{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_76363/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_76363","id":"gutenberg_76363","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76363","summary":null,"tags":["Africa, East -- Social life and customs","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Travel Writing","Missions -- Africa, East"],"text":"AFRICANA.\n\nA. KING AND CO., PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.\n\n\n\n\n                                 AFRICANA;\n                                    OR,\n                       THE HEART OF HEATHEN AFRICA.\n\n                                  BY THE\n                     REV. DUFF MACDONALD, M.A., B.D.,\n  LATE OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MISSION, BLANTYRE, EAST CENTRAL AFRICA.\n\n                          VOL. II.\u2014MISSION LIFE.\n\n    \u201cYour vain conversation delivered by tradition from your fathers.\u201d\n\n                      LONDON: SIMPKIN MARSHALL & CO.\n                       EDINBURGH: JOHN MENZIES & CO.\n                         ABERDEEN: A. BROWN & CO.\n                                   1882.\n\n                         [_All rights reserved._]\n\n\n\n\n                                    TO\n                                 H. H. M.\n                          THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED\n                             IN REMEMBRANCE OF\n                   THE GREATEST TRIALS PATIENTLY ENDURED\n                          FOR THE GOOD OF AFRICA.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS OF VOL. II.\n\n\n                                                                      PAGE\n\n       CHAPTER I.\u2014EARLIER ATTEMPTS TO CHRISTIANISE CENTRAL AFRICA.\n\n    Portuguese Discoveries. Early Missionaries\u2014Santos, Carli,\n    Merolla. Exploration. Communication between the East Coast and\n    the West,                                                          1-9\n\n        CHAPTER II.\u2014THE UNIVERSITIES\u2019 MISSION TO CENTRAL AFRICA.\n\n    Livingstone and Slave Caravans. Battle with the Yao. The\n    Missionaries pledge themselves. Native Treachery. Death of\n    Bishop Mackenzie. Departure from Magomero. The Mission Policy\n    condemned. The Field abandoned,                                  10-17\n\n                      CHAPTER III.\u2014SCOTCH MISSIONS.\n\n    The Scottish Churches. Missions at Livingstonia and Blantyre.\n    Relation between the Missions. Threatened War. Part taken by\n    the Europeans,                                                   18-25\n\n                    CHAPTER IV.\u2014CONTACT WITH SLAVERY.\n\n    The English Name. Slave Refugees. A Free Native Village. Asylum\n    for the Slave. Civil Jurisdiction. Punishments,                  26-37\n\n                        CHAPTER V.\u2014PIONEER WORK.\n\n    Difficulties. Industrial Work. Religious Work Colonial\n    Work. Efforts made to find a Clergyman. Unfair Position of\n    Missionaries,                                                    38-48\n\n                   CHAPTER VI.\u2014QUILIMANE TO BLANTYRE.\n\n    Traces of early Missions. Detention at Quilimane. Journey to\n    Mazaro. The Zambeze. The Chiri. Hippopotami, Lions, Elephants.\n    The Native Kings,                                                49-72\n\n                    CHAPTER VII.\u2014THE MISSION STATION.\n\n    The Houses. Fever. Artisans. Visitors. Neighbours.\n    Interpreters. School,                                            73-93\n\n                        CHAPTER VIII.\u2014FIRST HALF.\n\n    Translating and Teaching. Visiting. Diary. Native Funeral. A\n    Murder. The Blantyre Colony. Native Law. Insecurity,            94-114\n\n                        CHAPTER IX.\u2014SECOND HALF.\n\n    New Year\u2019s Day. Sewing Class. Housekeeping. School Work. Native\n    Wars,                                                          115-130\n\n                   CHAPTER X.\u2014SECOND HALF\u2014_Continued_.\n\n    Pilfering. The Station set on Fire. Expedition to Mlanje.\n    The Native Language. Scarcity. Trading Company. Field for\n    Emigration,                                                    131-147\n\n                         CHAPTER XI.\u2014THIRD HALF.\n\n    Founding Zomba Mission. Lake Chirwa. Attack on the Mission\n    Carriers. A Slave Raid. Anxiety,                               148-177\n\n                        CHAPTER XII.\u2014FOURTH HALF.\n\n    Improvements. Increase of Pupils. Boarders. Negro Laziness.\n    Preaching. Slavery, touching cases. Missionary Methods. Amateur\n    Physicians. At Cherasulo and Zomba,                            178-212\n\n                        CHAPTER XIII.\u2014FIFTH HALF.\n\n    Hermit Life. War. Mission Difficulties. Kidnapping. A Scare.\n    Wild Animals. Amusements. Visit to Zomba. Young Elephants.\n    Strange Refugees,                                              213-232\n\n                        CHAPTER XIV.\u2014SIXTH HALF.\n\n    Native Headmen. Translating. Imprisonments. A Slaving Chief.\n    Sheep Stealing. Hopeful Pupils. Evangelical Work. The Colony\n    again,                                                         233-261\n\n                        CHAPTER XV.\u2014SEVENTH HALF.\n\n    Start for Scotland. \u201cI wish to go with you.\u201d The Magololo.\n    Sabbath on the River. War in Front. Suspense. Discomforts. A\n    Native Crew. Magololo Harem. Anyasa Carriers,                  262-287\n\n                        CHAPTER XVI.\u2014CONCLUSION.\n\n    Work resumed. Return of Pupils. Slavery. Second Departure.\n    Game. Adventure with Hippopotamus. Matekenya\u2019s people.\n    Morumbala. Mazaro. Civil Jurisdiction again! The Slave Trade.\n    Quilimane. Slaves in the land of their Captivity. Mission at\n    Zanzibar. Missionary Prospects in the Interior,                288-315\n\n    APPENDIX.\u2014NATIVE TALES.                                        316-371\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\nVOL. II.\n\n\n                                        PAGE\n\n    Magomero Mission,                     10\n\n    Women of Mazaro,                      61\n\n    Cutting up Hippopotamus for food,     64\n\n    The Blantyre Mission,                 75\n\n    Native Female,                        89\n\n    Mode of carrying in the hand,        121\n\n    The \u201cManse,\u201d Blantyre,               178\n\n    The Basket Makers, Blantyre,         185\n\n    Anyasa Village on the Chiri,         271\n\n    A dangerous Hippopotamus,            290\n\n    Hippopotami at Home,                 293\n\n    Night Halt on the River Bank,        296\n\n    The Kwagwa,                          300\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nEARLIER ATTEMPTS TO CHRISTIANISE CENTRAL AFRICA.\n\n\nThe Ancients were not so ignorant about Africa as is often supposed.\nEver since that old Phenician fleet went down the Red Sea and appeared,\nthree years afterwards, in the Mediterranean, people knew that it\nwas possible to sail round the Continent. It is said that the great\nPortuguese explorers derived an impulse from old maps which described\nSouthern Africa as bounded by sea, but in any case the Portuguese are\njustly celebrated for their African discoveries, for all the knowledge\non this subject that came from antiquity was in their days as faint as a\nhalf-forgotten dream.\n\nNo sooner had the Portuguese discovered places like the \u201cEmpire of\nMonomotopa\u201d than they wanted to open them up. They sent their colonies\nand their armies; and the Church of Rome soon had missionaries among the\nnative tribes.\n\nAt Sofala the new settlers asked permission to build a \u2018warehouse,\u2019 but\nbuilt really a fortification. The native king becoming aware of this,\ntried to surprise and massacre them, but he failed, and they eventually\nbecame masters of the country.\n\nJoano Dos Santos tells us in his history of Eastern Ethiopia how he\nleft Portugal for Eastern Africa in 1586. His book contains several\nnotes on the inhabitants. He questioned them about their belief in God,\nand inclines to think that at some period in the past they had been\nacquainted with \u2018true religion\u2019. He mentions in confirmation of this that\nthey kept certain festivals with a strictness that might put Christians\nto shame. He found that they used \u2018disagreeable herbs\u2019 for an ordeal, and\nthinks it is possible that the Deity may interpose for the punishment of\nthe guilty and the acquittal of the innocent. He expresses the view that\nthe ordeal is founded on the Bible. The natives were fond of showing him\ntheir hunting powers and presenting him with what they caught.\n\nIn his book, which is more a history of the country than of mission work,\nhe takes note of the barbarous customs of the people; he speaks of their\nbeer-drinkings, which on special occasions would last for a week, during\nwhich no one knew his companion. He mentions a tribe near Tete where men,\nwomen, and children were kept in pens, and killed and eaten in succession\nby their barbarous imprisoners. Sometimes the natives would overpower\nthe settlements of the Portuguese, who were then treated in the most\nhorrifying manner.\n\nThe monks that were in the country served more as chaplains to the\nPortuguese armies than as missionaries to the heathen. The Portuguese\nwere endeavouring to introduce some kind of order among the native\ntribes, and to develop the resources of the country especially in gold\nand silver mines. Hence the Portuguese soldiers appeared in this quarter\nfollowing the crucifix and the arms of Portugal. A successful chief on\nthe other side would don the \u2018clerical dress\u2019 of some monk that he had\nslain, and appear at the head of his clan with the chalice in one hand\nand a spear in the other. But in course of time the country became more\nsettled, and the missionaries had numerous stations.\n\nOn the west coast the Portuguese missionaries seem to have laboured with\ngreat zeal. Father Carli (1666) has recorded his experiences of African\nlife both in health and sickness, and many of his statements give a good\nidea of inconveniences to be met with in Africa even at the present day.\nHe says, \u201cMy bed was against a wall which might well be called a nest\nof rats\u2014they were so many and so large that they troubled me very much,\nrunning over me and biting my toes, which kept me from sleep. I caused\nmy bed to be put in the middle of the room, but to no purpose, for those\ncursed creatures knew where to find me. I caused mats to be laid all\nabout my bed for my blacks to lie on and defend me, not only against\nthe rats, but any other wild creatures that might come. This precaution\nstood me in no stead, for there was no night but the rats disturbed me.\u201d\nIn his distress he applied to the Great Duke. \u201cI took the freedom,\u201d he\nsays, \u201cto acquaint the Great Duke with the trouble I had from the rats,\nand the stink of my blacks who had always some wild and disagreeable\nsmell.\u201d The Duke promised him an infallible cure, and sent him forthwith\na tame monkey which lay at the foot of his bed. When the rats appeared\nthe little monkey blew hard at them, two or three times, which made them\nrun away, and its scent of musk corrected \u2018the ill smell\u2019 of the blacks.\n\u201cThe little monkey,\u201d he adds, \u201ckept my head and beard clean and combed,\nbetter than any of the blacks would have done; and to say the truth, it\nis easier to teach those monkeys than the blacks.\u201d\n\nThere is perhaps a note of bitterness and disappointment in the last\nremark, but those that can understand the poor writer\u2019s condition at the\ntime will readily forgive it. For many weeks he had been watching by the\ndeath-bed of his companion, and afterwards was prostrated by extreme\nsickness himself. He had no one with him but the blacks, \u201cwho stole\nwhat they could and brought him when they thought of it, a porringer of\nbroth\u201d. One night his bed was attacked by a swarm of ants, and he had\nto be carried outside. Alarms of fire annoyed the poor invalid in the\nsame way. Yet he was not forgetful of his commission from the Church in\nthe way that he understood it. \u201cEvery day,\u201d he says, \u201cI baptised ten or\ntwelve children; and not being able to sit up alone in my bed, was held\nup by two blacks, another holding the book, and another the basin.\u201d The\ninstruction given at baptism was by no means elaborate, even when the\nsacrament was administered to adults. Though but a short time in the\ncountry he had baptised an almost incredible number of natives. He says,\nas he looks back on the \u2018great fatigues\u2019 of his travels, that he would\nthink his days well spent \u201cif but one of 2700 children and youths he\nbaptized obtained salvation through his ministry\u201d. The good man, I have\nno doubt, had some misgivings as to whether the mere rite of baptism had\npermanently benefitted all that had received it. His stay in the country\nthough brief would be long enough to raise doubts in his mind on that\npoint. He does not speak hopefully of all the baptized. If he had been\nable to stay with them and teach them directly in their own tongue, this\ncriticism would be much modified. Still the efforts of these missionaries\nwould not be lost. They tried to do God\u2019s work, and no one can have a\nhigher motive. If there be anything in their methods that we now think\ninexpedient, let us learn the proper lesson, and let us remember the\ncourage and zeal they manifested amidst their trials. Moreover, he does\nspeak of a school where natives were taught the Portuguese language and\nreceived instruction in religion. Some of them, \u201cthough blacks,\u201d showed\nconsiderable genius. The people, he tells us, did not trouble about\nlaying up great stores of provisions; they scarce cared in the morning\nwhether they should have anything at night. When they accompanied the\nFather on any of his journeys, sometimes he had nothing to give them\nbecause he had nothing for himself. Then they would take a piece of wood\nfor a mattock and cut up the ground, and eat certain little white balls\nthey found near the roots of the grass. He says, \u201cI could not for the\nlife of me swallow one of them, yet after such a wretched meal they would\nskip, dance, and laugh as if they had been at a feast\u201d.\n\nMerolla (1682) is one of the earliest to give a detailed account of\nmission work in Central Africa. He and his companions found themselves\ngreatly opposed by wizards, who were often seized and sent to the\nPortuguese Governor who condemned them to death. As the native law itself\npossessed similar provisions, the people supported the missionaries in\nthis measure and assisted in bringing wizards to justice. One of the laws\nintroduced was that after a person was absolved by the missionary, he was\nfreed from the consequences of any civil crime. \u201cIf God has pardoned, how\ncan man pretend to find guilty?\u201d They had established the Confessional,\nand many of them, like Luther, would try to make it a means of correcting\nthe faults and informing the minds of their people.\n\nThey also had their troubles with slavery. A Cardinal wrote them \u2018in\nthe name of the sacred college complaining that the pernicious and\nabominable abuse of selling slaves was still continued among them,\nand asked them to use their power to remedy the said abuse\u2019. They\nhad little hope of checking the evil, because there was no trade in\nthe country except \u2018in slaves and ivory\u2019; but they met together and\npetitioned the authorities \u2018that heretics at least should be excluded\nfrom this merchandise more especially the English who made it their\nchief business to buy slaves here,\u2019 and whose slaves were in danger of\nhaving the good principles instilled into them perverted by contact with\nProtestants! The authorities granted their petition, but opposed its\noperation. This brought the missionaries into serious collision with\ntheir governors, whom, however, they promptly excommunicated. When the\nstruggle was over, the Governors wished to be restored to the church,\nand the penance prescribed for them is instructive, as showing how the\nMissionaries studied, and tried to remodel, the whole social life of\ntheir people. \u2018The penance I imposed upon the Count was that he by his\nauthority should oblige 300 of those that lived in unlawful wedlock to\nmarry.\u2019 The restored Count did even more, he \u2018brought over 400 to the\nholy state of matrimony\u2019. On the whole the Missionaries seem to have\nintroduced greater purity into those regions. They could also do much to\nprevent wars and bloodshed. They had great influence with native rulers.\nOccasionally kings and their subjects came expressing a desire to be\nreceived into the Church in a body, but, alas, their motives were not\nabove suspicion\u2014before submitting to baptism, these converts insisted on\nmaking stipulations about \u2018trade and commerce\u2019; these stipulations the\nMissionaries assented to and tried to fulfil. On occasions of baptism, it\nwas usual to bring presents to the Mission, and nothing can better show\nthe discouragements that surrounded these men than the fact that on such\noccasions they were often presented with poisoned food. Merolla mentions\nseven Missionaries that were thus poisoned, and he himself had a narrow\nescape. They carried silver chalices, censers, &c., which were, in some\ninstances, an inducement to take away their lives. They set themselves\nvigorously to oppose all \u2018idolatry\u2019\u2014under which head they classed the\nnative charms. They were not without apprehension of the power of\nsorcerers. Merolla mentions that an old witch lay down on the ground\nbeside him, and began to scrape a hole in it. \u2018At the sight of this,\u2019\nhe says, \u2018I immediately ordered my interpreter to begone, being more\nconcerned for him than myself, for as a priest that had always trusted in\nGod, I doubted not but to render her charms ineffectual as to myself.\u2019\nBut he does not seem to have been quite at ease, and tried afterwards to\navoid her. He explains that when they dig a hole thus in the ground they\nhave the intention of bewitching a person to death. In estimating the\nnative character, he says, \u2018The Negroes are both a malicious and a subtle\npeople, and I likewise must allow that they spend the most of their time\nin circumventing and deceiving, yet I cannot allow that because they\nare a stubborn soil they must be left uncultivated\u2019. To say that they\nare always obstinate and perverse, and man-eaters is not to be made an\nobjection against them, because our Saviour says, \u2018Those that are well do\nnot stand in need of a physician\u2019. He contends that they really embrace\nChristianity.\n\nThe above quoted Missionaries, it will be perceived, all belonged to the\nChurch of Rome, which was earliest at work in this quarter of Africa.\nTheir experiences are valuable to this day, as showing the nature of the\ndifficulties to be met, and suggesting also that Missionaries should\nstudy more and more closely the ideal of Mission Life contained in the\nActs of the Apostles. While admitting that these men spent much of their\ntime in instructing their converts, I still think that their work in the\ndistrict of the Zambeze would have been more permanent if they had set\nthemselves to teach these natives to read and to form an intelligent\njudgment on the message that was brought them. But printing presses were\nnot easily procured in those days, and the Missionaries did \u2018what they\ncould\u2019.\n\nBefore the time of Livingstone, the people of England knew little or\nnothing of Central Africa. But the Portuguese were fairly familiar with\nit. They had explorers as well as missionaries. Foremost among their\nexplorers was Dr. Lacerda, who set out from the neighbourhood of Tete in\nJuly, 1798, and encountered quite his own share of the difficulties of\nAfrican travel. His carriers left him in scores, and he was tortured by\nthe fear that they would all desert \u201cin a body\u201d. He had little confidence\nin the tribes that he was to pass through; and his heart sank within\nhim on finding that the natives with him hardly knew how to use their\nmuskets. After a march of about three months, he died at Kazembe\u2019s.\nFather Pinto kept a diary of the return journey, from which it appears\nthat the party suffered much from sickness and enemies. They had to\nfight their way through the Awisa, and even after they were out of Awisa\nterritory, every little chief contrived either to rob them or make them\ngive up their goods as \u2018presents\u2019. They were so dispirited that the least\nthreat made them yield. Tete was so far civilised by this time, that\nPinto had a repugnance to appear on daylight except in \u2018decent clerical\nattire\u2019. In 1806, Baptista performed the journey across Africa between\nAngola and Tete, and soon after, a decree was issued from the Palace of\nRio de Janeiro ordering the formation of a company of pedestrians to be\nemployed in the communication between the East coast and the West.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE UNIVERSITIES\u2019 MISSION.\n\n\nOne brilliant effort to introduce Christianity into this region of Africa\nwas occasioned by the explorations of Dr. Livingstone. An excellent\nstaff of clergy headed by Bishop Mackenzie was sent out by the English\nUniversities. The party reached the scene of their work in July, 1861.\nThey met with their first difficulties at Mbami, a short day\u2019s march from\nthe Shire. A large caravan of 84 slaves brought from Zomba came into this\nvillage, and Livingstone set the slaves free. Bishop Mackenzie wrote on\nthis occasion \u2018Livingstone is right to go with loaded guns and free the\npoor slaves; and there being so few English here, we are right, though\nclergymen and preachers of the gospel, to go with him\u2019.\n\n[Illustration: MISSIONARIES BUYING FOOD AT MAGOMERO.\n\n(_See the Story of the Universities Mission by the Rev. H. Rowley._)]\n\nThey soon chose Magomero, on a stream called the Namasi, as the site\nof their first Mission station. The rescued slaves felt that they were\nsafe only with their deliverers, and staid with them. The Wayao were\nnow pressing into the country of the Anyasa, killing, enslaving, and\nspreading terror on all sides. On July 23rd, Dr. Livingstone, the\nBishop, and nearly all the party went toward their encampment. Dr.\nLivingstone told them he was come for peace, but they did not believe\nhim, and a fight ensued. The Yao thought they were more than a match for\nthe Europeans and rushed forward, but after receiving a few well directed\nrifle shots they changed their minds. One Anyasa man was slain on the\nEnglish side, and another wounded.\n\nBy the 14th of August they were fully committed to the policy of going\nagainst the Yao. The lesson this tribe had received already had not been\nsufficient, and great bodies of them were pillaging the Anyasa. The\nlatter had applied to the Missionaries for aid, which, after three days\u2019\ndeliberation, was promised them, on certain conditions. These conditions\nwere:\u2014\n\n\u201cI. That all the chiefs then present should solemnly promise that they\nwould never buy or sell men, women, and children again.\n\nII. That all captives found with the Yao should be perfectly free; that\nno chief or person should claim any one of them; but that all should have\nliberty to go to whom they liked, and where they liked.\n\nIII. That all chiefs present promise that they will unite to punish any\nchief who sells his own people, or the people of any other chief, and\nthat each chief will punish any of his own people found guilty of buying\nor selling men, women, or children for slaves.\n\nIV. That if any Portuguese or other foreign slavers came into the land\nthey would drive them away, or at once let us know of their presence.\u201d\n\nThe Missionaries clearly saw what was needed, but their theories were\nsomewhat bold, at least for a beginning. Probably if they had been as\nmany weeks in the country as they had been days, the idea of binding\nnatives to promises of this nature would have struck them as a doubtful\nmethod. As I read these conditions I think of the poor Interpreter that\nhad to translate them: the English idioms employed are not such as would\nfacilitate his task. The conditions, as we might infallibly anticipate,\nwere all received, and the English undertook to help the Anyasa against\nthe Yao. As we might as infallibly anticipate from a slight knowledge of\nthe natives, those that appeared with guns on the eventful day had \u201cno\npowder,\u201d and expected English ammunition. August the 14th must have been\nfelt to be the beginning of a new era. All were up by four o\u2019clock. There\nwere eight Englishmen, besides the great multitude of Anyasa. The party\nmarched straight on Zomba, where a great body of Yao lay. A parley was\ntried but failed. Then the battle began, and when the Yao found that the\nEnglish guns carried so far, they were soon in retreat; perhaps about\nfive of them were killed.\n\nBut the Yao tribe continued to give trouble. By 17th of October another\nmarch was made against them. Though the Anyasa guns took about an hour\nto load, the expedition was able to start at six in the morning. The\nmajority of the mission staff were unwell, and in no fit state for such\ntroubles. On the 18th the Mission force reached Lake Shirwa. They found,\nas the Bishop remarks, that they could rely on their Anyasa allies \u201conly\nfor cowardice and falsehood\u201d. But the Wayao, instead of fighting, ran\naway after two shots were fired, and the party went on and burned their\nhuts.\n\nDuring all this time, and in spite of difficulties and interruption,\nthe missionaries were labouring hard among the natives. On the 4th of\nNovember the Bishop writes, \u201cWe have plenty of room here for setting\ndown six or eight missions\u201d. On the 2nd of December another interruption\noccurred. Messrs. Proctor and Scudamore, two clergymen, went to see\nwhether the Ruo could be made available for the transport of goods. They\nwere received and treated civilly by Mwanasomba, a chief near Mlanje,\nwho offered them a hut to sleep in all night. His plan was to burn this\nhut at midnight, kill the missionaries, and then take possession of\ntheir goods. The treachery was fortunately discovered, but it was with\ndifficulty that the party made their escape.\n\nOn 31st December \u201cit was arranged that they should start very early, so\nas to get to Mwanasomba before people were awake\u201d. \u201cThey were not going\nin private revenge, but to free the captives and punish the robber and\nwould-be murderer in God\u2019s name. They had the good word and the approval\nof the chiefs around.\u201d When they were about half-an-hour from the village\nthey met Mwanasomba and his people who called out \u201cStand still, do not\ncome on,\u201d but when it was perceived that the party was well armed and\ncontained many Englishmen Mwanasomba\u2019s people ran away. The natives with\nthe English tried to catch some of the opposite party for a consultation,\nbut failed. The English party then pressed on to the village and set the\nhuts on fire. They recovered some of their goods, and found a number of\nsheep, goats, and ducks, which would be a great temptation to the natives\nthat were with them. As they were making their way through some reeds on\ntheir return, they were fired on. Two of their natives were wounded; one\nafterwards died. The Bishop says, \u201cWe had vindicated the English name,\nand had shown in this neighbourhood that it is not safe to attack an\nEnglishman: and I hope the lesson may not be thrown away on these people\u201d.\n\nOn the 31st of January, 1862, Bishop Mackenzie died. He had been little\nmore than half-a-year on the Shire Highlands, but he had fully faced\nall the difficulties and trials of mission life there. A month before\nhis death he wrote, \u201cI have much at times to depress me; more than ever\nI had. But I expected it, and must not complain. I should not mind\ndiscouragement among the heathen, but it is among our Cape Town men.\u201d\nHis death was a great blow to the Mission. Still the Mission was strong\nin its band of clergy, and they had one medical man; but war and famine\ndesolated the country, they had the greatest difficulty and anxiety in\ngetting food, sickness was ever among them, and death called many of them\naway. The Rev. Mr. Burrup, a strong young man, came into the country to\ndie: he was buried at Magomero.\n\nIn a short time the Station at Magomero was abandoned. A letter of Dr.\nJames Stewart, now of Lovedale, written in 1862, states that there was\na stampede at the end. \u201cThe Yao tribe had been ravaging the country\nround about, and had come within a few miles of the Station, which was\nthreatened. Then a precipitate retreat was made with nearly all their\ngoods and chattels down to the River Shire.\u201d Both Dr. Livingstone and\nDr. Stewart thought the Mission had lost all \u201cprestige\u201d. I quote this\nmerely to illustrate the atmosphere in which the Missionaries lived.\nEverywhere was war, and they may have felt to some extent unsettled. But\nthey had now been about a year in the country; they had found plenty of\nwork to do in trying to acquire the language, &c., and in proportion\nas they were busy these scares would not so much affect them. But no\ndoubt the danger was great, and as they were suffering from fever they\nwould feel it all the more. The Anyasa were ever asking their aid, but\nthey \u2018determined to go and fight for them no more,\u2019 and as they did not\nconsider Magomero a healthy site they settled on the banks of the Shire.\nThis was an advantage for communication, but I fear they had by no means\nfound a healthier spot. The removal took place about May; on 1st January,\n1863, the Rev. Mr. Scudamore died; and in a short time Mr. Dickinson,\nthe surgeon, was in a grave beside him. One of their greatest trials was\nwant of food, which rendered their position almost desperate. The Mission\nnever returned to the Shire Highlands again, although some members like\nthe Rev. Horace Waller were much in favour of doing so, and this course\nwould have likely been pursued if the Mission had continued in the\ncountry. But just as all their troubles seem to have been overcome they\nwithdrew. Most of the survivors were so reduced by sickness that it was\nnecessary for them to return home if they would save their lives.\n\nOne of their great difficulties had been to get provisions. Large\nsupplies were sent from England, but scarcely anything reached them, as\ntheir stores were plundered by the way. Many of the deaths might have\nbeen prevented by proper food. It happened at the same time, that there\nwas a great famine in the country, and it was difficult to get food for\nthe poor people that came under their protection. One sentence from Mr.\nRowley will describe this. \u201cWar and famine,\u201d he says, \u201chad done their\nwork, and ninety per cent of the Anyasa were dead; save in our immediate\nneighbourhood, the land was a desolation.\u201d\n\nTheir troubles with the natives had involved them in misunderstanding\nwith the Church at home. To quote again from Mr. Rowley:\u2014\u201cThe news from\nhome, informed us of the condemnation of our policy against the Yao,\nby some of our friends at Oxford. This did not come to us officially,\nfor the committee simply expressed confidence in us individually and\ncollectively. I do not think any of us were surprised that our policy had\nbeen condemned, seeing the men who condemned it, did not understand the\ncauses leading us to adopt it, and the motives actuating us. We were not\nangry; but we were thankful that the Bishop and Scudamore were removed\nfrom the pain, which the manner of some in condemning, would have given\nthem.\u201d\n\nIn 1863, Livingstone refers to the famine and death caused by the slave\ntrade, and writes, \u201cI have been visiting Bishop Mackenzie\u2019s grave. At\nfirst, I thought him wrong in fighting, but do not think so now.\u201d Bishop\nMackenzie\u2019s successor considered the country too unsettled for continuing\nthe Mission. For about twelve years, nothing further was attempted for\nthis unhappy land.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nSCOTCH MISSIONS.\n\n\nIn the days of the Magomero Mission the Free Church of Scotland had\nthought of Africa, and had sent out Dr. Stewart to see the country.\nBut at that time matters were very discouraging: the difficulties of\nMission work had been clearly demonstrated, besides it would have been\nan invidious thing for another Church to send its missionaries into the\nvery spot then abandoned by the Church of England. Still, many Christians\nwould think of these heathen, and when Livingstone\u2019s death seemed to call\nhis countrymen to their duty, the Church of Scotland and the Free Church\nawoke to a feeling of their obligation to send the Gospel to Africa.\n\nThe first to move in the matter was the Rev. Dr. MacRae of Hawick, who\nbegan to collect funds for a Central African Mission in connection\nwith the Church of Scotland, and asked Mr. Young, R.N., to lead the\nexpedition. In a short time the Free Church also entered heartily into\nthe idea of sending a Mission to Central Africa, and appealing to\ncertain liberal and wealthy members, soon secured the necessary funds,\nand applied also to Mr. Young. The naval officer made the sensible\nsuggestion that a sort of Scotch National Mission should be tried, but\nthis idea was not entertained. Dr. MacRae had not yet collected the\nnecessary funds, and when the Free Church party started, all he could do\nwas to send out one agent along with it.\n\nIn April, 1875, Mr. Henderson, the pioneer engaged by the Church of\nScotland to go to Lake Nyassa, was introduced to the Foreign Committee by\nDr. MacRae, who then addressed him in these words:\u2014\u201cYou will be placed\nin circumstances in which you will feel that you are an exile from home,\nand separate from your brethren. In the path of duty in that far land\nyou will encounter difficulties, privations, and hazards, which it will\nrequire no ordinary courage and patience to sustain and conquer; and you\nwill be brought into contact with scenes most revolting to the sentiments\nof enlightened nature.\u201d\n\nOn arriving in Africa the Free Church missionaries pressed on to Lake\nNyassa, and settled at a station which they called Livingstonia. Mr.\nHenderson started from this Lake and passed down by Zomba till he reached\nNdilande, near which he chose a station, which was named Blantyre, after\nLivingstone\u2019s birthplace.\n\nOther agents for the Blantyre settlement were selected in the course of\nthe following year, when the Directors appointed a medical missionary,\nDr. Macklin, and five artisans. Among the latter Mr. John Buchanan was\nenrolled as gardener. The purpose before the mind of the Church is well\nexplained in its _Missionary Record_ as follows:\u2014\n\n\u201cThe Mission is industrial and evangelical, designed to be a nucleus of\nadvancing centres of Christian life and civilisation to the Nyassa and\nsurrounding region. It is the first mission of the Church of Scotland\nto the continent of Africa, her first contribution of Christian love\nto the people who have been for ages the miserable victims of blood\nand violence. It is the first step which she has taken to make some\nreparation to the African people for the unnumbered wrongs which our\nforerunners perpetrated upon them.\u201d \u201cIt was observed with surprise\nand regret that there were no ordained ministers among the party, but\nthe Directors hoped in the course of a year to send out at least one\nclergyman and two or three more artisans and teachers.\u201d\n\nOn 16th May, 1876, at a meeting held in Edinburgh, this party were\ncommended to the care of the Almighty. On 16th June, they reached\nCapetown, and about a week later, they found themselves at the ultimate\nlimits of civilisation; and after they had travelled as far as they could\nby the ordinary mail steamers, they chartered a Swedish vessel called\nthe Ansgarius. On 9th August, they reached Quilimane. Mr. Henderson, who\nhad gone to wait for them at the mouth of the Zambeze, now received a\nmessage requesting him to meet them at Mazaro, which the party reached in\nthe beginning of September. Starting from Mazaro on 16th September, they\narrived at Makukani\u2019s on 7th October, after a long journey, during which\nthey were never all free from fever. It was 23rd October before they\nreached the spot chosen for the Mission. At Blantyre there was a native\nvillage, but as its chief had been recently killed by Makukani, all the\nhouses were deserted (41).\n\nBy the time they reached their destination some had suffered severely,\nand were unable to walk. In those days a large part of each man\u2019s\ntime was spent in bed. In this condition they were cut off from all\ncommunication with their friends. No letters could be sent home. One\nof their first opportunities for writing was in April, 1877, when Mr.\nHenderson left the Mission.\n\nIt was a long time before the party regained health; but about the\nmiddle of 1877, we find letters reporting considerable progress. One of\nthese says:\u2014\u201cMr. Stewart has succeeded in making out a good line for a\nwater course. This will bring the water into the station, and serve for\nirrigation as well. A large stream is not necessary just now, but Mr.\nStewart says twenty cubic feet per minute, or even thirty, can be got.\nThis work, however, will not be begun till the houses are finished.\u201d Mr.\nStewart was a civil engineer who, instead of spending his Indian furlough\nin rest, went and engaged in mission work in Africa.\n\nMr. Buchanan, writing in August, 1877, says:\u2014\u201cWithin the last two months\nBlantyre has got a very different appearance from what it formerly had.\nOur station is laid out in the form of a square\u2014100 yards long and 55\nyards broad. A road 11 feet wide goes down both sides, and across both\nends. In the centre is a circle of 32 feet diameter. A road 12 feet\nwide goes down the centre. From the centre, at the east end, two roads\ntake their start. One 400 yards long, and 3 yards broad, runs in a\nsouth-easterly direction to the stream where we get our water. Another\n1000 yards long, and 4 yards broad, leads to the north-east in the\ndirection of Malunga\u2019s village; the direction also to Pimb\u00e9. Another\nroad, 700 yards long, and 4 yards wide, leaves the centre at the west\nend, and leads in the direction of Makukani\u2019s and the Shir\u00e9. A fourth\nroad from the south side goes to the rice ground. 60 yards from the\nstarting-point of the first two roads is one crossing from the one to the\nother, and forming the base of a triangle. In the centre of this triangle\nis a mound 20 feet in diameter, in which at the proper season I shall\nplant a few of the Eucalyptus globulus. This angle is all I intend for a\nflower-garden, along with some small spots besides these. Should flowers\ndo well this first season, it can be easily extended in the following.\nOn both sides of the square houses are being built. Plans for eight are\nlaid out, three are already built. They are after what is called the\nIndian bungalow style; their dimensions are 30 feet by 20, with a veranda\nof 5 feet all round. From the level of the floor to the wall-plate is\n10 feet, the perpendicular of the couples 7 feet 6 inches. The frame is\nput up of posts from 4 inches diameter, 45 inches apart; bamboo is tied\non horizontally 8 inches apart; sides, end, and roof are thatched with\ngrass. The walls are plastered outside and inside with mud, and finished\nwith a whitewashing of lime. This is got by burning shells, which the\nnatives gather and bring for sale.\u201d\n\n_Relations between the Two Missions._\u2014Although the Church of Scotland\nand the Free Church have differences at home, the missionaries sent to\nAfrica felt it to be their interest, as well as their duty, to overlook\nsuch quarrels. The Missions needed each other\u2019s assistance in various\nways, and such assistance was freely given. Those upon the spot saw that\nthe labours of both Missions were in the same cause. It takes a long time\nto lay the simple Gospel message before the natives in their own tongue.\nIf a minister were to begin by preaching to these poor negroes about\ntheories that separate good Christians at home, he would be a miserable\ntrifler. We believe that one missionary got a hint from Scotland about\n\u201cdistinctive principles,\u201d but he replied that he could not find a native\nword to express these differences, and that he did not care to invent one.\n\nThe Missions joined together in the transport of provisions and the\nmaking of roads. On many occasions the absence of one settlement would\nhave been a terrible calamity to the other. The missionaries were\ndependent on supplies received from home. After they ordered anything,\na whole year would elapse before they received it, and occasionally\na steamer would sink with their goods. But for mutual help, the\nmissionaries would have been often reduced to extremities. The Church\nof Scotland had the healthier station, and the Free Church men often\nwent there to recruit. At Blantyre it was possible to do a great deal of\nwork, both mental and physical, without suffering; but at Livingstonia,\nEuropeans had to be exceedingly careful. Fever was ever lurking, ready\nto make them a prey. They had to be on the shores of the Lake for easy\ncommunication, but though they there enjoyed a beautiful view of the\nNyassa, they missed the bracing influence of the mountainous regions.\n\n_Threatened War._\u2014On July 16th, 1877, there were alarming rumours of an\nincursion of the Mangoni (Maviti). It was stated that they had crossed\nthe Chiri; and the natives from all parts were fleeing to the hills in\ngreat terror.\n\nThis country had been the scene of a constant succession of wars. In\nthe time of the Magomero Mission, the Yao drove the Anyasa out of\nthe Blantyre region. After this the Anyasa, under the Magololo, were\ncontinually making small attacks on the Yao, while the latter were\nconstantly retaliating. Then the Mangoni appeared on the scene, and\nattacked both the Yao and the Anyasa. They killed all that made any\nresistance, and captured such as could not escape. The Yao ascended their\nmountains, the Anyasa fled to islands in the Chiri, while all their food\nand property fell into the hands of the Mangoni. The Yao suffered most.\nMany of them were surprised and killed, and those that escaped could only\nlook down with sad hearts from the tops of mountains upon the invaders,\nwho had possession of their wives and children, and feasted upon their\ncrops. It was\n\n    \u201cThe good old rule, the simple plan,\n    That he should take who has the power,\n    That he should keep who can.\u201d\n\nAlthough the Yao had but lately profited by the maxim, it was none the\nless bitter when applied to themselves.\n\nWhen the Mangoni had consumed all the crops they withdrew. The Yao then\ncame down from their fastnesses and sowed another crop, but as soon as\nit became valuable, the Mangoni appeared again. Others might sow, but\nthey would reap. This process was carried on year after year. Some\nof the Mangoni settled for a short time on the Blantyre side of the\nChiri. Yao chiefs were quite dispirited. But while matters were at the\ndarkest, the missionaries appeared on the scene. A Yao headman said to\nme, \u201cThe English are very clever. We could not tell them that we were all\ndying\u2014that the Mangoni were killing us, but they knew themselves and came\nto help us.\u201d\n\nOn July 23rd, the missionaries held a meeting with Kapeni and Malunga,\nregarding the defence of the district, and the day after they began to\nload cartridges with slugs, and to make bricks for a mud fort. In all\nquarters of the country the natives seemed terribly alarmed. From distant\nZomba there came an embassy to tell the Mission of the death of the\nformer king or chief. From Kumpama and Mkanda messages also came, and\nit was clear that every native chief was eager to secure the friendship\nof the Mission at that crisis. It was an anxious time for the Europeans\nthemselves. They thought it necessary to institute target practice. The\nMangoni being a branch of the Zulus, were no contemptible foe. The danger\nhappily passed away, the Mangoni returned without attacking a single\nvillage; the occurrence was attributed to the presence of the white\nmen, and all the natives looked upon the Europeans as their protectors.\nFrom the time that the missionaries made their appearance, until now,\nthe Mangoni have not come at their wonted season. \u201cThey were afraid to\ninterfere with the friends of the white men.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nCONTACT WITH SLAVERY.\n\n\nBy and by not only oppressed tribes but oppressed individuals looked\nto the Missions for succour. In the interior the English name had\nlong been associated with opposition to slavery. The natives regarded\nLivingstone and the members of the Universities\u2019 Mission as the special\nfriends of the slave. Such of them as had visited the coast had picked\nup information about English ships of war which were the terror of the\nslave-drivers.\n\n_The Free Church._\u2014As early as February, 1877, we find Dr. Stewart\nsaying: \u201cLivingstonia seems to have taken a start and begun to grow in\none of the directions we specially wish it to grow\u2014as an anti-slavery\ncentre\u201d. When the Mission party arrived, there were hardly any natives\nsettled at Livingstonia. Soon many came seeking protection, and were\nreceived by the missionaries. It was proclaimed that any one that ran\naway to escape being sold would be received. The great slaving chiefs,\nas might be expected, would be against the Mission in this policy, but\nthey took no hostile steps. It was seldom that owners inquired after\nrefugees, and when they did they had to go away very crestfallen. They\nwere told that refugees proved guilty of any crime would be given up, but\nthat innocent men and women crying for English protection should not cry\nin vain. Dr. Stewart had the Fugitive Slave Circular before his mind, and\nrecognised that many complications might arise, and yet he expressed his\nconviction that the missionaries could not do otherwise than they were\ndoing.\n\n_Church of Scotland._\u2014In the same manner the Directors of the Blantyre\nMission proclaimed in their Reports: \u201cNo Arab gangs will come near an\nEnglishman, if they can help it. With them the English name is synonymous\nwith destroyer of slavery. When Livingstone was at Nyassa, they fled\nfrom his neighbourhood and took to distant and circuitous paths to avoid\nmeeting him. This guilt and terror on their part is contrasted with\nthe confidence and reverence inspired by Englishmen in the breasts of\nthe natives. We are assured that a Mission once established, they will\nsettle around it, receive our instructions and our help, place themselves\nunder our authority, and rise by order and Christian observance into the\nstate of civilised communities. What is done on the coast, and at a vast\nexpense (yet most righteously), by vessels of war, will be done here by\nChristian missions\u2014with this difference, that in delivering the orphan,\nthe outcast, and the captive, they will introduce them to a home life of\nsecurity and freedom, will take them out of the low prison, and show them\n\u2018the glorious liberty of the children of God\u2019.\u201d\n\nAn extract from a letter of Dr. Macklin\u2019s, of 7th Dec., 1877, which was\npublished in March, 1878, in the _Missionary Record_, will show that\nneither the Blantyre missionaries nor the Directors at home hesitated\nto espouse the cause of the slave:\u2014\u201cSome time ago there were two boys\nhere supposed to be brothers: after they had been here some months their\nfather came and took them home because they got no calico. Well, not\na long time afterwards, one of them came back and told us he had run\naway, and wanted to stay with us; said he was not the man\u2019s son, but\na slave, and had been bought some years ago. He asked our protection,\nand I said, \u2018You shall now stay with us, and no man can touch you\u2019.\nTwo days afterwards his father, as he called himself, came for him. I\nbrought Evangeli out and confronted him with the man, and asked him the\nsame questions which I had previously, and he gave the same answers. I\nthen said to the man, \u2018He is not your son, but a slave, and he has my\nprotection, and is now free\u2019. All this took place in public before a\ngreat many Yao men. The man said he did not wish to be an enemy, but\nthat the boy was his. I told him we gave him his freedom and English\nprotection.\u201d\n\n_A Free Native Village._\u2014Mr. Stewart, writing from Blantyre in\nNovember, 1877, says:\u2014\u201cI must mention another very interesting and\npromising circumstance. We have a native village growing up near us.\nThe first-comers were three or four families from the neighbourhood of\nthe Cataracts, who, on account of the insecurity of their village from\nMangoni raids, but without having been actually hunted from their homes,\ncame here, and spontaneously put themselves under our protection. Land\nhas been given them, and a site for their houses. They are required to\nbuild substantial square houses; the size adopted is 20 feet by 14 feet.\nFour such are now being erected by their unassisted labours. They have\nbeen joined by one or two families from this district. The men are well\nbuilt and athletic, with open, smiling countenances. They and the women\nfrequently attend our meetings. They are, I think, a good beginning of\nour future tenantry.\u201d Of the school he says:\u2014\u201cIt fluctuates in numbers,\nand has not grown as fast as might be wished. Parents cannot be induced\nto leave their boys here for long at one time. The boys are docile, and\nwilling to attend; the difficulty is with the parents.\u201d Soon the children\nof these refugees became the main hope of the school: while their parents\nattended the religious meetings and formed a congregation. The state\nof progress by March, 1878, is summed up in these words, where special\nemphasis is given to the position on slavery:\u2014\u201cOur Mission at Blantyre\ncontinues to prosper in its various operations; the natives are friendly,\nand are impressed with a sense of its value; the school is well attended;\nthe area of cultivation has much increased, and Blantyre has become an\nasylum for the slave.\u201d\n\nIn Dr. Macklin\u2019s letter we find the following:\u2014\u201cWe have three more slave\nrefugees here at present, two women (one has a child) and a boy. The\nfirst one came nearly two months ago, having run away from her master\nbecause he abused her; no inquiries were made after her by any one. The\nsecond one\u2014the boy\u2014came about three weeks ago, he having run away on his\nbeing taken to join a gang of slaves from the Cherasulo district. A man\ncame after him next day and said he was his son; but this was an evident\nfalsehood, for the boy was not Yao at all. I dismissed farther hearing\nof the case for four days, until Mr. Stewart should return with the\ninterpreter. But it seems after the boy had left the house the man had\nattempted to seize him, but the boy eluded him and ran back to the house,\nand the man after him; but my servant Ropa prevented him from getting\nhold of the boy. I ordered the man off the place, but he would not go,\nand continued to talk to me; at this I ordered Ropa to catch hold of\nhim, but the man resisted; whereupon both Mapas and myself rushed at the\nman and disarmed him and sent him from the place. I need hardly say he\ndid not return again. The third\u2014the woman with the child\u2014came three days\nafterwards, having escaped from the large gang. We learned that the gang\nwas going to Nyungwi on the Zambeze. Accordingly, we determined to try\nand stop them; and so we sent a present of two blankets to the Magololo\nchief, Chiputula, asking him not to allow them to cross the Shir\u00e9, by\nrefusing them canoes, but on no account to fight with them. It is a\nfortnight nearly since the woman came, and no one has come after her. You\nthus see that, in a measure, we are succouring the oppressed and setting\nthe captive free. Would that we could as easily set them free from the\nbondage of sin and the darkness of ignorance!\u201d\n\nAll the white men in the country disliked the system of slavery, and\nstruggled against it. In this they were applauded by the Directors at\nhome. They had no clergyman regularly at the station, and, although\nevangelistic work was not neglected, the secular side of the Mission was\nby far the more prominent. The Church of Scotland did not expect so much\nat first from the religious side of the Mission, as from the Industrial.\nIt was felt, as in the days of Gregory the Great, that Mission work would\nmove by \u201csteps and not by leaps\u201d. The cultivation of the soil was eagerly\nlooked to, as a means of rendering the Mission self-supporting, and\nthe missionaries were urged to acquire land. By May, 1878, we find Dr.\nMacklin writing\u2014\u201cThere are evidences or indications that we are beginning\nto influence the natives for good, by our conduct towards them and by our\nexample. We have now got five women and one boy, escaped from slavery,\nunder our protection. Concerning the acquisition of land as our own, I\nmay here state that I have succeeded in getting from the chief a large\ngrant, of which much of the land is excellent. In consideration of this\ngrant we must make some annual present to the chief.\u201d\n\nBesides espousing the cause of weakest, the Mission also commended\nitself by acts of kindness. Dr. Macklin writes with reference to a\nfamine\u2014\u201cDuring the height of the distress I sent some hundredweights of\ngrain from our own store to Katunga, one of the Magololo chiefs, who is a\ngreat friend of ours, and has supplied us with most of the sugar-cane we\nhave.\u201d\n\nWe conclude this chapter by extracts from a letter of Dr. Macklin\u2019s,\nwritten in the end of March, 1878, which throws much light on the various\naspects of the work.\n\n\u201cThe Mission in its civil and social aspects is making reasonable and\nsatisfactory progress. As an asylum for the poor, persecuted slave,\nBlantyre is becoming known and prized. We have now six fellow-creatures\nrescued from the lash of the slave driver, and miseries worse than death.\nAnd this in turn, prepares them for giving a ready reception to the free\noffers of the greater emancipation, salvation by grace through Jesus\nChrist our Lord. My present circumstances give a new emphasis to the old\nlaw of the city of refuge. Just think of the poor, fainting woman bearing\nher child, fleeing for her life, but sustained by the hope that if only\nshe can reach the British flag, which already she sees fluttering in the\nevening breeze, her child shall live and herself be free.\n\n\u201cI think I told you in my last, that we were annoyed with some pilfering,\nbut had not been able to bring the petty thefts home to any one.\nRecently, however, we have found that the thieves do not belong to our\nAfricans, but to another tribe, namely, to Makukani\u2019s people. Had we the\nbenefits of a good Glasgow reporter, your attention might be arrested by\nsome such heading as, \u2018Daring, Exciting Chase, and Clever Capture\u2019. The\nstory is as follows:\u2014On the morning of the 13th February last, about four\no\u2019clock, both Mapas and William Koyi were awakened by attempts being made\nto pull the blankets off them. Mapas recognising at once the position of\naffairs, waited for the arm being put in again at the window\u2014nor had he\nlong to wait; but in the darkness he failed to secure the arm, and only\nalarmed the thieves, who made off with the booty already secured, and\nwell packed in two large bundles. Mapas instantly roused the others in\nthat house\u2014there are now eight houses\u2014and gave chase. Koyi who waited to\nput on some clothes, saw another man coming from the line of the stores,\nwhere our white men, Walker and Fenwick, sleep. The thieves, observing\nthat some one was approaching, threw down the bundles and ran. Koyi,\nbeing armed, threatened to fire on them if they did not stop, but on\nhearing this the thieves plunged into the bush and were lost to sight.\nWilliam Koyi, being a man who can endure a great deal of comfort, now\ngave up the pursuit; but brave Mapas and Kumlomba, the headman of the\nvillage, who had been roused by the noise, knowing the thieves would try\nto strike the road at another point, pushed on to anticipate them, and\nwere just in time to meet them face to face. On being challenged they\nagain plunged into the bush, whereupon Mapas fired. The report of the gun\nbrought us all to that point, and I, having posted sentinels at several\npoints, led a small party into the bush for the purpose of scouring it\nthoroughly, but we came upon no man. In the meantime, Mapas had come upon\nthe trail of one man, and had pursued him for a space of eight miles,\nand that, too, in his shirt and bare feet, through tall, wet grass and\nstumps. It was, indeed an exciting chase, the thief ran for dear life,\nMapas for the glory of victory, and the good of our Colony. You will say\nhe deserved to win, and he did win, and bring back the thief a prisoner.\nWe are Britons, and we are fond of British pluck, but in what is this\nman\u2019s blood and spirit inferior to our own? And surely there is good\nhope of the race which can furnish such men. The thief, when brought\nback, was called into \u2018Court,\u2019 got a trial, in which, according to the\nphraseology of Scotch forms, he emitted, admitted former thefts, and\nimplicated his chief in a charge of reset and participation. This, in all\nprobability was a false charge, and made in order to throw the shield\nof his chief\u2019s protection over himself. I hope this part of his story\nis not true. In the afternoon, however, he was sentenced to get nine\ndozen lashes, and before all the people he got five dozen that day, and\nwas then led to the stocks. Three days after, he received the remaining\nfour dozen, but the flogging was nothing like the flogging which used\nto be for British sailors and soldiers. Some skin only came off on the\nsecond day. We kept him in all about a month, and then the people being\nall assembled, we made proclamation that, if after two days the prisoner\nshould be found on the Yao territory, or on this side the Kabula river,\nthe people were at liberty to kill him. Of course, this proclamation was\nmade by the Yao headman. After this proclamation was made, the prisoner\nwas escorted out of the Yao country by armed men. The other thief was\nnever seen, and did not return home; neither, indeed, need our prisoner\ngo back, for his people would kill him\u2014probably on the old Spartan\nprinciple, not because he stole, but because he was so inexpert as to\nallow himself to be caught. The chief denies all knowledge of the thefts,\nand declared that we ought to have shot the man. Mr. Stewart spoke to\nhim on the subject, and that is his statement; but it is not right to\nshoot the poor creatures; and if they would let us, we could show them a\nmore excellent way; and I hope the day is not far, at all events, very\nfar distant, when the law of the eighth commandment will reach further in\nAfrica than the commands of any chief.\n\n\u201cThe people among whom we live were delighted at the capture of the\nthief, and they came up to me and said proudly, \u2018Now, you see it is not\nYao people who steal your things; we are friends, it is the Anyasa who\nsteal. They are thieves.\u2019 This affair has undoubtedly been of use in\nclearing away those clouds of suspicion which had settled down, impairing\nour confidence and making all our intercourse less happy and enjoyable.\nHorses, I think, would give a great impulse to civilisation in this part\nof Africa, and, of course, would more than double man\u2019s ability in every\nquestion of time and space. Will anybody bestow even one horse on the\nMission, and make a fair trial of the horse in Eastern Africa? The cows\nwe got are doing well. Senhor Nunes, of Quilimane, says a good horse\ncould be brought from Port Elizabeth for \u00a350 or \u00a360\u2014that includes all\ncharges of conveyances. Do not some of your merchant princes spend that\nsum on a single party?\n\n\u201cI had almost omitted to state that the brave Mapas belongs to the\nLivingstonia Mission and Dr. Laws, and that we made him a present of\n\u00a310 in all. What I may call the subscription sheet bore the following\nheading:\u2014\u2018Testimonial to Mr. Mapas Ntintili, as a mark of personal\nrespect and recognition of his perseverance and bravery on the morning\nof February 13th, 1878.\u2019 His feet were so cut and torn with the long\nrace, rough ground, and tree stumps concealed among the tall grass, that\nhe was lame for several days. Hitherto we have had to carry our goods\nfrom the river to this place, but we expect the time will soon come when\nwe will have a bullock waggon \u2018trecking\u2019 our goods from the rivers.\nConvey my thanks to the kind friends who, through Mr. Mackeith, have\nsent some things very valuable for working the Mission and attracting\nthe natives; and assure them that Dr. Laws, of the Livingstonia Mission,\nshall have the free use of everything alternately with myself. Just now,\nhe is here writing beside me, and the co-operation of the two Missions,\nas only different branches of one, is very pleasant, and I think very\nuseful. Christianity ought to be presented as one thing\u2014not many\u2014as our\nLord\u2019s outer garment without seam, woven from the top throughout, all\none piece. Our water course is now completed, and we have water flowing\nthroughout our station, and channels are cut in several directions,\nenabling us to run water to our wheat, corn, rice, and maize fields, and\nto our terraces where our garden produce is raised. This supply of water\nis an unspeakable advantage. Our Cape gooseberries have done well, we\nhave now an abundant supply of them, and also of French beans, lettuce,\nbeetroot, tomatoes.\n\n\u201cOf all these and others we expect to have a supply all the year round,\nnow that we can water the beds. Let me add one thing more. We have got\nupwards of fifty orange, lemon, and lime trees\u2014young, of course, but\nall doing well, so that in three years we may be eating our own oranges.\nAs for bananas, we have three or four hundred of them, many of which are\nalready bearing fruit.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nPIONEER WORK AND CIVIL JURISDICTION.\n\n\nPioneer work is slow, and many people grumble at this. Some imagine that\npioneers are immediately to enter into houses built of stone and lime,\nhaving grapes hanging in clusters from the walls, and surrounded by\nlovely bowers amidst orange groves. These houses, they further expect,\nwill be accessible by the easiest roads, while at every stage there will\nbe an inn erected for the refreshment of travellers. If the pioneer do\nnot find all these things ready-made, he would need a magic wand to call\nthem into existence in the short time that such people allow him for the\naccomplishment of his work. In reality, the first settler is beset with\ndifficulties at every step. Place a European in the centre of a tropical\nforest extending twenty miles each way, where no road has ever been made,\ntell him that within two years he must there erect a model station, and\nthough he have several artisans to help him, his first idea will be that\nit would take the whole of that time to clear away the timber: at all\nevents he will feel that his fruit harvest will not fill his bosom very\nsoon. This is no fanciful supposition, for the pioneer may be placed\nin a much larger forest, and he soon realises that work at home and\nwork in his new circumstances are quite different. After erecting some\nmiserable shed for himself, he may wish to begin his task by making\u2014say\na wheel-barrow. This duty he assigns to the joiner, who sets to work,\nand for days upon days is occupied with that wheel-barrow. The superior\nthinks that he is trifling and begins to grumble.\n\n\u201cWhy, I have known a carpenter at home make a barrow in a third of the\ntime. What can you be about?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue, sir, but the carpenter at home gets all the wood properly cut up\nfor him and well seasoned, and for wheels he has nothing to do, but\u2014\u2014.\u201d\n\n\u201cStill, if you reckon your time, that barrow has cost more than \u00a320\nalready.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, but I had to go and cut down the trees and convey them up\nhere. Then I had to saw them up and begin to cut out\u2014\u201d\n\nAs the practical man proceeds thus to enumerate the stages of his work,\nhis missionary friend begins to fear that the victory over the forest\nwill not be gained even so soon as he at first expected. Perhaps the\nsaddest part of the experiment is to come. After the \u201cbarrow\u201d is made it\nis of no use! Many early experiments end in this way. The learned critic\nat home exclaims, \u201cWhy should the blockhead want a barrow? If I were\nthere, I would use the cattle and horses of the natives for beasts of\nburden!\u201d But the critic has a great advantage over the hapless pioneer\u2014it\nis so much easier to create cattle and horses in the imagination than in\nthe African jungle.\n\n_Religious Work._\u2014Difficult as it is to be a Pioneer of Civilisation,\nit is still more so to be a Pioneer of Religion. Christians in Central\nAfrica find it easier to make the forest a farm than to make the\nsavage a Christian. These Europeans were confronted with the delicate\nand difficult problem of evangelising, and they most realised their\npowerlessness when Sunday came round. As the natives pressed about them\non the day of rest, they felt in their hearts \u201cwe must do something\u201d. But\nwhat could they do? Absolutely nothing. They had no interpreters. Unable\nto speak to the natives, they might try to show good feeling by looks and\ngestures, but after all, these appeared to the savage as nothing better\nthan ridiculous grimaces. But they happened to have a musical box, and\non a Sabbath afternoon, they judged it better to turn this on than to do\nnothing!\n\nThe Livingstonia Mission fortunately possessed interpreters, one of whom\nwas ultimately lent to Blantyre. Still unless interpreters are educated,\nand understand something of Christianity, they cannot be relied on. They\nmay assist a missionary in learning the language, but they will not do\nfor preaching. On one occasion a European missionary of much experience\nwas delivering an able, and as he thought, a solemn address to these\nnatives through an interpreter, when all at once the whole audience burst\ninto a fit of laughter. Everyone appreciated the joke intensely except\nthe speaker himself. Now an accident like this may happen even where\nthe interpreter is rendering most literally. Indeed if a clergyman were\nsuddenly introduced into the heart of these tribes, able himself to\nspeak their words, he would find that many vocables he used, have very\ndifferent associations in their tongue from what they have in his own. In\norder to benefit the natives one must be able not merely to speak their\nwords, but to understand their mode of thought.\n\n_Civil Jurisdiction._\u2014It would clearly be no light task for men to\nperform all these duties, even where left to work without interruption,\nand under a settled government. But the missionaries discovered that life\nand property were not so secure as in Britain, for soon they suffered\nmuch from thieves. They had good cause to be watchful, as if their\nclothes were all carried off, they had no chance of getting more for a\nwhole year. In that remote land there were no clothiers and tailors,\nand through a successful theft, or a fire, a man might be reduced to\nthe primitive fig leaves. A European superintending road-making at a\ndistance from his colleagues, awoke one night to find that his wardrobe\nwas\u2014nothing to boast of!\n\nThe missionaries were bound to face the problems of dealing with thieves,\nand the method adopted has been described at the end of last chapter,\nin a letter which was published in full in the Scotch newspapers, and\nof which extracts were made in the Missionary Record of the Church\nof Scotland. On that occasion no one criticised the Mission or its\nDirectors; but at a later period the method was entirely condemned. For\nmyself, I was very much astonished the first time I was told that the\nDirectors had sanctioned the practice. I thought it objectionable, not\nbecause I fancied that there was the least suspicion of cruelty or\ndanger, but because I did not like to see it connected in the remotest\nway with Mission work. Still those that know the state of the country\nwill not wonder that the Directors had assumed civil jurisdiction,\nsanctioned flogging, and asked certain agents to act as magistrates. In\na letter which was sent out long after, for the special guidance of the\nmissionaries, we found the words, \u201cI do not see how you can possibly do\nwithout corporal punishment,[1] and I strongly advise it\u201d. A person on\nthe spot would see that the criminal thus got more lenient treatment than\nhe would have received at the hand of his fellows. By the native law of\nthe district, a thief puts himself beyond the pale of human rights, and\nbecomes liable to be treated as a leopard. No sooner was that offender\n(page 34) taken than certain of the native workmen at Blantyre said,\n\u201cGive him to us and we will kill him\u201d. But the punishment of death for\ntheft, though inflicted by African law, could never be countenanced by\nEnglish missionaries. Still it may be said, might they not have thought\nof merely confining the criminal? They did think of this, and sometimes\nwondered how they could make the imprisonment proportionate to the\noffence. These were thefts, often of valuable property as compared\nwith the native rate of wages, and if the thief were kept till he\nwrought even for half the value, he would not be liberated for years!\nThough this looks an absurd difficulty, yet it was discussed by some\nof these pioneers in a grave manner. Only they seem to have felt that\nimprisonment was hardly a punishment at all to the native. He has no fine\nsusceptibilities, and if he had to do no work, to be housed and cared for\nby Europeans, would be the acme of enjoyment to him. In any case the real\npunishment of an imprisonment would fall upon the European jailor that\nattended the prisoner. In adopting the plan of flogging, I have no doubt\nall parties were fully persuaded that the criminal thus received a milder\nchastisement than he would have had from his own countrymen.\n\nBut strictly speaking the Mission (although this did not appear at\nthe outset) was wrong in assuming that it had a right to inflict any\npunishment at all. The Agents that were instructed to act as Magistrates,\nhad the general sanction of the African Law and the special consent of\nthe Native Chiefs, but while they remained British subjects they were\nbreaking Acts of Parliament which forbade the civil jurisdiction that had\nbeen assumed.\n\nThis plan, however, went on without any incident for about a year,\nwhen it terminated[2] as follows:\u2014A native carrier made away with a\nbox containing about 70 lbs. of tea, and was subjected to the usual\npunishment. But in this case the culprit seems to have been given over\nto the tender mercies of some natives. Now this might have been quite\njustifiable as an experiment in carrying out native law, but it was a\ndoubtful method on the whole, as it is too common for natives to flog a\nperson to death for the most trivial offence. It happened in this case,\nthat the poor fellow died.\n\nThe medical man testified that the flogging did not seem to have been\nsufficient cause of the death, nor was it suspected at the time that the\nunfortunate thief had been beaten with undue severity. But precognitions,\ntaken long after, went to show that the punishment inflicted was much\ntoo severe. This supposed evidence, however, was not carefully sifted,\nand it came from men who were allowed to have an _animus_ against an\nartisan who was afterwards found to be entirely innocent. Still the\ncase gave a lesson to all and sundry regarding the danger of this\nmethod of punishment, and though it was not connected with the Mission\nit ultimately shewed the danger of mixing up Mission work with civil\naffairs. Such a position as the Church had taken might be necessary in\na lawless land, but the promoters of a colony ought to have considered\nexactly how it was to be carried on. Were they to ask an Ordained\nMinister to act as a Civil Governor? Such a one if he had the spirit of\na Missionary at all, would find more congenial work, and would reply, \u201cI\ncannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come\ndown to you?