MARY SLESSOK

OF CALABAR

PIONEER MISSIONARY

BY

W. p. LIVINGSTONE
EDITOR OF THE RECORD OF THE UNITED FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND

'' "' " "

AUTHOR OF BLACK JAMAICA AND THE RACE CONFLICT

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO

MCMXV
Published under the auspices of the Women's Foreign Mission, Committee

of the United Free Church of Scotland.

 PREFATORY NOTE

Life for most people is governed by authority and

convention, but behind these there lies always the

mystery of human nature, uncertain and elusive, and

apt now and again to go off at a tangent and disturb

the smooth working of organised routine. Some

man or woman will who departs from the

appear

normal order of procedure, who follows ideals rather

than rules, and whose methods are irregular, and

often, in the eyes of onlookers, unwise. They may

be poor or frail, and in their own estimation of no

account, yet it is often they who are used for the

accomplishment of important ends. Such a one was

Mary Slessor.

Towards the end of her days she was urged to

write her autobiography, but was surprised at the

proposal, and asked what she had done to merit the

distinction of being put in a book. She was so

humble-minded that she could not discern any special

virtue in her life of self-sacrificeand heroism ; and

she disliked publicity and was shamed by praise.

When the matter was pressed her in view of
upon

the inspiration which a narrative of her experiences

iv MARY SLESSOR

and adventures would be for others,she began to sider

con-

whether it might not be a duty, and she never

shrank fro7n any duty however unpleasant. Her

beliefwas that argument and theory had no effect

in arousing interest in missionaryenterprise
; that

the only means of settingthe heart on fire was the

magnetism of personal touch and example ; and she

indicated that if any account of her service would

help to stimulate and strengthenthe faith of the

supporters of the work, she would be prepared to

supply the material. She died before the intention

could be carried further,but from many sources, and

chiefly
from her own it
letters, has been possibleto
piecetogether
the main factsof her wonderful career.
One, however, has no hope of giving an adequate
pictureof her complex nature, so fullof contrasts and

opposites. She was a woman with

of affairs, a wide

and catholic outlook upon humanity, and yet she was

a shy solitary
walking alone in puritan simplicity
and childlike faith. Few have possessedsuch moral

and physical courage, or exercised such imperious

power over savage peoples,yet on trivial occasions

she was timid

abjectly and afraid. A sufferer
from
chronic malarial affection,
and a martyr to pain, her
days were filledin with unremitting toil. flowing
Over-

with love and tender feeling,she could be

stern and exacting. Shrewd, practical,

and matter

offact,she believed that sentiment was a giftof God,

and frankly indulgedin it. Living always in the
 PREFATORY NOTE v

midst of dense spiritual

darkness^ and oftendepressed
and worried, she maintained unimpaired a sense

of humour and laughter. Strong and tenacious of

will, she admitted the rightof others to oppose her.

These are hut illustrations of the perpetualplay of

lightand shade in her character which made her

difficult
to understand. Many could not see her

greatness for what they called her eccentricities,

forgetting,
or perhaps being unaware of,what she had

passed through,experiencessuch as no other woman

had undergone, which explained much that seemed

unusual in her conduct. But when her lifeis viewed

as a whole, and in the lightof what she achieved,all

these angles and oddities fall away, and she stands

out, a woman of unique and inspiringpersonality,

and one of the most heroic figuresof the age.
Some have said that she was in a sense a miracle,
and not, therefore,
for ordinary people to emulate.

Such an estimate she would have stoutlyrepudiated.

It is true that she began lifewith the giftof a strong
character,but many possess that and yet come to

nothing. She had, on the other hand, disadvantages

and obstacles that few have to encounter. It was by
surrender, dedication,and unwearied devotion that

she grew into her power of attainment, and all can

adventure on the same path. It was love for Christ

that made her what she was, and there is no limit

set in that direction. Such opportunityas she had,

lies before the lowliest disciples
; even out of the
vi MARY SLESSOR

"
commonplace Love can carve
heroines. There is

''^
nothing small or trivial,^' she once said, for God is

ready to take act and motive and work through

every

them to the formation of character and the development

of holy and useful lives that will to the

convey grace

world.''"' It was
in her and hence the value
so case,

of her example, and the warrant for telling the story

of her life that others he influenced to follow

so may

aims as noble, and to strive, if not always in the same

at least with like and in the

manner, a courage, same

patient and indomitable spirit.

W. P. L.
 CONTENTS

FIRST PHASE

SECOND PHASE

Work and Adventure at the Base

I. The Breath of the Tropics 21

II. First Impressions 24

.

III. In the Underworld 29

IV. The Pull of Home 32

V. At the Seat of Satan 33

VI. In Elephant Country 38

VII. With Back to the Wall 44

.

VIII. Bereft 50

IX. The Sorrows of Creek Town 52

X. The Fulness of the Time 55

Vlll MARY SLESSOR

THIRD PHASE

The Conquest of Okoyong

CHAP.

I. A Tribe of Terrorists

II. In the Royal Canoe

III. The Adventure of taking Possession

IV. Facing an Angry Mob

V. Life in the Harem .

VI. Strange Doings

VII. Fighting a Grim Foe

VIII. The Power of Witchcraft

IX. Sorcery in the Path

X. How House and Hall were built

XI. A Palaver at the Palace

XII. The Scottish Carpenter .

XIII. Her Greatest Battle and Victory

XIV. The Aftermath

XV. The Sweet and the Strong

XVI. War in the Gates .

XVII. Among the Churches

XVIII. Love of Lover

XIX. A Letter and its Result

XX. The Blood Covenant

XXI. "
Run, Ma ! Run !"

XXII. A Government Agent

XXIII. "
Eccentricities," Spade -
Work, and Day-

Dreams ....

XXIV. Maiden-Mother and Angel-Child

XXV. Mary Kingsley's Visit

XXVI. An All-Night Journey

XXVII. Akom: a First-Fruit

XXVIII. The Box from Home

 CONTENTS IX

CHAP. PAGE

XXIX. An Appeal to the Consul 150

XXX. Aftek Seven Years 154

XXXI. The Passing of the Chiefs 160

XXXII. Clothed by Faith .

164

XXXIII. The Shy Speaker .

166

XXXIV. Isolation 169

1. A Mother in Israel .
169

2. The Cares of a Household 372

XXXV. Exiled to Creek Town 177

XXXVI. Pictures and Impressions 180

XXXVII. A Night in the Bush 184

XXXVIII. With Loving-kindness crowned 186

FOURTH PHASE

The Romance of the Enyong Creek

 MARY SLESSOR
PAOX

XVII. The Settlement begun 251

XVIII. A Scottish Guest 253

XIX. A MoTOK Car Romance 257

XX. Struck Down 259

FIFTH PHASE

Onward Still

I. In Heathen Deeps 263

" "
II. Real Life .
268

III. The Autocratic Doctor 271

IV. God's Wonderful Palaver 274

V. Weak but Strong 278

VI. Her First Holiday 281

VII. Injured 286

VIII. Friendships with Officials 288

IX. Power through Prayer 293

X. Bible Student 297

XI. Back to the Old Haunts 301

XII. Royal Recognition 303

XIII. Battle for a Life 308

XIV. A Vision of the Night 312

XV. Storming the Citadels 314

XVI. Clarion Calls 319

XVII. Love-Letters 323

XVIII. A Lonely Figure 327

XIX. When the Great War came 330

XX. The Time of the Singing of Birds 335

XXI. Tribute and Treasure 340

XXII. Seen and Unseen 342

XXIII. The Alabaster Box 345

 ILLUSTRATIONS

FACE PAGE

Mary M. Slessor Frontispiece

.....

Calabar Mission Field in 1876 .22

. . .

Miss Slessor and some of the People of Ekenge

Calabar Chief of the Present Day 68

Calabar Sword

King Eyo's State Canoe

The First Church in Okoyong "

at Ifako 86

Miss Slessor's Mission House at Ekenge

^

" "
Ma's Quarters at Akpap \
,^j.

The Tragedy of Twins J

The Okoyong Household in Scotland 1
,
^"

Native Court in Okoyong J

Calabar Mission Map of the Present Day .188
. .

A Glimpse of the Enyong Creek

190
Itu, showing the Beach where the Slave-market was held

Court House at Ikotobong

"
Ma," with the Material for the Native Oath at her Feet "
232

Administering the Native Oath to a Witness

The Government Motor Car

1 .258
. .

Miss Slessor's Heathen Friend, Ma Erne

One of Miss Slessor's Bibles ^

oqq

Miss Slessor's Silver Cross j

The House on the Hill-top at Odoro Ikpe 1
g2g

The Last Photograph of the Household J

 FIRST PHASE

1848-1876. Age 1-28.

A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL

"
It was the dream of my girlhood to be a missionary
to Calabar.''

I. Saved by Fear

When the founding of the Calabar Mission on the West

Coast of Africa was creating a stir throughout Scotland,

there came into a lowly home in Aberdeen a life that was

to be known far and wide in connection with the enterprise.

On December 2, 1848, Mary Mitchell Slessor was born in

Gilcomston, a suburb of the city.

Her father, Robert Slessor, belonged to Buchan, and was

a shoemaker. Her mother, who came from Old Meldrum,

was an only child, and had been brought up in a home of

refinement and piety. She is described by those who knew

her as a sweet-faced woman, patient, gentle, and retiring,

with a deeply religious disposition, but without special
any
feature of character, such as one would have expected to

find in the mother of so uncommon a daughter. It was

from her, however, that Mary got her soft voice and loving
heart.

Mary was the second of seven children. Of her infancy

and girlhood little is known. Her own earliest tions
recollec-

were associated with the name of Calabar. Mrs.

Slessor was a member of Belmont Street United terian
Presby-
Church, and was deeply interested in the adventure

going forward in that foreign field. "

I had," said Mary,
1 B
2 MARY SLESSOR

"
my missionaryenthusiasm for Calabar in particularfrom
her " she knew from its inceptionall that was to be known

of its history." Both she and her elder brother Robert

heard much talk of it in the home, and the latter used to

announce that he was going to be a missionary when he

was a man. So great a career was, of course, out of the
reach of Mary by promising to take
but
girls, he consoled
her with him into the pulpit. Often Mary played at
keeping school, and it is interestingto note that the
imaginary scholars she taught and admonished were always
black. Robert did not survive these years, and Mary
became the eldest.
Dark
days came. Mr. Slessor unhappily drifted into
habits of intemperance and lost his situation, and when
he suggested removing to Dundee, then coming to the
front as an industrial town and promising opportunities
for the employment of young people, his wife consented,
although it was hard for her to part from old friends and
associations. But she hoped that in a strange city,where
the past was unknown, her husband might begin life afresh
and succeed. The family went south in 1859, and entered
on a period of struggle and hardship. The money realised

by the sale of the furniture melted away, and the new

house was bare and comfortless. Mr. Slessor continued
his occupationas a shoemaker, and then became a labourer
in one of the mills.
The youngest child, Janie, was born in Dundee. All
the family were delicate,and it was not long before Mary
was left with only two sisters and a brother "
Susan, John,
.
and Janie. Mrs. Slessor's prevented her battling
fragility
successfullywith trial and misfortune, but no children
"
could have been trained with more scrupulous care. I
owe great debt of gratitudeto my sainted mother," said
a

Mary, long afterwards. Especiallywas she solicitous for

their well-being. On
religious coming to Dundee she had
connected herself with Wishart Church in the east end of
the Cowgate, a modest building,above a series of shops
near the Port Gate from the parapets of which George
Wishart preached during the
plague of 1544. Here the
children were sent to the regularservices " with a drop of
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 3

perfume on their handkerchiefs and glovesand a peppermint

in their pockets for sermon-time " and also attended the
Sunday School.
Mary's own recollection of herself at this periodwas that
"
she was a wild lassie." She would often go back in
thought to these days, and incidents would flash into

memory that half amused and half shamed her. Some

of her escapades she would describe with whimsical zest,
and trivial as they were they served to show that, even

then, her native wit and resource were always ready to

hand. But very early the Change came. An old widow,
livingin a room in the back lands, used to watch the
children running about the doors, and in her anxiety for
their welfare sought to gather some of the girlstogether
and talk to them, young as they were, about the matters
that concerned their souls. One afternoon in winter
they
had come out of the cold and darkness into the glow of
her fire,and sittinglisteningto her
were descriptionof the
dangers that beset all who neglectedsalvation.
" "

ye see that fire ?

"
Do she exclaimed suddenly. If
ye were to put your hand into the lowes it would be gey
sair. It would burn ye. But if ye dinna repent and
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ your soul will burn in the
"
lowin' bleezin' fire for ever and ever !
The words went like arrows to Mary's heart ; she could
not get the vision of eternal torment out of her mind : it
banished sleep,and she came to the conclusion that it
would be best for her to make her peace with God. She
" ^
repented and believed." her It was hell-fire that drove
into the Kingdom, she would sometimes say. But once

there she found it to be a Kingdom of love and tenderness

and mercy, and never throughout her career did she seek
to bring any one into it, as she had come, by the process ,

of shock and fear.

II. In the Weaving-Shed

The time came when Mrs. Slessor herself was compelled

to enter one of the factories in order to maintain the home,
and many of the cares and worries of a household fell upon
4 MARY SLESSOR

Mary. But at eleven she, too, was sent out to begin to

earn a livelihood. In the textile works of Messrs. Baxter
Brothers Company she became
" what was known as a

half-timer, one who wrought half the day and went to the
school in connection with the works the other half. When
she was put on full time she attended the school held at

night. Shortly afterward she entered Rashiewell factory

to learn weaving under the supervisionof her mother.
After tryingthe conditions in two other works she returned,
about the age of fourteen, to Baxter's, where she soon came
be-
an well-paidworker.
expert and Her designation
"
was a "weaver" or "factory girl,"not a mill -girl,"
this term locallybeing restricted to spinnersin the mills.
When she handed her first earnings to her mother the
latter wept over them, and put them away as too sacred
to use. But her wage indispensablefor the support
was

of the home, and eventuallyshe became its chief mainstay.

Life in the great factory in which she was but a unit

amongst thousands was hard and monotonous. The hours

of the workers were from six a.m. to six p.m., with one hour
for breakfast and one for dinner. Mary was stationed in a

room or shed, which has very much the sameappearance

to-day. Now as then the belts are whirring,the looms
are moving, the girlsare handling the shuttles, and the
air is filledwith a din so continuous and intense that speech
is well-nigh impossible. Mary had to be up every morning
at five o'clock,as she helped in the work of the home before

going out, while similar duties claimed her at night.

Though naturallybright and refined in disposition she was
at this time almost wholly uneducated. From the factory
schools she had brought only a meagre knowledge of reading
and arithmetic, and she had read little save the books
obtained from the library of the Sunday School. But her
mind was opening,she was becoming conscious of the outer
world and all its interests and wonders, and she was eager
to know and understand. In order to study she began to

steal time from sleep. She carried a book with her to the
mill, and, like David Livingstone at Blantyre, laid it on
the loom and glancedat it in her free moments. So anxious
was she to learn that she read on her way to and from the
6 MARY SLESSOR

in hissurroundings. All the endearments of his wife and

daughter were powerless to save the man whose heart
was tender enough when he was sober, but whose moral
sensibilities continued to be sapped by his indulgence in
drink. Every penny he could lay hands upon was spent
in this way, and the mother was often reduced to sore
straits to feed and clothe the children. Not infrequently
Mary had to perform a duty repugnant to her sensitive
nature. She would leave the factory after her long toil,
and run home,
pick up a parcel which her mother had
prepared, and fly like a hunted thing along the shadiest
and quieteststreets, making many a turning in order to
avoid her friends,to the nearest pawnbroker's. Then with
sufficient money for the week's requirements she would
hurry back with a thankful heart, and answer the mother's
anxious, questioning eyes with a glad lightin her own.
A kiss would be her reward, and she would be sent out to

pay the more pressingbills.

There was one night of terror in every week. On
Saturday, after the other children were in bed, the mother
and daughter sat sewing or knitting in silence through
long hours, waiting in sickening apprehension for the
sound of uncertain footsteps on the stairs. Now and
again they prayed to quieten their hearts. Yet they
longed for his coming. When he appeared he would
throw into the fire the supper they had stinted themselves
to provide for him. Sometimes Mary was forced out into
the streets where she wandered in the dark, alone, sobbing
out her misery.
All the efforts of wife and daughter were directed
towards hiding the skeleton in the house. The fear of
exposure before the neighbours, the dread lest Mary's
church friends should come to know the secret, made the
two sad souls pinch and struggleand suffer with endless
patience. None of the other children was aware of the
long vigilsthat were spent. The fact that the family was
never disgraced in public was attributed to prayer. The
mother prayed, the daughter prayed, ceaselessly, with
utter simplicityof belief,and they were never once left
stranded or put to shame. Their faith not only saved
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 7

them from despair,it made them happy in the intervals

of their distress. brighteror more Fewhopeful families
gathered in church from Sunday to Sunday.
Nevertheless these days left their mark upon Mary for
life. She was at the plasticage, she was gentle and
sensitive and loving,and what she passed through hurt
and saddened her spirit. To the end it was the only

memory that had power to send a shaft of bitterness across

the sweetness of her nature. It added to her shyness

and to her reluctance to appear in publicand speak, which
was afterwards so much commented upon, for always at
the back of her mind was the consciousness of that dark
and wretched time. The reaction on her character, how-
ever,
was not sufferingin the innocent has its
all evil ;

compensations. It deepened her sympathy and pity for

others. It made her the fierce champion of little children,
and the refuge of the weak and oppressed. It prepared
her also for the task of combating the trade in spirits on

the West Coast, and for dealing with the drunken tribes
amongst whom she came to dwell. Her experience then
was, indeed, the beginning of her trainingfor the work she
had to accomplish in the future. . . .

The father died, and the strain was removed, and Mary
became the chief support of the home. Those who knew
her then state that her life was one long act of self-denial ;
all her own inclinations and interests were surrendered for
the sake of the family, and she was content with bare
necessaries so long as they were provided for.

IV. Taming the Roughs

In her church work she continued to find the little

distraction from toil which gave life its savour. She began
to attend the Sabbath Morning Fellowshipand week -night
"
prayer meetings. She also taught a class of lovable
" "
lassies in the Sabbath School "
I had the impudence
"
of ignorance then in specialdegreesurely was her mature
comment on this " and became a distributor of the Monthly
Visitor. Despite the weary hours in the factory,and a
 8 MARY SLESSOR

long walk to and from the church, she was never absent
from any of the services or meetings.
"
We would as soon

have thought of going to the moon as of being absent from

"
a service," she wrote shortly before she died. And we

throve very well on it too. How often, when lyingawake

at night, my time for thinking,do I go back to those
"
wonderful days !
She owed much to her association with the Church, but
more to her Bible. Once a girlasked her for something to
"
read, and she handed
saying, Take that ;
her the Book
it has made me a changed lassie." The study of it was
less a duty than a joy : it was like reading a message dressed
ad-

speciallyto herself,containingnews of surpassing

personal interest and import. God was very real to her.
To think that behind all the strain and struggleand show
of the world there was a Personality,not a thought or a
dream, not something she could not tell what, in spaces
she knew not where, but One who was actual and close to
her, overflowingwith love and compassion, and ready to
listen to her, and to heal and guide and strengthenher it "

was marvellous. She wished to know all He had to tell

her, in order that she might rule her conduct accordingto
His will. Most of all it was the story of Christ that she
pored over and thought about. His Divine majesty, the
beauty and grace of His life,the pathos of His death on

the Cross, affected her inexpressibly.But it was His love,

so strong, so tender, so pitiful, that won her heart and
devotion and filled her with a happiness and peace that
suffused her inner life like sunshine. In return she loved
Him with a love so intense that it was often a pain. She
felt that she could not do enough for one who had done
so much for her. As the years passed she surrendered
herself more and more to His influence, and was ready for
any duty she was called upon to do for Him, no matter how
humble or exacting it might be. It was this passion of
love and gratitude,this abandonment of self,this longing
for service, that carried her into her life-work.
Wishart Church stood in the midst of slums. Pends, or

arched passages, led from the Cowgate into tall tenements

with outside spiralstairs which opened upon a maze of
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 9

landingsand homes. Out of these sunless rookeries tides

of young by night and day, and spread over the
life poured
neighbouring streets in undisciplinedfreedom. Mary's
heart often ached for these boys and girls,whom she loved
in spiteof all their roughness ; and when a mission was
determined on, and a room was taken at 6 Queen Street "

a small sidethoroughfarenearlyoppositeQuarry Pend, one

of the worst of the alleys she volunteered as a teacher.
"

And so began a second period of stern trainingwhich was

to serve her well in the years to come. The wilder spirits
made sport of the meetings and endeavoured to wreck
"
them. "
That little room," she wrote, was full of
romantic experiences." There was danger outside when
the staff separated,and she recalled how several of the
" "
older men surrounded the smaller individuals when

they faced the storm. One of these was Mr. J. C. Smith,

who became her warm friend and counsellor.
As the mission developed, a shop under the church at

the side of Wishart Pend

meetings was taken and the
transferred to it,she having charge of classes for boys and
girlsboth on Sundays and week-nights. Open-air work
was at that time dangerous, but she and a few others
attempted it : they were opposed by roughs and pelted
with mud. There was one gang that was resolved to break

up the mission with which she had come to be identified.

One night they closed in about her on the street. The
leader carried a leaden weight at the end of a pieceof cord,
and swung it threateninglyround her head. She stood
her ground. Nearer and nearer the missile came. It
shaved her brow. She never winced. The weight crashed
to the
ground. She's game, "
boys," he exclaimed. To
show their appreciationof her spirit they went in a body
to the meeting. There her brighteyes, her sympathy, and

her firmness shaped them into order and attention. . . .

On the wall of one of her bush houses in West Africa

there used to hang a photograph of a man and his wife
and family. The man was the lad who had swung the
lead. On attaininga good position he had sent her the
photograph in gratefulremembrance of what had been
the turning-pointin his life. . . .
10 MARY SLESSOR

Another lad, a bully,used to stand outside the hall with

"
a whip in hand
driving the young fellows into Mary
Slessor's meeting," but refusingto go in himself. One
"
day the girlweaver faced him. If we changed places
" "
what would happen ? she asked, and he repHed, I
would get this whip across my back." She turned her
back. "
I'll bear it for you if you'll go in," she said.
" "
"
Would you reallybear that for me ? Yes, and far
more "

go on, I mean it." He threw down the whip and

followed her in, and gave himself the same day to Christ.
Even then she was unconventional in her methods and
was criticised for it. She had a passionfor the countryside,
and often on Saturday afternoons she would take her class
of lads away out to the green fields,regardlessof social
canons.

By and by a new field of work was opened up when a

number of progressiveminds in the city formed Victoria
Street United Presbyteriancongregation,not far from her
familiar haunts. In connection with the movement a

mission service for the young was started on Sunday

mornings under the presidency of Mr. James Logic, of
Tay Square Church, and to him Mary offered her services
as a monitor. Mr. Logic soon noticed the capacity of the
young assistant and won her confidence and regard. Like
most people she was unconscious at the moment of the
unseen moulding her life,but she came
forces in after days
to realise the wise ordering of this friendship. Mr. Logic
became interested in her work and ideals, and sought to
promote her interests in every way. She came to trust him
implicitly " He is the best "

earthly friend I have," she

wrote " and he guided her thenceforward in all her money
affairs.
She was as successful with the lads at this service as

she had been elsewhere. Before the meeting she would

flitthrough the dark passages in the tenements and knock,
and rouse sleep,and plead with them to turn
them up from
out to it. Her influence over them was extraordinary.
They adored her and gave her shy allegiance,and the
result was seen in changed habits and transformed lives.
It was the same in the houses she visited. She went there
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 11

not as one who was superiorto the inmates, but as one of

themselves. In the most natural way she would sit down

by the fire and nurse a child, or cup take a of tea at the

table. Her sympathy, her delicate tact, her cheery counsel
won many a woman's heart and braced her for higher
endeavour. It was the same in the factory ; her influence
told on the workers about her ; some she strengthened,
others she won over to Christ, and these created an sphere
atmo-
which felt
throughout the building.
was

And yet what was she ? Only a working girl,plain in

"
appearance and in dress,diffident and self-effacing.But,"

says one whom she used to take down as a boy to the mission
"
and place beside her as she taught, she possessedsome- thing

we could not grasp, something indefinable." It

was the glow of the spirit of Christ which lit up her inner
life and shone in her face, and which, unknown even to

herself, was then and afterwards the source of her tinction

dis-
and her power.

