which they know well how to do--and the people would think that she had ever so many2 and1 besides1 when they were covered she would not need to keep them polished4 ,as to its fitting1 ,i yelled to her that ,i had scissors1 needle and thread1 and that ,i would make it fit perfectly4 ,being at various times engineer1 carpenter and blacksmith1 it was easy enough to be a dressmaker4 ,there was some persuasion in my arguments1 for again she hesitated4 ,but1 after further reflection1 she moved on1 replying3 8,i'm all right as ,i am20 in which mind ,i presume she continues to this day4 ,two hours after nightfall another canoe approached1 in which were several men whom on a former occasion ,i had towed across the bay1 and they were now eager to do anything possible to help me4 ,i borrowed their canoe and engaged one of their men4 ,the canoe was a lamentable and ancient affair4 ,one side was badly split1 and in the other side there was a part so rotten that ,i thought ,i could have thrust my foot through it4 ,the sail was a mosaic of old shirts and other cast-off garments4 ,the sheet was a bit of rotten rope pieced out with vine4 ,after a thorough inspection ,i was unable to pronounce the craft seaworthy1 but ,i decided to risk it2 and1 in case of emergency1 ,i provided myself with a saucepan and a ball of twine3 the former to bail out water1 and the latter for a variety of uses4 ,ndong ,koni and ,ndong ,bisia1 besides the stranger1 returned with me4 ,both boys made humorous comments upon the canoe and begged me not to attempt to cross the bay in it4 ,but ,i did not see that ,i had any alternative4 ,so we set out upon the deep with no other material resources than a saucepan and a ball of twine4 ,at first we were in quiet water2 but after a few minutes1 having turned a point of land1 we were suddenly out on the bay4 ,as we got further out the wind increased and blew hard1 and the sea1 though not really bad1 was far too rough for such a canoe4 ,nothing but sheer exhaustion saved me from a state of fright4 ,but1 what was more significant1 the two ,ndongs were also alarmed for our safety4 ,i was in the bottom of the canoe1 reclining against a thwart1 on the verge of sleep1 but conscious of all that was going on4 ,with the increasing wind and the straining of the whole canoe ,i felt that something must soon happen by way of climax4 ,the only question was whether the collapse1 when it came1 would be particular or general4 ,suddenly a gust of wind was followed by a crash4 ,the boom was gone1 the sheet broken1 the sail torn4 ,a passing wave drenched us and almost swamped the canoe4 ,then ,i plied the saucepan diligently1 while ,ndong ,koni dexterously managed the canoe--for we were in the trough of the sea--and ,ndong ,bisia and the other man1 using the ball of twine1 made a new sheet and tied the torn sail4 ,before long we were again speeding ahead1 though not so fast1 for we had no boom4 ,we had other startling experiences during the night2 but at length we reached the land shortly before daylight4 ,i have told more than enough for my purpose and have admitted irrelevant details4 ,we were in extreme danger that night1 and more than once we doubted whether we would reach land4 ,but through all the long night1 with its mischances and dangers1 nothing else so impressed me even at the time1 and nothing else still remains with me so vividly1 as the devotion of those two boys1 ,ndong ,koni and ,ndong ,bisia2 their anxiety for my safety and their utter disregard of their own danger4 ,and if occasion had come1 ,i know that they would have sacrificed their lives to save mine4 ,such boys are worth labouring for and worth living for4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,primary ,,class ,,in ,,melvin ,,fraser',s ,,bulu ,,school4 ,,xi ,,schoolboys ,upon my first arrival in ,africa--at ,batanga--,dr4 ,good1 ,mr4 ,kerr and myself immediately prepared for an overland journey to the ,bulu interior4 ,early one morning1 the caravan being ready and in form1 we were about to move1 when1 at the last moment1 a small boy1 frightfully dirty1 came bounding out of the dark forest1 all out of breath as if chased by cannibals1 and throwing himself at my feet1 entreated me to take him to the interior as my personal attendant4 ,every white man is supposed to have a 8boy40 ,i had expected to engage a ,bulu boy upon reaching the interior4 ,but the ,african has a remarkable talent for importunity4 ,this boy said his name was ,lolo1 and ,i half relented at the sound of it4 ,lolo might have been ten or eleven years old2 although1 as ,dr4 ,good remarked at the time1 it was not easy to understand how he could get so much dirt on him in only ten years4 8,go and wash yourself in the ,atlantic ,ocean10 ,i said2 8and when ,i see what colour you are ,i shall consider the matter of engaging you40 ,as a matter of feet1 the ,african is surprisingly clean--for a savage2 and this boy had probably accumulated most of his dirt in his desperate plunge through the jungle-paths that he might reach ,batanga before the caravan should set out4 ,he proved to be a very handsome boy1 of delicate features and intelligent expression1 and with irresistibly beautiful eyes4 ,he was lighter in colour than the average4 ,and ,i take this opportunity of saying that there are as many shades of complexion among ,africans as among other people4 ,there are differences between tribes and between individuals of the same tribe4 ,as one goes towards the interior the tribal colour is decidedly lighter4 ,the ,mpongwe people are black--sometimes almost coal-black--beside the light-brown ,fang4 ,there are individual ,fang who are yellow4 ,ndong ,koni is as fair as an average mulatto4 ,and when the skin is smooth and soft this colour is the favourite complexion4 ,but the albino 7and they are not uncommon7 is an abhorrence4 ,lolo's eyes danced with joy when ,i engaged him4 ,african eyes as compared with others1 besides being remarkable organs of sight1 serve a great variety of secondary uses4 ,they can laugh1 or sing1 or plead1 or weep2 they can love1 or they can break all the commandments4 ,but the most beautiful and expressive eyes in ,africa are those of the boys4 ,lolo at once regarded this new relationship as a kind of fatherhood on my part2 and he amply repaid me1 not only in faithful service1 but also in personal devotion which was quite pathetic1 and which in the course of events was put to an extreme test4 ,he was both brave and affectionate--a typical ,african boy4 ,on my part1 it was my knowledge of ,lolo that first inspired me with a strong desire for a school1 and enabled me to realize what a moral factor a school of such boys might become in transforming the life of the people4 ,the ,african baby is a beautiful1 solemn-eyed little creature1 who looks out at the world as if he were undecided whether to stay4 ,about half of them decide not to stay4 ,the ,african baby is cunning and bright1 but it seldom cries1 and it is not given to play nearly as much as the white child4 ,as the child grows older he cheers up4 ,it has been said that only when he reaches years of indiscretion does the ,african become joyful4 ,from that time on he is joyful to the end4 ,but the ,african boy1 before he becomes stupidly happy1 bears the strongest stamp of humanity and is more interesting than at any other stage in his career4 ,on the first long march into the forest1 ,lolo easily kept up with the caravan and when we arrived in camp busied himself in waiting upon 8his white man0--opening my box of clothing and getting everything that ,i wanted1 taking off my shoes1 bringing water1 making my bed1 helping the cook1 waiting at supper and a score of other duties4 ,on the first day of this journey we passed through ,lolo's town1 about two or three hours from the coast4 ,the chief was ,lolo's own father and there was some likelihood of trouble2 for the boy had slipped away without his father's knowledge4 ,lolo hid in the bush while ,i sat down in the palaver-house and called for the chief1 thinking it best to tell him that ,i had employed his boy and in some way to win his consent4 ,he kept me waiting an unusually long time4 ,but when he appeared no explanation was necessary2 it was evident that he had been making his toilet4 ,he was dressed in a pink calico ,mother ,hubbard1 which came about to his knees and was longer in front than behind4 ,i thought he had it on wrong side to the front1 but ,i was not sure4 ,it was the more incongruous because he was very tall and strongly built4 ,he was so preoccupied with this new robe of state that it was the easiest thing in the world for him to part with a son2 and there was no need of a present1 nor even of diplomacy4 ,during my first term in ,africa1 a year and a half1 ,lolo was with me all the time4 ,he had been with me a whole month1 and ,i had about concluded that ,i had ensnared an angel1 when one day ,i discovered in him a large inheritance of latent savagery4 ,there was another boy at ,efulen about the same age as ,lolo4 ,they used the same bucket to fetch water4 ,a dispute arose as to who should have the bucket first4 ,the dispute developed by rapid stages into a quarrel1 and then a fight4 ,an extreme unwillingness to part with the bucket was followed by excessive willingness2 and when ,i came in sight1 they were passing it back and forth to each other with deplorable vivacity1 which threatened to put the bucket out of service for all time4 ,but their savage yells and distortions of countenance were so amazing and impressive that the flying bucket was reduced to an insignificant detail4 ,as ,i approached they closed in upon each other1 then fell to the ground each with his arms tight around the other's neck and intent upon nothing short of murder4 ,having rolled over several times1 they came to the edge of a very steep hill that had been cleared for a road4 ,down this hill they rolled together at such a rate that they continued to cling to each other for safety and because there was nothing else to cling to4 ,they received so many jolts and bruises on the way that about the time they reached the bottom1 or soon after1 a bond of sympathy united them and they were friends4 ,shortly afterwards ,i fell sick with a fever and lay in bed several weeks1 first in a tent and then in a native hut4 ,it was through those long1 weary weeks that ,i fully tested the patience and the devotion of ,lolo1 and the little servant of the jungles became a friend whom ,i shall never forget4 ,as ,i grew worse the people when approaching had to be warned not to make a noise1 and warned again after their arrival1 and warned once a minute while they remained4 ,when ,lolo was not doing this or engaged in some other urgent service he was sitting beside my bed1 sometimes keeping cold water on my head1 or fanning me1 and if no immediate service was necessary he still sat there so as to be on hand when ,i required him4 ,there was nothing to look at but bark walls and an earthen floor and he could not even see those very well1 for empty salt-bags had been hung over the windows to darken the room4 ,i marvelled at his devotion1 which ,i had done nothing in the world to earn1 except that ,i was fond of him4 ,it was no sense of duty that impelled him1 nor any moral obligation--the ,african is not strong on morals--but it was purely a service of love1 and it would have done credit to any white friend4 ,often when he thought ,i was asleep ,i felt his hand laid on my forehead to see if the fever was high4 ,often1 indeed1 the little ,african boy in the service of the white man regards him with an abandoned devotion peculiar to his race1 and with a love which his own father has never awakened1 although there is bound up with it all the moral possibilities of the boy4 ,after leaving ,kamerun ,i still kept track of ,lolo4 ,others followed me who were at least as good to him as ,i was2 and it is a great satisfaction to know that he did not grow up into a savage4 ,and yet of such stuff are savages made4 ,hamlet1 in the churchyard1 reflecting sadly upon the base uses to which our bodies may return1 observes that imagination may trace the noble dust of ,alexander till one finds it stopping a bung-hole2 and that 8,imperius ,csar1 dead and turned to clay1 ,may stop a hole to keep the wind away40 ,it is a matter for at least as grave reflection that out of the same living boy may be made the bloodthirsty savage1 or the kind of man which is called 8the noblest work of ,god40 ,which of the two a boy is destined to become depends somewhat on whether his name happens to be ,lolo1 or ,john4 ,it was years after that ,i opened1 at ,baraka1 in the ,french ,congo1 a boarding-school for ,fang boys4 ,at the beginning of the term ,i gathered the boys and brought them to ,baraka with the ,dorothy4 ,the mountain does not come to ,mahomet1 so ,mahomet goes and fetches it4 ,as they were scattered over the entire area of the great ,fang field1 the opening of the school was a formidable labour of two weeks2 and it was also the most exhausting and trying experience of the whole year4 ,for these two weeks were spent not in actual travel1 but nearly all of it in the towns in red-hot contentions with the parents of the boys1 who at the first were always unwilling to let them come to the school4 ,in the more remote towns many of them suspected that ,i wanted to sell the boys into slavery1 or even to kill them for some unknown purpose4 ,there were days1 before the school was well known1 when ,i was utterly disheartened by their continual refusal1 in town after town1 to let me have their boys1 though there were many bright lads in most of the towns4 ,the boys themselves would have come2 the trouble was with their parents4 ,sometimes ,i was constrained to say that the parental institution was an intolerable nuisance2 or1 at least1 that the ,african child might well envy the blessed ,melchizedek who was without father or mother4 ,but orphans are not to be found4 ,each child has a score of parents2 for a child's parents include all his uncles and aunts even several degrees removed4 ,the child of course knows his own parents and makes a difference between them and the rest2 but he addresses them all as 8,father0 or 8,mother10 and they divide parental authority among them1 all taking a hand in the child's bringing-up3 and it must be admitted that no better way could be devised for bringing up a first-class savage4 ,i usually held a service in the town4 ,then ,i asked the people for boys for my school1 explaining the purpose of the school4 ,the first reply was always a loud general consent--which did not deceive me2 for ,i knew that it was only general and did not apply to any particular boy4 ,as soon as a boy jumps up and says1 8,i want to go10 immediately several fathers and a score of mothers order him to sit down2 another boy expresses his desire to come1 and another score of parents protest4 ,then the war is on2 and during its progress ,i usually receive a goodly share of cursing and abuse4 ,with some ,i argue1 with some ,i plead2 sometimes ,i flatter1 sometimes ,i scold--anything to get the boy4 ,besides diplomacy1 a present of a piece of laundry soap was a necessity4 ,i carried the yellowest kind of it1 in long bars which ,i cut off by the inch4 ,i would not take any boy1 whom ,i had not had before1 without his parents' consent4 ,and if ,i failed to obtain their consent1 however unreasonable they might be1 ,i declined to take the boy1 though ,i often left him crying on the bank1 or sometimes fighting a whole mob of his numerous relations single-handed4 ,but if the boy had been in my school before and ,i had expended months of labour upon him the question was quite different4 ,i then felt that ,i had a claim upon him1 and ,i would take him if ,i possibly could1 even in spite of his parents4 ,in one town ,i met a fine boy1 ,ndong ,nzenye1 a tiny and handsome child1 who had already been in my school4 ,of course he wished to return1 and ,i was delighted that there seemed to be no parental objections4 ,but at the last moment the inevitable mother appeared1 and on general principles vetoed his coming4 ,when she saw that she was unable to prevail she flew at him to give him a parting blow4 ,he ran the length of the street--the woman following at his heels--and back again1 and towards me for protection4 ,i also ran towards him2 but she was gaining on him1 and just before we met she struck him1 on the back1 a blow with her fist that hurt him badly1 and with a cry he fell into my arms4 ,she said3 8,now you can go with your white father20 and she went into the house looking as if she thought she had done a good deed4 ,he was leaving home for six months and that was his farewell4 ,one naturally wonders whether there are any moral possibilities for a boy who comes of such stock and from such a home4 ,yet that boy1 as ,i knew him for two years1 in the school and out of it1 was gentle1 obedient and lovable2 though if he had remained in that town he would have grown up a savage like his people4 ,although such mothers are not uncommon1 yet as a rule when it was settled that the boy was coming to school his mother would prepare him some little delicacy to eat on the way2 and occasionally1 though seldom1 ,i have been touched by evidences of real tenderness4 ,in a certain far-away bush-town1 more than one hundred miles in the interior1 ,i approached an old woman to plead her consent for her boy who was eager to come with me4 ,the ,fang word for no is koko 7kaw-kaw74 ,as soon as ,i had spoken she began shaking her head1 in regular time with her words1 and repeating in a continuous monotone3 8,ko-ko-ko-ko-ko-ko-ko-ko10 on and on1 like an agitated crow1 all the time ,i was talking1 and seeming not to stop for breath4 ,i talked loud however1 and she heard4 ,i told her how much the other boys who belong to that town would in future surpass her boy1 until at length ,i saw that her judgment was convinced and was gaining a slow victory over her feelings4 ,she was still shaking her head1 and she continued the ceaseless 8,ko-ko-ko-ko02 but big tears were rolling down her cheeks1 for she knew that she was going to yield4 ,she was gradually lowering her voice1 while ,i went on to say that ,i would take good care of her boy and that ,i could teach him many things that she did not know4 ,by this time1 though she was still shaking her head very slowly1 her voice had died out4 ,i gave the woman a big piece of laundry soap--four inches perhaps4 ,illustration3 ,,ekang4 ,a little scholar4 ,illustration3 ,,dispensary--,,the ,,daily ,,clinic4 ,at the extreme end1 on the spectator's left1 ,mendam 7see pp4 #aia1 #aih7 is the boy who is kneeling1 and has his hands on another boy's shoulders4 ,in one town a father whose boy had been in my school refused to let him come the second time1 giving as his reason that ,i was teaching him not to kill people1 while he wished him to kill4 ,the father had heard him1 after he had been in my school1 teaching the people of the town a new commandment3 8,thou shalt not kill40 ,i tried my best to get the boy back again in the school in spite of his father2 but ,i did not succeed4 ,i wonder how many he has killed by this time6 ,in a certain town at the head of one of the smaller rivers of the lower ,gaboon there was one of my boys1 named ,ekang1 a little fellow whom ,i regarded as the brightest boy in school2 at least he led them all in ,french4 ,i reached the town about ten o'clock at night4 ,the people were all asleep2 but ,ekang soon heard my voice in the street and came quickly4 ,he approached making amusing and mysterious signs to me1 enjoining silence1 which he explained when he came up by whispering3 8,she's asleep40 ,there was no need to explain who 8she0 was4 ,but even while he was speaking 8she0 had awakened and was charging furiously down the street4 ,the boy proposed that ,i should take his hand and run2 but the suggestion did not appeal to me2 so ,i turned and faced the foe4 ,ekang got behind me1 and for further safety put his arms around my waist4 ,she made a dash at him1 but he circled around to the other side4 ,then began a gymnastic performance of which ,i was literally the centre1 the two revolving about me1 first one way1 then the other1 the boy's arms still around my waist1 and both of them keeping up a lively and impressive conversation1 which1 with the ,african1 is inseparable from action4 ,if ,i have the slightest degree of that personal dignity that would seem to be the right of a man who believes the first chapter of ,genesis1 neither mother nor son recognized it4 ,failing to lay hold of him in this manner she then tried to catch his hands at my waist2 but here ,i asserted my rights and kept her at full arms' length4 ,when ,i told her that ,i really could not have her so near to me1 she replied3 8,i'm not after you which greatly relieved me3 ,i'm after my boy2 for ,i'm his mother40 ,i said that it was impossible that she could be his mother2 that mothers love their children1 and that she talked as if she wanted to kill this child2 and seeing that he was one of my favourite boys ,i must take him away from her cruelty4 ,a long and trying altercation followed1 despite the late hour1 and a hard day's work4 ,at last she was so far reduced1 or so sleepy that it was only a matter of judging how much soap it would take to complete the victory4 ,it took nearly half a bar2 but it sealed a strong friendship4 ,i could almost write a poem on laundry soap4 ,i had never before imagined the intimate relation of soap and sentiment4 ,even in our own land it ranks about next to godliness3 but in ,africa godliness usually takes a second place to laundry soap4 ,my own method was to try godliness first and then to follow up the effect with laundry soap4 ,one mother1 who was not in town when her husband let me have their boy1 having heard upon her return that the boy had gone1 immediately followed us in a canoe1 and overtook us at the next town4 ,she came close to the launch and1 shrieking like a maniac1 took a rank poison which she had provided for the purpose1 and holding it up in her hand declared that if ,i would not deliver the boy to her instantly she should swallow the poison4 ,i parleyed with her a while until ,i felt that she probably meant what she said4 ,after death1 she assured me1 she would haunt me and cause me all kinds of trouble as long as ,i lived4 ,my wives would fall in love with other men and would run away2 as fast as ,i could marry others they also would leave me4 ,this was an appalling prospect for a single man2 so ,i gave her the boy4 ,towards the close of a tour of this kind the nights were uncomfortable because of the many that had to be accommodated in the launch4 ,i have never laid claim to genius except on the ground that ,i could put more boys into one bed than any man of my generation4 ,the launch was supposed to provide sleeping room for six persons4 ,but more than once ,i made it accommodate as many as thirty1 ten of them being adults4 ,the retiring of such a company at bedtime was a strategic performance that required strict and skilful oversight and called for some very precise manuvres4 ,it was much more difficult to get boys from the towns of the upper river4 ,the people were more ignorant and savage4 ,one day on one of these trips1 after several successive failures1 ,i called at a certain town1 ,ikala1 where ,i held a service and asked for boys and after much talking procured one boy4 ,then ,i went further up the river to a town named ,mfu1 where ,i anchored for the night4 ,it was the hot season of the year4 ,i had left ,angom at daylight that morning1 had done some hard work on the engine1 had called at several towns and had held a service in each1 preaching in undershirt1 overalls and grease4 ,besides there was the responsible work of navigating in these rapid waters of the upper river--in short ,i was dead tired4 ,after a hasty supper1 ,i went ashore and held a long service at ,mfu4 ,the attendance was very large and was followed by endless conversation2 for a white face was a rare sight and the message of the ,gospel quite strange4 ,when ,i asked for boys one boy said he wanted to come2 but he had overlooked the consideration of his mother's consent4 ,a little later she burst upon the scene in a tropical rage4 ,she was fairly crazed with anger4 ,i tried to persuade her that ,i had no intention of eating her boy1 nor of turning him into a monkey or a hobgoblin4 ,on the matter of the monkey she was not easily convinced1 for she had heard of white men doing such things and selling the monkeys on passing steamers4 8,moreover 7observing my eye-glasses71 what was that thing that ,i wore on my eyes10 she would like to know1 8but the very diabolical fetish by which ,i changed people into monkeys8 and ,i had best take care how ,i looked at her through that fetish1 for she was not a person to be trifled with1 but very dangerous when roused1 though naturally good40 ,she was so ugly with anger1 and so ferocious that if my glasses had really been endowed with power to change her into an average monkey ,i might have been tempted to use them for the improvement of her looks and her manners4 ,there was no use in talking that night2 she scarcely heard me2 and about ten o'clock ,i returned to the launch1 without the boy1 and dreadfully tired4 ,in the interval of my absence1 the man of ,ikala who had given me his boy1 repenting of his goodness 7the only thing the savage ever repents of71 had followed me up the river with several friends1 all armed1 and had stolen the boy from the launch4 ,nor did he even have the good manners to leave the two inches of soap that ,i had given him4 ,next morning before breakfast ,i again landed1 hoping by more substantial eloquence to persuade the woman of ,mfu4 ,for the boy1 whose name was ,mfega1 was a very manly little fellow and wanted to come as much as ,i wanted to have him4 ,i took with me a pair of bright1 brass arm-rings that had cost seven cents--the largest present ,i ever made for the purpose4 ,i turned them about in the sunlight as ,i passed her house1 and indifferently rattled them4 ,after a while ,i went straight to her house and offered her the rings for the boy4 ,notwithstanding ,paul's contempt1 ,i found the eloquence of sounding brass more persuasive than the tongue of an angel1 which ,i had before assumed4 ,she surrendered him to me1 not even prescribing how he should be cooked4 ,mfega returned to his town after several months and he taught these same people to sing our hymns and told them many things he had learned about the true ,god2 and my reception ever after that was friendly and cordial4 ,i then crossed the river to another town1 called ,fula1 where the government had lately established a post1 which was in charge of two black soldiers of ,senegal1 imported by the ,french4 ,i visited in ,fula a while and then set out to a bush-town1 or group of towns1 called ,nkol ,amvam1 more than two hours from the river4 ,i have said elsewhere that there is no such thing as a mile in ,africa1 and that periods of time are used as terms of linear distance4 ,the road was at the very worst1 much of the way knee-deep in mud1 for it was the wet season4 ,the boys called it ebol nzen--a rotten road4 ,the part of one that was above ground was kept moist by the dripping undergrowth that met across the path1 which was also full of thorns and briers4 ,seldom had ,i travelled on any such road1 and not at all since the days1 long past1 when ,i had walked with ,dr4 ,good in the ,bulu interior4 ,i had now been in ,africa a long time1 and this road was almost too much for me4 ,i had with me for guide one of my schoolboys1 ,mendam1 who lived in a town a little further down the river4 ,mendam was one of the characters of the school1 independent and original1 a chucklesome boy with the best laugh in the school4 ,mendam thought that the walk over such a road was too much for 8his white man0 in his present state of health1 and ,i was touched by the feeling of regard and sympathy that he showed4 ,we came to a running stream almost to our knees1 clear and cool1 so grateful and refreshing that ,i halted and stood in the middle of it for some time1 quite tired4 ,immediately ,mendam was on his knees washing the mud off my feet and trousers4 ,though ,i had never before been in ,nkol ,amvam ,i had had five of their boys in my school the preceding year4 ,the chief had brought them out to the river4 ,i was therefore not entirely a stranger1 and as usual the exceedingly kind reception which ,i received from all the people was in striking contrast to that of those towns from which ,i had never had boys in the school2 and the boys themselves fairly shouted for joy4 ,this time they wanted me to take all the boys in the town4 ,i held a service and then started back to the river taking nine boys from ,nkol ,amvam4 ,i reached ,fula at noon1 just in time to prevent a quarrel between my crew and the two soldiers who were in charge of the government post4 ,these natives of ,senegal1 although they know ,french1 and many of them have some education1 are still savages2 and it is a pity that they should ever be armed and left among a people who are foreign to them without the supervening authority of a white man4 ,they are cruel and bestial4 ,these two men were a terror to all the husbands in the surrounding towns4 ,this day they had come into the town1 and seeing two of my men1 ,ndong ,koni and ,toko1 who were chatting freely with the people and naturally attracting a good deal of attention1 they thought they would let the townspeople see that they were the superiors of these coastmen4 ,to their insolence my men responded with contempt1 and the quarrel had gone about as far as mere words could go when ,i arrived4 ,i soon settled that palaver and we hurried on board1 and started down the river4 ,we had great difficulty in turning the launch4 ,the current was exceedingly swift1 a roaring torrent1 and the channel narrow and dangerous4 ,as we began to turn1 the bow necessarily came close to the bank into slack water1 while the stern was in the strong middle-current4 ,and before we could get sufficient way on her the stern would be carried down leaving her bow still up-stream and headed for the bank4 ,twice we had to drop the anchor4 ,then we threw out a line from the stern and passed it around a tree1 and weighing the anchor let the bow turn with the current4 ,we were soon rushing down the river through rapids and whirlpools1 and swirling currents4 ,we called at one or two towns on the way1 and reached ,angom about three o'clock1 where ,i had work for the rest of the day4 ,it was a great relief to get back into the well-known channel of the broad deep river that 8flows unvexed to the sea40 ,on the way up the river the preceding day1 we had stopped at a town where one of my former schoolboys1 ,ngema1 whose father refused to let him come again1 said that he would like to go up the river with me to the towns beyond1 expecting to stop on the way back4 ,i told him that ,i could not stop at his town coming down2 so he took a small canoe in tow4 ,next day1 when we made our last stop before passing his town1 he got into the canoe and was towed behind us2 but when he was near home he suddenly scrambled upon the launch and as we passed by he cut the tow-line and called out to the people to send some one after the canoe1 that he was going back to school with me4 ,i of course consented to his coming1 for he had already been in my school two terms and ,i had a claim on him4 ,i was delighted with the plan and greatly enjoyed carrying him swiftly past his town while a concourse of his scandalized parents stood on the bank executing fantastic gestures of remonstrance2 for1 standing beside the engine1 ,i could not hear their words4 ,i waved back at them pleasantly as we swept around a curve out of their sight4 ,later in the day1 when we were at ,angom1 ,ngema came to me with a peculiar expression that combined amusement and annoyance1 with his head inclined to one side as if he were too weak to hold it up1 being quite overcome by some piece of intelligence4 ,he said1 8,mr4 ,milligan1 father has come40 ,at the same time a loud noise1 increasing as it approached1 confirmed the news4 ,but ,i was not alarmed1 as ,i had the man at a disadvantage1 away from his own town4 ,supposing that we might stop at ,angom1 he had followed us in a canoe4 ,the boy kept close to me1 while ,i went on with my work1 not paying much attention to the father's loud remonstrance1 but occasionally jesting with him on the score of the boy's success in getting away from his town4 ,the ,african likes to be teased2 it is the consummate expression of brotherly love4 ,in the evening when ,i was about to start for the coast ,i went to him and said3 8,now don't you think you have cursed me enough for this trip8 ,can't we be friends before ,i go80 ,looking somewhat abashed1 but no longer unfriendly1 he replied quietly3 8,a bar of soap would settle the palaver40 ,the ,african savage is more than 8half child40 ,i was sure that when ,i would take these boys back to their towns1 no matter what might have been the circumstances under which ,i obtained them1 their parents would be the best friends ,i had in the town4 ,that evening ,i started down the river with the ,evangeline in tow1 which had been at ,angom while we were up the river4 ,i made two short stops to take on more boys4 ,an entertaining episode occurred at one of these places4 ,eight boys1 seeing the ,dorothy coming down the river1 came out in a large canoe1 some of them expecting to go with me to ,baraka4 ,they had not the least idea of the speed or the momentum of the ,dorothy1 and they ran straight across her bow4 ,it was an exciting moment when the river suddenly closed over a canoe and eight boys and a terrific yell4 ,i scarcely knew which of the submerged elements formed the largest bubbles on the surface4 ,but they all came up--boys1 canoe1 and yell--and we secured them4 ,i had in all fifty-one persons on board the ,dorothy and the ,evangeline4 ,i ran all that night and reached ,baraka in the early morning4 ,but ,i must tell the story of that night2 for we encountered a tornado on the way4 ,i usually left ,gaboon in the morning so as to have the first thirty miles of the journey past and get into the river before the sea breeze became strong4 ,in returning it was not so easy to choose the time for this part of the journey2 and ,i sometimes encountered a rough sea4 ,on this occasion ,i had intended to anchor over night at a point sixty miles from ,gaboon and finish the journey in the early hours of the next day4 ,but ,i felt the strain of responsibility for this big human cargo and ,i was anxious to reach home4 ,sleep would be impossible for me in the crowded launch4 ,when ,i considered also that the sea is usually more quiet at night1 ,i decided to go on the remaining sixty miles to ,gaboon4 ,the moon and the stars were shining brightly above us1 and almost as brightly in the depths of the swift1 silent river4 ,when we reached the sea it was as smooth as satin1 and it continued so for a few hours4 ,the air was so still that at length the stillness became ominous1 and ,i began to fear