\u201d At the same time, if there did arise any suspicion that\ncriminals were treated with too great severity, it became the duty of\neveryone to endeavour to discourage such an administration of justice,\neven though he could put nothing in its place.\n\n_Efforts made to find a Clergyman._\u2014Hitherto, the Missionaries at\nBlantyre had been laymen, but the Directors tried earnestly to get a\nclergyman to join the Mission. In the report of 1877, they say:\u2014\n\n\u201cIt is with pain and regret that the Committee have to report that,\nnotwithstanding many and sustained efforts, they have not succeeded in\nobtaining an ordained minister to the Mission. The staff at Blantyre\nwere sent out to prepare the way for a minister, and, indeed, it was\nplain some time would elapse before the services peculiarly called for\nat a minister\u2019s hands would be needed. But it is felt the Mission is the\nnucleus of a Church, with the minister as the proper head\u2014the instrument\nand director of the Christian agency among the people. It was scarcely\ndreamed of, that a year would elapse, and yet, notwithstanding many\ncalls, see the Mission without its spiritual leader. The want, indeed,\nis temporally supplied by the charity of the sister Mission (_i.e._, of\nthe Free Church) but is it not matter of humiliation that no one has come\nforth from the ordained ranks of the Church to go to Blantyre in the\nspirit of their Master\u2019s love, and to gather into His gentle fold the\nthousands of poor and crushed, but docile and willing natives, who are\nday and night crying inarticulately for the day of their redemption?\u201d\n\nEven the above touching appeal although most widely circulated had no\neffect. On this matter (which we venture to allude to, as bearing greatly\non Mission work), it may be remarked that the difficulty in finding\nMissionaries arises chiefly from the position that these men occupy.\nNotwithstanding that the Church of Scotland throughout her history has\nsaid much about Presbyterian parity, her Missionaries are placed on a\nvery inferior footing as compared with her regular Clergy. In using the\nword inferior, I do not apply it to the Missionaries themselves (who\nhave the same training as other clergymen) but only to their position,\nalthough, unfortunately, most young men feel that the footing on which\nthe Church appoints such Agents gives a key to the value that she sets\nupon their work. The Minister of a Parish in Scotland cannot be deprived\nof his charge till an accusation is formulated against him, and found\nproven by a regular legal process, but the Missionary must put himself\nunder a Committee of Managers who may dispense with his services at\ntheir pleasure. Hence we rarely hear of any Minister of the Church of\nScotland leaving a home charge for the sake of Mission work, however\nurgent, and indeed it is not often that the Church goes in quest of\nOrdained Ministers, her Missionary posts being usually filled from the\nranks of students, and students too whose education has been aided by\nthe Foreign Mission Funds. Another difficulty that meets the Missionary\narises from the want of interest in his work. The Ministers at home are\nfully occupied with the affairs of their own charges, and they cannot\nbe expected to attend to the comparatively insignificant efforts made\nabroad, and when they have to think of Foreign Work at all, they lay hold\nof the views that lie nearest the surface. It has frequently been the\nexperience of Missionaries that the ignorance of their true circumstances\nwas as great as the amount of ocean-water that separated them from their\nnative land. Shortly after being ordained to a charge in the North\nof Scotland, the writer had the Blantyre Mission first brought under\nhis notice when he received a letter of 12 Nov., 1877, which began as\nfollows:\u2014\n\n\u201cI have no idea whether the following suggestion may at all commend\nitself to you, but I write simply because what I have heard of you is\nso favourable that I am confident you would suit on your side, if the\nidea should be entertained by you. A clerical head is wanted for our\nnew Mission in Africa.\u201d But although the necessities of Africa appealed\nstrongly to every generous impulse, the Missionary Regulations of the\nChurch seemed to present a barrier to any reasonable adventure on\nbehalf of that dark land. The missionary requires some guarantee that\nhe will not be torn away from his work after he sets his heart on it.\nAt the request of the member of the Mission Committee who had sent me\nthe letter, I went to meet him, taking with me a copy of the Missionary\nRegulations. I pointed out the Rules that I thought objectionable, and\nwas told that they applied to India and not to Africa at all, and that\nmy position would be practically that of a parish minister. Receiving\nthis statement with full confidence, I inferred that the chief enemies\nto calculate on now, were discomfort and dishealth. Still such cases\npresent a dilemma. While a person is convinced that there is a strong\ncall to mission work abroad, he feels also that much good work may be\ndone at home. After more pressing representations from headquarters, and\nsubsequent interviews with devoted men like Dr. MacRae of Hawick, whose\nmissionary zeal was infectious, I began to feel that my duty was more\nclear. But I deliberated much on the matter, and on 1st January, 1878, I\nwrote Dr. MacRae not to trust to my going but I said, \u201cI see clearly it\nis the duty of some one to go\u201d.\n\nBy the middle of January, however, I consented to go to Africa. As it was\ndeemed very dangerous to encounter the tropical rivers till much later,\nour start was deferred till 11th April. By May 4th, we reached Capetown,\nwhere we met Sir Bartle Frere, who takes much interest in Central Africa.\nA few days more brought us to Port Elizabeth. Here we received a letter\nfrom Dr. Stewart, of Lovedale, warning us against entering the country at\nsuch a dangerous season. But since we had the promise of our Directors\nthat the Medical Missionary would meet us at Quilimane, we felt that it\nwould be unfair to make any European risk his life in waiting for us at\nsuch an unhealthy place, and consequently we pressed on.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nQUILIMANE TO BLANTYRE.\n\n\nOn our journey out we saw little or nothing that calls for remark. Flying\nfish and frisking dolphins are great wonders at first, but one soon\ngets used to them. Intending travellers sometimes trouble themselves\nby speculating about the evils of intense heat and sea-sickness. But\nour thoughts went beyond these annoyances, knowing as we did that we\nshould have to grapple with the malaria of tropical rivers and mangrove\nswamps. Still we found it a distressing experience to be shut up in an\nunderdeck cabin with the port-holes closed. It is a pity that ships have\nno apparatus that would shut when the waves come up and open when they\nrecede: modern mechanics ought to solve this problem. With regard to\nsea-sickness, however, we seem with all our science to be no better off\nthan our fathers. We are told that the motion of the vessel disturbs\n\u201ccerebral circulation\u201d. We are thankful for this information, but all the\nsame we must resolutely keep down our heads on the pillow!\n\nBy the 22nd of May, 1878, we passed the mouth of the Zambeze. As we\ngazed on the spot where the great river discharges itself into the sea,\nwell might our thoughts turn back to the time long gone by when the\nPortuguese missionaries used to land there. These men had stations all\nalong the Zambeze before there was any European settlement at Quilimane.\nThe name Quilimane, or more correctly Quelimane (Kwelimani) is said to\nrepresent two native words which mean \u201cCome and hoe\u201d. This derivation\nI heard from the Portuguese, and I have no hesitation in preferring it\nto one given by Captain Burton, which would make the name mean \u201cFrom\nthe hillock\u201d. \u201cKwe-limani\u201d might almost mean \u201cCome and hoe\u201d in the\nYao language. The tradition is that an old missionary found out the\nplace, which was then under a native chieftainess; and on requesting\nher permission to settle, he was told that he might \u201ccome and hoe\u201d. The\nnative name for Quilimane is Chuambo, which other dialects make Chuabo\nand Chiwambo. The old missionaries worked hard, and in course of time\nthey had a convent of considerable importance at Quilimane. But many are\nthe changes that take place amidst the lapse of centuries\u2014the Quilimane\nriver now flows over this consecrated ground. The church of Luabo at the\nmouth of the Zambeze was the victim of a similar fate. Houses \u201cbuilt\non the sand\u201d are peculiarly unstable on the margin of a great tropical\nriver. Alas! those missionary efforts of the remote past have left no\ntrace behind them except in a few chants still sung by the boatmen\nof Mazaro, who keep time with their paddles to the tune of some old\nmissionary hymn. One of the greatest favourites begins \u201cSina mama, sina\nbaba,\u201d and the burden of it is \u201cI have no father, I have no mother:\nthou, O Mary, art our mother\u201d. We were told that the belfry of the church\nof Luabo stood out in the middle of the broad Zambeze long after the rest\nof the building was submerged. The natives would not allow the old bell\nto be taken away\u2014it was to them a kind of patron saint, and might, amidst\nall their superstition, carry them back to a time when the Portuguese\ntried to reach their hearts by something more sacred than merchandise\nor military discipline. All that we had heard of Quilimane led us to\nbelieve that it was one of the most unhealthy and undesirable places in\nthe world. Livingstone speaks of it as a mangrove swamp, and we knew that\nsome of his European followers had died there and been buried, although,\nas we afterwards discovered, the natives did not allow them to rest long\nin the grave. Even the Portuguese have to watch the graves of their\nkindred for several weeks\u2014a circumstance which does not prepossess one in\nfavour of the native population. With regard to the European inhabitants\nwe learned that Quilimane had been used as a penal settlement, and that\nevery second person we should meet must either be a convict himself or a\ndescendant of convicts. Then as to its comforts, one of our countrymen\nwho had visited the place complained that he had been charged an\nexorbitant sum for accommodation not good enough for a cow.\n\nOn the 23rd of May, our steamer anchored at the mouth of the Quilimane\nriver\u2014a distance of twelve miles from the town. We found to our great\ndisappointment that no one had come from the Mission to meet us. But\nwe soon got into a small boat manned by Africans and proceeded up the\nriver. Our black boatmen were hearty fellows, and every few minutes\nthey struck up a lively song. The noise was something terrific! But we\nwere delighted with their wild chants, which seemed to afford equal\npleasure to the singers. I saw one man prepare a cigar, and just as he\nwas proceeding to smoke, another song was begun. I watched with interest\nto see whether he would prefer his pipe to the music. At first he seemed\ndisposed to try both; but soon he decided in favour of the song, and\nlaid aside his twisted tobacco leaf. After we had rowed for about two\nmiles, our boat captain shouted \u201cInglez\u201d (Englishman)\u2014and pointed to an\n\u201cEnglishman\u201d coming down the river in another boat. There is a proverb\nthat every Englishman found on this coast is sure to be a Scotchman,\nand it proved true on this occasion. We had the pleasure of meeting a\nScotch gentleman\u2014Mr. Fairlie\u2014who had been hunting on the Zambeze, and\nwho was now hasting down to meet the steamer. From him we learned that\nin Quilimane there was only one person that could speak English\u2014hence\nwe could see that our society would be very select. By the time that we\narrived, it was dark. As the river had a broad border of mud, in which\nthe natives were sinking over the knees, we could not step on _terra\nfirma_, but had to be taken out of the boat on the shoulders of two\nnegroes. A palanquin was brought for the lady. We now met Senhor Nunes,\nthe British Consul, who received us kindly and conducted us to the hotel.\nHere our wants were attended to by half-a-dozen little black boys and one\nyoung girl who acted as housekeeper. At first we were greatly startled\nat the scantiness of their dress, but we became accustomed to them, and\nfound them careful and attentive. The hotel accommodation was much better\nthan we had been led to expect. No doubt charges must be high, as it is\ndifficult to bring provisions to this \u201coutlandish\u201d place. There is not\neven a butcher in Quilimane, and at dinner here, as in many other African\nplaces, the first course is fowls, the second course fowls, and the\nthird course fowls. Occasionally, we were treated to delicious shrimps\nand prawns with which the river abounds. We were soon informed that the\nMission boats had not come down and that we should have to wait for ten\nor fifteen days. Wait in Quilimane for fifteen days! We were stunned by\nthe very idea of this, believing that it was certain death to spend a\nweek in this dreadful place. We were full of bright plans in those days.\nA messenger must be sent on at once to Blantyre to tell the missionaries\nof our arrival, and to request them to come to our aid. Amidst our\nanxiety we did not perceive how ridiculous our proposal was. Why, it\nwas as if a man had been despatched from John o\u2019 Groats to Yorkshire\nsix hundred years ago. After such a messenger had passed through all\nthe \u2018Grants, Mackenzies, and Mackays\u2019\u2014all the wild Highland clans and\nfighting Lowland chiefs, very little of him would have been left; and so\nour devoted messenger, after going on for about a week, wisely stopped\nshort at Mazaro.\n\nOur objection was not to the people or to the hotel and its fare\u2014but to\nthe place; we wanted to get out of Quilimane. The Portuguese we found\nexceedingly kind to us, the only part of their sympathy that we did\nnot relish was when they remarked that Quilimane might, after all, be a\nbetter place than Blantyre. Consumptive people were able to tell us that\nafter being sent to Madeira without any benefit, they had recovered at\nonce on coming to Quilimane. The town, built on the site first chosen\nby the missionary on account of the harbour, bids fair to become a\nflourishing place. It stands on an island: for besides the Quilimane\nriver and another twelve miles further north, there is a third river\nconnecting these two. So level is the country that this river flows\nsometimes in one direction and sometimes in the opposite\u2014a phenomenon\nwhich the Portuguese are fond of pointing to as an explanation of the\nconflicting statements of travellers in the interior, one of whom states\nthat a river flows north while another asserts that it flows south. The\nPortuguese treat the natives with kindness, although they keep them at\na respectable distance. Their domestics live in whole families at the\nback of the houses. When a visitor takes a walk in the country, he is\nquite astonished at the multitude of natives that have crowded round\nthe Portuguese. I marched on for miles before coming to the end of\nthese villages\u2014a circumstance which shows how much the natives prefer\nthe government of the white man to the misrule of their own chiefs.\nBut the Portuguese believe that the native is not capable of much\nimprovement, and they assert this opinion with the greatest confidence.\nAs we reflected that they had been face to face with the natives for\ngenerations, we were somewhat discouraged by the conclusions formed by\nthese acute and practical Europeans.\n\nLanguage is a great difficulty here. In order to get on at Quilimane one\nrequires to know both Portuguese and Kafir (or Ichuabo as the natives\ncall it). We felt as strange as the foreigner, who, being unable to\ncommunicate with any one, was deprived of all human sympathy; at last he\nheard a cock crow when he exclaimed, \u201cAh! poor fowl, you are the only\none that understands me\u201d. It is a considerable trial for one to be in a\ncountry where he understands no human utterance except perhaps the cries\nof a child. In every way it is a great change to be transported from the\nsnows of the North into the heart of tropical scenery and many are the\nthoughts called forth by the transition. Here the very birds seemed to\nsing in a foreign tongue. We were ready to sympathise with the stanza:\u2014\n\n    \u201cThe palm-tree waveth high,\n    And fair the myrtle springs,\n    And to the Indian Maid\n    The bulbul sweetly sings.\n\n    But I dinna see the broom\n    Wi\u2019 its tassels on the lea;\n    Nor hear the lintie\u2019s sang\n    O\u2019 my ain countrie.\u201d\n\nIt would not have been correct to add with reference to Quilimane,\n\n    \u201cAh! here no Sabbath bell\n    Awakes the Sabbath morn,\u201d\n\nfor there was one very active bell, whose tones were heard almost every\nday. Opposite our abode stood a small Roman Catholic Church, and all\nthe bodies of the deceased Portuguese were taken here for the funeral\nservice. The negroes do not receive Christian burial. We asked whether\nthey had any worship of God, and the answer was, \u201cNo, No, the Kafirs are\nlike brutes, but the missionaries are teaching them in the interior\u201d.\nThe natives work on Sundays as on other days. They are splendid porters,\nthey carry everything on their heads,\u2014even weights of 70 pounds; nor do\nthey dash boxes as is often done at railway stations in Britain. They are\nnever in haste about anything. They consider sixpence a day very good\nwages. As they wear no clothes and get food easily, they have hardly any\nmotives to work, and when they obtain a few coppers they generally spend\nthem in rum. There being no carts or horses at Quilimane, many natives\nwere employed in carrying enormous trees, each of which required about 30\nbearers. Every party was accompanied by a man with a whip who seemed to\nhave as hard work as any of them!\n\nWe were detained for nearly four weeks at Quilimane. Often did we stand\nand look up the river to see whether the Mission boats were coming,\nand even after they did come there was much delay. A journey to the\ncoast occupied from six to eight weeks and was seldom undertaken by the\nMissionaries. Consequently it was always desirable to take up to Blantyre\nas much goods as possible. It is at Quilimane that strangers first\nrealize the nakedness of the land they are going to, and here they have\nthe last opportunity of buying anything.\n\nThe merchants are Banians, and the prices are three times the rate of\ngoods in England. There is not only great expense but also great risk\nin taking goods to such a remote place. Many articles that would not\ncost fourpence at home were charged a rupee here. \u201cIt only costs 4d. in\nEngland,\u201d says the buyer. \u201cOh yes, in England! Well you\u2014my brother, I\u2019ll\ngive it for two shilling!\u201d\n\nWe all suffered more or less from our stay at Quilimane. One morning\nnone of our party was able to be at breakfast but myself, and I was far\nfrom well. As I thought of the terrible journey that lay before us, I\nconcluded that our lives were not worth much. In this land one is much\nimpressed with the uncertainty of time. I knew a Missionary that made\nno secret of carrying, on every journey, a box containing a will\u2014more I\nsuppose as a matter of form than because a poor Missionary has anything\nto bequeath.\n\nBesides making many friends among the Portuguese gentlemen, we found that\nour landlord\u2019s black servants began to take to us very much. They seemed\nto wish to go to Blantyre in a body. Of course we endeavoured to dissuade\nthem from leaving their master, and took pains to explain both to him\nand to themselves that we did not want them at all. But one boy Lasertha\nwhose father lived at a great distance up the Quilimane river, took the\nmatter in his own hands. He disappeared about a week before we started,\nand one day after we had forgotten all about him, he and his father came\nto us, and it was arranged that Lasertha should join our party.\n\n\n_From Quilimane to Mazaro._\n\nIt was the afternoon of the 18th of June before we started from\nQuilimane. We were taken up the river in small boats, propelled by\npaddles. A grass awning was put up to defend us from the rays of the sun.\nThe sides of the river being lined for many yards with deep layers of\nmud, we had to be carried to and from the boats on the shoulders of the\nnegroes who were liable to fall, and we therefore made the journey as\nseldom as possible.\n\nWhen we came to the place where we were to pass the night, the boats were\npushed towards the side of the river, till grounded on the mud. As we\nsuffered from thirst, we tried most eagerly to procure drinking water\u2014but\nnone could be found. At this wretched spot there had once been a village,\nbut its inhabitants had run away on account of lions, and their well had\ndried up. The river was quite salt, but the natives dug a hole with their\nhands and feet in the dirty mud at the side and procured some water which\nwe had to use for cooking. In those days we possessed a big black kettle\nwhich served as a tea pot: it was sometimes my duty to empty this vessel\nand I can testify that there was often fully an inch of mud in the bottom\nafter our tea had been poured off!\n\nThis was the first night that we spent beyond the limits of civilization.\nOur cork beds were now spread out for the first time. Though we\nafterwards found them convenient, we had hitherto been used to a softer\ncouch, and might as well have tried to sleep on a section of Caithness\npavement. Soon our rest was disturbed by other causes. When the tide\nebbed, we were left on a mud bank far out of the river. The mosquitoes\nscented fresh blood, and attacked us in hundreds. We had already endured\nthese little pests for four weeks at Quilimane. There every night as\nsoon as the sun set we became their special prey. At first, they rather\nastonished us by showing that they could bite through a thick pair of\ntrousers, though ultimately we became more familiar with them. But the\nmosquitoes of Quilimane were feeble compared with those of the desert.\nMoreover, we found it difficult to arrange beds and mosquito-curtains\nin the small space that was at our disposal. Consequently we suffered\nmuch from their attack\u2014our faces were so bitten and swollen that we\ncould hardly recognise each other. After spending three or four hours\nin trying to sleep, we passed a unanimous resolution that sleep was\nimpossible, and as a measure of desperation we spent the remainder of\nthe night in proposing riddles to each other! Next morning, as soon\nas the tide flowed, we resumed our miserable journey. We had to sit\npatiently under our curtains till the sun rose and drove the mosquitoes\naway. During these imprisonments we sometimes debated why the book of\nExodus says nothing about the trouble that the Israelites must have had\nfrom mosquitoes in the wilderness, only we were inclined to think that\nthese followers of Moses must have been as impregnable as the natives\naround us. Besides our curtains we tried another method of repelling\nthis troublesome foe. We kept pieces of twisted paper smouldering by\nus, and the disagreeable smoke held the mosquitoes at bay. We were now\nfar beyond the region of daily or even weekly newspapers, and when our\nsupply of paper was exhausted, we burnt pieces of cloth. This method of\ndefence was soon brought into discredit; one of the party lighted a cloth\nwithout twisting it sufficiently, and it suddenly flared up and set his\nmosquito curtain on fire! During the day as the boats moved wearily along\nwe lay under our grass awning in a little space where we had scarcely\nroom to turn. Our nights were extremely uncomfortable. While the angry\nmosquitoes were buzzing outside our curtains, the negroes were constantly\ntalking and beating drums to frighten the wild beasts. As we proceeded up\nthe river the water became very low, and our crew had to go out and put\ntheir shoulders to the boat in order to force it over sandbanks and along\nshallows. This was tedious work; but the richness of tropical life and\nscenery unfolded itself around us. Amidst the vast tangle of bushes and\nbranches there sat birds of bright plumage which gazed on us as tamely\nas if man had never before disturbed their solitude. At certain spots,\nenormous flocks of wild fowl retreated in terror as we approached. Here\nand there a monkey surveyed us for a moment from the branches of some\ngiant tree, and then hid itself among the dense thickets. When night let\nher curtain fall on the scene, the banks of the river were illuminated\nwith fire-flies, which made every tuft of grass shine and sparkle.\n\n[Illustration: WOMEN OF MAZARO DRAWING WATER.]\n\nSoon the water was so shallow that we had to leave our boats altogether\nat Mugurumbe. Here we slept one night in a native hut. Our journey\nwas continued next day in palanquins: about six natives were told off\nto carry each European. Owing to the heat of the climate none of the\nPortuguese here ever walk. Even when they are going short distances, they\nemploy natives to carry them. The road is about two feet wide, and lined\non both sides with African grass (which rises to a height sometimes of\nten feet) and also with many varieties of flowers, shrubs and grasses,\nsome of which were brought before our notice very forcibly, as the men\nrattled along without thinking of their living load. At times we came\nto patches of cultivated ground, and then we knew that we were near a\nvillage. The villagers welcomed us by a loud clapping of hands. They\nlooked much delighted when we responded to their welcome in their own\nway. They seemed to feel as if we spoke in their own tongue, and at one\nvillage they repaid our condescension (as they thought it) by sending out\nvolunteers to help on our palanquins. At Mazaro we got our first look\nof the Zambeze, and a magnificent river it is. Though not very deep, at\nthis spot it is exceedingly broad\u2014the natives take an hour to sail across\nit. Here our steel boat awaited us, and a welcome sight it was after\nthe small boats that we had hitherto had. We had now reached another\nimportant stage, and we expected to complete our journey in three weeks.\nThe first week we should be among Portuguese subjects, the second in the\ncountry of a Portuguese outlaw, while the third week would find us among\nthe people we were to christianise.\n\n_From Mazaro to Makukani\u2019s._\u2014Leaving Mazaro on Tuesday, 25th June,\nwe committed ourselves to the water once more. The navigation of the\nZambeze is by no means easy. Generally we were sticking upon sandbanks.\nOur boatmen were seldom able to use their oars, they had either to push\nthe boat by long poles, or to drag it along the banks with a rope. Here\nand there there is a deep channel, but the current is so strong that it\npromises to carry everything down to the sea.\n\nWe expected to reach Shupanga on the first night. It is here that Mrs.\nLivingstone lies under the large baobab tree. But we did not get so far,\nand, as the channel of the river has changed, we passed next morning on\nthe other side. Mrs. Macdonald was disappointed at this, as she wished\nto place a wreath of flowers upon the lonely grave. Neither did we see\nBishop Mackenzie\u2019s last resting-place, as it was late at night when we\npassed the spot. The natives perceiving that we felt an interest in these\ngraves, spoke of them with an air of solemnity. Our boatmen were all from\nMazaro, and ought to have known something of Livingstone while he stayed\nat Shupanga. We produced a portrait of him on the lid of a match-box, and\nfondly hoped they might recognise it!\n\nOn June 28th, we reached Shamo, where Dr. Macklin wished to buy a score\nof cows for the Mission. As our big boat was apt to fall behind, he sent\nus on before, proposing to overtake us in a few days. Soon we were on\nthe river Shire (more properly Chiri) which is narrower and deeper than\nthe Zambeze.[3] Here the boatmen used their oars oftener. On getting\na favourable wind they put up a small sail, but as sails are not a\nnative contrivance, their method of using them was not very assuring.\nNotwithstanding the force of the current we made fair progress, but\nwe waited longer at every landing place, in order to be overtaken by\nthe rest of the party. Thus we had a better opportunity of seeing the\ncountry. One night we walked over to see a celebrated hot spring at the\nbase of Morumbala. Still, we had a salutary dread of making ourselves\ntoo much at home in this malarious region. Three or four of our men in\nsuccession, suffered from fever, and as the Doctor was behind, I had to\ntry my hand at making pills. The natives receive our medicine with such\nimplicit faith that the cure is half effected the moment they swallow\nit. I took care, above all things, not to give them anything too weak.\nWe used saline draughts both for ourselves and the natives. In malarial\nclimes there is a craving for such beverages. One medical man told us\nthat seidlitz powders required to be labelled \u2018poison\u2019 as otherwise they\ndisappeared like magic.\n\n[Illustration: NATIVES CUTTING UP A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR FOOD.]\n\nAlong the Chiri we saw many hippopotami and crocodiles. The former are\nhunted by the natives for their flesh, the latter are killed on account\nof their venomous character. When any of these creatures appeared, the\nmen were very anxious that I should fire on them, and as we never slept\nsoundly at night, the shooting was an agreeable excitement which revived\nus for the day. One hippopotamus came against our boat with all its\nmight, and gave us a shock which would have certainly upset a smaller\ncraft. After passing, it looked back as if to see how much damage it had\ndone. At times we had much conversation with the \u201cboys\u201d. They formed a\nsinging class, and made rapid progress. There were with us, Bismarck,\nArmasao, Lasertha, and Rondao. Bismarck was the philosopher of the party.\nThe boatmen have a habit of whistling for wind, and he explained it thus,\n\u201cWhen you have a friend far away, you call on him when you wish him to\ncome\u201d. But notwithstanding their whistling, the wind was often slow in\ncoming. At midnight on the 5th of July, we were awakened by an awful\nscreaming. My first impression was that we were drifting down the river,\nwhile the boys were trying to awaken us. I was surprised at this, since\nI had taken special pains with the anchor that night. But as the noise\ncontinued, I perceived that it was a terrible cry of distress\u2014at the same\ntime the dog we had brought from Quilimane (which was known by the name\nof Elton), was barking furiously. Before I had time to understand the\nsituation, little Lasertha shouted out in a voice tremulous with fear, \u201cO\nmaster, master, take my hand\u201d. This he said in Portuguese. Then Bismarck\nentered by the stern of the boat. \u201cWhat is it, Bismarck?\u201d \u201cLions, lions.\u201d\n\u201cAre all the men in the boat?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d For the first time in my life, there\nflashed across my mind the depth of meaning expressed by the simile\nof \u201cthe roaring-lion, seeking whom he may devour\u201d. My rifle which lay\nloaded beside me, I at once discharged, not with the idea of shooting\nthe lions, which could not be well seen in the darkness, but in order to\nscare them. Most of the men were in the boat in a moment. They acted with\ngreat presence of mind. I often wondered why in the excitement they had\nnot tried to pull the boat ashore before raising the anchor! All swam to\nthe boat with the exception of Armasao, who waited till it was pulled\nnearer. He seemed more afraid of the crocodiles in the water, than of\nthe lions on the bank. Of course, beds and cooking gear were left behind\nin the terrible race for life. After all were safe, the lions set up a\nhideous roaring, which continued for hours. I asked whether Elton was in\nthe boat, and understood he was. But when we put back in the morning,\nBismarck called out in a piteous voice, \u201cElton die!\u201d and held up the dead\ncreature before me. He had not been devoured by the lion, and the body\nhad no mark except in the region of the heart. This noble dog had been\nthe means of saving the life of at least one of our men. He began to bark\nas the lions were coming through the long grass, and as soon as the first\none presented itself he ran to attack. By this time the men were entirely\nat the lion\u2019s mercy, but for the diversion caused by the dog. As it was,\nthe spot where Elton lay dead was just at the side of Bismarck\u2019s bed. In\nfact, the dog was lying dead almost at Armasao\u2019s feet before he was safe\nhimself. If this had been a native dog, he would have been the first to\nflee. The little incident sometimes served to illustrate among simple\nnatives, how one being might die to save others. All our companions had\nbeen much alarmed, but none more so than one of the little boys, who told\nus that one evening as he sat with a group at his own home, a lion dashed\ninto the circle and killed a man.\n\nWe had still great trouble from mosquitoes. As soon as it was dusk they\nwere upon us in full force. We would ask a little boy to light some\ngrass, and as it kept smouldering beside us, the smoke filled the boat,\nand made it easier to take our evening meal. The boatful of smoke, though\nnot pleasant, was more acceptable than mosquito bites.\n\nSome evenings we encountered great shoals of white moths. They fell upon\nthe boat as thick as snowflakes. One night I lighted a candle and such\nwere their numbers that they extinguished it several times before I could\nput it into the lantern. Those harmless creatures were very short lived,\nand in the morning the boat was literally covered with their dead bodies.\n\nAlong the Chiri the scenery is for the most part monotonous, but at times\nwe see beautiful ranges of mountains, some of which call up memories of\na distant land. We observed sharp-pointed conical hills like the Pap\nof Caithness, craggy mountains like Arthur\u2019s Seat, and no end of those\ncommon rounded hills with oval tops.\n\nOn the _8th of July_ we descried a large herd of elephants. We had\nobserved a few on previous days, but here was a herd of about forty.\nSuch an instinct have the natives for meat (nyama) that they were out of\nthe boat and standing close beside these huge animals in a few moments.\nOne lad went up to an elephant and deliberately fired several revolver\nshots at his head. The great monster merely shook himself, and moved off\nwith his companions. The boys pursued for some distance, but returned\ncomplaining that elephants had very thick skins. The natives do not fear\nthe elephant as they do the lion.\n\nOn the 10th we arrived at Makukani\u2019s, where we left our boats. We met\nwith a most enthusiastic welcome here. About three hundred natives were\non the banks, and Bismarck said, \u201cIt is to see the white lady\u201d. By this\ntime, we were among people who understood _yes_ and _no_, and said \u201cgood\nmorning\u201d. They were quite as fortunate in the use of their salutations as\nour friends had been at Quilimane. It was common there for a gentleman\nto _introduce_ himself in the evening by holding out his hand and saying\n_good night_, instead of good evening, greatly to the amusement of such\nof his friends as knew more of English. Intercourse with foreigners calls\nattention to the peculiarities of our own idiom. When we say to a native,\n\u201cNow, look out,\u201d he is very likely to look _out_, and thus expose himself\nto the very danger that he is warned against. If he had warned himself,\nhe would have said \u2018look _in_.\u2019 One morning Ropa burnt my hand through my\ntelling him to \u2018hold on,\u2019 when I wanted him to let go. He did \u2018hold on\u2019\nmost faithfully. At this place people came great distances to meet us.\nThey had heard that Englishmen were come, and the new arrivals had been\nannounced in such a way as to convey the impression that the Rev. Horace\nWaller had come back. Accordingly we had a visit from an old woman,\naccompanied by a man and woman much younger, who had all been members\nof the Magomero Mission. The old woman looked round to see if she could\nrecognise \u201cAtate anga, atate anga\u201d (My father, my father,\u2014meaning Mr.\nWaller), and when she failed she looked disappointed, and said in a kind\nof despairing inquiry, \u201cThere is no coming back for my father again?\u201d She\nhad no pelele, and on asking the reason we were told that Mr. Waller had\ntaken it out. We soon discovered that the natives were great beggars.\nAt the beginning of our river journey we were beset with people who\nrequested rum (kachaso), here the cry was chiefly for cloth: it was only\nthe men at the top of the social scale that begged for rum! The chief\nMakukani was a stout man, somewhat bent, and blind of an eye. He could be\neasily distinguished from his men, as his dress was even scantier than\ntheirs. He expressed an earnest desire that the English would bring out\na white wife for him. He has an enormous harem in which we saw one or\ntwo men armed with knob-sticks, whose duty, we were told, was to keep\norder among his wives. He promised to send his sons and daughters to\nschool, but this was only the promise of politeness. His sons had been\nalready at Livingstonia, where they had proved rather troublesome, and\ntwo years elapsed before they came to Blantyre. We occupied one of the\nchiefs huts all night, and started next afternoon for the Chiri hills.\nThe carriers were at first likely to leave us at a spot where there was\nno roof to sleep under except the canopy of heaven, but on learning that\nMr. Buchanan was at the Kabula we made them push on to reach him. Mrs.\nMacdonald arrived first, and by the time I came up she was in possession\nof his snug little tent. Next morning he went down to meet Dr. Macklin.\nBy this time I discovered that I had lost a small pocket diary; and it\nis worth saying that though lost among the wildest-looking hills, it was\nfound by a native and restored with all that it contained. I began at\nonce to extol the honesty of the negroes! But the circumstance is easily\nunderstood when one considers that a \u2018paper\u2019 is of no use to a native. On\nFriday the 12th of July, we started from the Kabula at eight o\u2019clock, and\ncontinued our journey through wild and beautiful scenery. Our progress\nwas much interrupted, and often one of the natives would use his hatchet\nto cut down small trees that obstructed the path. The sun was exceedingly\nhot and the palanquins had no shade over them. We also found that we\ncould get no water to quench our burning thirst. When on the Chiri we\nhad drunk freely of its waters, ignorant of the number of criminals\nthat are thrown into this Tophet by the Magololo. About mid-day we came\nup to a beautiful stream. Mrs. Macdonald had reached it more exhausted\nthan myself, and I found her fast asleep under a tree. We had started\nwithout much breakfast, but we carried a pocketful of boiled eggs for\nlunch, and partook of them by the side of this mountain stream. At four\no\u2019clock we reached Blantyre. Mrs. Macdonald was a few yards in advance,\nand received a hearty welcome from a crowd of native men and women who\nwere in the square expecting our arrival. It was three months since we\nhad left England. We were exceedingly tired after such a long journey,\nand welcomed a night\u2019s rest. All along I had kept a loaded gun by my\nside, which I now wished to get rid of. The artisan opened his eyes at my\nproposal, and said it had been judged safest to sleep with weapons beside\nus. That very night our slumbers were broken by a great commotion during\nwhich we heard the report of a gun. We were prepared to find that some\nenemy had come, but it was only a leopard that had carried off a young\npig.\n\nOn Sunday we had a short service in English and two native meetings. At\nthe meetings the schoolroom was quite full. No Englishman in the country\nventures to use the native language, all rely on the interpreters. On\nMonday there were over twenty pupils in school, some reading small books\nand making letters on slates; others learning the alphabet.\n\nAfter the heat experienced on the river, we felt Blantyre quite cold\nespecially in the morning and evening. We were very thankful that we\nhad enjoyed good health on the whole. We were the first party that had\ntravelled from Quilimane to Blantyre without suffering from fever by the\nway.\n\nIt was a few days before we got our baggage, and Makukani had possessed\nhimself of some valuables that had been sent out for the Mission. We\nhad come out with a very high opinion of the brave native kings, but\nincidents of this kind were fitted to destroy the enchantment. Before\nleaving home I had asked very anxiously what we were to do if a native\ncaught a white man and put him in a dungeon. I was told that the rest\nof the staff would know how to manage all that. This was quite correct\nfor their years of experience in the country gave them the practical\ntact necessary in dealing with the strange people about them. On this\noccasion they imprisoned several of Makukani\u2019s men and took their guns\nfrom them. In order to get back his guns, the chief sent up all the\nmissing articles, which would have been entirely lost but for this prompt\nmeasure. The belief at the Mission was that these chiefs would take\neverything if they thought that they had more power than the Missionaries.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE MISSION STATION.\n\n\nFortunately we had seen too much of Africa to expect a carpeted room\nand a cushioned chair at Blantyre. We had slept so often in \u201cshielins\u201d\nincomparably worse than a Scotch hen-house, that we did not care what\nkind of roof covered us. \u201cIf you want to make a man happy,\u201d it is said,\n\u201cstrive not to increase his comforts but to lessen his desires.\u201d An\nexperience like ours recommended the proverb; and as we stood for a\nminute (we would have sat if there had been a spare chair) \u201cglowrin\nfrae\u2019s\u201d in what we might call our own \u201cfowl-house,\u201d we saw that we should\nhave many opportunities for exercising self-denial. When our friends in\nScotland had tried to dissuade us from going to Africa, they had pointed\nout how prudent the men were who go no farther in mission work than to\naddress drawing-room meetings. Still, we were quite contented. We had\nbeen promised the prayerful sympathy of the Church at home, and now we\nknew most of our difficulties. At least we thought so, and were happy,\nbut \u201cDici beatus ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet\u201d. Blantyre,\nalthough highly praised at home, did not possess many attractions for\nthe newcomer. On our first introduction to the manse we perceived that\nit contained two rooms. In the larger of these there was nothing but a\nhuge table, which was noteworthy in many respects. It was the only one\nwe had seen for a month, and with the exception of a board used by the\nartisans, it was the only table within a hundred miles. It had to serve\ntoo in surgical cases: when any poor native had to undergo an operation,\nit was on this that the doctors had to place him. The smaller room we\nmay describe as a bedroom, though when we were first ushered into it, it\ncontained neither bedstead nor bed, and boasted only of one small chair\nof the rudest description. In our hut there were two doors, but neither\nof them had a lock, and one had no fastening at all. When we learned that\nthieves and wild beasts were frequent visitors, we began to barricade\ndoors and windows with chairs, books, and buckets. At this moment,\nhowever, as our luggage had not yet arrived, we were safe from theft,\nunless we should be served as were certain members of the Universities\u2019\nMission, who had their very coat buttons cut off. There were three other\ninhabited houses built on the same plan as ours, but none of them were\nso well furnished! While there was one efficient door in the manse, and\nperhaps another in the doctor\u2019s house, the artisans\u2019 had no doors at all,\nbut mattings of grass were propped up in the doorways at night. Chairs\nwere a great rarity; I do not think there were more than four in the\nwhole station, old boxes doing duty instead.\n\n[Illustration: THE BLANTYRE MISSION.]\n\nBut although our houses were only mud huts they had an English finish\nabout them and were very acceptable to those that had wandered so long.\nWriting at this time I said:\u2014\u201cThe present houses promise to last only\nfor about three years, so that in a short time we must make brick,\nwith a view to more permanent dwellings. Rats and white ants annoy\nus considerably. With the former we are constantly at war, assisted\nby traps, and cats, and a tame owl. Sometimes a gun is used when\nhalf-a-dozen of them may be killed by a single discharge. They are so\ntroublesome from their great numbers, that we must try phosphorus paste\nor some such poison. White ants come up through the floor, and attack\nbooks or clothes, rendering them quite useless in a single night. When\na person wants a skeleton for a specimen, he has only to put down the\nanimal near these ants, and in a short time he finds nothing but the\nbones. Smaller ants creep everywhere. One method of placing our food\nout of their reach is to put it in a box suspended by a rope from the\nceiling. In our house there was, by and by, an apology for a cupboard\nthe legs of which had to be placed in water, but notwithstanding this\nprecaution these insects made a bridge over the bodies of their drowned\ncompanions and covered our breakfast fowl in such numbers that the fowl\nitself actually could not be seen. One of their most annoying tricks\nis to visit a sleeper in bed. More terrible still are the large red\nants (salau). Their attack has made many a traveller leave his bed and\nstand in the smoke of a fire for the remainder of the night. They bite\nfuriously, and do not let go their hold even after the head is severed\nfrom their body. When a European happens to stand among them he has to\nrush into the house at once, and divest himself of all his clothing.\nAfter he has apparently destroyed all his enemies, he has some difficulty\nin taking their heads away from his skin. According to the natives they\nwill kill an elephant. Entering his nostrils they cause such irritation\nthat the animal commits suicide by dashing against trees and rocks; and\nthen the ants enjoy the carcase. They attack their victims with much\nskill, waiting till they have spread themselves all over his body, and\nthen working by well understood signals. When on the march, the smaller\nants go in the middle, while the larger who are the \u2018soldiers\u2019 line the\nsides. On a disturbance the soldiers hasten to the scene of danger. The\naverage line of march is hardly an inch broad but may be half a mile\nlong. They go very closely probably about 30 being on every square inch.\nWhen they threaten to enter a house the best way of diverting them is by\nputting fire on their path. Sometimes the Missionaries had to stand a\nsiege for a few hours from these formidable armies.\u201d\n\nThe Mission Station was situated on a knoll, and well exposed to all the\ncool breezes. The wind is never high; seldom can a man get his hat blown\noff. But occasionally there are whirlwinds which toss native baskets in\nthe air to a height of several feet. A \u201ccloudless sky\u201d has been often\nmentioned as a characteristic of a happy land, but here one does not\nappreciate the metaphor. There are large grasshoppers which the natives\ncatch for food, as also many small birds which the schoolboys shoot with\nblunted arrows.\n\n_African Fever._ All of us, not excepting the doctor himself, paid the\npenalty for passing through the fever region. We thought that after\nreaching Blantyre our troubles were to be at an end. A week passes after\nour arrival, and still no fever; surely we are all right now. Only let\na man get a chill, and he will soon discover. A person passes along our\nclay floors without his boots of a morning, and the thing is done,\u2014he\nmay take any preventive measure he chooses, but the fever will take its\ncourse.\n\nOur illness began ten days after our arrival, and we were laid aside\nfor about three weeks. During this time all the other Europeans on the\nStation were also ill, and no one was able to take care of another.\nDr. Macklin often rose from a sick bed to do what he could. One of our\ngreatest difficulties was to get food. The cooking of the natives when\nleft to themselves exceeded anything we had yet encountered. Besides, the\nblack people did not understand a word we said. If we asked for a glass\nof milk they would bring a tin of biscuits, after that they would try\na tin of butter, and then in despair they would bring in an armful of\nbooks! But it is when the invalid begins to recover that he misses the\ncomforts of his native land. There are certain things that a sick man\nmust have at home that he cannot get here: he sees this at once and there\nis no use of fretting over it. Not only is the invalid bereft of home\ncomforts, but he is subjected to a great many annoyances. He hears the\njackals and the hy\u00e6nas screaming round the station, and a single night is\nsufficient to convince him that these creatures have most powerful lungs.\nBesides, a lion may be sitting coolly in the verandah. The roads round\nthe mission are marked each morning with the footprints of animals of all\nkinds. The station is just in the middle of a dense bush, which has not\nbeen cleared farther than was absolutely necessary. As one looks out at a\nwindow he may see large buck at about 100 yards from him.\n\n_Artisans._\u2014The first thing that struck us as we approached the station,\nwas the paleness of the four or five Englishmen that were standing to\nwelcome us. The effect of this was heightened by their contrast with\nthe hundreds of black faces that surrounded them. Members of the Free\nChurch Mission were there too. Most of the young men felt their isolated\nposition, all had suffered severely from fever, and already death had\nbeen thinning their ranks. An air of stillness, not to say of sadness,\noverhung the place. After we had recovered from attacks of fever; there\nwas a magic lantern entertainment, where through an interpreter I acted\nas demonstrator. I can never forget Dr. Macklin\u2019s remark, that \u201cthere\nwas more fun and laughing that night, both among natives and Europeans,\nthan he had seen since the Mission began\u201d. The men were all of that age\nwhen hope is strongest in the human soul, but they had met with much to\ndiscourage them. As the dawn of Christmas morn reminded a man of the\nfestivities of the season, and of his friends in the far off home, he\nfound himself lying in bed overcome by weakness, but obliged to hold up\nan umbrella to shield his blankets from the rain. All had felt what it is\nto undergo long periods of sickness while destitute of every comfort. The\nDirectors at home, who were entrusted with the Church collections found\nit necessary to cut down the Mission expenditure. The poor fellows in\nAfrica, though separated from friends and weakened by sickness, had this\ngrim fact ever staring them in the face. The watchword was, \u201cMan, think\nof the bawbees at the Kirk door!\u201d On one occasion, it had been settled\nthat they must retrench. They could not afford to pay the ordinary price\nfor fowls. On Christmas morning a native came to the Mission, wishing\nto sell a beautiful cock. It seemed as if Providence had designed them\na special treat for the festive season. They began to try to purchase\nthis \u201ctambala,\u201d but, alas, the owner was obstinate. He expected the old\nprice. Economy was supreme, but said one, \u201cI was very sorry as I looked\nafter the man going away with our dinner!\u201d\n\nThese hardships naturally caused irritation and discontent. The party for\nthe Government, while making the best of the circumstances, had often to\nface the hungry Opposition\u2014and the proverb says, \u201cA hungry man\u2019s an angry\nman\u201d. The speech, \u201cNow, you must not think that I am standing over the\nprovisions like a dog set to keep you from them,\u201d would call forth the\nreply, \u201cIt looks very like it!\u201d But the evil was beyond the power of the\nGovernment and the Opposition, both parties being to some extent made\nvictims. Such evils generally begin at home. Persons sent out are told\nthat everything will be done to mitigate their hard lot. Bright promises\nare held before their eyes, perhaps not by the Directors formally,\nbut by certain of their members. Some of these would be found in the\nyoung men\u2019s path at every turning, loudly shouting, \u201cPeace and plenty\u201d.\nI know nothing more painful than the action of such irresponsible\ngo-betweens. The Directors as a body, cannot, of course, approach the\nvarious individuals. What they do, is to refer in an off-hand manner\nto some of their most zealous members, who take upon them the task of\ngiving information, without first informing themselves, and the result\nis the most complete deception. Promises are made in good faith, and\nseem most reasonable in themselves, but the very men that volunteer to\ngive such pledges, have no power to fulfil them, and once the man is\nabroad, he finds that he has been outwitted. Such hardships as are\ninevitable, are often a milder item in Mission life, and are always borne\nwith greater cheerfulness, than such as are inflicted through culpable\nmisrepresentation and carelessness.\n\nMen whose hearts are not in the work have little patience during such\ntrials, while even earnest workers are liable to be made discontented\nwhile always hearing the grumbling of others, and knowing that it is not\nwithout cause. Still amidst much to dishearten them these poor fellows\nhad their day dreams. Hope, the last goddess to forsake the miserable,\nhovered about their home in the desert. A good story is told of a small\nparty whose walk brought them by chance to the banks of a beautiful\nrivulet. Amidst the impressive vastness of the African forest, and all\nthe rare scenes of a new country, their hearts were ready to admit\nmost brilliant hopes. As one of them looked about the rivulet he fell\non something whose effect was magical. All at once his manner became\ndignified, the tones of his voice changed, at last he had found a balm\nfor his sorrows. \u201cIt\u2019s gold! yes, gold! we need never lift a hammer\nagain.\u201d But alas! the vision of splendour was not realized. It gave place\nto the usual wrangling about rations, and the proverb \u201cGolden dreams make\none awake hungry\u201d was painfully appropriate.\n\nIt is most essential for a Church to see that when a band of artisans is\nsent to places so isolated, every cause of irritation should be avoided;\nwhen this is not done the results may be serious. When a great play is\nacted on this world\u2019s theatre it is one thing to sit as a spectator, and\nanother to be admitted behind the scenes. When I read, as a little boy,\nof Waterloo, and such celebrated battles, I thought everything connected\nwith the victorious party must be great, and good, and glorious,\u2014that\nevery soldier and officer must be a model of virtue and excellence.\nBut once I met with a Waterloo veteran, and my pre-conceived opinions\nreceived a cruel shock. This man told me with the greatest complacency,\nas if it had been the merest matter of course, that soldiers were put\nunder the strictest discipline, that many of them were men that required\nthis, that frequent quarrels took place, and that many a soldier welcomed\na battle as an opportunity for killing not the public enemy, but some\nprivate enemy who belonged to his own side and fought in his own\nregiment! Though man has heavenward aspirations, it is true, alas! that\nhe standeth upon the earth.\n\nWe arrived at Blantyre at a very critical period of the Mission\u2019s\nhistory. A few months before, an able Missionary on quitting the\nsettlement, said that he left it either to \u201csink or swim,\u201d and hinted\nthat the former alternative was not improbable. Many of the artisans did\nnot wish to continue in the service of the Mission, believing that they\nwould find it better to become traders and chiefs among the natives.\n\nAll the artisans had an enormous influence in the country. In the service\nof the Mission, they had hundreds of native workmen under their charge.\nIn a private capacity each had one or two black butlers, not to speak of\ncooks and clothes-washers! Some were large landed proprietors on their\nown account. They found that any chief would give 1000 acres without\na moment\u2019s hesitation, and some of them had acquired whole tracts of\nterritory. But their riches lay lightly on their hearts, and a visitor\nto the station would not have found out that such freeholds had been\nacquired. Except in a moment of confidence, no artisan would speak of\nhis great fortune, and unless specially informed we could not have\ndistinguished the man that possessed miles of land, from the man that had\nnot a foot. But it had been mooted at home that some missionaries held\nland in their own name. Letters which had been quite unintelligible at\nthe time, showed that there was an alarm over the ridiculous subject.\nArtisans that bargained about large tracts of country were still in the\nMission, and did no more good or harm by the transaction than they would\nhave done by acquiring a freehold in the moon!\n\nChiefs fawned upon Europeans or rather on their goods. They would promise\nanything or everything for the present of an old coat. When they made a\ngrant of land to one man and received his \u201cpresent,\u201d they saw nothing\ninconsistent in giving the same land to a second man, or more correctly\nto a second \u201cpresent\u201d. Soon these chiefs were better understood, and\nhowever willing the artisans were to keep on good terms with these \u201cgreat\nones,\u201d their constant begging was too much for human patience. The\nsneaking beings were found to be a perfect nuisance. They put themselves\non the footing of beggars, and the most unpretentious of the Europeans\nhad to treat them as such.\n\nThe artisans set themselves to train the natives to work. It was\ndifficult at first, but they showed considerable firmness. Some of them\nbelieved that the native despised leniency, and formed the opinion that\nthe more they kicked him the more they were respected. This was an\nunfortunate interpretation of the servility of the African. The plan more\nfrequently adopted was to dismiss any obstinate man without payment, the\nonly danger being that the whole squad would have to be thus treated.\nMany were slaves, and as they might have to give over their wages to a\nmaster, they were not at all sorry to be dismissed. Often masters and\nslaves would work side by side under the European artisan who did justice\nto all without respect of persons.\n\nThe industrial work was prosecuted with vigour, many natives being\nemployed in making roads. When the bugle sounded on Monday morning,\nthere was a rush of hundreds of men and women who had come to receive\nemployment. One artisan stood ready to select as many workers as he\nwanted, and he was soon hidden from view as the people crowded around\nhim. Before enrolling the candidates he looked at their hoes and axes,\nand rejected such as had inferior tools. He rejected also women that had\nbabies on their backs, but when this became known to a native mother,\nshe handed her child to some one else until her name was once on the\nbook. As the native names were sometimes very long, the artisan had a\ngreat demand on his powers of writing. \u201cAnd what\u2019s your name?\u201d he asks.\n\u201cUnechemtyosyamaguluwe.\u201d[4] \u201cTut, man, the half of that will do!\u201d is the\nrejoinder; and a high sounding name like Emmanuel is reduced to Emma.\n\n_Visitors._\u2014For several days after our arrival there was great\nexcitement. Our larger room had four windows, which were thrown open to\nadmit the air, and every morning a crowd gathered at each window to see\nthe white lady! The natives of the Chiri Highlands had seen white men\nbefore, but they had scarcely realised that women too would be disfigured\nby this strange complexion. Some visitors asked an introduction to the\nnewcomer on the ground that \u201cthey were women too\u201d. We had to shake hands\nwith all the groups. This was not a native salutation, but we wished\nto be cordial towards our black brothers and sisters. After grasping a\nscore of dark hands, our own partook of a similar hue. A stranger might\nfeel inclined to wash his hands after the ceremony, but he would return\nto find that more visitors had come, and that the whole process had to\nbe repeated. The natives are not much inconvenienced by \u201cmatter out of\nplace\u201d. Even persons that came from working clay would advance and hold\nout their hands. But they had good excuse. At this season they had no\nwater on the spot except a little for softening their clay, nor had they\nany towels. Their loin-cloth seemed often too scanty for wiping the\nfingers. But in later times when we visited the villages, we have seen\nwomen run off to wash their hands, that the English lady might have a\nproper welcome.\n\n_Neighbours._\u2014I began to confine myself so closely to the acquisition of\nthe language and work in the Mission School, that for a long time I knew\nnothing of the district round Blantyre. The first occasion on which I\nsaw a little of the country was on a visit to Sochi in company with Dr.\nMacklin, who went to settle several quarrels with Kapeni, the chief of\nthe country. In going along I was astonished to find so many villages.\nWhen the villagers saw us, they made a point of hasting up to say\n\u201cMorning, morning!\u201d (which is their usual salutation to Englishmen). The\nmales seemed to have all their time at their disposal. With the exception\nof one who was sewing a piece of cloth, we saw nothing to show that the\nmen did any work at all. But the women were pounding corn or working in\nthe fields.\n\nOn reaching the chief\u2019s village we asked for him, but he could not be\nfound. It was thought that he was afraid to show himself. One by one\nhis villagers gathered round till they formed a great assemblage. Some\nhad bows, others knives, and one had a gun, so that they had nothing\nto fear. We were without weapons of any kind, only an Englishman is\nalways believed to carry a great supply of war medicine. After we had\nwaited a long time, the old chief appeared with a large clear knife\nin his hand. He sat down at a great distance; when asked to come near\nhe said \u201cNo\u201d. Some time ago he had sent the Mission a present which\nhad not been accepted, and he \u201cwas ashamed to have it returned\u201d. Our\ninterpreter went over and induced him, after much persuasion, to come\nbeside us; then he sat down on a skin under a large tree. After being\nintroduced, I went up to shake hands with him, and I am not sure whether\nthe poor old man did not regard me with suspicion, for while he gave me\nhis left hand, he held his knife very firmly with the right. Such was\nmy first acquaintance with the king of the country. The sending back of\nthe present was then discussed. The Mission had two complaints against\nKapeni: (1) His men had carried off from Blantyre a slave woman that had\ncome there for protection. (2) One of the Blantyre lads when hunting\nin the district of Sochi came to a village where the chief\u2019s son and\ncertain companions were drinking beer, and they took away his gun and\ngave him a beating. But the inhabitants of this village feared that the\nmatter would not end well. They reasoned that the outrage had been done\nin _their_ town, and that the English would come with guns and inflict\na severe punishment upon them. Accordingly they took back the gun and\nreturned it to the Blantyre lad, whom they escorted home. The old chief\nof course denied any knowledge of these facts. He had just \u201cheard about\nthem\u201d. After a little talking, matters were settled in a friendly way,\nand we ended by inviting the chief over to Blantyre. He said he wished to\nsee the white lady, and to hear the harmonium which had just come, and he\nbargained to be gratified in these respects. He was much astonished when\ntold that the lady, or \u201cDonna,\u201d never _went out_\u2014he thought it strange\nthat she should not be seen hoeing the fields and pounding corn.\n\nOn our way home we passed the village where the gun had been taken, and\nthe doctor invited the men that restored it to come and see how the\nEnglish people valued their friends. On an appointed day they came and\nreceived a present of calico. The chief of Sochi also paid his visit and\nbrought a present of fowls, receiving in return a blanket and a piece of\ncalico.\n\n_Interpreters._\u2014When we arrived there were two interpreters\u2014Tom and Sam.\nThey had been in a slave gang which was liberated by Bishop Mackenzie.\nTom remembered his capture. He was playing beside a stream with his\nlittle sister when a man seized him. He knew the reason at once. \u201cThe\nman wanted to take me to the coast and sell me for calico.\u201d \u201cWhy did\nyou not scream?\u201d \u201cCan\u2019t scream, they put flour on my mouth.\u201d Thus the\nboy was separated from his parents and his home, and the little stream\nthat he played beside, at once and for ever. He could never tell where\nwas the home of his infancy; only he believed that it \u201cwas far away in\nthe Yao country\u201d. Sam\u2019s story was much the same; and they both remember\nhow glad they were when met by the white men who set them free. They had\nacquired a knowledge of the English language at Capetown, and had seen\na great deal of civilised life there\u2014perhaps a great deal too much. To\nthese young men I had to look for instruction in the native tongue. I\nearly recognised that I need not expect to do the people any good unless\nI could speak to them. During our voyage up the river I collected a few\nwords and formed a scheme of the verb. But on attempting to make some use\nof this material I was told that the Blantyre people did not understand\nmy Chinyasa because they spoke Yao. I felt as if the interpreter had been\nplaying a practical joke upon me. Here I had a note-book filled with\nthis Chinyasa, and I was now coolly told that it would be of no use! I\nbegan next to find that some Yao words were the same as their Chinyasa\nequivalents, and this made me reserve my manuscript with more hope.\n\n[Illustration: NATIVE FEMALE (TRIBAL MARKS, TATOOS AND LIP RING).]\n\nFor some days after recovering from fever I was unable to walk to school,\nand I got Katunga, a big chief who came in to tell us about Doto Livisto\n(Dr. Livingstone), to point out the names of common objects as mountain,\ntree, &c. He laughed very heartily at my imitation of his words. In\nbeginning to form a vocabulary, I took a Dictionary and went over it day\nafter day with the interpreters, noting down all the native words I could\nfind. I also wrote a translation of several passages of Scripture from\ntheir lips. But I found they often had difficulties. When I wished to\ntranslate the \u201cHail master\u201d of Judas, they said that there was no word\nfor \u201cHail,\u201d but (referring to English salutations recently introduced)\nthey assured me I would make nothing of it unless I said \u201cMorning\nMaster\u201d. The \u201ckissed him\u201d was a similar puzzle. For _kiss_ they gave me\none word which, as I afterwards discovered, meant _to bite_, and another\nwhich meant to _smell_! They could come no nearer the idea. No mother\nhere kisses her child. One has only to look at the photograph of a native\nfemale to see that she cannot kiss.\n\nNotwithstanding their residence at Cape Town these men were often unable\nto translate the most ordinary English into their own tongue, and yet\nthey were better interpreters than any we could expect to train for\nseveral years. When I once tried hard to find a word for _guilty_, they\ncould give nothing but the word _bad_. One gentleman said that they had\noccasionally been offenders in Cape Town. He was sure that if I followed\nthe usual legal forms, and mentioned the sentence of working for a month\nat the docks, they had sufficient experience to tell me! But though I\nsupposed cases as like this as I could without betraying the matter, I\nfailed to get the information required. What I most deplored was that if\nthese men had got the word in the middle of an address, it would have\ngiven them no trouble! From the translations I wrote down I afterwards\nformed a conception of how they would treat such an expression as, \u201cHis\ndelight is in the Law of the Lord\u201d. They would break it up into two\nsentences, of which the first would be \u201cLight is low,\u201d and the second\nsome very unintelligible statement about God. I could not have believed\nthat such nonsense was possible unless I had actually come into contact\nwith it. The African interpreter who said, \u2018The salvation of the soul\nis a great sack,\u2019 is I fear quite an average specimen of his class. But\nthis is due more to the difficulties of the English language than to any\nnatural incapacity in the African. I have employed many to translate\nfrom one negro dialect to another and they could do this very well. The\nnative congregations that listened to the interpreters must have been\nmuch puzzled at first. Once they heard an address on the healing of the\nleper\u2014and every time the word \u2018leper\u2019 occurred it was rendered \u2018leopard\u2019.\n\nWhen the magic lantern was used for the entertainment and instruction\nof the natives, they at first looked on with fear. When told \u201cThis is a\nman that lived long ago,\u201d they actually thought that people were brought\nback from the dead. But soon they enjoyed seeing English people and\nEnglish buildings. One day we showed them \u2018the house of John Knox\u2019. The\ninterpreter of course had never before heard of such a man, but he was\nnot the person to hesitate, and he said, \u201cThis is the house of John the\nOx!\u201d (John Ng\u2019ombe).\n\nStill in telling people how to hoe and to carry grass and on all ordinary\noccasions, the aid of interpreters was most useful. They were also much\nvalued for their advice in difficulties that arose with the natives. They\nunderstood matters of this kind better than Europeans did. When I arrived\nthey were just making ready to leave the country and their departure was\na great loss to the Mission.\n\n_School._\u2014Next to the acquisition of the language came school work. This\nhad formerly occupied about two hours in the forenoon, but I introduced\nan afternoon school. At first we felt teaching very hard, owing to the\nheat, and often we were almost fainting. But we succeeded in keeping\nour pupils interested. Had we possessed books in the native language we\nmight have done much more good, for our pupils must have found it a hard\ntask to read English. But in a short time we introduced a little of the\nAfrican. One of my first attempts was to write out a simple English verse\nwith a Yao translation. Mrs. Macdonald printed this in large letters, and\nin a short time the pupils could both read and sing,\n\n    \u201cSet thou thy trust upon the Lord,\n      And be thou doing good;\n    For so thou in the land shalt dwell,\n      And verily have food.\u201d\n\nWhen I asked which of the verses was best, Anyasa pupils said they liked\nthe English, but the majority of the school preferred\u2014\n\n    \u201cTululani mtima wenu Mulungu,\n    Tendani yambone mowa gosepe\n    Iyoyo somchitama muchilambo\n    Mwambone somchikola yakulia.\u201d\n\nThe words of this other verse were much longer, but they conveyed\na meaning to the natives, while the English words conveyed none.\nNotwithstanding all that I could do with the interpreters, the\ntranslation would come out in eleven syllables. Now there was a puzzle\nto find a tune. It happens that a metre like this is common in Scottish\nsongs, and we tried an adaptation of the \u201cFlowers of the Forest,\u201d which\nacted admirably. I never saw any melody tell so much on the natives.\nIt actually brought tears to their eyes the first day we sang it. The\nharmonium was a great attraction in the school. The children seemed more\namendable to music than their parents. The old folk were fond of coming\nto hear this wonderful instrument, but when something lively was played\nthey frequently looked grave, while they were almost certain to laugh at\na plaintive air! Only the great novelty of the instrument itself affected\nthem so much at first, that they could not appreciate emotional effects.