V. Self-Culture

For fourteen years, and these the freshest and fairest

years of her life,she toiled in the factory for ten hours each
full day, while she also gave faithful service in the mission.
And yet she continued to find time for the sedulous culture
of her mind. She was always borrowing books and
extractingwhat was best in them. Not all were profitable.
One was The Rise and Progress of Religionin the Soul
by Philip Doddridge, a volume much pondered then in
Scottish homes. A friend who noticed that she was what
some-
'
cast down said to her, Why, Mary, what's the
"
matter ? You look very glum." I canna do it," she
" "
replied. Canna do what ? "I canna meditate, and
Doddridge says it is necessary for the soul. If I try to
"
meditate my mind just goes a' roads." Well, never
"
mind meditation," her friend said. Go and work, for that's
what God means us to do," and she followed his advice.
Of her introduction to the fields of higher literature we

have one reminiscence. Her spiritwas so eager, she read

so much and so quickly,that a friend sought to test her by
12 MARY SLESSOR

lending her Sartor Resartus. She carried it home, and

when next he met her he asked quizzically
how she had
" " "
got on with Carlyle. It is grand ! she replied. I sat
up reading it, and was so interested that I did not know
what the time was, until I heard the factorybells calling
"
me to work morning !
in the
There was no restraining her after that. She broadened
and deepened in thought and outlook, and graduallyac- quired

the art of expressingherself, both in speech and

writing,in language that was deft, lucid, and vigorous.
Her stylewas formed insensiblyfrom her constant reading
of the Bible, and had then a grave dignity and balance
unlike the more picturesque,if looser,touch of later years.
The papers that were read from her at the Fellowship
Association were marked by a felicity of phrase as well
as an insightand spiritual fervour unusual in a girl. Her
alertness of intellect often astonished those who heard her
engaged in argument with the agnosticsand freethinkers
whom she encountered in the course of her visiting.She
spoke simply, but with a directness and sinceritythat
arrested attention. Often asked to address meetings in
other parts of Dundee, she shrank from the ordeal. On
one occasion a friend went with her, but she could not be
persuaded to platform. She sat in the middle
go on the
"
of the hall and had a quiettalk on the words, The common
"
people heard Him gladly." And," writes her friend,
"
the common people heard her gladly,and crowded round
her and pleaded that she should come again."

VI. A Tragic Land

There was never a time when Mary was not terested

in-
in foreign missions. The story of Calabar had
impressed her imagination when a child, and all through
the years her eyes had been fixed on the great struggle
going on between the forces of lightand darkness
in the
sphere of heathenism. The United Presbyterian Church
in which she was brought up placed the work abroad in
the forefront of its activity
; it had missions in India,
China, Japan, Calabar, and Kaffraria ; and reports of the
14 MARY SLESSOR

their old home. When emancipation came and they

settled down in freedom under the direction and care of
the missionaries thoughts went
their over the ocean to

their fatherland, and they longed to see it also enjoy the

blessingswhich the Gospel had brought to them. The

agents of the Scottish Missionary Societyand of the United

Secession Church, who, together, formed the Jamaica
Presbytery,talked over the matter, and resolved to take

action ; and eight of their number dedicated themselves

for the service if called upon. A societywas formed, and
a fund was established to which the people contributed
liberally.But the officials at home were cold ; they
deprecatedso uncertain a venture in a pestilential climate.
The Presbytery, undaunted, persevered with its prepara- tions,
and chose the Rev. Hope M. Waddell to be the first

agent of the Society.

It isfar cry from
a Jamaica to Calabar, but a link of
communication was provided in a remarkable way. Many
years previouslya slaver had been wrecked in the bourhood
neigh-
of Calabar. The surgeon on board was a young
medical man named Ferguson, and he and the crew were

treated with kindness by the natives. After a time they

were able by another slaver to sail for the West Indies,
whence Ferguson returned home.
Dr. He became surgeon
on a trader between Liverpool and Jamaica, making several
voyages, and becoming well known in the colony. Settling
down in Liverpool he experienced a spiritual change and
became a Christian. He was interested to hear of the
movement remembering with gratitude
in Jamaica, and
the friendliness shown him by the Calabar natives he
undertook to find out whether they would accept a mission.
This he did through captains of the trading vessels to
whom he was hospitable. In 1843 a memorial from the
local king and seven chiefs was sent to him, offeringground
and a welcome to any missionaries who might care to come.

This settled the matter. Mr. Waddell sailed from Jamaica

for Scotland to organisethe undertaking.
promote and
Happily the Secession Church adopted the Calabar
scheme, and after securingfunds and a ship one of the "

it is interesting to note, was

first subscriptions, "1000
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 15

from Dr. Ferguson" Mr.

Waddell, with several assistants
sailed in 1846, and after many which
difficulties, he

conquered with indomitable spiritand patience, founded

the Mission. In the followingyear it was taken over by
the United PresbyterianChurch, which had been formed
by the union of the United Secession and Relief Churches.
In no part of the foreign field were conditions more

formidable. Calabar exhibited the worst side of nature

and of man. While much of it wasbeautiful,it was one

of the most unhealthy spots in the world" sickness,disease,

and swift death attacking the Europeans who ventured
there. The natives were considered to be the most graded
de-
of any in Africa. They were, in the
reality, slum-
dwellers negro-land. From time immemorial
of their race
had occupied the equatorial region of the continent, a
people without a history,with only a past of confused
movement, oppression, and terror. They seem to have
been visited navigatorsof galleysbefore
by adventurous
the Christian era, but the world in general knew nothing
of them. On the land side they were shut in without hope
of expansion. When they endeavoured to move up to
the drier Sahara and Soudanese regions they were met and
pressed back by the outposts of the higher civilisations of
Egypt and Arabia, who preyed upon them, crushed them,
enslaved them in vast numbers. And justas the coloured
folk of American cities are kept in the low-lying and least
desirable localities, and as the humbler classes in European
towns find a home in east-end tenements, so all that was

weakest and poorest in the negro race gravitated to the

jungleareas and the poisonousswamps of the coast, where,
hemmed in by the pathless sea, they existed in unbroken
isolation for ages. It was not the fifteenth century
until
that the explorationsof the Portuguese opened up the
coast. Then, to the horrors of the internal slave-trade was

added the horror of the traffic for the markets of the West
Indies and America. Calabar provided the slavers with
their richest the
freight, lands behind were decimated and
desolated,and scenes of tragedy and suffering
unspeakable
were enacted on land and sea. Yet for 400 years Europeans
never penetrated more than a few miles inland. Away
16 MARY SLESSOR

in the far interior of the continent great kingdoms were

known to exist, but all the vast coastal region was a

mystery of rivers, swamps, and forests inhabited by

savage negroes and wild beasts.
It is not surprisingthat when the missionaries arrived
in Calabar they found the natives to have been demoralised
and degraded by the long period of lawlessness and rapine
through which they had passed. They characterised them
in a way that was appalling: many seemed indeed to have
difficultyin selectingwords expressiveenough for their
" " " "
purpose. Bloody," savage," crafty," cruel,"
" " " "
treacherous," sensual," devilish," thievish,"
" " "
cannibals," fetish worshippers," murderers," were
-
a

few of theepithetsapplied to them by men accustomed

to observe closelyand to weigh their words.
Not an attractive people to work amongst. Neither
must the dwellers of the earth have appeared to Christ
when He looked down from heaven ere He took His place
in their midst. And Mary Slessor shrank from nothing
which she thought her Master would have done : she
rather welcomed the hardest tasks, and considered it an

honour and privilegeto be given them to do. She was

not blind to the conditions at home. Often when at the

Mission she realised how great was the need of the slums,
with problems of poverty and irreligion
their and misery.
But the people there were within sight of church spires
and within hearing of church bells,and there were many
workers as capable as she : whilst down in the slums of
Africa there were millions who knew no more of the demptive
re-

power of Christ than did the beasts of the field.

She was too intelligent
a student of the New Testament
not to know that Christ meant His to spread His
disciples
Gospel throughout the world, and too honest not to realise

that the command was laid upon every one who loved Him
in spiritand in truth. It was therefore with a quiet and
assured mind that she went forward to the realisation of the

dream. She told no mentioning

one : she shrank even from
the matter to her mother, but patientlyprepared for the

coming change. In the factory she took charge of two

60-inch looms, hard work for a young woman, but she
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 17

needed the money, and she never thought of toil if her

object could be gained.
Early in 1874 the news of the death of Dr. Livingstone
stirred the land : it was followed by a wave of missionary
enthusiasm ; and the call for workers for the dark continent
thrilled many a heart. It thrilled Mary Slessor into action.
She reviewed the situation. Her sisters were now in good
situations, and she saw her way to continue her share in
the support of the home.
loyal determinationWhat this
implied she did not guess then, but it was to have a large
share in shaping her life. Broaching the subject to her
mother she obtained a glad consent. One or two of her
church friends were lukewarm ; others, like Mr. Logic and
Mr. Smith, encouraged her. The former, who was deeply
interested in foreignmissions and soon afterwards became
a member of the Foreign Mission Committee, promised
to look after her affairs during her sojourn abroad.
In May 1875 she offered her services to the Foreign
Mission Board. Her heart was set on Calabar, but so

eager was she to be accepted that she said she would be

willingto go to any other field. Women agents had long
been engaged in Calabar. The first,Miss Miller, had gone
" "
out with Mr. Waddell in 1849 " she became the Mammy
Sutherland who did such noble service " and they were
playing an ever more important part, and were stated to
"
be both economical .Requests had just
and effective."
been made for additions to the staff. The applicationwas,
therefore, opportune. Her personality,and the accounts
given of her character and work, made such an impression
on the officials that they reported favourably to the
Board, and she was accepted as a teacher for Calabar and
told to continue her studies in Dundee. In December it

was decided to bring her Edinburgh, at the expense

to of
the Board, for three months, for specialpreparation. . . .

The night before she left Dundee, in March 1876, she

" "

stood, a figure,at the mouth

tearful of the close where
she lived. "
Good-bye," she said to a friend, and then
" "
passionately, Pray for me !
18 MARY SLESSOR

VII. The Three Marys

A stranger in Edinburgh, Mary Slessor turned ively

instinct-
Darling's Temperance Hotel, which
to was then,
and is still, looked upon as a home by travellers from all
parts of the globe. The Darlings, who were associated
with all good work, were then taking part in the revival
movement of Messrs. Moody and Sankey, and the two
daughters,Bella and Jane, were solo-singers at the meetings.

The humble Dundee girlhad heard of their powers, and she

entered the hotel as if it were a shrine. Feelingvery lonely
and very shy, she attended the little gatheringfor worship
which is held every evening, and was comforted and
'
strengthened.
She found a lodgingin the home of Mr. Robert Martin,
a city missionary, connected with Bristo Street congrega- tion,
and formed a friendship for his daughter Mary. By
her she was taken to visit a companion, Mary Doig, who

lived in the south side. The three became intimates, and

shortlyafterward Miss Slessor went to live with the Doigs,
and remained with them during her stay in the city. It
was a happy event for her. Warm-hearted and thetic,
sympa-
they treated her as one of the family. A daughter
who was married, Mrs. M'Crindle, also met her, and a

lifelongaffection sprang up between the two. In later

days it was to Mrs. M'Crindle's house the tired missionary
first came on her furloughs.
Though she attended the Normal School in the Canon-

gate, she was not enrolled as a regular student, and her

name does not appear on the books ; but
memory a of her

presence lingerslike a sweet fragrance,and she appears

to have been a power for good. One who was a student
"
with says :her She had a most gracious and winning
personality,and impressed the students by her courage
'
ingoing to what was called the white man's grave.' Her

reply to questionerswas that Calabar was the post of

danger, and was therefore the post of honour. Few
would volunteer for service there, hence she wished to go,
for it was there the Master needed her. The beauty of
her character showed itself in her face, and I have rarely
 A SCOTTISH FACTORY GIRL 19

seen one which plainlythat the love of God

showed so

dwelt within. It was always associated in my mind with

that of Miss Angelica Fraser ; a heavenly radiance seemed
to emanate from both."
Her leisure hours given up to miscellaneous mission
were

work in the city. Mary Doig and Mary Martin were both
connected with Bristo Street congregation,and worked
in the mission at Cowan's Close, Crosscauseway, and they
naturallytook Mary Slessor with them. Another intimate

friendshipwas formed with Miss Paxton, a worker in

connection with South Gray's Close Mission in the High
Street. Miss Paxton was standing at the entrance to the
close one Sunday, after a meeting, when Miss Slessor
passed up with a Mr. Bishop, who afterwards became the
"
printer at Calabar. Mr. Bishop introduced her. You
want some one to help you?" he said; "you cannot do
better than take Miss Slessor." The two were kindred
and Mary
spirits, was soon at home among Miss Paxton' s
classes. Her first address to the women stands out clearly
in the memory of her friend, and is interesting
as indicating
her standpoint then and throughout her life. It was on
" "
the question, What shall I do with Jesus ? She told
them that Christ was standing before them as surely as
He stood before Pilate ; and very earnestlyshe went on,
"
Dear women, you must do something with Him : you
must reject Him or you must accept Him. What are
"

you going to do ? She gave them no vision of hell-fire :

she spoke to their reason and judgment, putting the
great issue before them as a simple proposition,clear
as light,inexorable as logic,and left them to decide for
themselves.
Her companions
two soon came under her influence.
Their culture, piety, and practicalgiftsseemed to mark
them out for missionaries, and as a result of her persuasion
they offered themselves Foreign Mission Committee
to the
of the Church, and were accepted for China. In July the
Committee satisfied itself with regard to Miss Slessor's
proficiency, and decided to send her out at once to Calabar.
Her salary was fixed at "60. Before sailingfor their
different stations the three Marys, as they came to be
20 MARY SLESSOR

known, attended
many meetings together, and were a

source of interest to the Church.

Miss Slessor was now twenty-eight years

of
age, a type

of nature pecuHarly characteristic of Scotland, the result

of its godly motherhood, the severe discipline of its social

conditions, its stern toil, its warm church life, its missionary
enthusiasm. Mature in mind and body, she retained the

freshness of girlhood, was vivacious and sympathetic, and,

while aglow with spirituality, was human and likeable,

very

with a heart as
tender and wistful as a
child's. What

specially distinguished her, one who knew her well,

says

were her humility and the width and depth of her love.

With diffidence, but in high hope, she went forward to

weave the pattern of her service in the Mission Field.

. . .

She sailed on August 5, 1876. Two Dundee companions

went with her to Liverpool. At the docks they saw going

on
board the steamer Ethiopia, by which she was to travel,

a large number of casks of spirits for the West Coast.

" " "

Scores of casks ! she exclaimed ruefully, and only one

"

missionary !
22 MARY SLESSOR

vessels loaded up here with their black cargo than at any

other port of the continent, and the Bight of Biafra, on

which Calabar is situated, was ever the busiest spot.

Mangrove forests, unequalled anywhere for immensity
and gloom, fringethe entire sweep of the Gulf. Rooted
in slime, malodorous and malarious, they form a putrescent
paradisefor all manner of loathlycreatures.
Out of the blue waters of the Atlantic the Ethiopia ran,

on Saturday, September 11, into the mud-coloured estuary

of the Cross and Calabar Rivers. On the left lay the fiat
delta of the Niger, ahead stretched the landscape of

mangrove as far the eye could range

as : to the south-east
rose the vast bulk of the Cameroon Mountains. With
what interest Mary gazed on the scene one can imagine.
Somewhere at the back of these swamps was the spot where
she was to settle and work. That it was near the coast

she knew, for all that unexplored

more distant land was

and unknown : most of what was within sight,indeed,

was stilloutside the pale of civilisation ; through the bush
and along the creeks and lagoons moved nude people,most
of whom had never seen a white face. It might well seem
an amazing thing to her, in view of the fact that there
had been commerce with the coast for centuries. Vessels
had pliedto gold dust,
it for slaves, spices, ivory,and palm
oil ; traders mingled with the people, and spoke their
tongue ; and yet it remained a land of mystery.
There were many reasons for this. The country was

owned by European
no Power. Britain regarded it "

somewhat unwillinglyat first "

as a sphere of influence,
but had no footing in it, and no control over the people.
These were divided into many tribes and sections of tribes,
each speaking a different tongue, and each perpetuallyat
war with its neighbour. The necessities of trade fostered
a certain intercourse ; there was neutral ground where
transactions place, and products for the traders
took
filtered down to the people at the coast who acted as middle-
men.
These, for obvious reasons, objected to the white
men going inland they would get into touch with the
"

tribes, their authority would be undermined and their

business ruined, and as they controlled the avenues of
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 23

approach and were masters in their own house their veto

could not be
disregarded. In any case a journey up-river
was full of peril. Every bend brought one to a new tribe,
alert, suspicious, threatening. For Europeans it was a

foodless country, in which they had to face hunger, fever,

and death. Even the missionaries had only been feeling
their way very slowly : they explored and planted out
stations here and there, as permission was obtained from
the chiefs,but their main efforts were directed to the task
of establishing
a strong base at the coast.
The estuary is about twelve miles in breadth, its banks
are lined by mangrove, and here and there its surface is
broken by islands. From these, as the steamer passed,
parrots flew in flocks. From the sandbanks and mudbanks
slid into
alligators the water with a splash. Occasionally
a shrimp-fisherin his canoe was seen. Higher up were
the ruins of the barracoons, where the slaves were penned
while waiting for shipment. Some fiftymiles from the sea
the steamer swung round to the east and entered the
Calabar River
the swamps
; gave place to clay cliffsthick
with undergrowth and trees, and far ahead a cluster of
houses came into view "
this, Mary knew, was Old Town.
Then the hulks in the stream, used as stores and homes
by the traders,appeared,and the steamer anchored opposite
Duke Town. It lay on the right among swamps in a

recedinghollow of the cliff: a collection of mud-dwellings

thatched with palm leaf,slovenlyand- sordid, and broiling
in the hot rays of a brilliant sun.

It was the scene she had often endeavoured to picture

in her mind. There was the hill where into the bush the
dead bodies of natives used to be cast to become the food
of wild beasts, now crowned with the Mission buildings.
What memories had alreadygathered about these ! What
experienceslay behind the men and women who lived
there ! What a land was this she had chosen to make
her dwelling-place a land formless, mysterious,terrible,
"

ruled by witchcraft and the terrorism of secret societies ;

where the skull was worshipped and blood-sacrifices were
offered to jujus; where guilt was decided by ordeal of
poisonand boilingoil ; where scores of peoplewere murdered
24 MARY SLESSOR

when a chief died, and his wives decked themselves in

finery and were strangledto keep him company in the
spirit-land; where men and women were bomid and left
to perishby the water-side to placatethe god of shrimps ;

where the alligators were satiated with feeding on human

flesh; where twins were done to death, and the mother
banished to the bush; where semi-nakedness was pulsory,
com-

and girlswere sent to farms to be fattened for

marriage. A land, also, of disease and fever and white

graves.
There, too, lay her own future, as dark and unknown
as the land, full of hard work, she knew, full,it might be
of danger and trial and sorrow. . . .

But the boats of the traders and the missionaries came

off,the canoes of the natives swarmed around, the whole

town seemed to be on the water. With eyes that were

bright and expectant Mary stepped from the Mission boat

and set foot on African soil.

II. First Impressions

The
young missionary-teacherwas delightedwith the
novelty and wonders of her surroundings. She revelled
in the sunshine, the warmth, the luxuriant beauty, and
began to doubt whether the climate was so deadly after
all : some of the missionaries told her that much of the
illness was due to the lack
of proper care, and there was

even one who said he preferredCalabar to Scotland.

She was impressed with the Mission. The organisation
of church and school, the regularroutine of life,the large
attendance at the services,the demeanour of the Christians,
the quiet and persistent aggressivework going on, satisfied
her sense of the fitness of things and made her glad and
hopeful. To hear the chime of Sabbath bells ; to listen to
the natives singing, in their own tongue, the hymns associ-
ated
with her home life,the Sabbath school and the social
meeting ; and to watch one of them give an address with
eloquence and power, was a revelation. She went to a

congregationalmeeting at Creek Town and heard King

 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 25

Eyo Honesty VII. speaking, and so many were present,

and the feeling was so hearty and united that it might
have served as a model for the home churches. She was

attracted by the King ; a sincere kindly Christian man,

she found him to be. When she told him that her mother
was much interested in him, he was pleased that he
so

wrote Mrs. Slessor,and the two corresponded he a negro "

King in Africa and she an obscure woman in Scotland,

drawn to each other across 4000 miles of sea by the influence
of the Gospel.
It was true that the results of thirtyyears'work in
Calabar did not seem large. The number of members in
all the congregationswas 174, though the attendances at

the services each Sunday was over a thousand. The staff,

however, had never been very large; of Europeans at this
time there were four ordained missionaries, four men

teachers, and four women teachers, and of natives one

ordained missionary and eighteen agents ; and efforts

were confined to Duke Town, Old Town, Creek Town,
Ikunetu, and Ikorofiong " all on the banks of the rivers or

creeks "
with several out-stations.
Her work at first was simple : it was to teach in the
day-schoolon Mission Hill and visit in the yards, both on

week-days and Sundays. Not until the strangeness of

things had worn off a little did she begin to see below the
surface and discover the difficultiesof the situation. What
assisted the process was a tour of the stations,which it was

thought well she should make in order to become acquainted

with the conditions. In the out-districts she came into
contact with the raw heathen, and felt herself down at

the very foundations of humanity.

journeying Most of the
was through the bush : there were long and fatiguing
marches, and much climbing and jumping and wading to
do, in which she had the help of three Kroo boys, but being
active in body and buoyant in spirit,she enjoyed it
" "
thoroughly. A white Ma was so curious a sight in
some of the districts that the children would run away,
screaming with fright,and the women would crowd round
her talking,gesticulating,and fingering, so that the chiefs
had to drive them off with a whip. She was a little
26 MARY SLESSOR

startled by these demonstrations, but was told the people

were merely wishing to make friends with her, and she
soon overcame her nervousness.

Her first meeting was held while she was with one of
the native agents, John Baillie,and took placein the shade
of largetree beside a
a devil-house built for a dead man's
and stocked with
spirit, food. After the agent had spoken
"
in Efik he turned to her and said, Have you anything
"
to say to them ? She looked at the dark throng, de-
graded,
ignorant,superstitious.All eyes were fixed on

her. For once she found it difficult to speak. Asking

Mr. Baillie to read John v. 1-24, she tried to arrange her
thoughts, but seemed to grow more helpless. When she
began, the words came, and very simply, very earnestly "

the agent interpreting she spoke of their need of healing

"

and saving,of which they must be conscious through their

dissatisfaction with this life,the promptings of their higher
natures, the experience of sufferingand sorrow, and the
dark future beyond death, and, asking the question,
" "
Wilt thou be made whole ? pointed the way to peace.
As she observed and assimilated, she came to hold a

clearer view of the people and the problems confronting

the missionaries. She realised that the raw negroes,
though enough, were
savage not destitute of religious
"
beliefs : their theology," indeed, seemed somewhat too

complicated for comprehension. Nor were their lives

unregulated by principlesand laws ; they were ruled by
canons and conventions as powerful as those of Europe,
as merciless as the caste code of India ; their social life
was rooted in a and
tangle of relationships customs as

intricate as any in the world. The basis of the community

was the House, at the head of which was a Master or Chief,
independent and autocratic within his own limited domain,
which consisted merely of a cluster of mud-huts in the bush.
" "
In this compound or yard, or town as it was sometimes
called,lived connected families. Each chief had numerous

wives and slaves,over whom he exercised absolute control.

The enjoyed considerable freedom, many
slaves occupying
good positionsand paying tribute, but they could be sold
or killed at the will of their master. All belonging to a
28 MARY SLESSOR

anticipating,
no frettingover what might be. Every day's
duties were done as every day brought them, and the rest
was left with God. '
He that beheveth shall not make
haste.'
"
spiritshe worked.
And in that
Her better knowledge of the positionmade her resolve
to acquire a thorough mastery of the language in order to
enter completely into the life and thought of the natives.
Interpretationshe had already found to be untrustworthy,
and she was told the tale of a native who, translating an

address on the rich man and Lazarus, remarked, in an

aside to the audience, that for himself he would preferto

be the rich man ! Efiik was the tongue of Calabar and of
trade and commerce, and was understood more or less
over a wide tract of country. She learnt it by ear, and from
the people,rather than from the book, and soon picked up
enough to take a largershare in the varied work of the
Mission.
Life had a piquancy days when she lived with
in these
" "
the Andersons on Mission Hill. Daddy Anderson was

" "
a veteran of the Mission, but it was Mammy Anderson
with whom she came into closest relation. Of strong
she
individuality, ruled the town from the Mission House,
and the chiefs were fain to do her bidding. At first Mary
stood somewhat in awe of her. One of the duties assigned
to her was to ring,before dawn, the first bell for the day
to call the faithful to morning prayer. There were no

alarm clocks then, and occasionallyshe overslept, and the

rebuke she received from Mrs. Anderson made her cheeks
burn. Sometimes she would wake with a start to find
her room flooded with sleep and
light. Half-dazed with
shamed at her remissness she would hurry out to ring the
bell, only to discover that it was not dawn but the light
of the moon that was making the world so bright.
At one time when doing duty in Old Town she had to
walk along a narrow native track through the bush. To
let off the high spiritsthat had been bottled up in the
Mission House she would climb any tree that took her
fancy. She affirmed that she had climbed every tree

worthy of the name between Duke Town and Old Town.

Sometimes her fun made her late for meals, and Mrs.
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 29

Anderson would warn her that if she offended again she

would go without food. She did offend, and then Mr.
Anderson would smuggle biscuits and bananas to her, with,
she was confident,the connivance of his wife. She had a

warm affection for all the members of the Mission staff,

"
but for none more than for "
Mammy Anderson.
There was one of the humbler inmates of the Mission
who watched with affectionate interest the young ary
mission-
with the soft voice and dancing eyes. This was Mrs.
Fuller, a coloured woman who had come over from Jamaica
in 1858 with the Rev. Mr. Robb and Mrs. Robb as a nurse,
and married and remained after they left to be a help and
comfort to many. She remembered the day when the
slaves were emancipated in the West Indies. A kindly,
happy, unselfish soul, she never spoke ill of any one.
"
Somebody said to her, Mammy, I believe you would
"
say a good word about the devil himself." Well," she
" "
replied, at any rate he minds his own business." Dear
old Mammy Fuller," Miss Slessor called her, little dreaming
that Mammy would live to throw flowers into her grave.

