The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 09, September, 1879 — John Shaqi
The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 09, September, 1879Various
Religion
The American Missionary — Volume 33, No. 09, September, 1879
Various
Congregational churches -- Missions -- Periodicals; Home missions -- Periodicals
Shoving off (you must remember we travel in boats), we advanced
slowly up the river, whose current had become quite strong. The
day’s travel was very unsatisfactory, and our night’s rest more so;
for the mosquitoes are so bad in this part of the country, that
children and cows have been killed by them. This our men say. I am
sure they were bad enough that night. Mrs. Miller seemed a perfect
marvel to these savage people. We could scarcely go to bed, such as
it was, for their looking in upon us, talking about Mrs. Miller. I
was so black, and so much resembled other Africans, that I was not
the centre of attraction. Still, our interpreter informed us that
they complimented us as “Nyandingo te te”--very fine, or fine for
true.
Morning was gladly hailed by all. Mosquitoes was the principal
theme. Each one had battled, evidently, all night, not for place,
but for life, against these pests. We moved off early, and shall
ever remember the village and the night spent here. Its name is
Trom. I am sure if I had been in a tomb that night, with something
of the vault kind over me, my rest would have been more peaceful
than in this dreary place. The people wherever we stopped kindly
received the missionaries. We made better time from Trom to our
next night’s resting-place. We entered the Kittam River, early
leading off toward the Gallinas, a tribe that also speaks Mendi.
Mendi is the predominant language of a very large extent of
country. The lower part of the Big Boom River, which is called the
Bullom, runs through a beautiful section of country. The Kittam
also has very picturesque scenery. The people looked contented
and happy; the country elevated and healthy. We travelled several
miles down this river, and on visiting the king, the reception that
was given us showed that he highly appreciated our visit. I am
informed that no missionary had ever been here before. He promised
the mission two children. After holding conference with the people
he offered a place to plant a mission station in which to educate
his children. He had them in his villages in abundance. I informed
him that I would “look my head”--think over the matter. All were
impressed with the beauty of this country, with the neatness of
its villages and the good disposition of the people. The king’s
daughter made so much fuss over Mrs. Miller, dressed so differently
from herself, that she became quite uneasy. Large crowds came
around and joined her in welcoming their strange friend. My color
again made me more common and less noticeable. We had a good
night’s rest in this place. We left Coranko and the Soboo chief
and his people the next day, feeling happy in the thought that
missionaries are wanted in this place, and that the Lord in his own
good time will send them to it. “The harvest, truly, is plenteous,
but the laborers are few.” The people stood on the shore while
we sailed away. We met persons in our travels whom we knew in
Bonthe, at Good Hope.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account