\nThe pupils began to do a little arithmetic. The numerical system in\ncentral Africa is quinary. Hence the English notation puzzled them at\nfirst, but not so greatly as might have been expected. As natives seldom\ncount, their own numerical system had not engaged their thoughts so much\nas to oppose the new one. In the Yao language there are three distinct\nmethods of numeration. One of these calls in the aid of the human voice\nin order to bring out certain numerical distinctions, and would require a\nventriloquist to do justice to it!\n\nBut it is high time to point out that the Minister himself had now gone\nto school, and to describe his progress thereat. Looking back upon this\nperiod I may now characterise it as follows:\u2014First \u201chalf\u201d\u2014Darkness;\nSecond \u201chalf\u201d\u2014Groping; Third \u201chalf\u201d\u2014Efforts at making a fire; Fourth\n\u201chalf\u201d\u2014Beginning to see the bystanders; Fifth \u201chalf\u201d\u2014Forming friendships;\nSixth \u201chalf\u201d\u2014Instructing our friends; Seventh \u201chalf\u201d\u2014Farewells.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nFIRST HALF. JULY 1878-DEC. 1878.\n\n\n_Weekly work._\u2014On Sunday morning, I devoted my attention to the revisal\nof Yao discourses and prayers prepared during the previous week. The\nfirst discourse had to be given at nine o\u2019clock in the morning. It was\nchiefly a translation of some passage of Scripture, with one or two\nremarks for the purpose of explaining or applying the subject. I stuck to\nthe Scripture itself as much as possible. After this I prepared for our\nEnglish service at two P.M., which was conducted after the method usual\nat home. Next I had to revise my Yao discourse for the evening service.\nEvery week-day except Saturday I took the school from eight to ten, the\nlast half hour being occupied with the more advanced pupils. At ten we\nbreakfasted; and till two P.M. I was occupied with various items. A long\ntime was spent over the language. There was a meeting for the natives\nevery evening, and I required nearly the whole day to prepare for it,\nhaving not only to find words, but to verify their application. As the\nboys that assisted me could not speak a sentence of English, my task\nwas difficult. I found it necessary to use signs, nor was it easy to\ndevise suitable ones. After earnest endeavours I often failed to make\nthe natives understand me. Then I practised my signals before a European,\nand he could not understand them either, and what was worse could suggest\nno improvement. I sometimes felt as helpless in my efforts to talk with a\nnative before me as if I had been still in Scotland.\n\nAt two o\u2019clock school was resumed till four. I had not much difficulty\nin sustaining the attention of a class of twenty-two, a fact which said\nmuch for the docility of the pupils. At four o\u2019clock we dined, and after\ndinner I again prepared busily for the native meeting at six. At its\nclose we had time for a short walk in what would be the twilight at home.\nWe generally went to one or other of our three villages for the purpose\nof talking a little with the villagers, and making them feel at home with\nus. At seven P.M. we had evening prayers, and after that my time was free\nfor linguistic studies. We proposed at first to have classes for mutual\ninstruction in the native tongue, but it was soon felt that each man\nmust study by himself before there could be any instructor. The language\nbecame the largest part of my work. The Scripture readings I gave took a\ngreat deal of time. I found it interesting work, and was always delighted\nto get hold of a new word. Occasionally I got words for which I could\nfind no exact English equivalent, and in that case I had to construct a\nkind of mental formula. Sometimes I made best progress in translating the\nOld Testament, although I chiefly tried the Gospels.\n\nThe school-children, as a rule, are very agreeable with each other. I\nhave seen few cases of strife, and these were easily quieted. The very\nfact of making a formal examination settled everything. In one case,\nwhere a little boy complained of a bigger one, I first instituted a\nlong, solemn inquiry, to see whether the bigger one was to blame; when\nit was found that he was, he, rather to his astonishment, was sent out\nto bring a bamboo! Then followed a long dissertation on the bamboo, in\nwhich I pointed out how it would hurt and cut. By this time, the little\nboy had tears in his eyes, and said he did not wish the other one to be\npunished; which was the very effect I aimed at. But after a time this\nfailed. On asking a boy whether he wished a companion beaten, I would\noften receive the answer, \u201cI do not know, you, father, know best\u201d. As\ngirls came to the station, Mrs. Macdonald took them under her care, she\nhad first to improve their habits and get them to wash their own clothes.\nSoap was a great novelty to the natives; they were much amused with the\npeculiar \u201cfeel\u201d it gave to clothes. They thought it was a kind of clothes\n\u201cmedicine,\u201d and trusted more to its magic than to their own rubbing. They\nused to dye their cloth black, a custom which made washing unnecessary.\nBut after becoming acquainted with soap, men and women made a great rush\nupon the commodity, and notwithstanding every care in distributing, our\nsix tins of soft soap were speedily reduced to two, and we had great\nanxiety as to what should be done when the two remaining tins shared\nthe fate of their predecessors. The natives began to like the coloured\nclothes which were sent out. A box of clothes was a great acquisition.\nShirts, trousers, and blankets were eagerly sought after, and some of\nthe workers accepted these as payment in preference to calico, while our\npupils regarded them as the best kind of prizes.\n\n_Visiting._\u2014On Saturday mornings, accompanied by a little boy, called\nWalani, I used to visit native villages. On these occasions I was much\nimpressed with the African\u2019s powers of observation. Once we had gone a\ngreat distance and were very tired. We came to a little hill, from the\ntop of which we saw smoke, which guided us to a quiet little hamlet. As\nwe were approaching, I wondered whether the villagers would know anything\nof the \u201cwhite men\u201d at all. Here they lived in a wild spot, apparently\nwithout communication with the rest of the world. I was surprised to find\nthat at this distance (at least six miles), they at once called Walani\nby his name, and knew about all the Englishmen on the station. In such\nvillages I endeavoured to speak about the God of heaven; and the people\nlooked thoughtful, and were quite disposed to listen. The natives are\nby no means a stupid people, and I should not like to hear them called\nutter savages. Certain it is that had they been acquainted with writing\nand other contrivances, chiefly of a mechanical nature, they would have\npresented a very different appearance. They seem to stand before us as a\npeople destitute of every religious observance. But this may be accounted\nfor by their want of men set apart for religion. It is with them only\nwhat it might be with any people destitute of books, and without a form\nof church government. Besides, in judging the natives we ought to bear\nin mind how easy it is to proceed upon incomplete observation. The other\nday I made a discovery which surprised me very much. Though for three\nmonths I had been teaching girls to read, I did not know that they\ncarried a number of little stones in the mouth! The other Europeans were\nequally ignorant of the custom. Still it is the fact that all the native\ngirls carry from six to ten little pebbles under the tongue. They told\nme it was for the purpose of making them speak well! After this it would\nnot astonish me to discover one day a complex ritual among the natives!\nMeanwhile, in their constant cheerfulness and kindness to each other, we\nfind aspects of character that true religion would inculcate; nay, more,\nmay we not see in these features of their disposition, some traces of the\nworking of that \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 which \u201cbloweth where it listeth\u201d? At this time I\nwrote: \u201cWe have made little progress in setting the Bible truths before\nthem as a system. As yet I have found no words to express the ideas of\ntrust, faith, substitution, mercy, or justice. Hitherto I have stated the\nsimple narratives of Christ\u2019s life. But I am confident that they would\nappreciate trains of reasoning, and be as able to follow the Epistle of\nthe Romans as ordinary people are at home.\u201d\n\nI add now small cuttings from my journal which will give a general idea\nof our life at this period.\n\n_Saturday, Nov. 16._\u2014In the morning before 10 o\u2019clock I had a walk with\nWalani, now called John MacRae, for the purpose of learning the language,\nand speaking to any people we might find in the villages. John is now\nfond of plucking all the flowers he sees, in order to take them home\nto Mrs. Macdonald. A few months ago the natives laughed at the idea of\ngathering flowers, but now they are rather fond of doing so. The boys,\nunder Mrs. Macdonald\u2019s more immediate care, put up bunches in their\nbedrooms.\n\n_Sunday, Nov. 17._\u2014Maseo, one of the Magololo chiefs, arrived on a\nvisit: he was accompanied by two of his wives and one of his sons. He\nwas present at our evening service. Having been a long time with Dr.\nLivingstone he knows a few English words, and likes to use them, _e.g._,\n\u201cthank you,\u201d \u201clook here,\u201d &c.\n\n_Monday, Nov. 18._\u2014The chief comes to breakfast, and we get a great\ndeal of practice in trying to converse with him. He speaks both Yao and\nChinyasa.\n\n_Tuesday, Nov. 19._\u2014We had a \u201cMagic-lantern entertainment\u201d. The chief\nrecognised Dr. Livingstone, and stood up before the screen to have a good\nview. His two wives visited Mrs. Macdonald in the forenoon, and got a\npresent of a dress each, and listened to some music.\n\nWe received the report of a mwai case which resulted in the death of an\nold man who lived beside us. I found that our schoolboys all believed in\nthe mwai, and I began to argue against the superstition. We happened at\nthe time to be poisoning rats, and I asked whether the rats died because\nthey were \u201cbewitchers!\u201d The little fellows appreciated the illustration\nvery much, but still retained this faith of their fathers.\n\n_Wednesday, Nov. 20._\u2014A man came and asked leave to \u201c_propose_\u201d to a\nwoman that Mrs. Macdonald has been training to do washing and other\nhousehold duties. The woman in question came up much disappointed.\nShe seemed to fear that she would be compelled to marry in the native\nfashion,\u2014_i.e._, without having any choice in the matter. She admitted\nthat she was willing to marry, but said that she wanted another man. When\nwe stated that she might certainly marry the man she preferred, she went\naway highly satisfied.\n\n_Thursday, Nov. 21._\u2014Four couples paid me a visit in the forenoon,\nexpecting to be married on the spot. After trying to explain the nature\nof marriage, I told them to come back next day. Mrs. Macdonald\u2019s servant\nwas among the number, and seemed to be the ringleader.\n\n_Friday, Nov. 22._\u2014Four marriages were celebrated in the schoolroom with\nas great solemnity as possible. I should have put on a pulpit-gown if I\nhad possessed one. We killed a goat for the occasion, and presented each\nof the ladies with a dress. Dr. Macklin gave each man a knife. All the\nprevious marriages on the station had been civil marriages, which were\narranged by the Doctor. These cases were almost semi-christian marriages.\n\nIn the evening two other men asked for wives. We inquired whether the\nladies had agreed, and presently they were brought up to declare their\nconsent. But the men had no houses, and the marriages were deferred till\nhouses could be built. The females said they were willing to wait.\n\n_Saturday, Nov. 23._\u2014We discovered that one of the men married yesterday\nhad another wife. We had been particularly careful to enforce that this\ncould not be; and therefore, partly as a punishment for his unblushing\nfalsehood, we executed a summary sentence of banishment on him. His\nother wife was on bad terms with her rival. The man that was refused the\nother day by Mrs. Macdonald\u2019s servant, now comes to say that he has found\na wife; and that there may be no mistake this time, he brings the lady\nwith him. As he has no house, the marriage is deferred till its erection.\n\nI paid a visit to various villages for the purpose of getting more\nchildren to school; I met a few naked boys playing beside a stream,\nwho said they would come. They looked at my umbrella, and seemed to be\nastonished at the folding up of it. As usual on such occasions, I showed\nthem my watch, which has been exhibited so often that I begin to regard\nit more as a magic-box than a timepiece.\n\n_Monday, Nov. 25._\u2014One nice boy has been added to school as a result of\nSaturday\u2019s visit.\n\nThe chief takes his departure. We pressed him to send his boys to school,\nand he said \u201che would _dream_ about it\u201d. He tells us that the Magololo\nchiefs are much guided by dreams. After some talk on the subject, we gave\nhim a parting present, with the view of inducing a favourable dream!\n\n_Tuesday, Nov. 26._\u2014A messenger came from Chiputula, accompanied by two\nof the chiefs sons, and carrying a present of goats and bananas. A Yao\nman had run off with one of Chiputula\u2019s wives and a gun. Kapeni is the\nman\u2019s chief. Chiputula wishes the English to tell Kapeni that if he does\nnot deliver up the offender Chiputula will make war.\n\n_Wednesday, Nov. 27._\u2014Mrs. Macdonald took up Chiputula\u2019s two sons, and\nentertained them with books, music, and sweetmeats. She was much pleased\nwith the two little princes of the Ruo.\n\n_Thursday, Nov. 28._\u2014Dr. Macklin went over to Sochi to see Kapeni\nconcerning Chiputula\u2019s message. But the old chief was not to be found.\nThe Dr. thought he was at home, nevertheless, and left a message for him\nto come to Blantyre.\n\n_Friday, Nov. 29._\u2014Kapeni sent a message to ask for an interview at a\nhalf-way village. He requested me to come \u201cbecause I could speak Yao!\u201d I\nstarted at 6\u00b730 in the morning, and reached Kapeni very early. He gave\nthe utmost satisfaction, and professed much friendship for Chiputula.\n\nBut I believe he bears a secret grudge against us for the protection\ngiven to run-away slaves of his. This subject is a delicate one. It looks\nvery well to give protection to slaves when they come and say they are\ngoing to be sold. Yet the relation between a chief and his servants is\none of the things that go to form the social order of these tribes; and\nby treating the matter rashly, we may bring about a great deal of anarchy.\n\n_Friday, Dec. 6._\u2014Mrs. Macdonald\u2019s sewing-class contains twelve girls,\nwho seem very willing to learn. We had some difficulty in obtaining\nfemale pupils, as the Yao girls are engaged at a very early age, and\nafter such engagement they are not so free as they would otherwise\nbe. Many of our female pupils are slave girls who have come here for\nprotection; they live on the station, and as they increase in number,\nthey will require a female monitor for themselves. At present the care\nof them gives us much anxiety; only they marry as soon as they find a\nhusband.\n\nAll our earlier intercourse with the natives brought before us the\ncheerful side of their character. I found them always full of fun. As\nthey have no difficulty in procuring food, clothes, or houses, they\nsuffer from none of the cares that press so heavily on Europeans. Still,\nwe discovered that they had their troubles too. The first occasion I saw\nany sorrow, was in connection with death. It was about seven o\u2019clock in\nthe morning when a message came from a father asking me to be present\nat the interment of his little child. On enquiring when the funeral\nwould take place, I found that it was to be immediately. On going to the\nvillage, we saw that a few of the man\u2019s neighbours had assembled, and\nwere waiting for our arrival. As soon as the Englishmen had all come,\ntwo natives entered the house. Here the little child was stretched upon\na bamboo mat, with a piece of calico thrown over its body. The mother\nlay mourning on the side of the mat. The father we had already passed\nsitting outside the house with a few men round him. He took no farther\npart in the funeral ceremony; contrary to our expectation, he did not\naccompany the body to its last resting-place. The two natives that went\ninside removed the calico from the child\u2019s body, then they folded the\nmat round the corpse, and tied it up so that the whole formed a small\ncylindrical parcel. After this the men came to the outside again and\nwashed their hands very carefully. They did this, not for the purpose\nof ordinary cleanliness (natives are not so careful in this respect),\nit was a ceremonial act, deemed necessary after touching the dead. Two\nmen now took up the body, and carried it the whole way. The headman of\nthe village seemed to think it was his place to follow next the bearers.\nSome of us had an idea that the child would be interred near the house,\nbut the procession went on to a time-consecrated burying-ground. Once or\ntwice the bearers seemed to lose their way, and then the headman went to\nthe front and carefully examined the paths. When at length they arrived\nat their destination, we were puzzled to find that no little grave had\nbeen dug. The body was then laid down under one of the large trees, and\nthe headman came and asked what was the English method of burial. We said\nthat we wished them to bury after their own manner, only we took the\nopportunity of stating that when the English were buried a prayer was\noffered up to God. Then we engaged briefly in prayer.\n\nBy this time a procession of females approached. They had been following\nus all the way at a short distance. At their head came the child\u2019s\nmother, who was supported by two other women. As soon as she arrived\nshe sat down nearest the body of her child, while her companions threw\nthemselves on the grass beside her. The little band of females looked\nmore like mourners than did the men, for the latter sometimes talked\nand laughed more than would be considered proper at an English funeral.\nThe women carried a few earthen pots to place on the grave. A Yao\nburial-ground is easily known by the number of pots that are there.\nThe place where we stood was covered with pots as thickly as a home\nchurchyard is with tombstones. The men now began to break up the ground\nfor a grave, while the women watched the sad work. On asking how deep\nthey made it, we found that it was to be about three feet. After watching\ntheir work for a while, we concluded that they would take three hours to\ncomplete it, and we requested to be excused from waiting longer. Then we\nall shook hands with the mother, and tried to comfort her. She had been\nthrowing dust upon her person as a sign of her sorrow. Before leaving,\nwe enquired whether an English implement would not be better than their\nhoes. They heartily assented to this, and despatched one of their number\nto bring a spade. In the evening I went down to see the mother, and tried\nto speak to her. From what I could gather, she seemed to think that\nshe would meet her child again (10). How much I wished that I had been\nable to use their language, so as to bring home to their minds all the\ncomforting truths about that child\u2019s great Elder Brother! Had we been\nable to stay till the burial took place, we might have seen some more\ninstructive rites. I wondered whether their ceremonial washing spake of\nsome connection in their minds, or in the minds of their fathers, between\nphysical death and moral pollution (or sin): and whether the pots placed\non the grave spake of a hope that the activities of their owner were not\nended for ever.\n\n_A murder._\u2014The next funeral I saw was much sadder. The female mourners\nwrung their hands and shed tears of grief and despair. The men attended\nin great numbers, and their dark faces spoke of rage and determination.\nThe previous evening a poor woman had gone to the stream to wash her\nmaize. About sunset a gun was heard, which, however, caused no concern.\nThough the woman had not come back the villagers did not miss her, and\nretired to bed as usual. But at night they heard the cries of a child,\nand discovered one little creature wandering alone in the darkness, and\nweeping for its mother. The villagers immediately arose and hastened to\nthe stream, where they soon found the woman\u2019s dress and her basket of\ngrain, but the woman herself was nowhere seen.\n\nThat night the Missionaries on the Station were all sitting together\nafter evening prayers. It was Christmas time, and our friends had come\ndown from Livingstonia. We had received no letters from England for three\nmonths, the natives of Mazaro had rebelled against the Portuguese, and\nwar had put an end to all communication. Matters were looking dark. We\nhad no calico to pay native labour, the little that remained was required\nfor buying the necessaries of life, and as it was nearly exhausted,\nstarvation loomed in the distance. The white men were seriously talking\nof an expedition to get up goods, when a loud rap was heard at the door.\n\u201cThe mail! here\u2019s the mail!\u201d was shouted, but it was Kumlomba with\nhalf-a-dozen of his villagers. In great excitement he rushed forward\nand threw down at the Doctor\u2019s feet the bit of calico that had been the\nwoman\u2019s covering, as he exclaimed, \u201cMy child is dead!\u201d This unexpected\n\u201cmail\u201d took the breath from us all. We tried to calm the poor man.\n\u201cThere was no evidence,\u201d we argued, \u201cthat the woman had been killed.\nA slave-gang was being made up by Kapeni\u2019s people\u2014it was certain she\nhad been caught for slavery.\u201d A celebrated lawyer said to a novice who\nwas going to act at a trial, \u201cGive your opinion boldly, but don\u2019t give\nany reasons for it: your opinion may be correct, but your reasons will\nalmost certainly be wrong\u201d. The advice is noteworthy, and often have I\nthought of it when dealing with an African: what he states in expressing\nhis belief is generally right, what he adds by way of argument is often\nwrong, and it seems doubly so to persons unacquainted with the native\nmind. Kumlomba said a few things that appeared very disjointed to\nEuropeans, and confirmed our belief that the woman was still alive. The\nchief listened to us with patience but did not seem satisfied.\n\nNext morning the mystery was solved\u2014the woman was found lying dead in the\nstream without any clothing, and brutally mutilated (36). The Doctors\nwere soon informed, who examined the body, and told the people to bury\nit. After the funeral was over, Kumlomba and other natives, as also all\nthe Europeans, met to discuss what ought to be the method of procedure\non this sad occurrence. The natives were only too familiar with such\ncases, and some of the Europeans had been three years in the country, and\nwere well acquainted with native law. They agreed that a message must\nbe sent to Kapeni asking him to give up the guilty party. On being thus\nappealed to, Kapeni convened an enormous meeting of his people at Sochi.\nHe there stated that he had not yet discovered who the assassin was, but\nhe assured us that as the Yao people always \u201ctalked,\u201d everyone would know\nin a few days. But according to native law, Kapeni must either deliver\nup the assassin or forfeit the friendship of the Mission people. Being\nanxious to find a third alternative, he asked, what would happen if he\ncould not find the man, but native law appeared to recognise no such\nneutral ground. In the end two sticks were brought, and the question was\nasked, \u201cWhich of these does Kapeni choose?\u201d Finally, he agreed to give up\nthe assassin. But he was in no haste to do so; nor was this wonderful,\nsince the Ndilande people threatened to kill him if he attempted to\nfulfil his promise. After a long delay, Kumlomba became impatient, and\nwent over himself unaccompanied by any European. Kapeni asked him whether\nhe had not heard all about it: for by this time the truth was generally\nknown, but Kumlomba stood on his dignity and kept to the previous\nquestion, \u201cGive up the man\u201d. One thing was remarkable about this visit.\nThe Englishmen always admitted, at least for the sake of argument, that\nKapeni might not know the man, but Kumlomba refused to entertain the\nsupposition, and in fact Kapeni did not dare to urge this plea upon him.\nKumlomba said among other things, \u201cDon\u2019t take _me_ for a white man. I\nam a Yao like yourself, and I know all the customs of my country.\u201d The\nnatives about us were strangely unanimous in asserting that Kapeni knew\nwho was guilty. They led us to understand that he had received a present\nfrom the murderer, and had granted him absolution. Of course few of us\nwere then old enough to know even that the natives shaved their heads\nin a case of ordinary death, much less that they observed a complicated\nritualism for murder. Kumlomba did not ask Kapeni to punish the\ncriminal. Such a demand would have been abhorrent to native custom. The\nchief is the father of his people, and native law is too polite to ask a\nman to execute justice on his own son. The native custom, moreover, is in\naccordance with native religion. A man\u2019s deceased relatives become his\ngods. While Kumlomba persisted in demanding his rights at this meeting,\none of Kapeni\u2019s counsellors said to him:\u2014\n\n\u201cWhy should you come bothering Kapeni, the men live beside yourselves?\u201d\n\nSoon after this the assassins were captured, but although Kumlomba\ninsisted, \u201cGive them over to us and we will kill them,\u201d which would have\nbeen native law pure and simple, the Europeans that were present, not\nbeing accustomed to see human beings killed with so little ceremony,\nrefused to do so. By this step they did credit to their own humane\nfeelings, but they transgressed native custom. Kumlomba was but ill\nsatisfied when about a month after, in the execution of native justice,\nhe levelled his musket at one of the men\u2014the other having meanwhile\nescaped. His view was that besides killing this man he ought to have got\n\u201csix people\u201d. The six people, or slaves, he fixed as the ransom of the\nperson that had escaped. By native law he was entitled to damages of this\nkind. I have known Kapeni himself concede larger demands.\n\nOne effect of the execution was to bring in an enormous number not only\nof slave refugees but also of free people who wanted to live near the\nEnglish. In a short time the population of Kumlomba\u2019s village became\nabout five times as many. The slaves that escaped were aware that they\nexposed themselves to the danger of assassination. But at the beginning\nof this case had not one Missionary of the greatest standing told them\nthat an Englishman considered the life of a black person as precious as\nhis own life, and that it was a murderer himself that ought to die for\nhis deed, and not \u201ctwo or three\u201d of his slaves (96)? In this unsettled\nland these statements somehow were much prized both by bond and free.\n\nAnother effect of the case was to terrify Kapeni from coming to Blantyre.\nHappening to be at Kapeni\u2019s about a month after, I found him from home.\nI asked his son when he was coming to see us, and received the answer,\n\u201cThe Ndilande people say that they will kill him if he go to Blantyre\u201d.\nThe Ndilande people had wished Kapeni to be more decided, and to refuse\nto negociate against them. The old man had wavered. In such circumstances\na native must feel it hard to come to a conclusion. He cannot tell by\ninspection which course will be most for his interest. Nor can he talk\nwith any certainty of eternal and immutable morality. No wonder that\namidst this thick darkness and painful suspense he attempts to confer\nwith the spirits of his fathers (14).\n\nBut while Kapeni had a duty to perform in giving up the transgressor,\nwhose duty was it to punish him? Kumlomba asserted that it was for him to\ndeal with the case. As this man was my instructor in the native language\nat the time, I was thrown much into his society, and I heard him declare\nthat he wanted to take the whole responsibility. Besides he had carried\nout a capital sentence long before. It might be true that in the eyes\nof Englishmen these negroes looked bad dispensers of equity. Some of\nthe Portuguese also said that it was not right for the Mission to allow\nsavages to figure as administrators of justice. Still the natives had\ndispensed their own laws for hundreds of years.\n\nBut at Blantyre was there not a Colony as well as a Mission, and had\nnot the Colony power to punish? Undoubtedly the Blantyre settlement was\nestablished on this principle, and when Dr. Macklin wrote to the Convener\nof the Committee giving an account of the occurrence, and stating his\ndetermination to give judgment on the murderer, the latter at once agreed\nwith the Doctor\u2019s reasons, remarking that the native mind would accord\nwith the doom decreed, while he ever afterwards defended the execution\non the supposition that it was the duty of the Colony to carry it out.\nBut against this position it was argued that it was not lawful for\nBritish subjects to punish transgressors without the authority of the\nGovernment. This objection was found to be serious, though it did not\noccur to any worker in Africa. Even the promoters of the settlement, many\nof whom were legal men, seem to have overlooked this difficulty though\nthey had by them books on statute law of which there were none in the\ndesert. But though I for one never thought of statute law, I had once\nread carefully the old Acts of the Scottish General Assembly, and though\nI had no books of authority by me I was aware that clergymen had been\ncensured or deposed for acting as magistrates, and I mentioned to the\nothers that I was bound by laws or precedents like these. At the same\ntime I held strong views to the effect that no clergyman ought to act in\ncivil matters at all. In every colony I could think of, such duties fell\nto laymen. So far as I could understand the case, there were two civil\nauthorities both asserting their right to punish the offender, one being\nthe natives and the other the Blantyre colony.\n\nIn such circumstances various courses were open. The case might be\ntaken up (1) by the natives alone, (2) by the colony alone, (3) by both\nacting together. The natives acting alone would in accordance with\ntheir own laws have killed the offender at once as they proposed to do.\nIf the English colony was to act it had to determine its relations to\nKumlomba. These were not clear. At one time (page 34) this man figures\nas the chief of the Blantyre territory, at other times as a subject of\nthe colony. If he were the superior power he would execute offenders at\nhis own discretion, and if he were a headman of the English colony he\nhad a right according to native law to expect the latter to hand over\nentirely to him those that were alleged to have offended against him.\nIf the colony were to ignore native law, and try to carry out purely\nEnglish law, then it would have to judge and deal with the prisoner\non English principles. If it resolved to call witnesses it would have\nbeen a fair thing first to explain what the precise effect of testimony\nwas in a purely English trial. After such explanation all Kumlomba\u2019s\nmen would have sworn to anything, and all the prisoner\u2019s friends would\nhave sworn to the opposite. In the same way if a jury of natives had\nbeen impanelled, their verdict would have depended on whether they were\nfriends of Kumlomba or of the prisoner. Suppose the Englishmen had wished\nto get out of the difficulty by an ordeal like _mwai_, the natives would\nhave insisted that it was not a case for the ordeal, while to Christians\nthe measure would have seemed an enormity. The same might be said of the\nplan of redeeming a murderer and executing slaves in his stead.\n\nAs a matter of fact the colony acted along with the natives. A formal\ntrial was held at which all the Europeans were present: at this I\ndeclined to attend because I had been acting as chaplain to these\nprisoners, consequently I cannot tell whether it was the colony or the\nnatives that took the lead on this occasion. It was also deemed expedient\nfor the Europeans to attend the execution in case the natives should\nfollow their barbarous custom of dishonouring the criminal\u2019s body.\n\nEvery circumstance was reported to the Directors, and the workers in\nAfrica felt that the view taken at home would be of importance. One day\nan assassin might cut down some native that had left a home at Quilimane\nor Mazaro in order to stay at the Mission, and of whom the Europeans were\nthe sole protectors. Long ago Dr. Macklin had asked the Directors what\nwas to be done in the case of murder, but had got no advice.\n\nAfter the execution the feeling of insecurity soon passed away. The air\nhad been full of threats to the effect that the Mission people would be\nall similarly treated. By thus killing the enemy, one after another,\nhad not the Yao destroyed certain Anyasa that had ventured to settle by\nthem? Lads were now afraid to take charge of the Mission cattle, children\nwould not venture to come to school, and those that stayed at Blantyre\nwere afraid to sleep in the dormitory. One sees at a glance that fear\nis a large ingredient in the native character, but a stranger born in\na well-ordered country has difficulty in realising the extent of this\nfear. A boy who ventures out at night is apt to see some one that wishes\nto shoot him, and forthwith he rushes into the house screaming with\nfright. Girls and women feel if possible more unsafe, knowing how many\nof their comrades have been surprised and carried off. Occasionally we\nhad an opportunity of pointing out that their fears might be sometimes\ngroundless. Nothing is more ridiculous to an African than the sight of\nhis friend under a false alarm. One night an Englishman had gone out\nfor the purpose of making astronomical observations. He had carefully\nprepared his artificial horizon, and was bending down over it with a\nsextant in his hand when the stillness of the evening was broken by a\nterrible scream, and the observer had a large basin thrown full in his\nface. One of our boys had gone out from the light, and had taken the\nastronomer for a lion. It was long before his companions allowed the lad\nto forget the incident.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nSECOND HALF. JANUARY, 1879\u2014JUNE, 1879.\n\n\nThe first day of the New Year was celebrated in proper Scottish fashion.\nOur brethren of Livingstonia, and all the Englishmen within our reach,\nhad been invited to Blantyre. At an early hour all the gentlemen, lay\nand clerical, donned aprons and began to cook. Some prepared a \u201chaggis,\u201d\nothers a plum-pudding, others had charge of soups and meats. Though\nkindly exempted from culinary duties, I thought that the exemption would\nprove of small service. Every corner of our little house was filled\nwith plates, cups, trays, crystal, &c., &c., and so great was the stir\nthat study was impossible. At last I went to another hut, and sat in\nthe verandah with a group of natives, who enabled me to add a few more\nwords to my African vocabulary. I could not help contrasting a tropical\nNew-Year\u2019s Day with an English. In Africa I did not venture to leave the\nshade of the verandah without a thick hat and an umbrella. Coats and\nvests were dispensed with, and even the lightest clothing that we had was\nburdensome. But amidst our new surroundings it was pleasant to remember\nthe old customs of our native land, and we sat down in due season to\na New-Year\u2019s Day dinner. The natives had been watching the strange\npreparations with breathless interest, utterly at a loss to know what it\nall meant; and as dinner proceeded, more than a hundred\u2014men, women, and\nchildren\u2014stood gazing in at the windows and doors, which had been thrown\nwide open on account of the heat. We observed all the time-honoured\nceremonies as gravely and formally as if we had been at home. In\nconnection with the toast of \u201cThe Queen\u201d it was remarked that most of\nus had been long enough in Africa to appreciate the value of an orderly\ngovernment. One gentleman proposed that we should take a note of each\nother\u2019s names, and see where we should all be four years later, little\nthinking that long ere then he would sleep by the soft-flowing waters of\nthe Chiri. At the close we joined hands and sung \u201cAuld Lang Syne\u201d. That\nday was quite an oasis in our desert, it brought us the long-expected\nmail.\n\nNext morning saw the first pic-nic in the history of the school. At\nsunrise we started for the top of Michiru. I was the only European that\nwent, but my valour exceeded my discretion, for at one spot I had to lie\ndown till two boys ran to a stream for water. Little fellows of 10 years\nput me to shame as they ran up the steep sides of the hill like baboons.\nA buck was shot, cooked, and nearly all eaten on the spot. It was late in\nthe afternoon before we returned.\n\nSince our first arrival at Blantyre the School attendance had doubled,\nand by this time a good number of girls had come, to whom Mrs.\nMacdonald\u2019s sewing class formed an attraction. They were set to make\ndresses for themselves, and the first few days all the old men and women\nin the neighbourhood came to watch the operation. It was regarded a\nprivilege for girls to be allowed to take so much cloth in their hands,\nnot to mention the prospect of wearing it. At first, these pupils were\nawkward. They had never attempted to sew before, for it is the men that\nsew in this country, nor had they ever seen scissors, or thimbles.\nScissors, or \u201cthe little knives\u201d they were specially fond of. But the\nthimble they did not half appreciate, as the skin of their fingers would\nset ordinary needles at defiance. It was amusing to see our young ladies\nfitting on their thimbles. A new comer when told to select the one that\nsuited her, would respond by putting a thimble on each of her fingers!\nThe sewing class had to face difficulties that would not occur at home.\nWhen the war at Mazaro disturbed communications, the girls could not be\nsupplied with enough of cloth. One night robbers entered by our windows\nand carried away among other things their half-finished dresses and all\ntheir sewing materials! This was a serious misfortune. Though thimbles\nand needles are of little intrinsic value yet we could not manufacture\nthem, and eight months might elapse before their place could be filled.\nThe thimbles, however, were all found not far from the station, having\nbeen thrown away as of no value. But the needles would be considered a\nsplendid prize, and if the thief were at all enterprising he might buy\na wife for them! The natives at first would gladly sell a dozen eggs for\na single needle. Although sewing was a novelty for girls, old men were\nto be seen at every village engaged in the art. While plying the needle,\nthey sit on a mat holding one end of the cloth with their toes. We were\nvery anxious to teach the natives to knit, but at this time we had no\nworsted.\n\n_Housekeeping._\u2014The difficulties of Housekeeping were great, the subject\nbeing quite new to the African girls. Untidy and dirty in their habits,\nthey considered us very peculiar when we objected to plates and spoons\nthat they thought clean. Besides teaching them to do indoor work, Mrs.\nMacdonald had to see that they dressed their hair, and washed every\nmorning, and as they wore light clothes their wardrobes required special\nsupervision. Hence the native girls that came to assist Mrs. Macdonald\ndid not immediately win her confidence, and at first did little to\nlighten her task. When nursing they would even let the child fall, a\nmistake that they were liable to by attempting to hold their charge not\nin native but in English fashion. So to ensure safety the nurse had to\nsit beside her mistress, while the latter amused the baby and did the\nhousehold washing at the same time.\n\nThe introduction of anything new was always noteworthy. At first\nthe cook-boy caught his fowls about an hour before breakfast, and\nplucked them before they were dead, because the feathers thus came off\nmore easily. As soon as facts of this kind came under one\u2019s notice\nimprovements were tried. In order that the fowls might not be plucked\nalive, the cook was asked to get them the night before. He was most\ncarefully instructed in the new part that he had to play, and specially\ntold to \u201chang up\u201d the fowls in the kitchen. That night the usual\nstillness was considerably broken. I always valued the evening hours\nfor study: they were so much quieter; but on this particular night it\nseemed as if some fowl house had been transported to my study window.\nAs the unwonted noise continued, a light was got, and efforts were made\nto solve the mystery, the kitchen was explored, and several fowls were\nfound hanging on pegs in the wall with their legs tightly bound together,\nwhile others similarly secured had fallen down and were struggling on the\nfloor, but all were alive! The boy had faithfully \u201chung them up,\u201d but he\nhad seen no necessity for killing them!\n\nThe natives that acted as housemaids had similar interesting experiences.\nOf course, they had never before seen teapots, cups and saucers,\ntumblers, forks, or spoons. Forks they called \u201cthorns!\u201d Consequently they\nwere ushered into a new world, and found a pleasure in being permitted\nto touch the white people\u2019s dishes. They now had at their disposal\nspoons of all varieties, and it was perhaps in spoons that they were\nmost interested. They have a large _ladle_ of their own for transferring\nporridge from the clay pot to a wooden platter, but their spoon is an\ninstrument of much greater antiquity. A good idea of its use may be\ngathered from Mr. Anderssen\u2019s description. A repast was provided for him\namong the Ovambo. He hesitated as no spoon was to be found. \u201cOn seeing\nthe dilemma we were in, our host quickly plunged his greasy _fingers_\ninto the middle of the steaming mass and brought out a handful which he\ndashed into the milk. Having stirred it quickly with all his might, he\nnext opened his capacious mouth, and the agreeable mixture vanished as if\nby magic. He finally licked his fingers and smacked his lips with evident\nsatisfaction, looking at us as much as to say, \u2018that\u2019s the trick, my\nboys\u2019.\u201d\n\nAt first one could never be sure of the native servants, except when\nstanding over them. Their views had to pass through many phases: one\nday they would wash knives in mass by putting a whole collection in\na tub and stirring them round, without thinking of dealing with each\nseparately; next day they would take silver plated articles and rub them\none by one in the sand! The first dishes brought out for the Mission,\nwere fortunately of enamelled tin, which did not break. But in that\nregion amid fever and discomfort, the appetite becomes fastidious. Those\naccustomed to civilised plates said that their food did not taste the\nsame when placed on the iron dishes. Accordingly, other plates were\ntried, but they were short lived. \u2018Accidents will happen\u2019, and at first\nthey were frequent. When at length glass tumblers ventured to take the\nplace of the iron jug that held our water, the natives felt that they had\nto deal with a serious innovation. Some who had seen glass at Quilimane,\ninformed the others of its strange qualities. A dark deputation visited\nthe white people, and represented that these dishes were \u201call the same\nas eggs,\u201d and that the waiters would have serious difficulty in keeping\na tumbler together. Feeling the force of these representations, the\nEuropeans took the tumblers under special protection for a time. But\nas in all such cases, a day of reckoning was sure to come. The natives\ncarry plates, tumblers, and everything of this kind on the head. To them\nthis habit is so much a second nature that if asked to fetch a kettle\nof boiling water, their first impulse I fancy would be to set it on the\nhead! Still they thus carry things with a steadiness most surprising. I\nwas once much struck with the expertness of a little girl who was sent\nto a brook for water. She picked up a very narrow bottle about 18 inches\nlong; although her hands were both empty she set it on her head, walked\noff to fill it, and returned carrying it the same way. Such is the usual\ncustom; and hence though the native can make baskets of every variety\nhe never puts a handle on one of them. In carrying soup, they balance\nthe plate on the palm of their hand, which they throw back above the\nshoulder. Their method is better suited for jars than for plates.\n\n[Illustration: METHOD OF CARRYING IN THE HAND.]\n\nThe missionary party had to be their own bakers, butchers, and what not.\nWhen settled in such a district a man learns for the first time how many\nmanipulations are required before he can have dinner. The first-comers\nmade it a rule never to see the cooking. What the natives brought they\ngot through as well as they could, but they suspected that if they looked\nat all the cooking processes their peace would be broken. On one occasion\ntwo of us were at Zomba. I was suffering slightly from over-work, and\nenjoyed a change of labour. We were much delighted with a supply of\ngoat\u2019s milk, which a boy brought each day. After school I used to sit in\nthe verandah studying the language. I often observed a piece of cloth\nlying on the ground at the foot of the wall. It had once been white, but\nwas now very dingy. It was generally damp, and covered with sand and\nmud. Further, it had an attraction for the playful toes of the group of\nnatives that were always about me. I had a vague idea that it was used\nfor cleaning the lamps, and regarded the rag with a kind of affection.\nBut one morning my companion shouted out, \u201cLook here! Just fancy! See the\nabominable thing that he puts our milk through!\u201d The boy was carefully\nstraining the milk which we so much appreciated by means of the dirty\npiece of cloth. At once all the enchantment of that rag was gone, and so\nwas the enjoyment of our nice milk. But the boy\u2019s diligence was quite\ncommendable: he might fancy that the white people strained milk in order\nto effect a \u201ccharm,\u201d and so far as he saw, one rag was as good as another.\n\nOn our first arrival we often had dishes that tempted curiosity; but an\nappeal to the senior members of the Mission was always answered with\na suggestive quotation of the maxim \u201cWhere ignorance is bliss, &c.\u201d\nSeldom, therefore, did the processes of Meg Dods\u2019 art, as practised\nby the natives, engage attention. Sometimes a boy was asked, \u201cDo you\ncall that roast fowl?\u201d He listened to the implied rebuke with a marked\nair of penitence; but as soon as he rejoined his companions outside,\nhe repeated, \u201cDo you call that roastee fowlee? Ha! ha! ha!\u201d and there\nfollowed a burst of loud and prolonged laughter, which greatly amused\nthe Europeans also. The white man\u2019s mess was tacitly regarded as common\nproperty, but if the cook happened to be on bad terms with the various\n\u201ctasters,\u201d the affair might become public. One day I was addressing\na class, everything was calm and still, the pupils sat in respectful\nattention, the subject had advanced to the point of greatest interest,\nwhen all at once, a boy dashed into school with a half-eaten potato, and\nthe cook dashed after him with a ladle. The interruption was a grave\nmisdemeanour. But the cook called out in great indignation, \u201cI am cooking\nfor the white men and not for this boy!\u201d The little boy had evidently\nregarded the school as a house of refuge, could he only reach it before\nhis pursuer. But the building had no doors, and many large holes for\nwindows as well as a large doorway, and before they were aware, they had\nboth committed themselves, and might expect to be much laughed at. The\nnatives, however, were usually too prudent to let these things come to\nlight.\n\nBaking was not without its difficulties. Bread was made at first by means\nof the native beer, and was exceedingly sour. Still those that had become\naccustomed to it generally took it without a murmur. Occasionally a\nnative of some originality would bake several loaves with water alone,\nonly this was apt to cause considerable criticism.\n\nIn many articles native taste differs from European. Though few natives\neat eggs (C), those that do, resemble the Hottentots, who are said to\ntake kindly to eggs that would \u201calarm a European at six paces\u2019 distance!\u201d\nBefore the use of spoons was properly understood, our servants attempted\nto take the eggs out of boiling water with their fingers, one half\nstanding to laugh at the experiment, while the other half tried to carry\nit out!\n\nIn times of health one enjoyed these amateur cooks and their productions,\nbut when sickness came, the joke was not so well appreciated. After an\nattack of malarial fever passes away, the invalid often has strange\ncravings of appetite. Forgetting for the moment where he is, he expresses\na wish for \u201cbread and butter\u201d. He can eat nothing else but he fancies he\ncould take this. He is soon reminded that butter cannot be had, and the\nsour bread alone would hardly tempt even a healthy man. But what about\nmilk? Why not let the poor fellow have a little milk? This is ordered,\nand the invalid has his hopes raised. After a long time the milk appears.\nBut what makes the sick man hesitate so? He looks as if he were going to\nask what the milk was made of. The new-comer may have yet to learn that\nthere are no milk-strainers in this part of the world! Sometimes he may\nbe glad if he get water. The water used on the Mission was taken from\nthe little stream and was very unwholesome. Still it had the advantage\nof being quite cool in the morning. At Nyassa on the other hand, when a\nperson ordered water he would wonder whether it had been taken from the\nkettle instead of the Lake, and be tempted to think it must be useful\nchiefly as an emetic, but after being placed for some time in an earthen\npot, it becomes cool and agreeable.\n\nThere was a certain provision made for sickness but of a very limited\ndescription. Beef-tea was in the store; as was also a little wine, but\nthe supply was generally so small that it could not be used except in\nextremity. At one period there was only a single cork screw on the\nsettlement, so that when the Doctor ordered a bottle of wine the invalid\nhad to wait for the man that possessed the screw!\n\nWe had two great methods of dealing with the difficulties of\nhousekeeping\u2014training the natives and ordering appliances from home.\nThe education of the natives was slow but it was sure, and in time some\nof them began to be very useful. Appliances were ordered from home, but\noften just when we fancied we were about to be properly supplied we were\ninformed that our valuable boxes had been stolen on the way.\n\nRegarding the _school-work_ we wrote at this time, \u201cThe natives are\nbeginning to see meaning in our teaching. One of our more advanced boys\nput to me the question, \u2018What must I do to receive the Holy Spirit?\u2019 He\nsaid he was wicked, and had much need of the Holy Spirit to make him\nbetter. We are glad that the Sabbath-school children of Scotland take\nan interest in our pupils. Some of our boys and girls they would like\nvery much. They might at first shrink from them because they are black,\nbut after a time they would find them attractive. I could show them some\nbroad little figures with broad little faces beaming with fun and good\ntemper. Some of our pupils would run if they were to see white children;\nbut after the first fright was over they would come near, and soon become\ngood friends. The other day I was at the back of a hill where children\nhad never seen a white man before, and they all took to their heels; but\nafter a short time they gathered round me, and when I spoke to them and\nshowed them my watch and my boots, they became better acquainted; and\nas we shook hands, some of them said they would like to go to Blantyre\nto school. If we could send home photographs of our pupils, the school\nchildren would have a better idea of them. They would then wonder a good\ndeal at the woolly heads and flat noses. Before we came here all the\nwomen and girls had their upper lips bored to hold a large ugly ring,\nwhich made them a terrible fright; but now they are laying aside this\ncustom. I told all our black pupils that the children in Scotland were\nsending them clothes and money, and they were delighted. One said that\nhe would like to know English, to be able to thank the white children.\nAnother said\u2014\u2018Tell the children that we are glad to hear they are\ngood, and can read about God. Mrs. Macdonald and all the white men are\nvery kind to us, and teach us about God. Before, we knew nothing, but\nnow we can understand a little, and we thank the children very much.\u2019\nThe communion of the Lord\u2019s Supper has now been celebrated twice at\nBlantyre. Dr. Laws was present on both occasions, and addressed us after\nthe ordinance. We called in the more advanced boys as witnesses of the\nrite. Hitherto we have not baptised any natives. I am not so familiar\nwith their language as I should like to be before doing so. Meanwhile\nour teaching is so carried on that I should not wonder though some soon\nask admission to the ordinance. I pray that we may be directed in these\nmatters; they will mark a crisis of spiritual life among our pupils.\n\n\u201cI have written out about 40 pages of Scripture matter in the Yao\nlanguage, which I shall send down to Lovedale to be printed. Attempts of\nthis kind will show the natives the use of reading.\u201d\n\nThe natives are fond of paying compliments, and by this time Kumlomba\nwould tell me that I had finished Yao. I proposed therefore that he\nshould now teach me Chinyasa, but he said, \u201cIf you speak Yao for\nanother year, you will understand Chinyasa without learning it\u201d. I\nfound afterwards that the native was not far wrong. It is well for the\nMissionary not to attempt at first to speak more than one language. Thus\nhe might expect that after seven or eight years\u2019 persistent training he\ncould wield the weapon with considerable effect, though I fear he would\nfall behind the native orator by an immense distance. We all know what\na mess many a man makes of a foreign language after he thinks he has\nacquired it. But though only speaking one tongue, the Missionary might\nwrite as many as he pleases, for the various dialects throw much light on\neach other.\n\nIn trying to form a native reading book, I had to grapple with all the\ndifficulties of the native language. Not only so but I required to form\na special vocabulary for Theology. Hence the first three months of this\nyear was a time of very hard study, but I succeeded in drawing up a small\nReading book, and forming at the same time an extensive vocabulary. From\nthis period, and during my whole stay in Africa, I used at least twenty\nnative words for every English word that I employed, and latterly the\nEnglish proportion became still smaller. But often in my efforts at\ntranslation I had to pause a while in despair, and devote more time to\nwriting down native tales. For a long period we had nothing but English\nbooks. This is one great disadvantage that new Missions have to contend\nwith. Had we possessed Yao books at the outset, the great part of the\nschool would have been able by this time to read their own language.\nAs it was, many could read English very fluently\u2014although they did not\nunderstand it. A free-thinker who frankly declared that he did not\nbelieve in Missions, expressed much surprise on hearing English read\nby some boys that had not known a single letter a twelvemonth before.\nTheir drill in English was by no means lost for, when our printed matter\narrived, we had fifty pupils that could read it without hesitation.\n\nDuring this period there occurred an episode that was invested with\nall \u201cthe pomp and circumstance of glorious war\u201d. Chelomoni, a Blantyre\nheadman, was attacked when on a journey by another headman, and had\nhis wife taken from him. He was himself wounded by an arrow, and came\nto the Station bleeding very profusely. The outrage called for some\nremonstrance, and Chelomoni\u2019s villagers at once prepared to march upon\nthe offender, and some of the white men thought it best to accompany. As\nthe party approached the village, the inhabitants came out to meet them,\nand to ask what was to be done in view of the action of their headman.\nThey explained at the same time that the guilty man had run away. After\nsome consultation it was agreed to set fire to his huts, and the men\nbelonging to the village, some of whom had been patients of Dr. Macklin,\nshewed which huts were owned by the aggressor, and after the valuables\nwere all carried out, fire was applied. In such a case Chelomoni being\nthe injured party was the proper person to punish. But if the Directors\nat home assumed that the Mission was a colony with Chelomoni for a\nsubject then it would become the duty of the Mission to punish, and the\nnative punishment for such offences is to make war on the offending\nvillage, and obtain damages by capturing slaves. As it was, the presence\nof the white men that happened to be there, did much to calm the opposing\nparties.\n\nThe Directors hoped that the Mission would become self-supporting, but\nalthough the territory that belonged to the settlement was about 600\nsquare miles, this result was far from being attained. They advised\nextended cultivation, but it was gradually discovered that this meant\nextended loss. Dr. Macklin, however, made an arrangement that promised\nto be remunerative. He gave some of the villagers an allowance of powder\nwith which they went out in search of elephants. When they killed an\nelephant, the Mission was presented with one of the tusks and bought\nthe other at a fixed rate. This plan was afterwards largely adopted by\nvarious traders. But soon the natives began to take advantage of the\nwhite men. They would beg a large supply of powder, representing that\nthey had seen a herd of elephants, and after hunting for several weeks\nand even trading with the powder, they would come back to report that\nthey had shot an elephant which had no tusks!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nSECOND HALF\u2014CONTINUED.\n\n\nBesides stealing articles that were on the way to the Mission, the\nnatives gave considerable annoyance by pilfering at the station itself.\nBefore becoming accustomed to the heat of the country, we preferred to\nsleep with the windows open. At Quilimane our landlord would not permit\nthis, but bolted all the window shutters \u201cto prevent the blacks from\ncoming in\u201d. But at Blantyre we ventured for some time to keep a window\nopen at night, and, strange to tell, no one came in. Becoming more used\nto the climate, we shut our windows; but one night thieves broke into our\nhouse, and took everything that was of value to them. Most of our goods\nthey carried outside and spread before the window. Then they selected\neverything that was made of cloth. Many things that we could hardly have\ndone without, such as waterproofs, &c., they fortunately left. Books\nalso escaped, while they carefully placed some silver articles off the\ntable, in order that they might carry off the tablecloth. Anything that\nhas the appearance of \u201ccalico\u201d at once appeals to the natives\u2019 cupidity.\nWhen we were honoured by the visit of a great chief, our royal guest\ncarefully felt first the tablecloth, then the window-blinds, and after\nthat the paper on the walls! It was not our neighbours that had committed\nthe theft, for they had long seen the windows kept open all night, and\nhad not entered. All who had been in the Mission during the previous\nthefts blamed the Anyasa people. After this, two night watchmen were\nemployed, and bamboo shutters were fixed on the windows. But for many\nmonths the station was beset with thieves, who had been encouraged by\nthis success. It was chiefly by windows that they tried to enter, though\noccasionally they pushed the doors till the rafters of our little houses\ncracked. Each night before retiring to rest we piled empty tins behind\nevery window, so that they might fall and frighten the robbers. But to\nour great annoyance, the rats frequently knocked these down. We had no\nambition to catch a thief in the act, for in that case we should have\nlikely felt the sharpness of his assagai. For a long time we were in\na miserable condition. While we had the hardest work during the day,\nwe could never enjoy a night of undisturbed repose. On one occasion\nnearly all the cloth windows in two of the houses were cut by thieves.\nIt almost seemed that a band of housebreakers had encamped near us, for\nthe express purpose of besieging the station. They carried on their\noperations with great coolness, for when they laid hold of a tin of\nsplit peas, they opened it and left it beside the house. They were too\nknowing to trouble themselves with the carriage of anything that was\nunsuitable. They would at times plait a ladder to reach a store window,\nand go off leaving the ladder beside the wall. The watchmen were of no\nservice; they sometimes became plunderers themselves, and disappeared\nbefore morning. The first parties that were employed as watchmen came\nfrom the same chief as the thieves, and were probably glad of their\nposition in order to assist their friends. As the natives wear no boots\nand hardly any clothing, they can break into houses without making much\nnoise. Still the Europeans became very expert in attending to everything\nthat betokened the presence of a thief. Our houses were full of rats,\nwhich are here better equipped for making a disturbance than rats are\nin England. It was Livingstone, I think, that first complained of the\nlaughing rats of the Zambeze! These inmates of our dwellings not content\nwith biting our fingers, knocking down tins, and dancing at large over\neverything that was capable of giving out a noise, aspired to divert us\nby going into fits of loud laughter! All this performance, it will be\nthought, made the task of the housebreaker more easy. Yet it sometimes\nproduced the very opposite effect. When the rats discontinued their\ndance, the European was at once all ear. \u201cMy rats are quiet. What _can_\nbe the matter? There must either be a snake on the verandah, or a robber\nat the window.\u201d This reasoning, strange as it may seem, led, at least, on\none occasion, to very important results. But the thieves gave indications\nof their presence in various other ways. As I lay one night in bed,\nthe moon which seems always to shine brightly here, cast the shadow of\na native on the calico window. The man\u2019s movements were suspicious:\nalthough he would not contemplate anything more serious than theft; yet\nso small was our room that a native could have easily given us the full\nbenefit of his assagai as we lay in bed. I thought that this chance of\nscaring a thief was too good to be lost, and I fired a revolver bullet\nthrough the calico. From the man\u2019s shadow I could easily see where he\nstood, and so avoid the risk of striking him. It need scarcely be said\nthat he disappeared at once. As we were all expected to get up on any\nnocturnal disturbance, the other members of the Mission were over in a\nfew minutes, but could find no trace of the person, and it was not likely\nthat the same individual would return that night. Several nights after\nthis, a noise was heard at midnight in our larger room. I got up and\nstood before one of the windows for a long time, till I began to shiver\nwith cold. But everything was quiet except that I could hear our two\nwatchmen snoring very loudly under a large tree not far from our door.\nBecoming tired with waiting, and wishing also to rouse the watchmen, I\nfired the revolver through the calico as before, when to my surprise,\nI heard a great scamper. A thief had really been at the window. In his\nrapid retreat he threw away his bow. The calico in the window was cut in\nthe usual way, but so quietly had he been working, that even although I\nhad been sitting awake in the dark room, he might have ultimately entered\nwithout my hearing him! Afterwards we kept a lamp burning all night,\nand I had only to carry it to the window where a thief was, in order to\nsecure his instant departure. We often wondered why negroes who were so\nlazy at work, put themselves to so much trouble in order to steal. But\ntheir thieving propensities are everywhere recognised. When we were at\nQuilimane, I remember that after the custom-house was closed for the\nnight, Dr. Macklin was asked by the Portuguese authorities to send a\nwatch in order to protect the goods that he was taking out. Blantyre men\nwere accordingly armed with guns and cautioned against falling asleep.\nUp at the Mission, Makukani was believed to be the instigator of all the\npilfering. The other Magololo said that if the English would visit him\non a beer-drinking, they would see all their stolen clothes and dresses.\nAfter a great \u201ctake,\u201d this chief would send up requesting the present of\na box to hold his clothes! When spoken to by Dr. Macklin on the subject,\nhe was quite pleasant, but of course, declared that he knew nothing of\nthe thefts. To put a stop if possible to this annoyance we determined\nto surround the station with a hedge of thorn, and take various other\nprecautions.\n\nBut before these improvements could be carried out, we were made still\nmore alive to the dangers of our position. In the beginning of June,\nI wrote to the Committee to the following effect:\u2014\u201cOn looking at the\njournal of last month, I see that the greater part of the time has passed\nwithout anything noteworthy. Happy, it has been said, are the people that\nhave no history; still there are a few items that we could have \u2018spared\u2019.\nOn 21st May an attempt was made at fire-raising, which would have been\nserious if successful. Our own house was chosen, as being to windward of\nthe others, and at midnight we were visited by a man who carried a few\nembers in a clay-pot, and set fire to the roof. Our roofs are merely\ngrass, tied down with bamboo. But for an ever-watchful Providence, the\nwhole house would soon have been in flames. The incendiary had waited\nfor a windy night, his plan being to burn all the houses in the same\nrow. If this house had been set fairly ablaze, one half of the station\nwould have been demolished. But one of the artisans on the opposite side\nof the square being sleepless on account of ill-health, observed the\nglare through his calico window, and at once gave the alarm. The bugle\nwas sounded, and all the natives turned out, as well as ourselves. By\nmeans of a good supply of water and wet blankets, we soon extinguished\nthe flames. We have since taken several steps with a view to additional\nsecurity. We are giving every attention to the watch at night. We have\nnot swords, as you suggest; and a native would be of more service with\nhis assagai on an emergency. Hitherto the watch has been armed with\nguns. You are anxious that natives should not form an acquaintance with\nfire-arms, but the country is already full of them. One can hardly take a\nwalk to Ndilande without meeting half-a-dozen men with guns. In a single\nday\u2019s march here, a person sees more guns than he would see in Scotland\nin a six days\u2019 journey. Another precaution has been the cutting down of\nthe bush for several hundred yards round the station. Hitherto, a native\nhad to run but a few yards in order to make his capture impossible. To\nprevent fire we have had our houses covered with a coating of clay, thin\non the top, and thicker on the veranda. The rainy season will probably\nwash off this; but it will serve its purpose, as roofs are not so easily\nset on fire during the rains.\n\n\u201cThe best way of securing the goodwill of the natives is to mingle much\nwith them. Those in our neighbourhood are all most friendly, but they\nare impulsive. I must explain that I have thought it my duty to stick\nclosely to school work, so that my time for visiting in the country is\nnot much. But Dr. Macklin and I have begun to spend Saturday forenoons\nin going about among the people. The other week we were at the back of\nSochi where there is a good view of the Mlanje range. I had been reading,\nfor the first time, Mr. Rowley\u2019s book on the Universities\u2019 Mission, and\nit gave a new interest to the prospect that lay before us. As we stood\ngazing on the very valley that our predecessors must have passed through\nto Magomero, we felt that we were amidst hallowed associations. We cannot\nhelp thinking that the dealings of Providence were very mysterious with\nregard to a Mission so well equipped.\n\n\u201cOur new villages show much improvement. Instead of the original little\nround hut the Blantyre natives are beginning to erect square houses\nwith verandahs and calico windows. It would be desirable to spread our\nenergies over a larger field. When we succeed in planting one or two\nstations this end will be gained. We cannot predict what course our work\nwill take in the future. After we have a few stations besides Blantyre,\nwe may be able to subdivide the district thus occupied into twenty\nparishes. Were we at this stage, we could secure for the native pastors\nan endowment in the form of a small freehold. Such an organisation as\nthis would, with the blessing of God, tell strongly on the heathenism\nof the country; but the attainment of such an end, whether it be near\nor distant, will not be secured without many a prayer, and many a\npersevering effort both of the Church at home and of its representatives\nin this distant land.\u201d\n\nAfter the Mission Directors recommended extension, we turned our thoughts\nto Mlanje and to Zomba. Dr. Macklin went to the former district, but\nfound the country very unsettled. At one place he underwent considerable\nanxiety, and his men kept awake all night, but he was relieved by\ndiscovering that his interpreter was acquainted with one of the chiefs.\nThe Doctor wrote, \u201cThis was a very pleasant discovery, and quite set\nmy mind at rest. The chief said he knew the English were friends; he\nknew them long ago when he lived on the coast; how that the English had\nsaved his people from being enslaved by the Portuguese; and how the\nEnglish ships of war used to capture dhows and set the slaves free. He\nwas glad to have a visit from us, and expressed himself pleased at the\nprospect of the English coming to stay amongst his people to teach their\nchildren, as he knew learning was good. Next morning I received a present\nof a fine goat, a large quantity of rice and native beer. I had another\ninterview with him. I told him I wished to explore the district and visit\nMatapwiri. He thereupon earnestly recommended me not to go to the other\nside of Mlanje, or go up the hills, or visit Matapwiri at present, but to\ncome back again, and then he himself or his brother would be my guide.\nHe said I was likely to get into trouble if I went on now. He asked me\nto stay a few days among his people, to let them get acquainted with me.\nHe said he was sorry he must go away that day, but he was desirous his\npeople should learn more of me. He also expressed his regret that the\npeople in the first village had given me trouble, and he was angry with\nthem. Indeed, he went that way to take away the present from the headman.\u201d\n\nThen the chief departed to carry on his wars. We kept up communication\nwith him to the last. Various presents were exchanged, and on one\noccasion he sent over his young son on a visit to Blantyre.\n\nMeanwhile the Mission was steadily advancing in every department. Details\nmay be gathered from the following extracts:\u2014\n\n\u201cBy this time many natives are more decently clothed. Saturday is the\ngreat washing-day, so that on Sunday we have quite a respectable (not to\nsay a gaudy) congregation.\n\n\u201cThe dresses with bright and variegated colours have been highly\nprized, especially by the school children and the females. Some of the\nmen, however, are not so much influenced by colour in selecting their\ngarments. They are so utilitarian that they form an opinion of a dress\nonly after giving it a few good \u2018tugs\u2019.\n\n\u201cOur pupils make marked progress. We have two boys that did not know a\nsingle letter last year, who can now read the 37th Psalm. I have set one\nclass to read the metrical version of the psalms, as the rhyme pleases\nthem. They also gain insight into our language, by reading the poetical\nversion along with the prose one.