III. In the Underworld

In the hush of a beautiful Sunday morning the new

missionary begins what she calls the commonplace work

of the day. Looking out some illustrated texts she sends
a few with a kindly message to all the big men, reminding
them that Mr. Anderson expects them at service. Then
she sets out for the town, and few people escape her keen

eye and persuasivewords.

" "

Why are you not going to God's House ? she asks

a man who at the door
is sitting of his hut. Close by are

the remains of a devil-house.

"
He rocks himself and replies, If your heart was

vexed would you go any place ? Would you not rather

"
sit at home and nurse your sorrow ?
Mary learns that his only child has died and has been
buried in the house, andaccordingto custom the family is
sittingin filth,squalor,and drunkenness. She talks to

him of the resurrection, and he becomes interested, and

30 MARY SLESSOR

takes her into a room where the mother is sittingwith

bowed head over the grave, the form of which can be seen

under
distinctly a blue cloth that covers the
ground. A
bunch of dirty muslin is hanging from the ceiling. It is
a dismal scene. She reads part of John xi., and speaks
about life and death and the beyond.
"
"
Well," remarked the man, if God took the child I
"
don't care so much " but to think an enemy bewitched it !
"
To the mother she says, Do you not find comfort in
"
these words ?
"
"
No," is the sullen reply. Why should I find comfort
"
when my child is gone ?
Mary pats her on the head, and tells her how her own

mother has found comfort in the thought of the reunion

hereafter. The woman is touched and weeps : the mother-
heart is much the same all the world over.

A slave-girls
few are all she finds in the next yard, the
other inmates having gone to work at the farms ; but she
speaks to them and they listen respectfully.Another
yard is crowded with women, some eating, some sleeping,
some dressingeach other's hair, some lounging half -naked
on the ground gossiping a picture of sheer animalism. "

Her advent creates a welcome diversion, and they are

willingto listen : it helps to pass the time. They take
her into an inner yard where a fine-looking young woman

is being fattened for her future husband. She flouts the

message, and is spoken to sternlyand left half-crestfallen,

half -defiant. It is scenes like this which convince Mary
that the women are the greatest problem in the Mission
Field. She does not wonder that the men are as they are.

If they are to be reached more must be done for the women,

and a prayer goes up that the Church at home may realise
the situation.
Farther on is a heathen house. The master is dead :

the mistress is old woman,

an hardened and repulsive, the
embodiment of all that is evil, who is counting coppers
in a room filled with bush, skulls,sacrifices,and charms.
A number of half-starved cowed women andgirlscovered
with dirt and sores are quarrellingover a pipe. The shrill
voice and long arms of the mistress settle the matter, and
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 31

make them flyhelter-skelter. They call on Mary to speak,

and after many interruptionsshe subdues and controls
them, and leaves impressed.
them, for the moment,
She arrives
a lady agents have
at district which the
long worked. The women are cleanly,pleasant, and
industrious, but polished hypocrites,always ready to
protest with smooth tongue and honeyed words that they
"
are eager to be god-women," but never taking the first
step forwards. Mary, who is learningto be sarcastic,on
occasion, gives them a bit of her mind and goes away
heart-sick. But she is cheered at the next yard, where she
has a largeand attentive audience.
In the poorest part she comes upon a group of men
" "

sellingrum. At
sight of the the they put white Ma
the stuff away and beg her to stay. They are quiet until
she denounces the sale of the liquor; then one interrupts:
"
What for white man bring them rum suppose them
rum no be good ? He be god-man bring the rum then "

"
what for god-man talk so ?
What can she answer ?
It is a vile fluid this trade spirit,
yet the country is
deluged with it, and it leaves behind it disaster and moralisat
de-
and ruined homes. Mary feels bitter against
the civilised countries that seek profitfrom the moral
devastation of humanity.
She cannot answer the man.

A husband
brings his woebegone wife who has lost five
" "
children. Can Ma not give her some medicine ?
She again speaks of the resurrection. A crowd gathers
and listens breathlessly.When she says that even the
twin-children are safe with God, and that they will yet
confront their murderers, the people start, shrug their
shoulders, and with looks of terror slink one by one
away.
She visits many of the hovels, which are little better
than ruins. Pools of filth send pestilential
out odours.
There is starvation in every pinched face and misery in
every sunken eye. Covered with sores the inmates lie
huddled together and clamour only for food. One old
woman says :
32 MARY SLESSOR

"
I have prayed and prayed till there is no breath left
in me. God does not answer. He does not care."
"
To whom do you pray ?
"

"
I don't know, but I call Him God. I tell Him I have
'
no friend. I say You see me. I am sick. I am hungry.
I am good. I don't steal. I don't keep bread from any
one. I don't kill. I don't speak with my mouth when
"
my heart is far away. Have mercy upon me.'
Mary talks to her lovinglyand earnestly,and when she
leaves, the heart of the wretched woman is quietened and

grateful.
It is
afternoon, and time for the Efik service at four
o'clock,and Mary, a littletired with the heat and the strain,
turns and makes for Mission Hill.

IV. The Pull of Home

It was not long before she had to revise her opinion of

the climate. Nature was beautiful, but beneath its fair

appearance lurked influences that were cruel and pitiless.

"
Calabar needs a brave heart and a stout body," she
"
wrote ; not that I have very much of the former, but I
have felt the need for it often when sick and lonely." Both
the dry and rainy seasons had their drawbacks, but she
especiallydisliked the former " which lasted from December
" "
to March "
because of the smokes or harmattan, a

haze composed of fine dust blown from the great African

desert, that withered her up and sucked
all the energy out
she possessed. She was frequently attacked by fever,
and laid aside, and on one occasion was at the point of
death. But she never lost her confidence in God. Once
she thought she had. It during an illness when she
was

was only semi-conscious, but on recoveringthe clearness

of her mind she realised that she had given herself into His
keeping and need not fear, and a sense of comfort and

peace stole over her. So many attacks weakened her

constitution and made her think oftener of home. She
began to have a longing to look again upon loved faces,
to have grey skies overhead, and to feel the tang of the
"
clean cool air on her cheek. I want my home and my
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 33

mother," she confessed. It home-sickness, and there

was

is only one cure for that. It comes, however, to pass. It

is not so overpowering after the first home-going, and it

grows less importunate after each visit. One finds after

a short absence that things in the old environment are,
somehow, not the same ; that there has ceased to be a niche
which one can fill; that one has a fresh point of view ; and
as time goes on and the roots of life go deeper into the soil
of the new country, the realisation comes that it is in the
homeland where one is homeless, and in the land of exile
where one is at home. But at first the pull of the old
associations is irresistible ; and so when her furloughwas
due, Mary flew to Scotland as a wandered bird flies wing-
weary back to its nest.
She left Calabar in June 1879 and proceeded straight
to Dundee. During her stay she removed her mother
and sisters to Downfield,
villageon the outskirts of the
a

city,and was happy in the knowledge that all was well

with them. Friends who listened to her graphic account
of Calabar tell that even then she spoke of her desire to go
up country into the unworked fields,and especially to the
" "
Okoyong district,but Daddy Anderson was opposed
to the idea. Before returning,she wrote the Foreign
Mission Committee and begged to be sent to a station
other than Duke Town, though she loyallyadded that she
would do whatever was thought best. She sailed with the
Rev. Hugh Goldie, one of the veteran pioneers of the
Mission, and Mrs. Goldie, and on arrival at Calabar, in
October 1880, found to her joy that she was to be in charge
of Old Town, and that she was a real missionaryat last.

V. At the Seat of Satan

The first sightshe saw enteringher new

on sphere was
a human skull hung on a pole at the entrance to the town.
In Old Town and the smaller stations of Qua, Akim, and
Ikot Ansa, lying back in the tribal district of Ekoi, the
people were amongst the most degraded in Calabar. It
was a difficult field,but she entered upon it with zest.
Although under the supervisionof Duke Town, she was

D
 34 MARY SLESSOR

her
practically own mistress, and could
carry out her own
ideas and methods. This was important for her, for, to
her chagrin,she had found that boarding was expensive
in Calabar, and as she had to leave a largeportion of her
salary at home for the support of her mother and sisters,
she could not afford to live as the other lady agents did.
She had to economise in every direction, and took to

subsistingwholly on native food. It was in this way she

acquired those simple.Spartan-likehabits which accom-
panied

her through life. Her colleaguesattributed her

desire for isolation and native ways to natural inclination,
not dreaming they that were a matter of compulsion, for
she was too loyal to her home and too proud of spiritto
reveal the reason for her action.
One drawback of the situation was the dilapidated
state of the house. It was built of wattle and mud, had a

mat roof and a whitewashed interior. She did not,

however, mind its condition ; she was so absorbed in the
work that personal comfort was a matter of indifference
to her. Her household consisted of
younga woman and
several boys and
girls, with whose endless trainingshe took
pains, and who helped her and accompanied her to her
meetings. School work made large drafts on her time at
Old Town, Qua, and Akim. Young and old came as

scholars. At Qua the chief man of the place after the

king sat on a bench with little children, and along with

them repeatedthe Sunday School lessons. He set them an
example, for he was never absent.
^ But to preach the love of Christ was her passion. With

every visitor who called to give compliments, with every

passer-bywho came out of curiosityto see what the white
woman and her house were like, with all who brought aj
dispute to settle,she had talk about the Saviour of thai
world. Sunday was a day of specialeffort in this direction,!
She would set out early for Qua, where two boys carrying^
a bell slung on a pole summoned the people to service..
One of the chiefs would fix the benches and arrange the
audience, which usually numbered from 80 to 100. Sh(
would go on to Akim or Ikot Ansa, where a similar meeting
was held. On the way she would visit sick folk, or call
36 MARY SLESSOR

other offences, and an agreement had been reached ; but

no treaty, no Egbo proclamation could root out the
customs of centuries, and they continued to be followed,
in secret in the towns and openly in the country districts.
The evil of twin-murder had a terrible fascination for
her. A woman who gave birth to twins was regarded with
horror. The belief was that the father of one of the
infants was an evil and
spirit, that the mother had been

guilty of a great sin ; one at least of the children was

believed to be a monster, and as they were never seen by

outsiders or allowed to live,no one could disprovethe fact.
They were seized, their backs were broken, and they were

crushed into a calabash or water-pot and taken out "

not

by the doorway, but by a hole broken in the back wall,

which was at once built up and throwia into the bush,
"

where they were left to be eaten by insects and wild beasts.

Sometimes they would be placed alive into the pots. As
for the mother, she was driven outside the bounds of decent
society and compelled to live alone in the bush. In such
circumstances there was only one thing for the missionaries
to do. As soon as twins were born they sought to obtain

possessionof them, and gave them the securityand care

of the Mission House. Some of the Mission compounds
were alive with babies. It was no use taking the mother
along with them. She believed she must be accursed, for
otherwise she would never be in such a position. First
one and then the other child would die, and she would
make her escape and flyto the bush.
Mary realised that the system was the outcome of
and fear, and
superstition she could even see how, from the
native point of view, it
safety of was essential for the
the House, but her heart was hot against it ; nothing,
indeed, roused her so fiercely as the senseless cruelty of

putting these innocent babes to death, and she joined in

the campaign with fearless energy.
She could also understand why the natives threw away
infants whose slave-mother died. No slave had time to

bring up another woman's child. If she did undertake

the task, it would only be hers during childhood ; after

that it became the property of the master. The chances

 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 37

of a slave-child survivingwere not good enough for a free

woman to try the experiment, and as life in any case was

of little value, it was considered best that the infant should

be put out of the way.
The need of specialservice in these directions made her

suggest to the Foreign Mission Committee that one of

the woman agents should be set apart to take care of the
children that were rescued. It was impossible,she said,
for one to do school or other work, and attend to them as

well. "
If such a crowd of twins should come to her as I
have to manage, she would require to devote her whole
time to them." More and more also she was convinced
of the necessity of women's work among the women in the
farming districts,and she pressedthe matter upon the Com-
mittee.
She was in line with the old chief who remarked
"
that them women be the best man for the Mission."
Another evil which violated her sense of justiceand
right,and against which she took up arms, was the trade
attitude people. Although they had settled
of the Calabar
on the coast only by grace of the Ekois, they endeavoured
to monopolise all dealingswith the Europeans and prevent

the inland tribes from doing business direct with the

factories. Often the up-rivermen would make their way
down stealthily, but if caught they were slain or mutilated,
and a bitter vendetta would ensue. She recognisedthat
it would only be by the tribes coming to know and respect
each other, and by the adoption of unrestricted trade with
the stores that the full reward of industrycould be secured.
She accordingly took up the cause of the inland tribes.
When Efik was at war with Qua, sentries were posted at
all the paths to the factories,but the people came to her

by night,and she would lead them down the track running

through the Mission property. At the factory next to the
Mission they would deliver their palm oil or kernels,
beach
and take back the goods for which they had bartered them.
In this way she helped to open up the country. It was not,
perhaps,mission work in the ordinarysense any more than

Imuch of Dr. Livingstone'swork was missionary work,

but it was an effort to break down the conditions that

[perpetuatedwrong and dispeace,and to introduce the

38 MARY SLESSOR

forces of
righteousnessand goodwill. In all this work
she had the sympathy of the traders, who showed her
much kindness. She was a missionary after their own

heart.

VI. In Elephant Country

The spiritof the pioneer would not allow her to be

content with the routine villagework.
of She began to
go afield,and made trips of explorationalong the river.
The people found her different from other missionaries ;
she would enter their townships as one of themselves, show
them in a moment that she was mistress of their thought
and ways, get right into their confidence.
and Always
carrying medicine, she attended the sick, and so many
maimed and diseased crowded to her that often she would
lose the tide twice over. In her opinion no preaching
surpassed these patient,intimate interviews on the banks
of the river and wayside, when she listened to tales
by the
of suffering and sorrow and gave sympathy and practical
help. Sometimes she remained away for nightsat a time,
and on these occasions her only accommodation was a

mud hut and her only bed a bundle of filthy rags.

A largerventure was made at the instance of a chief
named Okon, a political refugeewhom she knew. He had
settled at spot a on the western bank of the estuary, then
called Ibaka, now James Town, and had long urged her
to pay the
place a visit. It was only some thirtymiles
away, but thirty miles to the African is more than two
hundred to a European, and Old Town was in a state of
excitement for days before she left. Nine a.m. was the
hour fixed for departure,but Mary knew local ways, and
forenoon found her calmly cooking the dinner. The house
was crowded with visitors begging her to be careful, and
threatening vengeance if anything happened to their
"
Ma." At 6 P.M. came word that all was ready, and,
followed by a retinue comprising half the population,she
made her way to the beach. Women who were not

ordinarilypermitted to be viewed by the publiceye waited

at every yard to embrace her, and to charge all concerned
to look well after her safety and comfort.
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 39

A State by the King lay at the water-side.

canoe sent
It had been repainted for the occasion in the gayest of
colours, while thoughtful hands had erected a little arch
of matting to seclude her from the paddlersand afford pro- tection
from the dew, and had arranged some rice-bagsas
a couch. The pathos of the tribute touched her, and with
a smile and a word of thanks she stepped into her place
and settled the four house-children about the feet of the
paddlers. More hours were lost in one way or another.
Darkness fell,and only the red gleam of the torches lit up
the scene. Alligators and snakes haunted the spot, but she
had no fear so long as the clamour of the crowd continued.
" "
At last, Sio udefi ! The command was answered by
"
the "
dip-dip
thirty-three of
paddles,and the canoe glided
into the middle of the river and sped onwards. In her
crib she tried to read by the lightof a candle, while the
paddlers extemporised songs in her honour, assigningto
her all the virtues under the sun "

Ma, our beloved mother,

beautiful, is on board.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
" "
The gentle movement, the monotonous tom-tom-tum
of the drummer, and the voice of the steersman, became
mingled in a dreamy jumble, and she sleptthrough the
night as soundly as on a bed of down. Ten hours' paddling
brought the craft to its destination, and at dawn she was
carried ashore over golden sand and under great trees,
and deposited in the chief's compound amongst goats,
dogs, and fowls. She and the children were given the
master's room which always opens out into the women's
"

yard and as it possessed no door a piece of calico was

"

hung up as a screen. The days were tolerable, but the

nightswere such as even she, inured to African conditions,
found almost unbearable. It was the etiquetteof the
country that all the wives should sit as close to the white
woman as was compatible with her idea of comfort, and as

the aim of each was to be fatter than the other, and

they
all and
perspiredfreely, there was no ventilation,it required
all her courage to outlast the ordeal. Lizards, too,
played among the matting of the roof, and sent down
40 MARY SLESSOR

showers of dust, while rats performed hop, skip,and jump

over the
sleepers.
Crowds began to pour in from a wide area. Many of

the people had never looked upon a white woman, and she
had to submit to being handled and examined in order to

prove that she was flesh and blood like themselves. ful
Doubt-
men and women were forciblydragged to her by
laughing companions and made to touch her skin. At
meal times she was on exhibition to a favoured few, who
watched how she ate and drank, and then described the

operationsto the others outside.

Day by day she prescribedand bandaged, cut out gar- ments,
superintended washing, and initiated women into

the secrets of starchingand ironing. Day by day she held

a morning and evening service, and it was with difficulty
that she prevented the one from merging into the other.
On Sabbath the yard became strangelyquiet : all con-
nected

with it were clothed and clean, and in a corner stood

a table with a white cloth and upon it a Bible and hymn-
book. As fierce-looking,
the noisy men from a distance
entered they stopped involuntarilyand a hush fell upon
them. Many heard the story of Christ for the first time,
and never had she a more appreciativeaudience. In the
evening the throng was so great that her voice could barely
reach them all,and at the end they came up to her and
with deep feeling wished her good-nightand then vanished
quietlyinto the darkness.
The people would not allow her to walk out much on

account of the presence of wild beasts. Elephants were

numerous it was
"
because of the destruction they had
wrought on the farms that fishinghad become the main
support of the township. Early one morning a commotion
broke out : a boa constrictor had been seen during the
night, and bands of men armed with clubs, cutlasses,and
muskets set off, yelling,to hunt the monster. Whenever
she moved out she was followed by all the men, women,
and children. On every side she saw skulls,rudely carved
of
images,peace-offerings food to hungry spirits,
and other
evidences of debased fetishism, while cases of witchcraft
and poisoningwere frequent.
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 41

day she noticed a tornado brewing on the Cameroon

One
heights,and kept indoors. While sitting sewing the storm
burst. The wind seized the village, fences, canoes,
lifting
trees, and buildings; lightningplayed and crackled about
the hut ; the thunder pealed overhead ; and rain fell in
floods. Then a column of flame leapt from the sky to
earth, and a terrific crash deafened the cowering people.
Accustomed as she was to tornadoes Mary was afraid.
The slaves came rushing into the yard, shrieking,and at

the same moment the roof of her hut was swept away, and
she was beaten to the ground by the violence of the rain.
In the lightof the vivid flashes she groped her way through
the water, now up to her ankles, and from her boxes
obtained all the wraps she possessed. To keep up the
"
spiritsof the children she started a hymn, Oh, come let us

sing." Amidst the roar of the elements they caught the

tune, and graduallytheir terror was subdued. When the
torrent ceased she was in a high fever. She dosed herself
with quinine,and as the shadow of death is never very far

away in Africa she made all arrangements in case the end

should come. But her temperature fell,and in two days
she was herself
again.
There was a morning when her greetings
were responded
to with such gravity that she knew something serious had
occurred. During the night two of the young wives of
a chief had broken the strictest law in Efik, had left the
women's yard and entered
boy was sleeping,
one where a

and as nothing can be hidden in a slave community their

husband knew at once. The culpritswere called out,
and with them two who
other girls, were aware of the
escapade,but did not tell. The chief,and the men of posi-
tion
in his compound and district,sat in judgment upon
them, and decided that each must receive one hundred
stripes.
Mary sought out Okon and talked the matter over.
" "
Ma," he said, it be proper big palaver,but if you say we

must not flogwe must listen to you as our mother and our

guest. But they will say that God's word be no good if

it destroy the power of the law punish evildoers."
to
He agreed, however, to delay the punishment, and to
42 MARY SLESSOR

bring the judges and the people together in a palaver at

mid-day. When all were assembled she addressed the
girls:
"
You have brought much shame on us by your folly
and by abusing your master's confidence while the yard is
in our possession. Though God's word teaches men to
be merciful, it does not countenance or pass over sin, and
I cannot shelter you from
punishment. have know-
ingly You
and brought it on yourselves. Ask God
deliberately
to keep you in the future so that your conduct may not
be a reproach to yourselvesand the word of God which

you know."
Many were the grunts of satisfaction from the people,
and the faces of the big men cleared as they heard their
verdict being endorsed, while darker and more defiant

grew the looks of the girls.

With a swift movement she turned to the gathering:
"
Ay, but you are reallyto blame. It is your system
of polygamy which is a disgraceto you and a cruel injustice
to these helplesswomen. Girls like these, sixteen years
old, are not beyond the age of fun and frolic. To confine
them you do is a shame
as and a blot on your manhood :

obedience such as you command is not worth the having."

Frowns greeted this denunciation, and the old men

muttered :

"
When the punishment is severe, neither slave nor wife
dare disobey : the old fashions are better than the new."
Much heated discussion followed, but at last she ceeded
suc-

in gettingthe punishment reduced to the infliction

of ten stripesand nothing more. She had gone as far as

she dared. Under ordinary circumstances salt would

have been rubbed into the wounds, and mutilation or

dismemberment would have followed. She thanked the

men, enjoinedthe wives and slaves to show their gratitude

by a willingand true service, and went to prepare tions
allevia-
for the victims.
Throughshouting and laughing of the operators and
the
onlookers she heard piercingscreams, as strong arms plied
the alligator hide, and one by one the girlscame running
into her, bleedingand quiveringin the agony of pain. By
44 MARY SLESSOR

111 as
she was, her first care was to make a fire to obtain

hot tea for the children and to tuck them away comfortably
for the night. Then she tottered to her bed, to rise some

days later, a wreck of her former self,but smiling and

cheerful as usual. . . .

Towards the close of the year 1882 a tornado swept

over Old Town
damaged the house to such an
and extent

that she had to make a hasty escape and take refuge in a

factory. The Presbytery brought her to Duke Town, but
she became so ill as a result of her strenuous life and her
experiencein the storm, that she was ordered home, and
left in April 1883. She was so frail that she was carried
on board, and it was considered doubtful whether she
would outlive the voyage. With her was girl-twinshe
a

had rescued. She had saved both, a boy and girl,but

whilst she was absent from the house for a little,the
relatives came, and, by false pretences, obtained possession
of the boy, and killed him. She was determined that the
girlshould live and grow up to confute their fears,and she
would not incur the risk of leavingher behind.

VII. With Back to the Wall

Many strange experiencescame to Mary Slessor in her

life,but it is doubtful whether any adventure equalled
that which she was now to go through in the quiet places
of home, or whether periodof her career
any was so crowded
with emotion and called for higher courage and resource.

She remained for the greater part of the time with her
mother and sisters at Downfield, seeing few people, and
nursing the little black twin, who was baptized in Wishart
Sunday School, and called Janie, after her sister.
One of her earliest visits was to her friends the Doigs
in the south side of Edinburgh, and here again her life
touched and influenced another life. There was in tion
connec-

with Bristo Street Church a girlnamed Jessie F. Hogg,

who worked in the mission at Cowan's Close where the
" "
two Marys had formerlytaught. She had heard much
about Mary Slessor,and when, one Sunday, a lady friend
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 45

remarked that she was going to visit the missionary,Miss

"
Hogg declared she would
give much to meet her. Then
"
come with me," said the lady. I will leave you at the
foot of the stair,and if you are to come up I will call you."
She was invited up, and was not five minutes in Mary's
"
presence before the latter said, And what are you
doing at home ? What is
hinderingyou from going to the
" "
mission field ? There is nothing to hinder me," was
"
the reply. Then come : there is a good work waiting
for you to do." Miss Hogg appliedto the Foreign Mission
Committee and was accepted, received some medical
training,and was in Calabar before Mary herself returned.
The anticipationsof the latter were fulfilled. For thirteen

years, with quiet heroism. Miss Hogg did a great work

" "
as one of the Mothers of the Mission : her name was

a household
word, both in Calabar and at home : and when,
through ill-health,she retired, she left a memory that is
still cherished by the natives. There were few of the
missionaries then who loved and understood Mary better,
and whom Mary loved so well.
Mary's ideas of the qualitiesneeded for work among the
ignorant and degraded may be gathered from a letter
which she wrote at this time to a friend in Dundee :

Nothing, I believe, will ever touch or raise fallen ones

except S5niipathy. They shrink from self-righteousnesswhich

would stoop to them, and they hate patrcMiage and pity. Of
sympathy and patience they stand in need. They also need
refinement, for the humble classes respect it, and they are

sharper at detectingthe want of it than many of those above

them in the social scale. I am not a believer in the craze for
"
ticket - of - leave men" and "converted prize-fighters"to
preach to the poor and the outcast. I think the more of real
refinement and beauty and education that enter into all
Christian work, the more real success and wide-reaching
lasting,
results of a Christian and elevating nature will follow. garity
Vul-
and
ignorance can never in themselves lay hold on the
uneducated classes,or on any class, though God often shows
us how He can dispense with man's help altogether. Then
there is need for knowledge in such a work, knowledge of the
Bible as a whole, not merely of the specialpassages which are
46 MARY SLESSOR

adapted evangelisticservices. They

for know all the set

phrases belonging to specialservices and open-airmeetings.