that it was the calm that precedes a storm4 ,a black cloud loomed up from the horizon which we recognized as the signal of the tornado4 ,as usual there seemed to be two skies1 the one revolving within the other1 in opposite directions4 ,but the black cloud hurried towards the zenith1 spreading abroad1 until in the course of a few minutes it covered the entire sky1 blotting out every star4 ,we hastily closed all the windows and shutters and carried down some of the stuff from the top of the launch2 but there was not time to save all4 ,the darkness above and around us seemed palpable like smoke1 and beneath us the sea was like ink4 ,there was not a light on sea or land to guide us and of course we could not see the shore-line1 which we had always followed instead of steering by the compass4 ,we could only take the soundings and keep out in deep water4 ,i do not want to frighten my readers as ,i was frightened that night2 so ,i hasten to say that nothing came of it except the fright4 ,but1 having the sole responsibility for the lives of those fifty persons1 the strain was great and ,i could have taken ,jonah's place and have been flung overboard for the safety of the rest4 ,we moderns are more practical1 however1 and ,i took the soundings1 myself heaving the lead4 ,in such a moment ,i could not trust a native to do it--except ,ndong ,koni1 and he was at the wheel4 ,for the native is accustomed to the canoe1 and in a storm his instinct would be to go to the shore4 ,in a moment of peril he would be not unlikely to follow his own instinct instead of my orders4 ,suddenly the wind came2 the tempest was unchained4 ,we first heard its roar in the distance2 and in a moment the tornado was on4 ,i fairly lost my breath at the first swoop of it4 ,the launch quivered and trembled like a frightened horse4 ,once or twice she swayed so far over that the small boys screamed1 and then realizing that this was a life-and-death struggle1 and that it depended entirely upon her1 she braced herself for the battle4 ,the poor ,dorothy6 ,like some of her fellow missionaries she was overworked4 ,intended only for inland waters1 she was not only greatly overloaded1 but also required to fight her way through a tropical tornado on a wide sea4 ,we gave her half speed and steered right into the storm4 ,the first blast carried away all that was on top of the launch4 ,the wind raged fiercer and louder2 but the ,dorothy somehow held right on4 ,fortunately she had to contend only with the wind2 and not with wind and wave1 for the sea was not yet rough4 ,at last the welcome rain came1 falling as it falls only in the tropics4 ,soon afterwards the wind died down1 but the rain continued to fall for hours1 and it seemed ice-cold4 ,through all that storm1 when the ,dorothy was toiling in the sea1 and afterwards through the rain1 for more than two hours1 ,i stood outside on the small forward deck throwing the heavy lead without stopping1 and directing the man at the wheel4 ,as we anchored the day was breaking1 which made twenty-four hours of continuous work4 ,but all the following day1 whether at work or rest1 ,i was thinking of the long overdue furlough4 ,,xii ,a ,,school ,i said that ,mendam had the best laugh in the school2 and a good heart went with it4 ,a much younger boy1 ,mba1 came from a town near where ,mendam lived4 ,but they were not of the same clan4 ,both boys were from towns far up the river and neither of them had ever seen the sea until they came to my school4 ,like all interior people they thought that the whole world was one great 8bush40 ,mba was shy and sensitive and ,mendam became a big brother to him through the school year4 ,i think the ,big ,brother idea1 now popular in ,america1 must have come from ,africa4 ,the two boys became devotedly attached to each other4 ,mendam helped ,mba with his lessons2 helped him also to take the jiggers out of his feet4 ,one day just before dinner several boys were down in the gully behind the school when they suddenly came upon a python4 ,they announced it with a shout that brought the entire school stampeding down the hill4 ,mba had his whole dinner of rice and smoked fish on his plate at the moment when he heard the shout4 ,he ran with it in his hand until he came to the path leading down into the gully1 and then1 naturally1 he set the plate down in the path while he hurried on4 ,but how was ,obiang to know that ,mba's dinner was right in the middle of the path when he came tearing down the hill to kill the python8 ,obiang planted his foot fair on the plate1 leaving a large track and not much else4 ,mba1 after a vain hunt for the python1 came back to enjoy his dinner4 ,i hope we shall never get so old that we cannot sympathize with the pangs of a hungry boy4 ,mba was as inconsolable as the mother bird whose 8brood is stol'n away40 ,but it only lasted till ,mendam arrived4 8,never mind1 ,mba10 he said1 8,i'll give you half of my dinner4 ,i'll give you more than half40 ,that was some sacrifice for a healthy1 hungry boy who was much bigger than ,mba4 ,but the tragedy of life begins early in ,africa4 ,one day the news came that war had broken out between neighbouring towns up the river and that ,mba's father had killed ,mendam's father4 ,it was a bitter grief for both boys1 and a hard struggle on the part of ,mendam2 for the blood of countless generations in his veins cried vengeance4 ,by all the codes and customs that ever he had heard of before he came to school he should have hated ,mba with a hatred that would last for life4 ,it was a hard struggle2 but if the ,christian faith in him had not triumphed--if the friendship of the two boys had been broken--,i don't think ,i would have told the story4 ,many friendships were formed in the school which in after years would surely become a power for the prevention of war and the shedding of blood4 ,boys of neighbouring clans1 mutually hostile1 clans between which there were old feuds2 clans which are bred in the belief that it is a virtue to hate each other--in that schoolboys of such clans found themselves side by side2 and in the social alignments of the school these very boys were drawn together by the fact that1 coming from neighbouring communities1 they had much in common4 ,these school friendships were exceedingly strong2 for the ,african's affections are his substitute for moral principles4 ,it is impossible that such boys should afterwards contract the mutual hate of their fathers1 or without compunction shed each other's blood4 ,many of the boys when they came to ,baraka had only the smallest rag of clothing and some had none4 ,i got just boys--nothing more4 ,i had their clothes made and ready for them before the school opened4 ,the dress which a fellow missionary devised for them was a gingham shirt with a yoke1 and loose sleeves to the elbow1 and the usual cotton robe 7a cloth they call it7 of bright colours bound with red or white1 fastened around the waist and falling below the knees4 ,they wore only the cloth in the schoolroom1 the shirts being kept for parade4 ,i disliked to see trousers on the natives1 with a few exceptions of those who were perfectly civilized in mind and manners and somewhat cultivated in taste4 ,it immediately and unconsciously introduced a standard of dress and taste to which they could not measure up2 a standard entirely different from that which was applicable to a primitive people in conditions of simplicity and freedom4 ,moreover1 the natives1 both men and women1 as well as children1 look by far the best in bright colours1 not admissible in our style of clothing4 ,they do not look well in white2 and in black they are ugly4 ,but red1 yellow1 blue1 orange1 purple1 green--any of these colours1 or all of them1 are becoming and appropriate to their climate4 ,the day's program for this school of seventy-five boys was as follows3 ,at #e3de ,a4 ,m4 the rising bell rang and at #f3ae ,i met the boys in the schoolroom for prayers1 after which they had breakfast4 ,from seven o'clock until nine they cut grass and did other necessary work in the yard4 ,in the proper season they picked the oranges and gathered them4 ,from nine o'clock until half-past three they were in school1 with a recess of half an hour in the morning for taking jiggers out of their feet1 and an hour at noon for dinner4 ,at half-past three the dispensary was opened for the sick and ailing4 ,from four o'clock till five they worked again in the yard1 and at five they all took a bath in the sea4 ,on ,saturday morning the program was the same until ten o'clock4 ,then a small piece of soap was given to each boy and they all washed their clothing in a stream that passed near their house4 ,extravagance always goes with improvidence1 and both are prominent characteristics of the ,african4 ,but in nothing else is their extravagance more flagrant than in their use of soap1 although they are so eager for it and have so little of it4 ,the cutting of grass is a constant labour4 ,there is no such thing as a lawn2 the grass is very coarse and rank1 and does not form a sod4 ,there is every condition of growth--good soil1 heat and moisture2 and the rapid growth of vegetation is astonishing4 ,here and there on the mission premises were large beds of the strange sensitive-plant1 which at the least disturbance folds its petals together face to face4 ,before one1 as he walks through it1 its beautiful foliage is spread like a heavy green carpet1 while behind him is nothing but scraggy1 wilted vines and no foliage at all4 ,but in a few minutes it opens again4 ,the ,africans use a short1 straight cutlass for cutting grass1 which requires that they stoop to the ground4 ,even at the best1 it is very slow work4 ,i1 like others before me1 imported a scythe1 and showed several of the workmen how to use it4 ,but they did not take to it4 ,as soon as ,i disappeared it was put carefully away for my own use4 ,besides the cutting of grass1 there were roads to keep in repair1 cargo to land1 or carry from the beach to the storeroom1 and much other work4 ,the work of the boys saved the necessity of hiring a number of men2 and so the boys paid a large part of the expense of keeping them4 ,as a matter of fact1 the maintenance of each boy 7his food and clothing7 cost six or sometimes seven dollars for an entire year4 ,it required a vast expenditure of energy and continual oversight to get seventy-five boys to go to work promptly and to work well4 ,they were just at the age when total depravity takes the concrete form of laziness2 but they were not more lazy than so many white boys4 ,one day when they were cutting the very long grass in the back of the garden1 there was a sudden cry1 8,mvom60 7python74 ,lying in the grass was a monster python with several coils around a dog which it was preparing to swallow4 ,it was a dog that we all knew1 the only one of a respectable size in the community4 ,being preoccupied with the dog1 and partly hidden in the grass1 it did not seem to pay any attention to the boys4 ,about twenty-five of them remained to watch it while fifty came to call me4 ,baraka was well provided with various firearms1 but there was not a single piece that would actually shoot4 ,as a rule the appearance was all that was really necessary4 ,but in a real emergency this left something to be desired4 ,finding myself without a weapon ,i went to the garden and looked at the monster snake1 and when ,i saw that it did not seem disposed to leave so fine a supper ,i cautioned the boys to keep away from it while ,i ran to an ,english trading-house--,hatton ,crokson's--in search of a weapon4 ,the traders were as defenseless as the mission4 ,the manager1 however1 recalled that there was in his possession a pistol1 a precious affair1 belonging to the firm4 ,i waited exactly half an hour while he put it 8in perfect condition10 and loaded it4 ,i kept on waiting while he stood with it in his hand telling me what a fine weapon it was1 instructing me in its use1 and especially requesting that ,i should bring it back myself and not entrust it to a native for reasons which he fully explained4 ,i then returned to the mission wondering whether the python might not take a fancy to something more delicate than a poor dog1 and how many boys a python would hold4 ,but it was still coiled about the dog not having finished crunching his bones4 ,i crept very close1 took deadly aim and fired4 ,deafening silence6 ,the pistol did not go off4 ,again ,i pulled the trigger1 with the same result1 and again1 and again4 ,i withdrew in disgust4 ,it was the only big game that ,i had ever attempted to shoot2 and ,i had already considered what ,i would do with the skin4 ,the older boys and several men who were present had been eager all the while to attack it with their cutlasses2 and ,i now gave them permission4 ,they formed in line4 ,one man was to strike first1 back of the head1 and all the rest instantly to follow4 ,it had lain quiet so long and was so very sluggish that one could hardly conceive that it was alert2 but at the first stroke1 before the other cutlasses fell1 it had gone like a flash4 ,we could only guess at its size2 but ,i have vowed never to record my guess4 ,pythons have been actually measured in ,gaboon at thirty feet4 ,one day the schoolboys killed a very young one twelve feet long1 and immediately returned to search for the parents2 for they said that a mere baby python like this would not yet have left its parents' care to shift for itself4 ,the next day after this several of the smaller boys were taken sick and ,i was called to the dormitory to see them4 ,my immediate diagnosis was python1 and ,i found that ,i was right4 ,but none of the boys who had been in the school for more than one term joined in the feast2 and some of them would no more have eaten it than ,i would4 ,the regular food of the boys was cassava and dried fish4 ,plantains were sometimes substituted for cassava4 ,if we were out of fish ,i gave them sardines--one sardine to each boy as his allowance of meat for a whole day2 ,i believe that no devout contributor to missions will charge me with extravagance4 ,if ,i had neither fish nor sardines ,i gave them coconuts4 ,the meat of a very ripe coconut is full of a strong oil and the natives like it4 ,a boy's food costs less than a cent a meal4 ,the food for an entire day was given out at noon4 ,they cooked their fish all together in a large kettle4 ,during the entire year there was never a quarrel over the division of their food4 ,i provided knives and forks and a beautiful service of tin plates and spoons1 all of which was new to them as well as eating off a table--in this instance a broad shelf around the outside of the house covered by the projecting eaves4 ,the only plates that they had ever known were leaves2 so they called the plates leaves1 and had no other name for them4 ,but ,i was rather puzzled the first time a boy came and asked me for a 8leaf0--8a white man's leaf40 ,the schoolhouse was an old discarded residence1 which had been used by native ministers and others connected with the mission4 ,it had been good in its day1 and it had a board floor2 but it was now in an advanced stage of decay4 ,it was divided into two rooms4 ,one day ,i was in the smaller room teaching a class of fifteen little boys seated on three long benches when suddenly the floor gave way and the whole class fell through4 ,white ants were probably responsible for the collapse4 ,the floor was elevated on posts and the ground was several feet below4 ,one side of the room went down before the other1 declining the benches so that the boys slid to the lower end and fell off all in a heap4 ,they got up after a while and having crawled out they went around the schoolhouse and marched in at the front door4 ,nduna1 who was teaching a class1 being surprised at their entrance1 said3 8,i thought you boys were in this other room40 ,esona1 the wittiest boy in the school1 replied3 8,we thought so too but we were mistaken40 ,illustration3 ,,schoolhouse ,,and ,,dormitory ,,at ,,gaboon4 ,the dormitory was a long1 low building with earth floor1 walls of bamboo and roof of palm thatch4 ,the teacher lived in one end of it1 in a large room separated by a partition4 ,the bed was a bunk five feet wide which ran around the walls of the whole interior4 ,this bunk was a simple device of my own4 ,i made it with the assistance of a native carpenter out of boxes1 of which there was always a great pile on hand1 in which shipments of goods had been received4 ,the bare boards with nothing else would have been by far the best beds that the boys from the interior and many of the others had ever slept upon4 ,but there were rolls of discarded matting in the storeroom which had been accumulating for a generation4 ,i had this washed1 and spread on the beds1 and even doubled1 which made them positively luxurious4 ,their house was kept as clean as such a house could be kept4 ,they did their cooking outside under a roof without walls1 and the house was very little used except for sleeping4 ,this all may seem very simple--ludicrously simple4 ,but the simple life is a popular vogue in these days1 at least in theory2 and we were only practicing what others preached4 ,for those boys it was such a change as cannot easily be imagined4 ,they were taught habits of order and cleanliness1 self-respect and consideration for others1 to work and to think1 all that is essential to civilization1 and the great religious truths which are its foundation and which centre in the cross of ,christ4 ,even if they do not become professed followers of ,christ they are far removed from their former life4 ,that life and its surroundings will never be the same to them1 and will never again satisfy them4 ,parents were more willing to give me sick children than any others1 because these were of little or no use at home1 and they soon learned that those who went away sick were more than likely to return well4 ,each day after school hours ,i opened the dispensary4 ,at the beginning of the term there were usually twenty or thirty boys who were treated daily4 ,none of them1 of course1 were very serious cases4 ,most of them had itch1 all of them had worms1 many had ulcers1 and there were a few fevers and a few fits4 ,in my last year in ,africa a fellow missionary relieved me of most of this medical work4 ,some of the ulcers were dreadful1 for the blood of many of these children1 especially those who live near the coast1 is so tainted with venereal disease that a small cut or scratch is liable to become an ugly sore1 and such wounds are rarely cleansed4 ,long before the close of the term1 however1 they were nearly all well and their bodies clean and smooth4 ,in a former chapter ,i have told at some length of the scourge of the jigger1 and how the discipline of the school was concentrated in an effort to make the boys keep them out of their feet4 ,a boy who had jiggers got no food until his feet were clean4 ,it was hard discipline1 but it would have been cruel to have done otherwise4 ,the whole of the morning recess was spent in examining their feet4 ,without exception the boys who had been long in the school kept themselves perfectly clean from jiggers1 and they in turn were willing to examine the other boys' feet and report to me4 ,it was a measure of self-protection2 for one boy whose feet were full of jiggers would scatter thousands of them4 ,sometimes in the dry season1 when they are worst1 ,i had the boys haul barrels of salt water from the sea and flood the house with it4 ,the program of daily studies covered the subjects usually taught in primary schools1 besides ,french and the ,bible4 ,with the help of a missionary friend ,i translated into ,fang a simple catechism of fifty questions and answers and a number of hymns4 ,they committed to memory both catechism and hymns4 ,these they invariably taught in their towns upon their return home4 ,some few of the boys are very bright in all their studies and learn fast--as fast as ,american boys2 others are stupid in everything--as stupid as some ,american boys4 ,the average ,african schoolboy1 however1 is not as clever as the average ,american boy4 ,in the acquisition of a foreign language the ,african boy far surpasses the ,american4 ,yet this is not now regarded as a high order of faculty4 ,it rather belongs to the elementary mind and the highly civilized nations tend to lose it4 ,i have never known an ,american school in which there was better order and so little exercise of discipline as in my ,african school4 ,there was no flogging at all4 ,the entire matter of discipline was confined to the jigger-palaver4 ,yet these boys were not by any means dull or lacking in humour4 ,indeed1 the humour of the ,negro is far more keen than that of any ,asiatic race1 and is nearest to our own4 ,but even in the best-ordered schools there will be an occasional lapse of discipline1 and my school was no exception4 ,one day in the class ,i called on a certain boy1 ,toma1 to read4 ,a knife had been stolen from my room that morning--probably by a workman--and the boys had been talking about it and wondering if any of their number could have done it4 ,toma was one of the larger boys and was dull at his books4 ,moreover1 he was conscious of being backward and was easily embarrassed when he was reciting4 ,this day as he rose to recite1 a certain smart boy1 ,esona1 whom ,i have already mentioned1 said in a loud whisper3 8,now1 if anybody can't recite his lesson that will be a sign that he has stolen ,mr4 ,milligan's knife40 ,the effect of the remark on ,toma--as ,esona expected and intended--was that it embarrassed him and made it impossible for him to recite4 ,he stumbled on from bad to worse1 to the ill-concealed amusement of the class1 until at last he came to a dead stop1 paused for a moment1 and then suddenly turned and flung his book across the room at ,esona's head4 ,it was well aimed1 and it hit4 ,toma evidently knew some things about books that ,esona had never thought of4 ,in singing they excelled4 ,i am sure that only a choir of well-trained ,american boys could sing as well as those boys of my school4 ,they soon acquired a reputation on the coast1 and visitors1 from passing steamers1 having heard of them from the captains and others1 asked to hear them sing2 and ,i do not think that they were ever disappointed4 ,there was a quartette of boys who sang beautifully4 ,i made some phonograph records of their singing1 but after bringing them all the way to ,new ,york in safety1 where ,i used them a few times1 they got broken between ,new ,york and ,chicago4 ,the hymn1 if well used1 is the form in which the ,christian religion will reach more people than can be reached by any other means4 ,when these boys returned to their towns the people old and young were eager to learn the hymns1 and had soon committed many of them to memory4 ,in far-away towns that no white man had ever visited before1 ,i have held a service1 and when ,i started a hymn the people all joined heartily in singing4 ,he ,leadeth ,me was the favourite of all the hymns1 and was always the first one that they learned4 ,the routine of the day's work was liable to various interruptions4 ,sometimes a boy was enticed by his relations to run away from the school4 ,i always followed1 and at any cost brought him back1 for fear of the demoralization of the school4 ,i had always exacted a promise of each boy when ,i received him that he would stay until the end of the term4 ,and they never ran away except when induced to do so by people of their town whom they happened to meet4 ,one day word was brought to me that two of the boys had run away1 having been persuaded to do so by a relation who came selling food4 ,i set out in hot pursuit with several attendants1 and soon we met the man who had been overheard asking the boys to go with him4 ,he denied all knowledge of them1 but ,i had proof4 ,i brought him to ,baraka1 bound him hands and feet and said that he would be released as soon as the boys were returned to me4 ,in a few hours the boys arrived4 ,there were other interruptions4 ,for instance1 while ,i am engaged in the absorbing task of unfolding the implications of monotheism to a class of theological students whom ,i am preparing for the work of catechists1 a naked ,fang from the bush stalks into the room unannounced and says3 8,white man1 what's good for worms8 ,i'm full of them40 8,santonine and castor oil10 roars the whole class in concert1 with such alacrity and assurance that ,i wish it were one of the implications of monotheism4 8,well1 ,i've brought two eggs10 says the ,fang2 8good eggs--both of them laid this morning--and ,i want some of that medicine40 ,i leave the class and first spend considerable time testing the eggs4 ,one of them is probably the oldest egg in the world4 ,i complain to the man1 and he tells me that he took his wife's word for its being laid that morning2 but that he might have known better1 for she is the worst liar that ever lived1 and he--a lover of truth--is going to send her home to her father and demand the dowry which he paid for her4 ,and if it be refused war will be declared between that town and his own4 ,i advise him that the matter of the egg is hardly worth going to war over4 ,the other egg is middling good2 and ,i give him the medicine4 ,then ,i resume the theological lecture4 ,the most noticeable feature of this simple life is its bewildering complexity4 ,there is no mental perspective4 ,the clamour of the small but immediate interest constantly claims the attention1 as a mote may bolt a landscape4 ,emerson's observation1 that ,isaac ,newton was as great while engaged in tying his shoe-string as in computing the magnitude of the fixed stars1 was comforting when much of my time was occupied in tying shoe-strings4 ,yet1 after all1 such a life is exactly as great1 or as petty1 as a man himself makes it4 ,the shoe-string is the equivalent of a cup of cold water4 ,and it is a fact that these small matters afford the very best kind of opportunity for personal contact and personal influence with the native4 ,but the worst annoyance was due to parents coming to visit their children4 ,sometimes half a dozen men and women would come from a distant town to visit one small boy1 all of them claiming the parental relation4 ,in the first place1 such visitors could not understand why the boys should not be kept out of school while they were there4 ,and then they could not understand why they should not stay over night or several nights1 at my expense1 and sleep in the boys' dormitory4 ,each of these matters involved a long contention4 ,then they could not understand why their boys should not be allowed to return home with them and spend a few days4 ,then they could not understand why ,i should not give each of them a present when they were about to take their leave4 ,sometimes the boys1 themselves1 who had been happy and content1 became unsettled and wanted to go home4 ,about every second or third day such visitors were announced4 ,parents were always my chief trouble in ,africa4 ,even in fevered dreams they haunted me4 ,at first these contentions1 which usually occurred in the morning1 fairly wore me out before the day's work was well begun1 but ,i afterwards learned to regard them as inevitable and to bear them with the least mental expense possible4 ,my answers and protests became stereotyped1 and ,i could carry on a vigorous contention while thinking of something else4 ,but ,i tried hard not to offend these people1 and somehow we always parted on friendly terms4 ,within a month ,i might meet them in some distant town1 and an unkindly reception or unkindly report would defeat the purpose of my preaching4 ,in the middle of the term ,i had a picnic4 ,taking the ,lafayette or the ,evangeline in tow behind the ,dorothy we went to a beach twelve miles away and spent the day4 ,we had many of the usual picnic sports4 ,but nearly all the prizes were soap1 the pieces ranging from one to six inches4 ,their deficiency in real sportsmanship is not surprising1 but it is rather amusing4 ,a boy's effort to win a race consisted largely in attempting to disable his competitors4 ,they showed more of the true spirit of the sportsman in their native games and sports4 ,they are fond of wrestling1 and they wrestle fairly well4 ,there is a game in which two sides are chosen1 and a boy of the first side1 standing opposite a boy of the second side1 raises his arms above his head--which the other boy must do at the same time--then claps his hands together rapidly1 as often as he pleases1 at length suddenly thrusting either arm in front of him as if striking a blow4 ,the other boy must keep with him as nearly as possible1 and at the right moment thrust out the corresponding arm4 ,a certain number of 8wins0 makes a chief4 ,the chief retires honourably from the game and becomes a spectator4 ,this game is a training both for mind and muscle4 ,in their own towns1 where they have spears1 men and boys play a game in which some object1 perhaps a piece of plantain stock1 is hurled along the ground1 while from either side they throw their spears at it and try to 8wound0 it4 ,they have an interesting variation of ,hide and ,seek4 ,one of their number is sent into the bush to hide4 ,in his absence some one 8curses0 him4 ,then they all call to him and vociferously ask him3 8,which of us cursed you8 ,which of us cursed you80 ,his only guide is their countenances1 which he studies4 ,if he names the right one1 then the latter must hide4 ,they have a 8laugh0 game in which a boy1 standing before his fellows1 bids them laugh and tries in every legitimate way to compel them4 ,he mimics various animals1 or well-known persons1 especially persons of great dignity4 ,the boy who laughs exchanges places with him and in turn bids his fellows laugh4 ,they have a mocking song which they sing to one who fails to make anybody laugh4 ,this is a good training for oratory1 which occupies a large and important place in all ,africa1 the land of the palaver4 ,it is also a training in facial control1 in which1 as it seems to me1 the ,african is no amateur4 ,they also have gambling games in their towns2 but ,i do not know that habitual gambling is common4 ,some of the games of the schoolboys1 like some of their stories and fables1 may have been borrowed from adjacent tribes4 ,for the ,fang1 whom ,i know best1 are in contact with other tribes south of them and also with the people of ,gaboon1 where many tribes intermingle4 ,the boys were very fond of dancing1 in which they often indulged in the cool evening after supper4 ,african dances are not in the least degree effeminate2 and they have nothing like our round dances4 ,their dancing is as vigorous and masculine as their wrestling1 and as a gymnastic exercise is far better than wrestling4 ,they dance with the whole body1 keeping time with the feet1 while they wag the head1 sway the shoulders1 rotate the thighs1 agitate the muscles of the stomach until it seems to gyrate4 ,the ,african dance is distinctly a 8stunt40 ,in many of the dances they follow one another round and round in ,indian file4 ,but they also have hunting-dances and war-dances with sham fights4 ,some terrific battles1 with uncomputed casualties1 have been fought in my school yard4 ,in one of these battles they impressed into service an enormous brass kettle which ,i had provided for their cooking4 ,this and a number of old kerosene tins did noble service as a military band and reinforced their yelling battle-song4 ,they seriously damaged the brass kettle4 ,but ,i forgave them2 for it was the only instance of destruction of which they were guilty during the whole year4 ,one would scarcely expect them to study economy when a battle was raging upon which--if ,i might judge by the evidence of wild enthusiasm--the future of their tribe was depending4 ,will it seem credible1 or even possible to the ,american1 that never once did a real fight occur as an incident in these battles8 ,when the grass was rankest1 however1 or when the torrential rains had excoriated the hillside roads1 and there was plenty of hard work for the schoolboys each day1 they usually substituted story-telling and singing for dancing and games in the cool of the evening4 ,boys in ,africa and everywhere else are fond of animal stories4 ,the story-teller imitates all the animals of his story1 and as this talent differs in different individuals1 the story loses nothing1 but rather gains by repetition4 ,mendam1 ,nkogo1 ,esona and ,ekang were all good story-tellers4 ,the following stories are known widely in ,west ,africa3 ,the tortoise 7which corresponds to ,uncle ,remus's ,brer ,rabbit7 challenged the hippopotamus to a tug-of-war4 ,the hippopotamus at first refused to believe that the tortoise was serious1 but at length he accepted the challenge4 ,then the tortoise challenged the rhinoceros to a tug-of-war4 ,the rhinoceros at first did not believe that the tortoise was serious1 but at length he1 too1 accepted the challenge4 ,at the appointed time the tortoise was on hand with an enormous bush-rope 7liana71 and when the hippopotamus arrived he fastened one end of it to him and brought him to the bank of the river4 8,now10 said the tortoise1 8,i shall fasten the other end to myself and we shall keep on pulling until you pull me into the river or ,i pull you into the bush40 ,just then the rhinoceros came along to keep his appointment1 and the tortoise fastened the end of the rope to him and said3 8,now1 ,i shall fasten the other end to myself and we shall keep on pulling until you pull me into the bush1 or ,i pull you into the river40 ,then the hippopotamus and the rhinoceros pulled against each other1 and pulled and pulled4 ,sometimes the rhinoceros was dragged almost into the river and again the hippopotamus was dragged to the bush4 ,at length they became completely exhausted and each of them decided to give up to the tortoise and admit defeat4 ,for this purpose they came walking towards each other until they met4 ,they looked at each other for a moment in surprise1 and then they both cursed the tortoise4 ,the chameleon1 despite its innocence1 is an object of superstitious fear to the ,african1 and they are disposed to regard it as superwise4 ,the chameleon challenged the elephant to run a race4 ,the elephant was amused1 for the chameleon is one of the slowest creatures in the forest4 ,but finding that the chameleon was really in earnest1 the elephant accepted the challenge4 ,so the chameleon and the elephant set out on a long race through the forest4 ,the chameleon only started and then immediately turned back2 for he had arranged with different members of his family that one of them should be present at the end of each stage of the race4 ,so at the end of the first stage when the elephant came dashing in1 all out of breath1 he found the chameleon already there4 8,what8 ,you here80 exclaimed the astonished elephant4 8,yes10 said the panting chameleon1 8,i just got in40 8,aren't you very tired80 said the elephant4 8,not very10 said the chameleon4 ,so they set out again4 ,but the chameleon only started and came back1 while the elephant ran on4 ,at the end of the next stage the elephant was again surprised to find that the chameleon