White Queen of the Cannibals: the Story of Mary Slessor of Calabar · Chapter 4Cannibals (4)
This chapter is not translated yet. You are reading the original.
"I will go with you," said Mary.
"There are warriors out in the jungle and you will be killed. You must not go," said Chief Edem.
"It is a long journey," said Ma Eme. "There are deep rivers to cross. It is raining very hard. You will never get there."
"If Chief Okurike dies, there will be fighting and killing. You will be in great danger," said Chief Edem. "Don't go."
Mary knew that if anything happened to her, Chief Edem would go to war against the tribe of Chief Okurike, because she was his guest, and a chief must protect his guest. Mary prayed to God about it. Then she said to Chief Edem, "I am sure that God wants me to go. It will be a chance to tell these people about Jesus who heals the soul-sickness. God will take care of me."
"Well, Ma, I do not like it, but you may go if you wish. I will send women with you to look after you. I will send men to protect you."
Early the next morning they started on the journey. It was raining hard. After they had left Ekenge, it began to pour. The jungle was flooded and steaming hot. It was hard to go, but Mary and the guard pushed on. Soon Mary's clothes were soaked through. They became so heavy she could hardly walk. Her boots became water soaked. She took them off and threw them in the bush. Soon her stockings wore out and she walked through the jungle mud barefooted. She knew she was doing God's work, and even fearful rainstorms were not going to stop her.
After three hours the weather began to clear, but now Mary's head began to ache from fever. As Mary and the guard passed through the jungle villages, the people looked at Mary with surprise. But nothing would stop Mary. She pushed on, and after walking through the jungle for eight hours, she stumbled into the village of the sick chief.
Some of the people were crying. They expected to be killed when the chief died. Others were laughing and shouting. They were going to have "fun" when the chief died. They were going to kill people and have a wild party.
Mary was tired and sick, but she went at once to the chief's house. He was stretched out on a dirty bed. His face was gray with sickness. He was moaning and groaning. He was very near death.
Mary examined the chief to see what his sickness was. She opened her little medicine chest and took out some medicine. She gave the chief a dose. It made the chief a little better.
"I don't have enough of this medicine with me," said Mary. She knew that away on the other side of the river another missionary was working. She knew he had some of the medicine. She went to the men of the village.
"You must go across the river to Ikorofiong for more medicine," said Mary.
"No, no, we cannot go," said the men of the village. "Our enemies are on the other side of the river. They will kill us if we go there."
"But I must have the medicine," said Mary.
"There is a man from that village down the river a little ways. He is living in his canoe on the river. Maybe he will go," said one of the men.
Some of the men ran down to the river. They found the man. They promised him many things. At last he said he would go. The next day he brought the medicine to Mary.
For days Mary nursed Chief Okurike. She taught one of his wives how to help her. She also told the chief and his family about Jesus. Whenever she could leave the chief for a short time she would talk to the tribe about the Saviour and how He would change their lives if they believed in Him.
Day after day Mary prayed for Chief Okurike. At last prayer won out. Chief Okurike got well. The people were very happy.
"Ma Mary," they said, "we want to learn book." They meant that they wanted to learn about the Bible.
"I am glad you do," said Mary, "but then you must do what the Book says."
"We will," said the people. "We will make peace with Calabar. We will not kill the traders who come to our land or the other white people."
"Then I will always be your worker and I will send you a teacher as soon as I can, who will teach you of the Saviour who died for you to pay for your sins."
Mary went back to Ekenge. Here she found that Chief Edem was very sick. He had some very bad boils on his back. Mary put medicine on the boils. Every day she came to his house and took care of him. One day when she came in she saw feathers and eggs lying around the room. This was witch doctor "medicine." On the Chief's neck and around his arms and legs were witch charms.
"Oh, Chief Edem," said Mary, "how could you do this? Surely you know that doing witchcraft is a sin against God. I do not see how you could go back to it after you had learned to know about Jesus."
"Ma, you don't know all about these things. Someone is the cause of this sickness. You don't know all the badness of the black man's heart. Look, here are the proofs that someone is working witchcraft against me. The only one who can fight that is the witch doctor. He is the only one who can make me well. See, here are the things that were taken from my back."
Chief Edem pointed to a collection of shot, egg shells, seed and other things which the witch doctor said had come from his back. He believed the witch doctor. He believed that someone using witchcraft had sent them into his back.