They want teaching, and they will respect nothing else. I am

pained often at home that there is so little of depth, and of

God's word, in the speechesand addresses I hear. It seems as

if theythought anything will do for children, and that any kind

of talk about coming to Christ,and believingon Christ, will
feed and nourish immortal souls.

In January 1884 she informed the Foreign Mission

Committee that her health was re-established and that she
was ready to return, and in accordance with her own

desire it was arranged to make the house habitable at Old

Town and send her back there. Meanwhile she had begun
to address meetings in connection with the missionary
organisationsof congregations,and at these her simple
but vivid style,the human interest of her story, and the
living illustration she presented in the shape of Janie,
made so great an impression that the ladies of Glasgow
besought the Committee to retain her for a time in order
that she might go through the country and give her account
of the work to quiet gatheringsof w^omen, young and old.
The suggestionwas acted upon, and for some months she
was engaged in itinerating.It was not in the line of her
inclination. She was very shy, and had a humbling
consciousness of her defects, and to appear in public was
an ordeal. It was often a sheer impossibility for her to

open her lipswhen men were present, and she would make
it a condition that none should be in her audience. When
some distinguishedminister or Church leader had been
requisitionedto preside,a situation was created as barrassing
em-

to him as to her. She did not, however, seem

to mind disturbingfactor was out of sight,and the

if the
difficulty was usually overcome by placing the chairman
somewhere behind. These meetings taxed her strength

more than the work in Africa, and she began to long for
release. In December the Committee gave her permission
to return, but, as conditions in the field had changed,
decided to send her' in the meantime to Creek Town to

assist Miss Johnstone, who was not ingood health.

Within a few weeks a situation developed which altered
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 47

her plans. The severe weather had told on the delicate

constitution of her youngest sister Janie, a quiet,timid
girl,but bright and and
intelligent, somewhat akin to

herself in mind and manner ; and it was made clear that

only a change to a milder climate would save her life.
Mary was torn with apprehension. She had a heart that
was bigger than her body, and she loved her o\\ti people
with passionateintensity,and was ready for any further
sacrifice for their sake. Never bold on her own behalf,
she would dare anything for others. Thinking out the
problem how best she could reconcile her affection for her
sister and her duty to the Mission, she fell upon a plan
which she would have shrunk from proposinghad she alone
been concerned. If she could take the invalid out with
her to Creek Town, and if they were byallowed to dwell
themselves, the life of her sister would not only be prolonged,
but she herself would be able to continue, by livingnative
fashion, to pay her share of the expenses at home. To the
Committee, accordingly,she wrote early in 1885, stating
that she would not feel free to go to Creek Town unless
she were permitted to take her sister with her, and unless
she were allowed, instead of boarding with any of the
Mission agents, to build a small mud house for their
accommodation.
The Committee received the proposal with a certain
mild astonishment. It had many a problem to solve in
its administration of the affairs of the Missions, but its
difficulties were always increased when it came into contact
with that incalculable element, human nature. It could
not be supposed to know all the personal and private
circumstances that influenced the attitude of the mission-
aries
: it could only judge from the surface facts placed
before it ; and as a rule it decided wisely,and was never

lackingin the spiritof kindness and generosity. But even

if the members had known of that fluttering heart in
Dundee, they could not, in the best interests of the Mission,
have acquiescedin her scheme, and it was probably well,
also,for Mary that it was gentlybut firmlyput aside.
For her the way out was found in the recommendation
of an Exeter lady whom she had met, who advised her to
48 MARY SLESSOR

take her sister to Devonshire. She seized on the idea,

and forthwith wrote a letter stating that she felt it to be
her duty to remove the invalid to the South England, of
where she hoped her health would be restored, and asking
whether in the event of her own way being cleared she
would be allowed to return to Calabar, or whether she
was to consider herself finally separated from the Mission.
Nothing could have been more sympathetic than the
reply of the Board. It regretted her family afflictions,
said it would be glad to have the offer of her services again
in the future, and in consideration of her work continued
her home allowance tillthe end of April.
Meanwhile Mary had, in her swift fashion, carried off
her sister,and her answer came from Devonshire. She
thanked the Committee for its consideration, but, with
the independence which always characterised her, accepted
the allowance only up to the end of February. Thus
voluntarily,and from a sense of duty, but with a sore heart,
she cut herself adrift,for the time being,from the service
of the Church.
As the climate of Devonshire seemef to '^lither sister,
they went to Topshara,where a house wc.s secured with the
help of a Mr. Ellis,a deacon in the Congregat-onalChurch,
to whom she was introduced. It was soon tVirnished,
and
then her mother was brought down, t'ld f^r all her toil
and self-sacrifice she was rewarded b
'
se 'fnga steady
improvement in the condition of the inv Jid \,ad the quiet
happiness of both. The place proved tdo reifying for her

own health, and she was never free from headaches, but
she was not one to allow indispositionto interfere with

her service for the Master. In the CongregationalChurch

her winning ways made many friends, and she was soon

taking an active part in the meetings and addressinglarge

gatheringson her work in Calabar.
And then another event occurred which further compli-
cated
the situation. Her sister Susan in Scotland went to

pay a visit to Mrs. M'Crindle, and suddenly on entering died

her house. Mary had now the full responsibilityfor the

home and its upkeep : she was earning nothing, and she
had her mother and sister and the African baby to provide
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 49

and care for. Happily the invalid continued to improve,

and as it was imperativefor Mary to be back at work, it
was decided that she should apply for reinstatement. She
told her mother of her desire to go up-country, and asked
whether she would allow her to do so if the opportunity
"
came. You are my child,given to me by God," was the
"
reply, and I have given you back to Him. When He
needs you and where He sends you, there I would have
ypu be." Mary never forgot these brave words, which
were a comfort to her throughout her life. On applying
to the Foreign Mission Committee statingthat she was

willing,if it saw fit,to go back at once, she was gladly

reinstated,and Calabar was consulted regardingher tion.
loca-
As there was some talk of a forward movement it
was resolved to leave the matter over, and send her in
the meantime to Creek Town.
Her friends in Topsham assured her that they would
look well after her mother and sister,but all the arrange-
ments
she had made for the smooth working of the house-
hold
collapseda month before she was booked to sail.

Her mother si dde.ay failed and took to her bed. Mary

grew desperate witii strain and anxiety, and like a wild
creature at bay turned this way and that for an avenue of

escape. In h^r agony of mind she went to Him who had

never failed her yet, and He gave her guidance. Next day
a letter was o i its ay to Dundee to an old factoryfriend,
asking if she would charge of the household.
come and take
A strange n iiglii g of pathos and dignity,a passionate
love and solicitude,marked the appeal,which, happily,
evoked a ready assent. Not less moving in its way was the
practical letter she sent to her friend,with long and minute
directions as to travelling ; there was not a detail forgotten,

the mention of v/hich might contribute to her ease and

comfort. Her friend arrived
days before her de-
parture.
a few
On Guy Fawkes' Day Mary wished to take her
to a church meeting to introduce her to some acquaintances,
but was too afraid to venture out among the roughs she "

who was soon to face alone some of the most savage crowds
in Africa !
On the sea the past months receded and became like
E
50 MARY SLESSOR

an uneasy dream. She was content simply to lie in her

chair on deck and rest her tired mind and body. On
arrivingit was pleasantto receive a warm welcome from
all the Mission friends,and stillmore pleasantto find that
there had been talk of her going to Ikunetu to attempt
to obtain a footingamong the wild people of Okoyong.

VIII. Bereft

Despite happiness in being back at the work

her she
loved, there was an underlying current of anxiety in her
life. Her thoughts dwelt on the invalids at home ; she
wearied for letters ; she trembled before the arrival of the
mails ; even her dreams influenced her. But she would
not allow herself to grow morbid. Every morning she
went to the houses in the Mission before breakfast to have
a chat and cheer up the inmates. On New Year's Eve,
fearingthe adoption of European customs by the natives,
and wishing to forestall them, she invited all the young
men who were Christians to a prayer-meetingfrom eleven
o'clock till midnight. They then went up and serenaded
Mr. and Mrs. Luke, two new missionaries,whose subsequent
pioneer work up-riverwas a record of toil and heroism.
Mr. Luke entered into the spiritof the innovation. He

gave out the 2nd Paraphrase and read the 90th Psalm.
Prayer was uttered, and the company separated,singingthe
evening hymn in Efik.
Next morning, the first of the year 1886, she arose early
and wrote a letter,overflowingwith love and tenderness
and cheer, to her mother and sister. It was finished on the
third,on the arrival of the home mail. She was at tea with
Mrs. Luke before going to a meeting in the church, when
"
the letters came. I was hardly able to wait for mine,"
"
she wrote ; and then I rushed to my room and behaved
like sillybody, as if it had
a been bad news. It brought
you all so clearlybefore me. At church I sat beside the

King and cried quietly into my wrap all the evening."

"
The last words in her letter were, Tell me all your troubles,
and be sure you take care of yourselves." She never
received a reply. Mrs. Slessor had died suddenly and
52 MARY SLESSOR

IX. The Sorrows of Creek Town

Again three Marys were in close association Miss Mary "

Edgerley, Miss Mary Johnstone, and Miss Mary Slessor.

During the year, however, the two former proceeded home
on furlough,and the last was left in entire charge of the
women's side of the work at Creek Town. It was the final
stage of her trainingfor the larger responsibilities
that
awaited her. There was at first little in the situation to

beguileher spirits.It was a bad season of rain and want,

and she was seldom out of the abodes of sickness and death.
So great was the destitution that she lived on rice and
sauce, in order to feed the hungry. And never had she
suffered so much from fever as she did now in Creek Town.
Her dutiesDay School, Sunday School, Bible
lay in the
Class, and Infant Class, but, as usual, the more personal
aspect of the work engaged her chief energies. The
trainingof her household, which, as she was occupying a
part of Mr. Goldie's house and had less accommodation,
was a small one then, took much of her time thought and
and wit. First in her affections came Janie, now a big
and strong girlof four years, and as wild as a boy, who
kept her in constant hot-water. She was a link with the
home that had been, and Mary regarded her as specially
her own : she shared her bed and her meals, and even her
thoughts, for she would talk to her about those who had

gone. The
child's memory of Britain soon faded, but she
"
never ceased to pray for all in Scotland who remember
us." She was made more of than was good for her, but
was always brought to her level outside of Creek Town.
Mary had heard that both her parents were dead, but one

day the father appeared at the Mission House. She asked

him to come and look at his child. He shrugged his
"
shoulders, and said, Let me look from a distance."

Mary seized him and drew him towards the child, who
was trembling with terror. In response to a command in
Efik the girlthrew her arms around his neck, and his face
relaxed and became almost beautiful. When he looked
into her eyes, and she hid her head on his breast, the

victorywas complete. He set her upon his knee and would

 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 53

scarcelygive her
up. Although he lived a long way off
he returned every other day with his new wife and a gift
of food.
Next came a girlof six years, whose father was a tian.
Chris-
She also was full of tricks, and, Janie, was
with
enough for one house. But there was also Okin, a boy of
about eight,whose mother was a slave with no voice in his

upbringing,but whose mistress wished him to be trained

up for God, a mischievous fellow whose new clothes lasted

usually about a week, but willingand affectionate and,
on the whole, good ; and another boy of ten called Ekim,
a son of the King of Old Town, whose mother gave him to

Mary when she first went out. On her departure for

Scotland he had gone back to his heathen home and its

fashions, but returned to her when she settled in Creek

Town. He was truthful, warm-hearted, and clever, and
as a free boy and
responsible positionthe moulding
heir to a

of his character gave her much thought and care. The

last was Inyang, a girlof thirteen, but bigger than Mary
herself,possessingno brains, but for faithfulness,truthful-
ness,
honesty,and industrywithout a peer. She hated to
dress or to leave the kitchen, but she washed, baked, and
did the housework without assistance, and was kind to

the children.
These constituted her inner circle,but she was always
taking in and caring for derelict children. At this time
there were severalyard. Two were in the house
twins or

five months old, whom she had found lying on the ground
discarded and forlorn,and who had developed into beautiful
children. Their father was a drunken parasite,with a
number of wives, whom he battered and beat in turn.
Another castaway came to her in a wretched state. The
father had stolen a dog, and the mother had helped him to

eat it. The owner threw down a native charm at their

door, and the woman sickened and died, and as all believed
that the medicine had killed her no one would touch the
child. The woman's mistress was a daughter of old
King
Eyo, and a friend of Mary, and she sent the infant, dirty
and starved, to the Mission House with her compliments.
Mary washed and fed it and nursed it back to decent life,
54 MARY SLESSOR

but on sending to the mistress a request that one of the

"
slave women might care for it, she got the reply, Let it
die." She let it live.
In the mornings, while busy with her household, there
were perpetual interruptions.Sick folk came to have
their ailments diagnosed and prescribedfor. Some of the
diseases she attended to were of the most loathsome type,
but that made no difference in her compassionate care.

Hungry people came to her to be fed, those in trouble

visited her to obtain advice and help,disputeswere referred
to her to be settled. When all these cases had been dealt
with she would go her round of the yards, the inmates of
which had come to look upon her as a mother. She would
sit down and chat with them and discuss their homes,
children,marketing, illness,or whatever subjectinterested
them, sometimes scoldingthem, but always leadingthem
"
to the only things that mattered. If I told you what
I have seen and known of human sorrow during the past
months you would weep till your heart ached," she wrote
to a friend. Some of her experiencesshe could not tell ;
they revealed such depths of depravity and horror that
the actions of the wild beasts of the bush were tame in

comparison.
At Creek Town, as elsewhere, it was not easy to late
tabu-
what had been achieved, as the fact that women could
not make open confession without incurringthe gravest
penaltieskept the missionaries ignorant of the effect of
their work. But Mary saw behind the veil ; she knew
quiet women whose souls looked out of their eyes, and who

were more in touch with the unseen than they dared tell ;
women who prayed and communed with God even while
condemned to heathen practices. There was one blind
woman whom she placed far before herself in the Christian
race :

She is so poor that she has not one farthingin the world but
what she gets from us not a creature "
to do a thing for her,
her house all open to rain and sun, and into which the cows

rush at times but blind Mary

" is our one living,bright, clear
light. Her voice is ever set to music, a miracle to the people
here, who only know how to groan and grumble at the best.
 WORK AND ADVENTURE AT THE BASE 55

She is ever praisingthe Lord for some wonderful manifestation

of mercy and love, and her testimony to her Saviour is not a

shabby one. The other day I heard the King say that she was
the only visible witness among the Church members in the
Far advanced in
town, but he added, "She is proper one."
a

spiritual
knowledge and experience,she knows the deep things
of God. That old hut is like a heaven here to more than me.

"
"
Pray for us here was the appeal in all her letters to
"
Scotland Pray in
at this time. a business-like fashion,
statedly."
earnestly,definitely,
For herself she found a friend in King Eyo, to whom
she could go at any time and relate her troubles and receive
sympathy and support. She, in turn, was often in his
State room advising him regarding the private and plicated
com-

affairs of his little kingdom and his relations with

the British Government. He honoured her in various

ways, but to her the dumb affection of a slave woman

whom she had saved was more than all the favours which
others, high in the social scale,sought to show her.

X. The Fulness of the Time

The question of her future location received much

consideration. The needs of the stations on the Cross
River, the highway into the interior,were urgent, and it

was thought by some that the interests of the Mission

called for her presence there, but her mind could not be
turned from the direction in which she' believed she could
do the best work.
essentially a pioneer. Her
She was

thoughts were for ever going forward, looking past the

limitations and the hopes of others, into the fields beyond
teeming with populationsas yet unreached. She was of
the order of spiritsto which Dr. Livingstone belonged.
"
Like him she said, I am ready to go anywhere, provided
it be forward." From the districts inland came reports of
atrocityand wrong : accusations of witchcraft, the ordeal
of the poison bean, shootingof slaves, and the destruc-
the tion
of infants ; and she felt the impellingcall to go and
attack these evils. It was not that she did not recognise the
value of base-work, of order and organisation and routine.
56 MARY SLESSOR

The fact that she spent twelve

years
in patient and loyal

service at Duke Town, Old Town, and Creek Town strates

demon-

how important she considered these to be. But

they had been of training meant to perfect her powers

years

before she went forward on her own path to realise the

vision given her from above, and they were now

ended.

For her the fulness of the time had and with it the
come,

opened The local Mission Committee decided,

way up.

in October 1886, to send her into the district of Okoyong,

and informed the authorities in Scotland of the fact,

carefully adding that this was in line with her own

desire.

A change had just been made in the relation of the

women on
the staff of the Mission to the administration

at home. The Zenana Scheme of the Church had been

constituted as a
distinct department of the Foreign Mission

operations in 1881, and having appealed to the women

of the congregations, had proved a success.

It was now

thought expedient that the Calabar lady agents should

be brought into the scheme, and accordingly, in May 1886,

they became responsible to the Zenana Committee, and

through them to the Foreign Mission Board. The Zenana

Committee recommended that the arrangement regarding

Mary should be carried out, and the Foreign Mission Board

agreed.
 THIRD PHASE

1888-1902. Age 40-54.

THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG

" / am going to a new tribe up-country, a fierce, cruel

people, and one tells me that they will kill 7ne. But I
every
dont fear hurt only to combat their savage customs will
any "

require courage and firmness on my part.''

I. A Tribe of Terrorists

Some time in the dim past a raiding force had swept down

from the mountains to the east of Calabar, entered the

triangle of dense forest-land formed by the junction of the

Cross and Calabar Rivers, fought and defeated the Ibibios

who dwelt there, and taken possession of the territory.

They were of the tribe of Okoyong believed to be an

outpost, probably the most westerly outpost, of the Bantu

race of Central and South Africa, who had thrust themselves

forward like a wedge into negro-land. Physically they

were of a higher type than the people of Calabar. They
were taller and more muscular, their nose was higher, the

mouth and chin were firmer, their eye was more fearless

and piercing, and their general bearing contrasted strongly

with that of the supine negro of the coast.

To their superior bodily development they added the

worst qualities of heathenism : there was not a phase of

African devilry in which they did not indulge. They were

openly addicted to witchcraft and the sacrifice of animals.

They were utterly lawless and contemptuous of authority.

Among themselves slave-stealing, plunder of property,
67
58 MARY SLESSOR

theft of every kind, went on indiscriminately.To survive

in the struggleof life a man requiredto possess wives and
children and slaves "
in the abundance of these lay his

power. But if, through incompetence or sickness or

misfortune, he failed he was regarded as the lawful prey

of the chief nearest him. To weaken the House of a

neighbour was as clear a duty as to strengthenone's own.

Oppression and outrage were of common occurrence. So

suspicious were they even of each other that the chiefs
and their retainers lived in isolated clearingswith armed
scouts constantlyon the watch on all the pathways, and
they ate and worked with their weapons ready to their
hands. Even Egbo law with all its power was often
resisted by the slaves and women regardlessof the quences.
conse-

No free Egbo man would submit to be dictated

to by the Egbo drum sent by another. A fine might be
imposed, but he would sit unsubdued and sullen,and then
obtain his revenge by seizingor murdering some passing
victim. But all combined in a common enmity against
other tribes, and the
region was enclosed with a fence of
terrorism as impenetrable as a ring of steel. The Calabar
people were hated because of the favoured positionthey
enjoyed on the coast, and their wealth and power ; and
a state of chronic war existed sought with them. Each
to outrival the other in the number
captured or of heads
the number of slaves stolen or harboured, and naturally
there was no end to the fighting. All efforts to bring them
togetherin the interests of trade had been in vain. Even
British authority was defied, and messages from the
Consul were ignored or treated with contempt.
They had their own idea of justice and judicial methods,
and trials by ordeal formed the test of innocence or guilt,
the two commonest being by burning oil and poison.
In the one case a pot was filled with palm oil which was

brought to the boil. The stuff was poured over the hands
of the prisoner,and if the skin became blistered he was

adjudged to be guilty and punished. In the other case

the esere bean the product of a vine
" was pounded and "

mixed with water and drunk : ifthe body ejected the poison
it was a sign of innocence. This method was the surest
60 MARY SLESSOR

averaged fewer than 150 within a radius of twenty miles,

while the same number must have died from ordeals and
decapitationon charges of causingsickness. To these had
to be added the number killed in the constant warfare.
Infanticide was also responsiblefor much destruction
of life. Twin murder was practisedwith an even fiercer
zeal than it had been in Calabar. Child life in general
was of littlevalue.
It was of
significant the state of the district that gin,
guns, and chains were practicallythe only articles of
commerce that entered it. Gin or rum was in every home.
It was given to every babe : all work was paid for in it :

every fine and debt could be redeemed with it : every

visitor had to be treated to it : every one drank it, and
many drank it all the time. Quarrels were the outcome

of it. Then the guns came into play. After that the
chains and padlocks.
Women were often the worst where drink was concerned.
There were certain bands formed of those born in the
same year who were allowed freer action than others : they
could handle gun and sword, and were used for patrol
and fightingpurposes, and were so powerful that they
compelled concessions from Egbo. They exacted fines for
breach of their rules, and feasted and drank and danced
for days and nights at a time at the expense of the offenders.
Such lawlessness and degradation at the very doors
had long caused the Calabar Presbytery much thought.
Efforts had been made to enter the district both from the
Cross and the Calabar Rivers. In one of his tours of
explorationMr. Edgerley was seized, with the object of
being held for a ransom of rum, and it was only with
difficultythat he escaped. Others were received less

violently,though every member of the tribe was going

about with guns on full cock. Asked why, they said,
"
Inside or outside, speaking,eating,or sleeping, we must
have them ready for use. We trust no man." When they
learned of the new laws in Calabar their amazement was
" "
unbounded. Killing for witchcraft prohibited! they
"
exclaimed. What steps have been taken to prevent
" "
witchcraft from ?
killing Widows not compelled to sit
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 61

"
for more than a month in seclusion and filth! "
outrageous !
"
Twins and their mothers taken to Duke Town " horrible !
"
Has no calamity happened ?
Very little result was achieved from these tours of
observation. A Calabar teacher was ultimatelyinduced
to settle amongst them, but after a shooting affray was
compelled fly for his life. Missionaries, however, are
to

never daunted by difficulties,nor do they acquiesce in

defeat. Ever, like their Master, they stand at the door
and knock. Once again the challengewas taken up, and
this time by a woman. So difficult was the position,that
the negotiationsfor Miss Slessor's settlement lasted a year.
Three times partiesfrom the Mission went up, she panying
accom-

them, only to find the people "

every man, woman,

and child " armed and sullen, and disinclined to promise
"
anything. I had often
lump in my throat," she wrote,
a
"
and my courage repeatedlythreatened to take wings and
"
flyaway "

though nobody guessed it !

At last,in June 1888, in spite of her fears,she resolved
to go up and make final arrangements for her sojourn.

II. In the Royal Canoe

She went up the river in state. Ever ready to do her

a kindness. King Eyo had provided her with the Royal
canoe, a hollow tree-trunk twenty feet long, and she lay
in comfort under the cool cover of a framework of palm
leaves, freshlylopped from the tree, and shut off from
the crew by a gaudy curtain. Beneath was piece of
a

Brussels carpet, and about her were arranged no

fewer than sixpillows,for the well-to-do natives of
Calabar made largerand more skilful use of these than the
Europeans.
The scene was one of quiet beauty ; there was a clear
sky and a windless air ; the banks of the river "
high and
dense masses of vegetation glowed "
with colour ; the
broad sweep of water was like a sheet of molten silver and
shimmered and eddied
play of the gleaming paddles. to the
As they moved easilyand swiftlyalong, the paddlemen,
dressed in loin-cloth and singlet,
improvised blithe song in
62 MARY SLESSOR

her praise. Strange and primitiveas were the conditions,

she felt she would not have exchanged them for all the
luxuries of civilisation.
She needed sustenance, for there was tryingwork before
her, and this a paraffinstove, a pot of tea, a tin of stewed
steak, and a loaf of gave her. Wise
home-made bread
mental preparationalso she needed, for there were elements
of uncertainty and danger in the situation. The Okoyong
might be on the war-path : her paddlerswere their sworn
enemies : a tactless word or act might ruin the expedition.
As the canoe glided along the river she communed with
"
God, and in the end left the issue with Him. Man," she
"
thought, can nothing with such a people."
do
Arriving at the landing beach she made her way by a
forest track to a villageof mud huts called Ekenge, four
miles inland. Her reception was a noisy one ; men, women,
"
and children thronged about her, and called her Mother,"
and seemed pleased at her courage at coming alone. The
chief,Edem, one of the aristocrats of Okoyong, was sober,
but his neighbour at Ifako, two miles farther on, whom

she wished to meet, was unfit for human company, and

she was proceed. She
not allowed to stayed the night at
Ekenge, where she gathered the King's boys about her to
hold family worship. The crowd of semi-naked people
standing curiouslywatching the proceedings exclaimed in
"
wonder as they heard the words repeatedin unison : God
so loved the world," and so on. At ten o'clock the women

were stillholding her fast in talk. One, the chief's sister,

" "
called Ma Eme, attracted her. I think," she said, she
will be my friend, and be an attentive hearer of the
Gospel." Wearied at last with the strain she was forced
to retire into the hut set apart for her.
A shot next morning startled the village. Two women

on going outside had been fired at from the bush. In a

moment every man had his gun and sword and was ing
search-
for the assailant. Mary went with one of the parties,
but to find any one in such labyrinthwas
a impossible,
and the task was given up. Going to Ifako she interviewed
the chiefs. The charm of her personality, her frankness,
her fearlessness,won them over, and they promised her
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 63

ground for a schoolhouse. Would, she asked, the same

privilegebe extended to it as to the Mission buildingsin

Calabar ? Would it be a place of refuge for criminals,
those charged with witchcraft, or those liable to be killed
for the dead, until their case could be taken into considera-
tion
? They assented. And the house she would build
for herself " would it also be a harbour of
refuge? Again
they assented. She thanked them and promptly went and
chose two sites,one at Ekenge and one at Ifako, about
twenty to thirtyminutes' walk apart, accordingto the state
of the track, in order that the benefits of the concession
might operate over as wide
possible. She an area as

foresaw, however, that as they were an agricultural and

sliifting people,and spread over a largeextent of territory,
she would require to be constantlytravelling, and to sleep
as often in her hammock as in her bed.
Rejoicing over the improved prospects, she set out on
the return journey to Creek Town. It was the rainy
season, and ere long the canoe ran into a deluge and she

was soaked. Then the tide was so strong that they had
to lie in a cove for two hours. The carcase of a huge snake
drifted past, followed by a human body. She was on

the outlook for alligators, but only saw crowds of crabs

on the rotten tree -stumps and black mud fightingas
fiercely as the Okoyong people. She was too watchful to
"
sleep,but she heard the boys say softly, Don't shake the
"
canoe and wake Ma," or Speak lower and let Ma sleep."
When they were once more out on the river she slumbered,
and awoke to find the lights of Creek Town shiningthrough
the darkness.
When her friends saw her packing her belongingsthey
looked at her in wonder and pity. They said she was
going on a forlornhope, and that no power on earth could
subdue the Okoyong save a gunboat. But Consul and a

she smiled and went on with her preparations. King Eyo

again offered his canoe and paddlers and a number of
bearers for her baggage. By Friday evening, August 3,
1888, all was ready, and she lay down to rest but not to
sleep. On the morrow she would enter on the great adven-
ture
of her life,
and the strangeness of it,the seriousness of
64 MARY SLESSOR

it might hold
it,the possibilities for her, kept her awake
and thoughtfulthroughout the night.