\u201d\n\nWe had long felt the necessity of building larger houses, and had\nthought of various plans. Turf houses were suggested, but none of us\nhad ever seen turf in this country. Bricks were next spoken of. But Dr.\nMacklin, learning that the earth of the ant-hills could be used for\nmortar, proposed to build with stone, and Mr. Buchanan in a very short\ntime reared the walls of the first stone house that had been seen in\nthis region. Its erection gave the mission a new standing altogether.\nThe natives had been of opinion that in a short time we should become\ntired of them and go away like our predecessors. But when they saw that\nwe no longer built _masakasa_, as they said the \u201cMagomero Mission had\nalso done,\u201d they reasoned that we gave more promise of a permanent stay.\nBesides, the white people had children on whom many hopes were placed.\n\nKapeni\u2019s sister paid Mrs. Macdonald a visit of compliment on the birth of\nher son, and asked to see the white baby. She brought with her a little\ngirl of about six years, and made some hints to the effect that she would\nlike a marriage with the white people! She said the young Scotchman was\na Yao child, and I replied that I had little doubt he would soon speak\nYao. When asked whether she would leave the little girl for school, she\nsaid she would attend school with \u201c_him_\u201d! The natives, although afraid\nthat their own children would not learn to read, never admitted the same\ndoubts regarding the white child, who had the medicine of its fathers.\n\nBy the end of this half-year I was able to converse with the natives\nsufficiently well to profit by their instructions in the language. From\nmorning till noon and from noon till night, I kept noting down native\nwords wherever I heard them, and I hired special teachers besides. Having\nrealised from the beginning that the first work of a Missionary was to\nacquire the language of his people, I was daily discovering that the best\nway of mastering an unwritten tongue was to note down native tales. By\nthis time I could write as follows:\u2014\n\n\u201cI am glad that I have advanced so far in the language as to have\novercome the mere drudgery part. I now pay special attention to the\nidioms. From twelve noon till two every day I have a man engaged to give\nme stories, for which I pay him in handkerchiefs, needles, or soap. I\nwrite down these tales to dictation, and occasionally in shorthand. I\nbelieve that in a little I shall be able to utilise phonography in this\nlanguage for private use, and thus save much time. The tense-sequence is\nmore simple than I at first thought; the natives have a device like what\nHebrew grammar has called the Waw consecutive. Thus, when they speak of\nthe past, they put the first verb in the past indicative, while the rest\nof the verbs in the series are infinitives.\n\n\u201cThese people are not destitute of a traditional literature: they have\na great many riddles, which I am trying to collect. They have also many\ntales. At the head of these there is an account of the first man; this\nis followed up by genealogies of all the tribes in their neighbourhood;\nthen there comes a long catalogue of wars and consequent famines,\ninterspersed at intervals with times of peace and prosperity. I have\nalso accounts of their important ceremonies, some of which are very\nobjectionable, and much resemble practices that were associated with the\nidolatry of ancient Israel. Some particulars my informant communicated\nin a whisper; others were \u2018hidden,\u2019 and if he revealed them he would\ndie. The man that has been my chief instructor is anxious to get \u2018our\nstories,\u2019 by which he means the stories in the Bible. After coming to\nAfrica and seeing the effect of Scripture narratives on the native mind,\nmy appreciation of the Old Testament history has been much deepened. To\ntake one instance. The natives were greatly impressed with the incident\nin the history of David, where he had Saul in his power and spared\nhim\u2014they considered David\u2019s action a most admirable one.\n\n\u201cCongregations at home are anxious to get truth in a more abstract form,\nand would consider time wasted if the sermon were taken up with these\nsimple stories; but these natives like to ruminate on every particular,\nand to conceive the whole narrative as vividly as possible. Though we,\nfrom familiarity, look on these narratives as simple, people hearing them\nfor the first time may recognise in them not only a divine sublimity, but\na supernatural intellectual power.\u201d\n\nWhen we reached the Mission last year, the natives used to bring large\nnumbers of fowls for sale: at first they brought more than could be used.\nThey were equally ready to sell eggs. Moreover, when there was a rumour\nof war in the district, they fetched in fowls from every quarter, for\nwhen they had to run to the hills they could carry their \u201cmoney\u201d more\neasily than their fowls. The effect of all this was that the native\nvillagers in the neighbourhood soon sold off their stock, and as a\nconsequence the Missionaries had no meat. On fowls we depended almost\nentirely, for though the Magololo had a few sheep and goats, they did not\ncare to sell them. Various means were tried in order to keep the wolf\nfrom the door. In the early days of the Mission, before there was much\nto do, and when most of the staff were unwell, it had been possible to\ntell off an invalid to look after the fowls, but all of us were too busy\nnow. We adopted the plan of giving fowls over to villagers, and we soon\nfound that if they could not take better care of them than the white\nman they could always _account for_ them better, for every now and then\nthey were able to report that a dozen had been killed by a leopard! But\nthe matter became serious\u2014we often found ourselves without food. On one\noccasion we had to live chiefly on beans for nearly five weeks. The only\ngood solution of this difficulty was found when we planted a new Mission.\nTo it we looked for a supply till the Blantyre district recovered itself.\nMany a time the petition for daily bread had a significance for us here\nthat it never had in Britain. It might be supposed that a Missionary is\nin danger of becoming less spiritually-minded when surrounded by the\nheathen. But on the contrary, not to mention the solemn call which he\nfeels when he is face to face with heathendom, he is apt to realize his\ndependence on God much more vividly than in a civilized land. Each night\nhe knows that a drunk native might easily burn him in his hut before he\nawakes.\n\n_Trading._ In a short time the African Lakes Company began to exert an\ninfluence in the country. Its agents brought out a steamer to ply between\nMazaro and the Mission settlements. The intention was to aid the Missions\nand encourage the natives in commerce. The negroes, it was felt, might\neasily wonder what could be the object of the Missionary, but they could\nall understand the object of the Trader. Hitherto the great trade of\nthe country had been in slaves, nor could a native chief be expected\nto lay aside this traffic all at once, seeing, as he did, no harm in\ndealing in human flesh and blood. He pleaded, and that truly, that he\nhad nothing to sell but slaves. Some legitimate trade required therefore\nto be introduced. In dealing with the natives, Trading Companies would\nevidently have to face great difficulties. Unfortunately these negroes\nhad learned to look to all traders for rum and powder. Besides, as time\nis of no value to the native, he demands for his goods the same price in\nthe interior that he would get at the coast. Like the Missionary, the\nTrader in such lands has to educate the people gradually. But the Trading\nCompany soon conferred a great boon on the Mission Stations. At first\nwe had always great difficulty in getting ordinary stores from England.\nFor a long time while we had plenty of tea we had no sugar, on other\noccasions while we had plenty of sugar we had no tea! But the superior\nmeans of communication put an end to these difficulties.\n\nThis company is desirous of opening up the country by making a road\nas far as Lake Tanganyika. This is certainly a very good programme.\nWhen operations are extended over such a large field, no doubt, many\ndifficulties may be expected. On one occasion a chief robbed and murdered\nno fewer than fourteen natives that were employed by the company, and\nwhen a party went back to remonstrate, another man lost his life in the\nscuffle. But the making of roads is a work that the natives much like,\nand which soon advances the civilization of a district.\n\n_Field for Emigration._ Livingstone as he passed through this region\noften thought of the poor in his native land. He knew how human beings\nwere crowded together in large cities, where they seldom saw a green\nfield or enjoyed the pure air. There they lived, cast aside into some\nfilthy street to be hidden as it were from the more respectable citizens.\nMight not this hard fate be modified? The vast unpeopled plains and\nmountains of Africa impressed us with the lesson that Great Britain is\nbut a little part of God\u2019s vast world.\n\nThe state of the lake region of Africa just now, points back to what\nBritain must have been many centuries before Christianity reached it. If\nwe had then sailed up the Thames or the Clyde in some canoe, we should\nhave seen only an occasional savage clad perhaps in skins, who would\nquickly rush in terror into the dense jungle. Could the man of those\nprimitive days now revisit his old haunts, he would not recognise them. A\ngreater contrast could scarcely be imagined. What in his time was a swamp\nis now a railway station, places then quite impassable by reason of bush\nand branches are now busy streets, spots which were then a barren waste\nare now fertile farms. For every person that could subsist in the country\nthen, there are thousands now. With reference to Africa, many Englishmen\nsay that if Britain instead of Portugal had held the coast, the country\nwould have been already opened up. The remark looks invidious, but in\nany case it cannot change the past, and those who have at heart the sad\ncondition of the African must seek to improve the present. I have no\ndoubt that settlers willing to endure the hardships common in uncivilised\ncountries, would by steady perseverance soon make themselves comfortable\nhomes. Sugar grows well in the district. The natives have the cane,\nthough they know nothing of the manufactured article. Tobacco also grows\neverywhere. The same may be said of India-rubber. Cotton is indigenous,\nand flax thrives well. Coffee has succeeded, and it is almost certain\nthat tea would. Oil seeds (like the castor-oil bean, ground nuts and\nsesamum) are abundant. Native labour is cheap. The rate of wages at one\ntime was a foot of calico per day for each man, and nine inches for a\nwoman; and as the Mission had always more applicants for work than could\nbe received, even this small wage was reduced. Still, parties settling\nfar inland would not gain by exporting, as for a long time the expense of\ncarriage must be high.\n\nOne thing much to be regretted in connection with the opening up of the\ncountry for commerce is the wholesale destruction of the elephant. At\nevery port along the East coast the mail steamers receive tons of ivory.\nIt is a pity that the African elephant cannot be utilised in some other\nway. Unless the noble animals have some mercy shown them, they will\nspeedily become extinct.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHIRD HALF. JULY, 1879-DEC., 1879.\n\n\nMlanje district having proved too unsettled for Mission Work, our\nthoughts turned to Zomba, where there was greater quietness. The Rev.\nHorace Waller said that he had ever looked upon this great mountain as a\n\u2018Land of Promise\u2019. Its height gave us good reason for expecting that a\nhealthy site could be found in its neighbourhood. We started for Zomba\non _July 30_. It was 8\u00b745 before we had all the carriers in motion. I\nwent off in front, while Mr. Buchanan brought up the rear. We carried\nwith us provisions for a month, and tools to build a house if we should\nfind a good settlement with friendly natives. As we crossed the shoulder\nof Ndilande, our march was quite an ovation, the natives running from\nevery village to salute us. Two hours from Blantyre brought us to a\nwooded plain, uninhabited but well watered, in which we proceeded for two\nhours more, till we reached a village on the side of Cherasulo at one\no\u2019clock. After resting for two hours we resumed our journey, which now\nlay through a valley at the foot of Cherasulo\u2014a most fertile spot, with\nsparkling brooks and gigantic trees.\n\nAt this point one of our carriers fell behind, and could not be found. He\nmanaged his little trick so skilfully that I did not understand it till\nlong after. When we started we intended to pass Mkanda\u2019s, but on further\ninquiry we resolved to go by Kumpama\u2019s. On our change of route becoming\nknown, this poor carrier who had been a slave of Kumpama\u2019s, contrived to\n\u2018miss the way,\u2019 although beside his old home. He then \u2018wandered a long\ntime is search of us\u2019 and at last returned to Blantyre. I mention this to\nshew the reserve of the natives. All knew the facts as well as I do now,\nbut no one hinted at them and we were left to suppose, if we liked, that\nthe carrier had run off and stolen his load.\n\nThat night we pitched our tent in the village of a \u2018brother\u2019 of\nMityoche\u2019s, who treated us with great kindness. Since the expedition to\nMlanje had caused so much anxiety we took the opportunity at this place\nof writing back to Blantyre, and two of the villagers were very willing\nto act as postmen.\n\nOn _July 31_ we resumed at 7 o\u2019clock hardly expecting to see a single\nhabitation till we were near Zomba. But there are a few hamlets a little\nway off the path. One large village we reached at 9, and there we rested\nbefore entering the desert. We partook of breakfast while our carriers\nregaled themselves with native beer. As the \u2018English\u2019 are held in high\nestimation as Physicians, a poor man covered with a kind of leprosy was\nbrought to us here. At 11\u00b720 we came to the Namasi, the largest stream\nwe had yet crossed. The road is uniformly level. It seems as if nature\nhad meant it for a railway. On the sides, here and there, are rocky\nheights rising about 150 feet above the plain. 1\u00b750 P.M. brought us to\nthe Ntondwe, another large stream. After 3 the descent was gradual,\nalmost imperceptible, till we reached, at the foot of Zomba, a fine\nstream called the Likangala, by the side of which at 5\u00b730 we pitched our\ntent under the shadow of the great mountain. At this spot there are some\nvillages on sites as beautiful as could be conceived. The inhabitants are\nnumerous and intelligent. They have had much intercourse with the coast,\nwhich they can reach in about seven days. Their chief is Chemlumbe. All\nthe people were exceedingly kind and each headman recommended us to stay\nbeside himself. The Cherasulo people could not see why we preferred\nZomba, and Chemlumbe\u2019s subjects were sure that we would settle with him.\n\n_Aug. 1._\u2014We started for Chemlumbe\u2019s own residence. He wished us to rest\nthree days before doing anything. This is an example of some of the lazy\ncustoms of the country. But there are certain principles in human nature\nquite as strong as habit: through the offer of two shirts we procured a\nguide, and by twelve o\u2019clock we stood on the top of Zomba. Once there, we\nwent round the whole of the side towards Blantyre, and the whole of the\nside towards Chirwa. To our disappointment we found that, at the nearest\npoint, the lake was at a great distance from the base of Zomba. One hill\ncalled Chikala is nearer the lake only our guide said that it was the\nchosen abode of war and tsetse. By the time we were ready to descend the\nmountain, it was dark. Our guide had left us in the afternoon because we\nwere going too far in the direction of a hostile chief called Malemya.\nWe were not sure whether to sleep on the hill or to press onwards in the\nmoonlight. Ultimately we resolved to press on. Our men were so tired that\nthey preferred to stay behind and we went on alone, though very faint,\nhaving eaten nothing since morning. Before we had gone fifteen minutes\nBuchanan, who was leading, declared that it would be a difficult descent,\nand in about fifteen minutes more we were in a perfect \u2018fix\u2019. At one\npoint it seemed to be quite impossible to go down, while it was nearly\nequally difficult to go back. We kept struggling for about two hours.\nOnce we thought of lying down till the moon came round; at another time\nwe proceeded to take off our clothing to serve as a rope by which we\nmight project ourselves to a certain tree. We cannot be too thankful that\nthis last plan was abandoned, as we should have reached the tree only to\nbe precipitated down hundreds of feet of perpendicular rock. The want\nof food, and the exertions of the day, had made us exceedingly weak; we\ncould hardly speak. But we did not lose our trust in God; and it gave us\ncomfort to think that we were not forgotten by praying people at home. In\na short time we found a less dangerous path, and reached a stream about\nmidnight. A few draughts of its delicious water made up for want of food;\nand in a short time we tried to wade down the channel, as having thus the\neasiest passage to the foot of the mountain. In the stream our progress\nwas no longer obstructed by bush, but we encountered large slippery\nstones. One or two falls among these convinced us that the mountain must\nbe our abode all night. We found a level stone for a bed, and a few logs,\nwhich made a fire. One of us was to sleep, the other to watch and scare\nthe wild beasts. I was constituted watchman, as Buchanan who was better\nacquainted with Chemlumbe was to bring round the carriers next day.\n\n_Aug. 2._\u2014In the morning we were as fresh as could be expected, and urged\non by hunger, we resumed our journey as soon as we could see. We now\ndiscovered that we had reason to be thankful for not having attempted\nto descend farther in the night. Towards the foot of the mountain we\nfound timber, bamboos, and other requisites for building, growing more\nplentifully than at Blantyre. Having started at six we reached a native\nvillage\u2014Kalimbuka\u2019s\u2014about eight, and our knowledge of the language at\nonce recommended us to the people. We allayed the pangs of hunger by\ndevouring a few raw eggs, which we bought for a handkerchief. Though\nsome of these had been taken from under a hen as usual, we found as many\nfresh as served our purpose. Then we made a meal of sweet potatoes which\nwere roasted among the ashes. After we had time to examine ourselves\nwe found our clothes had been cut by our falls among the stones the\nprevious night. An aneroid barometer which we laid down in the chiefs\nverandah, soon collected a great crowd. The chief had tried to catch\nthe hands below the glass! and was so much surprised at his failure\nthat he called his people. They were all still more surprised when I\nproduced my watch. They thought the larger hand might be a \u201cpicture\u201d\nbut they saw the seconds hand actually moving, yet despite all their\nefforts, they could not catch it. Every man in the village had to try\nthe experiment for himself before he was convinced. A brave old veteran\nwho had slain his hundreds, came forward perfectly certain that he\ncould take hold of the \u201clittle stick\u201d. He pushed aside the rest of the\npeople with an air of contempt\u2014they were good for nothing if they could\nnot hold that stick. They made way for the mighty man who placed his\nforefinger opposite his large thumb and pounced upon the watch glass\nwith the greatest confidence. He repeated the attack again and again,\nbut the seconds hand still kept moving on as before. Gradually a puzzled\nlook crept over his face, and the crowd raised a loud laugh, while the\nwarrior tried to cover his defeat, by saying, \u201cCan you catch hold of it,\nfather?\u201d By the time that the men had all tried to catch the \u201cstick,\u201d\nthe female population paused amidst the labours of their busier life,\nand came forward in a body to see the phenomenon that had so puzzled\ntheir husbands. They showed equal astonishment. The watch opened with\nthe usual spring. And being anxious to get an illustration of the \u201cpost\nhoc, propter hoc\u201d fallacy, I invited one man to blow upon the back of\nit, when to his astonishment, the lid opened at once! After this all the\nvillagers crowded round for the purpose of blowing on the watch, and\nthey clapped their hands and huzzaed, when the lid always opened! Before\nthe exhibition had finished, every villager had to put the watch to his\near to hear what it said. Then he told his friends that it said, \u201cTelu!\ntelu! telu!\u201d The natives often gave an interpretation of sounds which\nwas different from ours. According to them a cat does not say \u201cmew,\u201d but\n\u201cnyao\u201d.\n\nIn the course of the day, our goods were brought round from Chemlumbe\u2019s,\nwho seemed offended because we had not settled at his village which was\nunfortunately unsuitable. Chemlumbe is related to Mityoche, and had we\nsettled with him, the latter might have always allowed our carriers to\npass in peace. We asked Kalimbuka whether we could get leave to choose\na spot in his neighbourhood, and he was delighted with the idea. But\nwishing to observe every little point of native manners, we requested him\nto take us first to Malemya, the chief of the whole district.\n\n_Sunday, August 3._\u2014We held two services in the native language, which\nwere well attended. When we repeated the Lord\u2019s prayer, our new friends\nspecially noted its last petition, \u201cDeliver us from evil\u201d.[5]\n\n_Monday, August 4._\u2014With Kalimbuka\u2019s son as guide we set out for\nMalemya\u2019s. In this journey we found more traces of foreign influence than\nare seen at Blantyre. We met with one man that could speak Swahili, and\nwith another that had been the slave of some Portuguese planter. When\nwe expressed a doubt as to whether a Portuguese slave would run so far\ninland, Bismark said, \u201cThere can be no doubt about the matter, if you\nlook at his side, you may see the mark!\u201d and so it was. When the man\nraised his arm, we found that he had a brand on the side.\n\nOn reaching Malemya\u2019s, we asked an interview with the chief. After\nsome delay, an old man who was evidently a great snuff-taker, made his\nappearance, and announced himself as Malemya. We shewed him all the\ntokens of respect due to a king, and stated our errand. He was quite\nfavourable and condescended to give us a general idea of his kingdom and\nits relations. He bitterly complained of his neighbour Kawinga, who tried\nto capture all his subjects. After everything had been discussed, he said\nhe would take a few minutes to consider how he would deal with us, and\nretired. During his absence, Bismark and some of our men were asked to a\nprivate interview. In a little, Bismark returned laughing and said, \u201cThat\nman you saw is not the chief at all! The chief is a young man. You will\nsee him if you come round to the back of the house.\u201d On this explanation\nbeing given, all the natives laughed, feeling that the white men had been\ncheated! Though some even of our own retinue must have known that Malemya\nwas a young man, they gave us no hint of this, but seemed to enjoy the\nlittle game: they afterwards remarked that Machinga chiefs always acted\nin this manner with strangers. Malemya himself was very cordial. When\nwe tried to explain that we wanted a little bit of ground as well as a\nhouse, he did not understand how we could have a house without getting\nall the land about it! In his view, the one gift implied the other. We\nwere careful to explain that we should not interfere in the usual native\nwars. He wished us to stay and rest with him, but we declined, promising\nto call again.\n\nNext day we set ourselves to choose a spot for a house, and to begin\noperations. In choosing the site we had many conditions to fulfil. (1)\nThere must be people about us. On seeing this spot from the top of the\nmountain, we were delighted with the cluster of little villages. Here we\nwere on the borders between Chemlumbe and Malemya, having a ready access\nto both kingdoms, and the subjects of these hostile chiefs laid aside\ntheir petty jealousies and worked side by side with us. (2) There must be\na supply of good water. On the banks of the Mlungusi we had as favourable\na position in this respect as could be desired. (3) It must be a healthy\nspot. The elevation of the site at Zomba secured this, our station being\non the southern side of the hill, about 400 feet higher than Blantyre,\nand quite accessible to every wind except the north, which would be a\nhot wind. Here, too, the mountain juts out, giving us even more than our\nfair share of fresh air. (4) It must be a secure spot. This site seemed\nspecially suited for preserving us from such trouble from thieves as we\nhad at Blantyre. The whole district round as far as Malemya\u2019s is well\nwatered and populous. The people, too, are quite as knowing as those\nat Blantyre, most of the men having been at Quilimane. They were able\nto give me much help with the language. At Blantyre I had been long\nsearching for a Yao word equivalent to our \u201chundred\u201d but without success.\nAt Zomba I got it at once, but it is seldom used\u2014the natives rarely\ncounting so high.\n\n_Tuesday, August 5_, found us at our new settlement. After clearing a\nlittle spot we raised a grass hut. In this we had just room for our\nbeds and a table. The bedsteads which we had brought with us were not\nstrong and sometimes fell down and knocked our heads through our wall!\nA table was made by driving four posts into the floor, and fixing a\nbamboo boarding above them. For chairs, we had old boxes. Our cooking\nwas done under a big tree. We had no windows, but the walls of our house\nwere convenient, as we could at once make holes to look through when a\ndisturbance arose. The native workers slept in similar grass tents around\nus. One night they accidentally set fire to a dwelling, the flames spread\nand destroyed several others, soon the whole bush was in a blaze; but our\nhut escaped. It did service for three weeks, until the larger house was\nfinished, when Mr. Buchanan abandoned it in favour of some fowls that he\nhad bought.\n\nWe were glad that we could address the people in their own tongue, and\nthey listened with much attention. Of course they did not yet know to\ncome to us, and we had to go to them. One Sunday I held a great many\nservices, moving about from village to village and preaching in them\nall. When I returned in the evening, a congregation soon assembled. By\nthis time I was quite tired, and when addressing them I adopted a sitting\nposture; but so earnest was their manner in listening, that it soon\nbrought me to my feet. I often asked Bismark to address the natives, and\nhis words produced a profound impression. He delivered some addresses\nof such an earnest, practical character, that they would not have been\namiss in the English language, and in a home pulpit. Zomba on the whole\ngave promise of doing well as a Mission station, and secular work was\nalso carried on with great vigour. Besides building a house, Mr. Buchanan\nhad to hoe the ground for crops and to make a road to the new Station.\nThe natives in the neighbourhood were exceedingly anxious to obtain\nemployment. Those about Blantyre had all benefited by working at the\nMission, and by this time they were more civilized in dress. Compared\nwith our people, the inhabitants of Zomba looked very naked. In their\ndistrict there was no cloth except some Blantyre calico which they had\npurchased from other natives, and a little that had been bought from the\nslave-drivers a few months before. Every Monday, workers were enrolled\nfor a fortnight. More applied than could be engaged, but as several came\nfrom great distances, Mr. Buchanan always took on as many as he could.\n\nOne afternoon I started to pay a second visit to Malemya. He and his\npeople were in the midst of a beer-drinking, which had lasted a few days\nalready, but which he assured me was only beginning. He gave me a hut in\na village at some distance from the scene of the beer drinking. Though he\nwas quite drunk when I arrived, he soon recovered and came down beside\nme. We spoke of the great numbers of people that could be reached from\nChirwa, and he promised me a guide to its shores. He said the Lake used\nto be full of water, but that it was becoming drier every year\u2014\u201cWhat\ncould be the reason?\u201d Problems of this kind often occupy native chiefs,\nwho are always glad to hear the opinions of a stranger. On going along\nits shores next day, I saw that the Lake at one time had been broader,\nand that over a great part of the land still covered, the water was only\na few feet in depth. That night I slept in a village near the Lake. The\nheadman urged me to occupy his own dwelling and accordingly proceeded to\nclear out his poultry. Bismark warned me against entering the hut as it\nwas full of \u201cwhat was called fleas\u201d. But since the people were so kind\nas to give up their home for me, I thought it best not to be fastidious.\nOn the whole I was comfortable; once I awoke and was quite overawed at\nhearing the gnawing of the rats. It seemed as if hundreds of mouths were\nmunching at once. I lighted a match, and then there was a great scamper,\nwhich disturbed the few fowls that still roosted above me. I could see\nthat the roof where my host kept his maize was alive with rats. For a\nwhile they paused in their carnival, but slowly and surely the dread\nsound returned. I buried my head under the blankets and wished for the\nPied Piper of Hamelin! In this village there was great plenty, and in its\nneighbourhood we saw large herds of game. As the village was situated\nbeside a stream, the people were all experts at spearing fish.\n\nThe time had now come when it was necessary for me to return to Blantyre.\nThere Dr. Laws was waiting with his bride, and we had the prospect of\ncelebrating the first European marriage ever witnessed in this land.\nBefore I left Zomba the supply of calico was low, and Mr. Buchanan had\nto face his workmen one morning with an empty exchequer. Some grumbled,\nand said they were to be \u201ccheated\u201d. But the Blantyre men came forward\nin a body to explain \u201cthat the English did not cheat\u201d. I often found\nthat I could be of considerable service when a dispute arose among the\nnegro workmen about wages. As I did not interfere with secular affairs,\nI was appealed to by the natives as being a neutral party, and I could\nkeep them amused till calmer counsels prevailed. When I set out on my\nreturn journey at the end of August, Mr. Buchanan was left to work at\nZomba alone. On reaching Blantyre we were much pleased at the arrival of\ncopies of our new books in the native language, which soon gave a fresh\nimpulse to all our school teaching. It was no uncommon thing this half\nyear to see lads in every corner with books in their hands. Formerly we\nwere quite satisfied when they attended to their lessons during school\nhours, but now there was a revolution, and many began to study with\nreal enthusiasm. The only drawback was that here a book would be read\nthreadbare long before other translations could be printed.\n\nIn _travelling_ one sees and learns much more than when closely confined\nto school-work. The days occupied in founding the new station at Zomba\nwere the first I had as yet spent out of Blantyre. As we passed through\nthe country we were often in danger of walking into native traps. Some of\nthese are constructed so as to hang the party that enters, others bring\ndown a log or a heavy stone upon his head. Pitfalls of about five feet\ndeep are dug, and carefully covered over. These are dangerous, and white\nmen often fall into them. But the natives are good observers, and when\none knows what they say, he always gets warning in time. In the same way\nwhen marching after sunset, they warn each other very faithfully of any\nstone on the path or any hole in it. Should there be a stone each man\nsays \u201cstone\u201d (liganga) as he comes to it, and the word passes along the\nwhole file with solemn regularity. The red ants are a great trial to the\nunwary traveller. If he walk for a few minutes upon them, he will feel\nsevere bites all over his body, and will soon be compelled to take off\nevery stitch of clothing. When marching as we did in single file, we are\napt to incur peculiar dangers. Most natives carry a bunch of poisoned\narrows over the shoulder, and if there be a sudden halt a European needs\nto be careful that he does not run against the armoury of the man that\nmarches before him. As we passed Cherasulo, which was a great slaving\ndistrict, we occasionally saw some poor woman standing in a slave-stick.\nOur carriers showed a desire to go and release such people; and since\nevery European that travelled in this country figured to some extent as a\nliberator of the slave, they expected us to encourage them, but we felt\nthat it would be most inexpedient to interfere.\n\nAt this period we had the Rev. Horace Waller congratulating us on the\npeaceful state of the country, as compared with his own experience. But\na very painful incident now occurred which I shall describe mainly by\nextracts from letters of this date. On _Tuesday, 16th September_, when\nI was in school, a note came from Mr. Buchanan, stating that the goods\nsent to him had been taken away after a brisk battle with the carriers,\nin which guns and arrows were freely used and some wounds inflicted. The\nLivingstonia Mission were then removing a great quantity of stores which\nhad been waiting for them at Blantyre, and it was said that a number of\nMityoche\u2019s men had for days been waiting on the Livingstonia road to\nsecure this booty. But they were a little too late; all the goods passed\nsafely, and the robbers had to return. On their way home, however, they\nmet a party of ours going to Zomba, and the result was a successful\nattack upon them.\n\nWhen Mr. Buchanan\u2019s note came to the station, Fenwick and I prepared to\ngo at once and have an interview with Mityoche. My great difficulty was\nto get away from School for the purpose, but Mr. Moir of the African\nLakes Company who was then recovering from fever undertook to teach for\nme. The people of Zomba had earnestly entreated me to go back to see\nthem soon, and I would thus have an opportunity of paying them a visit.\nTaking duplicates of what had been lost, we started at five o\u2019clock in\nthe afternoon, about an hour after the news arrived. We intended to camp\nat Cherasulo, but it was found that our tent had been left behind, and\nas the sun is so very hot just now during the day, we pressed on all\nnight fearing, as we did, that Mr. Buchanan who had been without cloth\nfor some time, would have difficulty in making a settlement with his\nworkers. About one o\u2019clock in the morning we reached Kumpama\u2019s, and might\nhave stayed there, but a guide volunteered to take us to Mityoche\u2019s at\nonce. As we should thus be able to reach Zomba in the course of the\nday, we accepted the offer, and after resting a while we resumed our\njourney. It was interesting to pass the villages at night. The guide was\na great smoker and at every place he roused half-a-dozen men to light\nhis pipe. The natives rise at night with great ease as compared with\npeople that have to put on clothes. It was nearly daylight when we came\nto Mityoche\u2019s. We sent the guide to tell that we wanted an interview.\nAll at once the fellows seemed to know our errand, and they would not be\ncordial. We never failed so entirely in getting natives to be friendly.\nWhen we asked to see the chief they demanded whether we wanted war, and\nwhen we told them that we were men of peace, they replied that we might\nhave an interview with the chief if we sent him a present. A present of\ncalico was accordingly sent to show that our intentions were friendly.\nThe reply came that it was too little\u2014the chief wanted more. But by this\ntime his fighting men came rushing in with loaded guns, and assumed\nthreatening attitudes towards our party. Although it was the standard\npresent and the natives with us were determined to stand by it, we sent\nanother to prevent any cause of offence. Still we were told it was too\nlittle and another increase followed with the same result. By this time\nwe began to fear that a thorough \u201cbrush\u201d was inevitable, and we wished\nto get out of the village if possible. The other party brandished their\nguns, and swung them about in a sort of wild war dance. Our own villagers\nadvised them to caution, and cried out, \u2018The English are your friends and\nthey could eat you all if they liked\u2019. Some considerations of this kind\nweighed with them, and the chief told us that we might go. We were much\nrelieved even by this concession.\n\nThe guide was loud in condemning Mityoche\u2019s conduct, and set off to lead\nus to Zomba. We left the village, but we had not got two hundred yards\naway, when we saw a party rushing after us. Some of our last men were\nseized and stripped, and in a moment we had iron bullets whistling about\nour ears. Self defence was inevitable, and we fired. We did not act for\none moment on the offensive. I had only a small fowling-piece loaded with\nshot. I discharged both barrels in the air, and reloaded for the purpose\nof showing how quickly our loading could be done, and then remembering\nthe criticisms on good Bishop Mackenzie we retreated. Fortunately no\none was killed or wounded. We thought we were marching on Zomba, but we\nfound that our natives, who were afraid to go farther, were merely taking\nus across to the Blantyre road. We were much afraid for Buchanan. He\nmight be safe so long as he staid at the station, but what if he should\ncome on, as he indicated in his letter, and enter Mityoche\u2019s village\nwithout knowing what sort of a man he had to deal with! We were full of\nanxiety as we hurried back to Blantyre, which we reached at six P.M. on\nWednesday, after twenty-four hours of continuous marching.\n\nOn the following day, messengers came from Kapeni, regarding men of\nhis that had been with us, and who were believed to have been taken\nprisoners. Some of Kumlomba\u2019s villagers were supposed to be captured\nalso. We heard, too, that Mityoche\u2019s men had become afraid, and deserted\nhis village. They had all fled, it was said, to the top of a hill. Next\nday, Mr. Walker set out to effect a union with Mr. Buchanan, to see\nafter prisoners, and do all he could to smooth matters. He had little\ndoubt he would be successful in getting things peacefully arranged; the\nnatives, he said, would come and say chonde! chonde! (please, please). I\nmentioned to him that in the event of any difficulty it would be better\nto go on to Zomba directly. He took with him the two best interpreters\nthat were at Blantyre, and said he would be able to get on with their\naid. I urged that if there were any further difficulties he should first\nsee Mr. Buchanan and Bismark. This party, however, got into a fight. When\nthey came back, I was told that Mityoche\u2019s people had met them; Kumlomba,\nthe Blantyre headman, got a severe wound below the knee, and one of\nMityoche\u2019s men was killed, while another was believed to be wounded in\nthe leg. Poor Kumlomba had to be carried back, and was taken to a hut\nout in the fields, in anticipation of death. When a bullet breaks a\npiece of bone, the case is by the natives considered hopeless. But under\nEnglish treatment Kumlomba gradually recovered. Mityoche after this last\nadventure, lived for a long time on a hill\u2014as the natives always do in\ntimes of trouble. When Kumlomba heard, in two months after, that Mityoche\nhad returned and \u201cwas eating porridge\u201d at his own village, he thought\nit was a great scandal! He would have eagerly gone to attack him. The\nnatives take a strange pleasure in war\u2014which reminds one of the ancient\ndays when the women chanted in the cities, \u201cSaul has slain his thousands,\nand David his ten thousands.\u201d\n\nSo far this adventure with Mityoche had proved very unfortunate. Hitherto\nthe Missionaries had got on well with the native, much by reason of\ntheir very boldness. When something was done that seemed to proclaim war\nagainst the Missionaries, they had gone straight to the aggressor as if\nnothing had happened. Still, unless he was assisted by slave dealers,\nMityoche was not likely to make war upon the Mission. He had not so\nstrong a force at his command as any of the headmen of the three largest\nBlantyre villages. Kapeni and all the leading men around us were most\neager to go and make war against him, so were certain of the Magololo.\n(The Directors of the Mission when they heard of the matter recommended\nthat these men should be asked to punish him.) But unfortunately the\nAfrican chiefs would have looked at the step not so much as a method of\nadministering justice, as an excuse for killing Mityoche and capturing\nhis wives. There would have been no use of crushing the man, and for\na long time we tried to send messages to him. All these efforts were\nfruitless. The great difficulty was that he lived so far away: had he\nbeen within a day\u2019s journey I should have visited him on my Saturday\nholiday with every hope of removing the misunderstanding.\n\nAt the end of September, I wrote to the Directors, \u201cNow we could go and\nuse greater force than Mityoche\u2019s, but nothing can be farther from our\ninclination. We trust that all you can do to release us from political\nwork will be done. The Committee must make up their mind to get some one\nto do the Police of the country. The only safe alternative is to recall\nthe Mission.\u201d At this time there was no one to manage the \u201ccolony\u201d. The\nDirectors advised that the natives living at Blantyre should select\none of the laymen to carry out some kind of government. Mr. Walker\nperhaps would have been the successful candidate, and might have been\nwilling to take the duty, but I learned from other home letters that\nhe and the other artisans were required to work under Mr. Henderson,\nwho had returned to Blantyre a few days before, and who was expected to\n\u201cact as a Christian Magistrate\u201d. But Mr. Henderson himself declined to\ntake the responsibility of the office. As for myself, I was precluded\nas a clergyman of the Church of Scotland, from any thing like civil\nor colonial work, and the Directors themselves recognised that the\nmagistrate must be a layman. At this time I urged that the political work\nshould be held quite independent of the spiritual. If civil government\nwas to be well conducted it would require a man\u2019s constant attention. In\nconnection with this subject, I wrote, \u201cFor myself, I am anxious only\nfor immunity in carrying out the evangelical work, though I by no means\noverlook the importance of peace and civilisation. It is hard that a\ngreat many quiet and docile natives should be deprived of this teaching\nowing to the presence of a few roughs. We do not think that matters will\never be satisfactory, while Missionaries are expected to be their own\nprotectors. Missionaries are ever being called off their proper work for\nsubjects of the most delicate kind, and for which they have no special\naptitude.\u201d\n\nThe Directors had long contemplated the formation of a trading company\nin connection with the Mission, and it was hoped that this company would\nmanage all civil affairs.\n\nThe policy of the Scotch Missions on the slave trade, was expressly given\nas the reason for this conduct of Mityoche\u2019s. A great many refugees had\ncome from his district, and according to native views, the reception\nof such refugees was a good cause for war. Having been opposed to this\npolicy all through, I wrote home at this time, \u201cAll the Missions to this\nregion have run their heads against the question of slavery, and out\nof it has sprung a world of troubles. We might have done our duty as\nmissionaries, and let slavery alone entirely. We do not find that the\ngreat Church of the Middle Ages ran against the question, and it had as\nmany opportunities as we have now. To say the least of it, our taking the\nmatter up hitherto, has been premature; we have not such a knowledge of\nthe language and the feelings of the natives as to justify us in dashing\nat once into a difficult question like this.\u201d\n\nThe remainder of October was quiet. In the course of the month, Mr.\nHenderson visited Zomba. We had asked Mr. Buchanan to consider the\nexpediency of abandoning this station, but he felt quite safe. We also\nsuggested that he should try a stockade but he wrote, \u201cI do not think\nwe should try a stockade.[6] The particular kind of wood is not at all\nplentiful, and the expense would be more serious than the chance of an\nattack.\u201d Upon the mountain side he had very little trouble, but the whole\nplain between him and Chirwa was scoured in the interests of the slave\ntrade.\n\nSoon we had more trouble at Blantyre as the following extracts will show:\u2014\n\n\u201cA little after midnight on November 5, we were told that an attack had\nbeen made on Malopa\u2019s village and that prisoners had been carried off.\nThis was a new hamlet about twenty minutes\u2019 walk from Blantyre. Malopa\nhad escaped to bring the intelligence. The attacking party had retreated\nby the back of the Nyambadwe, and there was little hope of capturing\nthem. Mr. Henderson and an artisan hastened to the spot. One house was in\nflames and beside another they found the mangled corpse of Nampala, and\nhis little child standing by it. Nampala\u2019s wife and his elder child had\nbeen captured and carried off. Another woman with two children had been\nlodging, for the night, in this unfortunate place. One of her children\nhad been taken, but she rescued the other, although one of the ruffians\nhad cut its face severely by a stroke of his gun. It appears the attack\ntook place in this way. A disturbance was made in the village, and one\nhouse set on fire. Nampala was the first to awake, and when he went out\nto see what was the matter, two men standing on opposite sides of his\ndoor poured the contents of their guns into his body. Everyone that\nafterwards appeared on the scene was carried off, and the attacking party\nretreated in great haste. Next day which was my Saturday holiday, Malopa,\nChendombo, and myself, traced the footprints for miles. The natives\nhave an almost miraculous power of doing this. They concluded that the\nattacking party had come from a distance.\n\n\u201cThat night we told Kapeni that one of his people was among the captives.\nAs to who were the offenders he had no suspicion whatever, but he assured\nus that in a few days we should have full information. Nampala\u2019s brother\ncame to the funeral, accompanied by several friends. The most friendless\nobject was the little child who being unacquainted with its uncle, and\nits other relatives, could only cling to Malopa. We offered to take it\nand bring it up like an English infant, but the uncle naturally wished to\nkeep it.\n\n\u201cThis sad incident is an illustration of one of the effects of the Slave\nTrade, being quite a normal instance of kidnapping as it goes on around\nus. It is the first that has taken place at Blantyre since I came here.\nIt takes us to the heart of the sufferings of the people. Surely if in\nany place on this earth the cry of the oppressed goes up to heaven, it is\nin Africa.\u201d\n\nHere was another unfortunate problem. We had learned from the Mityoche\ncase that it was dangerous to go to negotiate with a chief that had\nanything upon his conscience, and no native messengers would go alone.\nThis attack had been premeditated, and moreover some of our natives had\nbeen forewarned. For several nights before, one of our large villages\nhad kept awake all night. Long afterwards I went to visit a pupil who\nlived about six miles off. While I was in his father\u2019s village, a man\nentered it carrying a large basket of fowls. He seemed much astonished to\nfind me, but I began to talk with him, and after he became acquainted,\nhe asked me several times whether he might come to Blantyre to sell his\nfowls, and he seemed anxious to get a very definite answer. I told him\nthat I should be very glad to have his company all the way back. Then he\ngave over his fowls to two men that were with him, whom he took aside\nand instructed to proceed, and he told me that he and his daughter would\nwait till the white man was ready to go with them. After a little we\nstarted for Blantyre. The day was exceedingly hot and there was not a\nbreath of wind. All the trees and bushes were as still as if they had\nbeen pictures. My companion was a very fat man, and at one point we\nagreed that we must sit down to rest. After we had rested a while, I\nglanced at my watch to know the time. A native has such an eye for the\nobjective world that a European cannot move a single muscle without\nattracting his attention. Perceiving that the man wanted me to explain\nmyself, I took out the watch and told him what I used it for, and then I\nhanded it to his little daughter telling her to catch the seconds hand.\nWhile she was amusing herself by trying to do this, her father asked\nto see the time-piece, and tried the same experiment. The man at once\nbecame greatly agitated! His fright was unmistakeable\u2014his limbs actually\ntrembled. He \u201cwanted to go on\u2014we might rest at a village farther along!\u201d\nSo we proceeded and came up with one of the men that had gone before us\nwith the fowls. A little farther on two negroes with guns came rapidly\nout of the jungle and appeared on the path before us. In a short time\nthey disappeared as rapidly. Soon after, I happened to look behind me and\nfound another stranger following noiselessly with a gun. I thought that\nthe whole appearance and conduct of these men were rather suspicious. No\nMissionary in this land goes unarmed, and I had a small revolver by my\nside. But on a narrow path in the middle of a dense jungle a person might\neasily be assassinated by an unseen hand. I saluted all these mysterious\nstrangers, and kept up a spirited conversation with my companion. When at\nlast we came to the end of Kapeni\u2019s territory, he said he would not go\nany farther himself, but that his little girl and his slave would go on\nto Blantyre and sell the fowls. When near the station I told them where\nthe storekeeper lived, and then said good-bye. In less than half-an-hour\nI found that these two individuals had plunged the whole settlement into\na dreadful state of excitement. Both of them had been captured by the\nBlantyre villagers. The man, it was said, had taken part in the recent\nslave raid, while the little girl was the daughter of a small chief\nwho was our most deadly enemy, and had planned the whole attack. I had\nsome difficulty before I could persuade the villagers to release the\nunfortunate captives. I insisted that the little girl at least was quite\ninnocent, and I was very glad to find that she was unharmed; but the\nman\u2019s head, unfortunately, required sticking plaster. As the party had\ncome to the Station under my escort, they naturally appealed to me for\nprotection, while I was fairly responsible to the Mission people for\nbringing in such friends! The Blantyre natives were always enthusiastic\nin the defence of the settlement. On one occasion a great number of them,\non hearing that a woman had been kidnapped, ran a distance of ten miles\nin order to intercept the kidnappers.\n\nAt this period the whole country was greatly unsettled for a long time,\nas the following extracts from my journal will show.\n\n_13th Nov._\u2014\u201cChologwe came to seek protection from Chiputula. He is one\nof the men that left their home to accompany Dr. Livingstone in his\nresearches here. The majority of these adventurers have established\nthemselves in the country as chiefs. But Chologwe lived with his\n\u2018brother\u2019 Chiputula, who now threatens to kill him. Chiputula sometimes\ngets brandy, and on these occasions this usually fierce man becomes a\nperfect tiger. In the beginning of the week we had six other citizens of\nChiputula asking an asylum; but knowing the danger of meddling with the\nMagololo chiefs, we advised them to go home. As poor Chologwe had come\nso far from his native land, and that in company with a white man, we\nthought he might stay till Chiputula enquired about him. Refugees from\nthe Yao come to avoid being sold; refugees from the Magololo to avoid\nbeing killed.\n\n\u201c_16th._\u2014A letter came from Zomba showing that everything was peaceful\nthere. So far as we can keep Blantyre and Zomba distinct, they will be\nvaluable experiments of two widely different methods of mission work.\nBlantyre has received refugees, Zomba admits none.\n\n\u201c_19th._\u2014A man came in from Mkanda\u2019s neighbourhood with his wife and two\ndaughters. He stated that his headman had threatened to kill him because\nhe would not let his daughters be sold. The man had originally belonged\nto the foot of Sochi, and many of our people came to confirm his story.\nBeing a freeman, he was allowed to stay.\n\n\u201c_20th._\u2014The Livingstonia Mission has had great difficulty in bringing up\na boiler for the steamer. Dr. Laws has sent down many men to accomplish\nthe work.\n\n\u201c_21st._\u2014The air is full of wars and rumours of war. Many of our\nvillagers keep watch on their own account all night. Yesterday, carriers\nthat were sent from Blantyre with food for the Livingstonia workmen,\nreturned as they came to a scene of bloodshed. Chelomoni, who had come up\nthe road, was the first to enlighten us on the subject. He said Mkanda\nwanted to attack the carriers belonging to Blantyre. Ten men went armed\nwith guns. They saw a party carrying maize, and immediately fired on\nthem. One man received a bullet in the forehead; another fell with a\nsevere wound. If Mkanda did want to attack the Blantyre people he had\nplayed himself a clever trick. The attacked party were, surely enough,\ncarrying maize, as well as our people, but they had come from Mkanda\u2019s\nown district, and were going to sell their maize for salt at the Lower\nChiri.\n\n\u201cIt is probable that Mkanda wanted to strike a blow at Blantyre by this\nraid. The leader was a headman of his that has had some provocation.\nAbout a week ago he is reported to have lost five slaves in this way:\u2014The\ntraffic has been so brisk that they had not slave-sticks ready for their\nvictims; so this headman made the slaves fast by tying. Some of the\nslaves, however, had strong teeth; and when one is liberated he is not\nalways forgetful of his companions. The result was that they escaped and\nstarted for Blantyre. But they were not a match for the pursuers that\ntracked their steps. They were all overtaken and slain, when but half-way.\n\n\u201cThe Arab slave-traders are clever men and show much tact in managing the\nchiefs. They are carrying on their work between our two mission stations.\nTheir popularity is due to the fact that they deal in rum and powder\nwhich the natives cannot get elsewhere.\n\n\u201c_23rd._\u2014Slave refugees have come in. Those traders have the whole\ncountry in a perfect uproar.\n\n\u201c_29th._\u2014I had a walk with \u2018John\u2019 to Ndilande. At every village we have\nthe pleasure now of meeting some of our scholars spending the Saturday\nholiday at home. They are among the first to greet us. There is six times\nas much cultivation here as there was the first time I saw the district.\n\n\u201c_8th December._\u2014At Zomba there are four thousand people who wish to be\nreceived under \u2018English\u2019 protection. Several of these are at present\nkidnapped to make up the Arab caravans. We all feel as if we should like\nto go and put these Arabs in stocks. We should be told, however, and\ntruly,[7] that it was no business of ours to interfere. We wish that some\ncivil power would take the matter up.\u201d\n\nAbout the end of the year Mr. Buchanan wrote:\u2014\n\n\u201cMuch annoyance has been caused in the district by a company of Arabs,\nwho have come to Kawinga, on Mount Chikala. Kawinga having been supplied\nby them with powder, sent his men, armed with flint-locks, into Malemya\u2019s\nterritory to capture and carry off all the people they could lay hands\non. At one village, about twenty women and children were carried off\nduring the night; at another village four people; and in a number of\ncases single individuals have been taken away. In the midst of it all,\nnot a few have lost their lives. Fortunately things have quieted down,\nbut the natives themselves say that Kawinga is only preparing for another\nraid.\u201d\n\nDuring a visit of slave dealers we often were afraid of being attacked.\nWe put on night watch-men but, as they frequently fell asleep, their\npresence did not entirely remove our anxiety. For a long time I used to\nget up about two o\u2019clock in the morning in order to look for enemies. On\nsuch occasions I tried to observe whether there were signs of a new camp\nfire. During the darkness of the night, one sees, along the hillsides,\na multitude of fires that are not visible by day. Most of these arise\nfrom trunks of large trees which may keep burning for weeks. Parties on\nleaving a camp fire do not extinguish it, and travellers coming after\nthem gladly make use of the old fire. The natives taught us to look\ncarefully at all these fires! We had times of great trial. Being obliged\nto live in a miserably small hut with little or no furniture, we did not\nenjoy robust health, while the food that we could procure was not of the\nmost tempting character. But we saw what an enormous field for labour\nlay around us, and we were seldom home-sick. Instead of writing home\nabout difficulties, we rather tried to derive amusement from our peculiar\ncircumstances. Dr. Macklin used to tell us playfully that he had never\nwritten but one grumbling letter, and the steamer sank with its weight!\nNow, although the trials of a Missionary\u2019s life might be heavy enough\nto sink a steamer any day, we could not afford to do such damage to the\nmail service! Usually we were without letters for about two months, and\nwhen a mail did come there was much excitement. We had no inclination,\nand indeed no time, to read the daily papers minutely. The events had\nhappened so long ago, that we regarded them as fragments of ancient\nhistory. But after perusing our letters we found a good mental tonic\nin the pages of _Punch_: while scores of our dark pupils came up after\nschool and studied the _Illustrated London News_ and the _Graphic_.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nFOURTH HALF. JAN., 1880\u2014JUNE, 1880.\n\n\n[Illustration: THE \u201cMANSE,\u201d BLANTYRE.]\n\nDuring this half year there was a great removal of discomforts. In\nparticular the minister\u2019s lot was improved. For nearly two years, he and\nhis family had been cooped up in the small hut already alluded to, which\ncontained less space than one ordinary room in a civilised land. A fourth\nof the hut was filled with boxes, another quarter was a bed-room too\nsmall to be healthy: while the remaining half, though occupied very fully\nby an enormous table, had to serve not only for dining-room, but also for\nnursery and study. At the beginning of April we bade adieu to our old\nhome and entered a larger house built of stone. This was an acceptable\nchange for the purposes of study, as well as for many other reasons. It\nhad the advantage of being much cooler than the grass huts, its thick\nwalls apparently warding off the rays of the sun better than the wattle\nand daub. Being one of the largest houses the natives had ever seen, it\nwas an object of great admiration from the outside. But when inside, the\nnatives did not feel at ease; since they saw none of the posts that they\nwere accustomed to in their own houses, they feared that the roof would\nfall on their heads! Unfortunately we shared their apprehensions, for\nthe roof had not been well bound together and threatened to push out the\nwalls.\n\nCloth windows began to disappear while the introduction of glass gave the\nsettlement a different appearance. These new windows were a great marvel\nto the natives few of whom knew that glass could be broken. Thieves,\nespecially, were disappointed as they feared they would not be able to\ncut the glass as they had done the calico. But soon the natives became\naware that glass was brittle. As it was no breach of etiquette to gaze\ninto windows, a girl one day pressed her head through, and as there was\nno glass to mend the pane, it remained a standing text to convince\nall and sundry that windows would not resist every force. So when an\ninquisitive chief asked what would happen if he struck a window, we had\nsimply to point to what had happened, and to warn him against cutting his\nhand.\n\nWhen we reached Blantyre, we had only one very small looking-glass, and\nthough we made an effort to obtain a larger one we were unsuccessful, the\narticle like many others being stolen by the Magololo when on its way\nup from the coast. But this half year a large mirror arrived safely and\ncaused a great sensation. The smaller one was now available as a toy,\nand was much appreciated by old and young. When a visitor came from a\ndistance, our little natives suggested that he had not seen the mirror. I\nwould then ask the man if he wanted to see \u2018my friend\u2019. The children knew\nwhat was coming and began to clap their hands, while our guest looked\nas if afraid of some magical trick I went and fetched the mirror, and\nmy visitor soon gazed on the white man\u2019s friend. He shouted out Amao!\n(mother) or Ngondo! (war) which are two native interjections of surprise.\nActing on his first impulse, he would look behind the mirror to see if\nthere was any one there! He was quite overcome, and it was long before\nhe was composed; as he opened his mouth in exclamation, the white man\u2019s\nfriend did the same, as he laughed, the figure laughed in his face. He\neasily recognised himself, but this mimicry at close quarters was new and\ntickled him exceedingly.\n\nBy this time we had been able to procure many necessaries from home, our\nbaking was improved, milk strainers were introduced. At first, jams\nwere sent out in small quantities, and could scarcely be obtained even\nby an invalid, but the medical man after some experience of the climate,\npointed out that these were often not so much a luxury as a necessity,\nand now they could be bought from the store. Sometimes the distinction\nbetween luxury and necessity was mooted again, and then one would hear\nthe pathetic appeal, \u2018Tell us where we have a single luxury in this\nwilderness!\u2019 When the supply of fowls became deficient, we could fall\nback on a small store of tinned meats, but these were so few that we\ntried to reserve them for cases of extremity. If ever the Station should\nbe besieged we could live for a week on our own resources! The expense\nof the Mission was great, it could not be otherwise. About this time I\nwrote, \u2018If the old monks had been so dependent on help from their homes,\nBritain would have never seen Christianity\u2019. We were recommended to trust\na good deal to the productions of the country. But the true question\nwas, not how the Missionaries could be kept alive, but how they could\nbe kept in such health as would enable them to labour with vigour. The\ndifficulty was likely to be gradually solved by each man ordering what\nhe wanted, the only drawback being that out of six boxes sent from home,\nonly one might arrive. This extra risk fell heavy on the Missionaries,\nnot to mention the famine caused by the loss and delay. The want of milk\nwas a great hardship especially for children. Only this discomfort would\nnot have occurred if we had been in the country avowedly as farmers,\nbecause then we should have been free to direct our attention to all\nthese little points. Everything brought here was expensive owing to the\ncarriage upon it. Most things were double the usual price, and a pound of\nflour or of oatmeal cost about 8d. Still we had now made a great advance\nnearer civilization. Brown boots had been our original outfit for Africa,\nnow we aspired to have them blackened! At the same time we learned to\nlook more favourably on negro civilization. At first we had a prejudice\nagainst native cooking, but now we often had the pleasure of \u2018dining\nout\u2019. When going to a distant place, I would order dinner at a village on\nmy way, and ask the people to have it ready by my return. The villagers\nwere very prompt; they went at once to the fowl-house and caught some\nhen that happened to be sitting on eggs, and when I came back in about\ntwo hours, I found this fowl cooked, eggs and all! The eggs proved to be\nyoung fowls too, and were consigned to the \u2018boys,\u2019 while I felt inclined\nto lecture the villagers on the inhumanity of taking \u2018the dam\u2019 when\nsitting upon eggs. The natives use an endless variety of vegetables.\nBeing desirous to taste every sort, we asked them to cook samples for us.\nWhen any dish was more unpalatable than usual, the cook explained that he\nhad tried to prepare it in \u201cthe white man\u2019s way\u201d. Often and earnestly had\nwe to beseech them to \u201ccook all these things in the black man\u2019s way\u201d!\n\nOur picnic this year was to the top of Ndilande, a mountain about\nfour miles to the east of Blantyre. It is one of the range that runs\nacross this district from north to south. The view from the top is most\nmagnificent. On the south-east lofty Mlanje towers above the clouds,\nfarther round there lies the massive form of Zomba, while Lake Chirwa\nstretches between them like a sheet of polished silver. To the north we\nsee the hills of the Achipeta which some of our pupils point to as the\nland from which they were taken by the slave-dealer, while towards the\nwest we descry mountains which melt into blue clouds near the banks of\nthe broad Zambeze.\n\nAs we stood on this mountain summit we were reminded that there had\nnot been such a crowd here since the last inroad of the Mangoni when\nthe people had all rushed to the mountain to save their lives. Many of\nour pupils had been in that terrible scramble. But now the cries of\nterror had given place to the melody of old tunes which in the days of\nClaverhouse had been often heard on the wild moors and mountains of\nScotland. After descending we had a little rest and refreshment at one of\nthe villages on the brow of the mountain. The party were not fatigued,\nfor a walk of four miles and the climbing of a steep hill are nothing to\nan African boy! Chants were extemporised and lustily sung all the way\nback, the burden of them being that we had climbed Ndilande, and feasted\non fowls, and would eat mutton at Blantyre!\n\nHow great was the contrast between this picnic and the one we had\norganised last year! There were about as many flags in the company as\nthere were pupils on the last occasion. The number of scholars had much\nincreased. We had fully 150 this half-year and it would not have been\ndifficult to collect over 200, but we could not encourage more children\nto come as we had neither sufficient teaching power, nor any prospect of\nassistance. In January I wrote, \u2018We are not so anxious to increase the\nnumber as to manage well those that we have\u2019.\n\nThe majority of the boys lived in the Blantyre villages. Except the\nMagololo children, none of our pupils came from a distance, and most of\nthe Magololo chiefs had built huts for their sons in the neighbourhood.\nStill many preferred to stay at the station, and were allowed to do so\non the understanding that they must go home during work hours. The few\nboys that regularly boarded were all kept busy for about an hour in the\nforenoon, and two hours after school was dismissed in the afternoon.\nTheir work was of the lightest character, having been instituted mainly\nfor the purpose of keeping them from harm. But the little fellows\ncertainly did much to make the station tidy. During the rains the grass\nthreatens to overtop everything. A man may then \u201cdig\u201d a road or a walk,\nand in a few weeks after find it covered with grass so tall that it\nreaches up to the shoulders, and makes it impossible to tell where the\ntrack was. Thus the roads made by the Mission entailed much labour, the\ngrass requiring to be continually hoed down. Hence during the wet season\nthe boys were constantly occupied in cutting the grass, which if allowed\nto grow might have concealed a large native army! In the dry season they\nused to carry water for the gardeners, but in the end of 1879, I began to\nmake them practice the ordinary arts of their native land, encouraging\nthem to make baskets and hats under a teacher of their own tribe. They\nwere thus kept occupied for a time, and although sometimes rebelling\nagainst the old men who taught them, they soon made more baskets and hats\nthan were necessary. The hats they wore, the small round baskets (iselo)\nthey used for plates. When daubed with a kind of pitch these baskets did\nnot leak even when filled with soup.\n\n[Illustration: THE BASKET MAKERS.]\n\nSince the custom of the country requires that men should sew, the husband\nof many wives has a great demand made upon his skill as a tailor. This\ninduced us to ask some of the boys to make dresses for themselves.\nFor a while our verandah was filled with a lively band of stitchers.\nAfter cutting their cloth, Mrs. Macdonald superintended them as far\nas her other duties permitted, and one of the Magololo lads, who was\ndull at reading, displayed much genius here, and was able both to teach\nhis juniors and to make the \u201cstory\u201d go round. Day pupils, who usually\ndeclined to work, entered into shirt-making so zealously that they\ndenied themselves the usual hours of play; not only so, but they did\nnot go home at night. Hence mothers came to the station to see what was\nwrong; but they were quite satisfied with the explanation. In this land\nthere is much to make mothers anxious\u2014a child might easily be kidnapped\non the way to school.\n\nSaturday was a holiday except an hour in the forenoon, which was set\napart for sweeping the dormitories. There were three edifices of this\nkind at Blantyre, one was for the women and the girls, the other two for\nthe boys: and one of the boys\u2019 houses was divided into two sections, one\nof which was occupied by advanced pupils, who acted as monitors. The\nfirst time we saw these houses they were quite new, but a \u201cfoolish woman\npulleth down her house with her hands,\u201d and foolish boys did the same.\nThe lads never slept without a fire, and they found the grass of the\nwalls very useful in making it blaze. Consequently the walls of these\nhouses gradually disappeared. Then just as our boarders were beginning to\nincrease, a poor herd-boy was hurt in some quarrel, and died in one of\nthese dormitories. After this, no native would sleep in that house (40).\nIt was vain to remonstrate with the little fellows, the superstition\nterrified them. It was even questionable whether they would enter a new\ndormitory built on the old site. The natives, it will be seen, have\nreasons against expensive architecture, besides laziness and incapacity.\n\nAt night the sleepers liked to be near each other, and though there\nwas plenty of room, they lay in half-dozens, packed together like\ntinned sardines. They had raised beds after the English method and as\nthe ordinary natives merely spread mats on the ground this was a great\nnovelty. But some boys more cautious than the rest, spread their mats\nunder the bedstead and barricaded themselves, \u201cso that no kidnapper could\nsee them\u201d! After a time blankets were procured, but there was never a\nsufficiency, and those that had them were fond of using them as a dress\nall day.\n\nWe were often at a loss to find work for the boys. They could not be\nhanded over to the artisans, who being all very busy, would have found\nthem a great annoyance. We much needed a master to superintend them while\nthey were out of school. In industrial missions pupils ought to be sent\nto the various artisans in order to learn the special department of work\nprofessed by each tradesman, but we were far from the attainment of this\nideal, and besides a great many of our pupils were too young.\n\nOne of the last days that I had charge of them, they came to me, after\nlessons were finished, and asked for work; by this time they had gone the\nround of several occupations and wanted something new: but I could think\nof nothing, and was of opinion that they deserved a holiday. At last I\nasked if they would like to catch rats for a week. This proposal amused\nthem intensely, and a premium of a week\u2019s wages was offered for every\nsix rats. This was a high reward, for after the tail was taken off, the\nrat-catcher might cook his animal for himself or sell it to some of the\nworkmen! The African schoolboy is as fond of rat catching as a Scotch\nlad is of fishing for trout. Only the Blantyre rats began to fall under\nthe suspicion of strangers. We often had great poisonings, and on such\noccasions we proclaimed the danger of eating rats caught on the premises.