Mary knew what would happen. Everybody whom the chief thought might have done the witchcraft would have to take poison. The people thought that if the person who took the poison died, he was guilty, but if he was not guilty he would live. The tribe would also use other tortures like pouring boiling oil on people to get them to confess.
"That is all wrong," said Mary. "The sickness is because you have not eaten good things or taken care of yourself and kept as clean as you should have. Don't believe the bad witch doctor." (God said something about that in Exodus 22:18.)
Chief Edem would not listen. He had everyone he thought might have the witchcraft made a prisoner. The witch doctor took the chief and his wives and chief men and prisoners to a nearby farm. Mary was not allowed to come to this farm.
Mary knew of Someone who could help her. She prayed to God again and again to keep these people from doing the bad things they planned. Days went by. Mary prayed that Chief Edem might get well. God heard Mary's prayers. He did what she asked. He made Chief Edem well again.
When Chief Edem was well again he decided not to kill the prisoners, the people he thought might have done witchcraft against him. He let them go free. Then the chief and his wives and the chief men came back to the village.
The tribe had a big party to celebrate. They were happy the chief was well. It was the wildest party Mary had ever seen. The people stuffed themselves with food until they became sick. They got drunk. They had wild dances. They did many wicked things.
Mary had often prayed that God would turn the heathen people from their wicked ways, but here they were carrying on worse than ever. The only answer to her prayers that she could see was that the prisoners who were going to be killed had been set free.
"Am I doing anything for my Saviour?" Mary asked herself. "Am I having any success in winning people for Jesus?"
#7#
Witchcraft
One day Chief Njiri and his warriors came to visit Chief Edem. They stayed several days. They had wild parties every day. They drank native beer until they became drunk. Then they would quarrel and fight. They asked Mary to settle their quarrels and decide who was right. Mary was praying every day that there would not be bad fights and that no one would be killed.
Finally it was the last night of the visit. The men were so drunk that Mary knew there would be trouble. When the chief and his men were ready to leave, everyone was excited. The people were shouting and pushing. Some shots were fired and the men began stabbing with their swords. They were too drunk to know what they were doing. Mary ran into the crowd. She went up to Chief Njiri.
"Chief," said Mary, "your visit is over. Go now before trouble starts." She took hold of the chief's arm and led him out of the village and his men followed him. They started for their own village.
"I'm glad that's over," said Mary, but she had spoken too soon.
On their way home, as they were staggering along, Bakulu, one of Njiri's men, cried out, "Look!" and pointed with his finger. The chief and his men stopped.
"It is witchcraft," said Bakulu. "See the little banana plant with palm leaves, nuts and a coconut shell close by!"
"Don't go past it," said one of the other men. "It is bad medicine. You will get sick and die."
"It is the people in the last village we passed through. They did it. Let us punish them," said Chief Njiri.
"Yes, let's punish them," shouted the men. Mary had been following the men to make sure they would go home.
She heard the shouting. Now the men started running past her. She tried to stop them, but they slipped away. Mary took a short cut through the jungle. She reached the road to the village before the men did.
"God, our Father in Heaven," prayed Mary, "help me for Jesus' sake to stop these men, so there will not be a bloody battle."
"Stop," she cried as the first men came in sight. "Stop, I want to talk to you."
The men stopped. The others soon came running up. They had to stop, too.
"You men are planning to do something bad. You do not know that the people of this village did bad things to you. You only think they did. You have drunk too much beer. You do not know what you are doing. Go home."
"But Ma," said Njiri, "they have made bad medicine against us. They made witchcraft. They must be punished before we are hurt."
Njiri and his men argued with Mary, but finally they listened to her. They turned around and once more started for home. Mary went with them to make sure they would get there. At last they came again to the banana plant and the witch medicine. They were afraid to pass it.
"If we pass it, we will get sick and die," said Njiri.
"That is sinful foolishness," said Mary. "That banana plant and those other things will not hurt you. I am not afraid of them."
Mary picked up the banana plant, the palm leaves, nuts and coconut shell and threw them into the jungle.
"Now, brave men, come on. I have cleared the path. Let us go to your village."
Timidly the men tiptoed past the place where the "medicine" had been. Then they went on to their own village. Once more Mary thought that all would be peaceful now for a while. She started for the village of Ekenge.