III. The Adventure of taking Possession

The dawn came to Creek Town grey and wet. The rain
fell in torrents, and the negroes, moving about with the

packages, grumbled and quarrelled. Wearied and un-

refreshed after her sleeplessnight,Mary was not in the best

of spirits,
and she was glad to see King Eyo, who had come
to supervisethe loading and packing of the canoe : his
kind eyes, cheery smile, and sympathetic words did her
good, and her courage revived. Few of the natives wished
her God-speed. One young man said with a sob in his
"
voice, I will constantlypray for you, but you are courting
death." Not great faith for a Christian perhaps, but her
own faith at the moment was not so strong that she could
afford to cast a stone at him. As the hours wore on, the
air of depressionbecame general,and when the party was

about to start Mr. Goldie suddenly decided to send one of

the Mission staff toaccompany journey. Mr.
her on the

Bishop, the printer,who was standing by, volunteered,

and there and then stepped into the canoe. Mary and
her retinue of five children stowed themselves into a corner,

the paddlerspushed off,and the canoe swept up the river

and disappeared in the rain.
The lightwas fading ere they reached the landingbeach
for Ekenge, and there was yet the journey of four miles
through the dripping forest to be overtaken. It was
decided that she should go on ahead with the children
in order to get them food and put them to sleep,and that
Mr. Bishop and one or two men should follow with dry
clothes, cooking utensils,and the door and window needed
for the hut, whilst the carriers would come on later with
the loads. As Mary faced the forest, now dark and
mysterious,and filled with the noises of night,a feelingof
and
helplessness fear came over her. What unseen perils
might she not meet ? What would she find at the end ?
How would she be received on this occasion ? Would the
natives be fightingor drinking or dancing ? Her heart
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 65

played the coward ; she felt a desire to turn and flee. But
she remembered that never m her life had God failed her,
not once had there been cause to doubt the realityof His

guidance and care. Still the shrinkingwas there ; she

could not even move her lips in prayer ; she could only
" "
look up and utter inwardlyone appealingword, Father !
Surely no stranger processionhad footed it through
the African forest. First came a boy, about eleven years
of age, tired and afraid, a box containing tea, sugar, and
bread upon his head, his garments, soaked with the rain,
clingingto his body, his feet slippingin the black mud.
Behind him was another boy, eight years old, in tears,
bearing a kettle and pots. With these a little fellow of
three, weeping loudly,tried hard to keep up, and close at
his heels trotted a maiden of five,also shaken with sobs.
Their white mother formed the rear. On one arm was

slung a bundle, and astride her shoulders baby girl,

sat a

no lightburden, so that she had to pullherself along with

the aid of branches and twigs. She was singingnonsense-
snatches to lightenthe way for the little ones, but the
tears were perilouslynear her own eyes. Had ever such a

company marched out against the entrenched forces of

evil ? SurelyGod had made a mistake in goingto Okoyong
in such a guise ? And yet He often chooses the weakest
things of this world to confound and defeat the mighty.
The village was reached at last, but instead of the
noise and confusion that form a bush welcome there was

absolute stillness. Mary called out and two slaves peared.

ap-
They stated that the chief's mother at Ifako
had died that morning, and all the people had gone to the
carnival. One obtained fire and a little water, while the
other made off to carry the news that the white woman

had arrived. She undressed the children and hushed them

to sleep,and sat in her wet garments and waited. When
Mr. Bishop appeared it was to say that the men were

exhausted and refused to bring up anything that night.

A woman of weaker fibre and feebler faith would have been
in despair: Mary acted with her usual decision. The glow
of the fire was cheerful and singingof
the the kettle ing,
tempt-
but the morrow was Sunday, there was no food, the
F
66 MARY SLESSOR

children were naked, and she herself was wet to the skin.
She gave one of the lads who had arrived with Mr. Bishop a

lantern,and despatched him to the beach with a peremptory-

message that the men must come at once and bring what
they could. But knowing their character she asked Mr.

Bishop to collect some of the slaves who had been left to

watch the
farms, and send them after her g^s carriers,and
then, bootless and hatless,she plunged back into the forest.
She had not gone far before one of the other lads came

running after her to keep her company, a touch of chivalry

which pleased and comforted her. So dense was the
darkness that she often lost sightof her companion's white
clothes,and was constantlystumbling and falling.The
shrilling of the insects, the pulsationof the fire-flies, the
screams of the night-birds and the flappingof their wings,
the cries of wild animals, the rush of dark objects,the
fallingof decayed branches all intensified the weirdness
and mystery of the forest gloom. Even the echo of their
own voices as they called aloud to frightenthe beasts of

prey struck on their ears with peculiarstrangeness.

By and by came an answer to their cries,and a glimmer

of lightshowed in the darkness. It was the lad with the

lantern. As she had surmised, he had failed in his
mission. She moved swiftlyto the river, splashed into
the water, and, reaching the canoe, threw back the cover

under which the men were and

sleeping, routed them out,
dazed and shamefaced. So skilful,however, was she in
managing these dusky giants that in a short time, weary
as they were, they were working good-humouredly at the
boxes. With the assistance of the slaves who came on

the scene they transferred what was needed to Ekenge,

and by midnight she felt that the worst was over.
Sunday did not find her in more cheerful mood. Her
tired limbs refused to move, and wounds she had been
unconscious of in the excitement of the journey made
themselves felt,while her feet were in such a state that
for six weeks afterwards she was unable to wear boots.
Whether it waspersistentrain and the mud and the
the
weariness and the squalid surroundings,or the fact that
the tribe she had come to civilise and evangelise
were given
 68 MARY SLESSOR

defrauded. As she carried it about in her arms, or sat

with it in her lap,she was regarded with a kind of amused
astonishment. But the old grandmother came and blessed
her. At first the child rallied to the new treatment : it

grew human-like Mary thought it looked

: sometimes
bonnie ; but in a few days it drooped and died.
The bodies of children were usually placed anywhere
in the earth near the huts or under the bush by the wayside,
but she dressed the tiny form in white and laid it in
a provisionbox and covered it with flowers. A native
carried the box to a spot which she had reserved in her
ground : here a grave was dug, and she stood beside it
and prayed. The grandmother knelt at her feet,sobbing.
Looking on at a distance, curious and scornful, were the
revellers from Ifako : they had heard of the proceedings,
"
and had come to witness the white woman's witchcraft."
All that they said in effect when they saw the good box
" "
and the white robe was, Why this waste ? And so the
work in Okoyong was consecrated by the death and
Christian burial of a little child.
When the people came crowding back from the devil-

making they sought out a young lad who had detached

himself from the orgiesand remained in the village,
where
he had been very attentive to Mary. They accused him
of deserting their ancient customs. She saw him
standing
in their midst near a pot of oil which was being heated
over a fire,and noticed the chief in front going through
some movements and the lad
holding out his arms, but
was unaware of what was taking place until she saw a

man seize a ladle,plunge it into the boilingoil,and advance

to the boy. In a moment the truth flashed upon her and
she darted forward, but was too late. The stuff was poured
over the lad's hands, and he shuddered in agony. It was
doubtful whether her intervention at that early period
would have good. They were
done any followingthe law
of the country, and if she had managed to prevent the
act they would probably have resorted to the ordeal
thereafter in secret ; and her object was to show them a

better way.
Immediately after this the men of the villageleft on
 Miss Slessor and some of the People of Ekenge.

Ma Eme is staudiiig ou her right and Chief Edem on her left.

Calabar Chief of the Calabar Sword.

Present Day. This belonged to the first King Eyo.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 69

an expedition of revenge against a number of mourners

with whom they had quarrelled. A week of rioting

followed. Then a freeman died in the neighbourhood,

and once more the villagewas deserted. Mary, meanwhile,
moved hither and thither, making friends with the women,

healingthe sick, tending the children, and doing any little

service that came in her way.
The return to normal conditions brought her into
active conflict with the powers of evil. The mistress of a

harem in the vicinitybought a good-lookingyoung woman

whom the master coveted, and she became a slave-wife.

She appeared sullen and unhappy. One afternoon Mary
saw her mudding a house that was being built for a new
free-born wife, and spoke to her kindly in passing. A few
minutes later the girlmade her way to one of her master's

farms, and sat down in the hut of a slave. The latter was
alarmed, knowing well what the consequences would be,
but she refused to move. The man went off to his work,
and she walked into the forest and hanged herself. Next
morning the slave was brought in heavily ironed, and at
a palaver the master and his relatives decreed he must die ;

they had been degraded by being associated in this way

with a common slave.

Mary, who was present, protestedagainstthe injustice
of the sentence the man,
; she argued, had done no wrong ;

it was not his fault that the girlhad gone to his hut.

reply, he has used sorcery and put the

" "
But," was the

thought into the girl'smind, and the witch-doctor has

pronounced him guilty." She persisted. The crowd
became angry and excited ; they surged round her demand-
ing

why a stranger who was there on sufferance should

interfere with the dignity and power of free-born people,
and clamoured for the instant death of the prisoner.
Threats shouted, guns and swords
were were waved, and
the position grew critical,but she stood her ground, quiet
and cool and patient. Her tact, her good humour, that

spiritual
force which seemed to emanate from her in times
of peril,at last prevailed. The noise and confusion
calmed down, and ultimately it was decided to spare
the man's life. She had won her first victory.
70 MARY SLESSOR

But the victim was loaded with chains, placed in the

women's yard, starved, and then flogged,and his body
cruellycut in order to exorcise the powers of sorcery that
were in him. When Mary went to him he was a bruised
and bleedingheap of flesh lying unconscious by the post
to which he was fastened. The women in the yard were
sittingabout indifferent to his plight.

V. Life in the Harem

For many weeks she was an inmate of the harem, a

witness of its degraded intimacies, enduring the pollution

of its moral and physicalatmosphere,with no other support
than hallowed memories and the companionship of her
Bible. Her room was next that of the chief and his head
wife : the quarters of five lesser wives were close by ;
other wives whose work and huts were at the farms shared
the yard with the slaves,visitors,and children, ; two cows

" small native animals produce milk

that do not
occupied "

the apartment on the other side of the partition ; goats,

fowls, cats, rats, cockroaches, and centipedeswere where.

every-
In her own room the three boys slept behind an

erection of boxes and furniture,and the two girls shared her

portion. Every nighther belongingshad to be taken outside
in order to provide sufficient accommodation for them all,
and as it was the wet season they had usuallyto undergo
a process of drying in the sun each day before being
replaced.
There was a ceaseless coming and going in the yard,
a perpetual chattering of raucous voices. The wives
were always bickeringand scolding,the tongue of one of
them going day and night,her chief butt being a naked
and sicklyslave, who was for ever being flogged. There
was no sleepfor Mary when this woman had any grievance,
real or imaginary,on her mind.
Both wives and visitors conceived it their duty to sit
and entertain guest. To an
their white African woman

the idea of loneliness is terrible,and good manners made it

incumbent that as large a gathering as possibleshould
keep a stranger company. All that is implied in the
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 71

word "
home," its sacredness and freedom, its privacy,
lies outside knowledge and experience of polygamists.
the
Kind and neighbourly as the women were, they could not
understand the desire of Mary to be sometimes by herself.
She needed silence and solitude ; her spiritcraved for
communion with her Father, and she longed for a place
in which to pour out her heart aloud to Him. As often
as politenesspermitted, she fled to the ground reserved
for her, but they followed her there, and in desperation
she would take a machete and hack at the bush, praying
the while, so that her voice was lost in the noise she
made.
One woman of mark was Eme Etc " Ma Eme as she was

usually called "

a sister of the master, the same who had

attracted her attention on the previous visit. She was

the widow of a big chief,and had just returned from the

ceremonies in connection with her husband's death, where
she had undergone a terrible ordeal. All his wives lay
under suspicion,and each brought to the place of trial a

white fowl, and from the way in which it fluttered after

its head was cut off the judgment was pronounced. The
strain was such that when the witch-doctor announced
Ma Eme free from guiltshe fainted. Big-boned and big-
featured, she had been fattened to immensity. One day
"
Mary pointed to some marks on her arms and said, White
people have marks like these," showing the vaccination
"
cicatrice on her own arm. Ma Eme simply said, These
are the marks of the teeth of my husband." In tiiat land
a man could do as he liked with his free-born wife " bite
her, beat her, kill her, and nobody cared. When ing
consort-
with the others Ma Eme had the coarse tone common

to all,but as she spoke to Mary or the children her voice

softened and her instincts and manners were refined and
gentle. A mother to every one, she scolded, encouraged,
and advised in turn, and when the chief was drunk or

peevish she was always between him and his wives as

intercessor and peacemaker. She watched over Mary,

brought her food, looked after her comfort, and helped her
in every way, and did it with the delicacyand reserve of a
well-bred lady. Unknown to all she constituted herself
72 MARY SLESSOR

Mary's ally,becoming intelligence

a ment,
depart-
sort of secret
and, at the risk
life,keeping her informed
of her
"
of all the underground doings of the tribe. A noble
"
woman," Mary called her, according to her lightsand
knowledge."
The wives appeared to have less libertythan the
slaves. How carefully guarded their position was by
unwritten law Mary had reason to know. A girl -wife

employed a slave-man to do work for a day. His master

unexpectedly sent for him, and he asked the girlfor the
food which was part of his wage. She at first declined ;
her husband was absent, and it was againstthe law of the
harem, but as he insisted she yielded and handed him a

piece of yam. When this became known she was seized,

bound, and undergo the ordeal of the
condemned to

burning oil. It was an occasion for feastingand merriment,

and as the fun progressedthe cords were graduallytightened
until she screamed piteouslywith the pain. Mary went
and faced the crowd and pled for her release. There was
the usual uproar, but she succeeded in carrying off the
victim, who was kept chained to her verandah until the
dancing and riotingended with the dawn.
Conditions in the harem were not favourable to child
life. The ignorant and superstitious,
mothers were and
there was no disciplineor training. Infants were often
given intoxicatingdrink in order that fun might be made
of their antics and foolish talk. As they grew up they
learned nothing but what was vile. The slave children
became thieves "

they had to steal in order to live. But

if caught they would be chained to a post and starved or

branded with They became

fire-sticks. deceitful they "

had to lie in order to gain favour. In this they simply

followed the instinctive impulses of their nature and of

the lower nature about them. As the insects mimicked

inanimate objects to escape injury or death, so they
simulated the truth to save themselves a beatingor mutila-
tion.
The free-born children did not requireto steal,but
lying was in the air like contagion,and none
a could avoid
its influence. Of the older boys and girlsMary wrote :

"
They are such a pest to every one that it is almost
74 MARY SLESSOR

"
me," she said, I would have lost my reason." When at
home the memory of these would make her wince and
flush with indignation and shame. She had no patience
with people who expounded the theory of the innocence of
man outside the pale of civilisation " she would tell them
to go and live for a month in a West African harem.

VI. Strange Doings

The sound of native voices chanting came through the

brooding stillness of the hot afternoon. With the wild

war-song of Okoyong the forest was familiar, but these

words were strange and wonderful :

Jesus the Son of God came down to earth

He came to save us from our sins.
He was horn poor that He mightfeelfor us.

Wicked men killed Him and hanged Him on a tree.

He rose and went to heaven to prepare a placefor us. . . .

They were sung with a tremendous force, and as each

voice fell into the part which suited it, the result was a

harmony that thrilled the heart of the white woman who

listened.
It Mary Slessor's day school.
was

For a people possessingno written language,no litera-

ture,
no knowledge beyond that handed down from father
to son, the first step towards rightliving,apart from the
preaching of the Gospel, is education. Schools go hand
in hand with churches in missionary effort. Mary began
hers before she had the buildingsin which to teach, one

at Ekenge and the other at Ifako. The latter was held

in the afternoon in order that she might be back in her
yard by sunset. The schoolroom was the verandah of
a house by thewayside ; the seats were pieces of wood
fire-

; the equipment an alphabet card hung on one of

the posts.
At first the entire population turned out and conned
the letters,but as novelty wore off and the men and women

returned to their work the attendance dropped to thirty.

Good progress was made, and ere long the dark-skinned
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 75

pupils were spellingout words of one and two syllables.

The lesson ended with a scripture lesson, a short prayer,
and the singing of the sentences she taught. The last
was so much enjoyed that it was often dark before she
could get away.
The school at Ekenge was held in the outer j'ardof the
chief's house in the evening,when all the wives and slaves

were at leisure. Men and women, old

young, and bond
and free,crowded and hustled into the yard, amidst much
noise and fun. After a lesson on the alphabet and the
multiplicationtable - she conducted worship. It was a

weird scene " the white woman, slim and slight,standing

bareheaded and barefooted beside a little table on which
were a lamp and squatting on the
the Book ; in front,
ground, the mass of half -naked people as dark as the night,
their shiningfaces here and there catchingthe gleam of the
light; the earnest singingthat drowned the voices of the
forest, and the strange hush that fell,as in grave sweet

tones the speakerprayed to what was to them the Unknown

God.
The tale of such doings was carried to every corner of

Okoyong, and invitations began to arrive from chiefs in

"
other parts. Some, who were known as the terror of

Calabar," came personallyto ask her to visit their villages,

and all laid down their arms at the entrance to her yard
before entering into her presence. But her own chief
warned and she would prob-
her against actingtoo hastily, ably
have followed his advice and sought to strengthen
her positionat Ekenge and Ifako had the matter not been
taken out of her hands.

VII. Fighting a Grim Foe

The principalwife neighbourhood

of a harem in close
to Mary went to pay a visit to her son and daughter at a
villagein the vicinityof the Cross River, some eight hours
distant from Ekenge. She found the chief so near death
that the head man and the people were waiting outside,
ready for the event. Hastening into the harem she spoke
"
of the power of the white Ma at Ekenge. Had she not
"
 76 MARY SLESSOR

cured her grandchild who had been very ill ? Had she
not saved many others ? Let them send for her and the
chief would not die. Her advice was acted upon, and a

deputation was despatched with a bottle and four rods "

about the value of a shilling to secure Mary's

"
aid. She
was called to the privateroom of her chief,where she found
" "
the messengers. What is the matter with him ? she
asked. As no one knew she decided to go and see for her-
self.
Edem and Ma Eme objected "

length of the
the

journey, the deep streams to be crossed, the heavy rains,

"
made the task impossible. I am going to get ready,"
was her reply. Finding her immovable, the chief turned
with a face of gloom to the deputationand sent them back
with a demand for an escort of freewomen and armed men.

Mary imagined he was merely endeavouring to mark time

until the death took place : in realityhe saw the district
given over to violence and murder, and she in the midst
and her life imperilled.
She
passed a sleepless night. Was she right,after all,
in taking so great a risk ? She laid the matter where she
laid all her problems, and came to the conclusion that she
was. With the morning appeared the guard of women,
who intimated that the armed men would jointhem outside
the village. The rain was falling as they set out and later
came down in torrents, continuous, and pitiless.Her
boots were soon abandoned ; then her stockings; next her

umbrella, broken in battle with the vegetation, was thrown

aside. Bit by bit her clothes, too heavy to be endured,
were transferred to the calabashes carried by the women
on their heads, and in the lightest of garments she struggled
on through the steaming bush.
Three hours of trudging brought her to a market-place
where, in the clearingatmosphere, hundreds of natives
were gathering. They gazed at her in amazement. Feeling
humiliated at her appearance, she slunk shyly and swiftly

through their midst and went on, wondering if she had

" "
lost face and their respect. Afterwards she learnt
that the self-denial and courage which that walk in the
rain exhibited had done more than anything else to win
their hearts. Others, however, were not so well-disposed.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 77

At one town the old chief was anything but courtly,and

only with reluctance allowed her to pass.
When she reached the sick man's villageand looked into
grim expectant faces of the armed
the crowd, she felt as if
she were walking into a den of wild beasts. At any
moment the signalmight be given, and the slaughterof the
retinue for the spirit-landbegin. The women, silent and
fear stricken, carried off her wet
- clothes to dry. She
was cold and feverish, but went straight to the patient
and tended him as well as she could. Then she turned
to the pileof odds and ends of garments which had been
collected for her, and looked at them with a shudder.
But there was no alternative, and, arraying herself in
the rags, she went forth to meet the critical gaze of the
crowd.
The medicine she had brought had proved insufficient,
and more must be obtained ; many lives, she knew, de-
pended

upon it. To
go back to Ekenge was out of the
question. Was there, she asked the people about her,
a way to Ikorofiong? The Rev. Alexander Cruickshank
was stationed there, and he would supply what was needed.
They confessed that there was a road to the river and a

canoe could be got to cross, but

they dared not go there,
they would never come back, they would be seized and
killed. Some one told her that a Calabar man, whose
mother was an Okoyong woman and who came to trade,
"
was living in his canoe not far off. Seek him," said
she. He was -found, but would not land until assured
that it was a white woman who wanted him. Mary vailed
pre-
upon him to undertake the journey ; and he returned
with all she requiredand more. With the thoughtfulness
and kindliness of pioneer missionaries Mr. and Mrs. Cruick-
shank
sent over tea and sugar and other comforts and,
what she valued not less,a letter of cheer and sympathy.
Hot with fever, racked with headache, she brewed the tea
in a basin, and it seemed to her a royal feast. The world
of friends had drawn nearer, she felt less lonely,her spirits
revived.
The patientdrew back the
valleyof death, regained
from
consciousness, and gathered strength; and the women
78 MARY SLESSOR

lookingon in wonder, became obedient and reliable nurses ;

the freemen thought no more of sacrifice and blood ; the
whole community had visions of
peace ; they expressed
a wish to make terms with Calabar and to trade with the
"
Europeans and learn book." She was engaged all day
in answering questions. Morning and evening she held a
simple service, and seldom had a more reverent audience.
Much worn out, she left them at last with regret, promising
to be always their mother, to try and secure a teacher, and

to come again and see them.

Her faith and fearlessness had been justified, and she
had her reward, for from that time forward Okoyong was
free to her.

VIII. The Power of Witchcraft

The belief in witchcraft dominated the lives of the people

like a dark menacing than the shadow
shadow more of
death. Taking advantage of their superstitionand fear,
the witch-doctors some of the cunningest rogues
" the
world has produced held them in abject bondage, and
"

Mary was constantly at battle with the results of their

handiwork.
The chief of Ekenge was lying ill. Since she had
taken up residence in his yard he had treated her with
consideration, and guarded her interests and well-being,
and
now came the opportunity to reciprocatehis kindness.
She found him sufferingfrom an abscess in his back, and

gave herself up to the task of nursing and curinghim. All

was going well, when one morning, as she entered with his
tea and bread, she saw a livingfowl impaled on a stick.
Scattered about were palm branches and eggs, and round
the neck and limbs
patient were of the
placed various
charms. The brightness of her greeting died away.
Edem was suspiciouslyvoluble and frank, flattered the
goodness and ability of the white people,but said they could
not understand the malignity of the black man's heart.
"
Ma, it has been made known to us that some one is to
blame for this sickness, and here is proof of it " all these
have been taken out of my back." He held out a parcel
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 79

which, opening, she found

on to contain shot, powder,
and other odds and ends.
teeth, bones, seeds, egg-shells,
On seeing the collection the natives standing around
shook with terror, and franticallydenounced the wicked-
ness
of the persons who had sought to compass the death
of the chief. Mary's heart sank, she knew what the
accusation meant. At once, before her eyes, men and
women were singled out, and seized and chained and
fastened to posts in the yard. Remonstrance, rebuke,
argument were in vain. The chief at last became irritated
with her importunity, and ordered his retainers to carry
him to one of his farms, whither he was accompanied by
his wives, those of note belonging to his house, and the
prisoners. He forbade "Ma" to follow, and enjoined
secrecy upon all, in order that no tales might be carried
back to her. But she had her own means of obtaining
of what
intelligence was going on, and she heard that many
others were being chained, as they were denounced by the
witch-doctors.
The chief became worse, and stronger measures were

decided on : all the suspectedmust die. Mary was less

power-
to do more than
warning. send a message of stern
Days of suspense and prayer followed. On the last night
of the year she was lying awake thinking of the old days
and the old friends, her heart homesick, and the hot tears
in her eyes, when the sound of voices and the flash of a

lantern made her start up. It was a deputation from the

farm. They had learnt that the native pastor, the Rev.
Esien Ukpabio, at Adiabo " the first native convert in
Calabar "
was skilled in this form of disease, and would
"
"
Ma give them a letter asking him to come over and see

the chief ? The letter was quicklygiven,and she returned

to her rest and her memories.
When the native pastor asked what was the matter, the
"
reply was that Some one's soul was troublingthe chief."
" "
In that case," he said, I can do nothing," and no

persuasion or bribe could move him from his position.

