South and South Central Africa: A record of fifteen years' missionary labors among primitive peoplesDavidson, Hannah Frances
History
South and South Central Africa: A record of fifteen years' missionary labors among primitive peoples
Davidson, Hannah Frances
Brethren in Christ Church -- Missions; Missions -- Rhodesia; Ndebele (African people); Tsonga (African people)
These natives could speak the Suto language, and as the Scriptures had
been translated into that language for years, those books could be used
here among the Barotse, just as Zulu could be used in Matabeleland. In
the opening up of that work, Christian natives from Basutoland, a
thousand miles farther south, volunteered to accompany Coillard. It is
said, "Just on the border of Barotseland one of these native
evangelists, Eleazer, died. 'God be blessed,' he exclaimed, when he knew
that he must give up his heart's desire of preaching Christ to the
Barotse, 'God be blessed! the door is open. My grave will be a finger
post of the mission,'" as quoted by James Steward. So that it may be
seen that consecrated Africans also did their part in helping to heal
this sore. Coillard and his successors have ever since carried on a most
far-reaching work in Barotseland. About twenty years after the work was
opened, Brother Engle had the great pleasure of accidentally meeting
this venerable messenger of the Cross, Mr. Coillard, in a store in
Bulawayo. His hair then was white, but he was as intensely interested as
ever in his work, and was in a hurry to be back to his field of labor.
As, at that time, there was no railroad farther than Bulawayo, he had to
travel about 300 miles by ox-wagon and then by boat on the river. The
labors of the missionaries and the advantages of good government have
accomplished marvelous results in bringing peace and safety to this
valley, yet even at this late date there are not wanting those who, if
they dared, would rejoice to resurrect the old slave trade.
Among the Baila tribe the Primitive Methodists of England, after
encountering many difficulties along the way, had begun a work in 1893
at Nkala, and a few years later at Nanzela. In 1905 they also opened one
at Nambala, about seventy-five miles north of the Kafue. Although they
were doing excellent work, they had as yet been able to reach only a
small portion of the Baila tribe when we appeared on the scene. There
were no missionaries among the Batonga tribe living on the plateau
between the Zambezi and Kafue Rivers, until 1915, when a mission was
opened about 175 miles northeast of Livingstone by Mr. Anderson, of the
Seventh Day Adventist Mission. This was just one year before we reached
the country. Livingstone in his journey had passed through much of this
country, including Kalomo, Monze Tete, and the Kafue River.
CHAPTER TWO
From the Zambezi River to Macha
The town, Livingstone, was, in 1906, quite small, and consisted chiefly
of government buildings, postoffice, native stores, railway station, and
shops. Some of these buildings, especially those owned by the
government, were well made and ant-proof. The town was at a short
distance from the railway station and seemed to have been built on a
hill of yellow sand, which sand was so deep that walking seemed almost
impossible, and riding was very little improvement over walking.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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