had arrived a little ahead of him4 ,and so it happened at the end of each stage until at last the elephant gave up1 and confessed that the chameleon had outrun him4 ,in all ,african fables the various animals are but thinly disguised human beings4 ,the leopard bet his life to the antelope that if he would hide the antelope would not be able to find him4 ,the antelope agreed1 and the leopard went and hid in the forest4 ,but the antelope found him very quickly4 ,then the leopard was very angry4 ,so he told the antelope to hide and see how quickly he could find him4 ,the antelope agreed1 but he told the leopard that he would surely have his life4 ,then the antelope hid and the leopard searched for him and searched and searched1 but could not find him4 ,then he said3 8,i am too tired to walk any more1 and ,i am hungry2 so ,i shall pick some of these nuts and take them to town to eat40 ,so the leopard filled a bag with the nuts1 and when he had carried them to town he called all his people together to eat them1 and he told a slave to crack the nuts for the people to eat4 ,but1 lo1 out of the first nut there jumped a fine dog4 ,now1 the leopard was married and had four wives1 and each wife had her own house in which she cooked4 ,the dog ran to the first house and asked the wife for something to eat4 ,but the wife beat the dog and drove it out4 ,then the dog ran to the second house and asked for something to eat4 ,but the second wife beat the dog and drove it out4 ,then the dog asked the third wife1 and she also beat it4 ,then the dog asked the fourth wife1 and she beat it and tried to kill it4 ,but just as it was dying the dog changed into a beautiful maiden4 ,then the leopard wanted to marry the maiden4 8,all right10 she said1 8but you must first kill those four wives who beat the dog and tried to kill it40 ,and the leopard was so much in love with the maiden that he killed his four wives for her sake4 ,then he asked the maiden to marry him2 but she said3 8,i cannot marry a husband with such dreadful nails4 ,won't you please have them cut80 ,then the leopard cut his nails4 ,but again the maiden said3 8,i can't marry a husband with such awful eyes4 ,won't you please take them out80 ,and the leopard tore out his eyes4 ,then the maiden said3 8,i can't marry a husband with such clumsy feet4 ,won't you please chop them off80 ,and the leopard had his feet chopped off for he loved the maiden and wanted to marry her4 ,but again the maiden said3 8,there is just one more thing that ,i wish you would do for me4 ,your teeth are frightfully ugly4 ,won't you have them knocked out80 ,and then the leopard sent to the fireplace for a stone and had his teeth knocked out4 ,then the maiden was suddenly changed into the antelope2 who said to the dying leopard3 8,you thought to outwit me1 but ,i have outwitted you and have taken your life and the life of your whole family40 ,towards the middle of the term the boys began to come to me voluntarily1 one by one1 saying that they desired to be ,christians2 and before the term had closed nearly all1 at least four out of five1 had professed faith in ,christ4 ,how many of these would prove faithful no one could tell2 but very few of them gave me reason to doubt their sincerity4 ,they were not baptized1 nor received into the church1 until they had been two years on probation4 ,at first my confidence in their profession of faith1 compared with that of adults1 hesitated2 but it grew stronger with experience each passing year4 ,the boys were not the weakest1 but the best ,christians in ,africa4 ,their minds had never been warped with fetishism2 and they had a more intelligent grasp of ,christian principles4 ,separated from the heathen environment during a portion of their formative years--from its degrading beliefs as well as its immoral practices--and having that intimate contact with the missionary which only a boarding-school provides1 the impression was nearly always lasting4 8,as the twig is bent the tree is inclined40 ,the very towns in which these boys lived became different from all other towns4 ,a stranger travelling with me from town to town would surely notice the difference4 ,these boys became without doubt the greatest evangelistic force in the ,fang field4 ,africans are natural orators2 and even the small boy has not the least difficulty in expressing his thoughts appropriately4 ,whatever religious truth ,i taught the schoolboys they in turn taught their people when they returned home4 ,they did what neither myself1 nor any other white man1 could ever have done4 ,boys of twelve years1 or even ten1 gathered the people of their towns around them1 both old and young and taught them reading and whatever they had learned of arithmetic4 ,this is a matter of observation and astonishment in all mission fields in ,africa4 ,and all ,africans have this beautiful childlike quality that they are teachable--a quality that ,jesus must have had in mind when ,he set a child in the midst of the disciples as the symbol of ,christian attainment4 ,the biggest ,african chief will sit on the ground and listen to the small boy1 so long as the small boy knows anything worth while that the chief does not know4 ,,xiii ,,the ,,mental ,,degradation ,,of ,,fetishism ,no2 it was not among the ,negroes1 but among the peasants of ,germany that the horseshoe acquired its power of luck4 ,one day very long ago1 in a ,german village1 an honest blacksmith was hard at work making a horseshoe when the devil1 strolling about the village1 was attracted by the hammering4 ,while looking on at the blacksmith it occurred to him that it might be a very good thing to get his own hoofs shod4 ,thereupon he made a bargain with the blacksmith1 and the blacksmith set to work to put horseshoes on the devil4 ,now the honest blacksmith knew very well that it was the devil and nobody else4 ,so he put on each of his feet a red-hot shoe1 and drove the nails straight into the devil's hoofs4 ,the devil then paid him and went his way2 but the honest blacksmith threw the money into the fire4 ,meanwhile1 the devil1 after walking some time1 began to suffer pain from his shoes1 and as he went on the pain became worse and worse4 ,in his torment he danced and he kicked and he raged and he swore1 and still the pain became worse4 ,then at last1 in agony1 he tore the shoes off and threw them away4 ,from that day to this whenever the devil sees a horseshoe he runs away as fast as he can go4 ,the superstition of the horseshoe has been so eagerly embraced by the ,negro that most people seem to think that it originated with him4 ,it is precisely like many of his own superstitions1 and it shows that ignorance and superstition in ,africa are like ignorance and superstition anywhere else1 and that the ,african mind is essentially like our own4 ,the charm1 the fetish and the relic represent ascending grades of belief4 ,they are all associated together in what we call fetishism4 ,the charm operates not by reason of any intelligence within itself but by some influence from without4 ,the horseshoe is such a charm4 ,one of the numerous ,african charms is the string which a mother ties around the waist of her child and which is worn throughout childhood4 ,this fetish is for health4 ,the ,roman ,catholic priests1 in the early history of their missions on the ,congo1 substituted for this health-fetish a string made from the fibres of a palm that had been blessed on ,palm ,sunday4 ,there is no evidence1 however1 that the substitution of the ,roman fetish for the ,african fetish resulted in any marked improvement in the health of the natives4 ,a charm is not necessarily a physical object--like the amulet4 ,in ,africa1 as among the superstitious everywhere else1 it may be a word or action1 a sign or symbol1 a formula or incantation4 ,to count the number of persons present on certain occasions will cause the death of at least one of them within the year4 ,the utterance of the word salt at the wrong moment has been known to produce appalling consequences4 ,the fetish proper represents a more intelligible form of belief than the charm or amulet4 ,one common kind of fetish implies animism2 that is1 that the various objects of nature have each a life analogous to that of man to which their phenomena are due4 ,this life is inseparable from the object4 ,the eagle's talon1 the wing feathers of any bird1 the claw of the leopard1 the teeth of animals1 and all those objects which are associated with that which is desirable or that which is fearful are valuable fetishes1 because one may avail himself of the powers inherent in such objects4 ,the ,african sometimes says that the surf is in a nasty temper2 and when he uses this expression he is not speaking figuratively4 ,the wind talks to the forest1 and the forest talks to the wind4 ,the tornado is often nothing more than a quarrel between mountain and forest1 lightning against wind2 and1 as one writer expresses it1 we ourselves may get hit with the bits4 ,not that they are angry at us1 but at each other1 and we had best keep out of the way4 ,closely related to this class of fetishes is a kind somewhat higher than the animistic fetish4 ,in this the relation of the physical object and the power within it is not that of body and spirit but that of a house and a tenant residing in it4 ,the spirit may leave the fetish1 and then it will be of no more use4 ,but the skill of a fetish-doctor may compel the spirit to remain4 ,as long as it remains it is under the control of the possessor of the fetish and must do his bidding4 ,if it should disobey he will punish it1 usually by hanging it in the smoke4 ,it is such a fetish1 contained in a goat's horn1 that a man walking in the forest carries suspended from his neck to make him invisible to an enemy4 ,another he hangs among his plantains to keep the wind from blowing them down4 ,but the most powerful and sacred fetish is the ancestral relic1 possessed by every grown man4 ,it is the skull of the father or other ancestral relation4 ,here fetishism becomes ancestor-worship4 ,the skull is the residence of the dead father1 and if it be treated well1 that is1 kept in a warm and dry place1 the father will confer every kind of favour--success in hunting and in war1 in stealing and attracting other men's wives4 ,for death has not improved the morals of these ancestors4 ,the son never punishes the ancestral fetish4 ,indeed1 if he neglect it--if he let it get cold or wet--the ancestor will punish him4 ,many a hunter's gun has refused to fire just at the critical moment because of such neglect4 ,he often talks to the dead father and tells him his affairs and asks his help4 ,this fetish is only for men1 not for women4 ,if a woman should see it she will surely die4 ,if she even be heard talking too curiously about it she is liable to die4 ,this is no imaginary fear on her part4 ,for the ancestral anger1 like much of the occultism of ,africa1 has a material basis of secret poison administered by living agents4 ,the fetish-doctor1 or medicine-man1 is to be feared4 ,he is more powerful in some tribes than in others2 but within his own tribe his reputation depends upon himself4 ,any shrewd fellow1 should good fortune attend him for a while1 may persuade the people that he can make powerful fetishes4 ,there will be application for various fetishes at good prices4 ,every success enhances his reputation2 and if he is very clever he will even convert failure into success4 ,if a man return a fetish and tell him it has failed--that his goods have been stolen1 his hens have not laid1 his wives have eloped1 or his canoe has capsized with him--the doctor will not usually dispute the failure1 but will discover the reason1 and more than ever impress his customer with his skill and knowledge4 ,sometimes as soon as he looks at it he will say that it is dead2 that the spirit has escaped from it and it may as well be thrown away4 ,then by some occult means he discovers how this has happened4 ,the owner1 it may be1 has not taken proper care of it2 or an enemy has lured it away from him into his own service2 or a witch has killed it4 ,thereupon he offers to make him another fetish at a reasonable price4 ,the fetish-doctor soon acquires the power of detecting witchcraft and sometimes even of discovering the witch4 ,his diagnosis and treatment of the bewitched are interesting and varied4 ,one particular treatment is as follows3 ,having discovered that the patient has really been bewitched1 he makes several incisions on the breast4 ,then1 after an exercise of howls and incantations1 he applies his lips to the incision and sucks the wound until the patient screams2 whereupon1 he takes out of his mouth some article1 perhaps a goat's horn1 which he is supposed to have sucked out of the body of the patient1 and which had been witched into him4 ,he again applies his lips1 and when the patient screams a second time he takes another article out of his mouth and displays it before the credulous people4 ,having thus removed a miscellaneous assortment of articles--roots1 pebbles1 broken pottery and other objects entirely out of place in a human anatomy--the patient is left in a fair way to recover2 and if he should not it is surely not the fault of the doctor4 ,it is always a question to what extent the fetish-doctor is a conscious hypocrite4 ,he usually begins practice by exploiting some particular fetish in which he really believes and whose power he has proved4 ,finding the trade lucrative he invents other fetishes upon the same principle--for there is a principle1 that is to say1 there is always some apparent relation between the ingredients of a fetish and the purpose for which it is designed4 ,if some of his first fetishes should be successful and gain him a reputation he may come to believe in his own power4 ,he may consciously abuse that power--and physicians in other lands have been known to do the same2 but he still believes in the power--believes in fetishes and in witchcraft and in the possibility of its detection4 ,africa presents to the psychologist an unexplored and inviting field4 ,a man who possesses a fetish-skull usually invokes its aid to prevent secret unfaithfulness on the part of his wife4 ,he compounds a certain fetish the ingredients of which include a lock of his wife's hair1 cuttings of her nails1 or her saliva4 ,this fetish he puts into the box with the father's skull2 and now1 it is believed1 if his wife be unfaithful she will surely die2 death being inflicted by the ancestor4 ,it seems to be a fact that this fetish frequently proves effective without the aid of poison2 that is to say1 the woman dies4 ,fear often drives her to a tardy confession1 which1 however1 affords her but small relief2 for everybody tells her that she is going to die4 8,you're a corpse10 says one4 8,you're failing every day10 says another4 ,and the poor woman1 as if yielding to some occult compulsion1 fails rapidly and dies4 ,she dies1 presumably1 as a psychological consequence of her belief in the fetish4 ,one must never tell a sick person that he is going to die lest one be charged with wishing his death4 ,in some tribes it is equivalent to a curse designed to effect death1 and is liable to severe punishment4 ,the following dying confession was made by a woman in a ,fang town of ,gaboon3 ,years ago1 when she was a child1 a man of her town had given her a certain fetish medicine1 concealing it in her food4 ,after she had eaten it he told her what he had done1 and said that this medicine would effect her death at the birth of her first child4 ,she must keep this matter secret from everybody1 even from her parents1 lest the medicine kill her immediately4 ,this gloomy prospect darkened her life for years1 and just before the birth of her first child she sickened and died--probably as a psychological consequence of her belief in the fetish4 ,such confessions are not uncommon4 ,the mental degradation of the ,african is often overlooked through the deeper regard for his moral degradation4 ,therefore it is my present purpose to depict the mental degradation of fetishism1 and to set over against it the new and transforming conception of ,god and nature which ,christ imparts to the ,african mind4 ,carlyle has said3 8,what notion each forms of the universe is the all-regulating fact with regard to him40 ,looking out upon nature and knowing of no divine intelligence ever present and presiding1 the ,african does not discover the reign of law nor the uniformity of nature4 ,those phenomena of which the cause is not as obvious as the effect he relates to a supernatural cause4 ,and since will is the cause that he knows by experience1 he instinctively attributes natural phenomena to a personal will2 not to one will1 however1 but to many2 for natural phenomena are various and the moods of nature are inconsistent4 ,he hears the crash of thunder1 and if he says1 8,somebody threw something10 he is not very far from the ancient conception of ,jupiter hurling thunderbolts4 ,and1 since that which is normal and regular does not attract attention like that which is unusual and fearful1 therefore to the unreflecting mind the beneficence of nature is far less obvious than its terrors2 since the laws of growth1 seedtime and harvest1 rain and sunshine1--all the kindly ministry of nature1 is quiet and unobtrusive1 while her cruelty thrusts itself upon the mind1 the ,african concludes that the innumerable spirits which rule nature or constantly interfere with it are mostly evil and hostile4 ,from this view it is not a long stride to the belief that the spirits reside in the objects of nature1 each in its appropriate object2 and this is fetishism4 ,we are all fetishists by instinct2 though we may hear it with the astonishment of ,molire's hero when he found that he had been talking prose all his life4 ,every time one slams a door in anger or kicks at a bucket--as if such things had sentience and could be hurt--he exhibits a fetish instinct4 ,if we bear in mind1 then1 that the very axioms of the ,african's belief obliterate the line between nature and the supernatural1 and1 further1 that habitual lying makes the character of truth vague and uncertain1 and also that he has an imagination almost as vivid as reality1 we may be somewhat enabled to understand the degraded mental condition indicated by such incidents as the following1 which ,i repeat because they are representative3 ,a certain woman1 knowing that the penalty would be death1 confessed--and with undoubted sincerity--that by witchcraft she had caused another woman's death1 and was herself killed by the people4 ,a certain man1 evidently without the slightest intention of untruthfulness1 tells how that journeying one day in the forest he had met two strange men who by fetish power had thrown him to the ground1 had opened his body1 and removing his intestines1 had stuffed him with dry grass instead1 which would have injured him for life1 but that a doctor of his own tribe found him1 reopened him1 removed the hay and put real intestines in its place4 ,i know a woman in ,gaboon who claims and evidently believes that she is constantly attended by several leopards1 invisible to all others but herself4 ,there is a man in ,gaboon of whom the whole community believes that he frequently changes himself into a leopard in order to steal sheep and to devour a whole sheep at a meal4 ,this he does also when he would avenge himself upon his enemies4 ,this particular man denies that he has any such power4 ,but sometimes men confess or claim that they themselves possess it2 and in some cases they seem to believe it4 ,a broken-hearted chief once told ,du ,chaillu how that his son1 who had been his joy and hope1 had been accused of killing two men of the town by turning into a leopard4 ,the old man at first passionately defended his son4 ,but to his horror1 the son1 stepping forward1 confessed the charge1 and that he had turned himself into a leopard and killed the two men--he did not know why4 ,with the chief's consent the son was burnt to death over a slow fire4 ,and the sight of that horrible death was ever in the old man's eyes4 ,one day the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,nassau 7who relates this incident in his book1 ,fetishism in ,west ,africa7 arrived in a native village where he found an extraordinary commotion1 the people panic-stricken with fear4 ,upon making an inquiry as to the cause1 he was told that on the preceding day the wife of the chief had borne a son1 the only son of the chief1 who in his joy had this day made a great feast1 which they were about to celebrate1 when suddenly another woman of the village1 carrying at her side a baby girl three months old1 passed through the crowd straight to the house in which was the new-born boy1 and exchanging the children1 came out bearing the baby boy4 ,upon the loud protest of the people and a demand for an explanation she told them the following story3 ,this baby boy1 she said1 although borne by the chief's wife1 really belonged to her2 while the baby girl which she had borne three months ago belonged to the chief's wife4 ,she and the other woman1 she said1 were both witches4 ,until recently they had been intimate friends and had been accustomed to go off together in the night to witch-feasts and witch-dances in neighbouring villages4 ,their unborn babes they were accustomed to leave upon the grass while they joined in the dance4 ,her babe1 she said1 was a boy1 and the other was a girl4 ,but one morning the other woman1 leaving the dance before her1 took the male child and left the other1 thinking that she would not know the difference4 ,after that they had never gone out together2 a coolness had sprung up between them1 and she had waited her time and kept her secret4 ,in due time she had borne the baby girl1 which really belonged to the chief's wife2 and now the chief's wife had borne the baby boy1 which belonged to her4 ,the chief's wife stood dumb1 as if in self-condemnation4 ,no one doubted the story2 and the woman bore the child away4 ,the trial for witchcraft is by ordeal4 ,in most cases poison is administered4 ,if the accused dies or is seized with vertigo this is sufficient evidence of guilt2 if no such result follows1 it is a sign of innocence4 ,the ,african believes in a ,god1 who made all things2 but his idea of ,god is grossly anthropomorphic4 ,god is a very big ,african chief with a great many wives4 ,some of their fables in which ,god figures are not repeatable4 ,he regards men and women with contempt1 and as a rule ignores them4 ,i do not know that they ever worship ,him4 ,their worship is directed to the innumerable spirits about them who infest the air1 among whom are their ancestors4 ,the spirits are generally disposed to do them harm2 but they may be placated1 and their own dead may even be rendered favourable by certain ceremonies4 ,but an incomparably greater number of spirits are always hostile1 and the impulse of ,african worship is fear4 ,here1 then1 is a state of mental degradation that to us looks almost like insanity4 ,i have only touched upon the salient points of their belief4 ,one can never convey to others any adequate impression of the stifling mental atmosphere of an ,african community1 with its stagnation and torpor1 depressing even the mind of the missionary and in some instances fairly threatening his faith4 ,my experience of that atmosphere has been such that ,i have the deepest sympathy and compassion for traders and government officials living often solitary in such communities2 whose beliefs and morals are often not the result of personal convictions1 but merely a reflection of the beliefs1 traditions and moral restraints of the social community in which they have lived4 ,upon the beliefs of such men there is a power of gravitation in the mentality of an ,african community that acts like the ,magnetic ,mountain of the ,arabian fable1 which1 as ships approached it from the sea1 drew out of them every nail1 bolt and rivet1 and left them a wreck of floating timbers1 to be flung at random upon the lonely shore or buried in its sand4 ,at the first approach the mind of the ,african seems utterly inaccessible4 ,his mental powers are paralyzed2 he has forgotten how to think4 ,if his mental redemption is possible where must it begin8 ,one day long ago1 when a fellow missionary and myself were together in the ,bulu interior1 a native young man1 in response to our inquiry1 expressed the ,african belief that the rainbow is a snake4 ,it has the power--which many men also have--of making itself invisible4 ,the missionary1 reflecting that superstition is simply ignorance of nature and nature's laws1 resolved to undertake immediately the boy's education4 ,the sun was shining brightly1 and the missionary1 having sent the native to fetch a bucket of water1 told him that he himself would then and there make a rainbow4 ,he asked me to stand on the porch and throw the bucketful of water in a certain direction1 while he took his stand on the ground with the boy by his side4 ,now it happens that in matters of science ,i have an inveterate inclination to be content with theory4 ,i never attempted a practical experiment in my life that did not miscarry4 ,besides1 everybody knows that a bucket is an exceedingly awkward instrument with which to take accurate aim4 ,the water came down on the upturned faces of the two eager scientists4 ,the black man has an abiding antipathy to the fourth element2 and this native evidently regarded the performance as a punishment for his unbelief in regard to the substance of the rainbow4 ,he ducked his head and shouted3 8,i believe2 ,i believe2 master1 please don't do it again40 ,later in the day he might have been heard telling his friends not to let the white man hear them say that the rainbow is a snake--if they did not want a bucket of water thrown on them4 ,so we made a conversion after the ,mohammedan fashion4 ,but that native must have wondered what might be the essential difference between the reign of law and the law of rain4 ,a million such experiments1 even if perfectly successful1 would not be worth while except as amusement2 for the native mind is wrong not merely in particulars1 but fundamentally4 ,the idea of ,god must be injected into nature1 as a basis for law1 before a scientific attitude is possible4 ,only the idea of ,god can expel the multitude of spirits whose activities make of nature a haphazard warfare of conflicting forces4 ,and how shall we convey this idea to the degraded mind of the ,african8 ,of course we should change his idea of nature if we could persuade him of ,god's unity1 and that nature1 therefore1 is the product of a single mind2 ,his spirituality1 and that ,he is therefore present everywhere1 in nature and the hearts of men2 ,his holiness1 and that ,god and nature are therefore on the side of righteousness2 ,his love1 and that ,god and nature are therefore benevolent and sympathetic with man4 ,but to talk to the ,african about ,god's attributes is to speak in an unknown tongue4 ,and besides1 ,god's personality is something more than the sum of ,his attributes1 which no more make ,god1 as some one has said1 than arms and legs and head and trunk make my father4 ,but we can present to the ,african mind the personal ,christ--,god incarnate--and the ,african heart responding can love ,him2 and loving ,him he can know ,him2 for love is more knowing than reason4 ,the ,african is1 above all1 still capable of strong personal affection2 and looking into the face of ,jesus he sees ,god--the ,one ,god of conscience--and learns to call ,him ,father1 a word which even to the ,african mind implies love and care4 ,he knows nothing of attributes1 but like a child he can discern his ,father's will4 ,god's fatherhood includes ,his care4 ,and this relates ,god to nature1 through which that care is largely exercised4 ,his first lessons on nature the ,african learns not from science1 but directly from ,jesus4 ,jesus multiplies the loaves1 and the value of the miracle for the ,african1 and for us1 is not the wonder of it1 but the lesson that it is ,god who gives us our daily bread4 ,jesus stills the storm on ,galilee and thus teaches that the ,father is present in all storms and always rules the sea and the wind1 which are not under the control of demons4 ,jesus heals the leper1 and we learn ,his power over all disease1 and that a loving will afflicts and heals4 ,he raises ,lazarus from the dead1 and reveals that death is never in the hands of a malignant foe1 but under the control of a sympathetic ,power4 ,the thought of the ,african is completely reversed by this knowledge of ,god4 ,nature is not the result of myriad spirits hostile to himself1 but the product of one single mind1 and its laws1 the expression of a constant and loving ,will4 ,it is as if the forked lightning at which he trembles in the darkness should flash upon the storm-cloud the word ,father2 and fear becomes faith4 ,in ,jesus the ,one ,god of conscience1 the ,father1 becomes supreme over nature4 ,a certain native named ,toko1 of the ,mpongwe coast tribe1 who had been for some years a ,christian1 went back into the interior among the ,fang1 preaching the ,gospel4 ,the ,fang were notorious robbers1 who at every opportunity plundered the cargo of traders as it passed in boats up and down the river4 ,while ,toko was preaching one day1 some one interrupting him said3 8,i don't believe that ,god is good1 as you say4 ,for why did ,he make this river so crooked that in order to reach the coast we have to travel nearly twice the straight distance80 8,my friend10 replied ,toko1 8,god knew that you wicked ,fang were going to live along this river and that you would plunder passing boats2 and ,he made the river crooked so that you can't see the boat coming until it is so near that you have not time to get out to it before it is past40 ,the wit aside1 and however defective the teleology1 observe the underlying attitude towards nature1 and the fundamental change it implies4 ,god is in nature1 which is therefore under law1 is sympathetic towards man1 and working on the side of righteousness--a view that excludes and dooms fetishism and witchcraft4 ,this simple man1 and his fellow ,christians with him1 had the right basis for a scientific knowledge of nature4 ,it is truly astonishing how the ,african mind1 despite its rude materialism1 beginning with the idea of love1 as revealed in ,jesus1 grasps ultimately the spirituality of ,god and the spiritual nature of true worship4 ,one instance must suffice for illustration3 ,the women of ,west ,africa1 in preparing their food1 bury it in the ground beside a stream for several days4 ,a fellow missionary1 one day examining an old woman who presented herself for baptism1 and careful lest she might regard the water of baptism as a fetish1 asked her a question regarding its significance1 to which she replied3 8,when ,i bury my food in the ground ,i mark the place4 ,what use would the mark be if there were no food there8 ,baptism is but the mark3 ,god dwells in the heart40 ,,xiv ,,the ,,moral ,,degradation ,,of ,,fetishism ,an ,african woman was one day walking through the forest to her garden when she found a little child who was apparently lost and was crying with hunger4 ,she took pity on the child and immediately carried him back to her town where she comforted him and nursed him4 ,the child remained a few days and then mysteriously disappeared4 ,immediately a dreadful plague broke out in the town and many people died and there was much mourning4 ,then they knew that it was not a real child whom the woman had found1 but a spirit in the form of a child1 who had appealed to the woman's pity and had lain on her bosom in order to bring death and desolation upon the people4 ,with such spirits1 wanton and wicked1 the ,african mind has filled the invisible world4 ,the powers above him are hostile--all except the spirits of his immediate ancestors4 ,the former worship of snakes in ,dahomy 7nearly extinct by this time7 throws a lurid light upon the ,african's conception of the powers above him4 ,according to the belief of the ,dahomians snakes were spirits incarnate4 ,the ,dahomians have a peculiar interest for ,americans since the ,world's ,fair of ,chicago1 where the chief attraction of the ,midway ,plaisance was an ,african village of real ,dahomians1 who regularly entertained a gazing throng with war-songs and war-dances and also scandalized feminine modesty4 ,in one respect1 however1 the ,chicago village had been modernized1 as we shall see4 ,when ,leighton ,wilson first went to ,dahomy he found in each village a house in the middle of the street1 provided for the 8exclusive0 use of snakes--there was probably not much difficulty in keeping it 8exclusive0 considering the deadliness of many ,african snakes4 ,the snakes1 ,dr4 ,wilson tells us1 were fed and better cared for than the inhabitants of the town4 ,if they were seen straying away they were brought back4 ,at the sight of them the people prostrated themselves upon the ground4 ,it is not improbable that during the ,world's ,fair ,dahomians in far-away ,africa were offering prayers to snakes for the safety of their friends in ,chicago4 ,the snakes are spirits2 and such are all the innumerable spirits which infest the air1 excepting only a man's ancestors1 who are more or less kindly disposed towards him4 ,the ,african1 therefore1 is not merely1 like the ,mohammedan1 the victim of inexorable fate2 nor merely the plaything of nature4 ,but he is subject to the caprice of evil spirits1 or the object of their malignant hostility4 ,the following are chief factors in the demoralization of ,african character3 first1 the ,african's attitude towards the powers above him is that of fear1 for he deems them hostile to him2 second1 his consequent attitude towards his fellow men is that of distrust1 culminating in the belief in witchcraft2 third1 his conception of his own destiny is not hopeful nor ennobling3 the future life is not better1 but worse1 than this life4 ,against the hostility of the spirits a man's ancestors 7especially his immediate father7 afford him some protection4 ,but even such protection is uncertain2 for the ancestors themselves are very petulant and easily offended1 and when they are displeased they are as much to be feared as other spirits4 ,the favours which a son seeks from his father are not spiritual blessings of any kind1 but temporal benefits4 ,it cannot be said that the motive of this worship is entirely filial reverence4 ,a father is much more useful dead than living2 and aged parents are sometimes even afraid that their sons will put them to death in order to procure the benefits which they could afterwards confer4 ,the skull of the father is the commonest ancestral fetish1 but not the only one4 ,an old chief1 one day when ,i was visiting in his town for the first time1 came and laid at my feet his most sacred fetish4 ,it was contained in a small cylindrical box of bark made for the express purpose of holding this kind of fetish4 ,the women1 when they saw the box1 screamed with fear and fled for their lives1 putting their hands on their ears lest they should hear the old man's words and die4 ,they are not