\nAfter doses of arsenic, or phosphorus paste, had been distributed, many\nrats were found dead, while others could run but slowly, and were easily\ncaught: and great was our fear that some poor native might make a meal of\nthese. The boys, however, caught but few. Under the idea that the \u2018white\nman would send them home to show what the African rats were like,\u2019 some\nhunted the fields for various specimens; one day I was offered about a\nscore of little field-mice (mapuku), but I had to decline them as the\nreward was for rats (makoswe). The boy felt this no hardship, as his\n\u2018take\u2019 was of great intrinsic value\u2014the mapuku being a \u2018relish\u2019 of prime\nquality!\n\nMuch is said against the African on account of his laziness. At Quilimane\nI was told that it was common for natives to choose starvation rather\nthan work. Cases were pointed to, where negroes had died of hunger, while\nwork and food had been offered them. I was pleased, therefore, to find\nthe boys coming to tell me that they wanted work. Still much of this was\ndue to the Mission discipline. The boarders had been put under a native\nteacher, who sent boys that did no work, away from the table. My first\nacquaintance with the subject was when this young lad came to me and\nsaid, \u201cMaster, this is not right at all, boys that do no work come and\ntake away the boarder\u2019s food!\u201d Hence there was established for a long\ntime a tacit understanding, that he that \u201cwould not work, should not\neat,\u201d and it was only when the usual organisation was disturbed, that the\nwhole of the school boys would make an onslaught on the boarders\u2019 food.\nAt first few boys cared to engage in the little tasks assigned for the\nboarders. Their parents advised them against working; they reasoned, \u201cIf\nour children go to Blantyre and do work, there will be no work left for\nourselves, and we shall get no calico\u201d. They would also say, \u201cWhen our\nchildren do work for the English, and get food and clothes from them,\nthis is the same as being slaves to the English, and one day the English\nwill take our children from us\u201d.\n\nSometimes, on the other hand, it was made an objection against the\nMission that the pupils did too little. I was once told that children\nsent to school would become lazy. This criticism from a native, who gets\ncredit for being the laziest dog in existence, rather astonished me, but\nit brought the hard lot of the African female clearly before my notice.\nFrequently little girls were absent from school, and my plan was never to\nlet an absence pass without explanation, and I generally found that they\nhad been helping their mothers to pound the corn. But as prizes depended\non regular attendance, the girls were anxious to be present every day,\nand consequently they became less useful at home, while the parents\nnaturally regarded reading and sewing (by females) as mere pastimes.\nIt might have been better if we could have professed to teach girls to\npound corn! Few will say that laziness is a sin of the African female.\nThe pounding of corn is as hard work as any woman need try. On this\ndepartment of toil I have often looked with sadness, while I wished that\nI had known some simple mechanical device for lightening the task. Such a\ndevice would greatly improve the lot of the African woman, and were her\nlabour thus lightened, it would be easier to persuade the men to assist\nher. I once suggested to a young lad that he ought to aid his mother in\npounding the grain; but although he was fond of his mother, he felt that\nthis method of assisting her would appear ridiculous. A man pounding corn\nwould be as strange a spectacle to a native of Central Africa as a woman\ndriving a railway train would be to an Englishman.\n\nAs to food, the boarders were supplied with what was usual in the\ncountry. The staple was \u201cporridge,\u201d and one woman was hired to cook it.\nThis functionary in times of scarcity held a delicate position. The\nboys accused her of not making enough of porridge, and she accused the\nstorekeeper of not giving her enough of flour! The porridge was made\nwithout salt, and eaten along with vegetables. Salt was a great luxury\nhere; while many people hardly used it at all, others obtained it by\nburning plants. From Lake Chirwa, whose waters are salt, we could always\nobtain a good supply for the children after we had a Mission at Zomba,\nbut at first it could rarely be got.\n\nSome say that the last point in which we should change a native\u2019s habit\nis in food\u2014as he soon becomes fastidious, and looks down on the simpler\nfare of his countrymen. But these boys did much mental work, which was\na new thing for a native. Hence several proposals were formed for\nimproving their diet. For a time all the extra soup and fowls left\nat European meals went to the school table. But this required the\nco-operation of all the white men, and many gave these things to the boys\nthat washed their own plates and brought their dinner. We expected some\nhelp from the dairy, but even if there had been no native superstition\nagainst milk, there was never a supply sufficient for the few Europeans.\nEven when well supplied with meat, the natives that lived in our own\nhouse seldom used it in any quantity, eating it only in small portions\nalong with their porridge.\n\nIn the season of scarcity there was difficulty in getting native flour,\nand it became necessary to store some for the month or two that preceded\nthe rains. At that time the women gathered the leaves of shrubs, while\nthe boys and girls of the native villages were sent out to forage for\nthemselves and might often be seen breakfasting on beetles!\n\nIt was much easier to maintain order among a large number of native lads\nthan it would have been among a corresponding number of English boys.\nThe native children were most obedient and docile. So long as they all\nbelonged to the same tribe there was seldom any strife among them. When\nthey stole from each other, they did not, as a rule, complain to the\nschoolmaster. Some of them appealed to the sorcerer at once.\n\nThe following extracts from letters sent home at the time will throw\nlight on other details:\u2014\n\n\n_Saturday Visits in the Neighbourhood._\n\n\u201cOn _February 14th_, I went to Ndilande in company with John MacRae.\nFirst, we reached the home of one of our Blantyre pupils, called Mpakata,\na dear little fellow. I went there to dress his mother\u2019s shoulder, which\nhad been severely burned. The natives keep a big log smouldering in\nthe hut all night: and often come into contact with it while asleep.\nAccidents by burning are frequent, especially among children, and it is\nchiefly at night that they take place.\n\n\u201cIn another village we met with a musical instrument of quite a novel\nkind. It was formed in this way. Two sticks were laid parallel to each\nother, and about a foot apart. Above them was placed a layer of grass,\non the top of which lay the keys of the instrument. These keys were made\nof wood and kept in their places by upright pegs. The keys were about\nthe thickness of one\u2019s arm, and differed in length so as to produce\na succession of notes. I had seen the same instrument often, and had\nconceived that it might be a shelter for chickens. Great was my surprise\nwhen I found that there, in the village green, I stood beside a splendid\npiano! The instrument was quite complete. It was even provided with a\nneat drumstick for striking the keys! Before any one came to us we were\nrude enough to take the drumstick and begin to play. This brought a\nnumber of the village ladies to the spot; and I had a feeling that we\nought to apologise for making free with the instrument. John had told me\nthat it was called \u2018ngolongondo\u2019; and it would have covered our retreat\nvery well to take this name on our lips; but what if they should hear\nonly the last syllables? Ngondo (war) is the word that speaks to the\nAfricans of famine, slavery, and death; it is a word too, that they\nare always straining their ears to hear. No wonder that I shrank for a\nmoment from calling that piano by its name, and that when I did speak of\nit, I put special emphasis on the first syllables. Soon we had a crowd\nof happy villagers around us. All of them, old and young, were fond of\nsweets. They showed us other curiosities. One of these was a rat-trap,\nwhich reminded me of English mole-traps, only it was made of a single\npiece of wood. In the thick end the rat is provided with accommodation,\nthe other end tapers to a point. The thin end is tied down with threads\nof bark, and when the rat eats these, it recoils with great force, and a\nbig belt of bark comes up and imprisons the victim, which is cooked for\nthe next meal. As these villagers had traps by the dozen I thought of\nbuying some, but John told me that I need not, as his father could make\nthem. It is a great step to gain the confidence of the people by mixing\nwith them freely, like one of themselves. An Englishman is not quite at\nease with a number of strange natives in a place entirely strange, and it\nis too much to expect that all at once they will feel at home with him.\nFurther on, we received a hearty welcome in a large village at the back\nof Ndilande. About forty men were there, and a proportionate number of\nwomen and children. As a heavy shower came on, we had to stay even longer\nthan we wished. After talking of the native chiefs, the work going on\nat Blantyre, and the chances in favour of a given man or woman getting\nenrolled as a worker on Monday, I gave them an address, to which they\nwere very attentive.\n\n\u201cThe conversation turned specially on Kumpama of Cherasulo, and I\nexpressed a desire to see him at Blantyre. They sympathised with this,\nand one man volunteered to take a message to this important Chief. I\ngave him a piece of paper (with Kumpama\u2019s name on it)\u2014to indicate that\nthe messenger was from us. On our way home this man escorted us some\ndistance. By this time the grass, which is in many places about eight\nfeet high, was quite wet, and as the paths are narrow I had the pleasure\nof a cold bath for a great part of the way. This, if not so healthy, is\nmore agreeable than intense heat. Our guide by and by discovered that\nhis paper was wet. I suggested that it might dry. Next he asked whether\nthe Chief would not like a bigger piece of paper! Also, he naturally\nwondered how much pay he would get for going to Cherasulo! Such are some\nof the everyday difficulties of these simple but attractive people.\nHaving already made many efforts to see Kumpama, I was not full of hope\non this occasion; but, strange to say, on Wednesday night all eyes were\nturned towards the Matope road to observe a long procession entering\nBlantyre. First, there came a man, carrying a letter; next a few bearers\nwith a goat and several fowls; behind these came a large body of men\narmed, some with guns, others with bows, in the front of whom we could\ndescry one young man holding aloft an Arab parasol. The man with the\nletter was rather disappointing\u2014he had nothing but the little bit of\npaper of Saturday\u2014though it was in a wonderful state of preservation;\nbut the young man with the Arab parasol was the veritable Kumpama of\nCherasulo, whose ancestor had fought against Bishop Mackenzie. According\nto the custom in such cases, we received the chief\u2019s present, and gave\nhim accommodation. He was at tea in the evening, and we found him most\nagreeable. He was fond, as most natives are, of the Cape gooseberry,\nand we took care that he should have plenty of plants. This berry grows\neverywhere luxuriantly, it is becoming a weed with ourselves, but the\nnatives plant it in their fields. The chief wished to return on Thursday\nbut was persuaded to stay till Friday. He visited the school, in which he\ntook much interest, for in the evening he could point out the boys that\ncould read well. He was present in the evening when Mrs Macdonald\u2019s adult\npupils came in, and I have no doubt that he would learn to read himself\nif he were with us. He is only about 21 years of age. On his departure,\nthe gardener gave him orange plants, English potatoes, and other young\ntrees, and vegetables.\n\nOn Saturday the 21st of February, John and I started for Mpingwi. We\nset out at 7 A.M. The roads are wet in the morning, owing to a heavy\ndew that falls during this season. I did my best to keep dry, but the\nsecond stream was much swollen, and an unsuccessful jump landed me in\nthe middle. After this, care became unnecessary. On reaching Mpingwi,\nhowever, I sat down on a rock and tried to wring my stockings. Here we\nhad a fine view of Ngludi. So attractive was the appearance of the whole\ncountry, that I proposed to John that we should go on to this hill.\nJohn, who was in excellent spirits, agreed to proceed. It was now about\n9\u00b730. We passed through a fine wooded plain, in which we crossed four\nbrooks, though these would not be all full in the dry season. Looking\nbehind us we obtain a fine view of Mpingwi and Bangwe, which now appear\nmuch higher than when seen from the Blantyre side. About twelve o\u2019clock\nwe are among the Ngludi villages. One beautiful stream flows not far from\nthe foot of the hill. As we stop to drink we are much impressed with the\nromantic beauty that surrounds us. The picture is so lovely, that we\nwould not change the place of a stone, the form of a branch, or the size\nof a leaf.\n\nThe people were glad to see us, but wondered much why we had come alone.\nThe last visit they had from the Mission was when Dr. Macklin passed with\na great caravan on his way to Mlanje. We went round the corner of the\nhill till we reached Matache\u2019s, where John has a cousin\u2014a boy about the\nsame age as himself. Matache seems to have considerable influence. We\nwere close to his principal village, and about 100 of his people came to\nsee us. Before leaving I recited to them the parable of \u201cthe talents\u201d.\nJohn\u2019s little cousin was determined to go back with us, and he came on\nfor some distance, till his mother followed, asking him to stay with her.\nHe seemed disposed to rebel, but I told him that it would not be right\nto leave his mother. He went back with tears in his eyes; and his mother\npromised to send him to school again. He had spent a few months at school\nlast year.\n\nWe had now to return, if possible, before dark. Ngludi is set down as\nbeing 17 miles from Blantyre; and after marching 17 miles, one would\nlike to decline the return journey. Though we had many a hospitable\ninvitation to stay for the night, we pushed on. We were quite fatigued as\nwe ascended Mpingwi again, but here a heavy shower came on, which had a\nrefreshing effect.\n\n_Slavery._\u2014Every English trader or hunter that made a long stay in this\nland figured as an enemy of the slave trade, began to receive refugees,\nand after a time found himself surrounded by a small colony in which he\nhad to act as governor. He felt it absurd to apply to the neighbouring\nchief for assistance in civil matters. His relation to the native chief\ncannot be better explained than by an incident like the following:\u2014\u201cOne\nmorning the hunter wishes to set out on a journey, and requires a large\nnumber of men. He sends a messenger to request the native chief to send\nhim some of his people. The chief sends back word that he \u2018can send no\nmen to-day as he has a beer-drinking\u2019. On receiving this intelligence\nthe European says to the messenger, \u2018Go back and tell the chief that if\nhe does not send me men at once I will come up and flog him!\u2019 In a very\nshort time the messenger returns with more men than are required, while\nthe chief sends, at the same time, a very humble apology!\u201d Such being the\ncharacter of a native chief each European was a \u201cgreat king,\u201d and was\nexpected to be ready to defend all the subjects that he received, by his\npower, or in other words, by the usual wars. Now, although a position of\nthis kind might be taken by Industrial Agents or Traders, it was clearly\na false position for a Missionary, who, being sent with a message for\n\u201cevery creature,\u201d must stand forth as equally friendly to all classes\nof the community. As I mingled more with our neighbours, I saw that our\nreception of runaway slaves had alienated many excellent men who might\nhave been our best friends, and who were better able to rule slaves than\nwe. If the colonial work disappeared the purely Missionary work would be\nmore successful, and the colonial work might gradually be suffered to\ndisappear if slave refugees were denied an asylum.\n\nSlaves were still coming to the station in great numbers, but I did\nall that I could to discourage their arrival. We had now learned that\nthey were by no means paragons of virtue. After they settled, it was\ndifficult to keep them in order. They quarrelled both with the freemen\nabout us, and with each other. Most of them resided in the village of\nKumlomba, a Blantyre headman, and he was expected to govern them, but he\nhad the greatest difficulty in doing so. More refugees could not safely\nbe received unless the Mission Directors appointed some layman to take\ncharge of them. Such government might have been a blessing to the poor\nslaves, but as matters stood, the Mission ran the risk of collecting\naround it a number of people each of whom would do \u201cwhat was right in\nhis own eyes\u201d. The reception of slaves no doubt had certain advantages.\nAlready nearly 400 had gathered about the station, and a great number\nof these had sought an asylum in order to escape death. The Mission\nhad thus saved a great many lives, but at a terrible risk. Its course\nof action had made enemies of all the slave-owners in the district, and\neven tended to increase the slave-trade, for when a master saw that his\nslaves might run to the English, he resolved to sell them off as soon as\npossible. Again, the reception of persons who had fled to escape death\nor any of the other hard consequences of slavery, soon led anyone that\nfancied he had a grievance, to desert his master and seek refuge at the\nMission, while the kindly treatment he experienced made him desirous of\nhaving his friends or relatives with him to share his advantages. Thus\nthe settlement was in danger of becoming a large state, composed of\nall the discontented people of the country. Livingstone attributes the\nfailure of the old Portuguese Missions, to the fact that they made little\nor no resistance to slavery, and the difficulty is greater than might\nat first sight appear. When a missionary stands by and sees the evils\nof slavery without actively interfering, the sympathy that he expresses\nfor the slave, or the protests that he utters, are regarded as insincere\nby the natives: while the moment that he goes beyond moral methods, he\nsteps out of his proper sphere. It must ever be a dangerous experiment to\nset hundreds of slaves free, and leave them to live without any of the\nterrible restraints that their owners find necessary.\n\nAlready Kumlomba and his brethren were loudly declaring that some of\nthe refugees were very bad men, and could not live in peace. One grave\noffender they escorted back to his master. I watched this experiment\nwith much interest, and Kumlomba\u2019s men were able to tell me the effect.\nAs they went along with the slave they rested in many villages and talked\nthe matter over, and the villagers made the remark that the slave\u2019s\nmaster was \u201cvery fortunate\u201d. Arrived at their destination, the Blantyre\nheadman said, \u201cHere is your man, he will not stay peaceably with us,\u201d and\nthe slave\u2019s master thought that he had found \u201crare luck!\u201d\n\nOften slaves left a master for slight reasons. Many a woman ran away\nbecause her husband had bought more wives, or because he would not sew\nher clothes! Perhaps the poor creature inferred from such indications of\nneglect that she was destined to be the prey of the first slave-dealer.\nAll that we could do for these refugees was to try that their application\nto the Mission should not compromise them when they returned to their\nhome. On one occasion we asked some Blantyre people to accompany two\nrun-aways with the view of interceding for them with their chief. On\nthe way, however, the slaves dashed off from their guides and were not\nheard of again! Sadder cases occurred where slaves tried to escape\nimmolation\u2014they were going to be buried with their master, and craved the\nMission\u2019s protection. We saw some painful cases where the slave and his\nmaster were both present and both appealing to us. Once a young man and\nhis mother came and begged most earnestly to be allowed to stay at the\nMission. The woman represented that her husband had just been murdered\nby a headman who wanted to take her for a wife. She said that the murder\nhad been committed for the very purpose of carrying out this marriage,\nand protested that she would not go to the harem of the man who had\nslain her husband. The Chief Kapeni was the uncle of this unscrupulous\nheadman, and came over, claiming the young lad and his mother too, and\nasserting his right to dispose of them both. The party begging protection\nwere in a state of frantic excitement. As we explained our position,\nthey cried, \u201cOh Father, cut our throats here, we will die here, do not\nsend us back with Kapeni\u201d. I said to Kapeni, \u201cWould it be right in us to\nprotect you if you were running from a man that sought to kill you?\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cIt would be right,\u201d adding, \u201cI do not want to kill the lad,\nand if you come over to my village you will find him alive\u201d. The first\ntime I visited Kapeni after this event, I saw the young man, but on no\nsubsequent visit could I find a trace of him! Another case struck me as\nbeing unspeakably sad. It arose in the following manner:\u2014As two boys\nwere playing at Kapeni\u2019s, the son of Mtambo was killed by his companion,\na lad of 13 years. All admitted that the death was purely accidental.\nThe lad\u2019s mother was a widow with six children; one of her daughters was\nimmediately taken from her and slain in order \u201cto go along with\u201d Mtambo\u2019s\ndeceased son (32). But Mtambo not content with this, demanded the woman\nand all her other children for slaves. The parties lived close by Kapeni\nwho granted Mtambo\u2019s demand. The woman fled to Blantyre with all her\nchildren. As she brought them in, we were struck with their appearance,\nthey looked most interesting children. The youngest was quite a baby,\nthe others, mostly girls, stood each about a handbreadth taller than\nthe next younger, the eldest being the poor lad that had occasioned the\nmisfortune. The elder sister had been already slain. How our hearts bled\nfor these poor children! The widow believed that Mtambo would kill more\nof them. I wrote to the directors at the time, \u201cPutting a remorseless\nlogic in the place of mercy, we think the Mission has nothing to do with\nthis case of Kapeni\u2019s at all\u201d.\n\nSometimes we tried whether unfortunate people might not be redeemed\nfrom these hardships, but such redemption was uniformly refused. Two\nrelatives of Antani, our cook-boy, ran away from their master and came\nto Blantyre, but had to be surrendered on demand. Antani was exceedingly\nsorry, although he saw quite clearly that if he retained these people,\nhe was on ground that according to native views, made war against us\nperfectly justifiable. We hinted that if he redeemed them he might then\nkeep them in his own village. He entered gladly into this idea, but the\nowner replied, after Antani had sent his brother and negotiated for about\na week, \u201cYou, English, say it is not right to sell people, and therefore\nI will not do it!\u201d\n\nOne of the last cases we saw was that of a man who had escaped from\nCherasulo. Kumpama\u2019s people came to ask for him and although quite\nconfident that he would be restored (for by this time the poor slaves\nhad always to go away), they thought it necessary to bring most damaging\nevidence against him. Accordingly they produced a piece of calico stained\nwith blood, to show that this man had committed murder before he took to\nflight. The people about Blantyre asserted that Kumpama\u2019s party had shot\na guinea-fowl whose blood would account for the stained cloth! The slave\nhimself insisted that he had run away owing to bad treatment and pleaded\nto be allowed to stay, otherwise his master would kill him. But he had to\nbe given up, Mr. Buchanan saying to his master, \u201cRemember now, I am going\nto pass Cherasulo and I will not believe you, unless you can shew him\nalive when I come\u201d.\n\nThe Mission Directors had been for a long time debating whether the\nMission could really exercise civil or criminal jurisdiction at all.\nAt first they had claimed such jurisdiction, but grave doubts arose\non the execution for the murder (page 109) and we did not yet know\nwhich way they were likely to decide. They had taken about a year to\nconsider the subject, and no decision had yet reached us. Though well\naware that the Law of the Church prevented a Clergyman from being a\nMagistrate, I thought it was competent for the Directors to carry out\ntheir plans by means of Laymen, but it might be argued that the civil\nLaw of Scotland was against the exercise of any jurisdiction, as the\nDirectors had taken no steps to legalise their colony. If this proved\ncorrect, then it was clear that even should the Directors insist on\nCivil Jurisdiction, any magistrate appointed by them was liable in the\ncircumstances to all the consequences of breaking British Law. It was a\nquestion in principle like what Scotch Churchmen were familiar with in\nthe Disruption Controversy. Should the Directors decide that the exercise\nof Jurisdiction was necessary for propagating the Gospel in these parts,\nand that jurisdiction was to go on as before, the decision was quite\nintelligible so far as the Church was concerned, but it would not do\nfor any British subject to act on the view. The matter had an important\nbearing on the question of fugitive slaves. Some of the Directors had\nat one time admitted, to my great comfort, that it was not _expedient_\nto receive refugees. But letters of a subsequent date were strongly in\nfavour of continuing the old practice, and Dr. Macklin who was now at\nhome, refused, we understand, to return to Africa, if slaves were denied\nprotection: so great is the proverbial detestation of slavery in the true\nBriton. In official letters that arrived at this time, we were urged to\nadopt a spirited Foreign Policy towards certain troublesome chiefs. The\ndirectors indicated a plan of punishing some of these offenders, but\nas the layman that they had sent out to act as a Christian magistrate,\ndeclined to take such a delicate task, I was much puzzled to know who was\nto be responsible for carrying out the scheme, and on April 5th, I wrote\nto the Directors with reference to this plan:\u2014\u201cBut take into account that\nwe are only poor dominies and tradesmen. The dominies have the Saturday\nholiday at their disposal, but no other day without doing injustice to\nschool-work.\u201d\n\nIt was, perhaps, fortunate that the arrangement for the civil management\nof the Mission was in a state of chaos at this time. So far as the\nDirectors of a Foreign Mission are personally concerned, it is a\ncomparatively safe thing for them to send abroad instructions of the\nabove kind, for if complications should arise, they will be the judges\nof their own conduct, and will, in any case, escape all the suffering\nthat may ultimately be caused. While, at the same time, they are\nconscious that they are doing their very best to establish order in a\nlawless land. Most certainly they are actuated by the purest motives.\nBut by such commands they would place a zealous lay superintendent in\ngreat difficulty. He knows that he can easily raise the country against\nan offending chief, and he reasons, \u201cThese are the instructions of\nmy superiors. I am aware that they cannot be carried out without the\nloss perhaps of thirty lives. But the Mission Directors are honourable\nmen, they will stand by me.\u201d Suppose then that the man goes forth and\nfulfils his instructions with the loss say of only twenty lives. He may\nnow think that he deserves the praise of his superiors for carrying\nout their orders at a smaller cost than he could have anticipated! But\nwhen he sends home his report, he finds that scarcely has he received\nthe congratulations of the Convener, when other members of the Mission\nCommittee protest that they \u201chad not attended the meetings, and did not\nknow that the Mission was a colony at all!\u201d The lay superintendent may\nthen see a piece of chess-playing more like what he might have expected\namong the heathen than among the church leaders whom he has honoured and\ntrusted; while the weapon of misrepresentation would be wielded with\ngreat success. If the victorious army of the colony really killed twenty,\nit would get credit for having slain its \u201ctens of thousands\u201d.\n\nHad we been desirous to figure as civil magistrates or as African\nchiefs we might have soon gained an influence like what was once wielded\nby Papal Rome. Even persons that lived at great distances insisted on\ncoming to tell us of their grievances, and to ask for advice, while our\nown neighbours were constantly appealing to us. In Scotland there was a\ntime when it was considered a reproach to allow a funeral to pass without\ndrunkenness: here it seems to be a reproach to have a beer-drinking\nwithout a fight. In the more serious cases the combatants fire at each\nother (usually missing), and then endeavour to strike their companions\nwith the butt-end of their muskets. If their skulls were not very\nstrong, there would be many fatalities. In such cases, however, although\nrequested to interfere, we were content with merely supplying the\nsticking-plaster!\n\nA printing press had been set out, which enabled us to supply wall-cards\nfor the Junior Classes. We printed also a few hymns and passages\nof scripture, but our work at this was very slow. It would be most\neconomical for such presses to be accompanied by a good printer. As a\nrule the Missionary is much more serviceable at his own calling, and\nfeels that while setting type he is precluded from work that he is better\nfitted for. The English characters are well adapted for all sounds in\nthe Yao language, but not so adequate for Chinyasa. We found that the\nusual naming of the English alphabet might be simplified with advantage\nto our pupils. We call the letter _b_, _be_, while we call, _m_, _em_:\nwhy not be consistent and call them either _be_, _me_, or _eb_, _em_?\nAgain as _w_, is always a consonant in this language, we named it _we_,\nand not _double-u_. It is a pity that our system of English spelling is\nso intricate, it makes our language very difficult to acquire. We felt\ninclined to order for the school the \u201cFonetik Nuz!\u201d\n\nAll this time I was intensely busy. A great part of my time was occupied\nin teaching and preaching, and in the short intervals at my disposal for\nmy special work of translating, I could seldom sit down without being\nliable to interruption. Many sick people looked upon me as a physician.\nFor a long time we had been in the centre of Africa without any medical\nman. Natives came with all manner of diseases. One day we had a man that\nwas said to be mad. In some of his fits he had wounded a neighbour with\nan arrow. Whether he was mad or not, he was evidently far from well, and\nI gave him a large dose of Eno\u2019s Fruit Salt. The poor fellow came back\nnext morning to tell us that he was better. His breath was no longer\noffensive, and he looked cheerful. We were sorry when our supply of Fruit\nSalt went done, it was a favourite both with natives and Europeans, and\nis much used along the malarious coasts. Once I offered a sick girl a\ndose of ordinary salts, but when she tasted it, she regarded me with an\ninjured look and the tears came to her eyes. Reflecting that I would not\nhave liked to take the stuff myself, I did not insist that she should.\nBut as a general rule, the natives, especially when there is little wrong\nwith them, will swallow the most nauseous medicines with great composure.\nA chief sometimes came with a number of men and women, and three times\nas many children, declaring that they were all sick, and demanding\nmedicine. In such cases the doctor had given Bismark the keg with castor\noil, and told him to go round and administer a spoonful to each. Although\nthere might be a wail from some disgusted infant, most of the party\nconsidered the medicine a treat, and after the ceremony there would be a\ngreat smacking of lips!\n\nAn effervescing medicine was a novelty to the natives. They thought it\nwas boiling, and anxiously asked, \u201cIs it hot?\u201d Even where we did not\nknow what was wrong with a negro, we gave him something. It was prudent\nto do so, as he would otherwise go to the sorcerer, who might make him\nbelieve he was bewitched, and ultimately get some one poisoned. Even\nwhen he received English medicine, he was very anxious about shaving\nhis head, and otherwise conforming to African customs. It was always\ndifficult to diagnose a native patient, his answers to questions about\nhis symptoms were not to be relied on. He seemed to think it a religious\nduty to declare that he felt pain everywhere. The influence of the native\nmedicine man was very great. Often a sick native will part with all his\nproperty to procure some amulet. Occasionally the school children were\nrobbed of new dresses by this greedy practitioner.\n\nAt the end of this half year, a new medical man arrived. He brought us\nthe mail which told us that the Mission was to cease to be a colony. We\nwere now informed that our position \u201cmust be understood as excluding the\npower and jurisdiction known as civil government\u201d. All along I had felt\nthat _my own_ position excluded this jurisdiction. I was aware that the\nDirectors had \u201cno right to give\u201d me, and that I had \u201cno right to receive\u201d\nany powers of this kind. But I was not aware that even in their days\nof greatest perplexity, the Directors had desired me to act as their\nmagistrate, or to be conjoined in such work. The letter continued, \u201cWe\ncannot make you civil magistrates over any portion of Africa, even though\nwe may possess property therein\u201d. Well, why had they given commission\nto various individuals to act as magistrates? Why had they, from the\nbeginning of the Mission down to the very last mail, urged the carrying\nout of civil jurisdiction? We could only hold up our hands in amazement!\nBesides, the real question at issue was of the simplest character.\nIt was not \u201cwhether civil jurisdiction was necessary in the region\noccupied by the Mission\u201d; it was not \u201cwhether Livingstone and other\ntravellers and hunters had caned offenders\u201d; it was not \u201cwhether the\nhumblest artisan had not as good a right to protect himself in this way\nas Livingstone had\u201d; it was not \u201cwhether the laws of Britain were good\nor bad,\u201d but simply \u201cwhat were the laws of Britain on the subject\u201d. Now\nthe Missionaries received information that certain British statutes were\nagainst the assumption of civil jurisdiction. \u201cAny assumption, therefore,\nof jurisdiction by us or by you in Africa, and any act of punishment done\nin virtue thereof, would, in the opinion of the Committee, make us or you\nliable to the provisions of these statutes.\u201d This information would have\nbeen worth a great deal to the poor Missionaries if it had been given\nwhen they first left their homes.\n\nAlong with the Doctor, there arrived a servant to assist Mrs. Macdonald;\nthis was a great accession. For a long time I had been desirous of going\nto Zomba and Cherasulo, but could never get away from school. Mrs.\nMacdonald being relieved from an oppressive amount of other duties, now\nundertook the teaching during my absence. On June 8th the Doctor and I\nstarted for Cherasulo at 9\u00b730. We reached the mountain itself by two\no\u2019clock, but before we arrived at Kumpama\u2019s the sun was setting. Most of\nthe natives live on the sides of high hills. This is partly from fear of\nwar, and partly because they find plenty of water in such situations. In\nthis land the streams of the mountain are much dried up before they reach\nthe plains.\n\n_June 9._\u2014Kumpama introduced me to his principal wife. Owing to the\ncustom of inheriting wives, this lady was a matron who could have been\nhis grandmother. We found the chief\u2019s people exceedingly friendly. I had\nbought a supply of beads from the Mission store, which I distributed\namong the children. A present of small beads is valued by a native\nchild as much as a present of coppers is by a child in civilised lands.\nJudged by the standard of these natives, a Missionary is considered\nvery wealthy. The blankets on the poor man\u2019s bed, if cut up, would\nclothe half-a-score of negroes! As I lay in the tent I heard some of our\ndark friends discussing a proposal to rob us! One man good-humouredly\nrepresented that it was not right to let us go out of their land with so\nmuch goods! The others laughed, and said that they would like the goods,\nonly they were afraid of \u201cthe little guns!\u201d (revolvers). When we arose\nwe found a great crowd of natives waiting to give us presents, and as\nsoon as we had cooked, the chief and some of his principal men came to\nbreakfast. They afterwards shewed us that the plants that had come from\nBlantyre were growing well with them.\n\nWe were conducted round the district by Kumpama\u2019s Prime Minister. The\nchief himself had to judge some cases; and invited us to hear the\npleadings, but we declined, being anxious to spend the day in looking for\na likely site for a Cherasulo Mission. We saw many good spots, but we\nwished Mr. Henderson to make the selection.\n\n_June 10._\u2014We started from Kumpama\u2019s at seven A.M. while the dew was yet\nheavy on the long grass, but notwithstanding very hard marching it was\nsunset before we reached the Likangala. At this stream we were several\nmiles from Zomba, but we pressed on in the dark. With the roads that\nare here we can understand how it is that one walking in the darkness\n\u201cstumbleth\u201d. As we approached the Mission, we saw a great many little\nfires at Lake Chirwa, which indicated that people were fishing there.\n\n_June 11._\u2014Zomba has improved greatly within the last ten months. Near\nthe station, roads have been made, which are much appreciated by the\nnatives.\n\n_June 13._\u2014Besides the usual meetings here, I had a service in the\nvillage to the east of the station.\n\n_June 14._\u2014Mr. Henderson and the doctor left for Cherasulo to settle\nabout the new site.\n\nSome of the pupils here can read the native language, although they\nhave been reading English chiefly hitherto. This time last year, none\nof them had seen a book. The girls are not so civilised as the Blantyre\nones. Even in their games they shew this. At the station there are many\nsoft stones, and they amuse themselves by rubbing or grinding these to\nmake \u201cflour\u201d. During the process they cover their bodies with dust,\nwhich sticks to them for the rest of the day. But they say that they are\nwilling to sew, and by and by Mrs. Macdonald will pay them a visit. The\nlast week or two I have studied Chinyasa. It will be a very easy task\nto get acquainted with this language after the previous acquisition of\nChiyao. What a glorious field for energy one sees from this station\u2014right\nacross Lake Chirwa! The lake is quite full of water now, and may be\nuseful to us yet. To evangelize the country on its shores, would be the\nwork of a life time. Bismark looks forward to being stationed on Lake\nChirwa when he \u201cknows more\u201d.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nFIFTH HALF YEAR. JULY, 1880\u2014DECEMBER, 1880.\n\n\nWhen left alone in a hut on the hill-side, one feels that domestic\ncomforts are a great help in Mission work. The old monks must have\nencountered many difficulties when placed at any time among people that\nknew nothing of civilisation. In such circumstances they would have been\nobliged to leave their proper calling, and attend to their dinner, and\nwhen one\u2019s time is so divided, neither work can be well done. I leave\nthe commissariat entirely to the natives, and the order in which my food\nis brought is often somewhat peculiar. In the morning there first comes\na small bowlful of milk, and then a piece of roast fowl: after a time\ntea appears, then potatoes, and finally a plate of porridge! At dinner\ntoo, after I have begun to flatter myself that I have got to the end of\nmy task, the boy will appear with a large plate of soup! My cook showed\nconsiderable originality in the matter of dress. A few old cuffs had been\nthrown away, and when ambitious to appear in a finer costume than usual,\nhe put one of them on his wrist, and as he wore neither coat nor shirt,\nnor any such thing, the cuff looked very odd upon the bare arm. I was\nthankful that instead of showing a similar originality in the matter of\ncookery, he confined himself to an old bill of fare, for although cats\nwere very rare at Blantyre, I knew that they were plentiful at Zomba, and\nthat the natives did not despise them as an article of food.\n\nWhile we were at Zomba, a war broke out at our very door. It was between\nMalemya our own chief, and one of his headmen called Kumtaja, whose\nrelations have been explained above (\u00a7 98).\n\nOne morning about eight o\u2019clock, as we sat in the verandah studying\nthe language, we heard the report of guns. In a short time we saw\nthat Malowa\u2019s village was in flames. Twenty minutes later, Kalimbuka\n(or Kalambuka?) and his men arrived at the Mission station in great\nexcitement, clamouring for powder. The village of their friend had been\nattacked, and one of their \u201cbrothers\u201d was slain! While expressing much\nsympathy with our neighbours, we had to refuse them powder. On this\nKalimbuka protested that we were not his friends, and declared that he\nwould send none of his children to school. True to his word, he called\naway about twenty pupils that came from his village. Our conduct in\nrefusing powder seemed most dishonourable\u2014we could not expect the natives\nto understand it. Had we been attacked Kalimbuka would have at once come\nto the rescue with all his forces. We could not have complained if he and\nMalemya had proceeded against us as enemies. Yet when we settled in 1879,\nwe warned them both, that we would have nothing to do with their wars:\nbut Kalimbuka was not willing to be bound by this. It was not without\nemotion that I saw my old friend go away with such a poor opinion of us.\nStill he had listened to what we said. We insisted that he should wait\nfor Malemya\u2019s help, for if he attacked Kumtaja alone he would likely be\nbeaten. We pointed out that his own village was yet safe, but that if he\nwas afraid for the lives of his people, he might bring them all up to our\nstation. This reasoning had little effect on a man burning to avenge the\ndeath of his relative.\n\nMessages were soon sent in all directions. It is surprising how quickly\nnatives communicate with each other on such occasions. During the day\nseveral detachments passed through the station for Kalimbuka\u2019s village,\nwhich was soon the headquarters of a large army. All night the war drums\nwere beaten. Next morning we heard of nothing but great preparations, and\nas the school was dismissed that evening, the wail of those that were\nmourning the slain, came plaintively along the hill side.\n\nSoon the time arrived for our return to Blantyre. When we passed\nKalimbuka, we found him more composed. But he knew that the English had\n\u201csomething\u201d that would burn any village from a great distance, and he was\nanxious to try its effect on Kumtaja! On our way back, I was desirous to\nvisit Mityoche, the headman that gave some trouble last year. At first\nour men had concurred in the proposal, but when the first of them came\nto the parting of the ways, they quietly kept to the Blantyre road. On\nreaching Blantyre, I wrote to Kalimbuka\u2019s son exhorting him to return to\nschool as soon as his father would let him. It is a great gain when a\nnative is once taught to read a letter in his own tongue.\n\nOn _July 10th_, two men of Kalimbuka\u2019s came to describe another battle,\nin which they reported that four were killed, and four wounded. They took\nback a message requesting that the wounded men should be sent over to the\ndoctor. A similar message we wanted to send to their enemies, but no one\ncared to go there in case of being fired on.\n\nMany people were now gathering round the Mission at Zomba, judging that\nthey would there be more free from war and kidnapping. Malowa\u2019s villagers\nwho had been first attacked soon formed a large settlement close to the\nstation.\n\nAt Blantyre we still had difficulties about rations: grave disputes\nwould arise as to whether salt was to be supplied free, or charged at 6d\na pound\u2014whether a pot of jam was to cost 9d or a shilling! The sister\nMission at Livingstonia, after experiencing this trouble, made a clear\narrangement. No doubt it looked very ungallant to tell a young lady\nthat she would get the daily allowance of an able bodied seaman\u2014but its\nDirectors had to define what they meant, and they did so. After all, new\ndifficulties were sure to arise. The subject of salaries and rations\nwas hydra-headed; when one head was cut off, others appeared. On 4th\nJune, 1880, I wrote, \u201cI am beginning to despair of seeing an ultimate\nunderstanding on this subject, and the game is not worth the candle!\u201d\nThe game, however, had often threatened to play havoc in the Mission. I\nwas told that on one occasion in 1877, every artisan was on the point of\nleaving for England over this matter. But the difficulty most felt by the\nDirectors had reference to civil jurisdiction, and a deputation was to be\nsent from Scotland to examine the whole subject.\n\nDuring the last half year I had suffered much from ulcerated limbs.\nThe complaint was exceedingly common among the natives, and white men\nthat do not suffer much from fever in this country, pay the penalty in\nsome other way. After the journey to Zomba, I was worse, and had to\nbe carried back in a litter. I was then condemned to lie in bed for\nseveral weeks. The Doctor had charge of many natives suffering from the\nsame complaint, but he found great difficulty in making them keep quiet\ntill the ulcers healed. A medical man fond of his practice is greatly\ndiscouraged by negro patients. They will eat any quantity of his \u201clittle\nbullets\u201d as they term pills, but they will pay no attention to his other\ninstructions. A native girl once knocked down a revolver, which went off,\nwhen a bullet passed through one leg, and lodged in the thigh of the\nother. Fortunately Dr. Laws of Livingstonia was on the spot. He dressed\nher wounds and told her that she must not move. Most of us were afraid\nshe was killed. Judge his surprise when on going to her in the evening,\nhe found her meeting him at the door! We had never yet succeeded in\ngetting a hospital for native invalids. One difficulty arose from negro\nsuperstition. When a man dies in a house, that dwelling must be pulled\ndown. Hence if the doctor collected many cases that proved fatal, native\ncustom would require him to be constantly building new hospitals. The\npeople were all much astonished when on the death of a white man, the\nsurvivors continued to \u201center\u201d his house. They expected some evil would\nfollow. At the Livingstonia Station a number of Missionaries died in\nsuccession, and the negroes were apt to think that much of this fatality\nmight arise because Europeans entered the houses of the deceased. At\nBlantyre, a poor woman died in the girls\u2019 dormitory, which the African\nyoung ladies consequently refused to occupy again. The next inmate of\nthat building was a young elephant, which also died. \u201cDid we not tell\nyou so!\u201d was the reflection of the natives. But notwithstanding the\nsuperstition, they vied with each other in endeavouring to get slices of\nthe deceased animal for food.\n\nAbout twelve o\u2019clock one night, a slave raid took place, and two\nchildren were carried off from a Blantyre village. An alarm was raised,\nand most of us turned out. Amidst the darkness and the excitement, the\nBlantyre party got divided into two sections, which had to signal to\neach other by firing revolvers. The deputation that had just arrived\nfrom Scotland, being accustomed to enjoy a night\u2019s rest without all this\ndisquietude, were naturally alarmed, and they thought there were two\nhostile armies firing on each other in deadly combat. However they soon\nbecame acquainted with the facts, and imprisoned one man who was found\nlurking about near the scene of the kidnapping. Amidst the darkness a\ngreat number of people could have hid in the jungle near the station,\nbut during the tumult some one set fire to half-a-score of native huts\nwhich lighted up the landscape most magnificently. The poor man that was\nimprisoned could give no information about the slave raid. I left the\nvarious parties in consultation and went back to bed. But a little later\na band of men were supplied with ammunition and sent out for the purpose\nof hunting up the robbers. They marched on to a distance of about five\nor six miles, but they could find no trace of an enemy. Next day it was\ncontemplated to send an expedition with the view of recovering these\nchildren, but fortunately this was abandoned. Meanwhile it was discovered\nthat one Blantyre man had proved a traitor. During the disturbance he\ndid not appear because as he represented, \u2018the enemy had overcome him\nby a powerful dose of medicine so that he was unable to awake!\u2019 The\ndeputation immediately went to deal with him, but they seem to have been\nmisinterpreted for the fellow went over to the kidnappers and proclaimed\nwar and every kind of evil unless the children were restored!\n\nA few nights after this a rumour arose that Mityoche the headman of a\nCherasulo village, was going to attack the station. The old members of\nthe Mission heard the news with comparative unconcern, but it took them\nall their might to prevent a panic. A plan was set on foot to pack us\nall together into one spot. Now ignorant as these savages may be, there\nis nothing that they interpret sooner than cowardice, and nothing that\nthey more despise. They actually laughed at the exhibitions of terror\nthat were but too manifest among the new comers. They said, \u201cWe are all\nabout you\u2014we will not run away!\u201d On serious occasions it has always done\nus good to reflect that the lives of the natives are as precious as our\nown. We had all along seen that in the event of an attack on the station,\nany attempt at a scamper would be terribly hopeless. The natives, we\nbelieved, would run but we could not. All our prestige would be gone.\nWe need never go back. Mrs. Macdonald on hearing of the expected attack\nhastened home from an evening visit to Kumlomba\u2019s to prevent an alarm in\nher household, but the news had spread like wild-fire and she found her\nvisitors declaring in great excitement that the manse would be set on\nfire by the enemy, and that everything valuable ought to be removed! She\nthought it would be better to pack a few of the children\u2019s clothes and\nsend to a safer place. While she was thus engaged some of her servant\nboys came and asked what she was doing, and on being told they were much\nastonished at the novel proceeding, and exclaimed \u201cYou doing that, Ma\u2019am!\nyou never did that before! People set fire to your house! Not when your\nboys are standing round it all night!\u201d Gradually the excitement toned\ndown and only the strangers left the manse. The nurse however kept our\neldest boy dressed all night, so that she might be in readiness to flee\nwith him if it were necessary.\n\nFrom the earliest days of the Mission, the rule had been for each man to\nhave a supply of powder and shot. I found I had been transgressing this\nand went in quest of cartridges. Several of the schoolboys came in, and\nwe spent the evening in loading these. Our great hope, however, was\nplaced in two military rockets which were to be discharged into the air.\nWe thought a native army would be so terrified by such an exhibition,\nthat it would not wait to see what the white man would do next! The\ndeputation wished barrels of powder placed round the station, which were\nto be exploded when a hostile group drew near! Our house was filled with\na number of women and children. One boy went into a bedroom and locked\nhimself in. He had evidently been frightened, and would answer no calling\nor knocking.\n\nEveryone was now prepared for the enemy; but no enemy appeared!\n\nSome thought was given this half-year to the civil jurisdiction of the\nMission. The feeling of the deputation was that native chiefs should,\nin accordance with English views, be called in to punish criminals that\nbelonged to their own tribe, but that they should be invoked as seldom\nas possible, and that a summary method of punishment might be quietly\nand judiciously carried out at the Mission itself. But it was distinctly\nmentioned that artisans, when not at a distance from the Station,\nshould refer every grave case to the medical officer. This plan was\nimportant, for while the majority of the artisans were men of humanity,\nwe occasionally heard of instances where white men had punished almost as\nseverely as did the natives themselves.\n\nIt could not, of course, be expected that a deputation would be able,\nafter a visit of a few weeks, to tell what plans would be best for\nthe settlement. All that they could do would be to indicate how much\nresponsibility the Directors might be willing to incur in succouring the\noppressed or in liberating the slave. So peculiar are the circumstances\nof missionary life in districts beyond the range of ordinary\ncivilisation, that there is a proverb to the effect that \u201ca Missionary\nmust not expect to do any good the first year, while he may be very glad\nif he do no harm!\u201d This applies with tenfold force to the case of agents\nthat deal with civil matters. Hitherto I had believed that a person\nworking as a clergyman would always have so much personal influence\nthat his own work would not suffer although mistakes were made in other\ndepartments, but I now realized for the first time that individuals\nentirely unacquainted with the natives might so manage secular matters\nas to endanger the life of every European in the country. The deputation\nproposed a scheme for the protection of the Mission. The idea was to\ngive Kapeni a large supply of gunpowder, and ask him to send over a\ngarrison to the station! We cannot say what protection this garrison\nwould have been against other natives, but we fancy the Missionaries\nwould ultimately have found the greatest difficulty in protecting\nthemselves from their protectors! Probably if it had been known that on\nthe appearance or even the threat of a single artisan, Kapeni and his\navailable forces would run to the hills, we might have heard less of this\nscheme. After an interview, however, the deputation was content to part\nwith Kapeni on the following understanding:\u2014\u201cIf you don\u2019t give us notice\nwhen Mityoche\u2019s people are to attack the station, we shall kill only a\nfew of them; but if you give us notice, we shall kill them all\u201d!\n\nDuring the Mityoche scare, a strong watch was put on. Our cook boy was\none night making a circuit round our house when he met a foeman who is\na great terror to watchmen here\u2014viz., a leopard. The lad acted with\nadmirable presence of mind. He felt that if he tried to get inside the\nhouse, the leopard would have him before the door could be opened; so he\nran with all his might to his own abode which was about 100 yards off.\nHis wife and family were sleeping in our house, but he did not resume his\nwatching that night! Such wild animals were still about us. One night a\nlion and a hy\u00e6na had a tough fight beside the Station, and the hy\u00e6na was\nfound dead next morning. Sometimes a leopard would enter a fowl-house\nand kill scores of fowls, although he could devour only a few of them.\nLeopards seem to kill for the purpose of gratifying their blood-thirsty\npropensity. They do not come back to eat their victims; at least when\na strong trap was set in expectation of their return, it was never\ndisturbed.\n\nNear the Mission seldom was any wild animal seen during the day; but\non the way to Zomba lions were occasionally observed. As a rule, these\nanimals are cowardly, and run off at a tremendous speed. On one occasion,\nhowever, a traveller came upon a lioness with cubs. It must have been\na moment of terrible suspense. A few days before, we had been talking\non the subject, and discussing what would be the best plan in such an\nemergency. We had agreed that the tones of the human voice might act as a\ntalisman! The gentleman accordingly, as he retreated with his eyes fixed\non the lioness, began to talk to an imaginary Johnnie\u2014the name which\nhe gave to one of his native lads. (Johnnie, it is unnecessary to say,\nwas several hundred yards off and had gone up a tree.) When he reached a\nbend of the path where he got out of the animal\u2019s sight, he turned round\nand ran as fast as Johnnie had done! One day an elephant gave chase to a\nparty of Missionaries who were on the way to Blantyre. Fortunately they\nthrew down an umbrella in their hurry, and when the great animal came\nupon this, his fancy was so taken by it that he did not pursue its owners\nany farther.\n\nIn finding suitable amusements for our pupils we had at first\nconsiderable difficulty. Owing to the heat of the climate, the native\nchildren are not so fond of active games as English children are. So long\nas we took part in a game they played heartily but almost as soon as we\nceased, they also gave it up. Each Friday afternoon we had races and gave\nsmall prizes. After a time they began to enjoy swings and football, but\nthe favourite game was \u201ccricket\u201d. We were glad that they showed a special\nfondness for this game, as it proved a pleasant means of conveying\ninstruction. The calculation of the \u201cruns\u201d gave them exercise in\narithmetic (as we threw aside the Yao notation in favour of the English),\nand when any one was appointed umpire, he learned to form an opinion\nfor himself and abide by it. Some sturdy bowler would often be heard\ncalling out \u201cPray sir!\u201d He meant \u201cPlay sir!\u201d but as the batsman with his\nbare legs and arms was sometimes in greater danger than his wicket, the\nformula was allowed to pass, with an occasional laugh from any that could\nspeak better. The native technical terms used in this game were amusing.\nA ball rolled along the ground was termed a \u201crat,\u201d while a ball that was\noverpitched was called a \u201cbird\u201d (chijuni). Soon they learned the value\nof pitching their balls properly, and a little piece of paper placed to\nshow the spot was called a cricket \u201ccharm\u201d. Again, the umpire, instead\nof saying that the batsman was out, declared that he was \u201cdead!\u201d Owing\nto the great heat, the game was confined to the evening, and I found it\na simple means of securing that amount of physical exercise which is\nindispensable for preventing a European from becoming a continual martyr\nto fever.\n\nThe remainder of this half year I may describe by a few notes from my\nJournal.\n\n_October 22._\u2014Some children asked me to go with them to the top of a\nhill behind Blantyre. The ascent was very fatiguing. I saw and admired a\nfine instance of native endurance. One girl of about eight years of age\ncarried a child to the top. I helped her at intervals, but she seemed\nable to carry her charge for longer distances than I could. But alas! my\nadmiration was soon dispelled for in a short time she quarrelled with a\ncompanion and bit her! This mode of fighting is common here, bare arms\nand legs presenting a temptation to it. A boy found a hare in a trap and\nwanted to make off with it all, but we called the owner of the trap and\nhad native law on the subject. The owner of course claimed the hare, and\nallowed the finder one leg. He consented, however, to sell the rest of\nthe animal, and the children of the party had a feast. When natives have\nmeat they always eat bones and all, and they are not fastidious: I have\nseen a man drive a dog from a bone and begin chewing it himself.\n\nA few days ago a man came to Blantyre with his wife who was suffering\nfrom a large tumor on her neck. The Doctor explained that the operation\nwas a dangerous one; and so it proved, for the woman died soon after\nit was performed. Such a result is always awkward in a land like this.\nNotwithstanding that the man saw how attentive the Doctor was to the poor\nwoman, he charged the English with murder, and made a great disturbance.\nHe came back some time after with the intention as he said, of mourning\nfor his wife. Although none of our pupils were quite at ease during his\nstay, it was not till his departure that we clearly understood the object\nof his visit. Taking advantage of the Mission hospitality to lay some\nplans for kidnapping, he was able by the night of his departure to carry\noff a number of children from a village beside us.[8] To-day I have been\nvisited by the parents of these children, who have as tender hearts as\nChristian parents.\n\n_October 29._\u2014A slave of Chikumbu\u2019s had come and lurked about the\nBlantyre villages without permission. He was now sent back, but it was\nsuspected that his conductors allowed him to run off on the way and seek\nan asylum elsewhere.\n\n_November 9._\u2014Mrs. Macdonald taking the nurse and the children and also\nsome native girls with her, went over to Zomba. The Doctor and I went\ntoo\u2014all the workers much needed a change, and Mr. Buchanan had consented\nto take Blantyre for a while.\n\n_November 11._\u2014We reached Zomba. A white lady had never been here before,\nand the inhabitants of the district were much excited over the matter.\n\nI addressed the natives each day as usual. When Anyasa people were\npresent I used a native interpreter. I spoke in Yao, which the majority\nof the people understood, while my friend translated into the speech\nof the Anyasa. A speaker is safe in using an interpreter when he can\nunderstand what he says. Often I had to give my man the exact Chinyasa\nword. Sometimes he would make a careless inference, while at other\ntimes he evidently thought that I did not do justice to the subject! I\nmentioned one day that bad people would go away after death to \u201ca bad\nplace\u201d. He enlarged considerably upon this item. One of my reasons for\nusing an interpreter was to show the natives what interpretation really\nmeant, for when an Englishman had to speak through an interpreter the\nmajority of the natives did not realise that there was any connection\nbetween the speech of the white man and that of his interpreter.\n\n_Sunday 14._\u2014After preaching at the station and one of the villages, we\nhad a pleasant evening among the children. They overcame their shyness,\nand recited the parables to us. For the rest of the week we gave them a\nparable each day, and asked them to recite it to us in the evening.\n\n_Sat., Nov. 20_, was a school holiday, and we went to the top of Zomba.\nMrs. Macdonald intended to make tea, but when the boy produced the\nmatch-box to light a fire, it was found to be filled with Mr. Buchanan\u2019s\npens. As we descended we heard the \u201chorn\u201d blowing. On arriving we saw\nthat there had been a great disturbance. Just before we started I had\nspoken to three natives, who said that they were going to drink beer.\nI found them very agreeable men, and they stayed with me for some time\ntalking and laughing about the derivation of their names. In our absence\nthey came back quite drunk, and began to interfere with Bismark, who was\nbuying some goods for the Mission. After some altercation they threatened\nto shoot him. Taking up his position in front of the Mission house the\npoor lad was comparatively resigned to his fate. He said, \u201cWell! you may\nshoot me. I have just my mother in Quilimane and that is all!\u201d But it\noccurred to them that they might shoot the European nurse, who was with\nthe children, for then they might expect to carry off some plunder. But\nvarious natives quietly interposed, and managed the drunk men. At length\nthey made off with the tablecloth! As soon as they were gone Bismark ran\nto inform Kalimbuka, and his people pursued them. The pursuit was very\nhot, for although the offenders might have gained miles before Bismark\ncould give the alarm, one of them was caught. He had been brought back to\nthe station just as we returned, and hundreds of natives had collected.\nI entreated Kalimbuka to take the captive away as \u201cwe did not want drunk\nmen\u201d. The man\u2019s gun was also captured, and was found to be loaded with\ntwo iron bullets and an enormous charge of powder. A \u201cmedicine\u201d bag\nwas attached which contained small fragments of bones, which were so\npulverised that one could not tell what they had originally been. The\nnatives said they were human bones, but the doctor was doubtful.\n\nThe Zomba pupils were very diligent. Their supply of slates was\ndeficient, but they interchanged with each other, and groups of boys\nwere to be seen writing in the verandah after school. The other side of\nthe house was occupied by a crowd of girls who were getting their first\nlessons in sewing.\n\n_Saturday, November 27._\u2014Mr. Buchanan came back, and there was a great\nmeeting over the drunk men of last Saturday. Malemya\u2019s judge had cited\nall parties\u2014not excepting the man who had supplied the beer. Indeed it\nwas the beer that came under the gravest suspicion. It might have been\nbewitched! If beer were held as responsible for crime in England, we\nshould soon have nothing but temperance hotels! The witnesses,[9] as we\nshould call them, recited what they knew of the case, and at the end the\nlearned judge gave an excellent and very impartial summary of each man\u2019s\nspeech. He stayed with us all night, and we had an exhibition of the\nmagic lantern.\n\nMr. Buchanan brought over cattle from Blantyre, which were a novelty to\nthe people here. Few had seen cows before. Yet in many respects Zomba was\nnot so primitive. One day a party visited us on their way from Quilimane\nto Makanjira\u2019s on Lake Nyassa. They wanted to see whether we had a key\nthat would open their box! Here also we met a man that had seen us a\nlittle above Quilimane after our arrival in the country.\n\n_Sunday, November 28._\u2014The attendance at the morning service was over 300.\n\n_Monday, November 29._\u2014We left Zomba, and as we slept at the end of our\nfirst day\u2019s journey, a heavy shower fell. The rain came through our tents\nand we were obliged to put waterproofs over our beds. A shower here is a\nperfect waterspout, and when it rains during day the more lively natives\navail themselves of the splendid bath. But on the present occasion our\ndark companions were as much annoyed as ourselves. As each flash of\nlightning made their figures visible, we could see them huddling together\nin the corner of a tent. Near our halting place we found the remains of a\nbuffalo which had been killed by a lion.\n\nOur school work at Blantyre was much enlivened by competition for\nprizes, which took the form of blankets. The highest class had written\nexaminations every fortnight. All the little creatures kept working as\nheartily as English children do in similar circumstances.\n\nVarious efforts were made to catch elephants with a view to training them\nas carriers. Several young ones were secured but they all died.\n\nOn Christmas we had a school trip to Mpingwi. We passed the village that\nhad been concerned in the recent slave raid at Blantyre.[10] On seeing\nthe great band of children in full dress, the villagers all ran away\ncarrying their baskets and mortars with them. The scholars understood the\nmatter and cheered the fugitives. We go in single file, and I was among\nthe last. I had to hurry up in order to check these martial exhibitions,\nand on our return we found the villagers quite reconciled and coming to\noffer us food.\n\n_Monday, 27th December._\u2014We had two of the strangest refugees I had yet\nseen. They were little brothers, the oldest could not have been over six\nyears of age, and his brother was quite a baby. They had run away from\ntheir home, and come to the \u201cEnglish\u201d. They had walked about four miles,\nand appeared tired and hungry at Blantyre. As they were too small to be\nleft among other children, I went in search of a native woman to take\ncharge of them at night. While the poor creatures sat weary and footsore\nin the Blantyre manse, I could not but wonder what reason they had for\nleaving a home to cast themselves upon strangers. They had heard that the\nEnglish were \u201ckind\u201d to people, and the oldest said something about his\n\u201cmother\u201d. Some poor slave woman she had been. But she was all the good\nthat they had seen in the world. Now she was taken away from them. Her\ndying wish may have been to see them safe with the English, and now they\nhad come. We knew the man whose village they had left, for the children\ntold most truthfully every particular that older slaves knew so well to\nconceal. Soon their master appeared to claim them; they, poor things,\ncould tell no reason why they should not go back with him, and their tiny\nfeet had to retrace the weary journey. They did not weep as older slaves\nalways do in such circumstances; they did not even speak, but their looks\nmeant a great deal. Hard falls the discipline of life on the poor African!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nSIXTH HALF. JANUARY 1881-JUNE 1881.\n\n\nOn the first day of the New Year we had a party of Headmen to dinner.\nA cow had been killed the night before, and two boys were sent with\nletters of invitation! The Headmen came dressed in shirts and gaudy\nhandkerchiefs. As they were not used to knives and forks, the meat was\ncut up in small pieces and the vegetables mashed so that all could\nbe eaten with spoons. Their table-talk is just like the ordinary\nconversation in other lands. Some of them had been unfriendly to each\nother, but here was a little reunion. One Headman who lived outside\nBlantyre was led to speak of a slave who had run away from him. He sat\nbeside Chibowa, a Blantyre Headman, who had been notorious for giving\nsecret protection to slaves ever since the Mission was against the\npolicy. We referred the slave-owner to Chibowa, \u201cbecause when a person\nwas missing every one went to him!\u201d The two men had often disputed with\neach other before, but they could now join in the general laugh.\n\nThis half year I translated the greater part of the Pilgrim\u2019s Progress.\nCertain personages like Giant Pope I had of course to omit. Through _viv\u00e2\nvoce_ teaching some of the classes knew and appreciated a great part\nof this allegory. I was also very busy in translating the Scriptures.\nWe knew that the time required to translate the whole Bible was about\nfifteen years, and Buchanan and I were anxious to try whether we might\nnot, by working as for a wager, complete the task in a much shorter time.\nWhile we were thus busy on the Yao Bible we knew that Dr. Laws and the\nMissionaries on Nyassa were advancing in the translation of the Chinyasa\nBible.\n\nTowards the end of 1880, Chelomoni, a Blantyre Headman, captured two men\nfrom Mpingwi, and put them in slave-sticks. They belonged to the village\nthat had kidnapped the children (page 218) a few months before, and\nnative law did not require proof that the men were personally guilty.\nThey were undoubtedly innocent. Still they were kept in close confinement\ntill their friends returned the captives in February. Chelomoni was not\ncontent with simply receiving the children; he demanded compensation as\nwell, and insisted on having paid over to him as damages \u201cmany men\u201d. But\nultimately he accepted one little boy, whom the Doctor took charge of.\nDuring their long imprisonment the Doctor did what he could to see that\nthe prisoners were properly fed, and as Mrs. Macdonald employed them in\ncomb-making (an art which they could practice with their neck in the\nstocks) they had some wages to receive on their release; hence though\ntheir imprisonment was very long they did not seem to feel it so much\nafter all.