No sooner was Mary gone than the people of Njiri began drinking again. Then they started quarreling and fighting. One of the men in the village ran and told Mary.
"I will fix that," said Mary. She took some of the men of Ekenge with her. She went to the village of Njiri. With the help of the men of Ekenge and some of the people of the village, they tied some of the most drunken men and the wildest fighters to the trees. They left them there to cool themselves in the breezes of the jungle.
After several hours Mary untied them because she was afraid that some lions might come and kill and eat them. Now that things were quiet, Mary again started for home. On the way she picked up the little banana plant that had caused so much trouble and took it with her.
"I will plant it in my own yard and see what witchcraft can do!" said Mary.
Early the next morning, a man from Njiri's village came running into Ekenge. He went to Mary's house.
"Ma," said the runner, "Chief Njiri was very sick last night. He suffered very much. The witch doctor took sticks and shells and shot from his leg. It is because he walked past the banana plant and other magic medicine. Give me the little banana plant for the chief."
"No, I cannot do that," said Mary. She knew that if the banana plant was taken to the chief, someone would die because of the witchcraft belief.
"But you must send it," said Chief Edem. "If you do not send it, he will make war on us."
"Very well," said Mary, "I will send it. But I know there will be much trouble."
So he took the banana plant to Chief Njiri. When he received it, he and his warriors went to the village which he thought was working witchcraft against him. He made all the people of the village come to him. In great fear they came.
"Every one of you must swear that you did not make that bad medicine against me. I am going to find out who is working that witchcraft to hurt me."
All the people of the village swore they had not done it.
"I am going to take one of your finest young men with me. If I find that you have told me a lie, I will kill him."
Njiri's warriors captured a young man and took him along. If the villagers had tried to rescue him, he would have been killed, and many of them would have been killed also. They sent a man to Mary.
"Ma," said the man, "please help us. Please get Njiri to free Kolu."
"I don't like to have anything to do with Njiri. He is very wicked. But I will go and try to get Kolu free."
Mary went to the village of Chief Njiri. She walked right up to the chief. The warriors of Chief Njiri looked at her with angry faces. They shook their spears at her.
"Chief Njiri," said Mary, "why have you taken this young man? He has done you no harm. You are doing a bad thing."
"Ha, ha," laughed Chief Njiri. "Do you think I am so foolish, Ma? I know these people put bad medicine in my path. I saw the sticks and shells which the witch doctor took from my leg. If sickness comes, I will kill this man."
"The village people have sworn to you that they did not put those things in your path," said Mary.
"Perhaps they are lying."
"They are not lying, but you have lied. You promised to go home and not harm these people. You lied to me. You have made trouble. You went to their village and made them swear. You stole this young man. It is wrong to lie. God will surely punish those who speak with a lying tongue. Please set this young man free so that he may return to his village and his people."
"Ma," answered Chief Njiri, "you do not understand these things. You do not know the badness in the hearts of these people. You do not know the bad things they want to do against me. You do not know about witchcraft."
"Oh, yes, I do," said Mary. "I know that God will punish those who do witchcraft. He will punish those who are foolish enough to believe in it. The people who trust in Jesus do not fear witchcraft. Why do you not trust in Jesus?"
"I don't need Jesus. I am a strong chief. I have many warriors. No one can harm me."
"If no one can hurt you, why don't you set this young man free?"
"I will not set him free. If I keep him, his people will be afraid even to try hurting me."
"But think, Chief, how you would feel if you were captured and taken away from your people? Think how sad this young man feels. Great chiefs show mercy and kindness to the weak. Will you show mercy and kindness to the people of the village and free this young man?"
"A great chief is not weak. He does not act like a woman. A woman shows kindness and love. I am not weak. I will punish. I will revenge myself on those who would do evil to me."
"Revenge belongs to the true and powerful God. He will punish those who do evil. I beg you, Chief Njiri, to set this man free."
"Ma, if I were not a good chief I would have killed you a long time ago. But go now. I do not want to hear your talk. I will not set this young man free. Maybe I will kill him. Maybe I will not kill him. But I will not set him free. Go, before I become angry with you."
"I will go, but remember Chief Njiri, the great and powerful God who sees and knows the badness in your heart. He knows the evil you do. Please turn to Him and believe in Him before it is too late and you end in Hell, the place where bad people suffer forever."