supposed to know the contents of the box1 and they are ready at any moment to take a solemn oath that they do not know1 though as a matter of fact they know very well4 ,the following were the interesting if somewhat repulsive ingredients of this very powerful fetish4 ,there was first1 and chiefly1 the brains of the old man's father1 who had gained eminence and success according to ,fang ideals4 ,some days after the father's death1 when the body was partly decomposed1 the son visited his grave at midnight--entirely naked--opened the shallow grave1 severed the head from the body1 and hung it up in a house1 letting the decomposing brain drip upon some white chalk4 ,to this he added one of the old man's teeth and a bit of his hair and cuttings of his nails1 also a strip of flesh cut from the dead man's arm and dried over the fire4 ,when the owner of such a fetish is about to engage in any considerable enterprise he rubs a portion of the brains upon his forehead and thereby possesses himself of all the serviceable qualities of the deceased--his adroitness in lying1 his skill in cheating1 his cleverness in stealing goods or other men's wives or in killing his enemies4 ,if he is going to talk a big palaver he places the strip of dried flesh in his mouth1 and keeps it there all the time he is talking1 that he may be eloquent and successful4 ,a man possessing this kind of fetish1 if he were going to a trading-house1 would not hesitate to rub a portion of the brains and chalk upon his hand1 so that in shaking hands with the white man it might pass to the white man's hand and make him benevolent4 ,some of them think that having thus put medicine on the white man's hand he will give them anything they ask4 ,the hostility of spirits other than ancestors is appeased in various ways4 ,arbitrary restraints and prohibitions are frequently imposed upon children soon after birth1 to be observed through life4 ,such prohibitions usually have reference to a particular spirit which is always present with the inhibited person4 ,the commonest prohibition is that of some particular food4 ,among my schoolboys there were always several who could not eat plantain1 although it is the food that they like best4 ,it was often difficult to provide other food for them2 but they would have died rather than eat plantain4 ,women are prohibited from eating certain kinds of meat1 or certain parts of an animal--usually 7by a strange coincidence7 the very parts that the men like best4 ,there is scarcely a limit to the self-denial sometimes involved in the observance of these arbitrary restrictions4 ,among the ,fang the offering of human sacrifice to placate the spirits is not customary4 ,witchcraft probably usurps the place of this form of human sacrifice4 ,but among the more highly organized tribes of the ,calabar and the ,niger1 where individuals wield despotic power1 multitudes have been offered in sacrifice to appease the hostility of the spirits3 and they would still be offered but for the presence of foreign governments4 ,it took the ,english many years to suppress the annual sacrifice of human beings to the crocodiles of the ,niger4 ,i once had the pleasure of travelling with that great man and great missionary1 ,mr4 ,ramseyer 7,father ,ramseyer1 all white men called him71 a member of the ,basle ,mission1 who for thirty years lived at ,kumassi in the ,ashantee ,territory2 and ,i heard from ,mr4 ,ramseyer himself the story of ,prempeh1 that beastly king of ,kumassi1 whose fetish-trees were regularly watered with the blood of human beings2 and who1 when at length his lust for blood had become insatiable1 had a slave put to death each night for his entertainment--and probably1 also1 to appease the hostility of the spirits4 ,king ,prempeh was finally captured by the ,english1 and not long afterwards died in the prison at ,sierra ,leone4 ,next to fear of the spirits the most demoralizing factor is the ,african's distrust of his fellow men4 ,the one is a corollary of the other4 ,the ,african1 like other savages1 before giving one a drink swallows a mouthful of it himself to prove that it is not poisoned4 ,in some of the large tribes of the ,niger1 where a king is a king1 it was the practice 7until the ,english government interfered with custom7 for a king1 upon his accession to the throne1 to put to death all his brothers and half-brothers4 ,in one of those tribes the blood royal was held in such reverence that under no circumstances would they shed it2 so they used to put the royal brothers to death by stuffing the mouth and nostrils full of cotton4 ,it was a far more horrible death than cutting the throat2 but it was respectful4 ,on one occasion1 when my heart had been rent by the dreadful cruelty inflicted upon a certain woman whom ,i knew very well1 who had been charged with witchcraft because of the death of her husband1 ,i addressed the whole population of the town1 and after holding forth for some time in wrathful denunciation of their unreasoning suspicion1 ,i asked why a man's wives must always be the first to be charged with his death4 ,an elderly chief2 rising to his feet1 gently interrupted me1 and using my native name1 ,mote-ke-ye 7,man-who-never-sleeps71 he said3 8,ah1 ,mote-ke-ye1 ,i would like to ask one question3 ,are you a married man80 ,i was well aware1 when ,i answered ,no1 that the shrewd old man had routed me4 ,the guilty men looked at one another with a relieved and peculiarly significant smile which said politely but unmistakably3 8,then you are not qualified to judge us2 for you know nothing about the natural hostility of wives1 and we know all about it40 ,a man's wives are the first to be charged with his death1 even without evidence1 because they are supposed to have a latent desire for it4 ,as ,i have already said1 much of the witchcraft of ,africa is straight poison usually administered in food4 ,africa abounds with deadly poisons and many ,africans are skillful in their use4 ,wives do the cooking1 and so have the constant opportunity to inflict death by this powerful but invisible weapon4 ,one often finds that one bad custom is nothing more than a pitiful attempt to correct another4 ,and this may explain the custom of killing wives at the death of the husband4 ,at any rate it tends to restrict a wife's use of poison and to inspire an earnest effort to keep her husband alive4 ,it has been estimated that1 in those tribes that are beyond the restraints of foreign governments1 nineteen out of twenty ,africans die by violence4 ,this accounts for the sparse population of ,africa4 ,for although the ,african race is prolific1 and the land in most parts capable of sustaining a dense population1 it is the most sparsely populated country in the world4 ,many of this number are killed in war1 which is a chronic condition4 ,nothing is too trivial to occasion a war4 ,the usual beginning1 however1 is the stealing of a woman by a man of another tribe or village4 ,following this1 the people of the two villages wage an aggressive guerrilla warfare1 killing each other at every opportunity1 not sparing women or children4 ,the war usually continues until on either side another woman is stolen by a third party and another war begins4 ,then the first war is closed3 a great palaver is talked between the two parties in some neutral town2 and after oceans of oratory it is usually agreed that the side that has done the most killing shall pay over to the other side a corresponding number of women and much goods1 including a proper dowry for the woman first stolen4 ,one of the first scenes that ,i witnessed in ,africa was that in which1 at the end of a war1 four women were thus delivered to the enemy4 ,the people were all gathered together when the chief announced the names of the four women4 ,each woman1 as she heard her name1 sprang from the ground with a shriek and tried to escape into the forest2 but several men were on hand to catch her4 ,she struggled until they bound her4 ,then the next name was called1 and we heard another shriek4 ,finally the four women were led away1 all of them crying bitterly4 ,in the town to which they were taken they would be given as wives to certain men1 and soon they would begin to make the best of the situation1 would probably form new attachments and forget the old4 ,women are thus bought and sold4 ,a man's wealth is reckoned by the number of his wives4 ,on one occasion in a native town a conversation with the chief led me to preach on the future life2 and ,i preached both heaven and hell4 ,the chief evidently inferred that he was bound for the latter place4 ,he asked me what ,i thought about it4 ,i told him candidly that ,i thought so too4 ,for a moment he seemed troubled1 and then his countenance brightened with relief1 and he exclaimed3 8,i know what ,i'll do4 ,i'll send my head-wife in my place40 ,belief in witchcraft is the extreme expression of mutual distrust4 ,it is supposed that as many ,africans are put to death for witchcraft as those who die in war4 ,the ,african seems not to believe that there is any such thing as a natural death4 ,even when a man is killed in war some one is usually charged with having bewitched him2 for it will be said that he wore a fetish for safety1 but that a witch had broken the spell of the fetish4 ,a witch's spirit is 8loose from her body40 ,in the night she leaves her body and goes off to foregather with other witches with whom she joins in wild and unspeakably wicked revels1 during which they feast upon the 8hearts0 of people4 ,the people whose hearts have thus been eaten sicken soon afterwards and die4 ,a witch is always careful to return to her body before daylight4 ,if the vacant body be found during her absence it would be wise to destroy it immediately4 ,when a number of deaths occur in close succession a council is held in the presence of the witch-doctor4 ,when he announces witchcraft as the cause a panic ensues in which the people become fairly dehumanized with fear and a thirst for vengeance4 ,each one suspects everybody else4 ,the witch-doctor sometimes names the guilty persons4 ,and woe to any enemies that he may have in that town6 ,usually1 however1 they resort to the ordeal to find the guilty ones4 ,the spectacle of such a panic is very revolting4 ,the horrors of war1 even at the worst1 are never comparable to the horrors of witchcraft4 ,it is the constant fear of the ,african1 and his most powerful fetishes are those which protect him against it4 ,except in the vicinity of the foreign governments witches are put to death and always by cruel means1 wives charged with witchcraft being buried alive with the dead body of the husband4 ,in one town that ,i know ten women1 wives of one man1 were thus buried with him2 in another town1 twenty women4 ,their legs were broken before they were thrown into the grave4 ,even cannibalism1 regarded as the lowest reach of degradation1 is not only a natural consequence of fetishism1 but is one of its logical forms4 ,i doubt whether1 among the ,fang1 it is ever practiced on the mere impulse of hunger4 ,it is rather the last desperate resort of fear seeking fetish protection4 ,the strongest protection against an enemy in war is to eat one of their number4 ,after that the enemy can do no harm and need not be feared2 unless 7always this same dreadful qualification7--unless some traitor in one's own town should break the spell even of this fetish by witchcraft4 ,the ,african is further demoralized by his idea of man's destiny4 ,he believes in a future life4 ,i never encountered a doubt on this subject4 ,but his belief is not ennobling1 nor a source of moral inspiration4 ,death is an unmitigated evil1 and the dead are always wishing to be back in the flesh4 ,the future does not hold rewards or punishments for the good or evil of the present life2 nor has present goodness any future advantage4 ,there1 as here1 to have a great many wives and plenty to eat are chief factors in happiness4 ,they have big palavers there as well as here4 ,sometimes palavers left unfinished here are settled there4 ,in some tribes 7the ,kru tribe1 for instance7 when smallpox or other scourge visits a town1 and many people die about the same time1 it is supposed that an unfinished palaver has been resumed in the other world and these persons were needed as witnesses4 ,it will be perceived that beneath all this moral degradation of the ,african1 beneath his cruelty and licentiousness1 there lies a degrading conception of man's nature4 ,man has no divine origin and no noble destiny2 therefore he has no intrinsic value and human nature has no inherent worth4 ,but to this seeming hopeless ruin of humanity ,christ in ,his own person imparts a new conception1 first1 of the dignity of man's nature2 second1 of the possibilities of his character2 third1 of the greatness of his destiny4 ,in ,jesus1 ,god takes upon ,himself this despised human nature1 and reveals the divine character in a human life4 ,that same life is at once a revelation of ,god and an example to men2 and without incongruity ,jesus could say1 in words perhaps the sublimest ever uttered in the ears of men3 8,be ye perfect even as your ,father in heaven is perfect40 ,man1 therefore1 even the most degraded and the slave1 is akin to ,god and the object of ,his tender regard4 ,the light of this revelation extinguishes all minor differences between men2 a human soul is of more value than the whole world1 and neither wealth nor power can add anything to a man's worth4 ,much is added to this new conception of man when ,jesus reveals in ,himself the possibilities of human character4 ,it was always a surprise to me to find how readily the ,african recognizes in ,jesus the human ideal2 how he accepts ,him as the true moral standard1 by which henceforth he judges himself and realizes what he is and what he ought to be4 ,the great destiny of man which ,jesus discloses seems not only credible1 but even natural1 in the light of man's kinship with ,god and the possibilities of human character4 ,instead of the poor ,african's fear of death and his degrading conception of the future life1 ,jesus sets before him a hope that thrills his heart with joy4 ,man has many present faults and frailties1 but he does not belong to the present4 ,he is not a finality1 but a possibility2 a possibility to be realized only in the perspective of an infinite future1 in which death itself is but an incident1 the end of nothing worth while2 and beyond it is the consummation of all our hopes1 a consummation which language becomes rhapsody when it would describe4 ,is it wonderful that this new conception of humanity should be morally transforming8 that1 for instance1 it should impress even the ,african mind with the sanctity of human life8 ,cannibalism disappears as soon as the ,gospel becomes intelligible1 and long before they accept it as individuals4 ,a war arose between two villages1 in a community where ,i had preached not more than a year1 for the people had recently come from the far interior where cannibalism was commonly practiced4 ,the town making the attack came on a very dark night1 intending to set fire to the other town1 which only required that the blaze be started in one place1 the houses being so close that all must burn together4 ,they were led by two young men whom ,i knew4 ,while the rest of the party were hiding1 these two1 going forward1 saturated the thatch roof of the first house with kerosene1 and were striking a match1 when the noise was heard by the man inside4 ,he quietly arose1 moving stealthily as a cat1 opened the door1 and discovered the two young men standing a few yards in front of him4 ,he took deliberate aim and fired twice4 ,one man fell dead instantly2 the other1 frightfully wounded1 reached his friends1 who put him in a canoe and took him back to his town1 where he died a few days later4 ,i have said that one of the two fell in the street4 ,a few years ago they would have eagerly devoured the body1 both as a feast1 and as a fetish protection against the enemy4 ,the fetish belief still remained strong as ever1 but they revolted from the practice2 and having cut the body in pieces and boiled it1 they smeared the grease upon their foreheads and breasts1 hoping that it would thus avail for their protection4 ,but they did not taste it4 ,in former times they would actually boast of eating an enemy2 now these same people are ashamed to confess it1 and it is the most offensive charge that one town can make against another4 ,the old chief to whom ,i have already referred1 who laid at my feet the sacred fetish of his father's brains1 told me how that he was persuaded to give it up by a neighbouring chief 7one whom ,i had instructed7 who had come to his town1 not to make war and kill1 as formerly1 but in a spirit of peace1 and had stayed many days in order to tell the people the things which he had recently learned4 ,he had said that he and they must stop making war with each other2 that one ,god was ,father of them all1 who also loved them all2 that they must throw away their fetishes1 entrust themselves to ,god's care1 believe in ,his ,son and do right2 and even if they suffered for it in this world there was a life to come in which they would be fully rewarded4 ,this same chief1 who was speaking to me1 had had seven wives2 but at the instance of his new faith he put away six of them and refused to accept a dowry for those whom he put away4 ,the ,christians among them refuse to accept the dowry for daughter or sister2 and polygamy of course is forbidden4 ,wars are less and less frequent2 and the sanctity of human life has taken such a hold of mind and heart that it must henceforth be a governing principle among them4 ,how completely the ,gospel of ,christ can transform the invisible world to the mind of the ,african and vanquish his abject and demoralizing fear of spirits was proved by the numbers of men who began coming to me1 some of them from towns far away1 in order to surrender the skulls of their fathers1 the most potent fetish known to the ,african for protection against the hostility of the spirits4 ,i found myself in possession of heaps of these uncanny skulls1 and ,i did not quite know what to do with them4 ,one day1 a man1 having heard that ,i was going to bring them to ,america1 came to me in alarm to ask whether ,i had considered the possible consequences of confusion at the resurrection if the heads of these ,africans should be transported to the other side of the sea4 ,the voluntary surrender of a father's skull is the strongest possible evidence of the sincerity of an ,african's faith in ,christ1 and his salvation from the paralyzing fear of spirits4 ,the disciples1 that stormy night on ,galilee1 thought they saw a ghost1 and in their fear of the ghost they forgot their fear of the tornado that was threatening to engulf them4 ,but at the sound of a well-known voice1 8,it is ,i2 be not afraid10 their fear becomes joy1 and ,peter even cries out3 8,lord1 bid me come unto ,thee40 ,the story is one that always appealed to the ,fang of the ,gaboon4 ,for1 in bringing their garden produce to the morning market1 they must cross the bay at night in their frail canoes1 and they all know what it means to be overtaken by the sudden fury of a tropical storm until they have despaired of reaching the land4 ,and it is with the ,african as with the disciples1 his fear of the supernatural is always greater than his fear of the natural1 and confidence in ,christ casts out all fear4 ,so also in the last hour1 when about to pass out of this life into the dread world of spirits1 ,i have seen him meet death without fear4 ,for he hears the voice of ,jesus saying3 8,it is ,i2 be not afraid10 and he responds3 8,lord1 bid me come unto ,thee40 ,,xv ,,fetishism ,,and ,,the ,,cross ,during my study of the language of the ,fang ,i was one day talking to a young boy and searching for a better word for mercy than the very vague word in general use4 ,he was a bright lad1 with beautiful eyes and frank manner4 ,i said to him3 8,a man was hunting in the forest1 when he discovered a woman of a neighbouring town alone in her garden4 ,he decided to steal her and add her to the number of his wives4 ,he caught her and tied a bush-rope around her1 and himself holding the end of it he made her walk ahead of him through the forest towards his town4 ,on the way1 the woman1 recovering from her first fright1 began to cry and to plead with him to let her go4 ,she told him that she had three little children and that the youngest was sick and would probably die without its mother4 ,the man for some time hardened his heart1 but the woman continued to plead and to cry more bitterly4 ,then at last the man's heart was softened4 ,he began to think that perhaps two wives were enough for the present2 and he let the woman go4 8,now1 when he reaches his town and tells the people what he has done what will they say about him80 ,promptly came the answer3 8,they will call him a fool40 8,why will they call him a fool80 ,i asked4 8,because he is not a real man4 ,he has a soft heart like a woman's heart4 ,all women are fools40 8,and how about small boys80 ,i asked4 8,oh10 said he1 8small boys are very much like women2 but of course we will be real men when we grow up40 ,not that the ,african is destitute of the instinct of humanity--by no means2 but a false ideal calls for the repression of his best instincts4 ,in the course of a war between two villages1 in which ,i knew nearly all the people1 a young man named ,minkoa1 a bright and rather manly young fellow1 was one day out in the forest hunting when he was shot to death by a party who were in hiding near the path4 ,minkoa's sister was married to the very man who first shot him1 and they had been intimate friends1 like brothers in each other's regard1 and had visited much together2 but the man did not know that it was ,minkoa when he fired the shot in the dark forest4 ,having wounded him1 and seeing him fall to the ground1 he sprang forward to complete the work1 and instantly recognized his friend ,minkoa4 ,the savage heart is never wholly savage4 ,with a cry of grief he fell beside the wounded man and with his own body would have saved him from further injury2 but the rest of the party having come up1 they dragged him back1 flung him aside with a curse1 and standing over ,minkoa1 fairly riddled his body with bullets4 ,compassion1 or even natural affection1 under such circumstances1 is a weakness and must be suppressed as incompatible with what they regard as manly courage4 ,all heathendom suffers for want of a perfect human ideal4 ,the first result is a variety of ideal and type in different nations and different religions4 ,not only does the ,confucian type1 the ,mohammedan type1 the ,buddhist type1 differ from the ,christian type1 but they also differ essentially from each other4 ,in each1 some one virtue1 parental authority1 for instance1 or courage1 occupies almost the entire foreground1 while other virtues recede in the perspective of character4 ,in ,africa virtue is almost identified with courage1 and power is worshipped4 ,woman1 therefore1 who in all lands represents the gentler virtues--compassion1 devotion1 patience--is contemptible2 and the child also2 for where power is worshipped feebleness can have no claim4 ,woman1 thus relegated to a place of inferiority and contempt1 sinks to a lower level of degradation than the man4 ,cruelty is the characteristic of the men2 licentiousness1 of the women4 ,but notwithstanding the imperfection of his ideal the ,african is essentially moral4 ,he knows the difference between right and wrong2 he knows that it is wrong to lie and to steal4 ,sometimes ,i was disposed to doubt it2 when he told me lies for no possible advantage1 or when he committed wanton wickedness4 ,for instance1 ,i ask a man what town he comes from1 and he answers that he comes from ,jamanen1 when he really came from ,atakama2 and there is no conceivable reason why he should deceive me1 except that he lies by preference4 ,in the first days among the ,bulu1 before there was an established friendship between them and ourselves1 when ,i have asked the road to a certain town the men have directed me the opposite way1 and ,i have inferred the truth from the suppressed exclamations of the tittering women4 ,a man steals a woman1 instead of offering a proper dowry2 and when ,i remonstrate1 indignant that he should precipitate a war with all its bloodshed and suffering rather than pay a dowry1 he amazes me by confessing that he expects to pay the dowry all the same--after the war4 ,why not pay it in the first place and save the lives of his people8 ,and why does the ,african tell me a lie when the truth would serve his purpose better8 ,has he sunken to such a depth that 8,fair is foul1 and foul is fair80 ,so it sometimes seemed4 ,but a more intimate knowledge of him always compels one to abandon this theory4 ,it is never the love of bloodshed that leads him to act thus1 but an excessive admiration of courage4 ,his attitude of distrust towards his fellow men has bred in him a disposition to secretiveness and deception1 so that he lies even when there is no occasion1 not from preference but from force of habit4 ,let him discover that another has lied to him1 or stolen from him1 and he will resent it as readily and as naturally as ourselves4 ,on occasion ,i have heard him preach a fairly good extemporaneous sermon on these subjects4 ,in ,old ,calabar ,i was shown the leaf of a certain tree1 the lower side of which is like sandpaper1 and ,i was assured that it is frequently used upon the lips of persons convicted of lying--though ,i did not observe that trees of this kind were being rapidly defoliated by reason of this custom4 ,the ,african lies in self-defense1 and steals in the interest of success2 but what he practices himself he condemns in others2 for he knows that it is wrong4 ,again1 the universal practice of the ordeal is evidence of the moral nature of the ,african2 though at first sight it would seem rather to indicate moral imbecility4 ,sometimes a hen is set on eggs and the accused person is adjudged guilty or innocent according as the greater number of chickens hatched are male or female4 ,this is a mode of trial for less serious offenses4 ,more commonly in the case of witchcraft a mild poison is administered to the accused in a drink4 ,sometimes it only produces vomiting and does him no harm4 ,but if he is seized with vertigo and staggers1 he is adjudged guilty4 ,since the establishment of foreign governments it is seldom that a white man is allowed to witness this ordeal2 but in earlier days they witnessed it frequently4 ,du ,chaillu tells of such a trial at which he was present1 in a town near ,gaboon4 ,there lived in the town a woman1 ,ogondaga1 an unusual woman among her people1 he says2 the one also who had kept his house and cooked his food and had been exceedingly kind to him4 ,a number of deaths occurred in the town1 and when the witch-doctor was consulted he announced witchcraft as the cause4 ,the usual panic ensued4 ,the terrified people1 exclaiming1 8,there are those among us who eat people10 ran through the streets with drawn swords1 athirst for blood4 ,the witch-doctor named three persons as possible witches2 and last among them he named ,ogondaga4 ,as they dragged her from her house towards the river she caught sight of her white friend and piteously begged him to save her4 ,the lonely white man1 pale and trembling1 looked on1 but could do nothing4 ,they made her drink the poison4 ,there was a moment's terrible suspense2 then she was seized with vertigo and staggered4 ,but even before she fell they sprang upon her with savage yells1 cut her body to pieces1 and with curses flung it piece by piece into the river4 ,and yet ,i am citing the ordeal as evidence of a moral nature6 ,the roots of certain shrubs1 the bark of certain trees1 and1 above all1 the notorious ,calabar bean are used as ordeal poisons4 ,sometimes both the accused and the accuser are compelled to submit to the ordeal4 ,in at least one ,african tribe1 when one person charges another with certain serious offenses they are both 7accused and accuser7 tied to stakes some distance apart1 on the brink of the river in the neighbourhood of crocodiles1 and whichever of the two is seized first is adjudged guilty4 ,the other is then set free4 ,the ordeal is a form of judicial trial in which supernatural aid is relied upon to take the place of evidence and to determine guilt or innocence4 ,we must not forget that the ordeal was a medieval practice in ,europe2 and that our fathers were required to prove their innocence by dipping their hands into boiling water1 or carrying a red-hot iron nine paces4 ,but our fathers believed in a righteous ,god1 and when evidence was wanting the ordeal was a direct appeal to ,his judgment4 ,it is very different1 and more strange1 to find the ,african relying upon the ordeal1 who does not believe in a righteous ,god4 ,the ,god of ,african belief made the world2 but in character ,he is no better than the ,africans themselves2 and1 moreover1 he is a ,god afar off and inactive1 while the spirits who are near and active are also evil and hostile4 ,the principle of the ,african ordeal is that there is an eternal connection between guilt and retribution2 and knowing of no righteous ,god to execute vengeance1 they attribute wrath to the dumb forces of nature2 these1 they conceive1 are in league against the wrong-doer and will execute vengeance4 ,the belief is the more impressive because it is directly contradicted by the facts of experience4 ,fire burns the innocent2 the lightning-stroke is no respecter of persons2 the fury of the tornado is not partial to the good4 ,and yet the belief persists4 ,it persists because of the irrepressible instinct that wrong-doing deserves punishment1 and that somewhere at the heart of the universe there is a moral power that connects guilt and retribution4 ,the same instinct accounts for the sleepless ,nemesis and the whips and scorpions of the ,furies of ancient mythology4 ,there is a peculiar and striking instance of it in the ,scriptures3 ,paul1 having been shipwrecked on the island of ,melita1 gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire which the natives had kindled2 but a viper1 by reason of the heat1 came out and fastened on his hand4 ,then the natives said one to another3 8,no doubt this man is a murderer1 whom1 though he hath escaped the sea1 yet vengeance suffereth not to live40 ,but when1 instead of falling dead suddenly1 they saw no harm come to him1 they changed their minds and said that he was a god4 ,one still night1 as we lay at anchor in the middle of the broad river1 amidst profound darkness1 a deep-voiced man related to the crew a story of how a certain man1 whose father and sisters had been killed by another man in a tribal war1 not being able to avenge himself1 at last 8threw his face on his enemy40 ,it is not necessary to repeat the unpleasant details of how this is done2 but in many tribes they believe that where a great wrong has been unavenged it really can be done1 and1 intentionally or otherwise1 it illustrates in a gruesome manner a principle of remorse of which some suppose that the ,african is incapable4 ,ever after the man threw his face on his enemy the enemy saw that face4 ,it haunted him in the midst of all his joys1 made his sorrows the heavier1 and poisoned all the pleasures of his life4 ,fetishes1 prayers1 incantations were all in vain2 he still saw it1 saw it alike in the darkness and the light1 and saw it always4 ,at last1 when madness threatened him because of this haunting face1 he killed himself to escape from it4 ,but it is very doubtful whether he would escape it even in death2 for there are those who say that a face thrown upon a man will continue to haunt him in the next life even as in this4 ,again1 even more clearly does the ,african prove that he is essentially moral by the ceremonies which he has instituted for the relief of a sense of guilt4 ,i once witnessed a peculiar ceremony of this kind in a native town4 ,a series of dire misfortunes1 which had exhausted the usual resources of fetishism1 led them at length to search their own hearts for the cause4 ,by some means it was concluded that the infidelity of the wives of the town was the cause of their calamities4 ,thereupon a fetish medicine was prepared in a large bucket4 ,an individual who played the part of priest was hidden in a green booth in the middle of the street4 ,he was supposed by the women to be a spirit1 and not a human being4 ,he spoke in a false voice that was inhuman enough for any spirit4 ,the women as he called them by name1 one by one1 approached and sat down on a seat a few yards from the booth4 ,the 8spirit0 within the booth held one end of a rope of vine1 while the woman seated without held the other4 ,then he asked her whether she was guilty of the sin that had wrought so much evil4 ,the women believed that the spirit already knew their guilt or innocence1 and they were afraid to lie4 ,they all confessed their guilt in the hearing of the people--probably every woman in the town4 ,then an assistant1 at the command of the priest1 dipped a bunch of grass into the medicine and sprinkled it upon the guilty1 thereby removing the curse4 ,since that time they have all heard of the blood that was shed on ,calvary2 and by its sprinkling some of those some women1 ,i trust1 have been cleansed from a guilty conscience4 ,blood itself is often used in these ceremonies2 the fresh blood of fowls1 or of sheep or goats4 ,in such a ceremony the people are seated on the ground1 one behind another1 and the priest passing along pours the blood over their heads and shoulders4 ,to most of them it is a mere ceremonial and removes the curse without reference to the heart4 ,such a scene often recalled the observation of ,george ,adam ,smith1 that the essence of heathenism is not idolatry but ritualism4 ,many of them shrink from the blood1 lowering their heads to keep it off their faces and evidently desiring as little of it as possible4 ,but occasionally one may see a woman welcome it with eager1 upturned face1 and eyes of infinite and pathetic longing2 in the spirit of that disciple who said3 8,lord1 not my feet only1 but also my hands and my head40 8,out of the depths10 said the psalmist--8,out of the depths have ,i cried unto ,thee1 ,o ,lord40 ,and must we not believe that this inarticulate cry from the abysmal depths of the poor ,african woman's darkness and degradation is heard by the attentive ear of ,him who sitteth upon the throne of the heavens and is very nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart8 ,in nothing else does the ,african reveal his essentially moral nature more than in his immediate recognition and acceptance of the character of ,jesus as the human ideal2 although it is an ideal that traverses all his former conceptions1 that subverts those ideas which are the basis of his dearest social customs1 and condemns utterly that conduct which has been his very boast4 ,jesus is so immediately understood by the ,african that we are often asked whether ,jesus was a black man4 ,he is understood by every tribe and nation1 