His sister,however, thought it might be well for her to go
and see what she could do, and he consented. Under her
care the abscess broke and the chief recovered, and all the
80 MARY SLESSOR

prisonerswere released with the exception of one woman,

who was put to death.
Aware of the uncanny way in which his guest heard of
things the chief sent his forestall any
son to tale-bearer.
" "
No one has been injured,"she was assured. Only one

worthless slave woman has been sold to the Inokon." As

it was the custom to disposeof slaves who were criminals
and incorrigibleto this cannibal section of the Aros for
food at their high feasts the story was but
plausible, she
knew better, and when the son added that the three
"
children of the victim had been quite agreeable,"she
thought of the misery she had witnessed on their faces.
She pretended to believe the message, however, for to have
shown knowledge of the murder would have been to con- demn

scores to the poisonordeal, in order that her informant

might be discovered.
When the chief was convalescent it was annoimced
by drum that he would emerge on a certain day from his
filth " for the natives do not wash during illness "
and tliat
giftswould be received. His wives and friends and slaves
brought rum, rods, clothes, goats, and fowls, and there
ensued a week of drinking,dancing, and fighting,worse
than Mary had yet seen.
In the midst of it all she moved, helplessand lonely,
and somewhat sad, yet not without faith in a better time.

IX. Sorcery in the Path

A extraordinaryinstance of superstition
more occurred
soon after. A chief in the vicinity, noted far and wide
for his ferocity,intimated that he was coming to Ekenge
on a visit. It meant trouble for the women, and she
prayed earnestly that he might be deterred from his

purpose. But he duly appeared, and throwing all her

anxiety upon God, she faced him calm and unafraid.
Days and nights of wild licence followed, accompanied
by an outcrop of disputes,most of which were brought to
her to settle.
One morning she found the guest drunk to excess, but
determined to return at once to his village. His freemen
 82 MARY SLESSOR

plant it in her yard, and givethe witchcraft it possessedan

opportunity of proving its powers.
Nothing is hidden in an African community, and news
travels swiftly. Next morning came a messenger from
the chief she had escorted home. It had been a terrible
night,he said ; the native doctor had come to his master
and had taken teeth, shot, hair, seeds, fish-bones,salt,and
what not, out of his leg. If they had been left in the body
they would have killed him. It was the plantain sucker
that was to blame, and his master demanded it back.
Mary read the menace in therequest : the plant was to
be used as evidence against some victim. Argument and
sarcasm alike failed,and she was obligedto hand it over.
"
Edem was standing by. That," he grimly remarked,
"
means the death of some one."
On the arrival of the sucker native oaths were ministere
ad-
to all in the accused of
village the sorcery, ordeals
of various kinds were imposed on young and old, slave and
free, and the life-blood of a man was demanded by
way of
settlement of theStrong matter. in their innocence the
people resisted the claim, but by guilethe chief's myrmidons
caught and handcuffed a fine-looking young man belonging
to one of the best families and dragged him into hiding.
Any attempt to effect a rescue would have meant his
murder, and in their dilemma the people thought of the
"
white Ma," and sent and begged her to come and plead
with the chief for the life and libertyof the prisoner.
She had never a more unpleasant task, for she detested
the callous savage, but there was nothing else to do ; and
she went depending less upon herself than upon God.
She walked tremblingly into the man's presence, but her
fear soon passed into disgust and indignation. He was
the personification of brutality, selfishness,and cowardice.
Laughing at her entreaties he told her to bring the villagers
and let them fightit out. She pointed out that neither
he nor his House had suffered by what had happened ;
that the accused people had taken every oath and ordeal
prescribedby their laws ; and that his procedure was
"
therefore unjust and unlawful. It is due to your presence
alone that I escaped,"he retorted; "they murdered me
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 83

in intention if not in fact." His head wife backed him up,

and both became so rude and offensive to Mary that it took
all her grace to keep her temper and her ground. As she
would not leave the house the chief said he would, and
walked out, remarking that he was going to his farm on
business. Swallowing her pride she followed him and
begged him humbly as an act of clemency to free the young
man. He turned, elated at her suppliantattitude, laughed
loudly,and said that no violence would be used until all
his demands complied with.
had been
She returned to her yard, and days of strain followed.
The situation developed into a quarrelbetween the trucu-
lent

chief and Edem, and every man went armed, women

crept about in fear, scouts arrived hourly with the latest

tidings. Her life was a long prayer. . . .

One day the young man was set free,without reason or

apology being given or condition exacted, and told to go

to his people. With his safety all desire for revenge was

stilled,and matters resumed their normal course. The

heart of Mary once more overflowed with gratitudeand
joy-
X. How House and Hall were built

She was impatient to have a house of her own, but the

natives were slow to come to her assistance. They thought
the haste she exhibited was and
undignified, smiled passionately
com-

upon her. There was no hurry "

there never

is in Africa. If she would but wait all would be well.

When argument failed, they went off and left her to cut

down the bush and

dig out the roots herself. Lounging
about in the villagethey commiserated a Mother who was

so strongheaded and wilful, and consoled themselves with

the thought of the work they would do when once they
began. She could make no progress, and there was nothing
for it but to tend the sick, receive visitors,mend the rags
of the village,
cut clothingfor those who developed a
out
desire for it,and look after her family of bairns.
One day, however, the spirit moved the people and they
flocked to the ground. She constituted herself architect,
clerk of works, and chief labourer. Her idea was to con-
84 MARY SLESSOR

struct a number of small mud-huts and sheds, which would

eventuallyform the back buildingsof the Mission House
proper. Four tree-trunks with forked tops were driven
into the ground, and upon them were laid other logs.
Bamboos, crossed and recrossed, and covered with palm
mats, formed the roof and verandah. Upright sticks,
interlaced and daubed with red clay, made the walls.
Two rooms, each eleven feet by six with a shaded verandah,
thus came into existence. Then a shed was added to each
end, making three sides of a square. Fires were kept
blazing day and night, in order to dry the material and
to smoke it as a protectionagainst vermin. Drains were

dug and the surrounding bush cleared.

In one of the rooms she put a fireplace of red clay,and
close to it a sideboard and dresser of the same material.
Holes were cut out for bowls, cups, and other dishes, and
rubbed with a stone until the surface was smooth. The

top had a cornice to keep the platesfrom fallingoff,and

was polishedwith a native black dye. Her next ment
achieve-
was a mud-sofa where she could recline,and a seat

near the fireside where the cook could sit and attend to her
duties.
In the other room she deposited her boxes, books, and
furniture. Hanging upon the posts were pots and pans
and jugs,and her alphabet and reading-sheets.In front
stood her sewing-machine,rusty and useless after its ex-
posure

in the damp air. There also at night was a small

organ, which during the day occupied her bed.

"
Such was the caravan," as Mary called it,which was
her dwelling for a year : a wonderful house it seemed to

the people of Okoyong, who regarded it with astonish-

ment
and awe. To herself it was a delight. Never had
the building of a home been watched with such loving
interest. And when it was finished no palaceheld a merrier

family. At meals all sat round one pot, spoons were a

luxury none required,and never had food tasted so sweet.

There were drawbacks " all the cows, goats, and fowls in

the neighbourhood, for instance, seemed to think the

little open yard was the finest rendezvous in the village.
Her next thought was for the church and schoolhouse.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 85

A mistress missionarystrategy, she wished to build this

of
at Ifako, in order that she might control a largerarea, but
the chiefs for long showed no interest in the matter. One

morning, however, an Ifako boy sought her with the

"
message, My master wants you." She thought the com-mand

somewhat peremptory, but went. To her surprise she

found the ground cleared ; posts, sticks, and mud ready,
and the chiefs waiting her orders. She designed a hall
thirty feet by twenty-five,with two rooms at the end for
her own use, in case storm or sickness or palaver should
prevent her going home. Work was started, and not a

singleslave employed in the carrying of the material

was

or in the construction. King Eyo sent the mats, some

thousands in number, for the roof, and free women carried
them the four miles from beach, plasteredthe walls,
the
moulded the mud-seats, beat the floor, and cleared up,
and all and
cheerfully, without thought of reward. Doors
and windows were still awanting, but she asked for the
services of a carpenter from Calabar to do this bit of work ;
and meanwhile the humble
building,the first ever erected
for the worship of God in Okoyong, was formally opened.
It was a day of days for the people. Mary had prepared
them for it, and all appeared in their Sunday attire,
new

which, in many cases, consisted of nothing more than a

clean skin. But the contents of various Mission boxes
had been kept for the occasion, and the children, after
being washed, were decked for the first,time in garments
"
of many shapes and colour "
wearing of a garment,"
the
"
said Mary, never fails to create self-respect."It was a

radiant and excited company that gathered in the hall.

There was perhaps little depth in their emotion, but she
regarded the event as a step towards better things. Her
idea was to separate the day from the rest, and to make it

a means of bringingabout cleanliness and personaldignity,

while it also imposed upon the people a little of that cipline
dis-
which they so much needed.
The chiefs were present, and they voluntarilymade the
promise before all that the house would be kept sacred to
God and His service, that the slave-women and children
would be sent to it for instruction, that no weapon of
86 MARY SLESSOR

warfare would be carried into it, and that it would be a

sanctuary for those who refuge. fled to it for

Services and day school were now held regularlyin the
hall. The latter was well attended, all the pupils show-
ing
"
eagerness to learn book," and many making rapid
progress.
The larger Mission House, which Mary intended to

occupy the
space in front of the yard at Ekenge, was a

stiffer problem for the people,and for a time they hung

back from the attempt to build it.

XI. A Palaver at the Palace

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to Christian truth and

progress was superstition

not or custom, but drink. She
had seen something of the traffic in rum and gin at the
coast, but she was amazed at what went on in Okoyong.
All in the community, old and young, drank, and often she
lay down to rest at nightknowing that not a sober man and
hardly a sober woman was within miles of her. When the
villagerscame home from a drunken bout the chief men

would her up and demand

rouse why she had not risen to
receive them. At all hours of the day and nightthey would
stagger into the hut, and lie down and fall asleep. Her

power, then, was not strong enough to prevent them "

but the time came.

The spiritcame up from Calabar and was the chief

article of trade. supply arrived processionsof
When a

girlscarrying demijohns trooped in from all quarters,

as if they were going to the spring for water. At the
funeral of one big man seven casks of liquor were sumed,
con-

in addition to that bought in small quantitiesby

the poorer classes. A refugee of good birth and conduct
remarked to Mary once that he had been three days in the
"
yard and had not tasted the white man's rum. Three
" " " "
days ! she replied, and you think that long ! Ma,"
"
he said, in evident astonishment, three whole days !
I have never passed a day without drinking since I was a
boy."
She fought this evil with all her energy and skill.
 King Eyo's State Canoe.

Thk First Chukch in Okoyong "

at Ifako.

Miss Slessor's Mission House at Ekenge.

88 MARY SLESSOR

"
thought of going to the moon. Well," said Mary, if "

they won't come to us we must go to them." She had

been seekingto familiarise the minds of the chiefs with the
idea of settlingtheir disputes by means of arbitration
instead of by fighting, and had been cherishingthe hope
that she might persuade some of them to proceed to Creek
Town and discuss the subject with King Eyo. She now
proposed to the King that he should invite them to

a palaver at his house, and at the same time she would

endeavour to have some produce sent down direct to the
traders.
The King had never ceased to take an interest in her
work : he frequentlysent up specialmessengers to enquire
if all was well, and always reminded her that he was willing
to be of service to the Okoyong people. A grandson of the

first King Eyo also sent men occasionally, with instructions

to do anything they could for the white Mother, and to
bring down her messages to Calabar. Such kindlythought
often took the edge off her loneliness.
The King at once sent the invitation,and, trusting more

in the word of Mary than in that of the King, all the chiefs
in her neighbourhood accepted the offer and an expedition
to Creek Town was organised. A canoe was obtained,
and heaped with yams and plantains,giftsfor the King,
and with bags of palm-kernels and a barrel of oil, the
first instalment of trade with the Europeans. Alas ! the
natives know nothing about a load-line, and as the tide
rose the canoe sank. It was not an unmixed pleasure
settingout with men who were ignorantof the management
of canoes, but another day was fixed and another canoe

was found. The whole of Okoyong seemed to be at the

beach, and every man, woman, and child was uttering

counsel and heartening the intrepid voyagers. Several
of the chiefs drew back and disappeared,and of the half-
dozen who remained only two could be persuaded to embark
when they learnt that guns and swords must be left behind.
"
Ma, you make of
women us ! Did ever a man go to
" "
a strange placewithout his arms ? "
Ma was inexorable.
She sat down and waited, and after a two hours' palaver
swords were ungirt and handed with the guns to the
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 89

women. Those who still declined to go were received

back with rejoicing, and farewells were made with those
who went, amidst wailingsand tears. A start was made,
but the craft proved to be ill-balanced,and the cargo had
to be shifted. As this was being done she detected a
number of swords hidden below the bags of kernels. Her

eyes flashed, and the people scattered out of the way as

she pitched the arms out on the beach. With a meekness

that was amusing the men scrambled into their places

and the canoe shot into the river, Mary taking a paddle
and wielding it with the best of the men. The journey
was made through dense darkness and drizzlingrain, and
occupied twelve hours.
But she was rewarded by the result. Nothing could
exceed the kindness of King Eyo. He bore himself as
a Christian gentleman, listened courteouslyto the passion- ate
and foolish speech of the Okoyong representatives,
reminded the supercilious Calabar chiefs that the Gospel
which had made thern what they were had only just been
taken to Okoyong, and in giving the verdict which went

against them, he gentlymade it the findingof righteousness,

according to the laws of God. When all had been settled
he asked Mary to take the chiefs over his palace,and in- vited
them to a meeting in the church in the evening,
where he spoke words of cheer and counsel from the words,
"
To give lightto them that sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
This experiencemade a great impressionupon the chiefs :
they left with a profound reverence for the King and a
determination to abide bj^ his decisions in the future,
whilst Mary had added much to her dignityand position.
This was proved the morning after they returned to

Ekenge. She was awakened by a confused noise, and on

looking out was astonished to find several chiefs directing
"
slaves,who were working with buildingmaterial. What
"
is the matter ? she asked in wonder. Instead of ing
answer-

her one of the chiefs who had

accompanied her to
Calabar turned to the crowd and, in a burst of eloquence,
described all he had seen at Creek Town, how the Europeans
lived,and how King Eyo and every chief and gentleman
90 MARY SLESSOR

had treated their Mother as a person superiorto them,

and given her all honour. They in Okoyong must now

treat her as befitted her rank and station, and must build
her a proper house to live in. Mary was hard put to it to
preserve her gravity. Soon afterwards a young slave, for
whom she had often pled,began to wash his hands in some

dirtywater in a dish outside : his master ran at him with a

whip, and it was all she could do to prevent him being

lashed. Opening out again and again he called the lad a
fool for daring to touch a dish used by their Great White
Mother.
But what important than all was the fact that
was more

the way had at last been opened up for trade relations with
Calabar. The people began to make oil and buy and sell
kernels, and to send the produce down the river direct to
the factories. As she had foreseen, they had now less
time for palavers,and less inclination for useless drinking,
and still more useless quarrellingand fighting.

XII. The Scottish Carpenter

The story of the settlement in Okoyong and of the

building of the hut and hall was related by Miss Slessor
in the Missionary Record of the Church for March 1889.
"
The hall she described as a building,though
beautiful
neither doors nor windows are yet put in, as we are waiting
"
for carpenter. And," she
a added, if there were only a
house built, any other agent could come, and take up the
work if I fail." In the same number of the Record there
appeared an appeal by the Foreign Mission Committee
"
for a practicalcarpenter, with an mterest in Christian
work," for Calabar.
There happened Edinburgh at this time a
to be in

carpenter named Mr. Charles Ovens, belongingto the Free

Church, who was keenly interested in foreign missions.
As a boy he had wished to be a missionary,but believing

that only ministers could hold such a post he relinquished

the idea. He was an experienced tradesman of the fine
old type, a Scot of Scots, with the happy knack of looking

on the bright side of things. Having been in America on

 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 91

a prolonged visit he was about

there, and had gone
to return
to say good-bye to an old lady friend, a United terian.
Presby-
The latter remarked to him, I see Miss Slessor
"

wants a man to put in her doors and windows "

why don't
"

you go to Calabar ? He had never heard of Miss Slessor,

but the suggestion struck himgood, and he straightway as

saw the Foreign Mission Secretary,and then went and

changed the address on his baggage. He left in May, and
on his arrival in Calabar was sent up to finish the work Mary
had begun. All his speech at Duke Town was of America
and its wonders, but when he returned some months later
he could talknothing but Okoyong.
of
He found Mary attired in a simple dress, without hat
or shoes, dining at a table in the yard in the company of
goats and hens. She sprang up with delighton hearingthe
Scots tongue, and welcomed him warmly. The conditions
were most primitive,and his room was only eightfeet long
and five feet wide, but he possessedmuch of her Spartan
spirit.Although ignorant of the native language he was
of great assistance to her during his stay, while his humour
and irresistible laugh lightened many a weary day. As
he worked he sang "
auld Scots sangs," like the Rowan "

" "
Tree and The Auld Hoose." When she heard the
latter tears came into her eyes at the memories it recalled.
Even Tom, his native assistant,was affected. "
I don't like
these songs," he said, "
they make my heart big and my
"

eyes water !
The Mission House
progressed well under Mary's had
superintendence. She had aimed at making it equal to
" "

any at the big stations, and had planned an upstairs

buildingwith a verandah six feet above the ground, and
a kitchen and dispensary. She had mudded the walls,
and the mat roof was being tied on, and now that Mr.
Ovens was at work all was promising well, when an event
occurred which put a stop to operationsfor months.

XIII. Her Greatest Battle and Victory

One morning, when nature was as lovelyas a dream, Mr.

Ovens was working at the new house, and Miss Slessor was
92 MARY SLESSOR

sitting on the verandah watching him. Suddenly, from

far away in the forest, there came a strange, eerie sound.
Ever on the alert for danger, Mary rose and listened.
"
There is something wrong," she exclaimed.
For a moment she stood in the tense attitude of a hunter

seekingto locate the quarry, and then, swiftlymoving into

the forest, vanished from sight. Mr. Ovens sent Tom,
his boy, off after her to find out what was the matter. He
returned with a
message that there had been an accident,
and that Mr. Ovens was to come at once and bring restora-
tives.

As the ominous news became known to the natives

standing around a look of fear came into their faces.

Mr. Ovens found her sittingbeside the unconscious
"

body of
young a man. It is Etim, the eldest son of our
"
chief,Edem," she explained. He was about to be married,
and had been buildinga house. He came here to lift and
bring a tree : when handling the log it slippedand struck
him on the back of the neck, and paralysis has ensued."
He glanced at her face as if surprisedat its gravity.
She divined what he thought, and speaking out of her
intimate knowledge of the people and their ways she
said, There's going to be trouble ; no death of a violent
"

character comes apart from witchcraft. . . .

Can you make
"
some sort litter to carry him ?
of a

clothing,and obtaining
Divesting himself of part of his
some strong sticks,he made a rough stretcher,on which the
inert form was laid and conveyed to Ekenge.
For a fortnightMary tended the patientin his mother's
house, hoping against hope that he would recover, and
that the crisis she dreaded would be averted, but he was

beyond human Sunday morning he lay dying,

help. One
and the news sent a spasm of terror throughout the district.

Hearing the sound of wailing Mary rushed to the yard and

found the lad being held up, some natives blowing smoke
into his nostrils,some rubbing ground pepper into his eyes,
others pressinghis mouth open, and his uncle, Ekpenyong,
shouting into his ears. Such treatment naturallyhastened
the end. When life was fled,the chief dropped the body
"
into her arms and shouted, Sorcerers have killed him
and they must die. Bring the witch-doctor."
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 93

At the words every man and woman disappeared,

leavingonly the mother, who, in an agony of grief,cast
herself down beside the body. When the medicine-man
arrived he laid the blame of the tragedy upon a certain
village,to which the armed freemen at once marched.
They seized over a dozen men and women, the others
escaping into the forest, and after sacking all the houses
returned with the prisoners loaded with chains, and
fastened them to posts in the yard, which had only one
entrance.

Anxious to pacifythe rage of the chiefs,father and uncle,

Mary undertook to do honour to the dead lad by dressing
him in the stylebefittinghis rank. Fine silk cloth was

wound round his body, shirts and vests were put on, over

these went a suit of clothes which she had made for his
father, the head was shaved into patterns and painted
yellow,and round it was wound a silk turban, all being
crowned with a tall black and scarlet hat with plumes of
brilliant feathers. Thus attired the body was carried out
into a booth in the women's
yard, where it was fastened,
seated in an arm-chair, under a large umbrella. To the
hands were tied the whip and silver-headed stick that
denoted his position,while a mirror was arranged in front
of him, in order that he might enjoy the reflection of his
grandeur. Beside him was a table, upon which were set

out all the treasures of the house, including the skulls

taken in war, and a few candles begged from Mary.
When the people were admitted anti saw the weird
spectaclethey became frenzied with delight,danced and
capered,and started on a course of drinking and wanton-
ness.

"
You'll have to stop all work," Mary said to Mr. Ovens,
who felt as if he were moving in some grotesque fantasy
"
of sleep; this is going to be a serious business. We can't
leave prisonersfor a moment.
these I'll watch beside
them all night and you'lltake the day."
And time and time about in that filthyyard, through
the heat of the day and the chill of the night,these two
brave souls kept guard opposite the wretched band of

prisoners, with the half-naked people,armed with guns and

94 MARY SLESSOR

machetes, dancing and drinking about them. As one

barrel of rum was finished another brought in,

was and
the supply seemed endless. The days went by, and Mr.
Ovens lost patience,and declared he would go and get a

chisel and hammer and free the prisonersat all costs.

" "
Na, na," repliedMary wisely, we'll have a little more
patience."
"
One day she went to Mr. Ovens and said, They want

a coffin."
"
They'llhave to make one," he retorted.
" "
I think you'd better do it,"she rejoined; the boy's
father has some wood
of his own, of which he was going to
make a door like mine, and he is willingto use it for the
purpose."
They proceeded to the yard to obtain measurements,
and as they entered Mary caught sightof some esere beans
lying on the pounding stone. She shivered. What could
she do ? She returned to her hut. Prayer had been her
solace and strengthduring all these days and nights,and
now with passionateentreaty she beseeched God for guid-
ance
and help in the strugglethat was to come. When
she rose from her knees her fear had vanished, and she was

tranquiland confident. Reaching the yard she took the

two brother chiefs aside, and told them that there must

be no sacrifice of life.
They did not deny that the poison
ordeal was about to take place,but they argued that only
those guilty of causing the death would suffer. She did
not reply,but went to the door of the compound and sat
down : from there she was determined not to move until
the issue was decided. The chiefs were angry. To have
a white woman " and such a woman "

amongst them was

good, but she must not interfere with their customs and
laws. The mother of the dead lad became violent. Even
the slaves were openly hostile and threatening. The
crowd, maddened by drink, ran wildly about, flourishing
"
their guns and swords. Raise our master from the dead,"
"
they cried, and you shall have the prisoners."
Night fell. Mr. Ovens gathered up the children and
put them to bed. Mary scribbled a note to Duke Town
and gave it to the two native assistant carpenters, and
96 MARY SLESSOR

the native oath, for the poison ordeal,and later,five others.

She stillstood firm, and two more obtained their freedom.
"
There they stopped. We have done more for you than
we have ever done for any one, and we will die before we
go further." Three remained. One woman, with a baby,
"
they would not release. Akpo, the chief of her house,
escaped into the bush, and the fact of his flightproves his
guilt,"they argued ; "we cannot ransom her." The other
two, a freeman and the woman named Inyam with the
daughter, were relatives of the bereaved mother, and also
speciallyimplicated,and they were seized and led away.
Mary hesitated to follow, but hoping that the girlmight
be able to keep her informed of what was going on she
decided to remain with the woman with the infant.
Another dawn
brought visitors from a distance, who
only added to the riotingand her perplexity. They told
her that Egbo was coming, and advised her to flyto Calabar.
She repliedthat he could come and play the fool as much
as he pleased,but she would not desert her post. The
father stormed and threatened, and declared he would
"
burn down the house. You are welcome," she said,
"
it is not mine." In a blazingpassion he cried that the
woman would die. So terrified and exhausted was the
victim that she begged "Ma"
give in. At this point
to

Ma Eme came to the rescue : kneelingto her brother she

besought him to allow Mary to have the prisonerin the
meantime "
she could be chained to the verandah of the
hut, and could possiblyescape with such a weight of
not

irons. Mary caught at the plan, and declared that she

would give a fair hearing to the charges against the house
which she represented.
"
To her infinite surprisethe chiefs gave in. But,"
"
saidthey, if she is sent out of the way to Calabar, you
pay
a heavy fine,and leave here for ever." Fearing they would
repent,she hastilycalled for the keys to unlock the chain,
but the slaves pretended ignorance,said they could not

find them, and denounced the liberation of the murderers.