"Go," said Chief Njiri angrily, "get out of my village. Go back to Ekenge."
Sadly Mary started back to Ekenge.
"I have failed these people who asked for my help. O God, soften the heart of Chief Njiri and keep Your protecting hand over the young man Kolu."
When Chief Edem heard that Njiri would not set the man free, he said,
"Njiri has insulted our Ma. Let the warriors get their spears and shields. Let us get ready for war."
The women slipped quietly into Mary's room to tell her the latest news. It made Mary sad that these men were getting ready for a war, but neither one of the chiefs would listen to her. Mary knew where to go for help. She prayed to God.
"O God," prayed Mary, "You can stop this war. You can soften the hearts of these cruel chiefs. Please stop this war so that the warriors may not be killed and their wives made widows and their children orphans. Hear me for the sake of Jesus, my Saviour."
A man knocked on the door of Mary's hut. "Ma, Ma," he cried, "Kolu has been set free. Chief Njiri let him go, and he is back at the village. There will be no war!"
"Thank You, Father in Heaven," prayed Mary. "Thank You that You heard my prayers and that peace and quiet will again be in the villages."
Mary had a true friend in Ma Eme, the sister of Chief Edem. She helped Mary often. She did everything she could to help Mary and the mission, but one thing she never did, that was to confess Christ openly. She and Mary talked of many things as they worked together. One day Ma Eme said,
"When my husband died, I had to go through the chicken test."
"What is that?" asked Mary.
"All of my husband's wives, I too, were put on trial. The witch doctors were trying to find who caused my husband, a great chief, to die. Each of us had to bring a chicken. The witch doctor chopped off the heads of the chickens one at a time. If the headless chicken fluttered one way, the witch doctor said the wife was innocent. If it fluttered the other way, he said she was guilty."
"What happened when they cut off the head of your chicken?" asked Mary.
"It fluttered wildly in the right direction. The witch doctor said I was innocent. But the strain had been so great I fainted and had to be carried to my hut. But many of the other wives were killed."
"You do not believe in the witch doctors, do you?" asked Mary.
Ma Eme looked all around. Then she stepped close to Mary and whispered, "No, but I would not tell anyone else. They are too strong and tricky. They could cause me much trouble if they knew I was against them."
"I shall fight the witch doctors as long as God gives me strength. God is against the witch doctors who do such evil things."
Chief Edem had promised Mary a house, and the people of the village had said they would build it. But whenever Mary wanted to start, they would say, "Tomorrow, we will start, Ma." But tomorrow just did not come.
At last Mary and the children she had adopted and the native children cleared the ground. They stuck sticks in the ground for the wall. They began to make the roof. Then some of the lazy people of the village began to help, and at last the house was built.
Mary also wanted to build a church and school at Ifako. The chief there had promised to help. But the people of that village were lazy, too. They were always putting off doing the building. One morning a man came from Ifako.
"My master wants you," he said.
Mary went to Ifako. The chiefs were together at a cleared piece of ground.
"See, Ma, here is your ground. Here are the sticks, and mud, and palm leaves and other things we need to build. Shall we build the church today?"
It did not take long for Mary to say yes. The people of the village forgot to be lazy. They were having fun building the church. When it was finally finished it was twenty-five feet wide by thirty feet long. We would not think that was a very big building, but it was the biggest in the village.
"See," said the Chief of Ifako, "it is much better than the house at Ekenge."
"It is a fine church," said Mary. "Now we must keep it clean and nice. There should be no dirty things in or around God's house."
We would not think it was such a fine church. The walls were made of dry mud and sticks. The roof was made of palm-leaf mats. The floors were made of mud and so were the seats. But everything was polished and rubbed as smooth as possible. There were no windows or doors in the building. There were just holes in the wall to let in the light for windows and a larger hole to serve as an entrance. But Mary thought it was a fine church because it was the best in that part of the country and because it was a place where people could hear about the Saviour and learn "book."
"We will hold our first service in the new church next Sunday," said Mary. "I want you all to come."
"We will come, Ma," promised the natives.
#8#
The Poison Test
"Tomorrow we will have our first service in our new church. You must dress right for it," said Mary.
She took out of her mission boxes clothes of all kinds and colors which the people in the homeland had sent to her.
"You must wear these to church tomorrow," said Mary. "In God's house you must be clean. You must be dressed. You must not bring your spears into church."