because ,he unites in ,himself the ideals of all4 ,he also unites in ,himself individual qualities of seeming incompatibility4 ,in ,him the most masculine qualities are united with those which are usually regarded as feminine1 such as gentleness1 patience1 devotion4 ,christ redeems woman from oppression and bondage by rescuing from contempt those virtues in which she excels1 and even giving them preminence4 ,he is the ideal of woman as well as man4 ,but that which concerns us just now is the strange fact that the ,african immediately accepts the new ideal4 ,he recognizes the character of ,jesus as the authoritative standard even when he refuses to conform to it2 and its authority is based wholly on his perception of its intrinsic superiority4 ,the ,african finds in ,jesus the complete definition of his own conscience4 ,we shall not find a better explanation of this fact than that of the ,bible2 that he was made in the image of ,god and has not forgotten his origin4 ,if this depiction of the mind and heart of the ,african be true1 it will be almost a foregone conclusion that the gospel which inspires his faith and becomes the power of ,god unto his salvation is the gospel of the cross and the atoning ,saviour4 ,those who are called to preach ,christ to the most degraded of mankind are ever in accord with the persistent instinct of the ,church in all ages1 embodied in the beautiful tradition that the spear which wounded our ,saviour's side on ,calvary had henceforth the power to heal every wound that it touched4 ,this gospel of the atonement1 in the first place1 relieves his sense of guilt4 ,his sense of guilt is very vague1 indeed2 but the ceremonies which he has instituted for its removal are the most concrete expression of his moral nature4 ,he knows nothing of the theological implications of the atonement1 nor does he understand the philosophy of his own salvation2 but he knows that the crucified ,christ satisfies his heart and relieves his conscience4 ,for man is always greater than his reasoning faculty1 and sometimes when it is impotent he still may know the truth by faith direct4 ,the justice of vicarious atonement is not incredible to the ,african because he already has the idea4 ,in common with most oriental races he has an idea of human solidarity which the occidental has lost 7though he is regaining it7 by reason of his excessive emphasis upon individualism4 ,the ,african represents the opposite extreme4 ,each member of a family or tribe may be held justly accountable for any misdeed of any other member4 ,if1 for instance1 in conducting a caravan through the forest one of them should desert1 it would be in strict accord with ,african justice to shoot all the remaining members of that man's tribe4 ,white men 7including some missionaries7 have occasionally won a reputation for generosity by foregoing their rights in this respect4 ,the human mind will never exhaust the divine mystery of the cross2 but somewhere in its neighbourhood society will probably find the true mean between the two extremes of individualism and social solidarity4 ,the voluntary sacrifice of ,christ as our representative and its procurement of our pardon is credible to the ,african and relieves his sense of guilt4 ,again1 it is ,christ as the atoning ,saviour who secures his repentance4 ,nowhere else but at the cross have men united the ideas of holiness and love1 ,god's hatred of sin and love of men4 ,in heathen religions1 when love is attributed to ,god1 as in some forms of ,hinduism1 ,he is indulgent and indifferent to sin2 when holiness is attributed to ,him1 as in ,mohammedanism1 ,he is remote and indifferent to men1 because they are sinful4 ,and even the ,pharisees were scandalized1 not understanding how that ,jesus1 while professing to be holy1 could receive sinners and eat with them4 ,but the atoning death of ,jesus1 in which the divine goodness is concreted1 unites holiness and love1 hatred of sin and love of righteousness1 and makes them inseparable4 ,those who have acquired an intimate knowledge of the mind and heart of the heathen know that it is the consequences of sin1 rather than sin itself1 which they would escape4 ,there is but little real abhorrence of sin4 ,and the missionary feels instinctively that to proclaim to such an audience a gospel of forgiveness on a basis of repentance alone1 without either penalty or atoning sacrifice1 would only give license to indulgence1 and make repentance itself impossible4 ,the atonement of ,christ1 while offering free pardon1 impresses even the mind of the ,african with the enormity of sin and the impossibility of pardon to the impenitent4 ,and again1 ,christ the atoning ,saviour is the highest impulse to self-sacrificing service4 ,the love of the atonement is more than the love of complacence4 ,the atonement is love actualized as service4 ,it seems to me one must have lived among the heathen in order to realize how this principle of self-sacrifice stands over against the world's principle of self-assertion4 ,it is claimed1 and with some truth1 that ,buddhism also has this principle of self-sacrifice4 ,but1 according to that religion1 self-sacrifice leads to death1 practical annihilation1 which is therefore more desirable than life4 ,in ,christianity self-sacrifice leads to more abundant life and is the way not to a grave but to a throne4 ,in ,revelation a ,lamb slain from the foundation of the world is seated upon the throne and rules3 self-sacrifice is the principle not of death but of life1 the way to power and glory2 and this is not merely a temporal discipline1 but an eternal principle--8from the foundation of the world40 ,the ,african has a capacity for devotion not surpassed in the world4 ,and he easily construes ,christian duty in terms of service4 ,ndong ,koni was one of the first of the ,fang ,christians4 ,he chose ,christ early in life1 and his mind was as completely purged of fetishism as was his heart of heathen cruelty4 ,he was gentle and affectionate2 and through all the years in which he was my constant companion1 in frequent sickness1 and in toils long and hard1 ,i received from him so much kindness and affection that my heart still grows tender when ,i think of him4 ,ndong ,koni was accounted very poor because he had no sisters4 ,a man gives his sisters in marriage1 and with the dowry which he obtains he procures for himself as many wives as he has sisters4 ,ndong ,koni had not even one sister2 and since he would not elope with another man's wife his domestic future was a problem which neither he nor his friends could solve4 ,therefore1 when he came to the mission and asked for work1 ,i supposed that he had resolved to procure a dowry by working for it--which would require the labour of years4 ,but ,i found1 when ,i visited his town1 that1 with only the assistance of an old uncle1 ,ndong ,koni had built a little church in his town2 and in order that it should be far better than any house in town they had decided that it should have real carpenter-made windows and doors swinging on real hinges4 ,this grandeur would be very costly1 and ,ndong ,koni had sought work at the mission in order to earn money to pay for it4 ,from that time1 as long as ,i remained in ,africa1 he never left me1 except for an occasional brief interval4 ,he rose from one position to another until he was captain of the crew of the ,dorothy1 and1 finally1 a catechist4 ,many of the towns near ,ndong ,koni's home were new1 the people having come recently from the interior4 ,i was the first white man to visit most of these2 but ,i always found that ,ndong ,koni had preceded me and was the first missionary4 ,one of ,ndong ,koni's converts was ,onjoga1 a remarkable man1 who afterwards became an elder in the ,fang church4 ,onjoga had reached middle age when he became a ,christian1 and for a long time he was the only ,christian in his town4 ,it was a peculiarly bad town4 ,soon after his conversion he came to the mission to ask me if ,i could send a teacher to his town2 for1 he said1 he would like to learn to read the ,bible that he might instruct his people4 ,i had no teacher whom ,i could send2 but ,onjoga was so determined that ,i concluded to keep him at ,baraka for a while and give him special instruction4 ,he remained several months during which ,i taught him daily2 and half of each day he worked in the yard to earn the price of his food4 ,he winced perceptibly when ,i told him that the only work which ,i could give him at the time was that of cutting grass4 ,this is the one kind of work1 above all others1 that the ,african soul abhors4 ,the coarse1 rank grass grows with astonishing rapidity in that moist1 hot climate4 ,but for reasons of health it must be kept down4 ,a lawn-mower is useless3 it is cut with a short1 straight cutlass--the ,english matchet--and in wielding this cutlass one must stoop to the very ground4 ,it is extremely hard work1 and regarded also as peculiarly menial4 ,to keep half a dozen natives working at it steadily for half a day is the final test of the white man's power of command in ,africa4 ,one day ,i set the crew of the ,evangeline at this work4 ,makuba1 the captain1 was very resentful2 and the next day when ,i ordered him to get the boat ready for a missionary journey he was still resentful--so much so that he could scarcely walk4 ,in answer to my stare of amazement at his snail pace he informed me that he had rheumatism as a result of cutting grass4 ,makuba was an incomparable boatman and a faithful friend2 but in that mood he was sufficiently exasperating to demoralize both crew and missionary and to make the heathen rage4 ,when we got well under way1 and the ,evangeline had spread her white wings to the wind1 the other men began to eat2 but ,makuba would not even touch his food4 ,at length ,i said to him3 8,makuba1 ,i am very sorry that your rheumatism is so bad you can't eat2 for ,i am going to have a fried chicken for my dinner and ,i was expecting to give you a portion of it--about half1 perhaps40 ,i had already learned that the chicken is the one ,african fetish whose potency survives all changes4 ,makuba's countenance was a study2 but he replied3 8,mr4 ,milligan1 chicken no be same as other chop4 ,i be fit to eat chicken40 7,makuba was not a ,fang1 so he always addressed me in ,english47 8,but do you think it would cure your rheumatism80 ,i asked2 8,i am not sure that ,i can spare it unless it is going to effect a complete cure40 ,makuba assured me that fried chicken was the specific for his kind of rheumatism4 ,and he was right2 for it cured him completely4 ,we had a successful missionary tour1 ,makuba doing extra service at every opportunity and singing as he held the helm4 ,the reader will understand1 therefore1 that ,onjoga1 the ,fang ,christian1 a man of middle age1 and of real importance in his town and tribe1 did an extraordinary thing when he consented to cut grass that he might stay at ,baraka and be instructed in the ,christian religion4 ,he was distinctly a man of brains4 ,before ,i left ,africa ,i saw him stand before a large audience and read a chapter from the ,gospel of ,matthew2 and he read it well4 ,it was he1 by the way1 who1 after one of our missionary tours1 first gave me my ,african name1 ,mote-ke-ye3 ,man-who-never-sleeps4 ,while ,onjoga was living at ,baraka ,i often took him as one of the boat-crew in my work of itinerating4 ,on one occasion1 after a long journey and a futile effort to reach a certain town during the afternoon1 we lost our way2 for there was a network of small rivers4 ,we could neither find that particular town nor any other4 ,our predicament became serious when darkness approached and the air became dense with mosquitoes4 ,at length we espied a canoe in the distance with several persons in it4 ,we pulled as fast as possible in order to overtake them2 but they evidently thought that we were pursuing them and they tried to escape from us4 ,then ,onjoga1 rising in the boat and calling to them as loud as he could yell 7loud enough to be heard at any finite distance7 told them that we were lost and that we would like to go with them to their town for the night4 ,having observed my helmet1 they knew that there was a white man in the boat and they were afraid1 and refused to take us to their town2 for the ,french had recently burned some of their towns4 ,onjoga assured them that ,i was not a government officer4 ,then they asked who ,i was4 ,onjoga shouted back3 8,he is a missionary40 ,across the distance came the question3 8,what is a missionary80 ,then ,onjoga1 shouting with all the strength of his powerful lungs1 gave them an outline of my work1 a brief character-sketch of myself1 and a rapid synopsis of the ,gospel which would have laid the world under lasting obligation if ,i could have preserved it4 ,much to my surprise it had the desired effect4 ,they waited for us and took us to their town1 one of considerable size of which ,i had not before known the existence4 ,we spent the night there and preached to the people4 ,in the evening1 when all the people were assembled1 one of their own number started a ,fang hymn 7one that ,i had translated7 in which they all joined1 to my astonishment4 ,then they sang another1 and another4 ,the explanation was that ,ndong ,koni had frequently visited the town in order to teach them4 ,onjoga's wife1 ,nze1 was a great trial to him after he became a ,christian4 ,at length he told me that he was going to put her away and asked me to come to his town and judge the palaver4 ,for he wished me to know that he was folly justified4 ,i went to his town and held a great palaver and heard many witnesses4 ,i listened half a day to the very unpleasant story of ,nze's infidelity4 ,onjoga said that he did not care so much about it before he became a ,christian1 but now it was revolting to him and intolerable4 ,after a long talk with ,nze ,i asked ,onjoga to take her back once more4 ,he was at first very unwilling4 ,i said3 8,i know it is hard2 but she promises to do right in the future2 and besides1 if you put her away you will probably marry some one else just as bad2 for they are all alike1 or nearly so40 ,this was before there were any conversions among the women4 8,i know it10 he replied2 8but ,i shall procure a very young wife and ,i am going to beg you to take her to ,baraka and raise her for me40 ,his heart was so set upon this project that ,i had some difficulty in persuading him that training wives for other men was not exactly my specialty4 ,at last he consented to take ,nze back once more4 8,but10 he said1 8,i know she will not keep her promise40 ,he was right4 ,it was only a little while until ,nze was living as badly as ever4 ,he put her away and remained single for some time4 ,then he married a woman who had become a ,christian under his teaching1 and they lived most happily together4 ,shortly before ,i left ,africa ,i went to his town and baptized their infant daughter4 ,that service is still a sweet memory4 ,it was not a great move for ,nze4 ,she married a man in the same town and lived next door to ,onjoga4 ,onjoga was a natural leader of men1 and the influence of his life transformed that town4 ,each time ,i visited him he told me of men and women who had renounced their fetishes1 together with their cruelties and adulteries1 and had confessed the ,christian faith4 ,but the last time ,i visited his town he came walking down the street to greet me1 leading by the hand none other than ,nze1 whom he presented saying3 8,she is now a ,christian2 and she is in the class that ,i am teaching40 ,when ,i left ,africa ,nze was still a faithful member of ,onjoga's class4 ,he was a man of evangelistic fervour4 ,he regarded himself as a debtor to all his people to make known the gospel of ,christ crucified1 which was always the burden of his preaching4 ,there were but few towns on the ,gaboon where his voice was not heard4 ,ndong ,koni was gentle and winsome2 but ,onjoga was aggressive and forceful4 ,they represented extreme types2 and there are other types among the ,fang equally pronounced4 ,for ,christ lifted up upon the cross draws all men unto ,him4 ,onjoga's own town instead of being one of the worst became one of the best towns on the ,gaboon4 ,in the early days when ,i first visited it the characteristic sound which greeted me as ,i approached it 7usually in the early night7 was perhaps the bitter cry of a woman who was being tortured for witchcraft2 or the uncouth howling of a leopard-man whom women and children may not see lest they die2 or the weird wail of their mourning for the dead2 or the noise of war-drums and the savage shouts of warriors who were keeping an expected enemy warned that they were on the watch4 ,such were the sounds that ascended in the darkness like the smoke of their torment4 ,a few years later1 in that town one would hear every evening at a regular hour the people1 young and old1 singing hymns1 and singing them as they ought to be sung1 from the heart4 ,nor was there any cry of torture1 nor any howl of a leopard-man1 nor beating of war-drums1 nor any other sound that would strike fear into the heart or quench the laughter of children at play4 ,,xvi ,,missions ,,and ,,social ,,progress#a ,the 8untutored child of nature0 whom we meet in the pages of ,rousseau and ,cooper1 the 8noble savage0 of sentimental fiction1 is not the savage of missionary literature4 ,henry ,george1 while repudiating the sentimental view1 contrasts the personal independence of the savage with the dependence of the labourer of civilization whose skill is specialized until his labour becomes but an infinitesimal part of the varied processes which are required to supply even the commonest wants4 ,the following is ,mr4 ,george's attractive picture of the savage3 8,the aggregate produce of the labour of a savage tribe is small1 but each member is capable of an independent life4 ,he can build his own habitation1 hew out or stitch together his own canoe1 make his own clothing1 manufacture his own weapons1 snares1 tools and ornaments4 ,he has all the knowledge of nature possessed by his tribe--knows what vegetable productions are fit for food1 where they may be found2 knows the habits and resorts of beasts1 fishes and insects2 can pilot himself by the sun or the stars1 by the turning of blossoms or the mosses on the trees2 is in short capable of supplying all his wants4 ,he may be cut off from his fellows and still live40#b ,footnote #b3 ,progress and ,poverty1 p4 #bef4 ,illustration3 ,,several ,,strides ,,toward ,,civilization4 ,a ,group of ,bulu4 ,this personal independence is a fact and it is one that appeals strongly to the imagination of those who see the savage at a distance and who think of him only as primitive1 instead of savage4 ,his state seems closely akin to that social condition1 described by an ancient poet1 in which law1 commerce1 literature1 science and religion are not specialized1 but implicit in the daily life of each individual4 ,man loves the exercise of liberty for its own sake1 regardless of aim and consequence4 ,it seems to be a condition of manhood--of moral spontaneity and development4 ,but the personal independence of the savage 7when we see him not with the imagination but with the eyes7 is the expression of his brute selfishness4 ,even his wife has no share in it2 nor anybody else if he can help it2 for the desire for liberty is but a step from the desire for power4 ,there is no word in his vocabulary to express the idea of justice4 ,and when we pass from his social condition to the inward man1 himself1 we find him the victim of a thousand abject fears and cruel tyrannies that enslave him4 ,mr4 ,george ,l4 ,bates1 a naturalist1 who spent several years among the ,fang and gave me both sympathy and assistance in missionary work1 tells a story of a ,fang feud1 the last incident of which took place a few months before ,i left ,africa4 ,i repeat the story told by ,mr4 ,bates1 almost in his own words3 ,nzwi ,amvam1 a man of the ,esen clan1 had been killed by ,bibane1 chief of the ,amvom clan1 the enemies of the ,esen4 ,after some days a palaver was held to divide the dead man's estate and decide to whom his seven widows should be given4 ,these seven women were seated on the ground1 in the middle of the street1 while the assembled company1 a miscellaneous crowd from that and surrounding villages1 were seated on either side of the street in the shade of the low projecting palm-leaf roofs4 ,the important men of the clan sat in the open palaver-house at the end of the street4 ,after much oratory it was agreed that ,ngon1 eldest son of ,nzwi ,amvam1 should receive two of his father's wives1 the other five being distributed among the near relations4 ,then the palaver broke up to be followed in the evening by a great dance with much drumming4 ,when young ,ngon lay down that night he considered that he had become an important man4 ,before his father's death he had one wife2 now he had three4 ,he had also received from his father's estate a store of iron rods and spearheads sufficient to purchase another wife4 ,and1 besides1 he had a gun--the only one in his town--which1 it is said1 had come from the land of white men1 beyond the great sea4 ,he was in a fair way to become a great man4 ,but ,ngon was not happy4 ,he was thinking of the man who killed his father2 he was thinking of ,bibane1 and a passion stronger than the desire for wealth and greatness took possession of him4 ,he felt olun1 that is shame1 grief1 rage1 an intolerable thirst for revenge--he felt olun4 ,many moons ,ngon waited his opportunity4 ,many times he had his men conceal themselves along the forest paths that led to the village of the ,amvom2 but the enemy was too wary for them4 ,at length1 the day came that ,ngon levelled his gun from behind a tree at the son of his enemy1 who was passing alone and unsuspecting1 and sent a rude fragment of an iron pot tearing into his chest4 ,the wound was mortal4 ,in a few hours they heard the wailing of the women of old ,bibane's village4 ,then the death-drum of the ,amvom boomed through the forest and ,ngon heard it with fierce delight4 ,the olun was removed from his breast4 ,and1 besides1 he was now a great man beyond question1 for he had killed an enemy with his own hands4 ,in ,ngon's village1 however1 when the shouting was over they reflected that ,bibane was a man to take revenge with interest2 and the ,amvom were a powerful clan4 ,it was the beginning of a period of alarms4 ,often at dead of night the whole town was terrorized when the cry was raised1 8,the ,amvom are coming60 ,for many moons the women never went to the plantations except when armed men went before and behind them in the path4 ,ngon himself usually headed the company4 ,he also kept strict watch of the gloomy border of the forest surrounding the plantation while his wives dug cassava and filled their baskets1 or cut bunches of plantains and bananas to carry home4 ,but as time passed and the ,amvom did not appear ,ngon began to keep less strict watch4 ,one day his most faithful wife1 young ,asangon1 went to a plantain grove under her care1 far from the village1 and came back reporting other enemies to be watched besides the ,amvom4 ,the plantain stocks were twisted and eaten off and all the bushes around trodden flat4 ,elephants6 ,a few nights and their depredations would cause famine in the village4 ,so with some of his young men1 ,ngon went to the place1 built a booth of palm branches1 prepared a bed1 gathered fuel for a fire1 and returned to the village4 ,at dusk he set out for the plantain grove1 accompanied by his wife1 ,asangon1 and their little son1 whom ,asangon carried astride her right hip1 sitting in a wide strap of monkey-skin which was slung over her shoulder4 ,ngon walked ahead with his gun and a gum torch lighted to show the way and to frighten evil spirits in the dark forest4 ,they were going to sleep in the booth among the plantains for the purpose of scaring away the elephants4 ,as he set out his white-haired mother cautioned him to look out for the ,amvom4 8,they're a crafty lot10 she said1 8and want to cut your throat and eat you40 ,but the young man declared that ,bibane's people were far away on a hunt4 ,four nights they slept among the plantains and scared the elephants away4 ,it was noticed also that ,asangon seemed to enjoy going out thus1 and spending the night with only her husband and her baby4 ,it had probably never occurred to her to form a distinct wish to be ,ngon's only wife1 but her happiness in the present arrangement was none the less keen1 and was made all the keener by the apprehension that it would not last long4 ,the fourth morning1 as they went through a bit of uncleared forest1 suddenly at a turn in the path a spear whizzed past ,ngon1 and he saw among the trees the face of ,bibane and the ,amvom4 ,he raised his gun and pulled the trigger2 but the white man's weapon failed him this time4 ,the powder flashed in the pan and that was all4 ,at the same moment hearing a cry behind him1 he turned to see his little son pierced with the spear that had missed himself1 and dying in his mother's arms4 ,the ,amvom sprang out upon him2 and it was all he could do to break from them and escape into the forest1 leaving his wife a captive and his son dead4 ,it was now in the ,esen villages that the wailing was heard2 while there was dancing and drumming among the ,amvom4 ,but ,ngon ,nzwi again felt olun4 ,in the dusk of the following morning while the people were still in their beds1 his voice was heard in the street1 rousing them from their sleep4 8,people of this village10 he cried1 8descendants of ,ndong ,amvam1 who first came from the east and founded this settlement1 ,i am ,ngon ,nzwi1 son of ,nzwi ,amvam1 son of ,amvam ,ndong1 son of ,ndong ,amvam2 ,i am head man of this village4 ,bibane of the ,amvom killed my father1 ,nzwi ,amvam1 and now he has killed my child1 captured my wife1 and tried to take my own life4 ,may that man of the family of ,amvam who fails to help me in my revenge see his own people dead corpses6 ,and my revenge will not be complete until ,i have eaten the flesh of the arm that threw the spear yesterday40 ,the gruesome threat was literally fulfilled4 ,many seasons passed before the opportunity came2 but it came at last and the dead body of ,bibane lay at his feet4 ,his wives knew what was to be done with the right arm and they prepared the feast for ,ngon4 ,some of his closest friends joined him in it1 but there was no dancing or story-telling1 and not many words were spoken about it by his people4 ,for the memory of it weighed upon their spirits4 ,the personal independence of the savage does not constitute the simple life of our idealizing imagination4 ,there still are foes without and olun within1--not to speak of hostile spirits and the fear of witchcraft4 ,guizot in his ,history of ,civilization defines civilization as progress1 the progress of society1 and the progress of individuals2 the melioration of the social system and the expansion of the intellectual and moral faculties of man4 ,and these two elements1 according to ,guizot1 are so intimately connected that they reciprocally produce one another4 ,when we speak of the authority of example and the power of habit we admit1 perhaps unconsciously1 that a world better governed1 a world in which justice more fully prevails1 renders man himself more just4 ,that is true2 but society is moralized by ideas2 and ideas must work through the brains and the arms of good and brave men4 ,therefore ,christianity addresses itself primarily to the individual2 though it does not ignore social conditions4 ,it is easier to love men1 especially alien men1 in the mass than to love them individually4 ,rousseau1 it is said1 loved mankind but hated each particular man2 and there are those among us who would fight for the freedom of the ,negro race but would not walk a block with an individual ,negro4 ,the love of ,jesus is an aggregate of individual and personal loves4 ,it was one sheep that went astray whom the shepherd followed weary and footsore till he found it2 it is one sinner over whose return there is joy in heaven4 ,the missionary is first of all an evangelist1 not a social reformer4 ,christianity aims at the redemption of man1 first in his individual character1 and then in his associate life4 ,christianity is so intricately interwoven with our own civilization1 its influence upon our characteristic institutions is so subtle1 that it is not easy to say where its beneficence begins or ends2 and many among us are constantly attributing its social effects to other causes4 ,but introduced into ,africa its power as a social force at once becomes obvious4 ,it comes in contact with a social condition which presents the extremest contrast to that of our civilization1 a condition which is hostile at almost every point to the spirit of ,christianity and that has remained unchanged probably for ages2 it comes as an evangelistic agency1 not working directly for social reforms2 but within the lifetime of one man society is transformed almost beyond recognition by the abolishment of social evils1 the implantation of institutions of education and philanthropy1 and the beginning of all that is highest and best in our civilization4 ,let us not exaggerate the difference between civilization and savagery4 ,it is always necessary to check the dramatic instinct1 which for the sake of a telling contrast would set the worst aspects of heathen barbarism over against the best or even ideal aspects of ,christian civilization4 ,civilization is still far from perfect and savagery is not wholly savage4 ,the interval between civilization and the savage state is never so great as that between the latter and an animal state4 ,no animal uses fire2 though ,i recall that ,emin ,pasha declared that he had witnessed a procession of ,african monkeys carrying torches2--but we didn't see it4 ,no animal cooks its food2 no animal wears clothing2 no animal makes either tools or weapons2 no animal breeds other animals for food2 no animal has an articulate language4 ,moreover without a certain degree of order1 intelligence and justice1 human society1 even that of the savage1 could not continue to exist4 ,but one going from ,america to ,africa is impressed only by the contrast2 and he necessarily reflects upon it and seeks to define it4 ,the first contrast between civilized society and that of ,africa which impresses one is that of interdependence and independence4 ,i lived very simply in ,africa1 and yet the whole world contributed to my simple fare4 ,on my table there was butter from ,denmark1 milk from ,switzerland1 rice from ,india1 sugar from ,cuba1 coffee from ,brazil1 dates from ,arabia1 other fruits from ,france or from ,california1 vegetables from ,england1 meats from ,america--and so forth4 ,i did not even know where the wheat was grown from which my bread was made2 nor whether the cattle that supplied beef had first grazed in ,argentina or on the prairies of the ,canadian ,northwest4 ,it was the same with the materials and furnishings of the house ,i lived in and the clothing ,i wore4 ,the whole world contributes to the material well-being of each civilized man4 ,in contrast to this the native ,african--before conditions are modified by civilization--supplies all his own needs4 ,he has the assistance only of his wife and he could dispense with that4 ,the entire provision for his material well-being is furnished within the area of his visible horizon or within the radius of an hour's walk from his village4 ,there is no regular buying or selling and no money4 ,in this social condition men are very much alike1 and there is a close approximation to equality4 ,each man possesses all the knowledge of his tribe and can do what any other man can do2 there is no 8differentiation of function10 and no interdependence4 ,there is only nature's own difference of male and female2 the only real society is that of the family4 ,the village is an enlarged family the maximum size of which depends upon the necessity of combining against a common foe4 ,african society1 therefore1 beyond the family1 has scarcely more coherence than a herd of gregarious animals4 ,it is not an organism but a mere aggregation of individuals4 ,the interdependence of civilization is largely the result of man's increasing conquest of nature2 and this is the next contrast between civilized society and that of ,africa4 ,the difference between the canoe and the steamship is typical4 ,improved means of transportation1 beginning with the use of steam1 has made possible the exchange of products between remote countries4 ,the ever-increasing knowledge of nature1 resulting in mechanical inventions1 has made near neighbours of the nations4 ,we read the news of the world each morning4 ,money contributed in ,new ,york to-day for the relief of a famine in ,china is distributed there to-morrow4 ,the whole world is embraced in our daily thought and interest4 ,the ,african1 unless he lives by a river1 knows nothing of the world beyond the farthest village to which he has walked4 ,not even the invention of the wheel has reached him4 ,the civilized man has made nature supplement himself2 has made himself swifter than the swiftest of animals and stronger than the strongest1 and has multiplied a thousandfold the product of his labour4 ,in order to disseminate the benefits of this increasing conquest of nature there arises a demand for skilled labour2 and upon the principle that a man can do but one thing in a lifetime and do it well1 different classes appear1 performing different functions in the social body1 dependent upon one another as the various organs of the body depend upon one another1 and society becomes an organism developing from simplicity to complexity4 ,the intellectual development of the civilized man as compared with the savage--his knowledge of the world in which he lives1 and of man himself--his science and philosophy1 his refining enjoyments of literature and music--all that is embraced in education creates even a greater difference than that of material well-being4 ,as steam and electricity have annihilated space so the printing-press has annihilated time4 ,the knowledge and the wisdom of the past are recorded for our benefit4 ,a pigmy standing on a giant's shoulders 7,macaulay observes7 can see further than the giant2 and a schoolboy of our times knows more astronomy than ,galileo4 ,each generation stands upon the shoulders of the preceding generation4 ,there is nothing in any way corresponding to this in ,africa4 ,there is no increase of knowledge and no expanding intelligence4 ,the intellectual stagnation1 the stifling mental torpor of an ,african community must be experienced in order to be realized4 ,another striking difference between ,america and ,africa is the authority of custom in ,africa1 and its resulting social immobility4 ,returning to ,america after only a few years in ,africa one is surprised and somewhat bewildered by the changes that have taken place4 ,it takes considerable time to adjust oneself to altered conditions4 ,in ,africa there is no trace of any change in customs1 or any alteration of methods1 from time immemorial4 ,conduct1 even in its