Patience and firmness
again succeeded, the keys were
produced, the locks were opened. Mary gathered up the
long folds of chain, and Ma Eme, also tremblingwith eager-
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 97

ness, pushed them out in order that they might escape the
crowd. They ran through the scrub to the hut, and here
the mother and child were housed in a largepacking-case,
while a barricade was put up to make the positionmore
secure.

During the afternoon two of the Calabar missionaries

arrived, and added the weight of their influence to Mary's,
givinga magic-lanternexhibition in the open, and in other
ways endeavouring to lend prestigeto the funeral, in order
to compensate for the lack of human sacrifice. A quieter
night followed, though the vigilwas unbroken. In the
morning the father of the dead lad called her aside, and
in a long harangue justified his desire to do his son honour
by giving him a retinue in the spirit-land.Then calling
to his retainers he ordered them to bring the freeman.

Dragging him forward, limping and dazed, he presented

him formallyto "Ma," saying,"This further act of clem- ency
must satisfyyou. The woman who is left must take
the poison: you cannot object she will recover if she is
"

innocent."
She thanked him warmly, but renewed her entreaties
for the release of the woman also. The chief turned away
in anger and disgust,and the battle went on. As the
missionaries were obliged to return to Calabar she and
Mr. Ovens again left alone. All day she followed
were

the chief, coaxing and pleading. Sometimes he ignored

her ; sometimes he brusquely showed his annoyance ;
sometimes he looked at her in pity,as if he thought she
were crazed. But he gave her no hope. When a whisper

came to her ears that the burial would take place that
night in the house of the chief she was heart-sick with
dread.
Late in the evening,as she was busy with her household,
she heard a faint cry at the barricade :
"
Ma, Ma, make haste, let me in."
Noiselesslyshe pulled aside the planks, and Inyam,
heavily ironed, crawled on her hands and knees into the
room. Her story was that she had managed by friction
to cut one of the links of the chain which bound her, and
had escaped by climbing the roof. Mary looked at the
98 MARY SLESSOR

thick chain hanging about her, and guessed whose were

the kindly black hands that had given her aid, but she

kept her thought to herself. The last of the prisoners

was now safe, the funeral in the house of the chief had
taken place,and only a cow had been placed in the coffin,
and her joy was great. But her troubles were not over.
A party of natives coming to the funeral met another
party returning drunk with excitement and rum. calling
Re-
some old quarrel the latter killed one of the men

they met, cut off his head, and carried it away as a trophy.
Fighting became general between the factions, and many
were seriouslywounded.
One afternoon the villagewent suddenly mad with
panic. All the women and children and all the men out
with-
arms rushed franticallyabout. Mothers clutched
their babies, wives and slaves seized what belongingsthey
could carry, children screamed and held on to the first

person they met. They had heard sounds that heralded

the advance of the dreaded Egbo. Then, by a common

impulse,all rushed for the protectionof the white woman's

yard. She pulled down the barricade, packed as many
children and women into her room as it could hold, and
ordered the others into the bush at the back. The women

were almost insane with terror, and the manacled prisoner

begged to be killed. As the beating of the drum and the
shouting of the mob drew near Mary trembled, but again
prayer restored her to calm. Even when the villagewas

invaded and shouting began, she was without fear. And,

strange to say, the mob remained but a short time, and not

a shot went home. They had set fire to every house in the

villagefrom which the prisoners had been taken, and

wrecked another and burned the stock alive. As no

powerful chief submitted to Egbo sent out by another

House, Edem's villagealso ran amok, and for over a week
the populationhaunted the forest, shooting down criminately
indis-

every man and woman who passed. It was

not until much blood had been shed that the various bands
became tired of the struggleand returned to their dwellings.
For three weeks the prisonerswere kept in the hut,
"
and then " Ma's pressure on the chiefs succeeded, and the
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 99

chained woman was released on condition that if her

chief Akpo were caught he would take the
poison ordeal,
whilst Inyam, taking advantage of all the people being
drunk one night, stole out into the forest and escaped.
What became Mary never
of her knew, until one day,
months after, when travelling, she passed a number of
huts in the bush, and was accosted by name and found
herself face to face with the refugee.
This was the longest and severest strain to which she
was subjected; it was her worst encounter with the
passionsof the natives, her greatest conflict with the most
terrible of their customs, and she came out of it victorious.
For the first time in the dark historyof the tribe the death
and funeral of one of the rank of a chief had occurred
without the sacrifice of life. mysterious way she In some

had been able to subdue these wild people and bend them
to her will. Her fame went far and wide throughout
Okoyong and beyond into regions still unexplored, and
many thought of her with a kind of awe as one possessing
superhuman power. There were, indeed, some amongst
those who knew her who had a lurkingsuspicionthat she
was more than woman.

XIV. The Aftermath

Various incidents came as an aftermath to these ings.

happen-
"
One afternoon the women came running to "
Ma
saying that the elder chief,Ekpenyong, was bent on taking
the poison ordeal. When she reached his yard she found
him in a fury, shouting and threatening,the women
remonstrating, the slaves weeping. It was some time ere
she could learn the cause of the uproar. A man from
a neighbouring villagehad been about whispering that
Ekpenyong had slain his nephew, in order that his own

son might absorb the inheritance. Ekpenyong was mined

deter-
to undergo the test, and in accordance with native
law, which gave the right to a freeman to call others of
equal rank to share the trial with him, he demanded that
his brother Edem " who it was allegedhad instigatedthe
man to make the accusation " should also take the poison.
100 MARY SLESSOR

When Mary had grasped the situation she ridiculed the

attitude of the chief, scolded him unmercifully,and at
last secured his promise not to carry out his threat. As
a guarantee of his good faith she claimed possessionof the
esere beans. He denied that he had any. With the help
of his womenkind she made a secret search, and found
eleven beans at the bottom of a basket, which she veyed
con-

in the darkness to her hut. As more beans could

not be obtained until the
morning she felt that all was
well for the night. Shouting,however, made her run back.
Mad with drink the chief was clingingto a bag which the
women were endeavouring to seize. He was hittingout
at them with his heavy hand, and most of them were
"
bleeding. There is poison in that bag," they cried.
"
No, Ma, only my palm-nuts and cartridges." Quietly,
firmly,persistently, she demanded the bag. He threw
it at her. Opening it she found palm-nuts and cartridges.
For a moment she looked foolish, but diving deeper she
pulled out no fewer than fortyof the deadly beans. I'll "

take the libertyof keeping these," she said coolly,but

"
with a swiftlybeating heart. No, no," he shouted, and
his followers joined him in protest. Outwardly calm she
walked between the lines of armed men, ironically bidding
them take the bag from her. But their hands were held,
and she passed safelythrough, reached her hut, handed
the beans to Mr. Ovens, and returned to the scene to pacify

the crowd.
morning she learnt to her consternation
Next that
Ekpenyong had risen stealthily during the night and gone
off on his errand of death. Fortunately a chief some miles
off detained him by force until she arrived. She stuck
resolutely to him, and as all the more powerful chiefs came
over to her side from sheer admiration of her pluck, he
had eventually to abandon his purpose. After taking
the native oath he betook himself to another part of the
forest,where he built up a new settlement.
One more episode remained to round off the sequence
of events. The murderer of the young man in the funeral

party was the oldest son of a House noted for bloody deeds,
and the act roused the slumbering fury of its neighbours.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 101

War was declared and fightingbegan. Mary interfered

and pressed for arbitration, and both sides at last acceded
to her request, and asked her to conduct the palaver.
Aware that the man was a triplemurderer and the penalty
death, she shrank from the duty, and begged them to put
the matter into the hands of a Calabar chief. This they
"
did, and went to Ikunetu on the Cross River, where blood
"
for blood was the verdict. Fines and death by tion
substitu-
of slaves were offered and refused ; the youngest son,
a mere baby, was sent in atonement and rejected; then
the second son, a lad of twenty, was despatched, and it
was agreed that his death
his brother. would redeem
Mary's distress was acute, especially as she had declined to
act as judge, but she was relieved on learningthat the
prisonerhad escaped, and was being sheltered by one of
the slave-traders across the river. She wished to get him
into her
yard, but the weeping mother
own said it was
too dangerously near home.
One morning, early,she heard the sound of rapid firing,
and in alarm she sent enquire the cause.
messengers to
The lad had been betrayed,brought back, filled with gin,
and amidst discharge of guns, beating of drums, singing
and dancing, had been strangledand hung in the presence
of his mother and sister. These two alone mourned the
dead, the others were glad that the matter had been so

easilysettled, and for a week the loafers and drunkards

in the district held high carnival.
As time passed and the heat of the cooled,
"persecution
Mary made tentative proposals that Akpo, the escaped
chief,and his family,should be allowed to return.
"
I will
go and fetch them myself if their safety be guaranteed,"
she said. Edem, the father of the dead lad, replied,
"
Very well. Ma, you can say that all thought of vengeance
is gone from our heart, and if he wishes to come to his own

villageor live in your home or go anywhere in Okoyong

he is at libertyto do so." But trust is rare in Africa, and
suspiciondies hard, and Akpo could not bring himself to
believe that Edem wished him well, and he elected to
remain where he was. Again she paid the exile a visit,
takingwith her an elderlyman, who was betrothed to his
 102 MARY SLESSOR

daughter, but he could not overcome his fears. In his

heart he and his friends M'ere incredulous that the chiefs

of Okoyong would listen to a woman. A third time the

patient Mary went to him, and succeeded bringing him

in
and his son back with her, the women remaining behind
until a new house could be built.
The
home-coming was full of pathos. House, farm,
clothing,seed-corn, yams, goats, fowls, all had vanished.
But as the chief stood amidst the familiar surroundings
his gloom and silence fell away, and he knelt and clasped
"
" Ma's feet, and with eyes filled with tears vowed that he
and his house would be under
yoke to her for ever, and
that they would never rebel against any commands she

gave or do anything contrary to her wishes. Most people,

white and black, occasionally felt disposed to dispute
her rulings, and more than once her will and that of

the chief clashed, but he stood to his word, and there was

no family in the district who gave her message a more

loyal hearing.
^
Edem acted nobly. He not only arranged for the
housing of the two men, but gave them a piece of ground
and seed plants. When
for food she went to tell him
"
all had been done, he simply said, Thank you. Ma." But
in the evening he came alone to her, knelt and held her
feet, and thanked her again and again for her wonderful
love and courage, for her action in forbidding them to

take life at his son's death, and for all the peaceful ways
"
which she was introducing. We are all weary of the old
"
customs," he said, but no singleperson or House among
us has power to break them off, because they are part of
the Egbo system."

And by one, secretlyand unknown

one to each other,
the free people came to her and thanked her gratefully
for the state of safety she was bringing about, and charged
her to keep a stout heart and to go forward and do away
with all the old fashions, the end of which was always
V
death.
104 MARY SLESSOR

her. The man took her back into the house " such a thing
had never been known before."
It was at this time that the plump and pretty infant
referred to by Miss Kingsley in her Travels in West Africa
was saved. The mother died a few days after the birth,
and as there was a quarrel between her family and that
of the father the child was thrown into the bush by the side
of the road leadingto the market, and lay there for five days
and six nights.
This
particularmarket day, and on the is held every ninth

succeedingmarket-day, some women from the villageby the

side of Miss Slessor's house happened to pass along the path
and heard the child feebly crying : they came into Miss Slessor's
yard in the evening, and sat chattingover the day's shopping,
and casuallymentioned in the way of conversation that they
had heard the child crying,and that it was rather remarkable
that it should be stillalive. Needless to say. Miss Slessor was

off, and had that waif home. It was truly in an awful state,
but justalive. In a marvellous way it had been left by leopards
and snakes, with which this bit of forest abounds, and, more
marvellous still,the driver ants had not scented it. Other ants

had considerablyeaten into it one way and another ; nose,

eyes, etc., were swarming with them and flies ; the cartilage
of the nose and part of the upper liphad been
absolutelyeaten
into, but in spiteof this she is now one of the prettiestblack
children I have ever seen, which is saying a good deal, for
negro children are very pretty with their round faces, their
largemouths not their beautifully-
yet coarsened by heavy lips,
shaped flat little ears, and their immense melancholy deer-like
eyes, and above these charms they possess that of being fairly
quiet. This child is not an object of terror, like the twin
children ; it was just thrown away because no one would be
bothered to rear it " but when Miss Slessor had had all the
trouble of it the natives had no objectionto pet and play with
"
it,callingit the child of wonder," because of its survival.

This child was named Mary after the house mother, and
completed the number of those who for long constituted
the inner circle of the family. The others were Janie,
" "
Alice "
a rescued twin of royal blood, and Annie " the
child of the woman who took a native oath to prove that
she did not help her husband to eat a stolen dog. These
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 105

four to grow up and become

were a comfort to their white
"
Mother," and will reappear from time to time in the course

of the story. Another helperin the house at this time was

Mana, a faithful girl,who had been caught by two men

when going home from a spring,and brought to Okoyong

and sold to Ma Eme. Other children there were, all with
more or less tragichistories,and all were looked after and
trained and loved. v

But
Mary could be as stern and strong as her native

granite when combating evil. Mr. Ovens saw her peatedly

re-

thrust brawny negroes away from the drink,

taking them round the neck, and throwing them back to
the ground. An intoxicated man, carryinga loaded gun,
once came to see her. She ordered him to put the weapon
in a corner of the verandah. He declined. She went up,
wrested gun from him, placed it in a corner,
the and defied
him to touch it. He went away, and came back every day
for a week before she gave it up. Another man came to

her for medicine, and after he had described his symptoms

she brought a bottle of castor oil and told him to open his
mouth. Fearful might be some
thatsort of witchcraft,
it
" "
he demurred. Ma simply gave him a smart box on the
ear and repeated the order, whereupon he meekly took
the stuff and went ruefullyaway. About this time, also,
she went and prevented two tribes from fighting : although
her heart was beating wildly she stood between them and
made each piletheir guns on opposite sides of her, until
the heaps were five feet high. On ant)ther occasion she
stopped and impounded a canoe-load of machetes that^^
were going up-riverto be used in a war.
Mr. Ovens was struck by her mental power and wide
outlook. Despite her incessant preoccupation with matters
about her she never ceased the cultivation of intellectual
interests. She was a loving student of the Bible, a wide
and reader, and she
discriminating followed with broodinga

mind the development of world affairs throughout the

world.
Before his work was finished Mr. Ovens began to suffer
from the exposure, and she nursed him day and night
through a serious illness. When he returned to Duke
106 MARY SLESSOR

Town she missed his cheery company ; her isolation and

lonehness seemed intensified,and she was only sustained
by her faith in the
efficacyof prayer and by her communion
"
with the Father. My one great consolation and rest,"
she wrote, "is in prayer." So invariablywas she com-
forted

: so invariablywas she preserved from harm and

hurt, that her reliance upon a higher strengthbecame an

instinctive habit. It conquered her natural nervousness

and apprehension. She had frequently to take journeys

through the forest with the leopardsswarming around her.
"
I did not use to believe the story of Daniel in the lions'
"
den," she often said, until I had to take some of these
awful marches, and then I knew it was true, and that it
was written for my comfort. Many a time I walked along
'
praying, O God of Daniel shut their mouths,' and He did."
If she happened be
travellingwith bearers or paddlers,
to
she would make them sing and keep them singing; And, "

"
Etubom (Sir,Chief, or White Man), she would say, when
"
tellingher experiences, ye ken what like their singing
is it would
"
frighten ony decent respectableleopard."
And yet in some
travelling
head in her hands
thingsshe was as timid as a child. When
in the Mission steam-launch

screech or if the vessel bumped on a

she would

sandbank.
bury her
and cry out in fear if the engine gave a
She was
i
in terror all the time she was on board.
It was not possiblefor her to go on expending so much
nervous force without a breakdown, and as attacks of
fever were coming with increasingfrequency she began to
think of her furlough. The difTiculty was to fillher place.

In 1890 Mr. Goldie reported that only she or a man could

fillit ; no native agent could go from Calabar on account

of tribal unfriendliness. But she thought otherwise.

"
No person connected with me need fear to come to

Okoyong, or suffer from lack of hospitality."Okoyong

was a veryplace from what it had been in 1888.
different
There was greater order and security, and much less drink-
ing

among the younger people, many of whom were at

school ; none dared to use the slightest freedom with her ;

they might come as far as the verandah but no farther.

The people were becoming ashamed of their superstition,
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 107

and were ready to secretlywhen palaversand

inform her
sacrifices were in contemplation. Chiefs came voluntarily
and requested her to sit in the seat of judgment and
adjudge their disputes. The tribe, as a whole, was also

working better, and developing a regulartrade with the

Europeans. The problem was solved by another woman

with a stout heart, who voluntarilyagreed to occupy the

station during her absence. This was Miss Dunlop. The
Home Board were anxious as to her safety,and mended
recom-

frequent communications with her ; and later.

Miss Hutton, who had just arrived from Scotland, was
appointed to keep her company. When Miss Dunlop went

up before "Ma" left,she was met by what she thought

was a crowd of peaceful,cheerful people, eager only to
greet her and to help her. She modified her opinion later :
a "wild and lawless class," she called them, boasting of "

their wildness," and who came to the services drunk. When

"
she spoke of God's love they would say, Yes, Ma Slessor
tell us that plenty times." But she bravely held the fort.

XVI. War in the Gates

At the last moment she busy packing when

was

messengers arrived from a far-off township with gence

intelli-
that a
young freeman had accidentallyshot his hand
while hunting, and a request that she would come to him
with medicine. She was weak and ill: she was expecting
tidingsof the steamer ; she was beset with visitors from
all parts who had come to bid her farewell. Tellingthem
what to do, and asking them to let her know only if serious
symptoms set in, she gave them what was needed. Almost
immediately came secret news that the man had died,
that his brother had wounded one of the chiefs,and that
all the warriors of the latter had been ordered to prepare
for fightingon the morrow. She never knew how this

message had come or who had brought it. She made up

her mind to proceed to the spot, but the chief people about
her opposed the idea. They pointed to her weakness,
and the probabilityof her missing the steamer. They
enlarged on the savage character of those concerned.
108 MARY SLESSOR

" " "

They authority ;
own no They will insult you in
their drunken rage"; "The bush will be full of armed
" "
men, and they will fire indiscriminately; The darkness
will prevent them recognisingyou." But they could not
prevail upon her to relinquishwhat she thought was a

duty to those who had sought her aid. She, however,

compromised by consentingto take two armed attendants
with lanterns, and to call at a chief's place some eight
miles distant, and secure a freeman to beat the Egbo
drum before her, thus lettingthe people in the fighting
area know that a free protectedperson was coming.
She reached their villageabout midnight. The chief
was reported to be at his farm, and she was urged to lie
down until the morning. She suspected that he was not

many yards away, and she persuaded a messenger to carry

an urgent request to him for an escort and drum. The

reply was in the language of diplomacy all the world
over :

"
I have heard of
enquire regardingit
no war, but will
in the morning. If, in the event of there being war, you
persistin going on you prove your ignoranceof the people,
who from all time have been a war-lovingpeople,and who
are not likelyto be helped by a woman."
This put her on her mettle.
"
In measuring the woman's power," she responded,
"
you have evidentlyforgottento take into account the
woman's God."
She decided to go on. The people were astonished,
not so much at her follyin riskingher life as in daring to
disobey the despot,who held their fate in the hollow of his
hand. Somewhat chilled by her unsympathetic reception
she started, without much enthusiasm, on her journey,
but with her faith in God as strong as ever.

Reaching the first town belonging to the belligerents

she found it so silent and dark that she began to imagine
the chief right,and she had come
was on a wild-goosechase.
She crept quietly up to the house of an old freewoman
whose granddaughter had once lived with her : there was
"
a cautious movement within and a whispered, Who's
there ?
"
She had barely answered, when she was sur-
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 109

rounded by a band of armed men, whose dark bodies

were like shadows in the night. In a few moments they
were joined by scores of others, and the greatest confusion
prevailed. She was asked what her business was and who
were her informants, but ultimatelythe chiefs permitted
her to remain, and the women saw to her comfort.
After conferringtogether the chiefs thanked her for
coming at such discomfort to herself,and promised that no
fighting,
so far as they were concerned, would take place
until she heard story. the whole
" "
All the same," they averred, we must fightto wipe
out the disgracethat has been put on us "
see here are

men badly wounded. Now, Ma, go to bed, and we shall

wake you at cock-crow, and you can accompany us."
This meant an hour's rest, which she urgently needed.
At second cock-crow she was called, but before she was

steady on her feet

they were off and away down the steep
hillside and through the stream at the foot like a herd of
wild goats. The women were at every house.
" "
Run, Ma ! they cried.
Run ! Was she not running as fast as her weak and
breathless state allowed her ? But she soon lost sight of
the warriors, and could only fall back upon prayer.
A hundred villageof the enemy
yards from the
she came

upon the band in the bush making preparations for attack :

the war-fever was at its height,and the air resounded with
wild yells. Walking quietlyforward she addressed them
as one would speak to schoolboys,tellingthem to hold
their peace and behave like men and not like fools. Passing
on to the villageshe encountered a solid wall of armed
men. Giving them greeting, she got no reply. The silence
was ominous. Twitting them on their perfect manners
she went up to them, and was about to force a passage.
Then a strange thing happened.
From out of the sullen line of dark-skinned warriors
there stepped an old man, who came and knelt at her feet.
"
Ma, we thankyou for coming. We admit the ing
wound-
of the chief, but it was the act of one man and not the
fault of the town. We beg you to use your influence
with the injuredparty in the interests of peace."
110 MARY SLESSOR

It was the chief whom she had travelled in the rain

to see and heal when she first came to Okoyong. Her
act of self-sacrifice and courage had borne fruit after

many days.
She was so thankful that her impulse was to run back
to their opponents in the forest and arrange matters there
and then ; but she restrained herself,and, instead, purposely
told the men with an air of authority to remain where
they were while her wants were attended to.
"
I am not going to starve while you fight,"she said,
"
and meanwhile you can find a comfortable seat in the
bush where I can confer with the two sides ; choose two

or three men of good address and good judgment for the

purpose."
They obeyed her like children.
When the two deputiesfrom the other side came forward,
two chiefs laid down their arms and went and knelt before
them and held their feet saying it was foolish and unjust
to punish the whole district for the action of a drunken
boy, begging them to place the matter before the White
Ma, and expressingtheir willingness to pay whatever fine
might be imposed. She, too, knelt and begged that
magnanimity might be shown, and that arbitration might
be substituted for war. So novel a proposal was not

agreed to at once. The next few hours witnessed scenes

of wild excitement, risingsometimes frenzy. Bands of

to

men kept advancing from both sides and joining in the

palaver,and every arrival increased the indignationand
the resolution to abide by the old, manlier way of war.
She was well-nighworn out, but her wonderful patience
and tact, coupled with her knowledge of all the outs and
ins of their character, again won her the victory. It was
agreed that a fine should settle the quarrel,and one was
imposed which she thought exorbitant in the extreme,
but the delinquentsaccepted it, and promptly paid part
in trade gin.
Here was another peril. As the boxes and demijohns
were brought forward and put down the mob began to

grow excited at the thought of the drink. She foresaw

trouble and disaster, but though her voice was now too
112 MARY SLESSOR

XVII. Among the Churches

Arriving in England in January 1891 with Janie, who

proved a great comfort and help, she went straightto
Topsham to view the graves of her mother and sister.
She was anxious to spend as much of her furlough as
possibleamongst the scenes and with the friends associated
with her loved ones, and she secured and furnished a house.
It possesseda fine garden, and there, with the little black
girl, she passed a quiet and restful time until the autumn,
when she went to Scotland, making her headquarters at

the home of her friend, Mrs. M'Crindle, now at Joppa.

For many months she was engaged on the deputation

work which missionaries on furlough undertake for the
stimulation of the home congregations. She had less
likingthan ever for addressingmeetings,but she did not
"
shirk the duty. "It is a trial to speak," she said ; but
He has asked me to, and it is an honour to be allowed to

testifyfor Him in any way, and I wish to do it cheerfully."

She wanted also to persuade the women in the Church
to give themselves up more whole-heartedlyto Christ,and
to consecrate themselves to His cause. No trouble was

too great if it served purpose. As that a halo of romance

was beginningto gather about her she was in great request ;

wherever she went the interest of the meeting centred in
her, and her visits were often followed by the formation
of a Zenana Mission Committee.
Not always, however, did she satisfyexpectations.
She would talk freelyat the manse tea-table, especiallyif
children were present, and be led on to give vivid pictures
of her life in the bush, so that the company would be still

sitting entranced when the bell rang for the meeting.