\n\n_Saturday, 26th February._\u2014Having gone to visit Kapeni, I was conducted\nby his sons to see Cholobwe\u2014a man of royal blood, and often talked of as\nKapeni\u2019s probable successor. I found a boy with him that had once lived\nat Zomba and attended school there. The little fellow promised to come to\nBlantyre, and Kapeni\u2019s sons were to come with him.\n\n_March 3._\u2014I had a visit from Kumpama. He told me that he had been \u201cvery\nbusy for some time,\u201d but had now come to see me. As we think ourselves\nmore and more into the natives\u2019 views of life, we must admit that some of\nthem may be \u201cvery busy,\u201d though at first we give them credit for being\nextremely lazy. We were anxious to form an acquaintance with Mkanda, who\ndealt largely in slaves and was understood to be hostile to the Mission.\nWhen first visited by the Missionaries in 1877, he had proved very\nuncivil, and since then he had often threatened to attack the Mission\nsettlement, which had done so much to ruin the slave trade. Even when Dr.\nMacklin was returning from Mlanje in 1879, his caravan had been afraid\nto pass too near this chief, and at the period of Mityoche\u2019s attack on\nthe Mission carriers, Mkanda was believed to be hostile also. Hence he\nrequired to be approached with caution. While talking to Kumpama about\nhis neighbours, I asked whether he could give us a guide to Mkanda\u2019s, and\nhe at once consented to do so. It happened also that Kapeni\u2019s \u201ccaptain\u201d\nwas working at Blantyre, and he was willing to accompany.\n\n_March 4._\u2014The Doctor and I started for Mkanda\u2019s along with Kumpama.\nWhen we entered Kumpama\u2019s villages he left us with a headman whom he\ninstructed to conduct us to a sub-chief called Sapula.\n\nNotwithstanding all our care, we arrived at Sapula\u2019s at a very critical\ntime. The old man came forth and perched on the top of a large rock\noverlooking our party and said, \u201cOh yes! at Mkanda\u2019s it is good\u2014very\ngood\u2014plenty of war!\u201d As we looked up to this chief, we might have taken\nhim for an apparition, while his strange utterances reminded us of the\nresponses of an ancient oracle. Soon he explained that Mkanda expected an\nattack from Chikumbu that very night. The people who lived on this side\nof Cherasulo were all full of terror, and had fled far up the mountain\nto spots almost inaccessible. But a man who called himself Mkanda\u2019s\nfather came down among us, and volunteered to be our guide, and after\nsome consultation we proceeded. Mkanda\u2019s village was surrounded by maize\nwhich was higher than the houses, so that we were close on it before we\nwere seen. When our party approached, some of those that saw us first\nwere scared and shouted \u201cwar\u201d. This is always an awkward thing in Africa,\nand it now made me quite anxious. Shouting out \u201cwar\u201d to a party is much\nthe same as declaring war against them. In cases like this, everything\ndepends on the guide, and Mkanda\u2019s \u201cfather\u201d exerted himself and proved\nequal to the occasion. Soon we mingled with Mkanda\u2019s villagers, and I\nrecognised several that often came to Blantyre for work. Mkanda himself\nwas afraid to appear and kept hiding among the huts, while his people\ncould not refrain from laughing at him. It was not till all his children\nwere sitting about us that he came forth.\n\nHis conversation shewed that he was well informed regarding his country,\nand I soon had a very favourable impression of his abilities. The thing\nmost on his mind was the danger of an attack from Chikumbu, but he was of\nopinion that our presence would be in his favour. He has one square hut\nwhich he put at our disposal.\n\nNext morning he was able to congratulate us that Chikumbu had not come.\nThe time had been when Mkanda himself was expected in like manner to\nattack Blantyre! In a short time he gave us a guide to the top of\nCherasulo, and directed the man to lead us by the easiest way. Mkanda\u2019s\nown children and most of the boys in his village accompanied us. They\ncould climb the rocky sides of the hill like monkeys. We soon discovered\nthat there was no easy way to the top of the mountain, and the guide\nthought that, after we found out this, we should be glad to return. To\nadd to our danger, several loose stones lay on the mountain side. While\nclimbing we pulled ourselves up by anything we could lay hold of, and\nthe stones that did not bear the strain became detached and endangered\nthe lives of those that were following further down. The Doctor wanted\nto find the height of the mountain and brought a kettleful of water to\nascertain the boiling point, but the boys drank the water on the way.\nProbably they left as much as would have been sufficient, but our own\nthirst was so terrible that the whole was drunk, and no more could\nbe found on the mountain top. While we rested on the summit we had\nan opportunity of noting how many villages there were in such parts\nof the country as we had not yet visited. The young lads that went\nwith us became very friendly and professed great interest in schools\nand \u201creading,\u201d and after our return to the village we gave them an\nillustration of what reading meant. The Chief dictated words and names\nwhich I wrote down on a paper. Three or four Blantyre boys who were\nwith me were conveyed far out of hearing, and carefully watched till\nthe writing was finished. They were called back one by one. Then each\nlooked at the paper and read. As soon as the words passed his lips there\narose a great shout of wonder and applause from the chief\u2019s people. The\nexperiment was carried on for a long time because every old man that\njoined the crowd refused to believe that it could be done, until he saw\nit for himself.\n\nThis simple test of reading I often employed afterwards in other places.\nSometimes I varied the experiment by giving a boy my pencil, and then\nasking to be conducted to the back of a distant hut. The natives compared\nthe \u201cwisdom\u201d to that of the witch detective, who is believed to possess\nmiraculous means of gaining information.\n\nThat day there had been a great trial at Mkanda\u2019s. The particulars of\nthe case were these. Across the stream from Blantyre, a few minutes\u2019\nwalk from the Station is a native village under a chief called Mkao. Two\nsheep-stealers from Mkanda\u2019s region came and carried off one of Mkao\u2019s\ngoats. But they were pursued by terrible avengers. A native described to\nme with great delight the fate that overtook them. When they were about\nsix miles from Mkao\u2019s village they stopped in order to dine. They lighted\na fire and prepared to feast on the goat. As they were thus engaged,\nMkao\u2019s men overtook them, and killed one of them on the spot. He was\n\u201cdivided into pieces, and the parts of his body were mingled with those\nof the goat\u201d. The other thief escaped for a little, but his pursuers,\naccording to my informer, chased him round till he was down on the plain\nopposite Ndilande, and then killed him \u201cand hung up his body on a tree\u201d.\nMkao himself had told me about the matter, but he left the impression\nthat he had killed only one thief, and that he wanted more vengeance. The\ncase happened to come up for consideration at Mkanda\u2019s just now. When we\nwere on the top of the hill, guns were fired at the village to signify\nthat the complaint had been dismissed (kususa). On our return we heard\nthat the Chief had told the friends of the thieves that they ought not to\nhave stolen so near the English! Indeed, on our arrival, Mkao had been\nintroduced to me as a Headman belonging to Blantyre, and he called us his\nFathers, but, although he constantly came to visit, we never heard much\nabout the civil government of this \u201cson,\u201d except once that a herd boy\nallowed some of our cattle to eat his corn, when Mkao\u2019s people gave him a\nsevere beating, and broke his arm.\n\nMkanda was very friendly, and expressed a desire to have a Mission\nplanted among his people, in order that his children might learn to read,\nand that his people might get work. As we might expect, these Africans,\nat first, value Mission settlements chiefly for the employment that is\ngiven, and the calico that is paid: \u201cWe want something to wear,\u201d is the\ngeneral cry. The Mission, they think, must first clothe the naked.\n\nWhile the natives get employment, they receive at the same time some\nindustrial training. They can learn a great deal from gardeners and\nagriculturists, yet such training is apt to be overestimated. Bishop\nMackenzie, who wished to teach the natives how to farm, found that they\nknew better than himself. They certainly know all about their own crops.\nMr. Duncan, the Blantyre gardener, had a few natives taught to look after\nEuropean plants, and he considered that they were nearly as good as\nEuropean workmen, but of course they had him to guide them. It is said,\n\u2018They have not shoes, how can they dig with a spade!\u2019 Yet they do dig\nwith spades. The bare foot of the native is a very different instrument\nfrom the bare foot of the European. Although their own skill in carpentry\nis not to be despised, they were much delighted with our tools and\nmethods. They soon learned to do the rougher work, under the Blantyre\njoiners; and if they were able to read figures they could be taught to be\nvery valuable workmen. Sometimes, however, they excelled themselves! One\nmight see a native carpenter making a great show of using a plumb-line,\nwhile he did not observe that the lead rested on the ground!\n\nWhen Mrs. MacDonald had time to accompany me in visiting native villages,\nshe found a walk of four miles in the hot sun quite enough, and waited in\nsome village till I returned. During these stays she became acquainted\nwith the women, who usually demanded why she had not brought the children\nwith her. The latter were special favourites with the natives. Some old\nwarriors, whose very look was suggestive of the assagai, were very kind\nto the white children.\n\n_Saturday, March 19._\u2014We paid a visit to Kapeni, and a great crowd of\nchildren followed us back. In such journeys the heat compels us to rest\nby the streams: and if we have carried any food we take lunch on the\nbanks.\n\n_Monday, 21._\u2014Kapeni\u2019s children came and attended school. We consider\nthis one of the most important gains that have been made by the\nMission. We had long had all the children of the Magololo chiefs with\nus, but their presence did not make the Mission school popular among\nour neighbours. The Yao had given us the land and had made us welcome\nto settle, and now we had nearly a third of our pupils from chiefs who\nwere hostile to them and who might be plotting to come up and \u2018take away\ntheir country\u2019. Hence they were slow in sending their children to school.\nEver since my arrival I had been asking Kapeni about pupils whom he\npromised me. \u201cDon\u2019t be in a hurry about that,\u201d Dr. Laws would say, \u201cthe\nday will yet come\u201d: and now more than a dozen children were sent over.\nThey stipulated that they must be allowed to stay with Mrs. Macdonald\u2019s\nboys and that the Magololo boys should not be allowed to interfere with\nthem. Mrs. Macdonald took the main charge of teaching them to read,\nand out of school hours they were supplied with cards and studied most\ndiligently by themselves. On Friday night they returned to Kapeni\u2019s but\nappeared in full force on Monday morning and brought a few of their\ncompanions besides. They soon made themselves at home on the Station.\nWhen any stranger called at our house, they generally introduced him and\nas they knew all the people in the district better than our Blantyre\nfriends did, they were useful in this way. It was seldom that their royal\nblood got them into trouble. But on one occasion they all attacked a boy\nthat ventured to speak of their father Kapeni as \u201can old man\u201d. Another\ntime they had to be restrained from an assault on a lad that had spoken\nto them in the Chinyasa language. They demanded to be treated as Yao!\nThey pressed me to visit their home on Saturdays. One day that I went\nthey asked me to go up the mountain (Sochi) to shoot baboons, which\ngreatly destroy the crops. Kapeni\u2019s oldest son also came and we had the\nappearance of being a hunting party! I wounded a baboon, and the boys\ngave it chase and soon secured it. I suggested that they should leave\nit behind till we found more. But African hunters don\u2019t care to let\ntheir \u201cmeat\u201d out of sight, and in a few minutes they bored holes in the\nbaboon\u2019s legs through which they put cords of bark, and then two boys\nwere told off to carry it on a pole. The carcase was borne faithfully,\nsometimes up the steep mountain side, for about two hours. When we were\ngoing back I remarked that it might be taken on to the village, but none\nof them liked the idea of eating it \u201con the village green,\u201d which would\nmean that every villager would have a right to share it with them (67.)\nOn reaching the fields they lighted a fire and prepared to enjoy their\nfeast. I was expected to claim a large share of the \u201cmeat\u201d as having shot\nthe baboon, and when I waived my claim they were much astonished\u2014some\nwere deeply disappointed that \u2018father would not take his meat\u2019. But\nnotwithstanding their kind solicitations, I would take nothing but the\nskin, which they took off very neatly, preserving the \u201cfingers\u201d of the\nanimal that they might \u201cshew them to Mrs. Macdonald!\u201d I pointed out that\nthey should reserve some meat as a present for Kapeni, and he was allowed\na hind leg. In the middle of the feast the owner of the field drew near\nin great alarm. \u201cWho has been making a fire among my corn?\u201d he asked, but\nwhen he saw the glorious roast he said nothing farther: he smacked his\nlips and congratulated himself that he had come in time. After the party\nhad satisfied themselves by eating the internal organs the rest of the\nmeat was divided among them, not equally but rather in accordance with\ntheir views of seniority. A baboon is a large animal and is considered a\ngreat prize.\n\nThese boys from Kapeni\u2019s all made fair progress. By the time we left\nthem at the end of June they were able to read their own language. They\nwanted only practice, but as they left the Mission then, they would soon\nforget much that they had acquired. The more advanced classes pleased us\nwell. Some lads would have got on swimmingly not only with Arithmetic,\nbut also with Euclid and Algebra, had we only possessed text books in\ntheir own tongue. In April we devoted some time to the preparation of\na Grammar for them with progressive exercises. Geography and History\nwe had left entirely alone except so far as the Bible and Christianity\nwere concerned. Friday afternoon was devoted to instruction of a more\namusing kind. They all enjoyed seeing a light burning under water on the\ndiving-bell principle, and similar small experiments.\n\nI always considered that the school had the first claim on my time; and\nwhen teaching I refused to admit any interruption although all the chiefs\nin the country should come to talk with me. This was well known, and\nsome chiefs, on arriving during school hours, sat about the doors, while\nothers came in and listened. Except when there was a European marriage\nor some great event, we never had a single holiday. Even when groups\nof armed men, almost on the point of deadly combat, were watching each\nother round the school, I carried on the usual routine of school-work as\nif all had been quiet. The religious meetings for the natives were also\nconducted with unfailing regularity, although we had seen days when the\nwhite men judged it prudent to come to the Sunday service with revolvers\nin their pockets. The native men always appeared at our meeting with\ntheir guns, which they laid down beside them during the service just as a\nEuropean worshipper does with his hat.\n\nIn May there was a scare. The Mangoni were believed to be coming, and\nsome of our villagers ran to the top of a hill. The Magololo carried\ntheir ivory and other valuables to islands in the river. The mention of\nthe word Mangoni seems sufficient to clear out a whole village. One day\ntwo boys began to fight in the jungle near Blantyre. In a little while,\nthe women of a neighbouring village were seen hurrying into the Station\nwith their children on their backs. They had taken the screams of the\ncombatants for the war-cry of the Mangoni.\n\nAt Blantyre we had many visitors, and they were received outside and\nsquatted on a mat in the verandah. When Kapeni or any of the greater\nchiefs came, a chair was brought. All these native potentates were fond\nof sweets. At first they had viewed them with the greatest suspicion.\nI saw a headman once wait till all his companions had eaten, and when\nhe found that they were delighted with the strange eatable (yakulya),\nhe summoned courage and began to eat, saying, \u201cWell, if I die, you will\nall die too!\u201d Kapeni would never taste jam because it was \u201clike blood,\u201d\nbut on one occasion we called his own children who did not hesitate\nlong. Indeed they were so fond of jam that they always pressed round\nMrs. Macdonald when she was making it, and if any was spilt, they would\ninsist on licking it off the floor. Although the visits of native chiefs\nand headmen called me from my work in translating the Bible, yet I ever\nfound that such visits contributed to my knowledge of the language, and\nI carefully noted down new words or phrases that they might use. We were\ninclined to think that one reason why the Magololo sent their children\nwas that they thus found an excuse for visiting the Mission and obtaining\npresents. All African chiefs are strong on \u201cpresents,\u201d and the custom was\nboth expensive to the Mission and demoralising to the chiefs; but it was\nvery difficult to make a change. Incidentally, however, we fell on a plan\nthat modified matters. When a chief came up and obtained his present, we\nbought some goats from him and paid the price there and then. When he\nwent back to his home, he did not send up the goats, and as he wanted\nus to forget all about the bargain, he did not visit the Mission to ask\npresents for a long time! The habit of giving presents to the Magololo\nheadmen provoked the jealousy of those beside us. Kumlomba and the\nother Blantyre headmen would say, \u201cWhy do the English not give us \u2018big\npresents\u2019 too?\u201d\n\nAt first the Missionaries had occasionally asked the natives, \u201cFor what\npurpose did we leave our homes to come here?\u201d The latter, who never leave\ntheir friends except when driven away by war, replied, \u201cYou came here\nbecause there was war in your country.\u201d But as the evangelistic work was\nsteadily conducted, it gradually became more hopeful. At sunrise we had\nprayers, at which all the workers were present, and such of our pupils\nas lived close at hand. Before sunset there was a similar service. At\nmid-day I preached to the natives. On Sunday we had two native services,\nand after one of these the natives began to hold a little prayer meeting\nof their own. Statements that are taken for granted in a Christian\ncongregation at home will not pass here. Instead of allowing that he is\na sinner, the ordinary native maintains that he has never done anything\nwrong: although he will admit that a great many other people have sinned.\nOut of compliment to the traditional policy of the English in this\ncountry, the natives say that it is bad to sell people: to possess slaves\nis quite right\u2014every rich native has his wealth invested in this species\nof goods\u2014but to buy or sell slaves is wrong. Hence when a man goes over\nto stock his farm or his harem at the great slave mart in the Mangoni\ncountry, he declares that he goes there to redeem (kuwombola) people!\n\u201cThe Mangoni had captured slaves, he goes to release them!\u201d But he does\nnot venture to pretend that he gives these \u201cransomed\u201d persons their\nliberty (62). Another thing which the natives condemn is war. The party\nthat first arrived in the country had made the evils of war a very common\nsubject of meditation. They almost betrayed a personal interest in doing\nso, for they would frequently say, \u201cRemember, now, that if one Englishman\nbe killed, twenty will come to his funeral!\u201d This statement of itself\nwould be enough to frighten the native from trying his slugs on the white\nman! The negro was also told that the white man had acquired clothes\nand money and all such good things because he was a man of peace. \u201cWe,\u201d\nit was said, \u201ccome from a country which does not fight.\u201d If the black\nman had known anything of English history, I fear he would have drawn a\ndifferent conclusion, and been much perplexed at the coolness with which\nhis instructor repeated the questionable assertion! In the same way the\nexhortations to civilisation were of a doubtful nature, and could only\nproclaim how little the foreigners knew of the natives\u2019 condition. I\nrefer to subjects like these because I have ever felt that a Missionary\nis in a doubtful position except when he sets himself to deliver his _one\ngreat message_. After he has exhausted that theme, it is time enough\nto take up others. Many think that barbarians might be improved if a\nMissionary confined himself to purely secular teaching. But the purely\nsecular instructor would find it difficult to meet the objections of his\naudience. \u201cWhy should we try to buy English clothes, if we like our own\nbetter? Why should we build larger houses\u2014our own suit us very well? Why\nshould we farm more ground when we are quite contented with the food we\nhave?\u201d If they asked further whether this civilisation always made men\nhappier and better, the civilised man could not tell them that it did.\n\nUndoubtedly, a native might become a very good Christian, and still be\ncontent with his small hut and his coarse fare. If mere civilising agents\nhad met with a man like Abraham, I fear that the life and manners of the\npatriarch would have been too simple for their tastes. Yet, while the\nMissionary takes for his text \u201cOne thing is needful,\u201d he knows that other\nthings will be added thereunto. He feels that he has to proclaim \u201cgood\nnews\u201d which will bring happiness to everyone that believes it, and as\nhe looks along all the stages of the native life from the day that the\nAfrican draws his first breath beside a stream in the dense forest till\nthe day that he lies down on his mat to die, the Missionary knows that\nthese glad tidings will soon brighten the whole.\n\nThe native beliefs regarding witchcraft must occupy the attention of\nthe preacher, who will fail to impart Scripture ideas of the government\nof the world unless he refer to the opposing views. The opinion that a\nman cannot die without being bewitched, is one which they cling to most\ntenaciously; and withal they are very metaphysical. We might think that\na single lecture on physiology from a medical man would cut up this\ndoctrine by the very roots. But no. The natives admit that death is\nalways the result of injury or decay, but they maintain that this fact\ndoes not in the least discredit their own theory. It rather confirms\ntheir belief, for did not the witch use means to bring about these causes\nof death? As the natives seldom speak of their customs and beliefs, one\nmay live here for years before becoming aware of the evils and hardships\nthat so many Africans endure: but when these things are known in all\ntheir horrid enormity, they furnish a text for a great many \u201cpractical\nremarks,\u201d and the poor people listen attentively to every subject that\nbears on their ordinary life. To ourselves the sad practice of the\nwitch-detective gave a new meaning to the text \u201cThou shalt not suffer a\nwitch to live\u201d: for if there be beings that ought not to be suffered to\nlive these sorcerers must be among the number. Each year they consign\nscores of their fellow mortals to an untimely grave.\n\nBy certain parts of their experience, these natives, it might almost be\nsaid, have had their minds prepared for receiving the Gospel message.\nThey know what it is to be redeemed from the evil consequences of their\nown actions (80), as well as from slavery, and they see numerous cases\nwhere a criminal is legally set free while another man occupies his\nplace. As a matter of fact, many of them began to understand what was\nmeant by the statement that \u201cthe Son of God died to save sinners,\u201d and\nwere affected by it, and told their companions that it was wonderful\nnews. Often, in places where a religious creed has been long established,\npersons hear these words without reflecting on their meaning, but\nintelligent Africans cannot do this. Again in our Western world we do\nnot know so well as they do what it is to be _entirely_ at the disposal\nof another, and to have no private ends. Amidst the ordinary life of\nstruggle and bustle, our ideal of a successful man is a person that is\nintensely devoted to his own interests, while their state of society,\nwith all its defects, produces men that are as intensely devoted to the\ninterests of another, and some of whom could enter with much sympathy\ninto the feelings of the apostle who called himself the slave of Jesus\nChrist.\n\nWe occupied a position of most momentous importance, standing as we did\nat a point where a savage assemblage was becoming more like a Christian\nchurch. Already we could discover the workings of a mind that had shewed\nitself in the history of the past. The natives might easily be led to\nbelieve that certain ordinances were as important in the Christian\nreligion as certain charms were in their old faith. They would soon infer\nthat the waters of Baptism would have as great an effect upon them as\nthe waters of the Jordan had on Naaman the Syrian. In accordance with\nthis they would attribute the greatest powers to the Missionary, and, as\nregards the majority of the people, who depended on him for all their\nreligious information, that personage would be to them nothing if he were\nnot infallible. To such views the people around us, many of whom had once\nbeen slaves, seemed very much inclined when they approached the subject\nwith earnestness. Well might one suggest to them the prayer:\u2014\n\n    \u201cBe with us in this darkened place\n    This weary, restless, dangerous night,\n    And teach, O teach us by thy grace\n    To struggle onward into light!\u201d\n\n_May 21._\u2014The mail for the Livingstonia Mission has arrived from\nScotland, and we learn now from a newspaper that all the Missionaries\nthat were labouring at Blantyre during the time that the settlement was a\ncolony have been recalled, and to some extent censured; but the grounds\non which the Directors have proceeded are by no means clear. At all\nevents the same method if carried out consistently would have recalled\nall the Missionaries that had laboured at the two Scotch Missions. The\nChurch of Scotland through the Blantyre Committee first established a\ncolonial settlement. While this settlement was in full swing I was asked\nto join it as a clergyman. All the Directors ought to have been well\naware that they could not require a minister of the church to act as a\nmagistrate, or to interfere in such civil jurisdiction. They understood\nthat the secular department was getting on very successfully, and seem\nto have imagined that the colonial government which they had set up\nwould protect the minister in his special work, just as clergymen and\nothers are under the protection of the civil powers in Britain. Hence\nI had been officially and specially instructed to leave such matters\nto the lay agents of the Mission, who were presumably more familiar\nwith them than clergymen, and when I reached Africa the enormous claims\nthat the Missionary work of the settlement made upon me left me no time\nto consider anything else. If a man desires to be signally useful in\nany department of activity, his motto must be \u201cthis one thing I do\u201d.\nBut as the whole subject was now examined by persons that did not know\nits special circumstances, I was held responsible for carrying out the\ndetails of a policy in which I never interfered.[11] So far as the\ncolonial work came under my notice, I had watched it with interest, and I\nfound that in many respects my own views were entirely against the policy\nthat had been sanctioned at home.\n\nThis morning I went round Ndilande for the purpose of finding a spot\nwhere I could form another Mission Station. It will be a great pity to\nleave these poor people because of the censure of Directors who know so\nlittle about the subject.\n\n_May 28._\u2014I went over to visit Mr. Buchanan at Zomba. The inhabitants of\nthe villages I passed through, all knew that Kapeni\u2019s children had gone\nto stay at the Mission Station, and they talked of this as if it had\nbeen quite a new feature in our work. The villagers thought that it was\na great advance and said, \u2018O father all our children will now come to\nlearn!\u2019\n\nOn stopping for food in the forenoon, we found that we had no matches,\nand it seemed therefore that we could cook no dinner. But the natives\nin a few minutes produced fire by friction, and then carried a piece of\nburning wood all the rest of the journey. Almost every party of native\ntravellers has its fire-carrier who is appealed to when his companions\nwish to smoke, and who is able to light the fire at a halting-place\nwithout any delay.\n\nI stayed at a spot which is now covered with dense jungle, but on\nclearing a space to pitch my tent for the night, I found that there had\nonce been a village which reached down to the side of a pleasant stream,\nbut it had been sacked long ago by the Mangoni. At midnight we heard two\nhyenas very close to the tent, while about four o\u2019clock in the morning, a\ngreat herd of buck came to the stream to drink.\n\n_May 29._\u2014I reached Zomba about three o\u2019clock in the afternoon and found\nMr. Buchanan looking pale and dispirited on account of the hard sentence\nwhich had been passed against him. He had no idea what the grounds could\nbe. As we subsequently learned from the best authorities, the so-called\nleaders of the Church had feared that the British Government would\nenquire into their assumption and exercise of civil jurisdiction: still I\ncould not appreciate any motives of expediency however urgent that led to\ninflict on such an earnest worker so much loss and suffering without the\nsemblance of a trial. So far as I could judge, every one that carried\nout the details of civil punishment felt called to the unpleasant task by\nthe Church herself, and, indeed the \u201cleaders\u201d now much regretted that the\nChurch had instructed its agents to act as civil magistrates; but while\nthey were most generous in sharing the _blame_ they did not seem desirous\nto share _the loss and the suffering_, which they were so anxious to\ninflict on the Missionaries. Nor did they wait to see whether the latter\nhad any defence to offer. As I spent that hot day at Zomba, I felt that\na great injustice had been done. I knew the Lay Agents that had been\ndismissed and I knew the men that had condemned them. For five years the\nformer, while devoting all their time and talents to the service of the\nheathen, had been obliged to live in hovels, to spend sleepless nights\namidst enemies and many dangers, to battle with discomfort and fever and\nhunger, while the latter lived in comfortable homes amidst friends and\nrelatives. The Missionaries were much puzzled to know where they had done\nwrong, and in some cases there were years of their engagements yet to\nexpire. One might have expected, with Shylock\u2019s judge, that the Church\nleaders would have been less hasty even although it had not been \u2018in the\nbond\u2019. By condemning men whom they had not heard, they had given their\nMissionary work in Africa a severe check for several years to come. They\nwould not however realise this\u2014there is an unfortunate tendency to look\nquite as much at the fame of organisations as at the good done among the\nheathen.\n\nAfter considering our prospects we felt that we could easily form a\ngood Mission in some corner of the vast district. We might have much\ndifficulty in maintaining ourselves but we were resolved to do what we\ncould to teach the poor people that we had struggled for so long. For\nmyself I was greatly in favour of this step, but in case I should find it\nexpedient to leave for England, I began to revise the native Grammar and\nVocabulary that I had drawn up.\n\nAlthough civil jurisdiction was now disclaimed by the leaders of the\nChurch, it was still, as might have been anticipated, exercised at the\nMission Settlement. Every now and then something had to be done which was\nliable to be represented as an atrocity. At first the Blantyre villagers\nhad willingly come forward when their services were required by the\nMissionaries, but now they often declined in cases where their aid seemed\nindispensible. Even when the deputation was present, these natives were\nforced out to do work of this kind. As a general rule, African savages\nare blamed for being timorous and easily overawed, but this is not always\ntrue. A man refused on one occasion to do some duty that was required,\nand received a message from the Lay Superintendent requesting him to come\nup and state what excuse he had to give. But the native refused even to\nmake this small concession, remarking that \u2018he was not the slave of the\nBlantyre Settlement\u2019. He was then told that his home would be burned\ndown, when he replied that he did not care; and the result was that he\nsat with his family and looked on till his house was reduced to ashes.\nEven this did not banish him from the Settlement. For several days he\nwas sheltered by certain of the Blantyre villagers, who did so, even\nalthough threatened with a similar punishment. Indeed, natives often\nrisk a great deal in aiding their friends. Owing perhaps to the paternal\nnature of their government, they are more willing to share the punishment\nof a relative, however bad he may be, than to turn their backs upon him.\nThis half-year, one of the Blantyre villagers had given a great amount\nof disturbance. When the Lay-Superintendent tried to reason with him,\nthe native threatened to burn his house. One night an effort was made to\ncapture the man, and all the fire-arms of the Mission were turned out in\nthe adventure. It seems that the Mission party expected to capture him\nby surrounding his house, but they found that he had escaped, one of the\nnatives remarking that the \u201cEnglish need not go to capture anyone because\ntheir boots spoke too much\u201d (_i.e._, made too much noise as compared\nwith the bare feet of the negroes). On this occasion one of the Blantyre\nHeadmen joined so zealously in the pursuit that he did not go to bed.\nJudge the surprise of the Lay-Superintendent when he discovered that in\na few nights after the hunt, the fugitive was the guest of this very\nheadman!\n\nWe still had many instances around us of a rough and ready form of\nexecuting justice which we should have liked to see entirely abolished.\nOne evening a native, through a piece of very clever, but at the same\ntime, very mean treachery, stole two valuable rings from an artisan; the\nlatter felt that if he informed the Superintendent he would certainly\nlose his rings, and taking his gun on his shoulder, he marched straight\nto the village, where the thief lived, and secured the man\u2019s wife and\ndaughter and began, with great show of severity, to \u201cbeat and confine\nin slave sticks\u201d. The headman of that village, who was then returning\nfrom Ndilande, met \u201call his people calling out \u2018murder\u2019!\u201d So much were\nthe villagers terrified that they were afraid to sleep in their village,\nand the headman came in to me with a sad tale. The artisan, however,\nrecovered the rings, whereas if he had tried to reason calmly, he would\ncertainly have exposed himself to the ridicule of the natives, who are\ntoo ready to assume that clemency springs from want of power. Nor,\nindeed, does the British Government itself resort to reasoning as the\nmethod, of dealing with criminals.\n\nThe natives sometimes behaved in a very peculiar manner on the exercise\nof such discipline (which is, indeed, the only kind of justice they\nare familiar with). A strange case was brought under my notice in the\nfollowing way:\u2014On going to a village one Saturday morning, I was greatly\nastonished to find all the villagers running away on my approach.\nUnless my pupils had shouted out who I was, I should not have found any\none to speak to. But the people all hastened back, and explained why\nthey had been afraid at the appearance of a white man. A person from\ntheir neighbourhood had stolen, and an artisan, after failing to get\nsatisfaction, had gone over and set fire to the village where the thief\nlived and shot down the fowls. Immediately after this exploit the artisan\nfound the villagers coming in with presents to him, admitting that they\nhad done wrong in stealing, and professing their willingness to pay\ndamages! Native character is sometimes an enigma. On one occasion a\nchief stayed for a few days at Blantyre. Several English visitors courted\nhis friendship very much, and often went a long distance out of their way\nin order to shake hands with him when he was drunk; the sable chieftain\nlaughed at them and called them hard names! A Portuguese gentleman\nwho was present at the same time, gave the chief no such honour, and\nexplained that, though acquainted with natives all his days, he had never\nshaken hands with one in his life; yet he gained the chieftain\u2019s sincere\nrespect.\n\nTraits of character like this, force themselves at once upon the\nattention of persons that settle among the negroes, and though even a\nlittle experience shows that the native can value goodness, men that have\nno love for him, are apt to treat him in a shameful way.\n\n_June 2nd._\u2014Shortly after my return from Zomba, there occurred a\nmelancholy incident which illustrates the difficulties that may flow from\nsending to a Mission men who do not even profess Christianity, and who\nare destitute of all education or refinement. A misunderstanding arose\nbetween an artisan and a native headman, and the matter was being settled\nby the Lay-Superintendent, when the artisan so far lost his temper, as\nto strike the poor headman a violent blow, which covered his face with\nblood. The conduct was deplored by everyone, except, perhaps, the actor\nhimself. But in such cases (which are too common, whether in connection\nwith Missionary or other settlements) little can be done. The artisan,\nif dismissed, has it in his power to stay in the country and give a\ngreat deal of annoyance, while it is not possible to fill his place,\nperhaps, for a whole year. Indeed, one often felt the need of a proper\ngovernment in such remote places. It was no uncommon thing for an artisan\nto threaten to shoot his fellow labourers, and to send them letters\nchallenging them to deadly combat. Such men, as might be expected, would\ntreat the natives very badly.\n\n_June 9._\u2014By this time the mail arrived for Blantyre which brought us\nfurther particulars, as to the manner in which the Church had treated all\nthat were supposed to have any share in the management of the Colony.\nWe now saw a report in which hearsay matter was published even though\nit was the words of a person who had not been present at the events in\nquestion. I found notes that had been taken down from myself quoted\nwithout the explanations I had given and sometimes used to convey a\nmeaning that was not intended. When I wished to correct these notes on\nbeing asked to testify their substantial correctness, the proceeding\nhad been demurred to by the deputation who stated that explanations or\ncorrections could be sent after them. Such corrections in the absence of\nthe notes of which no copy was left, took the form of a general statement\nwhich was sent afterwards but was never considered. The method in which\nmany Churches manage their Missions is not encouraging. \u201cA Mission is put\nunder a committee which although shewing many names in the Reports really\nconsists of one man. In cases of emergency a Committee of advice is\nformed\u2014which gives another man. A Presbyterian Church, by its gradation\nof Courts (Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assemblies), secures the\nadvantage of mature deliberation. But in the treatment of Missions\nwe find neither Presbyterianism nor Episcopacy nor any known form of\nEcclesiastical Government. The Missionary is liable to be handed over\nto a clique composed partly of those that have \u2018gained popularity,\u2019 and\npartly of men who are held in respect on account of their wealth.\u201d In so\nfar as Missionary Methods come under a criticism of this kind they should\nbe re-considered. The cause of Christianity among the heathen is one of\nthe most important subjects that can occupy the attention of any Church.\n\nIn accordance with the wishes of a great many of our old friends in\nScotland, I made up my mind to return home. When I mentioned this all\nour natives paid parting visits to us. Many brought what they called\nkeepsakes (malangano.) Some were very pathetic, one lad was to \u201csave\ncalico and by and by pay his passage to England\u201d. Bismark had been\npromised \u201can English education\u201d and he wished to go with us. So also\ndid Ndiagani, a native girl whom we were to educate ourselves. She had\nconsented to become Bismark\u2019s wife, and he \u201cdid not want to marry a\nstupid girl that knew nothing\u201d.\n\nAfter all, I expected to be of some service to the Mission by going home\nat this time. Besides having Matthew and Mark ready for the printer, I\nhad translated the historical parts of the Old Testament, and hoped to\nget these printed and illustrated. I had also rendered a great many of\n\u00c6sop\u2019s Fables. I thought I should succeed in forming two interesting\nbooks for the school, especially if I could get them well illustrated.\nYoung natives much appreciate pictorial teaching. I had taken special\npains to see that the language was accurate; all my earlier efforts I\ncould easily improve upon. Literature is likely to be an important means\nof elevating and purifying the native. All Africans from the lad that\nwrites his grammar exercise to the postman who conveys a written message\nin a split wand, have a liking for kalata (letters.) When my last printed\ntranslations came back the boys and girls found out the place where they\nwere kept before being issued, and would steal an hour from their work or\ntheir play in order to have the pleasure of reading something in their\nown tongue.\n\nOn the last day of June we said Good-bye to the school children. We found\nit unspeakably hard to part with them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nSEVENTH HALF.\n\n\nOn July 1st we left Blantyre about 6\u00b730 A.M. This was an unusually\nearly hour. It generally happens that people wishing to start at six in\nthe morning are detained till nine. The carriers may come about seven\no\u2019clock, but they say that they must go back to their homes for food.\nSome of our carriers, although they had been warned beforehand, neglected\nto bring provisions with them, but so many natives had come that we had\nno difficulty in filling their places.\n\nOnce fairly started, the carriers proceeded at a rattling pace. The\nroad for a long way was filled with the school children and other\nacquaintances who wished again to say farewell. Among others Kumlomba\nmade his way through the crowd a little above his village, and placed a\nknife in my hand as a keepsake. Great numbers of the school children came\nrunning along for nearly two miles. One of the last to leave was Kanjira,\nwho had been the first to meet us on our arrival in 1878, and had since\nthen been a very regular attendant at school. He was now regretting the\ndeparture of his \u2018teacher\u2019 in very touching words, and expressing his\nintention to go with me. I had to impress upon him that this idea could\nnot be entertained, but the little fellow did not go back till we were\nnear the Nampele, a stream four miles from Blantyre. Another lad was\nmore determined still, and resisted every argument. As a last resource I\nfilled both his hands with beads to see if this would not make him fall\nbehind, but notwithstanding our rapid pace he persisted in following.\nFarther on we met a company of men going to Blantyre, but he could not be\ninduced to return with them. He answered me much in the words of Ruth to\nNaomi, \u201cEntreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after\nthee\u201d. Now he was so far on that it would have been unsafe for him to go\nback alone. But as we were approaching Mbami we met more men going to\nBlantyre, and as we now insisted on his return, he sorrowfully obeyed.\nThe little fellow must have been tired, having come about twelve miles.\n\nWe reached Mbami about ten o\u2019clock, here the carriers rested a short\ntime, while I talked with the headman and his people.\n\nSoon we started again; to see that no one fell behind I went last. The\ncarriers marched in single file\u2014often forming a line which might extend\nfor a mile or more, as they did not keep close together. Scarcely was\nI out of sight of the village when I heard a great commotion\u2014people\nwere running and shouting. All the inhabitants of Mbami seemed to be in\npursuit of a girl who was running as if in desperation. When within a\nfew yards of me, she was caught by a young man, but she struggled most\nviolently. I asked what was the matter, when the girl whose face was wet\nwith tears, cried out, \u201cI wish to go with you\u201d. She laid hold of me with\nthe greatest earnestness just as the other pursuers were coming near.\nThe girl\u2019s mother was there reproving her with \u201cWill you leave your own\nmother?\u201d I tried to calm the girl and told her to stay contentedly at her\nhome. All the people said, \u201cDo you hear that now? he tells you to stay at\nyour home,\u201d but by this time her little fingers had clutched my coat. I\nput beads into her hands, as this is usually an infallible way of getting\nthe hands of a native diverted\u2014so great is the desire for the money of\nthe land. But this creature held on and let the beads fall. It was the\nmother that let go her hold of the girl in order to pick them up. Again I\ntried to soothe the child while her mother and all the women coaxed her\nby saying she would get to Blantyre to school and the Msungu (white man)\nwould come back again and teach her, but after all she went away weeping\nmost bitterly. I was myself deeply affected. Perhaps the girl was a poor\nslave who had been stolen away from her true mother. One may know natives\na long time without making out their true relationships (59.)\n\nMbami is a pretty spot, and has a good supply of water. It may one day\nform a small Mission station. A little beyond it we could hear the sound\nof a waterfall. The headman lived once with the Magololo, but he disliked\ntheir laws, and now he is practically a chief himself. But if a war broke\nout between the Yao and the Anyasa he would have to join either the one\nparty or the other, else he would be liable to the attacks of both.\n\nThe next places we pass are Mazibango (water-reeds), Makoka, and\nChipindu, which are of great interest to the traveller, as being the only\nplaces where water can be found to quench his thirst. After Chipindu\nthe road, which is hitherto level, descends rapidly to the plain of the\nChiri. Just as we entered on the plain we were agreeably surprised to\nmeet Katunga\u2019s sons, and, after advancing a little, we found the chief\nhimself with about sixty men engaged in making a canoe, beside a stream\ncalled the Namyala. Having now walked about twenty-five miles, I was\nvery thirsty, not to say hungry. Katunga was sitting on a box, which he\ngave up for me. I pressed him to share it, but he sat down beside me on\nthe ground. We had now some refreshment. The Chief explained that he was\nnot able to walk, as he had been for some time suffering from bad legs,\nbut he said his men would carry him to the village, to say good-bye. A\nmarch of another hour brought us to Katunga\u2019s capital. All his sons had\naccompanied us, and I told them to write out a few lines of their books,\nthat I might shew my friends in England how they could write. They soon\nfinished this little task.\n\nNow came another of those sad farewells. When the carriers had finished\ntheir work they came to us for the last time. We knew most of these men\nso well\u2014men of Kapeni\u2019s, men of Matache\u2019s, and men of Blantyre were\nthere. There, too, were Ndiagani\u2019s mother and little sister,\u2014the latter\na small child, whom I had often carried along the road during the day.\nI wished to give her all the beads I had, but though I turned out my\npocket, I could not find as many as would fill her tiny hand. We were\nnow left among the Anyasa, all of whom, except the chief and his family,\nwere strangers to us. Just as it was getting dark, the chief came in, as\nhe had promised. He gave me a present of two goats and a bag of rice. I\npointed out that one goat would be enough, but he said, thoughtfully,\nthat we had better take them both \u2018for the journey\u2019. On going down to the\nboat, I found Mrs. Macdonald and the children preparing for the night.\nMuch was yet to be done in arranging the boxes, so as to make a level\nplace for our beds. The Anyasa, whether from want of acquaintance with us\nor from the more enervating nature of their climate, were not so ready to\nrender help as the Yao. We had to do all this work ourselves; the natives\nmerely looking on, with the exception of the chief\u2019s sons, who soon found\ntheir way down to the boat.\n\nWhat a magnificent river glided past! How glorious it seemed to us, who,\nfor three years, had seen nothing bigger than a mountain-stream. The\nnative girl, Ndiagani, was in ecstasy at the sight, while our little\nboy lay over the boat, apparently lost in contemplation. The great\nsilent river was smooth as a vast mirror: and yet on its surface we\ncould see thousands of little ripples passing down in quiet succession,\nand speaking of the individual men and women that pass down the great\nstream of time. How insignificant is each ripple in itself, yet none is\nsmall enough to be overlooked: all are carried silently on and on\u2014to the\neternal shore!\n\nAfter the boat was ready for the night, I went up to the chief\u2019s again.\nHe was sitting outside in his courtyard, all alone, beside a bright fire,\nexpecting my return. The shades of night were now gathering round us,\nand his thoughts reverted to days gone by. He talked of Dr. Livingstone,\nand Mr. Waller, and others that had long-lived in his memory. Before we\nseparated he wished me to remember him to Dr. Kirk (the British Consul at\nZanzibar), and to report to him that Katunga\u2019s gun was broken! Then he\nfound a boy to conduct me through his village to the boat. Just outside\nthe village, we passed a herd of pigs. These animals seemed quite wild:\nthey run at large all day, and come in to the villages at night.\n\nOur bedroom was the small open boat. Mosquitoes were numerous and\nvicious, and the children were bitten severely. Next morning as soon\nas it was dawn, I went up to the chief to get boatmen as quickly as\npossible. He was sitting where I had left him last night, and a little\nboy was by him cooking a fowl for his breakfast. The natives cook fowls\nin a very primitive method, which, however, we have often adopted\nwith satisfaction. The legs and wings are turned backwards and joined\ntogether, so as to hold a small stick which goes along the back of the\nfowl. The stick is fixed in the ground, and the fowl at the end of it is\nso placed as to get the full benefit of the fire.\n\nThe Chief promised to send men soon, and to come down himself to see\nus off, but he wished to find something to give us as a keepsake. In a\nshort time he came and had a second breakfast with us (two breakfasts\nare nothing to an African!) Then he produced a small tusk of ivory. This\npresent we could not fail to regard as a token of sincere friendship, and\nthe only return we could then make was to write out an order for tea,\nsugar, and such food as the Chief could not readily procure for himself.\n\nSoon the boat was off, and we were afloat on the beautiful river. What a\npity that such a spot should be the chosen abode of malaria; only a few\nyards up the stream were the graves of certain martyrs of the Magomero\nMission. As we passed out of sight there was a waving of hats and hands,\nwhich continued till we could see our friends no longer.\n\nThe Chiri here is about 150 yards broad, sometimes more, but it is\nnot very deep. In many places the boat would touch the bottom and\nunskilful boatmen often run aground on sandbanks; but as our men were\nwell acquainted with this part of the river and kept in the middle of\nthe strongest currents we went at a delightful speed, the current doing\nthe greater part of the work. A favourable sail brought us to Maseo\u2019s\nabout mid-day. I went up to the Chiefs residence and soon found myself\nsurrounded by all his boys who conducted me to the Chief himself. He is\none of the kindest of the Magololo, and yet the sight of a man lying in\nthe slave-stick reminded us that even he needs to exercise stringent\njurisdiction. He went back with me to the boat carrying with him a\ngazelle\u2019s skin which he asked us to accept that we might remember him in\nthe distant land of our \u201chome\u201d. (There is a striking pathos and poetry\nabout many of the expressions of the native.) In return Mrs. Macdonald\ngave his children some books and the chief was much interested in hearing\nthem read. They also wrote out something for us, but this performance\non board an unsteady boat scarcely did justice to the little fellows\u2019\nhandwriting.\n\nMaseo warned us as we left that if Chiputula had gone to war with\nMatekenya we should not try to pass on. Katunga had also touched on this\nsubject, and now we thought that we had heard the last of it. We reached\nKumbewe, Chiputula\u2019s upper village, in the middle of the afternoon. The\nlower village is within sight of this on the opposite side of the river.\nWe were now told that Chiputula had gone away four days ago to hunt.\nThis Chief\u2019s large house is an object of interest. It is of fabulous\ndimensions. Palm trees enter largely into its construction, and the\nrooms are of their height! Chiputula\u2019s sons and wives were very active\nin finding fowls and a goat for us: we accepted these presents as we did\nnot wish to call at more villages for some time. That evening we reached\na spot where we had spent a night on our journey up to Blantyre. A little\nincident brought the place to our recollection. One of our party had been\nfor a long time greatly puzzled at the brightness of the night. He looked\neverywhere but could see no trace of the moon. Having been familiar with\nthe position of the moon in Scotland, he had not thought of looking\ndirectly overhead.\n\nNext day was Sunday but we went on. The African traveller, must sometimes\nfind a difficulty in deciding how to act on the Lord\u2019s day. With regard\nto the Jewish Sabbath the doubts would be fewer perhaps. Now we were far\nfrom any human dwelling, and to remain for a single day on the banks of\nthe Elephant marsh with the thermometer above 100\u00b0 would be to invite an\nattack of fever. We _might_ be none the worse, it is true, just as the ox\nthat falls into the pit might sometimes be none the worse of being left\nin the pit till Monday morning. Hence although we claimed a fair share\nof the Scottish idea as to the strict observance of the Sabbath day, it\nseemed to dawn upon us without the severe sanctity that surrounds it in\nour native land. As we were quietly moving along, one of our natives\nstartled us by firing his gun; and very soon it became my turn to break\nthe sacred stillness of the day by following his example. At this spot\nthe Chiri is full of islands. We took one side of an island while the\ncanoe that accompanied us took the other, and had not proceeded far,\nbefore it had the misfortune to disturb some hippopotami. To clear a\npassage one of the canoe men fired upon them. Just at this moment we\ncame down the other channel to find the huge beasts rounding the corner\nin their retreat. After the shot they had kept under the water so that\nwe hardly thought of them. I was standing at the bow of the boat looking\nback on the beautiful hills we were leaving, when all of a sudden we\nreceived a shock which made us feel as if our little craft were going\nfrom under us. A hippopotamus had struck it and not satisfied with that,\nit seemed determined to come on board. One of our rowers received a\nsevere wound from its tusks whereupon all the men at that side rushed\nover to the other with a violence which threatened to upset us. Again\nand again the enraged animal charged, till, finding my gun I fired upon\nit, when it ultimately withdrew after making two deep dents on the\nsteel side of the boat, and leaving the point of one of its tusks beside\nme. The men were all much excited, but they were thankful that we were\nin deep water else, they said, the hippopotamus would have undoubtedly\ncome in. They told us that one of the Mazaro men that had come up with\nus three years ago had been \u201ccut in two and devoured by a hippopotamus\u201d.\n\u201cBut,\u201d I remarked, \u201cthe hippopotamus does not eat flesh!\u201d \u201cOh yes,\u201d said\none, \u201cit will devour a man very fast.\u201d \u201cBut then,\u201d replied another, \u201cit\nhas always its companion the crocodile (ngwena) with it.\u201d That day we\nwere beset with hippopotami at every other turning. In some herds we\ncounted over 20. They detained us a long time; we had expected to sleep\nat the Ruo, but sunset found us considerably short of this, so that we\nhad to spend another night in the Elephant Marsh.\n\n[Illustration: A VILLAGE OF THE ANYASA ON THE LOWER CHIRI.]\n\n_Monday, July 4._\u2014We started early without waiting to cook any food, as\nwe intended to breakfast at the Ruo, at Chiputula\u2019s lowest settlement (Ku\nChilomo). On reaching this village we landed, and soon met one of our\nBlantyre pupils who paid us special attention. In passing through the\nvillage we saw many signs of mourning, and heard the \u201cwails\u201d rendered in\nthe same pathetic way as at Blantyre. On returning for breakfast in order\nthat we might resume our journey without delay, great was our surprise,\non reaching the boat, to find nothing but a scene of confusion. No\ncooking had been attempted, and our boatmen were removing all their goods\nas if they meant to desert us. What could be the matter?\n\n\u201cWe cannot go any farther,\u201d they said. \u201cThere is war! Matekenya will kill\nus all without any reason!\u201d\n\nI expostulated with them for a long time. At first I could not even\nentertain the idea of turning back. Katunga\u2019s men agreed with me, but\nMaseo\u2019s strongly opposed, and pointed out that their chief had told them\nnot to proceed if Chiputula had gone to fight with Matekenya. I now\nlearned that Chiputula had gone away not for hunting but for war. Still I\ndid everything in my power to prevail upon the boatmen to proceed. I went\nto hurry them with their cooking, and to divert their minds as much as\npossible. Still, after talking with them a good while, I began to be less\nconfident. They had much to say. \u201cWhy,\u201d I asked, \u201cshould you be afraid\nto go down with an Englishman?\u201d \u201cThey replied that they were specially\nafraid to go with an Englishman. Matekenya\u2019s headmen blamed the English\nfor giving the Magololo guns and powder.\n\n\u201cBut not the Mission people?\u201d \u201cYes, the Mission people.\u201d Unfortunately,\nthough all the people more intimately associated with Blantyre were\ninnocent in this matter, there was too good foundation for the charge.\nThe deputation that visited us had thoughtlessly begun to present guns.\nThe natives said, \u201cHad not a stout man seen at Blantyre given Makukani a\ngun?\u201d I also found that the inhabitants of this village were trying to\ndissuade the men from proceeding. When I was present with the boatmen\nthose villagers protested that there was \u201cnothing\u2014nothing to fear\u201d. But\nwhen I was not by, they said there was everything to fear. Indeed, they\nhad terrified the boatmen so much that at one time I was on the verge\nof despair. I feared that none of the rowers would enter the boat again.\nThey had got the idea that Matekenya\u2019s men would make an attack on the\nboat even if we went back the way we came. Their plan was to run away and\nleave us to our fate, while they escaped to their homes by land. This\nwould have been a terrible calamity for such a party as we were, for some\nof us must have perished through the hardships that would have ensued.\nBut the over-ruling Providence which had shielded us hitherto did not\nnow forsake us. After a long time of intense suspense we were relieved\nto see the men enter the boat again, and turn her bow up the river. On\nconsidering all the particulars we saw they had some cause for alarm.\nChiputula had destroyed several villages of the enemy, and had a number\nof prisoners here, while several men of this very village were already\nknown to have fallen in battle.\n\nBut the idea of a return journey was dismal enough. Our boat, being laden\nfor going down the stream, would give much trouble. We had descended in\ntwo days, but we should require six or eight days to go up. Mr. Rowley\ntells how Dr. Livingstone and the Magomero party took twenty-four days\nto accomplish the journey that we had now before us. We had been able to\nbuy several fowls. Fortunately, we did not now know that our supply was\nrather scanty, else we might have had more anxiety. That night we stayed\nin the place where we had slept the previous night. Rain came on and\ndrenched us thoroughly.\n\n_Tuesday, July 5_, was a wet day, and we made but slow progress. At\nnight there was again a very heavy shower, of which we had the full\nbenefit. Wednesday was a repetition of Tuesday in every particular. This\nmorning I was quite ill. A traveller often finds it very trying to watch\nthe native boatmen lazily doing their work. They make such a mess of it\nthat one cannot look on without disappointment and irritation. The best\npreventive of such feelings is to lay hold of a pole or a paddle and\nengage in assisting the men. This I was quite unable to do to-day. A\nsoaking in bed does not fit one for physical exertion under a tropical\nsun. But one refuge was open still. We had brought some newspapers with\nus, and these were all acceptable now, no matter what their date might\nbe. When, however, I could not read, I was obliged to be a spectator\nof the boatmen, but I tried to observe their work as a piece of mere\ncuriosity and to forget that we had any interest in it. The defect in\nthis Anyasa crew was that they had not learned to concentrate their\nenergy in an emergency. The poor fellows expended much more force than\nwould have been necessary had they employed it well. The Mazaro lads are\nmuch better boatmen, but since the arrival of the Missions many of the\nAnyasa have made trips to Mazaro, and now know all about the journey.\n\nOn his engagement each man gets a fathom of cloth (value 5d. in\nScotland, and 9d. here) to buy food, and meet the ordinary expenses\nof the voyage. The first thing he does with this money is to buy a\nbed, which is just a bag made of strips of mlasa woven together like a\nstraw hat. At night the owner, and one or more friends crawl into this\nbag, which is placed near a fire on the bank. Once in they are very\ncomfortable, the mosquitoes cannot touch them, and in this climate they\ncannot suffer from cold. As soon as morning dawns the boatmen may be\nseen emerging one by one from their sacks. But they are in no hurry to\nmake a start. There are generally a few logs smouldering in what had\nbeen the fire-place last night. Round these they gather, and put on a\nfew handfuls of grass, and seem preparing to\u2014watch the course of events.\nHappy for the traveller if he has decided that the boat must start at\nonce, for the slightest semblance of cooking risks at least an hour\u2019s\ndetention. But many travellers believe that a hot cup of coffee keeps off\nfever, and stay a few minutes to boil water. The natives themselves in\nordinary circumstances do not eat at this hour; all they do is to pass\nround a large pipe, of which each man takes a whiff, and desires nothing\nmore. But when water has to be boiled, everyone takes advantage of the\noccasion. The traveller\u2019s captain or interpreter, or whatever he may\nbe termed, will be the first to entertain the idea of prolonging \u201cthe\nboiling of the water\u201d till a great deal of other cooking can be done.\nThe traveller, if a stranger, must depend much on his \u201ccaptain\u201d; and the\nlatter distinguishes himself by shouting to the others to \u201cmake haste\u201d.\nBut although he bawls at the top of his voice, they sit quite unmoved\nby the terrible earnestness of this functionary. The traveller is much\npuzzled! On such occasions he finds it instructive to watch the position\nof affairs on the bank. It then appears that all the delay arises from\nthe gallant captain himself, who is quietly cooking some dainty for\nhis own personal use, while the rest of the crew listen calmly to his\nterrible threatenings, knowing that they are all \u201ckindly meant\u201d.\n\nAfter the \u201cwater has been boiled\u201d to the satisfaction of everybody, the\ncaptain\u2019s awful voice is again heard, and now words of mutual exhortation\npass round. One man lays hold of the anchor, while the rest stand in an\nattitude of respectful attention! Only after the anchor has been put\ninto the boat does it occur to the others to pick up their beds, and,\none by one, each carries his own property with his own hands, and with\nhis own hands deposits it in the boat! Occasionally one man that happens\nto be in the boat already, will receive a companion\u2019s consignment, but\noftener this companion is allowed to enter and deposit his goods without\nany help, while the man who is already in the boat goes to the bank\nto fetch his own property. This is not because they wish to disoblige\neach other. But they see no reason why anything should be done quickly,\nand consequently they undervalue every method that savours of haste.\nLivingstone well speaks of this country as \u201cthat blissful land where time\nis of no importance\u201d. The language of a great part of their actions is,\n\u201cWhy should we do to-day what may as well be done tomorrow?\u201d\n\nAfter all are in the boat one man pushes it off with his pole\u2014the others\nmeanwhile watching the operation. As soon as the boat is clear of the\nbank, the current begins to carry it back over last day\u2019s track; when\nit occurs to them to get their paddles. One man who had left his paddle\nat the other side of the boat calls for it; another begins to search;\nwhile the rest await the result with the most exemplary patience. By and\nby, another boatman finds that the paddle he has is not the one that he\nused last day, and a great search is instituted by his companions, who\nare duly waited for. The poor traveller will now ask whether the captain\nis going down to Mazaro, and this question produces the desired effect,\nfor the captain begins to charge all and sundry in accents of thunder.\nBut though the paddles are all plied with the utmost strength, little\nprogress is made against the rapid current. The great hope of the boatmen\nis to keep close to the bank; if reeds grow there, they can pull the\nboat along by laying hold of them; or, if the bank is clear, they can\nland and draw the boat by means of a long rope. Another thing that helps\nthem is the shallow water. There they make wonderful speed. They have\nlong poles which reach the bottom of the river, and propel the boat very\neffectively; the boat becomes a kind of land animal and may be described\nas walking along on these legs. Such walks along the sandbanks are by\nfar our happiest times. The only drawback is that they will come to an\nend; and what will the end be? Sometimes we find ourselves in places\nso shallow that the boat touches the bottom. While we were coming down\nstream this was the cause of much delay, the force of the current having\noften carried the boat far along the sandbank before we could stop; and\nthen we stuck fast for a long time. But now that the current is against\nus, we never get so much involved. Yet we become fixed again and again,\nand the boatmen all get out (notwithstanding the risk of crocodiles) to\ndrag and push till we find deeper water. By and by, the water is too\ndeep for the poles to touch the bottom, and the men debate which bank\nto make for. Much time is wasted in the discussion. But after their\nresolution is formed, something like determination is seen in their faces\nas they make for the bank of their choice. They ply their little paddles\nwith all their might. On our first journey up, the crew were equipped\nwith oars, but these had been taken away during the war between the\nNatives and the Portuguese, and the paddles which have taken their place\nare not nearly so powerful implements. Still the men now use them with\na will\u2014there is no doubt as to their earnestness now. They advance very\nwell, and soon reach the very centre of the current. \u201cNow pull, pull,\npull with all your might, pull as for your very lives! there!\u201d The man\nwho was wounded by the hippopotamus is at the helm, because he is too ill\nto be anywhere else. Of course he has never been at a helm before. The\ncritical moment has come, \u201cOh, turn the head of the boat right against\nthe stream! Quick! Quick!\u201d The poor fellow has to consider which movement\nof the rudder will do this; but in the midst of the terrible crisis, his\npresence of mind is gone, he turns the wrong way, the boat wheels right\nround and shoots down the stream swift as an arrow. A sad disappointment\nthis, but we must try again. Fortunately the sandbank that we had left\nintercepts our downward course. If the disappointment affected the\ntraveller only, very likely no great effort would be made, but it is\ngetting towards sunset, and the men must reach the bank to cook their\nsupper. \u201cTry again, my boys!\u201d The little paddles are set in motion with\na terrible swiftness. The great captain himself has come to the rescue.\nOnce more they approach the same critical spot. \u201cNow, then, all your\nmight!\u201d but their previous exertions have weakened them\u2014just as they feel\nthe full force of the opposing current, their energies flag. The captain\nflies to his snuff box for a stimulant, all the others press round him to\nshare it. But, alas! the stimulant is a few seconds too late, the height\nof the contest had come, and has now gone. The boat is completely beaten,\nand makes her way, stern first, down the river.\n\nThis last trial illustrates what we often see among the natives. A vast\nattempt is made, much strength is expended, and just at the nick of time\nthe whole result is nullified through utter childishness.[12]\n\nNow for a third attempt. Meanwhile the sail had been dangling about. It\nwas believed to be unlucky, and as it did no good, it was taken down. A\nthird effort is now to be made. Our second trial had given us a little\nhope, for after our defeat the current had brought us very near the bank\nat one point in our downward journey. The method to be followed now is\nto go up a little farther, and then trust that the current will bring\nus a few yards nearer that spot. A drizzling rain and the approach of\ndarkness make our position more unpleasant. Another hard pull brings us\nonce more to the point where we had been twice before. Now they feel that\nit is quite hopeless to work against the current, but they expect to\nkeep so near the bank as to be able to lay hold of the reeds while the\ncurrent carries us down. It is a moment of great suspense. The current is\nstronger than the men, and is decidedly carrying us down again, but they\nhave come much nearer the bank and are quite confident that at yonder\npoint where the bank juts out they will catch hold of the reeds, or will\nbe able at the very least to reach something with their poles.