details1 is governed by custom4 ,nobody questions its authority2 nobody violates it4 ,the appeal to custom is final4 ,for instance1 the rite of circumcision is universally practiced and rigidly regarded1 but nobody knows why4 ,there may be a good reason for it--,i believe there is--but they have forgotten it4 ,or1 to give an example of its authority even in trivialities1 the slavers in the old days trained the men of the ,kru tribe to work on ships and thereafter finding them useful allies persuaded them to put a distinguishing mark upon themselves so that none of them might be taken and enslaved by mistake4 ,the mark is a tattooed band running down the middle of the forehead to the tip of the nose4 ,with the suppression of the slave-trade the usefulness of this ugly disfigurement of course became obsolete2 but the fashion was meanwhile established and to this day every ,kruman is thus tattooed4 ,he has forgotten its origin4 ,if you ask him the reason for this mark he thinks that he gives a perfect explanation when he says3 8,it be fashion for we country40 ,to ask him the reason for the custom is equivalent to asking why right is right4 ,the finality of the appeal to custom is like our appeal to the ten commandments4 ,of course the authority of custom in ,africa serves to check personal tyranny and to modify the principle that might is right4 ,it thus prevents society from going backward2 but it also prevents it from going forward2 a thousand years are as a day4 ,mobility is a condition of progress4 ,a more radical difference between the civilized man and the ,african than any we have yet mentioned is that of work4 ,it is not merely a contrast between actual work and idleness1 but a contrast of attitudes that constitutes this difference4 8,use1 labour of each for all10 says ,emerson1 8is the health and virtue of all beings4 ,ich dien1 ,i serve1 is a truly royal motto4 ,and it is the mark of nobleness to volunteer the lowest service1 the greatest spirit only attaining to humility4 ,nay1 ,god is ,god1 because ,he is the servant of all4444 ,all honest men are daily striving to earn their bread by their industry4 ,and who is this who tosses his empty head at this blessing in disguise1 and calls labour vile1 and insults the workman at his daily toil80 ,this is everywhere the sentiment of the truly civilized man4 ,he may be lazy but he still recognizes the dignity of labour4 ,but the ,african recognizes only the dignity of idleness and deems it the true badge of superiority4 ,work is not so obnoxious to his laziness as it is to his self-respect4 ,it is the brand of inferiority4 ,it is not exertion that he hates3 he exerts himself in war and in hunting4 ,it is when work assumes the form of service that it offends him4 ,manhood1 he believes1 consists in self-assertion as contrasted with self-sacrifice4 ,his ideal is not to minister but to be ministered unto4 ,therefore work is relegated to women1 who are weaker and cannot resist the imposition4 ,it is only necessary to point out one more difference between ,africa and civilization2 and in this last1 it seems to me1 we have before us the difference that is really fundamental3 it is trustworthiness4 ,civilization depends upon this quality in men4 ,to the entire social structure of civilization each individual contributes strength or weakness according to his trustworthiness4 ,in ,new ,york it has sometimes been found1 upon investigation1 that in the steel frame of certain high buildings many of the rivet holes were filled with soap and putty instead of rivets4 ,in the same city not long ago1 in the family of a prominent physician1 the maid who had the care of the children went calling on a friend and found that in the friend's home there was scarlet fever4 ,the maid considered only that she had already had scarlet fever and was therefore safe from it4 ,so she made the call1 but she carried the fever back to the physician's home and his children died from it4 ,such exceptions prove the rule1 namely1 that trustworthiness is the social cement of civilization4 ,a ,fang village of a hundred persons can hold together constituting a society2 but as soon as it grows to a group of about two hundred it goes to pieces and forms new villages4 ,the men of the smaller village are more closely related1 are brothers1 and affection1 a sentiment of brotherhood1 insures a certain amount of honesty in their mutual relations4 ,as the relationship widens this sentiment weakens and distrust takes the place of confidence4 ,and the worst of it is that they distrust each other because they really know each other2 because they are untrustworthy4 ,distrust is the dissolution of society4 ,some years ago at ,batanga the white traders introduced a 8trust system10 whereby a quantity of goods were entrusted to a native1 that he might go to the interior and trade with the expectation of paying for the goods with ivory or other trade produce upon his return to the coast4 ,this simple arrangement was regarded by the trader as extremely satisfactory4 ,he charged enormous prices in ivory for his goods1 and besides--theoretically--he got the ivory1 which otherwise was difficult to procure4 ,he did not worry about the payment2 for the ,german governor1 being an obliging gentleman1 and wishing to stimulate trade1 threatened long imprisonment and lavish flogging to any and every native who should betray his trust2 who1 for instance1 would spend the goods in buying a number of wives for the time being1 in giving large presents to all his relations1 or in making merry with the whole community and wasting his substance in riotous living4 ,the iron hand of the ,kaiser would prevent all that1 and the trust-system would soon make ,batanga a centre of commerce and civilization4 ,of course all the enterprising young natives hurried to get goods that they did not have to pay for until some other time1 realizing only the foolishness of worrying about the future1 and that possession is ten-tenths of the law in ,africa4 ,well1 after a great while they all came back accompanied by the ,kaiser's soldiers4 ,when the old matter of the goods was mentioned to them and a longing for ivory was expressed1 the response was uniform3 8,dem goods8 ,dem goods you done give me8 ,why1 mastah1 all dem goods done loss40 ,at the very earnest appeal of the missionaries1 reinforced by the limited capacity of the jail at ,kribi1 a law was finally passed abolishing the trust-system in that particular form4 ,it was not fair4 ,the poor native's sense of moral responsibility was unequal to the demand made upon it4 ,for the same reason a high form of civilization cannot be superimposed upon a morally degraded people4 ,their moral responsibility would not be equal to its demands2 it would bear too hard upon them even as upon children2 it would crush them4 ,in thus recording the successive contrasts between civilization and the savage state1 ,i am not conscious of exploiting a theory1 but have rather recorded the differences that impressed me in the course of actual experience in ,africa2 and ,i have recorded them somewhat in the order of their importance1 passing from outward and manifest differences to those that are less obvious and more fundamental4 ,but we find that we have gradually passed from social conditions to individual qualities and that the fundamental difference is personal character4 ,a short time after the organization of a church among the ,fang1 the ,ayol ,church1 ,i held a communion service in which about sixty persons1 some of them from distant towns1 sat together at the 8,lord's ,table40 ,let the reader imagine himself at that service with me2 and let us consider briefly the social energy of the new moral forces represented by that service4 ,the very first thing that we observe in contrast to the surrounding heathenism is that both men and women are partaking together of this symbolic feast4 ,the ,fang man does not eat with his wife2 so here immediately a custom is violated and the equality of woman is recognized4 ,this same principle has abolished polygamy1 and there is not a polygamist at this table4 ,the authority of custom in its chief stronghold is challenged and overthrown by a divine law that judges all customs1 however ancient1 and which is henceforth the highest authority4 ,the sacred institution of the family is purified4 ,it is not by ecclesiastical enactment that polygamy is abolished2 the enactment would be ineffective but for the higher estimate of woman which ,christianity has introduced by exalting those qualities in which she especially excels1 and establishing a mutual relation as incompatible with polygamy as with polyandry4 ,we also observe that these sixty persons represent many various clans of the ,fang1 and even different tribes1 for there are two ,mpongwe women present4 ,the heathen ,mpongwe despise the ,fang4 ,and between the different clans of the ,fang themselves there are ancient feuds and relentless hatreds4 ,but the very meaning of this service is fellowship4 ,the heathen ,fang have no salutation1 and need none2 their instinct is to hide rather than to meet4 ,but the people who meet at this service salute each other with the word monejang--brother1 or sister4 ,and they did not learn this salutation from me2 for ,i had never used it thus2 but where the ,spirit of ,christ is1 there is the instinct of brotherhood4 ,this ,christian society1 therefore1 although scattered far and wide1 and having no material interests in common1 is yet drawn together by an invisible bond which is already stronger than all the disintegrating forces of the savage state4 ,when the population of a ,fang village reaches the number of two hundred its dissolution is imminent4 ,but each member of this ,christian society has pledged himself to the conversion of others2 and as the society grows its coherence increases4 ,in their worship also1 as well as in their fellowship1 we find certain principles of social energy4 ,their view of ,god and of the world makes possible the conquest of nature1 which is the basis of our material civilization4 ,these men and women have all parted with their fetishes4 ,that means that they have defied the multitude of evil spirits in whom they once believed and have definitely committed themselves to faith in one ,god1 the ,father of all1 in whom mankind are brothers4 ,but it means more than this4 ,the spirits of evil in whom they believed were localized in the objects of nature and to their presence all natural phenomena were due4 ,nature was therefore lawless and hostile4 ,but these demons have all been cast out by the presence and power of ,god in nature4 ,they now thank ,him for the fruitfulness of their gardens and they pray to ,him in the midst of the storm4 ,one mind1 a divine intelligence1 presides over nature and the world is not run by magic1 but governed by law4 ,they do not comprehend the full content of their faith2 neither do we4 ,but they are fundamentally right and education will do the rest4 ,they already have that knowledge upon which the conquest of nature depends4 ,we observe that many of those present in this service have books4 ,the books are the ,gospel of ,matthew and the book of ,genesis1 which have been translated into their own language--the first ,fang books4 ,nearly all the younger persons present and some of those who are old have learned to read that they might read these books4 ,we are never quite prepared for the thirst for knowledge1 the intellectual awakening1 incident to their spiritual birth4 ,they live in a new world2 they are citizens of a world-wide kingdom and they want to know all about it4 ,poor as they are they will soon be giving of their slender means for the spread of the ,gospel among people whom they have never seen4 ,we are bound to respond to this desire for knowledge and to encourage it to the utmost4 ,education is not a mere expedient by which the missionary obtains the good-will of the people and secures a hearing for the ,gospel2 it is a demand created by the ,gospel itself and henceforth the necessary adjunct of evangelistic work4 ,many1 like myself1 have gone to ,africa intent upon evangelistic work1 and before long have chosen to spend most of their time in the schoolroom4 ,again1 in this service1 they celebrate1 in the death of ,christ1 a self-sacrificing service2 and to this same spirit of self-sacrifice as against self-assertion1 they all are solemnly pledged4 ,this attitude of mutual service is another strong factor of coherence4 ,it constitutes not only the best society possible1 but also the most progressive1 and it is1 for our purpose1 especially significant in that it implies an altered attitude towards work4 ,they still have to contend with natural laziness1 but they are no longer the victims of a false ideal4 ,service is not a disgrace1 but a duty4 ,in the organization represented in this service1 as well as in its fellowship and its worship1 we shall find principles of social progress2 we shall find this ,christian society a model of organization for all the social institutions and native governments that progress may in the future demand4 ,guizot1 speaking of legitimacy in government1 says3 8,the conditions of legitimacy are the same in the government of a religious society as in all others4 ,they may be reduced to two3 the first is1 that authority should be placed and constantly remain1 as effectually at least as the imperfection of all human affairs will permit1 in the hands of the best1 the most capable2 so that the legitimate superiority1 which lies scattered in various parts of society1 may be thereby drawn out1 collected and delegated to discover the social law1--to exercise its authority4 ,the second is that the authority thus legitimately constituted should respect the legitimate liberties of those whom it is called to govern4 ,a good system for the formation and organization of authority1 a good system of securities for liberty1 are the two conditions in which the goodness of government resides1 whether civil or religious4 ,and it is by this standard that all should be judged40 ,and to this standard the government of this mission church conforms4 ,the two elders who officiate in this service have been chosen by the members of the church themselves1 and for no reason whatever except their moral worth and wisdom4 ,one of the elders is ,mb',obam1 a noted chief1 a man of wide influence even among the heathen4 ,the other1 ,okeh1 is in all1 except moral worth1 the opposite extreme from ,mb',obam2 diminutive and weak in body1 he is useless for war and non-combative in disposition1 the kind of a man whom the heathen despise and ridicule--but so kind1 so pure in heart1 so humble1 that none was more worthy to be exalted and these ,christians proved themselves by their perception of his worth4 ,the progress of this ,african community1 implied in the choice of such a one as ,okeh for leader1 has leaped across uncounted centuries4 ,the man whom the ,mpongwe church has recognized as pastor for many years--though he was never ordained--was born a slave4 ,the place of highest authority is attainable to those in every rank2 no class is especially privileged2 no privileges are hereditary2 there is no such thing as caste within this society2 and therefore it is more likely to be progressive and not stationary4 ,in short1 superiority1 wherever found1 is recognized1 drawn out1 and invested with authority to govern4 ,for the security of liberty it is only needful to mention the ,bible1 the authoritative word1 to which all have equal access4 ,but there is another factor4 ,this government uses no force4 ,it declares that temporal and spiritual authority are essentially different and must be kept forever separate2 that physical force has rightful authority only over the actions of men1 but never over the mind or its convictions4 ,this declaration of the liberty of conscience is the parent of civil and political liberty4 ,it is difficult for the ,american1 accustomed to the separation of spiritual and temporal power1 to realize the utter confusion in the ,african mind--and in heathen minds elsewhere--of moral authority and physical force4 ,tyranny is the inevitable consequence of this confusion4 ,it is easy to object that ,europe at one period in her history had to contend against the ,church itself for this very principle of separation and the liberty of conscience which it involves4 ,but at an earlier period1 it was the ,church which first instructed ,europe in this principle by insisting upon the separation of the two authorities1 and which implanted the idea of liberty2 and when it became obscured it was by rebellion within the ,church that it was recovered4 ,the ,church is not repeating on the field of missions the mistakes of its history in ,europe2 and therefore as a social force it progresses with accelerated velocity4 ,such then are the forces of social progress which are inherent in this ,christian society1 forces which are altogether new and strange in ,africa1 forces which place this society in the line of continuous and indefinite progress towards civilization4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,fashionable ,,wedding ,,in ,,kamerun4 ,already we may see the beginning of civilization in material things4 ,the first thing that emerges from the inchoate society is the home4 ,i have already spoken of the abolishment of polygamy2 but a home also implies a house4 ,the houses of a ,fang village are built on either side of one narrow street1 under one continuous roof1 and consist of a single room separated from the next dwelling by a half-open bamboo partition4 ,but the ,christian wants a better house1 because he is a better man4 ,it is noticeable that the ,christian man separates himself from this common village life and builds a single house of several rooms for himself and his family4 ,all ,christians do not immediately do so2 but the tendency is sufficiently marked to insure the certainty that the idea of the home will prevail4 ,these better houses have windows1 and doors on hinges1 and sometimes even a board floor4 ,there is therefore a demand for carpenters and other skilled workmen4 ,here is where the industrial school responds to an exigent need and is both an adjunct and a direct result of evangelization4 ,here also is the beginning of a division of labour and that interdependence which characterizes civilization4 ,the ,fang ,christians are all clothed2 for decency is a ,christian instinct4 ,the cloth which they now wear is imported from ,england and ,america4 ,they pay for it with the produce of their gardens4 ,for this purpose they raise more than they need for their own consumption4 ,their gardens are therefore much larger than they used to be1 and both men and women work in them4 ,having better clothing they must take care of it2 therefore they want to sit on chairs1 instead of on the ground4 ,neither can they keep their clothing decently clean if they eat their food with their hands4 ,knives and forks and plates and tables are soon added to the household furnishings4 ,one thing demands another2 each added comfort requires more work4 ,those men now expend in productive labour the energy which they formerly wasted in conflict4 ,such is the general course of development towards a social community having intercourse with the civilized world2 receiving much1 and adding its increment to the material welfare of the race and the sum of happiness4 ,all the constitutive elements of civilization may be summed up in two things3 a condition of interdependence in material things1 and a sentiment of human brotherhood4 ,but we have seen that the progressive interdependence of civilization is based upon an increasing knowledge of nature1 and that this knowledge of nature becomes possible to the ,african through the ,christian view of ,god and the world4 ,we have seen that faith in ,christ effects a mental and moral regeneration of the individual from which springs a sentiment of brotherhood and spirit of mutual trust which is the coherence of society without which it becomes a heap of sand4 ,the saying is reasonable1 therefore1 that civilization is but the secular side of ,christianity2 and all the good which social progress comprehends is embodied in the prayer which these ,fang ,christians unitedly offer3 ,ayong dia nzak--,thy kingdom come4 ,commerce and government in our day are making the claim that they are the all-sufficient forces of civilization throughout the world4 ,but however much they have accomplished that is beneficial1 we cannot forget the evils which have attached to them2 that in ,africa and elsewhere commerce is responsible for the sale of rum and for other evils as degrading2 and that government by the civilized powers1 despite such grandiloquent phrases as 8the onward march of civilization10 has consisted very much in taking territory from those to whom it belonged1 because1 forsooth1 8they have a darker complexion or a flatter nose40 ,both commerce and government are invaluable adjuncts of ,christianity2 but it has within itself the potentialities of both4 ,that prayer1 ,thy ,kingdom ,come1 is being offered daily in every land and in every language of the world and everywhere it has the same meaning4 ,it means that all those who sincerely offer it1 however great the contrast of their history and traditions1 are a community1 united by the stronger bonds of aims and ideals4 ,it means that they have a vision of a united race of mankind2 a vision of all nations drawn into one common brotherhood in commerce1 government and religion1 and that they believe in the abounding adequacy of the ,gospel of ,christ for its realization4 ,society resounds with the cry of the oppressed and the dissonance of human passion2 but still they cherish the vision of unity and peace2 and they believe that this kingdom of ,god is the end towards which all social progress moves4 ,,xvii ,,the ,,critics ,elsewhere ,i have represented the climate as the theme of the ,old ,coaster whom the voyager meets after leaving ,liverpool1 or some other ,european port1 for ,west ,africa4 ,he makes free use of all the adjectives that have usually been appropriated to the characterization of sin and death4 ,but ,i may not have said that the ,old ,coaster has what musicians call a sub-theme4 ,his sub-theme is ,missions4 ,the unity of his conversation is secured by the use of the same adjectives4 ,if the missionary is coddled at home or foolishly praised1 the severe and relentless criticism to which he is subjected after leaving ,europe may be regarded as a providential discipline4 ,according to the ,old ,coaster every evil that infests ,west ,africa is due directly or indirectly to the missionary4 ,i have heard him blamed for the ,belgian atrocities of the ,congo1 and for the ,hut ,tax ,war of ,sierra ,leone1 and even for the fatality of the climate4 ,for1 it is said1 everybody knows that it is not malaria but quinine that kills the white man in ,africa2 the belief in quinine is simply fatuous1 and its use is criminal2 and the missionary alone is responsible4 ,rum1 which is the only protection against malaria1 would keep the traders alive1 but sooner or later1 following the example of the missionary1 they take quinine and die4 ,these criticisms serve to while away the time1 and do no harm unless there should be on board a smart traveller who is bent upon learning all about ,africa from the deck of a steamer and then giving his knowledge to the world in a book4 ,the ,old ,coaster 7and the name often includes the captain and officers of the ship7 is obsessed with the desire to impart information4 ,the missionary has magazines through which his voice is heard3 but the smart traveller is the ,old ,coaster's opportunity and he makes the best of it and pours forth a volume of misinformation sufficient to fill the most capacious mental vacuum4 ,the ,old ,coaster thus employed is not more than half malicious4 ,he sometimes winks at a missionary standing by1 as much as to say3 8,the joke's on you40 ,he generally divides missionaries into two classes1 deliberate impostors and well-meaning fools1 generously assuming that the missionary present belongs to the latter class1 so that the relation of good-fellowship on board is not necessarily disturbed by the anti-missionary acrimony4 ,one of these travelling critics was so wrought upon by the reported misdoings of missionaries and their destructive influence upon the religion and the morals of the natives that before he reached the ,congo he went clean crazy--as witness the following from his book3 8,what religions furies with unholy rage have demolished those weird gods1 and disturbed fervent but unobtruding piety in the exercise of its duties80 ,it may have been the result of going ashore without an umbrella4 ,i never heard whether this man recovered2 but let travellers take warning and not trifle with the dangers of the coast and the ,old ,coaster4 ,one is impressed by the bewildering inconsistency of the criticisms1 so contradictory that if all were published no further answer would be necessary than to cite critic against critic4 ,the more numerous class of critics contend that the native is so morally inferior that he cannot be improved2 and a profession of ,christian faith only adds to his heathen vices a more disgusting hypocrisy4 ,the other class of critics1 less numerous1 but more intelligent and reputable1 contend1 on the contrary1 that the native is all right as he is1 his pristine morality becomes him2 there is no need to improve him and we ought not to try4 ,not long ago ,prof4 ,frederick ,starr after a brief visit to the ,congo published his opinions in the ,chicago ,tribune and made many strictures upon missionary work4 ,he wrote under the rather complacent caption1 8,the truth about the ,congo10 quite confident that his word and hasty observations were sufficient to discredit the hundreds who had gone before him1 as able and as honest as himself1 and who had lived many years in the ,congo4 ,professor ,starr confesses at the outset that he personally 8dislikes the effort to elevate1 civilize1 and remake a people10 and that he 8should prefer to leave the ,african as he was before the white contact40 ,it is his opinion that civilized folk have no right to change the customs1 institutions or ideas of any tribe1 even with the purpose of saving their souls4 ,such critics regard the ,african1 not at all with a human and sympathetic interest1 as a fellow man1 capable of progress1 and possibly endowed with an immortal soul2 but with an esthetic and historical interest1 as constituting a link between us and our ape-ancestry1 an object to be appraised like a piece of antique art1 not for its present or future use1 but for the past4 ,to change him shows a want of good taste and historical imagination1 even if the change relieve his suffering and improve his morals2 that were a small compensation if we thereby impoverish the variety of human types and leave the world less interesting to the connoisseur4 ,incidentally1 ,professor ,starr denied categorically the reported atrocities of the ,belgians in the ,congo ,free ,state4 ,he had asked the ,belgians themselves about the matter4 ,in seeking to explain the wide-spread criticism of missions and of missionaries it ought to be frankly admitted that among missionaries there are misfits and occasional freaks whose misconduct scandalizes the well deserving4 ,if we have any knowledge of human nature1 and realize that in every society there are unworthy and false members1 we should not even expect that the ranks of missionaries alone would be exempt4 ,by denying a palpable fact we only exasperate our critics and lead them to doubt the sincerity of all instead of a very few4 ,it is always wholesome to admit the truth1 and indiscriminate praise is as foolish and misleading as wholesale criticism4 ,on one of my voyages to ,africa a certain missionary was regarded as 8the biggest liar on board40 ,what in the world ever attracted him to the mission field it were hard to imagine4 ,criticism of other and all missionaries was his favourite employment1 especially when conversing with those who were hostile to the work4 ,while we were anchored at ,accra ,i heard him say to a trader1 as he pointed ashore towards the splendid ,english mission3 8,that is where the missionaries take in heathen and turn out devils40 ,he did not stay long in the mission but he did considerable harm in a short time and created painful misunderstandings that were by no means removed by his departure4 ,imagine the position of a missionary placed perhaps alone with such a man1 with no other companionship and no escape from his neighbourhood6 ,moreover the report of the missionary's work1 and even his reputation1 depends upon the other man2 he is therefore at his mercy4 ,for the reputation of one who labours in a lonely and distant field may be indefinitely greater or less than he deserves4 ,the man of whom ,i speak1 after his return to ,america1 figured in the police courts in ,new ,york ,city1 where he was arrested on a very serious and odious charge4 ,his record there is still accessible4 ,well-meaning missionaries sometimes make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of white men by their attitude and manner towards the natives4 ,i once witnessed such a scene1 when a missionary standing on deck1 in the presence of white men1 conversed with a group of natives in a manner so unseemly and so silly that the comments of the white men were chiefly oaths and ribald laughter4 ,when at last the natives after an hour on board were about to go ashore1 one of them1 a young savage about sixteen or seventeen years of age with scarcely a stitch of clothing on him1 came to the missionary and said3 8,me1 ,i go for shore20 whereupon the missionary extended his hand and lifting his huge helmet exclaimed in a very loud voice accompanied by a sweeping bow3 8,goodbye1 sir2 good-bye2 and ,i'm happy to have met you1 sir40 ,the captain in a voice of thunder turned to me and said3 8,who is that fool80 ,i have weakened the captain's forceful language by omitting his expletive1 which the average reader will easily supply4 ,more frequently1 yet perhaps not often1 the missionary errs in his attitude towards his worldly-minded fellow passengers on these long voyages--is unamiable1 or indulges in moral strictures in a way that cannot possibly do good1 and is calculated to create prejudice and antipathy4 ,i recall one ,sunday when two army officers thought to kill time by playing ball on deck4 ,like others of their class1 they regarded all civilians with contempt and missionaries with abhorrence4 ,they were interesting when drunk1 but extremely stupid when sober4 ,a lady missionary came and sat down in her chair on the side of the deck where they were playing ball4 ,as the man at the bat began to strike more vigorously the ball occasionally flew past the lady at an uncomfortably short distance4 ,there were chairs on the other side of the deck where she could have been quite as comfortable1 and there was only one place where there was room to play ball2 but those men were breaking the ,sabbath1 and she must protest by staying there and looking righteous1 that is to say1 very cross4 ,she was naturally modest as well as kind-hearted1 and she remained there wholly from a sense of duty4 ,she was a small1 scanty person1 with a prominent nose1 and she sat bolt upright1 her nose looking like an intentional target for the ball4 ,once when it whizzed past her one of the men said1 8,aren't you afraid you will get hit with this ball if you stay there80 ,it never seemed to occur to him that there was another alternative1 namely1 for them to stop playing4 ,she seemed not to hear1 but looked more cross than ever1 and appeared as if she wanted to get hit1 so as to be a martyr to her principles2 or at least so as to have a better reason for looking so cross4 ,the captain came along and after contemplating for a moment the smiling levity of those worldly men and the contrasting acerbity of the ,christian woman's countenance1 as she sat there keeping the ,sabbath day holy1 he went to the side and laughed overboard4 ,at length a fellow missionary approached her and asked if she would go with him to the other side of the deck1 adding that he wanted to talk with her on a matter of missionary interest4 ,she was a real good woman with a mistaken sense of duty4 ,we must surely seek to be amiable to people as we find them1 and try to like people as they are4 ,such conduct is a source of irritation to those who indulge in it1 and it inspires dislike and consequent criticism4 ,another source of criticism is the missionary magazines of the various societies engaged in missionary work4 ,these magazines fall into the hands of the trader2 and sometimes he finds a glowing account of the great work being done by ,missionary ,a who happens to be his neighbour1 and he is unable to reconcile the report with the work which he has seen with his own eyes4 ,usually his eyes are at fault4 ,he is blind to spiritual values4 ,there are old traders in ,gaboon who do not know that there is a native ,christian in the community4 ,but we cannot dismiss the whole matter in this cavalier manner1 and ,i feel like adding that the missionary magazine1 however necessary1 is not an unmixed good4 ,it is not good that a man should let his left hand know all that his right hand does4 ,the missionary magazine reports to the world what the missionary chooses to write about his own work4 ,if his letters are interesting and report large success they are eagerly sought and published2 and he of course is not callously indifferent to his reputation4 ,but1 inasmuch as there are few or no witnesses but himself1 the magazine puts a premium on egotism and immodesty2 and it sometimes fosters a kind of spiritual impotence which needs the stimulus of publicity4 ,one of the bravest and best missionaries it has ever been my privilege to know1 the ,rev4 ,william ,chambers ,gault1 was seldom mentioned in a missionary magazine and little known to the church at home1 though he laboured for many long years in ,africa and is buried there4 ,mr4 ,gault was incorrigibly modest4 ,but even with the utmost margin of excuse--admitting the foolishness of fulsome and indiscriminate praise2 admitting that missionaries are mortal1 and some few of them desperately mortal--it remains that the wholesale criticism and violent denunciation that one hears on the voyage is unjust and outrageous4 ,we must look for the reason of it in the critics themselves--the non-missionary white men residing in ,africa4 ,and in themselves we will find reason enough4 ,first of all1 many or most of these men1 according to their own confession1 are not men of personal faith in ,christ1 but men who deride the ,gospel in which we believe4 ,of all those who have criticized missions1 ,i have only known of one man who himself professed to be a ,christian2 his criticism was rather mild and was due more to what he had heard than what he had seen4 ,carlyle has said3 8,unbelief talking about belief is like a blind man discussing the laws of optics40 ,how can a man think it worth while to expend lives and money in preaching to