"Can we come?" asked the children.
"Indeed you can," said Mary. "The children can come and the slaves can come. God's house is open to everyone."
The next day was indeed a happy day for Mary. The church was filled with people. Many of them came just out of curiosity, but there were many who had learned to know and love and trust in Jesus.
Mary now started day classes and these too were crowded because many wanted to learn "book." They wanted to learn about Ma's God and about the Saviour who took away sins. It was not long before a change could be seen in many of these people. They had become Christians. The look of fear was gone from their eyes. They no longer feared the demons because they had a Saviour who loved them and took care of them. They did not do the wicked things they had done before. They tried to live as God wanted them to live.
Mary was happy. Now she wanted to build a larger and better mission house in Ekenge. Chief Edem wanted that too. He felt that the church schoolhouse in Ifako quite outshone the little two-room house in Ekenge. Mary wanted doors and windows in the new house. She could not make them. The natives could not. They had never seen any.
Mary wrote to the Mission Board about it. The Mission Board put a notice in the magazine they published asking for a practical carpenter who was willing to go to Calabar. Mr. Charles Ovens saw the notice.
"This is God's call to me," he said. "I have wanted to be a missionary ever since I was a little boy. I could not study to be a minister. I learned to be a carpenter. Now I can be a carpenter for God. I can build mission houses and churches and while I build I can tell the people about my Saviour."
It was in May, 1889, that Mr. Ovens started for Calabar. In Duke Town he found a native helper and the two of them went to Ekenge. Mary was very glad to have him come. He was a very jolly man. He sang at his work. Everyone liked him and the natives gladly helped him in building the houses.
For a long time Mary had been trying to get the chiefs of Okoyong to trade with the traders on the coast. They would not listen. Now she invited them to her new house. She showed them the things she had and how useful they were. The chiefs looked at the door and windows. They liked them. The women looked at the clothes and at the sewing machine. They liked them. They looked at the clock on the mantel. They liked it, too.
"We will trade with coast people," said Chief Edem.
Mary wrote to the traders and invited them to Okoyong. She told them to bring dishes, dress goods, mirrors, clocks, and the like to trade for ivory, oil, and bananas and other things in the jungle.
"It is too dangerous to come up-country," answered the traders. "We are afraid the native guards on the jungle paths will kill us."
Mary wrote to good King Eyo, of Duke Town. She asked him to invite the Okoyong chiefs for a conference. She promised they would bring jungle goods to trade.
King Eyo invited the chiefs. They did not want to go. Mary told them of the interesting things they would see on the coast. She told them of the good things they could get by trading. At last they agreed to go. They collected two canoeloads of bananas, barrels of oil and other jungle crops. Then the chiefs and warriors came marching down to the river to go to the coast.
"Wait," said Mary. "You cannot take those spears and swords and guns along. You will only get into trouble. You must leave your swords and spears, your guns and knives at home."
When Mary said this, many of the natives disappeared into the jungle. They would not go without their weapons.
"Ma, you make women of us," argued those who remained. "Would a man go among strangers without arms?"
"You may not take arms," said Mary. "You are not going to war. You are going for a friendly visit."
"If we cannot take our swords and guns we will not go. We will stay home."
"But you promised and I promised King Eyo that you would come. Will you go back on your word and make me a liar?"
For two hours they argued with Mary. The beach filled with natives from the village who wanted to see the chiefs start on their trip. The chiefs did not want to look like cowards to the people of the village. At last they took off their swords and gave their guns to their white Ma. Those who had run away to the jungle came back and decided to go along.
"We do not like this," said the chiefs, "but we will go. We will not make you a liar, Ma."
They got off into their boats. As one of the boats rowed off, one of the bags shifted. Mary saw the gleam of flashing swords.
"Stop!" cried Mary. The rowers stopped. Mary took the swords and threw them into the river.
"Shame on you," said Mary. "I did not think you would try to fool me like that." The chiefs said nothing. They just rowed down the river.
The chiefs who went to Duke Town had a wonderful time. They went to the church services. King Eyo Honesty talked with them about the Gospel and what it meant for their lives. He took them to his house and had a big dinner for them. They traded the bananas, oil, and other things which they had brought for things to take home like mirrors, clocks, and white people's clothes. Then the next day they rowed back to Ekenge.