\n\nIf the traveller be able to stand, he is certain to be standing now and\nwatching with the greatest anxiety, but see! the men are already able to\ntouch the bank with their poles! One has done so, but alas! his thrust\nis ill timed, and the boat swings right round till its head is again\nlooking towards Mazaro. Oh! this is dreadful, is that foolish poke at the\nbank to undo all our efforts? It looks as if it would, and the boat is\ngoing at a terrible speed; but in a few minutes the doubt is solved, and\nthe prow of the boat runs full tilt against the bank just at the little\npromontory that we are trusting to. The effect is quite magical. Everyone\nknows what happens if, while he is riding at full speed, his horse stops\nwithout giving the slightest warning. So it was here. The boat was\nbrought to a dead stand before the passengers had time to acquiesce in\nthe arrangement. The crew were jostled against each other at a terrible\nrate: some spread themselves out at full length along the sides of the\nboat while others narrowly escaped a ducking in the river. But the great\nstudy was the white man. All the natives like to see how the Englishman\nbehaves in an emergency. This personage is standing on a narrow platform\na few inches higher than the rest, and just at the most interesting\npoint in the collision, he is observed, apparently quite regardless of\nconsequences, to make a desperate dive headforemost into the bottom of\nthe boat, his head coming into contact with a pile of plates and pots\nthat had been stowed away there. From this adventure he returns with his\nface cut and bleeding, but he ought to have remembered his \u201cmechanics\u201d\nmore promptly. Still the situation was much better than being carried\ndown the stream again. The boatmen after their success held on by the\nreeds and pulled the boat along the side of the bank with all their\nmight, and in a short time we were above the dreaded current.\n\nPoor fellows, how much work they might have spared themselves by a little\nmethod! I began to speculate on how different our situation would have\nbeen if our boat had been manned by Scotch fishermen: but I remembered\nthat the sun which shone so pleasantly all day on these negroes might\nhave been too much for my countrymen.\n\nAt last we are to stay for the night. We must try to find a clear space\nwhere the natives will have room to light a fire and arrange their beds.\nBesides, the clearer a place is, the fewer are the mosquitoes. There\nis difficulty in finding a spot in the Elephant marsh even with these\nslender qualifications. To-night, moreover, everything is wet. But the\nnatives, in cases where cooking is required, can soon work wonders. One\nof them lands, exclaiming, \u201cI am like a monkey\u2014without a knife, without\na fire\u201d. In his story of the Magomero Mission, Mr. Rowley tells us that\nthis place was destitute of firewood, and we find it so still. But the\nnative gets hold of a knife with which he cuts down a few of the tall\nreeds, and in a short time there is a blazing fire, and the cooking goes\non in excellent style. The party then dry their beds and their clothes,\nand keep talking till midnight.\n\nThe roar of the lion is occasionally heard, and the hippopotami are\nquite close\u2014snorting and splashing. Since our adventure on Sunday their\npresence has always caused some remark, and now we are specially warned\nthat it is dangerous to keep a light burning in the boat in case they\nshould charge us again.\n\nOn _Thursday_ the rains have cleared off, and a special effort is to be\nmade to reach the palm trees. We saw them before us yesterday, and had\nhoped to reach them. The Missionaries of Magomero had this \u201cimmense grove\nbefore them for several days\u201d. On reaching them we shall have firewood,\nbut for the present the men pick up any stray piece of wood that they\nsee and carefully put it in the boat. We stop at noon, and then the\ncrew have breakfast. This consists of porridge and a \u201crelish,\u201d which\nmay be ground nuts, beans or a piece of flesh or fish. Their method of\neating would strike a new comer as being very unrefined, but when we\nremember that the use of knives and forks (especially of the latter)\nis quite an innovation, we can easily excuse the manners of the native.\nBesides, he does not at once acknowledge the superiority of the European\nmethods. As soon as the porridge is produced, all the boatmen wash their\nhands very slightly, and then fall upon the \u201cmess\u201d with their fingers.\nEach man helps himself to a large handful of porridge. This he gives\nan affectionate squeeze for the purpose of adapting part of it to the\nsize of his mouth, and then the business proceeds. One hand is occupied\nwith the relish, while the other supplies the porridge and makes it into\nproper morsels. When the large dish is emptied they all lick their hands,\nand one man whirls his finger round the inside of the plate and takes\noff all the porridge that remains. They next wipe their hands on their\nloin cloth (their only garment) or on the grass; and then these simple\nchildren of nature have finished their repast.\n\nOn coming to islands we sometimes have great difficulty in deciding which\nchannel to take. We often try one where the heavy boat will not pass at\nall, and to our great disappointment we have to go back. Our boatmen\nbathe very frequently, using a charred stick as a flesh brush. They\nhave no tooth brush, but they rub their teeth very carefully with their\nfingers.\n\nThe appearance of herds of hippopotami[13] always causes much excitement.\nThe Mission boat has done good service for five years, but it is hardly\nseaworthy now, and a well directed knock would at once admit the water.\nAccordingly, we pass these animals in great suspense. Towards sunset we\nare just approaching the palm trees (mivumu), and our hearts are full\nof thankfulness; only I have to record a report that I heard yesterday\nforenoon. It was so painful that I did not set it down at the time, and\nI have been reasoning ever since that it is likely false. It is to the\neffect that a white man has been killed by men of Matekenya\u2019s. This\nyoung man reached the Ruo on Saturday night, being just a day\u2019s journey\nbefore ourselves. He was told that Chiputula had gone to make war, and\nwas advised to proceed with the greatest haste so as to pass Matekenya\u2019s\ncountry before hostilities had actually commenced. He went on during\nnight, but on Sunday afternoon, they say, he was attacked and massacred\nalong with all his crew. The report was brought by Chiputula\u2019s fighting\nmen, who passed along the bank. They said they had been told this by\nprisoners. Our crew profess to believe it as it somewhat excuses them for\nturning back.\n\n_Friday 8._\u2014We start from the palm trees. A dense vapour rises off the\nriver, as if its waters were beginning to boil. The sun is up for some\ntime before we can see it on account of the fog. To-night we reach a\nvillage. Here there is great mourning for people slain in war. The\nheadman tells us that many of Chiputula\u2019s men are dead. He points out\nsome of the neighbouring villages, and enumerates how many inhabitants\nare mourned for in each.\n\nHere nothing can be bought, which is unfortunate, as our provisions are\nnow nearly exhausted, and we may take three days to reach another hamlet.\nOur men seem to take pleasure in teasing the villagers about their\npoverty. They ask \u201cHave you fowls\u201d?\u2014\u201c_Pabe_,\u201d \u201cHave you maize\u201d?\u2014\u201c_Pabe_,\u201d\n&c., &c. To dozens of such questions the answer was Pabe (There is not).\nThis made us all laugh, and I asked one of the boatmen why the villagers\nwould sell nothing. He explained that they had not very much after all,\nas they lived by fishing. Down here fish are found in abundance, but\nhigher up the river they become less plentiful, and at Katunga\u2019s there\nare hardly any.\n\n_Saturday 9._\u2014The men are in good spirits. We expect to reach Chiputula\u2019s\nupper village, Kumbewe, at noon. In this we are disappointed. We meet\na strong current which baffles all our efforts, and carries us back a\nlong distance. Late in the afternoon Kumbewe is reached. We land and\nlook at the pleasant village. Meeting with Mrs. Chiputula, or rather\nMrs. Chiputula number one, we are taken round the harem where the chiefs\nother wives are sitting in scores. We are shown his garden which is full\nof pine apples. The boys\u2019 house is a large circular building without any\nwalls, and supported by wooden pillars. Towards the outside the boys\u2019\nbeds are suspended all round. In the centre there is a fireplace near\nwhich are scattered cooking utensils of various sorts. More than forty\nof the chief\u2019s wives tell us that they are going to visit the boat with\na present for \u201clittle Kapeni\u201d\u2014as they called one of the white children.\nThis was a formidable matter. When the last party passed down an English\nlady was reported to have been terribly frightened by a visit from Mrs.\nChiputula. On the present occasion about forty volumes of Mrs. Chiputula\ncontended for the privilege of entering our boat: but their kindness\nand good feeling was unmistakeable. The natives are fond of bringing\nus honey, but as the bees feed on the eucalyptus, much of the honey is\nbelieved to be poisonous.\n\n_Sunday[14] 10._\u2014We again much missed the quietness of the Scottish\nSabbath. In the forenoon we reached Katunga\u2019s lower villages. All these\nchiefs have their important villages near islands to which they can\nflee in case of danger. We had to ask Katunga for men to take us up\nto Blantyre. We also saw Maseo, who promised to send us carriers. We\nlearned that we had been all mourned for as dead. To-night we reached our\ndestination. This day three years before, we had also come to the end of\nour river journey, and it was the same day\u2014the 10th of July\u2014twenty years\nago, that the Magomero Missionaries had reached the same spot.\n\n_Monday 11._\u2014We have much anxiety about getting carriers. It seems\nimpossible to get as many as we want. Some are enrolled and sent away\nwith such loads as must go up with us again, but what gives us most\nconcern is to find no men for palanquins. The danger from fever makes us\nanxious. What a relief we experience when we see Maseo himself coming\nup with twenty carriers! In a little after, about as many of Katunga\u2019s\nmen come direct from the chief himself, who has thoughtfully sent his\npalanquin with them. Maseo with his own hands makes another palanquin\nof one of our blankets, and we are soon able to start off. Our thoughts\nrevert to the 11th of July three years ago. We marvelled at the great\ncontrast! How much we felt at home among the natives now!\n\nIn the afternoon we reached Mbami. The first to come to salute us was\nthe little girl that had wished to accompany me. Our men were lazy,\nand wanted to stay here for the night. I have always found the Anyasa\ncarriers from the Lower river inferior to the Yao. Perhaps it is because\nthe Magololo rule them as slaves.\n\nWe reached Blantyre at eight o\u2019clock. The beautiful moon had lighted up\nour way for us with as kindly an eye as it had done three years ago,\nand we found the children had got out of bed and were meeting us before\nwe had well passed the stream. We were very glad after our hardships to\nsleep for the night on the floor of our old dining room.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n\nThe day after our arrival I rested, as my limbs were aching after the\nlong march. Next day I was able to return to school. The daily meeting\nfor the natives had ceased, but I had no difficulty in resuming it.\nKapeni\u2019s children had all left, and on Saturday I went to visit them.\nI met Kapeni himself on the way to see me, and walked back with him.\nHis boys promised to return to school, but I found afterwards that this\nwas merely the promise of politeness. They asked whether I was to leave\nthem now, and I replied that if I could get down before the rains, I\nwould go, otherwise I should have to wait till the rains were over. \u2018And\nthen you would go?\u2019 \u2018Yes.\u2019 Malunga was another man whose children I had\nlong desired to have. Just as I was leaving, he regretted my departure,\nbecause he \u2018was going to send them all\u2019. Now I was come back, here was\na test for his sincerity. Still he had his excuse, too. Ever since the\nMagomero people left them, the natives have been inclined to look upon\nthe \u2018English\u2019 as mere birds of passage. Katunga\u2019s boys came up, but\nalthough Maseo had promised in like manner, his were not sent.\n\nKumpama came and took his leave on the Saturday following\u2014a day when I\nwas free to escort him to the boundary of his own territory. As we passed\nNdilande I noticed a great change. The people that were living on the\nplains about a month ago, had gone up the mountain from fear of Chikumbu.\nWe missed the welcomes that used to greet us in this quarter. We passed\nvillage after village and found them all deserted. On our way back we\nclimbed the mountain and saw the people in their new abodes. They said\nthat if Chikumbu molested them farther they would all go to Blantyre.\n\nAbout the beginning of August Chikumbu attacked the carriers of the\nTrading Company and captured some goods. We saw another instance of the\ndifficulty of sending messengers in such cases. According to Kapeni,\nany neutral party would at once make himself the enemy of Chikumbu by\ncarrying a message to him regarding the robbery, because Chikumbu would\nnaturally wish to guard against the slightest appearance of treachery.\n\nThe slave question began to revive again. For nearly two years it had\nbeen practically laid aside, no slaves had been received and no master\nthought of claiming the persons that had formerly received protection.\nBut many masters had recently come in and stated that when I went home,\nthey would ask their slaves back. I turned the matter off with a joke,\nbut I found that soon after my departure some Magololo had given much\ntrouble about slaves. One lad that had been at school for three years,\nand was able to act as a teacher, was demanded by Makukani. This poor\nfellow had been for a long time saving a great part of his wages to give\nthis greedy chief.\n\nThe slave trade is by no means defunct, as many poor Africans know\nto their cost. Human beings are still hunted as legitimate game, and\ngreat numbers of slave caravans still leave the interior. Powder is a\ngreat assistance in carrying on this terrible traffic. Fortunately the\nPortuguese restrict its importation at Quilimane, but they allow it to\nbe imported at Chisanga, and many slaves are disposed of at the latter\nplace, from which Mukukani quite recently brought up nine kegs of powder\nand fifteen new guns.\n\n[Illustration: A DANGEROUS HIPPOPOTAMUS.]\n\nMr. Henderson set out towards the coast to see whether communication\ncould be restored. Bismark went to guide him. The latter considered that\nhe would be in danger, and wrote out his will\u2014which was sent back to\nMrs. Macdonald. However, he returned safe, although sad at heart, that\nhis young girl refused to go to England with him. She had been quite\nfrightened by the dangers of the way. The hippopotami and the threatened\nwar proved too much for her nerves, and she was afraid to try the journey\nto England again. Besides we had been now so long delayed, that we should\nnot arrive till winter, and the doctor judged that the cold would be\ndangerous for Bismark himself.\n\nOn the 23rd of August we were enabled to leave Blantyre the second\ntime. Mr. Moir, of the Trading Company, had come up the river with a\nMazaro crew, and there was no longer any doubt about getting men for the\njourney. The Mazaro men were anxious to get home again. Not only so,\nbut Mr. Moir engaged a number of Yao men to go down to assist in work\nat Mazaro. We were soon on the river once more. The first day\u2019s sail\nbrought us beside the celebrated grove of palm trees. Next day (Thursday\n25th), tempting herds of buck were seen, and we had several opportunities\nof firing upon them. When there is a crowd of hungry natives, it is a\ngreat boon to get hold of a buck. One should shoot at these animals with\nexplosive bullets. In the ordinary method severe wounds are inflicted,\nbut the creatures get away to suffer considerably. A large herd of Zebras\nwas also seen\u2014they are swift as the wind.\n\nSoon after starting in the afternoon we had an adventure. The other boats\nhad all passed on before us. The last one, with Mrs. Macdonald and the\nchildren, was just disappearing at a bend of the river. We were going\nnicely along, when I saw a hippopotamus coming towards us. I took up a\nrifle and had him \u2018covered,\u2019 but as he seemed peaceful I gave him the\nbenefit of the doubt; and he disappeared again. After we had sailed down\na little farther the boat got a blow that seemed to raise it out of the\nwater. We were agreed that \u2018Now that fellow must get a lesson,\u2019 and we\nseized our rifles. But water soon rushed into the boat at such a rate as\nto direct our attention to another matter. I laid hold of a bucket and\nbegan to bale, but I found the task hopeless and urged the boatmen to\npull hard. We were in the very middle of the stream, and the situation\nwas most critical. It was really a question of life or death. We had\nalways held a theory that if a hole were knocked in the boat we could\nstuff it, but theories are often difficult to practice. Before we could\nhave reached the bottom of the boat, through all the bags and boxes,\nthe necessity for stuffing the hole would have passed away. The natives\nrowed but feebly. They lose their heads in an emergency. It looked as\nif we were to sink on the spot. Mr. Moir at this crisis seized an oar\nand rowed with the strength of any four of them. I was told off to the\nhelm; the baling being of no use. The boat rapidly filled with water\u2014it\nwas questionable whether we could reach the bank before it sank. The\nriver here was very deep. One of the canoes saw our position and made\ntowards us. However, we reached the bank just as the boat sunk. All the\ncargo was under the water and had to be fetched out. After the accident\nwe held a short council. One was to stay with the boat and the other to\ngo and obtain assistance from the rest of the party. Ultimately I went\nin a small canoe, but notwithstanding hard rowing I could not overtake\nthe others. Sometimes the canoe found itself among herds of hippopotami,\nwhose presence made me somewhat uncomfortable after the last encounter.\nSantos has the following account of these animals:\u2014\u201cThe head of the\nhippopotamus is three times the size of our ordinary horse, and its body\nthick in proportion. What is extraordinary in this species of animal\nis their practice of destroying each other for food, whence it rarely\nhappens that two are found together.\u201d How much I could have wished on\nthe present occasion to be able to confirm the last part of the Reverend\nFather\u2019s remarks! But I found scores of them, all regarding my frail bark\nat the same time, so that they must have laid aside this inhuman practice\nof the 16th century!\n\n[Illustration: HIPPOPOTAMI AT HOME.]\n\nThe above incident was my third experience of a hippopotamus attack,\nand I believe that such attacks are made partly through fright. On each\noccasion a boat or a small canoe had passed immediately before and while\nthe hippopotamus was trying to get away from the first vessel, the second\nwas upon it before it was aware. Driven to desperation, and confiding in\nits great strength, \u2018leviathan\u2019 then charged with all its might.\n\nI found the first party at the Ruo (encamping beside the village where we\nhad to turn back on our former journey) and told Mr. Moir\u2019s carpenter of\nthe necessity for his services. But it would have taken a whole day to\nrow against the current up to the scene of the disaster. Some natives\nhowever were sent off. The rest of us stayed for the night. Chiputula\nthe chief was here himself. A sickening smell pervaded the village. An\nelephant had been killed and long strips of flesh were hanging on the\ntrees. Chiputula has a war canoe capable of containing 40 soldiers which\nhe put at my disposal as I wanted to visit Bishop Mackenzie\u2019s grave.\n\nNext morning Mr. Moir appeared with the boat, which bore sad traces of\nthe prowess of the hippopotamus. The chief gave him a basin of elephant\nfat which was of great use in effecting a temporary repair.\n\nThis afternoon we reached the territory of the dreaded Matekenya. His\npoor people had been driven far down by Chiputula, and villages that were\nflourishing when we came up were now deserted. The natives soon descried\nour approach, and some shouted at us to stop, but we saw no reason to\nlisten to them. Soon there arose a great stir on the bank, and a rush was\nmade as if to meet us farther down. About five o\u2019clock we were warned\nthat they would kill us, but threats of this kind were nothing new and we\npressed on. To shew the least sign of alarm in such circumstances would\nhave been a serious experiment. But the critical moment soon arrived. The\nnatives stood in a mass with a considerable shew of guns and ordered us\nto come at once to the side. We were now within range of their muskets\nand some of our party as they afterwards confessed did not feel at all\ncomfortable. Fortunately they did not understand all that was said else\nthey would have been much worse. I stood up in the boat and asked \u2018Why\ndo you want us to stop? Have you anything to sell?\u2019 The last remark was\nreceived with a grim smile but a smile all the same, and I felt that\nthe danger was past. I then leapt out of the boat and began to talk to\nthem. I explained that \u2018I was not Anyasa at all, but Yao\u2019. I was soon\nrecognised as the \u2018chief of Bulantaya\u2019 (Blantyre) and they opened their\nhearts to me over the hardship they had suffered from Chiputula. They\nsaid that since we settled at Blantyre, Chiputula had let the Yao alone.\n\u2018Why do the English not come down and stay to protect _us_ also? We would\nbe your children[15]!\u2019 Their great anxiety was to see Mr. Moir who, I\ntold them, had been treating with their enemy. Mr. Moir had been detained\nby his boat, and was left in close conversation with Chiputula whom he\nwas warning against interfering with Matekenya lest he should bring the\nPortuguese against himself. The incorrigible chieftain replied that\nwhile he was afraid of the English, he did not care for the Portuguese,\nas he had often fought with their forces near Senna.\n\nWhen Mr. Moir arrived he made an appointment to meet Matekenya on Sunday\nat a village a day\u2019s journey farther on. Matekenya rules his subjects\nwith a rod of iron so that with Chiputula\u2019s wars on the one hand, and a\nfearfully despotic government on the other, they are much to be pitied.\nWe found them interesting people. They had never seen white children\nbefore, and the two babies were objects of much wonder. When we reached\nMorumbala marsh we found innumerable flocks of wild fowl. They fell as\nfast as we could fire and were very acceptable both to ourselves and to\nthe natives.\n\n[Illustration: HALTING FOR THE NIGHT ON THE RIVER BANK.]\n\nBy Monday forenoon we reached the confines of civilization once more\nand met a French trader who shewed us great kindness. We were now under\nthe shadow of misty Morumbala. We passed the night at Shamo, the abode\nof Ferrao who sometimes kept Dr. Livingstone from starving amidst the\nvarious accidents and incidents of his wanderings. According to native\ncustom the house of the deceased gentleman had been taken down (40.)\nBut as we wandered through the village we met an old servant of Ferrao\nwho volunteered to shew us the spirit (Mulungu) of his master for a\npresent of calico. A Portuguese merchant now occupies the place and sells\numbrellas, cups, cloth, and rum for the ground nuts of the natives.\n\nOn Tuesday morning we went off quite early wishing to reach Mazaro. For\nthe last week Mrs. Macdonald with the nurse and two children had been\nconfined in a corner of an open boat where they had scarcely room to\nturn. When one remembers the intense heat of these days and nights, he\nwill understand why we wished to press on. Soon we were on the broad\nZambeze and within a district where the natives have been in contact with\nEuropeans for nearly 400 years. If the Portuguese had only established\nschools and taught the natives to read, a great change would have been\neffected. But since the recall of the Jesuits, the Portuguese have not\ntried to christianize the natives, many of them believing that the\nnegroes are not susceptible of improvement. Here most of the native\nhuts are two storeys because of the floods in the rainy season. We were\nanxious to visit Shupanga house, but the boatmen were too afraid of the\nZulus. As we were talking with reverence of Mrs. Livingstone, one of our\nparty pointed towards her grave and said \u201cAh! they know all about it\u2014ask\nwhat they say\u201d. I remarked that unless we knew what Livingstone had been\ncalled by the natives in this district there was little chance of finding\nan answer without a long explanation. However my companion shouted to\none of them, \u201cLivingstone! Livingstone!\u201d and pointed towards the house.\nAt first the boatman was puzzled, he thought it was an order. But when\nthe word was repeated he was bound to believe that it conveyed some\ninformation and he said \u2018Yes!\u2019 The great Doctor himself warns against the\ndanger of receiving an African\u2019s statement with confidence. He points\nout that the native has no conception that the truth or falsehood of his\nanswer can be of the least importance, and just tells a stranger what\nhe thinks will best please him. But another danger is that persons are\napt to mistake for information what was never so intended. A learned\ngentleman sees a lizard and asks its name: the native replies \u2018Kaya\u2019\nwhich means \u2018I don\u2019t know\u2019. Down goes Kaya in the note-book as \u2018the name\nof a green lizard!\u2019 If an English traveller may ask near the birth-place\nof the author of Paradise Lost \u2018where Milton was born,\u2019 and be told by a\ncountryman that a woman of that name once lived in the district, we need\nnot blame an African for not knowing the name of Livingstone which is\nunpronounceable by him, and which he likely never heard (46.)\n\nWe stuck repeatedly on sandbanks, and could not reach Mazaro this night.\nWe slept on the opposite side of the river. On this bank our boatmen do\nnot feel secure: they are not entirely out of the reach of a Zulu tribe\nwhich gives great trouble here, and levies blackmail on the Portuguese\nthemselves. We thought of going over the bank and pretending to be Zulus,\nbut when we observed that our natives had their flint locks lying in\nreadiness we did not care to carry out the idea. There are hippopotami\nhere, and one came very close, but they are few in number, as the natives\nharpoon them. On Wednesday morning we started a little after five, and\nreached Mazaro early. We had a few days to wait here before we could\nget ready for the Quilimane part of the journey. All my time since\nleaving Blantyre had been devoted to the revisal of my vocabularies, but\nafter this point the Yao-speaking natives were left behind. Here we met\nMwanasa, a girl who had lived for two years with Mrs. Macdonald. She\nwould have willingly come to England to learn more, but we feared she\nwould be lonely. When at Blantyre she had learned to read and write in\nher own language.\n\nWhen we were at Mazaro a letter was read from the Zanzibar consul, which\nhad been addressed to one of the Livingstonia employ\u00e9s. Certain chiefs on\nLake Nyassa had been making themselves notorious in connection with the\nslave trade, and the consul asked the man whether he could not clear out\none of these slavers. We believe it must often be felt by those on the\ncoast that they could cope with the evils of slavery much better if they\nhad an agency in the interior.\n\nSaturday evening found us on the Kwagwa. Here our journey was, if\npossible, more uncomfortable than before. There was only one boat:\nand Mrs. Macdonald with the nurse and family had just room to stow\nthemselves away under the little grass awning that had been thrown over\nit. My bed was placed in the steerage! Hitherto, throughout the whole\njourney on the Chiri and Zambeze, we had been obliged to sleep in the\nboats and under mosquito curtains. At Mazaro we had occupied a house; but\nthis means that the plague of rats is added to the plague of heat and\nmosquitoes.\n\nThe lad that was our pilot here had been at Blantyre for a few months,\nand he showed us great attention. We always pressed on during night.\nOne can go down the Kwagwa at a beautiful rate. As soon as the terrible\nsun was set I made a point of getting hold of a pole, when we had great\namusement in endeavouring to race with the light canoes. I thus secured\na few hours\u2019 exercise, which is one of the best antidotes to fever in\nthis pestilential district. On Monday the 5th we passed Mugurumbe, and\nreached a sleeping place about one o\u2019clock next morning. The vegetation\nis so dense that one cannot land on the bank just where he chooses. There\nare but few places so clear that we could light a fire, and of these many\nare found already occupied by numbers of other travellers. But when one\nparty arrives certain of the others will often make a fresh start. Night\nand day are much the same to the travellers on this river. Our sleeping\nstation of Tuesday morning became a scene of confusion. When our boat\nreached it a score of natives began to appeal to me on civil matters. I\nwas inclined to smile at the situation. Some people that ought to have\nknown better had taken me for a civil magistrate before, and now I am\nto be pressed into that service again! All explanations were useless.\n\u201cMaster, here\u2014a boy has been stabbed!\u201d The knife with which the wound had\nbeen inflicted is thrust into my hands, while our men pointed out that it\nhad been bent in the rencontre.\n\n[Illustration: THE KWAGWA.]\n\nI felt as sick of the matter as an English jury when shut in to give a\ndecision. I said I was suffering from want of sleep, but what was want of\nsleep to them! Native patience is sometimes great, and native eloquence\nlong. The \u201cGovernor of Quilimane\u201d was an expression that I tried to\nconjure with, but without effect, and in the end I had to beseech them\nto defer the matter, and it was only after I promised to listen to them\nnext day that I obtained this concession. Next morning as soon as I awoke\nthe palaver began, and to my astonishment an old Portuguese came out of\none of the sack-beds, and requested my interference. He was the \u201cother\nparty\u201d in the transaction. He had landed here the previous night, and as\nhe slept in a mat on the bank, some natives stole most of his clothing\nand some of his goods. A little after, he found another native (not\nthe actual thief) prowling about, and put his knife into him. The old\nman was now determined not to go away until his property was restored.\nI told him that the thief was not one of my boatmen, neither was the\nother unfortunate lad, and that I was merely a traveller and could not\ninterfere. It was a strange spectacle, the two white men unable to speak\nto each other except through the medium of two black interpreters! As\nI explained my position to my brother European he looked at his own\ninterpreter, and they agreed that my interpreter was against them, and\nwas not translating properly. He knew \u201cthat the governor of Quilimane\nwas far away,\u201d but if I could show these natives that I did not support\nthem in stealing, it would help a poor traveller, and do no one any harm!\nPerhaps the poor fellow thought that I must be some Englishman that had a\ngrudge against the Portuguese. I soon condemned the theft, and succeeded\nin getting the bent knife returned to him. I think that his antagonists\nhinted that I was going to carry it off to use as a witness against him\nin Quilimane! In a short time his goods were also restored. Now he was\ndelivered from anxiety, and I soon saw that he could expound native law\nto them. \u201cYou must pay me for this theft and annoyance.\u201d They replied,\n\u201cYou must pay us for the boy\u201d. His answer was that the boy was of the\nsame fraternity, and had to expect what he got. We left them before they\nhad finished, but from the bold manner of the traveller it is likely that\nhe got damages. Only the matter was hardly worth insisting on unless he\nhad frequent occasion to pass that way.\n\nAfter a short repose of three or four hours we made an easy start on\nTuesday morning. Antani was my philosopher, and pointed out rivers that\nwere said to be associated with the slave trade. He had expected me to be\nmore in favour of the black man this morning, and therefore recounted the\nhardships of the poor slaves:\u2014\n\n\u201cThey are taken down here in slave sticks. If a woman have a child on her\nback she is put in the slave stick too. One piece of cloth (16 yds., say\n4s.) is the price of a man: two pieces is the price of a woman. A woman\ncosts more because she will be the mother of other people. If she have\na child in her arms she fetches half a piece more. If the master cannot\nsell his slave he takes him back again, and cheats him by saying I did\nnot want to sell you. I only took you down to frighten you that you might\nrespect me more.\u201d\n\nHe promised to tell me if he saw any with the Yao tatoo. He found none\nexcept those that had been bought by the Portuguese long ago: the new\nones, he insisted, were kept in distant plantations.\n\nThough told several times this morning to fill every bottle with water,\nAntani was very remiss in doing so, as he could not see the reason. In\nthe forenoon he sat in the bow of the boat looking at the river, which\nwas gradually becoming broader. We asked him to taste the water now. The\nother natives, although not in the secret, understood the joke at once,\nand one handed him a dish. They waited to see if this lad, fresh from\nthe mountains of the interior, could be so green after all! He dipped\nover the side of the boat, and proceeded to drink the water with as great\nconfidence as he had done throughout our journey. \u201cAh! salt, salt,\u201d he\ncried, and began to spit, while his companions enjoyed a boisterous laugh\nat his expense.\n\nThis evening a great wind rose, and our tiny boat had to put back into a\nsheltered corner. We expected the breeze would allow us to sleep; but it\nwas soon calm and hot. The mosquitoes did not give much trouble, but the\nsand flies came through our curtains and rendered our position wretched\nin the extreme. Seldom have we passed a more miserable night. Yet we\ncould not fail to appreciate one beautiful episode. A canoe passed us\nplaying a sansa (I. 272), while certain voices attempted to sing with the\ninstrument. Every note was distinctly heard in the midnight stillness,\nand the canoe-men made the grand old woods resound with the melody. We\nlistened with great fondness till the strains of their rude music died\naway in the distance. About twelve o\u2019clock at night we asked the boys\nwhether they could not push off the boat, but after a fruitless endeavour\nto move it along the sand, we had to make up our minds to endure the\nsituation longer. It was about two A.M. before the tide reached us, and\nthen they promptly released us from our sufferings. As soon as the tide\nturned the boys all went to sleep again, and we glided smoothly along.\nBut before reaching Quilimane we had to face big waves. We arrived at\nmid-day. It was fifteen days since we had left Blantyre.\n\nWe enjoyed the welcome and cordial hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Nunes.\nThey had nearly been killed by the same journey, and could sympathise\nwith us. Our oldest boy\u2019s face was one large blister owing to mosquito\nbites, and he and Mrs. Macdonald suffered much from fever. We had to wait\na few days for the steamer. Antani often walked with me, and made his own\nobservations on men and manners. We would meet a Portuguese boy going to\nschool with a negro behind him carrying his books and cigars! Antani said\nthat the Portuguese \u201cdrove the native children out of school lest they\nshould by and by know as much as white men\u201d. One day a man passed wearing\na tall silk hat. When at Blantyre, we had great difficulty in explaining\nthe pictures in the _Graphic_ and _London News_ on account of the\n_dreadful head-dress_ of the European. Here we were fortunate in finding\nan actual specimen. Antani gazed with wonder, and promised to report, on\nhis return to the interior that these strange hats were a reality after\nall!\n\nOnce I took a long solitary walk into the country to see whether I could\nmeet with slaves that had been brought from our district. I saw several\nAnyasa and Walolo tatoos. After marching till I was tired I sat down at\na village to rest. Here I found a lad that could speak Chinyasa. As we\ntalked he stumbled on a characteristic Yao word, and this led to his\nfinding for me two people that had come from the Blantyre district long\nago. They were charmed with an opportunity of speaking their mother\ntongue, which they had not used for many years, but which they said\nthey would never forget. As a group gathered round they took a pride\nin shewing their Quilimane companions that they could converse with a\nEuropean in an unknown language. But they were far behind in the history\nof their country, and were taking for granted the existence of chiefs\nand headmen that had long been gathered to their fathers. I could not\nbut think of the touching picture that Homer gives of Helen looking from\nthe Trojan wall and trying to see Castor and Pollux, not knowing that\nthe grave \u201calready possessed them in their dear native land\u201d. I could\nperceive that one especially looked back fondly to olden days, while\nhis breast filled with thoughts of the friends of his youth. \u2018Perhaps\nhis mother was yet alive.\u2019 \u2018Had his brothers and sisters gone into\nslavery like himself, or would they still send a thought after him as\nthey lingered about the scenes of bygone days?\u2019 He could not tell. He had\nformed new ties now, and was quite happy, enjoying under the Portuguese\na security that he could not have found beside his own mountains. Still,\nin spite of the treatment he had received in his native land, there was\na poetry about the past that prompted a \u2018lingering look behind\u2019. He\nmade an errand to Quilimane in order to accompany me back. His use of\nhis native tongue was considerably \u2018generalized\u2019 by some twenty years\u2019\ndisuse. He would often hesitate for a word and employ general terms where\nhis countrymen would have given the special one. He complained of the sun\n\u201ckilling\u201d the corn: the time was when he would have said \u201cscorching\u201d. We\npassed a Portuguese churchyard where each tombstone was ornamented with\na large cross, but he said he had no idea what was the meaning of the\nsymbol.\n\nMany Portuguese think that the natives are worse off since the abolition\nof slavery. Formerly, masters were at great pains to give their slaves\npersonal comforts and ornaments, which they do not think of giving now,\nbecause \u201cthe negro might make off with the gift next day\u201d. Wages is but\nlittle motive to work in a land where there is no difficulty in getting\nthe necessaries of life. But under the Portuguese the natives may store\nup property to an extent that would be dangerous in the interior. There\nthe possession of wealth makes a man\u2019s life worth taking.\n\nStrangers severely criticise the native for want of foresight. A critic\nsays:\u2014\u201cHe ought to cultivate a few more feet of ground, as a time of\nscarcity might come.\u201d But it is the very foresight of the native that\nprevents him from taking such a step. It is his critic that lacks\ndiscrimination and not he. His critic applies to him calculations that\nmay be presumed upon, under a civilised government. The native, on the\ncontrary, is familiar with the real situation. I once asked a schoolboy,\n\u201cWill you keep a cow when you become a man?\u201d His reply was \u201cAs if I had\nthree lives!\u201d Nothing could better express the secret. If a man had food\nin a time of famine, when all the others had not, his position would not\nbe an enviable one. Unless in the immediate neighbourhood of the Mission,\nfew had goods laid up except chiefs, but if security were guaranteed,\nnative avarice and ambition would take this direction.\n\nNatives see that they could make many improvements, but they count the\ncost. Bishop Steere says:\u2014\u201cThere are no roads in this part of Africa, no\ncarriages and no beasts of burden, only a narrow footpath, so overgrown\nsometimes that one wonders the men who pass along do not clear it, until\none remembers that the very last thing an African wishes, is to have an\neasy road to his village. If he could persuade himself that the next\ncomer was likely to turn back and think that there was no road, he would\nsleep much more securely.\u201d We were once walking along a native path with\na person just come into the country, and were amused to notice how his\ntaste was offended by small branches that were lying on the path. He\ncarefully laid them aside with his staff, under the belief that he was\nteaching the natives a lesson, and conferring on them a permanent benefit!\n\nIn Quilimane where natives enjoy European protection, they make advances\nin material improvement. But it is the lowest class of native that is\nfound there. When masters in the interior sell slaves, they first dispose\nof the worst characters. Hence the settler on the coast forms a harsh\nview of the black man. In short he begins to despair of the native, and\nthe native in his turn may despair of him! A Portuguese gentleman told\nme the following anecdote, which I mention in illustration. A chief\nfrom Mlanje frequently went to Quilimane, and a certain Portuguese lady\nused to treat this native king with much deference. But one day she had\na young lad with her, and as they sat together, Matapwiri came up and\nsquatted beside the young Portuguese gentleman. The latter resented this,\nand promptly gave Matapwiri a blow. The lady interposed, \u2018But this is the\ngreat Matapwiri\u2014there will be a quarrel if\u2014\u2019 \u2018I don\u2019t care who he is. A\nnative shan\u2019t come and sit down by me that way!\u2019 Nothing could better\nshew the light in which the European settler often regards the negro.\nBut some natives here show a desire for advancement. One chief left his\nson as a slave in Quilimane for several years. After the boy had been\ninitiated into civilized life he disappeared at once, no one knew how or\nwhere: but he is said now to occupy an important position in his native\nland. His father had seen the importance of civilization and employed\nthis stratagem to educate his son. There are traits of character to be\nmet with, even among the lowest natives, that remind us of the words:\u2014\n\n    \u201cDeem our nation brutes no longer,\n      Till some reason ye shall find,\n    Worthier of regard and stronger,\n      Than the colour of our kind.\n    Slaves of gold, whose sordid dealings\n      Tarnish all your boasted powers,\n    Prove that you have human feelings,\n      Ere you proudly question ours.\u201d\n\nQuilimane, like all other places which we might think beyond the reach\nof history has its incidents too. One day we found the whole population\nin a state of great consternation owing to a report that Tete had been\nattacked, and that its Portuguese inhabitants were in danger of being\nmassacred. All these Portuguese stations on the Zambeze are usually well\nprotected by soldiers, but the garrison had been temporarily absent and\nnow news had come that the natives had risen against the townsmen. The\nkeeping of standing armies here is a hard task. Some of the soldiers are\nhalf-castes and they as a rule are more troublesome than pure natives. We\nlodged near the barracks and the commander used to send to the English\nlady to apologise for having to flog his soldiers near her window.\n\nAt Quilimane there was a functionary appointed to dispense floggings, and\nwhen a slave or servant offended, the custom was to send him to this man\nwith a slip of paper which stated how much punishment the culprit was to\nreceive!\n\nOne point where the Portuguese differ very much from us, is in their\nestimate of Livingstone, whose life they criticise with the greatest\nseverity, their remarks almost reminding one of the hard things that old\nRoman Catholic writers used to state regarding Luther. When at Blantyre,\nwe used to get the Magololo headmen to talk about their late master, and\nthey certainly recounted many exploits that were quite new to us, only\nbefore being influenced by their statements we had to remember that these\nmen would speak what they thought would please us best, and when they\ndiscovered that we looked on Livingstone as a hero, they would mention a\ngreat many things that agreed better with their own ideal of a hero than\nwith ours.\n\nWhen the steamer at length arrived, Antani came on board with us and went\nover the whole of it, promising to tell his friends, on his return, of\nthe wonders of the \u2018large boat,\u2019 and so we parted.\n\nAt Zanzibar as I looked down from the side of the steamer on the native\nboats, I was hailed in the Yao language. I replied in the same, and a\nspirited conversation began. The young man that accosted me was not a\nYao but a Makua, only he had been in the Yao district. He soon collected\nhis friends, and they were in great glee over an Msungu who could\nspeak in the languages of the interior. Natives are here much freer in\nconversing with the European than in Quilimane, where the Portuguese make\nthem keep a respectful distance. They told their friends in the town\nabout us, and as we passed along the streets we met some that could say\n\u2018achimwene\u2019 and who gave us a cordial greeting. At Zanzibar we saw Dr.\nSteere\u2019s Mission, which was a very cheering sight. At Blantyre we were\noften sustained, and much more than sustained, by the thought of what\nwe looked forward to as the infallible result of some ten years\u2019 honest\nwork. Here we saw the result of twenty years\u2019 work and it could not fail\nto be gratifying to one that considered the subject. Dr. Steere says to\nthose that would estimate Missionary difficulties, \u2018You must pause for a\nwhile and find yourselves, as we did, standing opposite five boys with\nscarce any clothing, in dreadful fear of something far worse than slavery\nor death, and we unable to make them understand one word\u2019. Such is the\ncommencement. By and by he can write, \u201cWe have no longer to begin with an\nEnglish reading card because we have nothing else. We have reduced the\nSwahili to writing and found out its grammatical rules.\u201d\n\nWhen I passed Zanzibar the Swahili Bible was fast approaching its\ncompletion! We ask any one to reflect what great labour this implies.\nIf we lived in times when Church censures took a tangible form, and if\nany man were ordered to write out the whole of the Bible in his own\nlanguage before he could be restored to the Church, the sentence would be\nequivalent to excommunication for life. Most men would be too discouraged\nto attempt the task amidst other work, and the various interruptions\nthat they might count on. But the Missionary has to write the Bible\nin a FOREIGN language amidst much pressure of other work, and many\ninterruptions that no man is subjected to amidst European civilization,\nand if a single or even a _twofold_ copying of his material be\nsufficient, the circumstance would say a great deal more for his present\npeace of mind than for the permanent value of his work. All the time he\nis translating he is obliged to keep up the closest intercourse with the\nnatives, ever learning from them, and ever teaching them, introducing\nreading books, founding schools, forming friendships and consecrating\nthese friendships by imparting views of life that go beyond the seen and\ntemporary. Besides having stations on Zanzibar, Bishop Steere[16] has\nbeen carrying his work far into the interior of the Dark Continent.\n\nThe interior is in some respects the more promising field. There are\nmany highland sites where the European can work with all his might. He\ncan study hard, and personally engage in teaching without suffering in\nhealth, whereas the climate is so enervating in stations on the coast\nand fever is so prevalent that few constitutions can do more than keep\nthis enemy at bay. Again in large places where an artificial civilization\nshews itself, the Missionary takes his position not merely as a man, but\nas a civilized man, and this makes a breach between him and his dark\nfriend, which the latter feels very much. I have sometimes been sitting\nin conversation with an old headman when another European would join us.\nThen the English language was spoken, and our native friend would say\nwith sadness that he \u201cdid not know English,\u201d and he would sit in silence\nevidently regretting that his white friend was not so near him after\nall. This is only an illustration of peculiar disadvantages which are\ngreatly done away with in the wilds of the Interior. All this, it may\nbe said, is counterbalanced by the fact that in the interior there are\nconstant wars. Such difficulties however will gradually pass away as the\nevangelistic work is quietly carried on, and most of them may be met by\nthe simple plan of carefully placing a Mission station in the disturbed\ndistrict. The one great obstacle in the interior is the difficulty of\ncommunication, and the want of all appliances from books downwards.\n\nBeyond Zanzibar, the next place where we see anything of the African\nis at Aden, where we meet specimens of the Samali in a few active boys\nwith dyed hair, who crowd round the steamer to dive for coins. There\nhappened to be a Samali boy on board our steamer, as also a Makua.\nOwing to quarantine laws their masters could not land, and a number of\npilgrims for Mecca had to be brought on to London. The mention of London\nhad a dispiriting effect upon the Asiatics. They were certain the cold\nwould kill them, and went about weeping\u2014not weeping like a European\u2014the\npoor fellows actually \u201clifted up their voice and wept\u201d. Withal their\nmisfortune made them more demonstrative in their devotions. Some of\nthe passengers evinced a strong disposition to laugh at this, others\nmaintained that few Christians would be so exemplary in calling upon\ntheir God. We should be able to get some good out of everything, and\nwe have often admired the regularity with which as the moment arrived,\nthey turned their faces towards Mecca and knelt down to pray. One feature\nin the Christian is that when on a journey, although he meet other\nChristians, he wishes to worship by himself. Thus he avoids the dreaded\ncharge of hypocrisy, but there is something that should be dreaded on\nthe other side. He may begin to forget that his religion is something\nthat ought not to be selfishly shut up in his own bosom. The forms of\nMahommedanism seem to draw its worshippers together. But alas! they\nappeared to derive but little comfort from their earnest supplications.\nThey always had a sadness about them. After a long residence among\nnatives that kept sorrow no longer than sorrow kept them, this struck\nme as the manifestation of a new temperament. The only man that could\nbe cheerful was the Makua servant, who was known as the \u201cbig grinning\nnigger\u201d. The grief of the others threatened to make them unmanageable.\nBut the hopefulness of this representative of the Lake Region, might well\nmake us hopeful for his race, and we have no doubt that the time is fast\napproaching when these African tribes will be \u201cmade glad according to the\ndays in which they have seen evil\u201d!\n\nWe gazed wistfully as the great continent was within sight for the last\ntime. On one side we had Gibraltar brightly lighted up, and suggesting\nso much historical interest. But on the other side there was a solitary\nlighthouse that touched a deeper chord in our hearts as it flashed a\nfarewell from the Dark Continent. There rose before our minds all the\nhopeful days we had spent in that land of promise, while to our lips came\nthe line which we ventured thus to misquote:\u2014\n\n\u201cMoritur, et moriens dulces reminiscitur Afros.\u201d\n\n\nEND OF VOL. II.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\nAFRICAN FOLK LORE.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX TO VOL. II.\n\nNATIVE TALES.\n\n    \u201cChildren\u2019s Tales now, but not the invention of a child\u2019s\n    intellect.\u201d\u2014BISHOP CALLAWAY.\n\n\nThe time has now come when Folk Lore is considered valuable for its own\nsake. It is hoped, too, that these simple African Tales will throw some\nlight on the native mind. But it must be remembered that when rendered\nby a native reciter they have a character which no translation can\nreproduce; moreover, tales that appear quite pointless to a European,\nwill make an old native laugh till tears run down his cheeks.\n\nOriginally, some of these Tales may have been an account of actions that\nreally happened, and which floated down the stream of time long after the\nagents had sunk in oblivion. Then as now, the name of each native was\nsignificant, and as these actions kept afloat they drew to themselves\nappropriate names. If the action was clever, it was attributed to a Mr.\nRabbit (who corresponds to the Fox of European tales): while every hero\nremarkable for gluttony\u2014a trait of character likely to be noted in those\nprimitive days\u2014is a Mr. Hy\u00e6na (who corresponds to the Wolf of our Western\ntales).\n\nAs might be expected there is a great difference between African Folk\nLore and European. After seeing African habitations, we scarcely expect\nto be told of a damsel \u201cshut up in a tower\u201d or \u201cpeering into a forbidden\nroom,\u201d and after meeting natives in their ordinary costume, we should\nbe surprised to find Tales of \u201cbeautiful dresses and slippers of gold\u201d.\nAgain, in African Legends we seldom encounter statements like the\nfollowing which meet us almost everywhere in Grimm\u2019s Fairy Tales:\u2014\u201cA poor\npeasant was so destitute that he did not possess a foot of land\u201d. \u201cIt\nwas with difficulty they could maintain themselves, at length matters\nbecame worse, they had no longer even bread to eat.\u201d \u201cA poor man had\ntwelve children, and was obliged to work day and night to obtain even\nbread for them.\u201d \u201cWhat will become of us? How can we feed these poor\nchildren when we have nothing for ourselves?\u201d Except in days of famine\nsad pictures like these would have no meaning for the African. But at\nthe same time there are pleasant pictures in the European Tales that\nthe African cannot appreciate. Rarely does the Bard of Central Africa\ngo into raptures over a \u201chandsome virgin\u201d or a \u201cmaiden of rare beauty\u201d.\nHe knows nothing of such a personage. But this is not the fault of the\nnegro woman. The enormous ring in the upper lip and the deep tatoos that\nmark her face, chest, and arms shew how desirous she is to please and to\nattract attention. Yet, although she carries small stones in her mouth\nto improve her speech (which has no defect like that of Demosthenes), she\ndoes not induce any poet to sing that \u201cher voice is low and sweet\u201d. She\ncertainly does not merit all this neglect, and it is chiefly on account\nof African marriage customs that it falls upon her.\n\nIt will be perceived that the style of these stories is very primitive\ncompared with English. The sentence, \u201cHe proposed to go back, and on\narriving at his home he gave meat to the nurse, and asked after his\nchildren,\u201d would in the mouth of the African become:\u2014He said, \u201cLet us go\nback\u201d (and they replied, \u201cVery well, let us go\u201d). Then they set out to go\nback. When they arrived at the village he (stood on the path and) called\nand said, \u201cNurse\u201d. The latter said, \u201cYes, I am here\u201d. Then he said, \u201cTake\nthis meat\u201d. He said also, \u201cNow, are the children all well,\u201d and the nurse\nsaid, \u201cYes, all are well\u201d. So when our pupils wrote on Scripture subjects\nthey did not hesitate to attribute to speakers a conversation which was\nnot recorded. For instance, if the third verse of Genesis had really\nbeen, \u201cAnd God created light,\u201d they would have rendered it, \u201cAnd God\nsaid, Let there be light, and there was light\u201d. We often felt that their\npeculiarity might illustrate questions about the Verbal Inspiration of\nthe Scriptures.\n\nThese tales have been selected and literally translated from my\nManuscript Collection of Tales, Songs, Enigmas and Itagu. Number 54 was\ncommunicated by Mr. John Buchanan, F.L.S.\n\n\n31. THE DEAD CHIEF AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER.\n\nThere was a chief that built his village large, and he had many women,\nand he had a younger brother who did not come to his chief. The chief\nbecame ill and died, his brother was left, and went to inherit the title\n(97). Then arose a great war in order to capture those women. The (new)\nvillage chief had tied up bundles of beans. And the people that wanted\nwar came and sat in the forum, and he hid himself and peered at them as\nthey sat there. Then he said, \u201cThese people are many, I will consult the\nchief at the grave\u201d (14). So he went and clapped[17] his hands and told\nthe chief who was dead. The latter said, \u201cIt is long since you visited me\nwhen I was alive, what is the matter now?\u201d He replied, \u201cAlas! O chief,\nI have seen enemies, yea, many are at the village (here), and I said,\n\u2018I will go to ask of the chief\u2019\u201d. The latter said, \u201cGo and salute these\npeople\u201d. Then he went to salute them, and the people that wanted war,\nsaid, \u201cIn this land many plants have yielded fruit which are tied in\nbundles\u201d. So they said to themselves, \u201cHe (the chief) is a very wise[18]\nman, and knows about a relish stored in bundles\u201d.\n\nThey returned, and went home and met the king of their own home, who\nwas called Manjelele, and said, \u201cO king, you are very stupid. That man\nis exceedingly wise\u201d. He said, \u201cNonsense\u2014go away again, capture in war\nall the women and bring them\u201d. Then the army went back and caught all the\nwomen. The chief himself also ran away, and again he went to the grave\nand said (to his dead brother), \u201cChief, I have come on account of my\nwomen, they are all carried off by war\u201d. Then his brother gave him four\nsmall bags, and said, \u201cWell, follow the army to their village\u201d: and he\nadded, \u201cShould you find a large tree unloose one little bag\u201d. So he took\nthem, and he found the large tree put in his way, and he opened, and a\nwood-moth came forth and entered the tree and gnawed, and a passage was\nmade, and the chief passed through with his attendant. Again he followed\non in the track of the army, and he found that a stone had been put\nin his way farther on, and he opened another bag and there came out a\nmanis (mbawe) and dug under the stone; and he passed through with his\nattendant. Again he followed the tracks of the army, and beyond that he\nfound the river, which the army had passed in a boat. Then he opened (the\nthird bag), and there came forth a spider and went to the other side,\nand he crossed with his attendant and arrived at the village whence the\nwar had come, and he sat down at the road to the village to wait till\ndarkness came on. As soon as it was dark, he opened the other bag also,\nand a rat set off for that village and went to a basket, and it slept\nthere. By and by the king that had begun the war came to sleep, and on\ngoing to sleep he took away his eyes[19] and put in the basket, and the\nrat took the king\u2019s eyes. At dawn he called his men, and said, \u201cLet all\nassemble with their captives that I may see them\u201d. The men assembled, and\nsaid, \u201cNow, tell the king to come and see his prisoners\u201d.\n\nThe king came and took a chair to sit on, and called for his eyes,\nsaying, \u201cFetch my eyes from the basket,\u201d and they looked in the basket\nand found that his eyes were not there. The king cried, saying, \u201cWhat\nshall I see my prisoners with?\u201d The other chief stood across the stream\nand said, \u201cLet me go back with my people. I also have captured in war, I\nfollowed you. The eyes of the king I have carried off.\u201d\n\nAnd the king cried, saying, \u201cMy men, give up his people\u201d. Then his men\nsaid to him, \u201cWe told you, O king, that we must not go yonder to capture\nin war. Lo! the people will return without being seen with your eyes,\u201d\nand they restored all the people. Then the chief at the grave said, \u201cI\ntold you to follow the army. Lo! all the people have returned.\u201d\n\n\n32. THE CHIEF THAT HOED AT THE GRAVES.\n\nThere was a woman that had a little child, and she hoed a garden at\nthe graves, and there came a little man from the graves\u2014little Amlele.\nThe woman wished to hoe, and she loosed the child, and made the stump\nof a tree bear him (tied him to a tree). Then rose Amlele and said \u201cTo\nmake the stump bear him rather than a person\u2019s side!\u201d and he took care\nof the child and carried him to the graves. Then she hoed till she was\ntired. And she said, \u201cNow I will call for my child,\u201d and she called for\nhim, saying, \u201cAmlele, give me my child\u201d. And he gave him to the mother\nherself. Then she went to the village, but did not tell that she hoed at\nthe graves and that there was a spirit nursing her child.\n\nWhen she went on the morrow to hoe, she saw that little Amlele was come\nagain; again he began to call for the child. Again he went with him to\nthe graves, and cut open his skin and put him in the sand (beside the\nwater). And the woman hoed and was tired again, and she called Amlele\nwithout success\u2014he did not bring back the child again.\n\nAnd she went to call those at the village, saying, \u201cMy son was carried\naway to the graves by one that did not come back with him\u201d. Then the\npeople ran and went to the graves there, and they found him put down in\nthe sand, and they cleaned off the sand, and returned from the graves\nto the village, mourning. And they went away to the oracle of the\nHumble-bee,[20] and he spoke with a low voice, and said, \u201cBut the chief\nis the man that wants to destroy us out of the country\u201d.\n\nAll the people ran away because of witchcraft. The oracle has caught the\nchief of the village, because he hoed at the graves and bewitched his\nchild in order that Amlele should eat it (106).\n\nThe chief said, \u201cNow I am left alone. I will make friendship with\nthe guinea-fowl,\u201d and he did so. And he said, \u201cGo away, pick up many\n_masukus_ and their stones, and sleep in a plain without trees\u201d. It\npicked for him ten baskets, and he said, \u201cSow everywhere,\u201d and it sowed\nin the whole plain. He himself slept in the middle of the plain. Next day\nhe awoke and found many houses, the _masukus_ had become men.\n\nThen he brewed beer, saying, \u201cNow, I have found another village\u201d. And\nhe called the guinea-fowl, saying, \u201cFriend, come now, there are many\npeople\u201d. And they went together (the guinea-fowl and Simwe[21]) to drink\nbeer. And it said, \u201cBut do you, my friend, leave off speaking evil, lest\nthe people be startled at you\u201d.\n\nThen they drank beer, and Simwe became drunk, and said, \u201cI am the chief,\nthese are my own people, I picked up ten baskets of _masukus_, I sowed in\nthe plain, and the _masukus_ became men\u201d. Then his friend ran away from\nhim, saying, \u201cHis words are bad, he cannot stay with people\u201d. So he slept\nagain, and he awoke\u2014his people were not, because (said they) he takes us\nfor _masukus_[22]: so he was alone. Then he clothed himself with the\nskin of a civet (?) (ngwime) (a creature which sleeps on an ant-hill),\nand whenever he saw a person he called him, saying, \u201cYou there! come\nnear,\u201d and the person ran away. When the person ran away, he said, \u201cI am\nbad. I cannot stay with my fellow men.\u201d Then he went away journeying in\nthe great bush. He asked for a village, and the _tolo_ (a small mole)\nresponded and said, \u201cCome to my home and dwell there. I have built a\nstone house.\u201d So he accompanied (the _tolo_); let the man look at its\nhouse! it is not good! its door is the heads of cockroaches! And he said,\n\u201cAy! you deceiver of me: I enter a small hole!\u201d And Simwe said, \u201cI will\nbring the _nyingalwe_ against you\u201d. And he brought against him his friend\n(the nyingalwe), who said, \u201cYou are a great liar\u2014a rascal\u2014a deceiver of\nthe chief, saying to him, \u2018Come let us enter a stone house,\u2019 which was\njust a little hole, but may you never thrive\u201d.\n\nBut the _tolo_ cursed the nyingalwe, saying, \u201cBut may you never cross\nthe road except you die,\u201d and the nyingalwe crossed the road and died.\n[As the natives believe strongly in charms we need not wonder that they\ninvoke a sorcerer to curse their enemies, in the same way as did Balak\nthe son of Zippor.]\n\n\n33. THE FOX AND THE HYENA.\n\nThe hyena made friendship; two days after, he set out, and he said, \u201cBut\nlet an attendant go with me\u201d. They said, \u201cLet him go with the mbendu,\u201d\n(a creature with little spots like the njusi[23]).\n\nThey were going along the road and the hyena said, \u201cIf we meet with women\nwashing grains of millet, you will ask for water, and I shall ask for\nmillet!\u201d As they went on they met the women washing the millet and the\nmbendu said, \u201cGive me water,\u201d while the hyena said, \u201cGive me millet\u201d. The\nwomen took millet in a plate to give the hyena, and they give the mbendu\nwater in a cup.\n\nThe latter said, \u201cCome let us wash it that it may become soft,\u201d but the\nhyena refused and said, \u201cWhy did you not beg your own for yourself?\u201d and\nhe chewed it alone[24] without giving to his attendant.\n\nFarther on he began to tell him again saying, \u201cIf we meet with the women\ncutting sugar cane, you will beg the leaves, I shall beg the canes, we\nshall tie them up\u201d. They went forward and met with the women cutting\nsugar cane. The hyena said, \u201cGive me the canes,\u201d the mbendu said, \u201cGive\nme the leaves\u201d. They cut four canes and gave the hyena, and they took\nleaves and gave the mbendu. The mbendu said, \u201cLet us tie them\u201d. The hyena\nwas fierce and said, \u201cAh! for whom?\u201d and did not give him.\n\nAnd they went beyond that and came to another place and found a lake,\nand he said, \u201cThe village we go to is there. If we have porridge cooked\nfor us and tie it up in a leaf,[25] then if you hear at the lake\nlino-lino-lino-lino-lino you ought to run away and throw down the leaf of\nporridge.\u201d\n\nFarther on the hyena said, \u201cThis is medicine, if we get porridge, you\nwill come to dig it\u201d.\n\nHe went on and arrived at the village of his friend, and the latter said,\n\u201cMy friend has come,\u201d and he killed fowls, and cooked, and made porridge,\nand said, \u201cLet us give the strangers,\u201d and porridge was put down:\nwhen the hyena began, \u201cBring that medicine that we may eat it to the\nporridge\u201d. The mbendu went off running. After that the hyena cut leaves\nto set down everywhere and he ate up all the porridge. When the mbendu\nreturned, he said, \u201cThere came a great party, look at the leaves (which\nwere used as plates) here sat some, here sat others, here sat others\u201d.\n\nThe hyena said, \u201cLet us go home to-morrow\u201d. The mbendu said, \u201cYes, let\nus go;\u201d the mbendu was starving. Next day there was porridge cooked for\nthem, and he said, \u201cTie it all up, tie it in leaves\u201d. The mbendu tied up\nthe porridge and carried it. On the way the hyena said, \u201cI will pass this\nway, let us meet farther on\u201d. The mbendu kept going just on the path,\nthe hyena went to the pool and dived, and put out his mouth, and said,\n\u201cLino-lino-lino-lino-lino!\u201d The mbendu was afraid, and threw the leaf\nwith the porridge into the lake. The hyena took it out and went to devour\nit.\n\nWhen he came farther on he met with the mbendu who had nothing to carry.\nHe asked him saying, \u201cYou have thrown away that leaf? Quite right! you\nwere wise, the wild beast would have bitten you.\u201d When they reached their\nhome the villagers said, \u201cYou are thin, mbendu, you are thin!\u201d He said,\n\u201cUmph! hunger\u201d.\n\nThey staid five days at home. The hyena said, \u201cI will go to my friend\u2019s\nagain. Who shall I go with to-day?\u201d Then the Mbendu refused, and he said,\n\u201cCome, fox,[26] let us go together\u201d. The fox said, \u201cYes, chief, come\u201d. So\nthey went together.\n\nWhen arrived at the road, the hyena gave instructions, \u201cYou, fox, if we\nmeet with women\u2014you will beg water, I shall beg grain\u201d. They came to the\nwomen. The hyena said, \u201cGive me grain\u201d. The fox said, \u201cGive me grain and\nthe water also\u201d. The hyena took grain, and it was given him on a plate,\nthe fox also took grain, and it was given him in his hands, and water\nalso in a cup. The hyena said, \u201cGive the hyena that water\u201d. The fox said,\n\u201cWhy did you not beg your own?\u201d Then the fox refused to give him.\n\nFurther on the hyena said, \u201cNow this pool is dreadful\u201d. The fox asked,\n\u201cWhy is it dreadful?\u201d The hy\u00e6na said, \u201cIf one carry porridge, a wild\nbeast is dreadful\u201d. The fox said, \u201cHow does it say when roaring?\u201d The\nhy\u00e6na said, \u201cIt says Lino-lino-lino-lino\u201d. The fox said, \u201cAy!\u201d The hyena\nsaid, \u201cIf you carry a leaf with porridge you should throw it down\u201d. He\nsaid, \u201cYes\u201d. They advanced and came farther on, and he said, \u201cThis is\nmedicine, if porridge is cooked at the village you will come to dig it\u201d.\nBut the fox left his arrow, he went farther on, and said, \u201cMaster, I have\nforgotten that arrow\u201d. He said, \u201cWhere?\u201d He said, \u201cWhere you showed me\nthe medicine there\u201d. He said, \u201cFetch it\u201d. The Fox went running and came\nto the medicine, where he had left his arrow, and he dug and put the\nmedicine in his bag, and returned. And he said, \u201cHave you picked it (your\narrow) up?\u201d He said, \u201cYes, I have\u201d. And he said, \u201cWell, let us go on\u201d.\n\nThey went on and arrived. The hyena\u2019s friend said, \u201cMy friend has come.\nKill a fowl for him.\u201d They killed a fowl for him, and cooked porridge\ntoo, and came with it and set it down. The hyena then began saying, \u201cGo\nand seek that medicine\u201d. But the fox took the medicine out of his bag and\nsaid, \u201cMaster, this is that medicine\u201d. Then was the hyena very fierce,\nand said, \u201cYou, fox, are clever at evil!\u201d The hyena refused his porridge,\nsaying, \u201cYou go on eating\u201d. So the fox ate.\n\nThe hyena said, \u201cLet us go away to-morrow\u201d. In the evening a fowl was\nkilled, that they might eat it with their porridge. Next day porridge was\ncooked and the fowl also and was given. He said, \u201cFox, tie it up\u201d. The\nfox then tied it, and went along the road. The hy\u00e6na said, \u201cGo on before\nme, I will go this way, and we shall meet in front\u201d. Then the hyena went\nstealthily, and arrived in front, and let himself down into the pool, and\ndived and put out his mouth wide open, and said, \u201cLino-lino-lino-lino\u201d.\nThe fox said, \u201cAh! there\u2019s the wild beast\u201d. The fox sat down and took his\nknife and commenced to cut the bark-cords (which tied the leaves), and\nhe took a stone, then he unloosed the porridge, and ate and finished it,\nentirely eating it up, reserving only a mouthful, which he plastered on\nthe stone, and threw it into the mouth at the pool, and the hyena died.\nThe fox then ran and cut off his head, and made a little drum and covered\nit with the hyena\u2019s skin: then he went along the road, and met women\ndigging beans (njama). The fox beat his drum, saying, \u201cTi, ti, war\u201d. The\nwomen fled,[27] the fox picked up the baskets and went home.\n\nAt the village they said, \u201cWhere did you leave the hyena?\u201d And he said,\n\u201cWe left them brewing beer for him\u201d. They found that it was indeed a\nstay, the hyena never returned.\n\n\n35. TAMING MONKEYS AND BUCK.\n\nThere was a man that tamed monkeys, while another tamed buck, and they\nbecame friends. The owner of the monkeys said, \u201cCome to my home, you will\nsee monkeys\u201d. Then he went to his home and found they had gone out. He\nsaid \u201cFriend, where have they gone?\u201d He said, \u201cThey have gone to feed\u201d.