the heathen a ,gospel which he himself rejects8 ,if the ,gospel itself is foolishness those who preach it must be fools1 and the greatest fools are those who preach it at the greatest sacrifice4 ,what does cynicism know about enthusiasm8 ,it was not 8much learning10 but much ,christianity1 that made ,paul seem mad to ,festus4 ,manifestly the first question to ask the disbeliever in missions is whether he is also a disbeliever in ,christianity and in ,christ4 ,it is really astonishing that so many critics of missions1 and so many of their readers1 should treat this latter question as entirely irrelevant4 ,racial antipathy towards the black man is also a reason of hostility to missions4 ,the intensity of this feeling where the inferior race is in the majority is surprising1 even in men who in all their other relations are generous and considerate4 ,in the opinion of many a white man in ,africa the black man is little better than a beast1 and they treat him accordingly4 ,to speak of him as a brother man is to insult the white man4 ,this antipathy actually prefers that the black man should remain in his present degradation--perhaps to justify itself4 ,it resents every effort to elevate him2 and as it sees him actually rising to the moral level of the white man it is only intensified into hatred4 ,one soon perceives that the object of the white man's greatest aversion is not the lowest native1 but the best4 ,the critic may therefore be sincere when he declares that he can see no good in the native product of missions1 for he is blinded by this special prejudice4 ,racial antipathy is much more marked in the government official than in the trader2 yet even the traders when they live in communities often have a code of arrogant manners according to which they ostracize any of their number who may extend to the native a degree of social recognition4 ,this antipathy must necessarily be hostile to missionary work4 ,for the work of the missionary implies that he regards the black man as a brother man2 one who is also capable of moral elevation4 ,he is not necessarily blind to the present degradation of the native2 but he insists that he does not belong to the present1 but to the future2 that he is endowed with an immortal soul and the moral possibilities which immortality implies4 ,he admits the worst but 8sees the best that glimmers through the worst10 and 8hears the lark within the songless egg40 ,and experience has justified his faith4 ,the missionary treats the native according to this belief1 and as he rises gives him exactly the social place to which his character as an individual entitles him4 ,he takes very little interest in the abstract question of equality1 or whether the black man is inherently inferior and different in kind from the white man4 ,but he believes that in ,christian brotherhood there is neither ,jew nor ,greek1 neither black nor white4 ,this attitude and the behaviour which comports with it are obnoxious to many white men1 and are inevitably a source of much hostility to missions4 ,to the impulse of racial antipathy there is often added that of angry passion unchecked by social restraints1 and stimulated by the irritability of a malaria-infected temper4 ,one day during a sea voyage a white man was telling a number of us how the native workman ought to be managed4 ,addressing a missionary he said3 8,you missionaries make a great mistake in being kind to the native workman4 ,to let him know that you value him is to spoil him2 to praise him is to make him impudent2 to trust him is to make him a thief4 ,the proper way to manage him is never to speak to him without swearing2 and to curse him even when he does his best4 ,they are all misbegotten sons of rum-puncheons1 whose highest idea of heaven is idleness and drink4 ,they hate us all1 and the only way to get any service out of them is to use the club4 ,every man who has ever worked for me bears the mark of my club1 and some of them ,i have maimed for life4 ,it is the only way to get the brutes to do anything40 ,the missionary replied3 8,i believe every word that you say in regard to your treatment of the native4 ,but this much at least is to be said for my method1 as against yours1 that mine is a complete success1 and yours a complete failure1 even according to your own confession4 ,most men do not brag about their failures1 nor try to teach others what they themselves have not yet learned4 ,in spite of kicks and curses you do not get the natives to work4 ,one must conclude1 therefore1 that you like kicking and cursing more than you like success4 ,now my method succeeds to the extent that ,i usually get from the native all the service for which ,i pay him2 and1 besides1 they have nursed me when ,i was sick2 and they have vied with each other in protecting me from the sun by day and storms by night2 they have exposed themselves to danger for my sake1 and they have even saved my life at the extremest peril of their own4 ,but would you therefore exchange your method for mine8 ,no2 not even for the sake of success40 ,but the worst cruelty of the foreigner towards the native results from the union of trade and government--when the government official is also a trader4 ,this is what happened in the miserable ,congo ,free ,state1 when the king of the ,belgians became the king of traders4 ,the concession system of the ,belgians was afterwards introduced into the ,french ,congo4 ,but at length a voice was heard that had long been silent1 and ,de ,brazza1 rival of ,stanley and founder of the ,french ,congo1 came forth from his well-earned retirement1 and ,france was stirred with the eloquence of a great man's indignation4 ,the result was that the worn-out explorer himself was appointed the head of a commission that was sent to investigate the conditions in those parts of the ,french ,congo in which the concession system was in operation4 ,de ,brazza died at ,dakar on his return1 a martyr to his efforts for justice and humanity in ,africa4 ,but his report was already written1 in which he charged ,m4 ,gentil1 ,commissioner ,general of the ,french ,congo1 with maladministration and great cruelty towards the natives4 ,he reported a number of natives flogged to death with knotted whips4 ,he stated that on one occasion1 at the colonial office at ,bangui1 in order to force the natives to bring trade produce--called taxes--fifty-eight women and ten children were taken and held as prisoners and that within five weeks forty-seven of these died of starvation4 ,is it any wonder that to certain white men the usual methods of the missionary seem very slow and ineffective8 ,the missionary is the champion of the helpless native against the white man's cruelty1 and if he sometimes oversteps the limit of discretion1 as is often said 7though ,i do not know of a single instance71 his excessive zeal is at least on the side of justice and humanity1 and it is also in behalf of the weak against the strong4 ,the government official seldom burns down native towns for pastime in the community where there is a missionary4 ,when remonstrance is unavailing the missionary will at length report the matter to a higher official1 and even the highest4 ,and if such cruelty be general and atrocities abound1 he even carries his remonstrance to the governments of ,europe1 or appeals to the civilized world1 as he has done in regard to the ,belgian ,congo4 ,again1 there is no doubt that the particular vices which so many white men practice in ,africa are a source of estrangement between them and the missionaries and a reason for hostility and consequent criticism of missions4 ,it is easy to be uncharitable and even unjust when writing on this subject4 ,the contrast between the selfish motives of the trader and the unselfish motives of the missionary has been overworked4 ,it is not necessarily greed for gold that takes the trader to ,africa1 but often a perfectly honourable ambition4 ,besides1 ,i have known traders who went to ,africa chiefly because it offered the most immediate opportunity in sight for them to help out at home when younger brothers and sisters were to be educated and the family was in straitened circumstances4 ,the pity is that they did not know the subtlety of the temptations awaiting them4 ,they were strong enough to live up to their moral standards1 but they did not see that those standards themselves would imperceptibly be lowered4 ,yet this is what happens4 ,in a recent book1 ,the ,basis of ,ascendancy1 the author1 ,mr4 ,edgar ,gardner ,murphy1 speaking of the small proportion 7as it seems to him7 of the nation's brains which the ,southern white man of the ,united ,states supplies as compared with the ,new ,englander1 sets forth most earnestly the danger to the white man in the ,southern states of contact with the low standards of an inferior race4 ,the significant fact1 ,mr4 ,murphy says1 is not the mere pressure of a lower racial standard1 but the white man's cumulative modification of his own standards of self-criticism and self-direction3 8,through the conditions of his familiar contact with less highly developed habits of efficiency1 with forms of will more immature than his1 he is deprived of that bracing and corrective force1 resident in the standard of his peers1 which1 manifesting itself within every personal world as one of the higher forms of social coperation1 is1 in fact1 the moral equivalent of competition4 ,he may sin and not die4 ,his more exacting expectations of himself are not echoed from without4 ,of himself1 as he would prefer to see himself1 there is no spiritual mirror4 ,the occasional tendency to take himself at his second best is socially unchecked1 and both his powers and his inclinations tend to assume the forms of approximation imposed by a life of habitual relationship with a mind lower than his own4 8,to say that the stronger tends to become brutal because the weaker is brutal1 or slovenly because the weaker is slovenly1 is to touch the process only on its surface4 ,the deeper fact is not that of imitation1 nor yet that of contagion4 ,it is that tragedy of recurrent accommodations1 of habitual self-adjustment to lower conceptions of life and to feebler notions of excellence1 which is nothing less than education in its descending and contractive forms40 ,this is incomparably more true in ,africa than it ever has been or ever can be in the ,southern states4 ,the worst of the remote possibilities which ,mr4 ,murphy describes are fully realized in ,africa4 ,the velocity of the process is accelerated by the depressing effect of the climate4 ,the missionary too is more or less sensible of this influence upon himself2 but he is guarded by the fact that his very purpose in ,africa is to introduce and teach his own standards to the natives and he is constantly occupied in pointing out the superiority of his own and the inferiority of theirs4 ,moreover any definite accommodation to native standards would mean disgrace and failure2 to other white men it means neither4 ,indeed the white man1 other than the missionary1 who proposes to maintain the home standards in ,africa will sometimes find himself ostracized by his fellows4 ,the use of rum by the natives the missionary is bound to denounce and within the membership of the church it is absolutely forbidden4 ,but in doing this the missionary by implication reflects very seriously upon many white men4 ,for the excessive drinking of the majority of white men in ,africa1 with its appalling consequences1 is so well known that there is no need to exploit it4 ,and when the native connected with the mission church refuses either to drink rum or to sell it1 thereby professing moral superiority to those white men1 the latter are exasperated4 ,and shall the missionary not teach the native the strict observance of the seventh commandment because the white man so flagrantly violates it8 ,the discord arising from this source is greatly aggravated by the fact that so many girls educated in mission schools are enticed by the extraordinary temptations of the white men to a life that the missionary1 if he be true to his ,christian standards1 must condemn2 for the girls of the mission are the most intelligent and attractive4 ,these various reasons are ample explanation of the hostility to missions and the consequent criticisms that are heard all along the coast1 and which are occasionally disseminated over the world by some writer who has made a brief stay in ,africa and who is so ignorant of the whole subject of missions that it ought not to require much discretion to be silent4 ,those who condemn missions on sociological grounds--who1 like ,professor ,starr1 think that civilized folk have no right to change the customs1 institutions or ideas of any tribe1 even with the purpose of saving their souls--are easily answered4 ,for not only does such a view utterly repudiate the claim of ,christ to be the world's ,saviour--the 8,light of the world10 to which every man and nation has a right--but it is also contrary to the accepted principles of sociology4 ,it is untrue and unscientific to say that the social structure of any given people has been fashioned by the people themselves1 and therefore meets their needs2 and that progressive changes must be brought about by the people themselves without the introduction of outside elements4 ,the student of social evolution knows that the social structure is not always fashioned by the people themselves3 it is sometimes altered radically by conquest4 ,neither does it always meet the people's needs4 ,the first need of a people is bread2 and wherever the population is pressing too hard against the means of subsistence1 as in ,india and ,china1 with their recurring famines1 there is a sure sign of weakness and defect in the social structure4 ,neither is it true that progressive changes must be brought about by the people themselves2 for there may be social evils--impediments to progress1 or tendencies to degeneration--which can only be corrected by the introduction of new ethical elements from without4 ,mohammedanism1 a foreign religion1 has become perfectly naturalized in a large portion of ,africa1 and our critics--most of them--vie with each other in proclaiming the good it has wrought4 ,the spread of ,buddhism in the ,orient introduced new ideals4 ,christianity1 originating in the ,orient1 brought new ideals to ,europe4 ,in ,japan many of the elements worked out by ,western civilization have been adopted and naturalized4 ,besides1 the let alone policy for ,africa even if it were rational is hopelessly late4 ,foreign trade and government have long been established and show no sign of withdrawing4 ,and the question is whether we shall send to ,africa our civilization1 with all its burden of new demands and moral responsibilities1 without disclosing to its primitive and childlike people that which alone supports our material civilization and enables us to bear its moral weight--that which is deepest and best in our thought and life4 ,one of unusual gifts and attainments1 who in all probability would have occupied a position of great influence in the church in ,america if he had remained at home1 after labouring more than forty years in ,africa1 speaks thus of the temporal benefits consequent upon the spread of ,christianity3 8,for the feeling with which ,i was impressed on my very first contact with the miseries of the sociology of heathenism1 entirely aside from its theology and any question of salvation in a future life1 has been steadily deepened into conviction that1 even if ,i were not a ,christian1 ,i still ought to1 and would1 do and bear and suffer whatever ,god has called or allowed me to suffer or bear or do since #ahfa in my proclamation of ,his ,gospel1 simply for the sake of the elevation of heathen during their present earthly life from the wrongs sanctioned by or growing out of their religion40#c ,footnote #c3 ,rev4 ,robert ,hamill ,nassau1 ,d4 ,d41 ,fetishism in ,west ,africa1 p4 #bf4 ,but to this apologetic the missionary adds his confident belief that the ,christian faith affects not only the ,africans' redemption from 8the miseries of the sociology of heathenism10 but also and chiefly the salvation of their souls2 for he has seen the evidence in the lives of many who have been morally transformed by the power of a new and transcendent hope4 ,christian missions have made high claims1 but their self-estimate has been justified by their achievement4 ,when ,i was on the voyage to ,africa for the first time it chanced that ,miss ,mary ,h4 ,kingsley1 the famous ,english traveller and writer1 had just made one of her journeys down the ,west ,coast and her name was in everybody's mouth4 ,expressions of opinion were remarkable for lack of moderation1 and oscillated between extremes of praise and criticism4 ,when ,i went to ,africa the second time ,miss ,kingsley had finished her travels on the coast and written her books1 with their strong indictment of missions4 ,i was amazed at the frequency and assurance with which ,miss ,kingsley was everywhere quoted4 ,the captain of the steamer upon which ,i travelled knew her books almost by heart4 ,he could repeat whole pages2 which he did with as much reverence as if he were quoting from ,science and ,health4 ,he had no doubt but that she had dealt the final death-blow to missions1 and that the era of missionary activity was already drawing to an inglorious close by reason of her indictment4 ,the captain himself seemed to feel real bad about it4 ,some years have passed since ,miss ,kingsley wrote2 but she is quoted as much as ever1 especially in ,england4 ,the ,african ,society was founded as a memorial to her1 and the organ of this society1 ,the ,african ,society ,journal1 bears a medallion portrait of her on its title-page4 ,in short1 in ,english trade circles ,miss ,kingsley is a kind of religious cult4 ,besides being a remarkably clever woman and a brilliant writer1 she had the prestige of a great name1 being the niece of ,charles ,kingsley and the daughter of ,george ,kingsley2 a name of such historical significance in the ,church of ,england that we should naturally expect ,miss ,kingsley to be in intellectual and moral sympathy with the ,christian religion4 ,such however is by no means the case4 ,she avows her disbelief in ,christianity and frankly tells us that ,spinoza is the exponent of her creed1#d which is therefore pure pantheism4 ,god does not transcend nature2 nor is ,he separable from it4 ,moreover1 ,miss ,kingsley does not hold this opinion dispassionately4 ,for instance1 the effort to draw moral inspiration from our relation to a personal ,god 7which she chooses to call 8emotionalism071 she tells us she regards with 8instinctive hatred40#e ,footnote #d3 ,west ,african ,studies1 p4 #aab4 ,footnote #e3 ,travels in ,west ,africa1 p4 #ejf4 ,with such views ,miss ,kingsley finds1 when she comes to the study of fetishism1 that she half believes in it herself1 and she is reluctant to speak against it4 ,she says3 8,it is a most unpleasant thing for any religious-minded person to speak of a religion unless he either profoundly believes or disbelieves in it4 ,for if he does the one he has the pleasure of praise2 if he does the other1 he has the pleasure of war1 but the thing in between these is the thing that gives neither pleasure2 it is like quarrelling with one's own beloved relations4 ,thus it is with fetish and me60#f ,footnote #f3 ,west ,african ,studies1 p4 #aac4 ,we need not be surprised1 then1 when ,miss ,kingsley frankly says3 8,i am unsympathetic1 for reasons of my own1 with ,christian missions40#g ,footnote #g3 ,travels in ,west ,africa1 p4 #bad4 ,and not only was there a want of intellectual sympathy with the ,christian religion1 but a want of moral sympathy as well4 ,miss ,kingsley says3 8,an ,american magazine the other day announced1 in a shocked way1 that ,i could evidently #8swear like a trooper4' ,i cannot think where it got the idea from40#h ,i can4 ,and ,i venture the simple guess that the editor had read ,miss ,kingsley's books--for instance1 the interesting preface to ,west ,african ,studies4 ,footnote #h3 ,west ,african ,studies1 p4 #bii4 ,but there are several more serious phases of this want of sympathy with the spirit of ,christianity which would militate against ,miss ,kingsley's competence as a critic of missions1 namely1 her avowed belief in slavery1 in polygamy1 and in the liquor traffic4 ,miss ,kingsley1 after contending that domestic slavery is 8for divers reasons essential to the well-being of ,africa10 appends the following opinion in a foot-note3 8,i am of the opinion that the suppression of the export slave trade to the ,americas was a grave mistake40#i ,even more vehemently does ,miss ,kingsley defend native polygamy2 and still more vehemently the liquor traffic4 ,footnote #i3 ,travels in ,west ,africa1 p4 #ead4 ,we are grateful for the perfect frankness with which she expresses her views on these three subjects1 as it makes it an easier task to discredit her opinion on ,christian missions2 for1 in this day and generation1 to believe in these three social evils of ,africa and at the same time to believe in missions were impossible4 ,if these are not evils it is a foregone conclusion that the missionary1 who is fighting them to the death1 is doing more harm than good1 is wasting both blood and money1 and is at the best a 8well-meaning fool40 ,miss ,kingsley assures us that she went to ,africa in the belief that the missionary represented everything that was good and the trader everything that was evil4 ,but on shipboard1 long before she reached ,africa1 when ,miss ,kingsley was mistaken for a missionary she thought it the greatest joke of modern times--and ,i rather agree with her4 ,this is the one joke that she repeats with infinite laughter every time that it occurs4 ,her laughter of course measures her inward sense of utter incongruity and want of sympathy4 ,her fellow passengers knew her attitude before she reached the first ,african port4 ,another marked feature about ,miss ,kingsley's books is the author's want of sympathy for the sufferings of the natives1 and her want of pity when they bleed under the cruel lash of the white man4 ,though written by a woman1 they are books without tears4 ,for instance1 a story of heartrending wrong and suffering was told me by a trader of ,fernando ,po1 who1 although he had been on the coast for years1 and1 one would think1 had been hardened by cruel sights1 was yet deeply affected as he related it4 ,i was able to verify it afterwards4 ,it was a story of the cruelty of ,portuguese planters to certain ,krumen1 whom by a false contract they enticed to ,san ,thom ,island and then compelled them to remain and labour on the coco plantations as slaves4 ,the conduct of the ,portuguese in ,africa justifies the opinion of the ,kruman1 who says3 8,god done make white man and ,god done make black man but dem debil done make ,portuguee40 ,these enslaved ,krumen1 watching their opportunity1 after two years escaped from ,san ,thom in canoes by night4 ,they did not know that they were one hundred and fifty miles from the mainland1 and they hoped that by some unforeseen means they might reach their own country4 ,they all perished2 most of them by hunger and thirst4 ,after many days one or two canoes drifted to ,fernando ,po4 ,in these the men were still alive--but scarcely alive1 and they died after being rescued4 ,this story ,miss ,kingsley tells1 in substance1 though in abridged form1 and with no comment except the following apology for the ,portuguese3 8,my ,portuguese friends assure me that there never was a thought of permanently detaining the boys1 and that they were only just keeping them until other labourers arrived to take their place on the plantation4 ,i quite believe them1 for ,i have seen too much of the ,portuguese in ,africa to believe that they would in a wholesale way be cruel to natives40#aj ,surely the quality of ,miss ,kingsley's charity is not strained6 ,i scarcely know a white man in ,west ,africa who would offer any apology for those men1 or who would call them his 8friends40 ,if the poor ,krumen had been captured1 ,miss ,kingsley's friends would probably have flogged them to death4 ,as a matter of fact1 there are always a number of escaped slaves leading a wretched existence in the deep forest of ,san ,thom4 ,and the ,portuguese have been known to go hunting them as we would hunt wild animals4 ,they sometimes find them hiding in the tops of the tall trees1 and it is considered uncommonly fine sport to shoot them in the trees and bring them crashing to the ground4 ,footnote #aj3 ,travels in ,west ,africa1 p4 #di4 ,miss ,kingsley disliked any and every change that threatened to improve the native and thus to mar the picturesque wildness of his savage state4 ,she is perfectly consistent with her anti-mission views when she tells us the kind of native that she admires1 as follows3 8,a great1 strong ,kruman1 for example1 with his front teeth filed1 nothing much on but oil1 half a dozen wives1 and half a hundred jujus fetishes1 is a sort of person whom ,i hold higher than any other form of native40#aa ,well1 it is proverbial that tastes differ2 but the missionary thinks that1 as compared with this1 the ,christian ideal is higher and nobler4 ,miss ,kingsley informs us 7through the words of another whom she quotes with approval7 of the treatment received1 at the hands of these same ,krumen1 by shipwrecked and half-drowned passengers cast helpless upon the shore3 8,if you get ashore you don't save the things you stand up in--the natives strip you40 8,of course they are cannibals2 they are all cannibals when they get a chance40#ab ,and this is the sort of person whom ,miss ,kingsley holds 8higher than any other form of native06 ,footnote #aa3 ,west ,african ,studies1 p4 #che4 ,footnote #ab3 ,ibid41 p4 #db4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,contrast4 ,anyoroguli1 a ,christian woman of ,gaboon4 ,illustration3 ,,women ,,of ,,the ,,interior ,,returning ,,from ,,the ,,gardens ,,with ,,cassava ,,and ,,firewood4 ,that the native ,christians should inspire aversion is exactly what we should expect2 and yet we are scarcely prepared for the inveterate animosity1 the almost fierce hostility1 that she everywhere reveals when she comes in contact with a native ,christian4 ,miss ,kingsley's attacks upon the ,african ,christians are the most unworthy of all the things she has said4 ,to give a single instance1 ,i would refer to her story told in ,travels in ,west ,africa 7p4 #eeg7 of a night which she spent in the house of a ,bible teacher of the ,basle ,mission4 ,two mission teachers1 together with a great many others1 came into the room4 ,the teachers1 she says1 8lounge around and spit in all directions40 ,next morning again1 she says1 8the mission teachers get in with my tea1 and sit and smoke and spit1 while ,i have my breakfast4 ,give me the cannibal ,fang60 ,are we to conclude that cannibalism in ,miss ,kingsley's opinion is a less grievous offense against society than smoking and spitting8 ,for that matter1 cannibals spit too4 ,and ,i should think they would6 ,and1 then1 were the other natives who were present1 the untutored savages1 not smoking and spitting8 ,it may be regarded as certain that they were smoking if they had tobacco2 and whether or not they were smoking ,i am sure they were spitting2 for that nasty habit is racial and continental4 ,even white men in ,africa contract the habit2 and1 what's more1 they scratch3 they spit and scratch--the effect perhaps of the climate4 ,i have known a few native ,christians who neither smoke nor spit2 but ,i have not known a savage1 either man or woman1 who did not do both4 ,why1 then1 single out these two poor boys from the rest of the company8 ,and why visit upon their heads all the odium of a racial habit8 ,if1 at the instance of the preaching of the ,gospel1 they have left off cannibalism1 and killing1 and adultery1 and stealing1 and lying1 ,i think they will scarcely be damned for spitting2 and ,i am sure they will leave that off too before they enter heaven4 ,i well know the manners of native boys who have been in the mission long enough to become teachers4 ,they have an instinct for good manners4 ,it would be far easier to criticize their morals than their manners4 ,at this same place ,miss ,kingsley sent an attendant to ask the teacher for wood to make a fire4 ,the attendant returned and said that the teacher would not give him wood unless it was paid for4 ,knowing the cordial hospitality and eager attention that would be given to a white woman by any and every mission teacher that ,i have met in ,africa1 ,i am compelled1 from the extraordinary behaviour of this teacher1 to doubt whether ,miss ,kingsley was a gracious guest4 ,but we need not remain in doubt2 for ,miss ,kingsley1 while she was the guest of this teacher1 in a mission house1 had with her a demijohn of rum1 which she dispensed to the natives in pay and barter1 as was her custom everywhere2 and it is more than possible that the teacher's message that his wood was for sale was a moral protest1 not only against the violation of hospitality1 but also against the violation of those moral and religious principles to which his life and honour were committed1 and upon which depended1 as he sincerely believed1 the salvation of his people4 ,it would be my duty to show that ,miss ,kingsley received most of her so-called facts directly from the traders1 and that all that came under her own observation she saw through the medium of their opinions4 ,but ,miss ,kingsley has forestalled the necessity by the following frank confession3 8,all ,i know that is true regarding ,west ,africa1 ,i owe to the traders40#ac ,miss ,kingsley must have felt that she owed an enormous debt of gratitude to the traders3 for through two large volumes she sings a continual pan to the trader's praise4 ,i might by the citation of facts within my own knowledge show that in some instances ,miss ,kingsley was mistaken2 but ,i have not the least disposition to do so4 ,for the life of the trader on the far-away beaches of ,west ,africa is so cheerless and loveless--sometimes1 indeed1 an unremitting and lonely fight with temptation1 fever1 delirium and death--that sympathy is more becoming than criticism4 ,footnote #ac3 ,travels in ,west ,africa1 p4 #g4 ,but my deepest sympathy and highest praise must be for those who have gone to ,africa not for gold1 but at the sacrifice of gold and other interests2 who left home and social pleasures not indifferently and impatient of restraint1 but with tears and aching hearts1 that they might carry the ,gospel of peace to the most miserable of human beings2 whom they are not ashamed to call brethren4 ,many such are now working in the unwholesome jungles2 but a far greater number lie in the grass-grown cemeteries1 who fell in the fight with a deadly but invisible foe1 a foe which became visible only in the incarnations of delirium1 when the fever like fire was coursing through their veins4 ,to them belongs the greater praise1 for they died not in seeking their own interest1 but for others4 ,,xviii ,,saints ,,among ,,savages ,carlyle remarks3 8,if there are depths in man as deep as hell1 there are also heights as high as heaven2 are not both heaven and hell made out of him80 ,the final argument and the best apologetic for missions in ,africa is the native ,christian4 ,he is not much on exhibition but he is there4 ,the traveller does not find him2 for his voice is not heard in the streets4 ,many a white resident in ,africa is unaware of him and is incredulous when he is pointed out2 even as the people of ,nazareth did not know that there was any essential difference between themselves and ,jesus though ,he had lived thirty years in their midst4 ,but the spiritual eye of ,john the ,baptist discerned in ,him one who had no need of repentance4 ,and the 8seeing eye0 will easily discover the native ,christian in ,africa2 and it is really worth while1 for at his best he is as much like his ,master as any that can be found anywhere1 and particularly in that gentleness that would not break the bruised reed4 ,the first elder of the ,fang ,church was ,mba ,obam 7shortened to ,mb',obam71 chief of ,makwea1 and uncle of ,ndong ,koni4 ,he was tall1 good looking1 very quiet and of strong personality4 ,on one occasion when ,i was staying in his town over night it happened that there was a great celebration4 ,a month before this a big man of the town1 more important than popular1 had died2 and having mourned for him every night for a whole month1 the people thought they had done their full duty4 ,it remained only to give him a good 8send-off0 in a great dance and feast1 which released all his friends and relations from further obligation of mourning4 ,all the men from the neighbouring towns had been invited and there was a great crowd and infinite noise4 ,in the midst of the furious dancing of the men some untoward incident occurred that precipitated a general row1 in which every man drew his sword1 and they instantly divided1 according to their tribal relationships1 into two lines of glaring1 dangerous savages4 ,before ,i had fully comprehended the situation ,mb',obam1 who had taken no part in the celebration1 came from his house down the street in long strides1 every inch a chief1 as much so as the last of the ,mohicans1 but carrying no sword4 ,at the extreme risk of his life1 as it seemed to me1 he pushed into the middle1 between the lines of thrusting and parrying swords1 and commanded silence4 ,to my surprise1 they obeyed him and became quiet1 the sudden silence contrasting strangely with the former uproar and confusion4 ,mb',obam1 with the gentleness of a father1 reminded them that they were no longer savages1 but brothers1 and that if they should hastily shed each other's blood they would be sure to regret it afterwards4 ,there was no more quarrelling that night4 ,mb',obam and his wife1 ,sara1 had lived at ,angom in the time of ,mr4 ,marling and had there become ,christians4 ,after ,mr4 ,marling's death they had moved down the river to ,makwea4 ,ndong ,koni and ,mb',obam built a beautiful chapel at ,makwea4 ,i have already told how that ,ndong ,koni paid for the windows and doors by working in the yard at ,baraka4 ,in this chapel ,mb',obam held a service every ,sunday1 besides early morning prayers each day1 at which all the people assembled before going away to their gardens and their various occupations of work or pleasure4 ,i have told elsewhere how that1 when ,mb',obam was dying1 he called the people around him and begged them to be good to his wife1 ,sara1 and not to accuse her of bewitching him when he was gone4 ,he also reminded them how in late years he had protected the women against whom this charge was made4 ,they promised1 of course1 and they meant it2 for they revered him2 but as soon as he was dead old beliefs prevailed and old customs asserted tyrannous authority4 ,they charged ,sara with having caused ,mb',obam's death by witchcraft4 ,they dared not kill her2 for they were in the vicinity of the ,french government4 ,but they drove her on her hands and knees up and down the street with two men sitting on her