\nHe said, \u201cCall them\u201d. He went to call them and they came: and he said,\n\u201cThese are my monkeys,\u201d and he said, \u201cIf I had seen them, I should have\ntaken them for food\u201d.[28] (The monkeys heard this.) He said, \u201cFriend,\ndon\u2019t say so, you will make my monkeys run away\u201d. Thereupon the monkeys\ndid run away. He (the stranger) said, \u201cCome you to my home, you will see\nbuck that I have tamed\u201d. He went and found the buck, and said, \u201cThese\nare meat to give me to eat?\u201d The buck ran away to go to the jungle. His\nfriend said, \u201cYou have made my buck run away\u201d. He said, \u201cYou come and\nanswer my accusation, let us go to the forum\u201d. Then the judges came and\nasked, \u201cWho began it,\u201d then they decided, \u201cYou must just pay each other\u201d.\nSo they paid each other in beer. They brewed, and invited each other, and\ndrank, and said, \u201cThat case is finished\u201d. Then both were contented. [This\nexemplifies a popular method of settling small quarrels.]\n\n\n36. TAMING DOGS.\n\nThere was a land with a man.[29] This man used to go to the moors of\nmarsh pigs (?). When this man with his dogs was going near a lake,\nthey started a marsh pig, and it fell into the lake. In the lake was a\ncrocodile, and the man also went down there, and the crocodile caught\nhim, without biting him. The dogs kept searching much for their master:\ntheir master was placed in a cavern. Now the dogs in their search\nsometimes went to smell the earth, and they scented him. The dogs then\nset to dig in the earth there, and they dug three days. On the fourth\nthey penetrated down, and their master was afraid again when he saw\n(light). But soon he said, \u201cThese are my dogs\u201d. Let him look out, it is\nall light! \u201cNow my dogs have penetrated!\u201d And he came out and went to the\nvillage.\n\nThe villagers were mourning, and one child on going round the house met\nhim and returned again, and said, \u201cMother, be quiet, don\u2019t cry, I saw my\nfather\u201d. Its mother said, \u201cYou lie, your father was lost long ago\u201d. It\nsaid, \u201cMother, no, come, let us go to see\u201d.\n\nWhen she went along with the child she saw him, and said, \u201cChild, you\ndon\u2019t lie,\u201d and she caught her husband by the arm, saying, \u201cCome to my\nhouse\u201d.\n\nAnd she said, \u201cExplain where you went\u201d. He said, \u201cI went to the moors, I\nwas hunting a marsh pig, and it sank in a pond, I also sank there, and my\ndogs sought me, I came out, so that you see me here. Had it not been my\ndogs, the crocodiles would have eaten me. Dogs are good. People should\nkeep dogs.\u201d Then many people said, \u201cYes, yes, yes, let us get dogs. That\nman\u2019s dogs saved his life.\u201d\n\nAnd each one there was buying dogs, each one there was buying dogs. Then\npeople got many dogs because dogs had dug their master from the cavern.\n\n\n37. ON OUR HOME (A YAO\u2019S HISTORY OF HIS TRIBE).\n\nHere is not our home. We lived long ago at Mangochi, a large hill like\nZomba. The Walolo lived on the other side of the (river) Lujenda, on the\nroad to Chisanga. The Walolo were capturing the Machinga to carry them\nto Chisanga and exchange them for cloth. The Walolo were brave, and had\nmany guns. The Machinga dwelt at Mandimbi, and the Walolo made them flee.\nSo the Machinga came to the country of the Wayao, and the Wayao fled.\nWe removed from that place, and went along the road, and the Wanyasa\ninterfered with us, and pierced us with arrows, and we began war, and\ntook their food from them.\n\nThe English lived with the Wanyasa. The Wanyasa said, \u201cHelp us,\u201d and\nthere began war with the English. They all came to Ulumba (Vol. II. 12).\nThe English read the book and prayed to God. On that day the Wayao fled\nin all directions, and they returned and found the Machinga following\nbehind them. They said, \u201cWhy do you turn back?\u201d They said, \u201cWhy! we have\nencountered white men!\u201d Then the Machinga staid there, without advancing\nfarther. After this all the Wanyasa fled across the river, and the Wayao\nsettled in this land.\n\nThe Wayao had many fierce chiefs. The Machinga killed one by treachery,\nsome began to sell their own people and were left alone, their people ran\naway from them; another was killed by the Mangoni.\n\nWar is an evil, it destroys people, there came famine: after that people\nsaid, \u201cNow let us go and hoe\u201d. They hoed much food.\n\nThe Magololo accompanied the English. When the English reached their\nboat they left them and said, \u201cNow, be friends, war is bad, so leave it\noff, agree with the Wayao\u201d. The Book of God was brought forth and all\nassented. The English said, \u201cNow let us go home\u201d. [Livingstone made the\nnatives swear on the Bible that they would live in peace.]\n\nAfter this the Mangoni came, they crossed by boat, they came in war. The\nWayao ran to Ndilande. The Wanyasa ran to the islands. They have many\nislands. The Machinga ran to Zomba. The Walolo did not run away.\n\nBefore those that fled had come down from the mountains, the English came\nand settled in this land, and the Mangoni went away. The people came down\nfrom the mountains and farmed again (Vol. II. 25).\n\n\n38. KALIKALANJE.[30]\n\nThere was a woman who had a husband, and they went to hoe in the garden\nand the man sneezed, and the woman said, Gwigwigwi.[31] The man asked\nher saying, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d The woman said, \u201cI want the eggs of\nan ostrich\u201d. The man said, \u201cI want water where frogs do not croak\u201d.\nThey both assented to the bargain. The man went to seek the eggs of an\nostrich, and brought five, and gave them to his wife. The woman went to\nseek water where frogs did not croak. She went far, far away and found\nwater. At that water she met with Namzimu, the owner, who asked, \u201cWhat\ndo you want?\u201d The woman replied, \u201cI want water, where frogs croak not\u201d.\nNamzimu said, \u201cWhat do you give in exchange for it\u201d? The woman bargained\nwith Namzimu saying, \u201cI am with child: when I bear the child I will give\nit to you\u201d. Then Namzimu said, \u201cDraw water\u201d. So she drew water, and went\nto the village and gave her husband. The husband said, \u201cThat is right, my\nwife\u201d. After this, Namzimu went to the woman\u2019s, and said, \u201cGive me the\nchild to eat\u201d. The woman said, \u201cNo, the child is not born\u201d. Then Namzimu\nwent away. There passed three days, and the child was born, and the woman\nwas roasting[32] castor-oil beans, and the child leapt on the pot-sherd,\nand said, \u201cI am Kalikalanje\u201d.\n\nHe went from the pot-sherd with his bow and his spear and his four dogs.\nThen Namzimu quickly came and said, \u201cNow, give me the child to eat\u201d.\nThe woman said, \u201cYes, I will give you him\u201d. So she took Namzimu and hid\nhim in the grain basket, and took bananas and put above him, and at\nnight the woman called her son, Kalikalanje, and said, \u201cO please my son,\nKalikalanje, climb up here, and fetch bananas\u201d. Kalikalanje said, \u201cNo, I\nwill climb upon the roof where nothing dances (shakes)\u201d. Then the woman\ntold Namzimu saying, \u201cDance on the roof there\u201d; (because the woman wished\nto cheat her son). When Namzimu danced, Kalikalanje however stood at the\ndoor and said, \u201cHo! what\u2019s that dancing there? I don\u2019t want to climb now\non the roof where there is dancing\u201d. Then Kalikalanje ran away, and\nNamzimu did not catch him that night.\n\nNext day the woman took Namzimu and went with him to the garden,[33]\nand hid him in the grass and said, \u201cStay you here, this night I send\nKalikalanje to come and burn grass, and you will see (a lad) whose\nhead is shaved on one side[34] and who wears a black loin cloth. That\nis Kalikalanje.\u201d That night the woman shaved Kalikalanje on one side\nof the head, and put on him black cloth and sent him to the garden and\nsaid, \u201cGo, burn the grass in the garden\u201d.[35] So Kalikalanje took his\nshaving knife and black cloth, and his dogs, and his spear, and called\nhis companions and said, \u201cCome, to the garden of my mother, to play\u201d.\nWhen they came to the parting of the roads, Kalikalanje told his friends\nsaying, \u201cCome, let me shave your hair on one side, that we may play\nproperly\u201d. When he had shaved his companions\u2019 heads, he put on them\npieces of black cloth, and said, \u201cYou all\u2014your names are Kalikalanje, and\nwe shall go to the garden, when we burn grass, everyone is Kalikalanje,\nKalikalanje\u201d. His comrades assented saying, \u201cVery Good!\u201d\n\nThey came to the garden and burned the grass, and all of them said,\n\u201cKalikalanje, Kalikalanje, Kalikalanje\u201d. When they came to the large\ngrass Kalikalanje said, \u201cLet us all come, and burn this grass with fire,\nround and round, and let us hold our bows in our hands\u201d.\n\nQuickly Namzimu came out of the grass and Kalikalanje told his comrades\nsaying, \u201cCome, let us kill him\u201d. So they killed Namzimu with their bows.\nThen Kalikalanje returned to the village and met with his mother, and\nspoke to her, saying, \u201cMother, you wanted a wild beast to eat me, now I\nkill you\u201d. So Kalikalanje killed his mother.\n\n\n39. THE MAN AND THE LION.\n\nThere was a man that had four dogs for catching meat, and one day the man\nwas very hungry and he said to his wife, \u201cI go to the bush to kill meat\u201d.\nHis wife said, \u201cYes, go and kill meat, my husband\u201d.\n\nThe man took his dogs and his spear and went to the bush. As he hunted he\nkilled five buck.\n\nSuddenly there came a lion and spoke with the man and said,\n\n\u201cTake these buck, give your dogs to eat. When they have eaten you must\neat your dogs, then let me eat you.\u201d The man said \u201cNo. I do not want to\ngive my meat to the dogs\u201d. Whereupon there arose a great quarrel between\nthe man and the lion. Suddenly there came a rabbit (fox) with his bag,\nand found them quarrelling. The rabbit asked them saying, \u201cWhat are you\nquarrelling over?\u201d The man explained to the rabbit the reason of the\nquarrelling saying, \u201cWe quarrel about meat that I have caught with my\ndogs\u201d.\n\nThen the rabbit spoke with the lion saying, \u201cWhy do you want to eat your\nfellow-creature without a reason against him.\u201d The lion said, \u201cThe reason\nof it is that this bush is mine, and he has come to kill meat here. Now I\nwant him to give this meat to his dogs, then his dogs will eat the meat,\nthen he must eat his dogs, and I shall eat him.\u201d The rabbit said, \u201cLion\nyou must not eat your fellow-creature because of his buck. Come here I\nshall give you good meat, which is in a pit-fall.\u201d The rabbit had seen\na great pit-fall where a serpent dwelt, and he said to the lion, \u201cEnter\nthis pit-fall.\u201d When the lion entered, the rabbit called the man and\nsaid, \u201cCome with fire, now he who wanted to eat you has gone into a pit,\nnow come and let us kill him\u201d. The rabbit and the man lighted a fire at\nthe pit and killed the lion. After the lion died, the man and the rabbit\nentered into a compact of eternal friendship.\n\n\n40. THE ROASTED SEEDS.\n\nThere was an elephant and a rabbit that contracted friendship. They\nagreed saying, \u201cLet us go and hoe our gardens;\u201d so they hoed. Then the\nrabbit said, \u201cBut let us plant roasted seeds\u201d. The rabbit cheated the\nelephant, and the elephant assented saying, \u201cYes, we shall roast them,\u201d\nso he roasted. But the rabbit hid some of his seeds, then he roasted\na few and said, \u201cCome let us plant,\u201d and the elephant planted roasted\nseeds, but the rabbit planted seeds that were not roasted, and ate his\nroasted seeds.\n\nThe rain came; the seeds of the rabbit grew, but those of the elephant\ndid not grow, and he asked the rabbit, \u201cWell, when will my seed grow?\u201d\nAnd the rabbit said, \u201cWait, they will grow\u201d. In the garden of the rabbit\nmany pumpkins bare fruit, and the elephant said, \u201cMy friend has deceived\nme\u201d. Then the elephant went to the garden of the rabbit at night to steal\nthe rabbit\u2019s pumpkins.\n\nIn the morning the rabbit said, \u201cI wonder who has stolen my pumpkins\u201d.\nThe elephant said, \u201cI do not know\u201d. The rabbit made a drum and went\nsecretly to his garden, and entered a large pumpkin[36] with his drum.\nAt night the elephant went and ate pumpkins. Next day the rabbit was in\nthe stomach of the elephant, and he beat his drum; he beat and said, \u201cYou\nwere finishing my pumpkins, I have caught you myself\u201d. Then the elephant\nwas very ill and died.\n\nPeople came and said, \u201cMeat has died for us here,\u201d and they opened the\nbody and said, \u201cLook at this pumpkin!\u201d Others said, \u201cSplit it,\u201d and they\nsplit it,\u2014it broke\u2014they found the rabbit. The rabbit on seeing people,\nran away. And the people said, \u201cYes! this is what killed the elephant. No\nwonder the elephant died!\u201d\n\n\n41. ROMBAO.\n\nThere was a man who had a wife and he took his fish trap and went to the\nwater to catch fish, and he caught a large one. The fish said to the man,\n\u201cGo inside me, and you will find a knife and a bundle of millet, fetch\nthem and come here with them\u201d. So the man went inside the fish and found\na knife and a bundle of millet, and he fetched them and came out with\nthem. The fish said, \u201cCut off my upper lip,\u201d and the man cut it off.\n\nThen the fish said, \u201cTake that meat, give it to your wife that she may\neat it alone, while you eat the millet\u201d.\n\nSo he went to the village. He found his wife and gave her the meat\nsaying, \u201cMy wife eat this meat alone. When you have eaten throw the bones\nof it out there.\u201d The man went to put the millet in the lake, when it\nbecame soft he went and ate it alone, for five days, and his wife ate the\nfish five days!\n\nAfter this the woman bare two children with their two dogs, and two\nspears, and two guns, and their names were the one Rombao, and the other\nAntonyo.[37] Then they went to the bush and found many birds and many\nbuck, and they began to fire their guns, and the buck ran to one place\nand the children followed them. On their following there they met the\nowner, and he asked them saying, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d They said, \u201cWe\nwant meat\u201d. The owner said, \u201cWhat do you give me, and I shall give you\nmy meat?\u201d They replied, \u201cWe will not give you anything, but come let us\nfight, and whoever dies, the meat belongs to him that killed him\u201d. They\nbegan to fight and the owner of the meat died, and they took the land and\nbuilt houses and settled there.\n\nOne day Rombao talked with his brother, and said, \u201cYou stay here, I\ngo yonder to kill meat\u201d. Then he met with a whale. He wanted to drink,\nand the whale said, \u201cWhy should you drink my water?\u201d Rombao said, \u201cI am\nthirsty\u201d. The whale said, \u201cPay me a price for my water\u201d. He refused, and\nsaid, \u201cCome, let us fight\u201d. Then they began to fight, and the whale died,\nand Rombao cut off his tongue and put salt on it.\n\nNow at that land there was a celebrated chief, the owner of the country,\nand he gave up his own daughter to buy water from the whale. The whale\nwas dead, and three days passed without the wind coming as a token (that\nthe girl had been eaten). So the chief sent his captain and his soldiers,\nand said, \u201cGo and see whether the whale has come to eat my child\u201d. The\ncaptain went with his soldiers to see the whale, and came to where it was\nand found it dead.\n\nThen the captain said to the soldiers, \u201cCome let us fire guns for two\ndays, and go to the village and tell that it was I that killed the whale.\nThen the chief will give me his daughter to wed, and I will pay you with\nmuch goods.\u201d They said, \u201cYes, what he says is good\u201d. So they fired guns\nfor two days, and went back to the village with the girl and found the\nchief, and said, \u201cThe captain has killed the whale\u201d. The chief said to\nhim, \u201cVery well, I will give you my daughter to wed\u201d.\n\nWhen the marriage day came Rombao sent his younger brother, saying,\n\u201cGo and see the wedding\u201d. He returned, and said, \u201cThe marriage feast\nis ready\u201d. Then Rombao went to the village of the chief and found the\npeople all assembled. The girl was speechless, and her mother asked her,\n\u201cDo you wish that captain to marry you\u201d. The girl did not answer, but\ncontinued weeping. Her father said, \u201cBut you will marry that captain\u201d.\nRombao asked, \u201cWhy is the captain going to marry her?\u201d They said,\n\u201cBecause he has killed the whale\u201d. Rombao said, \u201cBut where\u2019s the tongue\nof the whale?\u201d All the people said, \u201cYes, we want to see its tongue\u201d. So\nthe captain sent his soldiers to bring its tongue, and they went to look\nfor the tongue and found that the tongue was wanting. So they returned,\nand said, \u201cThe whale has not a tongue\u2014it is rotten\u201d. Rombao said, \u201cThat\u2019s\nfalse, that captain did not kill the whale\u2014it was I. Wait now, I will go\nand fetch its tongue.\u201d He returned with the tongue to the chief. Then the\nchief said, \u201cVery well, do you take my daughter to be your wife\u201d. Then\nthe chief took much goods and gave Rombao. Then he killed that captain\nand his men likewise.\n\n\n42. THE HYENA AND THE BEES.\n\nA hyena and a fox went a journey; they found honey (lit. bees) on a tree,\nbut at the foot of the tree were the cubs (lit. children) of the fox. The\nhyena said, \u201cGive me my bag,\u201d and he got it; and the fox climbed the tree\nto fetch the honey. Then the hyena took the children of the fox, saying,\n\u201che would shew them to his brethren,\u201d and he put them in his bag. But\nthe fox quickly observed that the hyena took her children, and the fox\ntook much honey (lit. bees) and came down with it. Then the hyena ate the\nhoney, but the fox said, \u201cGive me the bag to carry for you\u201d. The hyena\nsaid, \u201cTake it\u201d. So the fox took the hyena\u2019s bag. Then the fox said, \u201cI\nhave forgotten my knife\u201d. The hyena said, \u201cGo and fetch it\u201d. The fox went\nback to the foot of the tree, and took out her cubs. Then she took many\nliving bees,[38] and put in the hyena\u2019s bag, and went back to the hyena\nhimself. Then the hyena said, \u201cHave you found your knife?\u201d The fox said,\n\u201cYes, I have found it\u201d. But the hyena did not know that she had taken\nher children out of his bag. Then they came to the village, and he said,\n\u201cGive me my bag. Good-bye. Now we have reached my village.\u201d The fox gave\nit him.\n\nThe hyena then went to his brethren, and said, \u201cHave you ever seen the\nchildren of a fox?\u201d His brethren said, \u201cNo\u201d. The hyena said, \u201cThere are\nin my bag here!\u201d His brethren said, \u201cGive it us that we may see them\u201d.\nThe hyena said, \u201cNo, we must be in the house\u201d. So they went into the\nhouse and shut the door, and then undid the bag. Then his brethren said,\n\u201cSo these are the children of a fox? Are they not bees?\u201d They were stung.\nThe hyena\u2019s brethren roared terribly, and the fox heard their roaring,\nand came to the door, and said, \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d The hyena\u2019s brethren\nsaid, \u201cThe hyena has deceived us, saying \u2018Come and see a fox\u2019s children\u2019.\nWe said, \u2018No\u2019\u201d. The fox said, \u201cOh, hyena, you took my children, did you?\nI put living bees in your bag. You knew it not. Now they sting (lit.\nbite) you!\u201d So the hyena and his brethren died.[39]\n\n\n43. THE CROCODILE.\n\nThere was a man that lived by setting traps, and he set his trap on a\nmeadow by a stream and caught meat. Then came a crocodile and took out\n(untied) his meat and ate it, and went home. Next morning the owner of\nthe trap found that his meat had been eaten. Then was he sad at heart,\nand said, \u201cWho is this that has eaten my meat?\u201d He set his trap again and\nwent back to the village. And meat[40] came and was caught (tied) again,\nand again the crocodile ate it. Next morning the owner was sad at heart.\n\nThen he set the trap at another place, and the crocodile came again to\neat the meat, but did not find anything, and he began to search, and was\ncaught in the trap himself. Next morning the owner of the trap came and\nfound the crocodile caught in the trap. So he took a spear and wanted to\nkill the crocodile, but the crocodile said, \u201cPlease don\u2019t kill me, but\nlet me go out, I will go home and pay you because I have been a thief\u201d.\nThen the crocodile said, \u201cCarry me, we shall go to my home,\u201d and it leapt\non the man\u2019s back, its claws (ikalawesa) entering his body.\n\nThen a hare saw them moving in the water and said, \u201cYou, man\u2014where are\nyou going?\u201d The man answered, \u201cI set my trap, and caught my buck, and\nthis gentleman (chief) used to come and steal, but to-day he was caught\nin my trap himself and said, \u2018Let me out, I will go home and pay you for\nyour goods\u2019\u201d.\n\nThe hare said, \u201cI don\u2019t hear you, what do you say?\u201d Then the man said the\nsame words. Then the hare said, \u201cAre you abusing me? I don\u2019t hear what\nyou say. Come near, come near.\u201d[41] Then the man said to the crocodile,\n\u201cChief, listen, the hare says we must go back a little\u201d. Then the man\nrepeated the same words to the hare. The hare said to the crocodile,\n\u201cYes, that is right. But first come off his back there.\u201d Then the hare\nasked the man, \u201cHow did you set your trap? Let me see it.\u201d Then the man\nset it. The hare then asked the crocodile, \u201cAnd chief, pray, how did you\nget in? Let me see.\u201d The crocodile said, \u201cI passed here, and I passed\nhere, and I went Gwede!\u201d there the crocodile was caught.[42] The hare\nsaid, \u201cNow, do you, O man, kill that vermin. It wanted to eat you.\u201d The\nman killed the crocodile, but to this day remains a feud between the\ncrocodile and man.\n\n\n44. THE HARE AND THE BANGLES.\n\nA hyena and a hare went to a village[43] to marry. They found women and\nsaid, \u201cWe want to marry\u201d. The women assented, but their mother said, \u201cWe\ndon\u2019t wear calico,[44] but the skins of lions, leopards and pythons\u201d. The\nhyena and the hare said, \u201cVery well, give us salt and bangles,\u201d and she\ngave them.\n\nThe hyena and the hare then went away, and on the road they found a dead\nelephant. The hyena said, \u201cI will stay here,\u201d but the hare said, \u201cNo,\nchief, but let us wait one day (without touching the meat)\u201d. The hyena\nsaid, \u201cYou are bad, such is your nature. Then you may look for the skins\nof lions, leopards, and pythons. But the lion is terrible.\u201d The hare\nsaid, \u201cI will try to kill a lion that my wife may rejoice and say the\nhare is strong.\u201d\n\nThen the hare took his bag of salt, and arrived at the lion\u2019s village\nwearing bangles on his legs.[45] When the chief lion saw the hare\ndisguised like a woman he said, \u201cYou are my wife\u201d. The hare consented\nand said, \u201cYes, but your chief wife abuses me\u201d. Then the lion killed his\nchief wife and all her children. The hare said, \u201cTake off their skins\u201d.\nThe lion then took off the skins of his own kindred\u2014and the hare and he\nwere left alone. Then the hare said,[46] \u201cMy husband, your eyes terrify\nme\u201d. The lion said, \u201cTake them out\u201d. The Hare then put out the eyes of\nthe lion, and killed him and took off his skin, and took it and hid it by\nthe road, and then went to the village of the leopard.\n\nWhen the leopard saw him, he said, \u201cYou are my wife\u201d. The hare said,\n\u201cVery well\u2014but your chief wife abuses me\u201d. The leopard then killed his\nchief wife and all her children. The hare said \u201cTake off their skins\u201d.\nSo the leopard took off the skins of his relatives. Then the hare said,\n\u201cMy husband, I want pythons\u2019 skins\u201d. The leopard went and killed pythons.\nThe hare said, \u201cThat is right, only your eyes terrify me\u201d. The leopard\nthen said, \u201cPut them out,\u201d then the hare put out his eyes, and killed the\nleopard and took his skin. The hare was then very glad, and said, \u201cI have\nbeen clever\u201d. Then he took the skins of the lions, leopards and pythons,\nand went away and met the hyena. The hyena was astonished, and said,\n\u201cUgwi! How have you, O hare, slain \u2014\u2014. The skins of lions, leopards and\npythons!\u201d The hare answered, \u201cI have slain them with my bag of salt\u201d.\n\nThe hyena said, \u201cI will go to kill my skins\u201d. The hare said, \u201cI am going\nfor my wife\u201d. He said, \u201cYes, I will meet you there\u201d. The hare went to his\nwife. She was very glad, and said, \u201cMy husband is clever,\u201d[47] and she\nput on the lions\u2019 skins. The hyena attacked a lion, the lions were angry,\nand said, \u201cO hyena, is it war that you want?\u201d and they killed the hyena.\nThe hyena\u2019s wife asked the hare, \u201cWhere is my husband\u201d? The hare said,\n\u201cHe is dead\u201d.\n\nThen the hare staid at that village and was a great chief.\n\n\n45. THE HUNTER.\n\nThere was a man that used to kill game, and he went to the bush to kill\ngame, and shot a buffalo in the evening. He cut it through the middle and\ntook the two hind legs, and left the other two and its horns, and said,\n\u201cI will take them to-morrow\u201d. So he went back where his companions were,\nand found them, and said, \u201cWell, I have killed a buffalo and taken these\ntwo legs, I left the other legs and the horns, but we shall go and fetch\nthem to-morrow\u201d. His friends said, \u201cYes, that is best (good)\u201d. At night\nthere came a hyena and found the buffalo, and went round about it and put\nhis head into the breast (ribs) of the buffalo, and took it and went with\nit to his village.\n\nNext morning the owner of the meat called his friends, and said, \u201cCome\nnow, let us go and cut up our meat\u201d. They went to the bush and found the\nmeat carried off by a hyena. Then the owner followed after in the track\nin which the hyena had gone, and at noon he met with the hyena going with\nhis meat. When it heard his tread it sang, \u201cGo in the path where it is\npleasant,\u201d and began to try to get out its head, but the meat had dried\non its hair. And it sang again the same strain, trying to get out its\nhead but not succeeding.\n\nThe owner laid hold of the horns of the buffalo. When the hyena felt\nthat the meat was stuck, it asked, \u201cWho is it that is catching me?\u201d The\nowner said, \u201cI, the hunter,\u201d and he scolded the hyena, and said, \u201cWhere\ndid you take this meat from?\u201d Then the hyena began to speak with him, and\nsaid, \u201cPlease, hunter, do not kill me, but release me, and I will pay you\nwhen I go home\u201d.[48] So the hunter took his knife and cut the ribs of the\nbuffalo, and said, \u201cNow come to your home,\u201d and they went to the cave,\nand the hyena said, \u201cMy wife is with children. Go now to your home, but\nwhen this moon has finished, return, come here and I will give you three\nchildren[49] because of your meat.\u201d The hunter said, \u201cI understand, I go\nhome\u201d. So he took his meat and went home with it.\n\nAfter this the hyena went and met with a lion, and said, \u201cWell, chief,\nif I give you an animal (meat) without hair, what will you pay me?\u201d The\nlion said, \u201cI will pay you whatever you want\u201d. Then the hyena took the\nlion and conducted him to his cave, and said, \u201cDo you, lion, go into\nthis cave, and at the end of the moon (month) there shall come an animal\nwithout hair\u201d. The lion asked, and said, \u201cWhere lives an animal without\nhair? In the bush here all the animals have hair. But where will the\nanimal without hair come from? Do you mean a man?\u201d The hyena said, \u201cI\nmean a man\u201d. So the lion entered the cave and waited for his meat.\n\nAt the end of the month there came the man to receive payment for his\nmeat, and he found at the cave the footprints of a lion, and he began\nto be astonished, and said, \u201cHas that hyena changed to a lion?\u201d He was\nstrong in heart and went into the cave: but when he met the lion and his\nwife in the cave he wanted to go back. The lion began to be fierce, and\nsaid, \u201cWhy do you go back, my meat?\u201d The man said, \u201cI am not your meat,\nbut you ate my meat, and said, \u2018Come at the end of the month and I will\npay you with three children\u2019\u201d. The lion said, \u201cNo, I did not eat your\nmeat. It was a hyena, and he told me to dwell in this cave, and promised\nto give me meat without hair.\u201d\n\nThe man objected, and there arose a great quarrel, and the hare came and\nfound them quarrelling, and said, \u201cPray, chiefs, leave off this dispute\nof yours. O lion, your elder brother[50] sent me to go and tell his\nyounger brother not to eat the man.\u201d The lion was angry with the hare,\nand said, \u201cGet away\u201d. The hare said, \u201cYou are angry, but I was sent by\nyour elder brother to ask you not to eat the man\u201d. The lion said, \u201cWell!\nbut what am I to do with the man?\u201d The hare said, \u201cGive him to me, I\nwill conduct him to the path\u201d. Then the hare took out a vessel of honey\nand snuff (lit. tobacco for the nostrils), and took, and the lion said,\n\u201cGive me[51] that I may taste your snuff\u201d. The hare gave him, and the\nlion took (ate) it, and said, \u201cIt is good\u201d. The hare then took the honey\ninto his hands and began to eat, and asked the lion, \u201cDo you want these\nsweets that I am eating\u201d. The lion said, \u201cYes,\u201d and he gave him a little\nand told him to lick it. Then the lion licked it, and said, \u201cIt is good,\ngive me more\u201d.[52] The hare said, \u201cWell, I am willing to give you, but\nyou must first give me your tails, and I will tie them together\u201d. Then\nthe lion assented, and asked his wife, saying, \u201cListen, my wife, do you\nwant to eat sweets?\u201d His wife said \u201cYes\u201d. The hare said, \u201cCome, I will\ntie your tails together,\u201d and the wife came and gave her tail. Then the\nhare tied them together. Next he took the man and went out with him. The\nlion said, \u201cAre you going away without giving me my sweets?\u201d The hare\nlaughed at him, saying, \u201cAh! I will never give you\u201d. Then he took a stone\nand threw into the cave and closed it, and the lions died.\n\n\n46. THE ELEPHANT AND THE HARE.\n\nThe elephant and the hare formed a friendship. The elephant said, \u201cFriend\nlet us go and hoe a field\u201d. The hare said, \u201cCome let us cut handles (for\nour hoes)\u201d. When they had cut the handles they said, \u201cCome let us put\non our hoes\u201d.[53] When they had put on the hoes, they said, \u201cCome let us\nhoe\u201d. As they were hoeing the hoe of the hare came out, and it said, \u201cI\nam here, my chief, I have come to you to put in my hoe\u201d. The elephant\nsaid, \u201cHow will you put it in!\u201d The hare said, \u201cI will put it in on your\nhead, I will use it (your head) for a stone. When your hoe comes out, you\nwill come to me\u201d. The elephant said, \u201cFix it in\u201d. So the hare knocked his\nhoe in, on the elephant\u2019s head. Soon the hare\u2019s hoe fell out again and\nthe hare came once more to the elephant and said, \u201cO chief, I have come\nto put in my hoe on your head,\u201d and it put it in on the elephant\u2019s head\nand then went away.\n\nAs they hoed, the hoe of the elephant fell out. The elephant said. \u201cHare,\nO chief, my hoe has fallen out! I will fasten it in on your head.\u201d[54]\nThe hare said, \u201cWait for me a little:\u201d and it ran off. When the elephant\nwent to look he saw no one.\n\n\n47. THE FISH EAGLE AND THE MNG\u2019OMBA.\n\nA fish eagle and a mng\u2019omba (a large bird that feeds on shells)\ncontracted friendship, and the fish eagle said, \u201cFriend, let us go and\nmarry wives\u201d. They went to a village and found a woman that had two\ngirls. The fish eagle said, \u201cWe have come to marry\u201d. The man said, \u201cVery\nwell. You have found girls here.\u201d So the fish eagle married his wife and\nhis comrade married also his wife.\n\nThen the fish eagle said one day to his companion, \u201cCome and let us kill\nfish\u201d. So they went to a lake to kill fish. The fish eagle killed many\nfish and the mng\u2019omba killed many shells. At night they said, \u201cLet us go\nhome\u201d. So the fish eagle tied up his fish and the mng\u2019omba his shells,\nand set out to return to their village.[55] When they were half-way, the\nmng\u2019omba persuaded the fish eagle saying, \u201cGive me your fish, I will\ncarry them for you\u201d. So the fish eagle gave him his fish while he took\nhis comrade\u2019s shells.\n\nThen the mng\u2019omba went on before[56] and ran fast and arrived at the\nvillage and took the fish eagle\u2019s fishes and gave to his mother-in-law.\nAfterwards the fish eagle came and found that the mng\u2019omba had divided\nhis fishes. But the fish eagle did not speak a word, he preserved\nsilence.[57] His mother-in-law said, \u201cYou told us you were going out to\ncatch fish, but where are they?\u201d But the fish eagle did not answer his\nmother-in-law. Then she kept abusing him and said, \u201cYou are not a good\nhusband. I will take my daughter from you and give her to the other man.\u201d\nThe fish eagle went to his house to sleep without speaking a word.\n\nNext morning the fish eagle said to his comrade, \u201cCome again to the\nlake to catch fish\u201d. They went. The fish eagle killed many fishes, the\nmng\u2019omba many shells. On their way back[58] when they were half way\nto the village the mng\u2019omba wished to persuade the fish eagle again.\nBut the fish eagle refused and said, \u201cNo. You cheated me yesterday and\nsaid, \u2018Give me your fish and I will carry them for you,\u2019 and I gave\nthem and you ran away with them and went to the village and gave your\nmother-in-law saying, \u2018I have killed these fishes,\u2019 and my mother-in-law\nlaughed at me yesterday, but to-day I don\u2019t want to give you my fishes, I\nwill carry them myself\u201d. The mng\u2019omba was very angry and said, \u201cYou are\nnot good,\u201d and the fish eagle asked, \u201cHow?\u201d\n\nThen they came to the village and the fish eagle gave his fishes to his\nmother-in-law, and she was glad and said, \u201cNow! you are indeed a good\nson-in-law\u201d. But with the mng\u2019omba she was angry and said, \u201cYesterday you\ncame with fishes, but to-day where are they?\u201d The mng\u2019omba told a lie and\nsaid, \u201cThe fish eagle took my fish from me\u201d. The fish eagle heard the\nwords that the mng\u2019omba spake.\n\nNext morning the fish eagle called his father-in-law.[59] \u201cTo-day I want\nfive men to go with me to the lake to fetch fish\u201d. His father-in-law\nsaid, \u201cVery well,\u201d and gave him five men. The mng\u2019omba said also, \u201cGive\nme five men to carry fish\u201d. His father-in-law said, \u201cVery well,\u201d and gave\nhim five men. Then they both went to the lake and the fish eagle said to\nhis men, \u201cPut up tents (of grass), let us dry our fishes (in the sun),\u201d\nand they put up (tied)[60] three tents. The mng\u2019omba told his people\nsaying, \u201cPut up three tents, let us dry our fishes\u201d.\n\nThe fish eagle went into the lake and began to kill fishes and killed\nmany. His men opened them up and dried them. The mng\u2019omba went into the\nlake and began to kill many shell fish, and he called his men and said,\n\u201cBring baskets and put in the shellfish\u201d. His men said, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to\ncarry shells (or shellfish.[61]) At the village you spoke saying, \u2018I go\nto kill fish,\u2019 but where are your fish?\u201d\n\nThen the mng\u2019omba began to be angry and abused the fish eagle. The fish\neagle became angry too, and they began to fight.[62] The fish eagle\nscratched the mng\u2019omba on the face (eyes) and on the neck, and the\nmng\u2019omba was ill and cried, saying, \u201cMh\u2019m mh\u2019m mh\u2019m!\u201d\n\nThen they all went back to the village. The fish eagle gave many fishes\nto his mother-in-law,[59] but the mng\u2019omba gave nothing. Then his\nfather-in-law[59] drove him away, saying, \u201cGo from our home. I don\u2019t want\nyou.[63] I want the fish eagle.\u201d Then the mng\u2019omba went away and the fish\neagle remained.\n\n\n48. THE LAD THAT FED ON AIR.\n\nThere was a lad that went to a large village to seek (a girl) in\nmarriage, and he found a woman that had a female child. He asked the\nwoman and said, \u201cPlease give me your daughter, that I may marry her\u201d. The\nwoman said, \u201cYes, I will give her to you\u201d. Then the lad was happy, and\nbuilt his house and married his wife.\n\nThen his mother-in-law cooked porridge, and gave him, but he refused,\nsaying, \u201cI don\u2019t eat porridge, but air (mp\u2019epo)\u201d. The mother-in-law was\nsurprised, and said, \u201cMy son-in-law does not eat porridge, but air!\u201d\n\nOne day his mother-in-law sent him to the garden to hoe, and he was\nseized with hunger, but his mother-in-law did not give him porridge\nbecause he never ate porridge.\n\nAt midnight he arose and went to the mortar and put in his head and\nlicked all the flour (food) where the women had been pounding. But his\nhead stuck fast in the mortar, and remained there. His (little) wife went\noutside to seek him, and found him in the mortar, and told her mother,\nsaying, \u201cMother, come here and see what my husband has done\u201d. Her mother\ncame and found her son-in-law in the mortar, and said, \u201cSon-in-law, why\ndid you refuse to eat porridge, lo! your head has stuck in the mortar,\nand what am I to do?\u201d The son-in-law was much ashamed and did not speak.\nThe mother-in-law took an axe and split the mortar: the son-in-law came\nout, and went into the house and did not go out again.\n\n[A similar tale is told of a woman whose husband did not make her a\nproper mortar. At night she went to lick any flour that might be left in\nthe mortars of the other wives. Her head stuck, but by her efforts to\ndisengage herself she turned the mortar over, when it rolled down the\nhill, woman and all, greatly to the alarm of the villagers, who all got\nup to see what could be the matter.]\n\n\n49. THE GIRL OF CLAY.[64]\n\nThere was a woman that took clay and made a child, and clothed her with\nfine calico, and said, \u201cMy child, I have made you of clay, if you see\nrain, run to the village\u201d. The girl assented to her mother. One day\nthere came other girls, and said to their companion, \u201cCompanion, come\nand play\u201d. They went to play. They came to a lake, and took off their\nclothing, and began to bathe. They spoke to their companion, and said,\n\u201cCome and bathe,\u201d she refused. They said, \u201cYou are not good. Why do you\nrefuse to bathe? Are you ill?\u201d She said, \u201cI am not ill\u201d.\n\nNext day they went to a distant lake, and took off their clothes, and\nthey said to her, \u201cCome and play in the lake\u201d. Her mother had forbidden\nher. But she went into the lake, and began to melt with the water, and\ncried, \u201cO mother, come and take me\u201d. Her mother refused, saying, \u201cI told\nyou long ago not to go into the water, but you have disobeyed\u201d. Then she\ndied.\n\n\n50. THE PYTHON.\n\nThere was a python, and it caught the child of a buck (Ndogolo). It\nhappened that the bush was burning, and a flock of buck passed. The\npython said, \u201cHoe to save me at the side here\u201d. The buck said, \u201cWhat have\nyou fed on? (What are you stuffed with?)\u201d The python said, \u201cI have not\nfed on anything\u201d. The buck replied, \u201cBut we should be burned\u201d. Then the\nflock of buck passed on.\n\nThen came a man with an axe in his hand. The Python said, \u201cO chief, hoe\nto save me\u201d.[65] The man said, \u201cWhy, if I hoed to save you, you would\ndevour me\u201d. The python said, \u201cNo, I would not devour you\u201d. The man came\nand hoed beside the python. The python then said to the man, \u201cStay\n(sleep) four days, on the fifth come back\u201d. He said, \u201cYes, I understand,\nI will come back\u201d. So he went home and staid four days; on the fifth he\nwent back, and found that the python had vomited\u2014vomited everything\u2014and\nhad become a young lad. It said, \u201cDraw near, chief, that we may converse\nover our business\u201d. The man drew near, and the lad said, \u201cPut me on\nyour shoulders\u201d. He put him on his shoulders, then they both entered a\nhole; in that hole they went on for three days. On the fourth day they\ncame to the home of the python, and he put down the python. The latter\nsaid, \u201cI should have died but for this man, he hoed by my side. Those\nfellows of buck all refused to hoe for me. He came and hoed to save me,\nelse I should have died.\u201d The python then brewed beer, and they set to\ndrinking, and drinking, and drinking. The man then said, \u201cI go home now\u201d.\nThe python said, \u201cWait,\u201d and he gave him four bales of calico, and also\na bottle, saying, \u201cShould you encounter war, turn this bottle upon your\nenemies, and you will find that they are dead\u201d. The man said, \u201cStay,\nfriend,\u201d the latter said, \u201cGo\u201d.[66]\n\nWhen the man arrived at his home, he found that it was deserted\u2014that war\nhad been made against it.[67] On reaching his village he encountered\nenemies. Then he brought out his bottle, and pointed towards his enemies.\nThey were all pupulu (!)\u2014dead and gone (!) (Wosepe \u2019wo pupulu! kumala\nkuwa!)\n\nThen the man went to his fields. While hoeing went on an army had\ngathered against his village[67]. The enemy pursued him to the fields\nwhere he was. When the man saw the army\u2014let him try ever so much to shew\nhis bottle\u2014it happened that he had left it at the village, and the enemy\nhad taken it. Now the enemy caught the man and tied him with ropes (of\nbark), and took him to their home. The capturers said, \u201cDon\u2019t kill him\nnow, we shall kill to-morrow when the people assemble\u201d. Then they went\nto put him in the slave-stick. As he lay there, a Rat came, and the man\nsaid, \u201cWho is it that is gnawing at my feet?\u201d[68] The Rat answered and\nsaid, \u201cI am a Rat\u201d. The man said, \u201cIf you are a Rat, go into the house of\nthe chief, and if you find his basket, make a hole in it, when you have\nmade a hole, if you find a bottle bring it and come here\u201d. So the Rat set\noff and went into the house of the chief and found the basket. It was\nlying so. Then came the Rat and made a hole in the basket and took the\nbottle and went with it to the bondman. The bondman said, \u201cI will pay you\nin the morning\u201d.\n\nIn the morning as soon as it was dawn, the king assembled all his people,\nand went to bring forth the man from his prison. He had his bottle with\nhim. He was set down in the forum. Some said, \u201cFetch the spear to kill\nhim\u201d. He produced his bottle. The people who sat there when he held it up\nwere dead and gone! The man took all the property and called his friend\nthe Rat and divided it with him.\n\n\n51. HIDE AND SEEK.\n\nThe honey bird and the bat formed a friendship. The honey bird said, \u201cLet\nus play at hiding\u201d. So the bat went under the trees near the river (or\nlake) (nyasa). Then came the likuse and swallowed the bat, a crocodile\nswallowed the likuse, and a hippopotamus swallowed the crocodile.[69] The\nhoney bird was going about in search of his friend, but without finding\nhim. As he was returning from his search he met a hippopotamus and shot\nit. The hippopotamus died. The honey bird went away to the village to\ncall the people to cut up the meat. Many people collected and went to\nthat meat. As they were cutting it up, they found the crocodile in the\ninside (chitumbo) of the hippopotamus. On opening the crocodile they\nfound the likuse, on opening the likuse they found the bat. The bat came\nforth and said, \u201cYou have gained\u201d.\n\nNext the honey bird went away. It went into a hole (in a tree) of bees.\nThe bat then went about in search of its friend. In returning from this,\nit found bees. The bat then said, \u201cI will go away to the village\u201d. Then\nit took fire and said, \u201cI will fetch my bees (honey) I found there\u201d. It\ncarried the fire to the tree and began to fell the tree, which came down.\nAs it looked at the bees, it found the honey bird there. It said, \u201cTake\ncare, take care, we are going to burn\u201d. So the honey bird came out of the\ntree. The bat and the honey bird then sang. Both went home to the village\nlaughing. When they arrived porridge[70] was cooked and they feasted.\n\nThe honey bird and the bat said, \u201cLet us hide again\u201d. The honey bird had\na gun, the bat had a bow. The honey bird went to the bush, and killed a\nbuffalo, and then went inside his gun, and the meat just lay there. The\nbat came and found the meat lying, but did not see where its owner had\ngone. Though he called, all was silent\u2014the owner came not. The bat went\nto the village to call the people, saying, \u201cI have found meat yonder,\nwhich the honey bird has slain, but I have not found where he has gone\nhimself, only the gun is lying there\u201d. An offering was then pounded by\nhis wives and put on the top of the buffalo he had slain. The honey bird\nthen came out of the gun, and cut up the buffalo, and it was carried to\nthe village. The honey bird said, \u201cCook the hearts[71] that we may eat,\u201d\nand they were cooked. All the people that carried ate the hearts (mitima).\n\nNext the bat went away with his bow to the bush, and shot a buck\n(ndogolo) and it died. The bat itself then went into the reed of the\narrow. The honey bird found the meat of the bat. Though he tried to see\nwhere it had gone itself, he failed, and he said, \u201cI must just go back\nto the village to tell that the bat has slain meat\u201d. Then the honey bird\nwent away to the village to tell many people. The bat\u2019s wives prepared an\noffering, and put on the head of the buck. The bat then came out of the\nreed. The buck was cut open and carried to the village, and the bat said,\n\u201cCook its heart\u201d (hearts), and the heart was cooked and all eaten.\n\nThen they were happy together saying, \u201cWe have played at hiding every\nday\u201d.\n\n\n52. THE MAN WITH DOGS.\n\nThere was a man that had ten dogs. Early in the morning he had porridge\ncooked for them, and went away to the bush, and killed ten marsh-pigs.\nWhen they were running after another it began to rain, and the man ran to\na cave with his dogs.\n\nBefore he was well seated he saw an aged one coming, and the aged one\nbegan to ask, \u201cWho is sitting in the cave?\u201d The man then came out of the\ncave and climbed a tree. The aged one said, \u201cNow you are eaten,\u201d and\nbegan to fell the tree.[72] When the tree was about to fall they heard\na bird (Mlamba) saying, \u201cThe tree of God shall never fall\u201d. The old man\nagain began to fell it; they heard the same little bird saying, \u201cThe tree\nfor the Offering will never fall\u201d.\n\nThey heard a mpuli[73] crying, \u201cPuli!\u201d when one dog died\u2014\u201cPuli!\u201d another\ndog died, and so all the dogs were finished. The man then began to call\nthe dog at the village which wore the beads. Let the mpuli try to sing\nagain\u2014they heard the dog call \u201cPuli!\u201d and the aged one died.\n\n[At the end of this tale the narrator gave the advice to keep dogs found\nin tale 36. The native dogs look so unpromising that recommendations of\nthis kind are not uncalled for.]\n\n\n53. THE GIRL THAT REFUSED A HUSBAND.\n\nThere was a girl that refused men,[74] and there came a hyena and married\nher. The hyena said, \u201cI will conduct her to my home that she may pay a\nvisit\u201d. His mother-in-law said, \u201cShe does not pound. She only pounds\ncastor-oil beans.\u201d[75] The son-in-law said, \u201cYes,\u201d and she accompanied\nhim on the journey and arrived at the village. At the village they staid\n(slept) four days: then the husband said, \u201cI will go and cut bark (to\nmake cloth)\u201d. He told his chief wife saying, \u201cThat girl does not pound\u201d.\nWhen the husband went away, his wife went for the husked grain and said,\n\u201cGirl, pound this\u201d. The girl said, \u201cI do not pound, I can only pound\ncastor-oil beans\u201d. She said, \u201cWho will pound for you? Take the mortar,\nput in your grain, and pound\u201d. As she pounded water appeared up to her\nloins, she pounded again, and it was at her neck, as she tried again, she\nwas covered over.\n\nA little bird followed after her master, saying, \u201cYour wife is dead\u201d.\nWhen he returned from his bark cloth he found the water everywhere. The\nman then took his small sticks, and said, \u201cPiti, piti, ukosolya mbinji\u201d.\nAs for the water it was not seen where it had gone. The people then came\nout, and the man said, \u201cWhat did I tell you then? I said that the girl\ncould not pound. What you won\u2019t hear, you hear when your head is boiling\nin a pot.\u201d[76]\n\n\n54. THE GUINEA FOWL.[77]\n\nAs the guinea-fowl flew, it found bamboos springing up, and it called the\npartridge and the dove, and all the birds and said, \u201cThis is springing\nup, come together and look at it, it will destroy people. Come let us\npeck it while it grows.\u201d The partridge refused and said, \u201cI will look out\nfor myself\u201d. The guinea fowl said, \u201cI have warned you now\u201d. So they left\nthe bamboos growing. When they were grown then came men and found the\nfoot-prints of guinea fowl and said, \u201cCome let us set traps,\u201d and they\nsaid, \u201cGo and cut bamboos,\u201d so they cut bamboos and set traps.\n\nAs the guinea fowl passed, it found the partridge caught, and said, \u201cAh!\nI warned you saying, \u2018Come let us peck that which was springing up\u2019. When\nyou objected it sprung up, and now people have taken it and made a trap,\nand you are caught.\u201d The partridge said, \u201cIt was for you they set it, and\nyou have escaped\u201d. The partridge continued, \u201cRelease me, peck the cord,\npeck it with your beak, when it is broken let us flee and escape.\u201d As the\nguinea fowl pecked, the partridge was pecked in the eye and died.\n\nThen came a man. The guinea fowl flew away. He said, \u201cA guinea fowl was\nhere and has fled\u201d. He took off his belt and set for the guinea-fowls.\nThen he went off to return to the village, and he took the partridge.\nHe found the river swollen.[78] As he crossed, the water took away his\nclothes. When he came to the village they said, \u201cWhere did you put your\ncalico\u201d. He said, \u201cIt was taken away by the water\u201d. They said, \u201cYou did\nnot make it firm with your belt\u201d. He replied, \u201cI left my belt to snare\nguinea fowl.\u201d\n\nThey plucked the partridge and cooked it. While his wife was cooking it,\nshe went out to the stream for water. The man took a plate and took off a\nleg and went to a chamber saying, \u201cI will eat it in the chamber\u201d. But the\nwoman came and washed the ladle and took a plate, and took off one leg,\nand went to the chamber. The man then went away before he had eaten, and\nsaid, \u201cShe will see me, I must hide my plate\u201d. The woman said (aside), \u201cI\nmust hide my plate, lest he see it\u201d. She said to him, \u201cLet me pass, let\nme pass to the door\u201d. The man said, \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d She said, \u201cLet\nme pass,\u201d and the plates met\u2014thwack! and were broken. She said, \u201cWhat did\nyou carry?\u201d He said, \u201cWhat did you carry?\u201d[79] She said, \u201cEating a relish\nalone! I was tasting it.\u201d He said, \u201cAnd I was tasting it too!\u201d\n\nThe man took goods and gave the woman, and said, \u201cDo not bring disgrace\non me\u201d. The woman brewed beer, and gave the man, and the matter ended.\n\n[The native husband is highly susceptible to ridicule. The next story has\na similar conclusion].\n\n\n55. THE MAN WITH THE BRAN PORRIDGE.\n\nThere was a man that did not eat bran-porridge, and he married at a\nvillage, and built a house with rooms. Then he killed an elephant, and\ncarried its tusks to the coast. \u201cGood-bye, my wife; I go a journey to buy\ngoods\u201d. \u201cTake bran, eat it on the way.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t eat bran, but flour\u201d;\nand he set off to the coast, and sold his ivory; and he got a _fez_\u2014he\ngot it to the bargain.\n\n\u201cNow, good-bye, my friend,\u201d the other said\u2014\u201cGood-bye; you will meet us\nnext year; bring more ivory again. We shall sell you more goods. We shall\ntell you the price of goods; come to say farewell.\u201d He went to the house\nto say farewell, and went off for his home in the Yao country. He arrived\nat the village there, and they rejoiced that the caravan had come and\nbrought goods.\n\nThe woman pounded corn[80] and put the bran in a plate, and went to the\nstream to wash the husked grain. The man took the bran and put it in his\nhat (the new _fez_), and took water, and put it in, and stirred, and ate.\nThe woman then came to the door, and he took the hat and covered his head\nto hide the bran-porridge; lest his wife should see him. \u201cThere, I said\nI did not eat bran-porridge; my wife will laugh at me.\u201d His wife said,\n\u201cWhat is that on your head, that you are hiding?\u201d He said, \u201cMedicine that\nI prepared\u2014for the journey\u201d.\n\nAs the bran-porridge trickled down, he said, \u201cOh, my wife, hunger,\nhunger. Some hunger eats weeds of the field, some hunger eats what is\nbad. After hoeing for food, we shall eat what is nice at a feast. My\nwife, do not tell people that I was seen with bran-porridge on my head.\nI will pay you with goods.\u201d So he paid her with goods. The woman brewed\nbeer, and people collected, and danced and feasted.\n\n\n56. DISOBEDIENCE.\n\nA man and his wife went to the garden to hoe. The wife saw a nang\u2019kabai\n(a bird), and told her husband. He shot it and gave the children to cook.\nAs they were cooking the bird sang a song, \u201cRoast me well, roast me\nwell!\u201d They took it to their father, and it sang again, \u201cRoast me well,\nte, le; te, le, roast me well!\u201d He said, \u201cIt is nothing, I will eat it\u201d.\nThen he called his wife and said, \u201cNow, that food is cooked, divide it\nfor me. I will eat it.\u201d So his wife divided it for him and he ate it to\nhis porridge.[81]\n\nNext morning they went to the field and said to their children, \u201cYou\nmust wait to cook the porridge for breakfast to which the party will\nreturn at mid-day. See that you don\u2019t eat of that bird.\u201d They said, \u201cWe\nunderstand, we will not eat it\u201d.\n\nAfter that the daughter cooked porridge, and brought some[82] and gave\nher brother fowl for a relish. Then her brother refused the fowl and\nsaid, \u201cI will eat of the bird to my porridge\u201d. As he ate he began to grow\nthe horns of a rhinoceros, and a tail. His sister heard[82] a breaking of\nplates and cried, \u201cTembo, what are you doing?\u201d Then he came out of the\nhouse and began to chase his sister. His sister began to sing, \u201cMother\nyou are in the field, Tembo has become a rhinoceros. But your daughter\nis not a rhinoceros.\u201d The woman said, \u201cMy husband, a person is coming\nand singing a song: perhaps it is our children\u201d. But her husband struck\nher[83] and said, \u201cYou are lazy, you do not want to hoe\u201d. The wife said,\n\u201cNo, I am not lazy,\u201d and soon they heard it again. And they saw their\ndaughter coming running from a rhinoceros. The father took his gun and\nkilled the rhinoceros.[84] Such was the fate of the disobedient boy.[85]\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] After the subject of Civil Jurisdiction was re-adjusted by\nCommissioners sent out for the purpose, criminal cases were specially\nconsidered by a lay superintendent in the Mission, and the offenders were\nkept in slave-sticks by the headman of some of the Blantyre villages.\nAny headman performed this task with great zest when the offender\nwas an alien, but when obliged to confine one of his own people (his\n\u2018brothers\u2019), he grumbled very much.\n\n[2] One of the last cases where a flogging was proposed, took place in\nthe following manner:\u2014A drunk man threatened to make a martyr of one\nEnglishman whom he attacked with an axe. After a struggle, however, he\nwas caught and laid past for a flogging. When told of the matter I was\nvery anxious that the poor fellow should be spared this. He was a native\ndoctor\u2014a man of some standing among his tribe. Fortunately the white man\nthat had been assaulted was one who could make allowance for a native.\nNext night I got hold of an interpreter and went to reason with the\nprisoner, pointing out that he had forgotten himself, and was most likely\nto feel the consequences. I explained that I was sorry for him, but that\nI could do nothing to help him, and that the only way of escaping was to\ntell the injured party that he was sorry for what had happened. I don\u2019t\nknow how he worded his apology, but next morning he was described as\nhaving been let off because he was so very penitent!\n\n[3] Often spelt Zambesi. Where my spelling of African names differs from\nwhat is sometimes seen in English books, I had a reason. My attention\nwas directed to the subject in the following manner:\u2014One day I spent a\nlong time in setting down the derivations of several African names. To\nmy great annoyance, I felt that in many cases I was busying myself about\nwords which no African native _had ever heard_! Hence, although sometimes\ncomplying with use and wont, I have often given what I think the more\ncorrect spelling. The Portuguese are more fortunate in spelling native\nnames than English writers are. Only when a man like Luther could spell\nhis own name in four different ways (Luther, Ludher, Lutter, Lother),\npeople that are not etymologists or phonographers, may excuse some laxity\nin writing African words.\n\n[4] (I-am) the-driver-away-of-the-pigs: but owing to the abridged\nnotation the gentleman would go down on the roll-book as Mr. Pigs.\n\n[5] The translation \u201cDeliver as from the Evil One,\u201d adopted in the\nRevised Version, is not so easily understood by persons that hear the\nprayer for the first time. But (as will be seen from the 3rd and 4th\nchapters of Vol. I., as well as from the Native Tales in the Appendix)\nthe supernatural world of the African is by no means tenantless.\nMoreover, the negro is very eager to hear all that the European has to\nsay on this subject. When a Missionary rendered the well-known words\naddressed to Nathanael, \u201cHereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the\nangels of God _crawling up_ and _crawling down_ upon the Son of Man,\u201d\nhe was soon asked to explain what he meant by \u201cangels\u201d! The moment\nthe native understood they were spirits, he was able to improve the\ntranslation which had led him to place them in a different category.\n\n[6] Our stockades were formed of growing trees.\n\n[7] This sentence of mine was published in the Church Missionary Record,\nbut the words, _and truly_, were inadvertently omitted. They were,\nhowever, in the original letter.\n\n[8] Since my return to England, I was told in a letter from a native that\nthis man still figures as a kidnapper, and that he recently lighted a\ngreat fire and threw some children into it, who were reduced to ashes.\n\n[9] Although many native females saw the disturbance, they did not come\nto speak (\u00a7 68).\n\n[10] Page 218.\n\n[11] Even one of the Deputation publicly declared that blame was due\nnot \u201con account of wrong doing, but of want of action\u201d. Now the one\nobject that I had aimed at, was to act towards the Committee\u2019s colony\nat Blantyre exactly as clergymen act towards colonies in all parts of\nthe world, while I understood that the Lay Missionaries were to go on\nwith the colonial work in the same way as they had been doing before my\narrival. According to the minute of appointment, I had been sent out as\n\u201cClerical Head of the Mission,\u201d and I had always given the Committee\ncredit for knowing the laws of the Church too well to make me anything\nelse. But now it appeared that we had been playing at cross purposes:\nfor the Directors began to insist that \u201cClerical Head of the _Mission_\u201d\nreally meant \u201cCivil Governor of the _Colony_\u201d.\n\n[12] On one occasion there was a great conflagration at Zomba, in which\na house was burned down. Although the danger was great a certain native\nwas not afraid to mount on the roof. He then called for water, but the\nonly method available was to hand up some in an old tea-kettle, which his\ncompanions did. He might as well have hoped to extinguish the flames by\nthrowing on a pinch of snuff. Still he persevered, but, which was more\nridiculous, when the fire came nearer, the man became very thirsty, and\nhad to drink a large percentage of the water with which he expected to\nextinguish the flames!\n\n[13] The Anyasa name for a hippopotamus is _mvu_, the Yao name is\n_ndomondo_. The first word is undoubtedly taken from the snorting of the\nanimal, while the second word may be taken from the splash with which the\nanimal returns to the river after feeding on the bank.\n\n[14] On such a journey as ours the traveller may make every day so much\nof a Sabbath or so little of a Sabbath (as the case may be) that he loses\nhis reckoning. It is exceedingly easy for a person to do this, and having\nnothing to refer to he becomes quite helpless. We were told that on one\noccasion, on Lake Nyassa, a party of Missionaries mistook their days, and\nwhile \u201cone day in seven\u201d was diligently observed by them, \u201cthe first day\nof the week\u201d was profaned!\n\n[15] The longer one labours in Africa the more does he feel what a call\nthere is in that land for Missionary effort. Christian agency could\neffect a great deal more if better directed. Here we have a land teeming\nwith population. Each Missionary has a field for himself alone, perhaps\nas extensive as Great Britain which has its thousands of Clergy. In a\nquiet rural parish of Scotland we may have the United Presbyterian,\nthe Free Church, and the Church of Scotland (all three Presbyterian.)\nThis gives us three clergymen doing a work which one clergyman could\neasily accomplish. In the interests of Christ\u2019s Kingdom this is surely a\npernicious arrangement which is all the worse if the various Christian\nbodies instead of fighting with Home Heathenism fight with each other.\nWhat a great deal might be done \u201cto make disciples of all nations\u201d by\nemploying existing agents! But it is said \u201cClergymen are unwilling to go\nto heathen lands\u201d. This raises the question, \u2018What encouragement have\nthey to become Missionaries?\u2019 The Church of England, for instance, has\nno difficulty in finding Clergymen who will become Bishops. A great deal\ndepends upon the inducements that are held out, and we may say so without\nimplying that the English Bishop is more mercenary or less self-denying\nthan a city Missionary.\n\n[16] Since the above was written we have received the sad news that this\ndevoted servant of God has been called away. His death will be a great\nloss not only to his own Mission, but to the whole cause of African\nMissions. While at Blantyre we occasionally corresponded with him, and it\nwas with interest and sympathy that he looked upon our work in the region\nonce occupied by one of his predecessors. Indeed he had himself laboured\nfor a short time as far inland as Morumbala. His contributions to the\nstudy of African languages are of the greatest value.\n\n[17] Clapping the hands is a form of salutation. His elder brother whom\nhe succeeded is now his god.\n\n[18] Besides regarding the strength of armies, the natives look greatly\nto the cleverness of those that possess tempting property, believing, as\nthey do, that a clever man is sure to have a powerful war-medicine.\n\n[19] Here we may trace some hazy idea about the use of spectacles.\n\n[20] We translate the sorcerer\u2019s name.\n\n[21] Simwe was the name of the chief.\n\n[22] The fruit of a native tree. The creation of these men reminds us\nof the story of Cadmus, while a disappearance of this kind is common in\nother native tales; sometimes the people go away because \u201ccalled by their\nbirth names\u201d (\u00a7 52).\n\n[23] Parenthetical remark made by the narrator.\n\n[24] This character is always given to the hyena (litunu), which\ncorresponds to the wolf in European tales.\n\n[25] Nothing is commoner than to see natives carrying porridge in leaves.\n\n[26] The original is Rabbit or Hare.\n\n[27] This would be the certain result of shouting \u201cwar\u201d.\n\n[28] Monkeys are an article of food.\n\n[29] A native version of \u201cOnce upon a time there lived a man\u201d.\n\n[30] A similar story is found in Bishop Callaway\u2019s Zulu collection. The\nname of the hero there is Uthlakanyana.\n\n[31] I translated this from Chinyasa, I had also several Yao versions of\nthe tale, one of which says that the occasion of the bargain was that\nthey had knocked their hoes together.\n\n[32] The word for \u201croast\u201d in Chiyao is Kalanga, hence the name\nKalikalanje.\n\n[33] Or field.\n\n[34] It is quite common to see this mode of wearing the hair. As the\nnatives wear so little clothing, it is difficult to describe a person so\nas to make identification easy.\n\n[35] Perhaps preparatory to hoeing.\n\n[36] In some of the largest native pumpkins a rabbit might be concealed.\n\n[37] This story comes from a native of Quilimane, and resembles a\nEuropean tale found in Grimm\u2019s Collection.\n\n[38] The Anyasa have the same word for bees as for honey. If we were to\ntranslate the above so as to make this evident, we should have \u201cmuch\nhoney of life,\u201d or, \u201cmuch living honey\u201d. The Yao have two different words.\n\n[39] Many tales speak of fatal results from bees. The unclothed native\nwe might think, would be peculiarly helpless among them. Still, by using\nfire, he soon secures the honey.\n\n[40] Nyama applies to the animal when alive, as well as to the flesh.\n\n[41] In this way it is usual for villagers on the river banks to\nchallenge canoes. It would be very unusual for the crews to pass on\nwithout heeding the call, for then the villagers might fire on them. It\nis no excuse to speak of \u201cbeing in a hurry\u201d in this land. The same rule\napplies in the case of strangers passing a village. Europeans, however,\nare understood to be always in great haste, and are seldom interrupted.\n\n[42] The Hottentots have tales whose main feature is an incident like\nthis.\n\n[43] A man stays at his wife\u2019s village.\n\n[44] A present of calico is usual at betrothals.\n\n[45] The ordinary dress does not distinguish a male from a female,\nbangles would.\n\n[46] All these arrangements are concessions that the hare obtains\n_before_ the \u201cmarriage.\u201d\n\n[47] A cleverness like this is much prized and practised by the natives.\n\n[48] The man is allowed his meat and the compensation besides. But for\nthe promise made by the thief, his life would not have been spared. All\nthese fables are in exact accordance with native customs.\n\n[49] This is one way in which the natives may \u201cover-draw their bills\u201d.\nThe promise does not seem in the least strange to those acquainted with\nthe slave system.\n\n[50] The elder brother is the head of the family or small clan (97).\n\n[51] A general that led an army against the Scotch Highlanders was said\nto have committed a great mistake in putting his baggage behind his\narmy, and not in front. If the goods had been in front, they would have\nabsorbed all his enemy\u2019s attention! The appearance of eatables will\ndivert the mind of a native king amidst the most pressing civil cases.\n\n[52] Anything sweet is greatly liked. We often used to give the natives\nsweetmeats. At first they were afraid to taste them. After a time,\nhowever, their desire for these things became insatiable.\n\n[53] We should rather speak of putting on the handle (see H).\n\n[54] Simple humour like this is greatly enjoyed by the natives. I suppose\ntheir hares (sungula) like English ones, are most easily killed by a\nstroke on the head.\n\n[55] The village according to native law (97), would belong to their\nfather-in-law, and neither they nor their wives could succeed him. The\nfather-in-law even if he had no younger brothers, would be succeeded by\nthe children of his eldest sister.\n\n[56] People always march in Indian or rather in African file. The paths\ndo not admit of two going abreast. Even after a wide road is made, the\nnatives still march behind each other (one by one), in a long line.\n\n[57] Natives often act thus, knowing perhaps that the value of their word\nis very little.\n\n[58] Abridged. In the native tales we always have repetitions like what\nare found in Homer\u2019s Iliad and such ancient books.\n\n[59] In these genderless languages, we have for father-in-law and\nmother-in-law the same word in the original. But for native glosses, I\nshould have been inclined to translate \u2018father-in-law\u2019 all through.\n\n[60] \u201cTie\u201d is always used for \u201cbuild\u201d. Their houses are \u201ctied\u201d together.\nEven in the houses built for the mission there was not a single iron nail.\n\n[61] Same word.\n\n[62] Private parties often settle differences thus. Two women will roll\nin the mud biting and scratching each other like furies. They don\u2019t tear\neach other\u2019s hair, their hair being so short; but their comparative\nnudity makes biting convenient.\n\n[63] A good specimen of native divorce.\n\n[64] This tale is exceedingly common\u2014in various versions.\n\n[65] Hoeing is one method of self-preservation, when one is caught by a\nbush fire. These fires are exceedingly dangerous. The smoke accompanying\nthem is quite blinding. On one occasion I was rescued by natives from\nconsiderable danger.\n\n[66] The usual good-bye.\n\n[67] A common experience in these unsettled lands.\n\n[68] The natives sleep through this treatment. The European awakes with a\nscream!\n\n[69] Natives are fond of working out a long series of this kind.\n\n[70] A great element in native rejoicings. It is the negro\u2019s bread.\n\n[71] The word here includes heart, lungs, liver, stomach, entrails\u2014all\nthe inner part of the animal. The natives eat these first, and may\npreserve the rest of the meat.\n\n[72] Many Zulu stories have incidents like the above. In another version\nI was told that the instrument used by the old man was his teeth.\n\n[73] The great number of birds have their names formed from their notes,\nthe root being often doubled as ngwale-gwale.\n\n[74] A tale which is very common under various form. Such tales are\nmeant to impress the mind of the young African girl with the danger of\nnot taking the husband that she has been bound to. They are used in\nconnection with the mysteries, and have built up a public opinion which\nis too strong for any poor girl to resist. Many young girls applied at\nthe mission to be freed from this kind of bondage.\n\n[75] Used for anointing (ornamenting) the person.\n\n[76] This is a native proverb which applies to people that are not moved\nby the _prospect_ of danger.\n\n[77] Communicated by Mr. Buchanan.\n\n[78] In the rainy season, streams that one can easily leap over, become\nin a few hours quite impassible.\n\n[79] There being no windows it is very dark inside native huts.\n\n[80] Natives do not keep food or even flour in readiness, and the slow\ncooking is a great trial to a hungry man.\n\n[81] Their porridge like our bread is seldom eaten alone\u2014but milk is not\nused to it.\n\n[82] The brother and sister, though sharing their food with each other,\neat apart.\n\n[83] When a man goes to hoe, one of his reasons is that he may be on the\nspot to keep his wives from trifling!\n\n[84] The natives have two names for a rhinoceros according to the number\nof its horns. Similarly they have one word for a black cat and quite\na different word for a red cat. If we try to derive the names of all\nanimals, &c., from sounds produced by them or associated with them we\nmeet a difficulty here. The natives have about twenty different names for\n_beads_ according as they are _black_, _blue_, &c., &c. The scarcity of\nadjectives makes this necessary to some extent.\n\n[85] Such stories, stupid as they seem, are valued by the guardians of\nchildren and impress the infant mind with lessons of obedience.","title":"Africana; or, the heart of heathen Africa, Volume 2 (of 2) : $b Mission life","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":102728}