back4 ,from this cruelty ,i rescued her one day with a stout stick which ,i used somewhat freely2 otherwise it might have ended in her death4 ,when ,sara was sufficiently recovered ,i said to her3 8,sara1 what can ,i do to protect you against further cruelty80 ,she replied3 8,mr4 ,milligan1 ,i think you had better find me a husband40 ,it wasn't entirely out of my line--if there's any such thing as a line in a missionary's work--for1 as an essential part of my pastoral duty1 ,i found it necessary to run a kind of matrimonial bureau4 ,well1 we found a husband for ,sara1 which was not difficult1 for they all knew that she was a good woman4 ,a ,christian man married her and ,i hope they may still be living happily together4 ,one night ,mb',obam came to an ,mpongwe prayer-meeting in ,gaboon and brought a number of his ,fang friends4 ,the ,mpongwe being a coast tribe1 all but the ,christians among them despise the ,fang4 ,the meeting was in an ,mpongwe village and there were many present who were not ,christians4 ,it happened that ,i was conducting the meeting2 and after telling the ,mpongwe who ,mb',obam was ,i asked him to address them1 which he did in their own language4 ,in the course of his talk he referred to the ark that 8,adam0 built4 ,ndong ,koni was sitting not far from him1 and when ,mb',obam referred a second time to 8,adam's ark10 before these better-informed ,mpongwe1 ,ndong ,koni quietly said to him3 8,father1 you mean ,noah40 ,mb',obam1 without the least embarrassment1 replied3 8,was it ,noah8 ,thank you1 my son4 ,i thought it was ,adam that built the ark2 but it does not affect what ,i was going to say40 ,the simplicity of it was so beautiful that we scarcely thought of its being amusing4 ,then he went on and made a most fitting and touching comparison between his own life and that of ,noah1 preaching through all those years the while he was preparing the ark1 a lonely believer in the midst of unbelief and ridicule and wickedness that rends a believer's heart4 8,yet ,noah's words came to pass because they were ,god's words2 so ,god will in ,his own time justify us4 ,meanwhile we will go on preaching2 and may we be faithful and uncomplaining40 ,he made a profound impression on the ,mpongwe ,christians2 and often afterwards when ,i returned from my journeys some of them would ask me if ,i had been to ,mb',obam's town and if he was well4 ,when ,i heard that he was very sick ,i sent a boat and brought him to ,baraka4 ,i took him to the ,french hospital for a few days4 ,but nothing could save his life4 ,it was only at his death that ,i realized how much he was loved and respected4 ,he himself never knew4 ,another man1 ,angona1 had been an important man in his town1 having had several wives1 and a great variety of powerful and well-tried fetishes4 ,angona1 on one occasion staying over night at ,gaboon1 took the opportunity of spending the evening at ,baraka and advising with me on certain matters1 moral and religions4 ,he told me how that recently he had nearly lost his life by his refusal to observe a certain ,fang custom which ,i venture to mention4 ,angona had been visiting a friend in another town and had refused to assume the marital relations of his host1 according to their friendly custom4 ,the friend was angry1 suspecting that something was lacking in his friendship1 and not liking to see an old custom discarded4 ,his anger subsided however at ,angona's explanation that he was a ,christian4 ,but not so the woman's anger4 ,she tried to kill him by putting poison in his food4 ,angona at the time of his conversion put away all of his wives but one4 ,he had paid a very large dowry for each of them2 so that in putting them away he had also put away his wealth and to a large extent had surrendered influence and social position4 ,but the surrender of his famous collection of fetishes1 which he had gathered among many tribes1 to which no doubt he owed his success and his possessions1 occasioned greater surprise than anything else4 ,by the virtue of one of these fetishes he had been successful in matrimony1 and by the virtue of another his wife had not deserted him2 one fetish had procured him success in trade1 another had made him successful in war2 by means of one he had recovered from a dangerous illness1 and by another his gardens had prospered2 by the virtue of one he could cause an aggressive enemy to 8swell up and burst10 and by another build an invisible fire around himself when he slept1 through which no witch could pass4 ,and most powerful of all was the sacred skull of his father4 ,all the people of the town stood by and stared as ,angona delivered to me all these fetishes2 but at last when he went to fetch the skull the women were warned to flee lest by any mischance the casket might open and they should see what was inside and die4 ,angona by this renunciation gained the reputation of being a particular fool4 ,but he at once began preaching to the people and before many months there was a class of sixteen ,christians in that town4 ,as soon as ,i received this report of ,angona's work ,i visited the town4 ,after a brief service at which all the people were present1 ,i asked whether there were any sick people in the town1 and they directed me to the house of a woman who was recovering from a long illness4 ,while ,i was talking to her another woman1 one of the ,christians1 came in and setting a pot on the ground beside the sick woman1 said3 8,the pot is yours4 ,i am a ,christian4 ,the palaver is finished40 ,another woman arose1 and going over to the woman who had brought the pot1 put her arm around her in a half embrace and said3 8,yes1 you are a ,christian indeed40 ,the sick woman had been cared for by the other woman during her illness and had given her this pot for her kindness4 ,afterwards1 when she was nearly well she repented and asked for the pot4 ,when it was refused she gave free rein to a very sharp tongue and roundly cursed the other woman4 ,the whole community had evidently become involved in the quarrel1 which was becoming more bitter1 when this ,christian woman suddenly brought it to an end1 as ,i have told4 ,a few weeks after this one of my catechists1 ,amvama1 visited ,angona's town4 ,while there it was recalled by the heathen people of the town that a party belonging to ,amvama's town1 in the days of cannibalism1 and many years before ,amvama was born1 had killed a man of their tribe and had devoured him4 ,in ,africa1 it is considered a great insult to a man to eat him1 an insult also to his friends1 such an insult as may never be forgotten until it is avenged4 ,during the night1 while ,amvama was sleeping in ,angona's house1 the people1 having surrounded the house1 called ,angona out and told him they were going to kill ,amvama4 ,it would have been a great loss to the work and a grief to me if they killed him1 for ,amvama was one of the best boys in all ,africa4 ,the handful of ,christians and their sympathizers1 with ,angona at their head1 replied that they would lay down their lives in defense of him4 ,the heathen probably did not expect any such thing2 for it is seldom that a town is divided thus4 ,they usually act as if by one impulse2 but ,christianity draws new lines1 makes new friends and new foes4 ,the ,christian's friends are sometimes those of a hostile tribe1 while his foes are 8they of his own household40 ,the ,christians1 with ,angona at their head1 gathered close around ,amvama and soon showed that they meant what they had said4 ,they were few of course as compared with with the heathen2 but the latter were not willing to kill their own people4 ,before they had time to plan for action the ,christians had escorted ,amvama to a canoe and got him away in safety4 ,the next time ,i visited that town ,i had a 8war palaver0 with those people4 ,but ,i was greatly elated over the conduct of ,angona and the handful of ,christians whom he had taught4 ,this boy ,amvama1 who was rescued from savage bloodthirst in ,angona's town1 was the very first of those ,african boys whom ,i gathered around me in the ,french ,congo and was also with me the day that ,i left ,africa1 nearly six years afterwards4 ,in that time he grew from a small boy to a young man of probably eighteen years4 ,i used to say that he was the best-loved boy in ,africa4 ,amvama never was a heathen4 ,he was born close to ,angom1 and in his childhood never even saw the worst forms of heathenism4 ,he was received into the church by ,mr4 ,marling while he was still a child2 altogether too young1 some thought2 but the years fully justified ,mr4 ,marling's judgment4 ,among the most impulsive people in the world1 ,amvama was peculiarly deliberate and thoughtful4 ,i have seen him in many trying situations1 but ,i never saw him angry4 ,among a people who live in the realm of emotion1 ,amvama's distinguishing characteristic was common sense4 ,in school he was not as quick to learn as many others1 but such was his faithfulness and persistence that in the end he surpassed them all1 and he had a saving sense of humour that always added gaiety to any company4 ,on one occasion1 on a journey up the river1 when ,i was accompanied by a white man with an extremely bald head--the first that the crew had ever seen--,amvama caused the natives and one white man to smile by comparing it to a fresh-laid egg--a comparison that was quite new in ,africa4 ,in the early days before the ,dorothy1 ,amvama was my 8boy10 or personal attendant1 when ,i travelled about in the ,evangeline4 ,he was always a cleanly boy1 according to ,fang ideals1 but the ,fang ideal leaves something to be desired4 ,one day1 in the ,evangeline1 the crew1 after a long pull at the oars1 were eating oranges1 of which ,i had brought a supply from the orchard at ,baraka4 ,i gave them my table-knife to cut their oranges4 ,while they were still eating ,i helped myself to an orange and asked for the knife4 ,it was passed to ,amvama who handed it to me2 but1 observing that it was dripping with the orange juice1 he wiped it carefully on his bare leg4 ,a short time before ,i left ,africa ,i told ,amvama of this incident1 which he had forgotten4 ,looking at me in astonishment he said3 8,i8 ,did ,i do that80 ,it seemed incredible to him4 ,in after years he would no more have done any such thing than a white man4 ,however sincere the ,african ,christian may be1 the knowledge of ,christian morality in minute particulars is a long1 slow growth4 ,one day1 out on the bay in the ,evangeline and running before a fair wind1 we sighted the sails of a schooner coming towards the harbour but still far out at sea4 ,amvama and ,captain ,makuba disputed as to the name of the schooner4 ,makuba became impatient and said to me3 8,mr4 ,milligan1 ,i wish you would tell ,amvama that he must not contradict me2 for he is a small boy and ,i am an old man40 ,i had always thought that ,makuba was a very young man4 ,finally1 these two1 both of them ,christians1 and perfectly sincere1 decided to bet on the name of the schooner4 ,the bet was a franc cash and they asked me to hold the money2 whereupon ,i delivered my sermon on gambling4 ,i had hoped that ,amvama would be the first ordained minister among the ,fang2 but when he was about sixteen the need of catechists became imperative and ,i felt compelled to cut off his further education and send him out into the whitening field of the harvest4 ,this was a great disappointment4 ,for although he proved himself a faithful and invaluable worker1 he could never be as efficient as if he had had adequate training1 and could never be entirely independent of the missionary's supervision4 ,i placed ,amvama in a large town1 called ,ndumentanga1 where there were a number of newly-professed ,christians who were eager to be taught4 ,the work was difficult and trying and he was a young boy and inexperienced2 and1 as ,i have said1 had never seen the worst of ,african heathenism4 ,it was with strange feelings that ,i left him in the street of that town one very dark night when the rain was pouring down1--left him to prove himself4 ,for four months ,i did not see him2 but ,i had the fullest report of his work1 and it was most satisfactory4 ,he conducted a daily class for religious instruction1 teaching hymns and catechism and on each question of the latter giving explanations and practical talks4 ,he also held a service on ,sunday2 and1 besides1 taught a day-school each morning in which all who desired might learn to read the ,bible4 ,he also regularly visited other towns that were not too far away4 ,it was on one of these latter visits that he had the narrow escape in ,angona's town4 ,for the next two years ,amvama spent most of his time at ,ndumentanga4 ,shortly after his first arrival1 a man of the town1 who had been visiting another town1 returned home very sick4 ,amvama called on him1 and finding that he and his wife had become ,christians while away from home1 he instructed them daily in their house1 frequently calling all the ,christians of the town to go with him1 and sing and pray with the sick man4 ,he was with him when he died1 seeking to strengthen his faith2 and the people1 perhaps for the first time1 saw a man die without fear4 ,then the heathen wished to open the body1 in order to see whether the man had been bewitched4 ,but ,amvama with quiet authority took possession of the body until it should be given a ,christian burial4 ,i marvel that a young boy was able to hold out against them and induce them to forego all their heathen rites2 but he had won the love and confidence of all these people4 ,he held a brief service at the house2 and when the body was placed in the grave he called upon the people to be quiet while he offered a prayer4 ,they all stood by1 some in mute astonishment at a ,christian burial service1 others laughing and falling against each other in that weak abandon everywhere characteristic of the very ignorant4 ,what a scene for an artist6 ,a young boy standing in the midst of a crowd of carnal and degraded men and women1 some of them aged2 holding fast to the things that are spiritual1 contending for the reality of those things that are not seen6 ,for several years ,amvama had been betrothed to a young girl1 who died when he was about seventeen4 ,the dowry1 which included all that he had ever earned1 had been paid and the girl was living with ,amvama's mother until she should be of marriageable age4 ,it is the universal custom among the ,fang that when a girl dies before reaching that age the dowry paid for her must be returned4 ,so ,amvama was entitled to the dowry which he had paid2 and it was the more urgent because there was no dowry for him anywhere else within sight4 ,but the girl's people1 probably taking advantage of the fact that ,amvama was a ,christian1 refused to return the dowry4 ,such a refusal is always a matter of war4 ,one evening when he was back at ,baraka for a few days1 he came to see me desiring my advice on this matter of the dowry1 wishing to know what he as a ,christian ought to do1 but not wishing to ask me directly4 ,politeness among some ,african tribes is reduced to a fine art4 ,one of its chief elements is indirection4 ,i ask a boy whether he will work for me2 and he replies3 8,did ,i say ,i wouldn't80 ,sometimes the third person is used instead of the first2 one is occasionally reminded of the ,french ,on dit4 ,after an interval of silence ,amvama remarked3 8,those people ought to pay me back that dowry40 ,i made no reply2 and after a pause he said3 8,those people are treating me very badly40 ,another pause1 and then3 8,my people all want to go to war1 and there are five or six towns of my people40 ,another pause1 and he said3 8,i tell you there will be blood spilled60 ,at this ,i spoke and said3 8,we don't need the help of your people1 ,amvama2 you and ,i will go1 ourselves alone1 and will kill all the people of that town4 ,upon our arrival in the town we will hold a service1 and of course everybody will come1 and they will come unarmed4 ,after singing one or two hymns ,i will ask you to offer a prayer2 and while you are praying ,i'll open fire on the congregation and we'll make short work of them40 ,he laughed and said3 8,i only wished to know what you thought40 8,why1 then1 did you not ask me80 ,i said4 ,he replied3 8,i think ,i have been asking you ever since ,i came in40 ,the people would not give back the dowry1 and ,amvama would not let it come to a clash of arms2 so he surrendered it4 ,but about a year later his brother 7more likely a cousin7 died1 leaving two wives1 who by the law of inheritance became ,amvama's property4 ,both of them were eager to marry him4 ,one of the two was as good a woman as he could have found1 and he afterwards married her4 ,the other he gave1 with her consent1 to a cousin who was single4 ,in the examination of candidates for baptism ,i had to rely very much upon ,amvama's judgment in regard to those whom he had taught4 ,in one of the towns where he had taught there was a young man who had been a ,christian for more than two years and who had attended the classes faithfully2 and yet ,amvama did not recommend him for baptism4 ,i asked him the reason1 and he said that there was only one thing against him1 and nothing else2 he was lazy--so lazy that he was ridiculed in the whole town4 ,amvama said3 8,he will bring reproach on his religion4 ,and ,i think that since his faith enables him to do other things that he did not do before1 it ought also to enable him to do a little work40 ,a few months before ,amvama left ,ndumentanga1 war broke out between that town and a town of the ,bifil people1 a clan of the ,fang who had come but recently from the far interior and were very savage4 ,a ,bifil man had stolen a woman of ,ndumentanga4 ,the old chief1 who was a bloodthirsty heathen1 told the town to prepare for war4 ,but he found a rival in ,amvama who advised that they must first make every effort to get the woman back without shedding blood1 which could probably be done through her father's influence4 ,amvama also told them that the fetishes upon which they were depending for protection were useless4 ,the chief was disgusted at the suggestion of a peaceful settlement of the affair1 and passionately cried for war2 and the people eagerly responded4 ,the most that ,amvama could do was to hold the ,christians firm to their duty4 ,as the chief exhorted ,amvama exhorted too1 but without the least passion or excitement4 ,the town was divided between these two3 an old chief1 the very embodiment of the heathenism of the past2 and the young boy1 representing the future--the authority of a ,christ-enlightened conscience and the power of a ,christian life4 ,the heathen went to war2 but the ,christians refused to go and so broke with an immemorial custom4 ,they attacked the town of the ,bifil1 but the only result was that several of their own men were killed4 ,the ,bifil secured the body of one of them1 and it was reported to me that they followed the interior custom and cut the body in pieces1 sending a piece of it to each of their towns4 ,if they did this it would be a call to arms4 ,the pieces of the body would be boiled and eaten1 and thus it would become a strong fetish protection against the enemy4 ,the people of ,ndumentanga returned home from the war with sore hearts and with less faith in their fetishes4 ,the war went on more desperately and it became unsafe for ,amvama2 so ,i went after him and brought him back to ,baraka4 ,but he returned from the field of his labours bringing his sheaves with him1 in men and women rescued from degradation and sin1 and in the love of many4 ,illustration3 ,,fang ,,christians4 ,in the middle of the front row stands ,amvama4 ,behind him1 on his right1 is ,ndong ,koni4 ,the tall young man is ,robert ,boardman1 the blind catechist4 ,when ,i left ,africa ,i felt that ,i was leaving many friends behind me2 humble friends but true1 and ,i cherish the memory of their devotion4 ,some of them ,i loved because they were lovable1 and others for the labour and anxiety expended upon them--the sweat of the brow1 and the brain and the heart4 ,but there were none whom ,i loved more1 and there are none whom ,i more often long to see1 than ,amvama and ,ndong ,koni4 ,i cannot close these sketches without some reference to another who was an invaluable helper in the work among the ,fang4 ,he was totally blind4 ,he bore an ,english name1 ,robert ,boardman1 and had no ,african name4 ,the natives called him ,bobbie4 ,he was not a ,fang but an ,mpongwe1 and his mother was an ,american ,negress4 ,his father was educated at ,baraka away back in the early days when the missionaries were allowed to use ,english1 and he spoke ,english well4 ,when he was a young man he came to ,america4 ,in those days ,africa1 to ,americans1 was a romance rather than a reality4 ,any chief of a village or head of his own family coming here was called a prince4 ,so young ,boardman 7,robert's father7 passed himself off as a prince1 and probably without any intentional deception4 ,he married a ,negress of the ,south1 who supposed that by her marriage she became a princess4 ,she left family and friends all behind and went to ,africa4 ,the disillusionment was very hard and very bitter2 and at last1 inevitably1 she sought relief in drink4 ,she was evidently a woman of superior mind1 if one might judge by her children1 of whom there were five4 ,one of these was poor ,augustus ,boardman1 of whom ,i have written in another chapter1 and whom drink brought to an early grave4 ,robert was the youngest child4 ,he was a very interesting boy1 and intellectually far above the average4 ,as a young man he lived the dissolute life that was general among the ,mpongwe of ,gaboon4 ,his blindness was the last result of his dissipation1 and was also the cure4 ,he never walked alone again2 a little boy led him by the hand4 ,blindness is a more terrible affliction in ,africa1 where the helpless are neglected1 and where roads are rough and often infested with ants or snakes4 ,he was extremely unhappy after his blindness4 ,there were times when it seemed that it would drive him mad4 ,in his misery he made others miserable around him4 ,poor material1 one would surely say1 for the grace of ,god or any other moral influence to work upon--this physical and moral wreck4 ,but1 as ,i once heard a reclaimed outcast say1 8,jesus loves to walk by the seashore where the wrecks come in40 ,when ,i went to ,gaboon ,i engaged ,robert as my interpreter2 for he knew ,fang as well as he knew ,mpongwe4 ,then1 when ,i could speak ,fang without him1 ,i undertook the ,mpongwe work and ,i used him as my interpreter to the ,mpongwe2 so he continued in my service4 ,the first year1 when ,i was itinerating among the ,fang and travelling in the ,evangeline1 he went everywhere with me4 ,i recall one evening when we were setting out from the beach in a very heavy sea and had got beyond the surf we saw ,robert's little attendant on the beach very much excited and waving to us to come back4 ,he was yelling something to us which we could not hear distinctly across the roaring surf1 but ,i thought he was trying to tell us something about 8,bobbie's wife40 ,very reluctantly ,i told the crew to go back4 ,we were already in the surf and were going ashore as if pulled by wild horses when at last we made out what the boy was saying1 namely3 8,bobbie has forgotten his pipe40 ,the ,african has no mental perspective1 according to our ideas2 things great and small1 the most momentous and the most trivial1 appear upon a flat surface of equality4 ,but it would scandalize an ,african to hear one speak of a pipe in this disrespectful way4 ,robert had an unusual mind and was athirst for knowledge4 ,his interpreting was a kind of education for him and he made the most of it4 ,he was always alert for new words and their exact meaning1 and he had an excellent memory4 ,there was also a vein of poetry in him4 ,i once heard him1 in offering an evening prayer1 ask ,god that ,satan might not sow the tares of bad dreams in our sleep--the more appropriate because of the native regard for dreams and the habit of vivid dreaming4 ,but his chief love was music4 ,he was passionately fond of it1 and he had a good tenor voice4 ,shortly after ,i first knew him1 when he was so unhappy1 ,i began to give him some instruction on the organ each day after class4 ,my only intention was to lighten his misery and relieve his solitude4 ,i had not the least thought of any return in missionary service4 ,the little organ which ,i used in itinerating ,i left with him between journeys4 ,it was a new and delightful way of spending the hours1 and he became more cheerful4 ,in two years a very great change had taken place in him4 ,he was both cheerful and devout4 ,when the time of harvest came in the ,fang field and ,i had need of catechists he was well equipped for the work and ,i sent him4 ,he took the organ with him2 for he played the ,fang hymns and played them well4 ,when a secretary of the ,board of ,foreign ,missions afterwards visited ,africa he found ,robert ,boardman among the ,fang1 preaching and singing1 and he made special mention of him on his return to ,america4 ,robert1 through the agency of my matrimonial bureau1 married a ,fang woman1 ,nze1 who loved him devotedly4 ,she was a remarkably good-looking woman--almost beautiful4 ,poor blind ,robert never saw her2 and one day1 after he had been married for some time1 ,i delighted him--and saddened him too--by giving him a minute description of her4 ,for a while after his marriage ,i placed him at ,ayol1 which was ,nze's town4 ,after several months1 when ,i was at ,ayol1 ,i decided to take him to another town4 ,then the heathen relations of ,nze suddenly discovered that he had not given sufficient dowry1 although he had given all they asked4 ,it was never half so hard to get my ,african friends married as to keep them married4 ,the family of ,nze secured her in a house while they talked the palaver with ,robert1 telling him that he had not paid what they had asked4 ,the street was filled with people and there was the wildest excitement4 ,the chief of the town was not there1 and when ,i saw that my powers of persuasion were not adequate for the occasion1 ,i told ,robert that as it was now late in the night we would go without ,nze1 and that ,i myself would afterwards talk the palaver with the chief and would do all that ,i possibly could to get ,nze back4 ,he yielded1 but he was almost broken-hearted4 ,we got into our canoe and started for the ,dorothy1 which was anchored a little below the town4 ,when we came alongside whom should we find in the launch but ,nze6 ,she had broken out of her prison-house when night came--but ,i can't imagine how1 unless some ,christian woman helped her--and stealing through the dreadful mangrove swamp1 had reached her canoe and had gone to the launch4 ,at the very moment that ,i saw her we heard the wildest yelling behind us4 ,the people of the town had just discovered her escape2 and they1 of course1 thought that we had stolen her4 ,i shouted to the crew to 8stand by0 for their lives4 ,we sprang aboard1 and while weighing the anchor put out all the lights4 ,what if the anchor should be fouled1 as it was last time1 when it delayed us half an hour6 ,our pursuers were rapidly drawing nearer and were almost upon us4 ,they included1 ,i presume1 every heathen savage in the town1 each of them yelling like ten1 and perhaps engaged meanwhile in loading their guns with such deadly material as broken pots and barbed wire4 ,at last1 8,all right10 shouted the mate2 and we moved off just as the enemy in a fleet of canoes came round the last curve of the narrow river4 ,i had made our party1 including ,nze1 lie down flat in the bottom of the launch2 only ,ndong ,koni at the wheel and myself at the engine remained standing4 ,despite rage and excitement ,i did not expect that they would fire upon us4 ,but ,i very much feared that a stray shot1 intended only to intimidate us1 might do us as much damage as the 8bow drawn at a venture0 did to a certain king a long time ago4 ,we were soon beyond their range2 and then ,robert's gladness and the unbounded joy of ,nze were a sufficient reward for us all4 ,for my part1 ,i was exceedingly glad that ,nze's husband was present2 otherwise an elopement would have been credited to me4 ,a short time before ,i left ,africa ,i was conducting a prayer-meeting in an ,mpongwe town1 at which ,robert was present4 ,he rose and told the people about his work among the ,fang and what great changes were taking place through the preaching of the ,gospel1 which must surely be the power of ,god4 ,then in closing he told them something of the new joy that had come into his own life4 ,he said that although at first he had been bitter and rebellious against the fate that had turned his day into night1 yet he had lived to thank ,god for sending even this affliction2 for1 in his blindness1 he had wearied of the 8far country10 and like the prodigal had come home4 ,in ,christ he had found pardon and peace2 and finally he had been permitted to go as a missionary to the ,fang1 whom he had learned to love1 and many of whom1 he was sure1 loved him4 8,i know10 said he1 8that ,i shall never see this world again1 nor the faces of my friends2 but ,i am walking in the light of heaven40 ,in a deep undertone1 full of wonder1 full of sympathy1 full of tears1 they all responded3 8,a-y1 ,bobbie6 ,a-y1 ,bobbie60 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author ,the ,jungle ,folk of ,africa ,illustrated1 #hvo1 cloth1 net #a4ej 8,a personal narrative1 most realistic1 most truthful1 most fascinating--the author knows extremely well what he is writing about40--,chicago ,tribune4 8,as one reads1 the mystery and terror of the jungle seem to penetrate his soul1 yet he reads on reluctant to lay down a book so grimly fascinating40--,presbyterian4 8,a book that is remarkable for its vitality1 picturesqueness1 candor and literary quality4 ,mr4 ,milligan saw a lot during his seven ,african years40 --,n4 ,y4 ,times4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,africa ,the ,redemption of ,africa ,,frederic ,,perry ,,noble ,illustrations1 ,maps and ,tables1 #b vols41 #hvo1 ,cloth1 #d4jj4 ,the subtitle of this book4 8,a ,story of ,civilization10 is a most fitting supplement to the distinctive title4 8,no book on any land surpasses this in thoroughness of preparation1 wealth of citation1 impartiality of judgment1 and the predominant desire to tell nothing but the truth40--,n4 ,y4 ,sun4 ,dawn in the ,dark ,continent3 ,or ,africa and its ,missions4 ,,james ,,stewart1 ,m4 ,d41 ,d4,d4 ,colored ,maps1 #hvo1 ,cloth1 #b4jj net4 ,there has probably been no man more competent to outline the missionary work in ,africa than the veteran founder of the famous ,lovedale ,institute4 ,this is just what he has done in this volume1 supplementing it by some invaluable comments on the training of a missionary4 ,the ,egyptian ,sudan ,,rev4 ,,john ,,kelly ,,giffen ,illustrated1 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4jj net4 ,this new mission field of the ,american ,united ,presbyterian ,church has been recently brought into prominence by ,john ,d4 ,rockefeller's gift to it of #ajj1jjj4 ,mr4 ,giffen's book describes1 in a most interesting style1 the unique problems faced in such a country4 ,the ,interior knows of 8no other book so full of information as to a great military and economic center on the ,cape-to-,cairo railway40 ,on the ,borders of ,pigmy ,land ,illustrated1 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4be net4 ,,ruth ,b4 ,,fisher ,mrs4 ,fisher is a successful author and has written a book which commands the enthusiastic approval of 8all sorts and conditions0 of papers1 missionary1 religious and secular4 ,the ,mountains of the ,moon1 the ,great ,lakes1 the ,uganda ,railway1 ,pigmies and other tribes combine to give a rare and significant setting to the work of the missionary4 ,pioneering on the ,congo ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,holman ,,bentley ,illustrated1 #b vols41 #hvo1 ,cloth1 #e4jj net4 ,the ,jungle ,folk of ,africa ,with introduction by ,robert ,mackenzie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,illustrated1 net1 #a4ej4 ,,robert ,h4 ,,milligan 8,a book that is remarkable for its vitality1 picturesqueness1 humor and literary quality4 ,mr4 ,milligan saw a lot during his seven ,african years1 and saw it all very clearly1 so that he came away with a pretty thorough knowledge of the folk among whom he had lived40--,n4 ,y4 ,times4 ,bishop ,hannington and ,the ,story of the ,uganda ,mission ,illustrated1 net1 #a4jj4 ,w4 ,,grinton ,,berry 8,one always reads the romance of ,bishop ,hannington's life with fascination4 ,this record deals with the early life of the martyr missionary and of the influences that led to his giving his life to the cause4 ,it is a graphic1 racy and altogether stimulating volume40--,united ,presbyterian4 ,daybreak in ,livingstonia ,,james ,w4 ,,jack1 ,m4 ,a4 ,illustrated1 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4ej net4 8,one of the best missionary histories1 combining possibilities of romance almost as thrilling as ,king ,solomon's ,mines1 with a calm presentation of visible and tangible results that ought to open the eyes of any who still consider ,christian ,missions a failure40--,glasgow ,herald4 ,in ,africa's ,forest and ,jungle ,illustrated1 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4jj4 ,,rev4 ,r4 ,h4 ,,stone ,a record of ,six ,years ,among the ,yorubans on the ,west ,coast of ,africa1 with numerous tales of thrilling experiences growing out of the wars between the great ,african tribes4 8,a vivacious and deeply interesting volume40 ,the ,sign of the ,cross in ,madagascar ,,rev4 ,j4 ,j4 ,,kilpin ,,fletcher ,illustrated1 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4jj4 ,with remarkably vivid touch the author describes the early conditions1 the coming of the 8strange messengers10 the 8mighty faith10 the bitter persecution1 the divine interposition1 the changes and the victory of the ,cross4 ,the ,personal ,life of ,david ,livingstone ,w4 ,,garden ,,blaikie1 ,d4 ,d4 ,portrait and maps1 #hvo1 ,cloth1 #a4ej4 ,this standard life of the great missionary and explorer has the peculiar advantage of the special authorization by his family to use unpublished journals and correspondence4 ,there is thus a peculiar power in its presentation of what the ,s4 ,s4 ,times calls his 8simple but noble life of self-surrender to a great motive40 ,pilkington of ,uganda ,c4 ,f4 ,,harford-,,battersby1 ,m4 ,a41 ,m4 ,d4 ,illustrated1 #hvo1 ,cloth1 #a4ej4 ,a fitting sequel to the biography of ,alexander ,mackay1 covering with that a moral transformation equal perhaps to anything recorded even in apostolic days4 ,a ,life for ,africa ,,ellen ,c4 ,,parsons ,illustrated1 #abmo1 #a4be4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,moved ,ad from the beginning to just before the ads at the end4 #b4 ,silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #c4 ,retained archaic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings as printed4 #d4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4 #e4 ,enclosed bold font in equals4