Then a rush would be made to the hall, where impatient
people would be by stories of heroic
waiting to be thrilled
service. And what they heard was an evangelistic address !
The minister would look disappointed, feelingthat he could
have done as well himself. But she sometimes deprecated
surface interest, and said that if the heart was right and
the life consecrated, mission work would be well supported
without any adventitious aid.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 113

After addressinga meeting at Slateford near Edinburgh

she was on the way to the station when a woman who had
been in the audience took Janie and kissed her and pressed
some money into her hand. Next day the minister
received a letter inscribed :

"
For the gave Janie the money
lady who and the hiss on

the way to the station. M. M. Slessor." "

Enclosed was a photograph of Janie and a letter in

which she wrote :

My dear Friend " For such I must call you. Such a true

womanly Christian spiritas you showed yesterday is one of

the fruits of our holy Christianity I thank you for lovingand "

kissingthe child " God bless you, my dear sister. I may yet
see you in the flesh. I will if I go back to Slateford. But I

may be sure of meeting you in the Father's house when the

shadows flee away and the glory has
everlasting dawned.

The recipientkept the photograph and letter and still

treasures them as mementoes of one of whom she never

ceased to think and for whom she always prayed. It was

in such ways that she knit hearts to her.

She made many friends in the manses and in the homes
of the members of the Church, and greatlyincreased the
interest in her work in Calabar, with the result that after
she returned largerstream of correspondenceand
a Mission
boxes began to flow to Okoyong.

XVIII. Love of Lover

I Aware of her singlenessof mind and aim in the service

of Christ, and her whole-hearted devotion to the interests
of the people of Okoyong, it came as a surprise to her
friends to learn that she
engaged to be married. The was

hidden romance was disclosed at a meeting of the Mission

Board in September.
The suitor for her hand was Mr. Charles W. Morrison,
one of the teachers on the Mission staff,a young man from
Kirkintilloch,Scotland, then in his twenty-fifth
year. His
career at home had been a successful one ; he had been an

active Christian worker, and when he appliedto the Board

I
114 MARY SLESSOR

for an appointment in Calabar he was accepted at once

and sent out to Duke Town. He was a man of fine feeling,

with a distinct literary
gift. On the few occasions that he
had seen Mary he was attracted by the brilliant,
ventional
uncon-

little woman, and when she was ill was very

attentive and kind to her. Before she left
furlough on

they had become engaged on the understanding that he

would come and live at Okoyong.
She made it clear to the Board that she had pledged
her word to her people not to leave them, and that she
would not, even for her personal happiness, break her
promise. Mr. Morrison, she believed, would make a very
good missionary, and they would be able to relieve each
other, as she would remain at Okoyong when he was at

home. The Board took time to consider the proposal,

and meanwhile Mary received the congratulations of her
friends. Her replies indicate that there was no uncertainty
in her own mind on the subject:

I lay it all in God's

hands, and will take from Him whatever
He sees best for His work in Okoyong. My life was laid on His
altar for that people long ago, and I would not take one jot or
tittle of it back. If it be for His
glory and the advantage of
His cause there to let another joinin it I will be grateful. If
not I will stilltry to be grateful,as He knows best.

Both were a littledoubtful as to the action of the Board,

and Mr. Morrison asked her whether, in the event of a

refusal,she would consent to return to Duke Town. Such

a project,however, she would not entertain :

" "
It is out of the question,"she explained to a friend. I
would never take the idea into consideration. I could not

leave my work for such a reason. To leave a field like Okoyong

without a worker and go to one of ten or a dozen where the
people have an open Bible and plenty of !
privilege It is
absurd. If God does not send him up here then he must do
his work and I must do mine where we have been placed. If
he does not come I must ask the Committee to give me some
one, for it is impossiblefor me to work the station alone."

The Board, seemingly,were not sure of the wisdom of

the arrangement, and their decision was a refusal.
qualified
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 115

The work which Mr. Morrison was doing at Duke Town,

they said, important, and they could not sanction his
was

transference to Okoyong until full provision was made

for carrying it on effectivelyand to the satisfaction of the

Calabar Committee.
"
When Mary was told the merely said, What
result she
the Lord ordains is right," and, apparently, dismissed the

subject from her mind.

Mr. Morrison was, shortly afterwards, compelled to

return to Scotland on account of his health. A medical

specialistadvised him against resuming work in Calabar,

and he offered for service in Kaffraria, but there was no

opening in that field,and to the regret and disappointment

of the Committee, who regarded him as an able and valued

worker, he resigned. He went later to America and was

livingin a hut the balsam woods of North Carolina

among
when a fire took place in which his much-treasured literary
papers were consumed. The loss affected him greatly,
and hastened his death, which occurred shortly afterwards.
Amongst the few treasured books which Mary left at
the end were battered copies of Eugene Aram and Sketches
by Boz. On the fly-leafof one in her handwriting are the
letters :

C. W. M.
M. M. S.

On the other are signatures in their respectivehands :

C. MORRISON.
M. M. SLESSOR.

Love of mother and sister had been lost to her long

since, and now love of lover and husband was denied, and
again she turned her face, alone, towards the future.

Yes, without cheerof sister or of daughter,

Yes, without stay offather or of son.
Lone on the land and homeless on the water.
Pass I in patience till my work be done.
116 MARY SLESSOR

XIX. A Letter and its Result

A sharp attack of influenza followed by bronchitis cut

short her During her convalescence
engagements. she
one day took up the Missionary Record, and read a letter
"
by the Rev. James Luke entitled An Appeal for Lay
Missionaries for Old Calabar." Like her own writing it
had a touch of styleand originality, and her comment was
" "
Splendid ! But there was one incidental statement
with which she did not agree. Mr. Luke called for two
"
more artisan missionaries " not to teach the trades ; we

haven't sufficient men for that, even were Calabar ripefor

such instruction." As the result of her own observation
and experience she had often
something ought felt that
to be done to develop the industrial capabilitiesof the
natives. The subject had not been lost sight of by the
missionaries and the Mission Board, and the latter had
sought, by sending out competent artisans, to attend not

only to the work requiredin connection with the Mission

but to train some of the native youths in the various ments
depart-
of labour. There had, however, been no attempt
to establish the organised lines, and the remark
work on

which Mr. Luke made induced her to place the whole

matter before the Church. She penned a long letter,the
writing of which so exhausted her that she scarcelyknew
whether or not the words were rightlyspelled. It went
to Dr. George Robson, then beginning his long and able
honour-

editorshipof the Record, and appeared in the next

"
issue under the signatureof One of the Zenana Staff."
It was a letter which displayed all the qualitiesof
missionarystatesmanship,was clear, logical, and vigorous
in style, and glowed with restrained enthusiasm. She
pointed out that it was necessary to help the natives to

become an industrial people as well as to Christianise them,

and she combated the idea that they were not capable
of being taught trades ; their weak point no doubt was
their want of stayingpower, their lack of persistence in the
but this could
face of difficulties, be accounted by theirfor

history; their only rule and mode of life hitherto having

been "
force of circumstance." The question of training
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 117

them, however, was too large a problem for the unaided

missionary, too large even for the Mission Board ; it was
"
a matter for the whole Church to take up. Let the
science of the evangelisationof the nations occupy the
attention of our sermons, our congregations,our confer-
ences,
and our Church literature,and we will soon have
more workers, more wealth, more life, as well as new

methods."
So earnest an appeal caused some stir in official circles.
The Mission Committee took up the subject,and after
interviewingthe missionaries who were at home at the
time, includingherself,referred to Calabar for information.
As she had no further connection with the matter the
outcome may be brieflynoted here. The Calabar mittee
Com-
were favourable to any scheme of industrial
training,
and the local Government also expressed their willingness
to assist. After the Rev. Dr. Laws, of Livingstonia, and
the Rev. W. Risk Thomson, had gone out and reported on
the situation and outlook, the proposalrapidlytook shape,
and the Hope Waddell Training Institute "
thus called
after the founder of the Mission "
came into being, and
was soon performing for West Africa the same valuable
service that Lovedale and Blythswood were doing for South
Africa. She never took any credit for her part in pro-
moting
the undertaking,and never made a singlereference
to it in her letters. She was content to see it realised. . . .

Medical advice sent her down to Devon to recruit. She

did not complain or worry about the readjustment of her
"
plans. We alter things for the good of our children,"
"
she said, and God does the same to us." With Janie
she left for Calabar February 1892, in the Congregational
Church at Topsham bidding her farewell at a publicmeeting
convened in her honour.

XX. The Blood Covenant

It was strange, even for her,pass from the trim,

to
well-ordered life of Britain into the midst of West African
heathenism, " to find waiting for her in her yard two
118 MARY SLESSOR

refugees who, being charged with witchcraft, had been

condemned to be sold and killed and preservedas food, "

to be interviewed by a slave woman who had been bought

by an Okoyong chief as one of his many wives, after having

been the wife of other two men, one of whom had been

disposed of to the cannibal tribe, whilst her boy had been

carried to bondage. Such were
Calabar the conditions
in
into which she was once more plunged.
The majority of the people admired and trusted her,
and gave her implicitobedience, but there were some

who avoided and feared her, and sought to undermine

her authority and perpetuate the old customs. Her own
chiefs remained staunch, and Ma Eme, although a heathen,
continued to be her truest friend and best ally. It was to

her that Mary was still mainly indebted for news of what
was going on. If there was any devilryafoot she would
send a certain bottle to the Mission House with a request
for medicine. It was a secret warning that she was

to be ready to act at a moment's notice. As a result of

these hints she was able to prevent many a terrible crime.
On one occasion, when the natives were seekingto compass
a man's death, shelay down without undressing for a
month of nights,ready to set out, and the first night she
took off her clothes and endeavoured to obtain a good
sleepshe was called. And just as she was she set out for
the scene. The chiefs began to think it was useless to

hoodwink or browbeat the wonderful woman who seemed

to know their inmost thoughts and all their hidden plans.
Sometimes, when she received the intimation that a

palaver was beginning,and that a fight was imminent,

she would not be ready, and would resort to stratagem :

she would seize a large sheet of paper and scribble some

words "

any words "

upon it and add some splashes of

sealing-wax to make it look important. This she would
despatch by a swift runner to the chiefs, and by the time

they had discussed the mysterious official-lookingment,

docu-

which none of them could read, she would come on

the scene and allaythe dispute.

excitement and settle the
One of her favourite devices during palavers was to

knit. She fancied that the act kept her from being nervous,
120 MARY SLESSOR

and she was often tempted to tell them to keep to the point,
but it would have been of no avail.
Night fell,torches were lit,the voices waxed louder,
the excitement spread, until Mary felt that matters were

gettingout of hand, and brought the issue to a head. An

old chief summed up, and did so with rare tact and patience
and good humour. She gathered up the main points
and gave her verdict, which was unanimously adopted
with ringingcheers. A native oath had now to be taken
to ratifythe agreement, and the materials were
necessary
sent for "
a razor, corn, salt, pepper, and rum. A man
free-
from each side was called forward, and after divesting
themselves of all
superfluousclothingthey knelt at her
feet and clasped each other's fingers. Another made an

incision with the razor on the back of their hands, and

when the blood had flowed a little salt, pepper, and corn

were laid
upon the wounds. Then out of courtesy to
"
Ma," they asked her to say a prayer. But she always
witnessed the oath under protest, recognisingthat they
knew better way, and she would
no not comply with their

request, though she offered no objection to one of the

chiefs praying. After the terrible oath formula had been
repeated, the two men sucked up the blood-saturated
ingredientsand swallowed them, and the covenant was

ratified. Relieved from the strain, the whole assemblage

became suddenly smitten with the spiritof fun. The
proceedings were over before midnight, and after a ten
hours' sittingMary began her homeward journey of four
miles, tired and hungry, but happy.

"
XXI. Run, Ma ! Run !"

Her letters at this time bear witness to the strenuous

character of the life she led. They often begin with a

descriptionof household events : then a break will occur :

the next entry starts with "It is many days since I had to
leave off here," and then follows an account of some

sudden journey and adventure. Another interruption will

take place,caused by some long palaver or rescue : and
"
the end will be a remark such as this : So, you see, life
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 121

here, as athome, is just a record of small duties which

occupy the time, and task the strengthwithout much to

show for it."

Here are some incidents which reveal to us the nature
" "
of what she deemed her commonplace work :

1. A Forest Vigil
"
Run, run, Ma ! there is something going on !" was the
" "
significant
message. Where ? She was told, and went

straight off. A chief had died, and the

people were ministeri
ad-
the poison ordeal at a spot deep in the forest,
in order to avoid her interference. She arrived before the
proceedingsbegan, and for four days and four nights she
remained there constantly on the watch. Her clothes
were never off and only those who
" have lived in tropical
lands know what this means. All the rest she allowed
herself was a short half-slumber, as she lay upon some

plantain fronds. The men would not leave the spot,

hoping to tire her out, and at night they lit fires to keep
off the wild beasts of prey, and sleptabout her. In these
long hours she was often afraid, not of the armed men,
but of the wild creatures of the bush that came creeping
up, and with sombre eyes stared at her for a moment ere

they slunk away from the flames. Such courage and

endurance could not be withstood, "
in the end the people
gave in and life was saved.

2. Egbo
She sittingquietlyin the house, thinking she was
was

alone, when a stealthystep behind made her look round :

it was a woman, followed by others all crowding in as
" "
smoothly as tigers. Run, Ma ! run ! they said. The
words were no sooner spoken than Mary was down the stair
"
and out in the open square,"where she found a number
of men pulling about and frighteningthe slaves and
women. She seized hold of one fellow and locked him in
her yard, and the act brought quiet. The mob turned
out to be Egbo from a far-off town, come to sue for a debt
due by a widow, who had already given up everythingto
liquidateit. She knew the people, had been kind to
 122 MARY SLESSOR

them, and had induced them to trade with Calabar. She

at once ordered them out of the place,and made them store
re-

the property they had seized, and in a short time the

matter was settled.
3. Robbers

One day she was busy standing on a box plasteringa

" "
wall when the warning cry came, Run, Ma ! run !
The had gone off with their arms
villagers andfighting were

a band of plunderers,who had stolen two slave-girls

and
two slave-men from Ma Eme's farm. Washing the mud
off her hands and face she ran to the scene, and all next day,
Sunday, she was sittingin the midst of a drinking mob
trying to keep down their passions,and succeeded at last
in findinga pacificsolution.

4. Twins
" "

Again the cry, Run, Ma ! run ! this time from two

boys. It was a case of twins born of a Calabar mother,

who had come to Okoyong after trade began. The father
and his womenkind were furious, and the mother lay
deserted and alone. Mary took the two babies into her

lap,and as they were Calabar twins sent word to the elder

" "
chief. The answer she received was Ahem ! But
" '
the messenger added, A big lady said, Why don't you
' "
take the twins to Calabar ?
She next sent to the younger chief, and asked him to

come and confer with her at a distance.

"
After two hours' weary waiting the reply was, I am

not coming, what should I come for ? Should I tell my

Mother what to do ? Let her do what she sees fit,"
'
"
Well," said Mary, as
"
one chief says, ' Ahem and
the other gives no command, I shall take the children by
a back road to my own house, and during the night the
mother can follow, and we will see how thingsturn round."
being told that she had
On brought twins to the house
"
Edem groaned and said, Then I cannot go to my Mother's
"
house any more. Are they upstairs?
"
Yes," said the messenger,
"
and they are in her own

bed."
"
He groanedagain, No, no, I cannot ever go any more."
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 123

Mary went to his yard to see a sick baby, whom she had
nursed back from death's door after the witch-doctors had
done their best with their charms and medicine, but the
"
mother held the child tightlyin her arms and said, Ma,
"

you shall not touch her ! She turned away, her heart
sore.

On the Sunday rain fell all day, and she could not leave
one of the children who was ill,but in the late evening she
took two lanterns and went to the roadside and held a short
service with the few prepared to come, and who huddled

togetherin the rain. But none of them guessed how near

to tears the
speaker was. She felt the alienation from
her people keenly ; it was the greatest trial that had come

to her, but she was resolved not to give in.

One of the twins died, and some days later Edem offered
her a present of yams, but she declined the gift,
as it might
be mistaken for a bribe to her conscience. He strated,
remon-

but she remained firm, although it cost her much.

Gradually,however, he and his House showed contrition,
and the shadow passed away.
Then a chief from another villagecame, also with a

present of yams. Going on his knees he held her feet

"
and begged her not to give up the child. You are our

Mother; and a woman has proved stronger than all the

men of the tribe : we will be able to believe in all you
ask us by and by, but have patiencewith us."
When he was gone a message came : "A chief from a

distance wants to see you ; come for a iittle."

This man was from a turbulent part of Okoyong and
given to fightingand plundering.
"
I live in my house as ever I did," was her spirited
reply; " and if any one wishes to see me I am here." She
felt pretty sure of her ground, though she could not help
trembling for the result.
The strangers arrived, and Edem with them, and chairs
and mats were placed for them in the court. To her
surpriseshe was asked for her advice, and the visitor went

away convinced that the new ways were better than the old.
The elder chief, Ekpenyong, next sent and begged for
"
forgiveness. The Mother cannot keep a strong heart
124 MARY SLESSOR

against her son. Are you not the hope and strengthand
counsellor of my Forgive me, for it
life ? was foolishness,
I have not been taught from my youth, and have never seen

a twin."
Thus good came out of the trial,and the bonds that
bound her to the people were strengthened. What was

still more remarkable than the attitude of the chiefs was

the fact that the husband took the twin-mother and the
survivingchild home.

5. The Poison Bean

A slave womanimportance who occupied a position

of
of trust died suddenly. When her master was told he
flew into a passion and despatched a messenger to Mary
"
with the rude intimation that somebody hereabouts
knew how to kill people." She returned a curt reply,and
he sent an apology. The next development was the appear-
ance
of some chiefs and a crowd of armed men in her yard.
With them was younga man, not a favourite of hers, to
whom they attributed the woman's death. She questioned
him, and he asserted that he had not seen the woman for
months, and nothing of the supposed witchcraft ;
knew
but he would take the poison bean, and, he added tively,
vindic-
if he did not die he would see that they paid for the
outrage. She sent a message by the chiefs to the owner
of the woman to dissuade him from infhctingthe extreme
test. There was the usual period of uproar, and on her
part the usual recourse to prayer, and then back came the
chiefs with the astonishingreply :
"
I have heard. I understand that the Mother is
determined in her way. What can I do but submit."
Instead of death the sequel was a feast, a goat was

killed, drink procured, and dancing was indulged in all

night. Next day the young man went home to his aged
mother.
6. Runaway Slaves

One day when baking, a man

she wasand his wife,
slaves of a chief in the neighbourhood, came to the door

of the Mission House, and after givingcompliments squatted

down with the air of people who had come to stay.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 125

" "
Well, what is the matter ? she asked. She knew the
woman had a child,which could not have been left at home.
long tale was told. The woman
A had been in the field
all morning hoeing grass : as the sun rose she and her
child grew hungry and she went home to cook some food.
As she was doing so her master, who was not a favourite
either with bond or free, unexpectedly appeared, and
angrilyordered her back to her work. She protestedthat
she needed food, but, brandishing a sword, he frightened
her into flight. Her husband, a palm-oil worker, heard
the noise, and came on the scene, stopped her, and told
" "
her to return and take the food. What does it matter ?
"
he remarked, we are his ; he can kill us if he likes ; we

have nothing to live for." The master, enraged, seized a

gun fired at the man,

and but missed. Taking hold of the
screaming child he declared he would kill it and went off.
It wassimple case, but required delicate handling.
a

She sent one of her girlsto the chief with the message that
his slaves were in her yard, and that as they were holders
house-
and elderlypeople and parents, she hoped there
would be no palaver,and that he would take them back.
"
I will come to-morrow," was the reply.
The runaways sleptin the yard and held something of
the nature of a reception,the other slaves coming and
condoling with them as the poor do with each other all
the world over. It was like a scene from Uncle Tom's
Cabin. One moment the company would encourage them
urging them
cheerily, to have then
patience,- came a string
of doleful tales,then a gush of warm sympathy, and next

a burst of laughter,followed by a shower of tears.

Next day their master did not appear, and they went
to work on the station grounds. The woman was fretting
for her child, and Mana, one of the girls,
was sent with
another message, to the effect that if he could not come

himself he must, for the woman's sake, send on the babe.

The messengerbrought back the news that he was on his
way, but was
tipsy,and breathing out dire threats against
everybody. When Mary heard that three of his wives
were with him, and that her own chief had joined the
party, her mind was at ease.
126 MARY SLESSOR

"
His first act was to lie down at her feet. Ma," he
"
said, you are the owner only of my
not head but of all
my house and my These
possessions. wretched slaves
"
did well to come to you " and so forth.
She sent for a chair and a palaverof several hours
began. The master sometimes lost control of himself
and charged the slave with being full of sorcery and
for all the deaths of recent years.
responsible Shaking
his fistin the man's face he cried :
"
If it wasn't for the reignof the white woman I would
cut you in two ! The white woman is your salvation."
The slave blazed with passion,but Mary entreated him
to be calm. She set the matter in the best light.Both
had been angry and behaved as angry peopleusuallydo,
saying and doingthingswhich in their saner moods they
would have avoided. Alternately and beseeching,
scolding
and throwing in a she at last said
few jokesoccasionally,
both go home, the master
must to restrain himself,and
the slaves to work faithfullyand not to provoke him, as
he had troubles of which they were unaware.
Thus with wise words she pacified them, and when she
had giventhem a few presentsthey went off in great good
humour. The slaves found that during their absence
thieves had stolen their goats and fowls,but the return of
the child compensatedfor the loss,and in their gratitude
"

they sent "

Ma a giftof food.

7. SpoiltFashions
A woman was seized on the assumptionthat she was
concerned in the death of a girl,and Mary watched day
and nightuntil the burial was over. A goat was killed
and placedin the grave, alongwith cloth,dishes,pots,salt,
a lamp, a lantern,and a tin case of cooked food. But
her presence preventedany one being murdered to bear
" "
the dead company. Ma ! said a freeman reproachfully,
"
you have spoiledour fashions. Before you came, a

person took his peoplewith him : now one must go alone

like this poor girl ; you have confused Okoyong too
much." The woman who was seized was allowed to take
the native oath, prayingthat ifshe had a hand in the girl's
128 MARY SLESSOR

fell on the wretched man, and would have killed him had
she not gone to the rescue.

XXII. A Government Agent

In years far-reachingchanges were

these taking place
in regard to the political
status and destinyof the country.
Hitherto the British Government had exercised only a
nominal influence over the coast districts. A consul was

stationed at Duke Town, but he had no means of exercising

authority,and the tribes higher up the Cross River would

war upon one another, block the navigation,and murder

at will. In 1889 the Imperial Government took steps to

arrange for an efficient administration, and despite diffi-

culties
incidental to the absence of a central native authority
succeeded in obtainingthe sanction of the principalchiefs
to the establishment of a protectorate " the Niger Coast
Protectorate. In 1891 Sir Claude Macdonald, who had
carried out negotiations,
the was appointed Consul-General.
No man was better fitted to lay the foundations of British

authority in so backward a territory.The period of

transition from native to civilised rule brought to the
surface many delicate and perplexingproblems requiring
tact, skill, and unwearied patience, but the task was
successfullyaccomplished, though not without an occa- sional

displayof force. It was a specialcause of thankful-

ness
to the missionaries that Sir Claude was in full sympathy
with their work, and co-operatedwith them in every scheme
for the benefit of the people. When he was promoted to
Pekin, the Foreign Mission Board in Scotland expressed
their sense of the value of his efforts in promoting the
welfare of the native population.
Sir Claude appointedvice-consuls for the various districts,
and was proposing to send some one to Okoyong. Miss

Slessor knew that her people were not ready for the sudden
introduction of new laws, and that there would be trouble
if an outside official came in toimpose them. Sir Claude
took point of view, and
her recognisingher unique position
and influence,empowered her to do all that was necessary,
and to organise and supervisea native court. He then
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 129

left her very much to herself, with the result that the
inevitable changes were felt least of all in Okoyong, where

they were made through a woman whom the chiefs and

people implicitlytrusted. Her positionwas akin to that

of a consular agent, and she conducted all the publicaffairs
of the tribe. She presided at the native court. Cases
would be referred to her from Duke Town, and she would
travel over Okoyong to try these, taking with her the
consular messenger, who carried back her decision to

headquarters for official signature. Crowds of the natives

also visited her to consult her regardingthe readjustment
and co-ordination of their customs with the new laws, and
she was able to quietlythat little
settle these matters so

was heard of her achievements. Although she rendered

great service in this way, creatingpublicopinion,establish-
ing
just laws, and protectingthe poor, it was a work she
did not like,and she only accepted it because she thought
it in line with her allegiance to Christ.
Her duties brought her in contact with the officials of
the country. Government men came to see her, and were

not influence,but charmed

only amazed at her political with
her originalqualities.One of these, Mr. T. D. Maxwell,
"
for whom she had a great regard a dear laddie she "
"

called him " writes :

What sort of woman I expected to see I hardly know;

certainlynot what I did. A little frail old lady with a lace
or lace-like shawl over her head and shoulders (that must, I
think, have been a concession to a stranger, for I never saw

the thing again), swaying herself in a rocking-chair and

crooning to a black baby in her arms. I remember being
struck "
most unreasonably "

by
very the strong Scottish
accent. Her welcome was everythingkind and cordial. I had
had long march,
a it was an appallinglyhot day, and she
insisted on complete rest before we proceeded to the business
of the Court. It was held just below her house. Her pound
com-

litigants,
was full of
witnesses, and onlookers, and it was
impressiveto see how deep was the respect with which she was
treated by them all. She was again in her rocking-chair
surrounded by several ladies- and babies-in-waiting, nursing
another infant.
130 MARY SLESSOR

Suddenly she jumped up with an angry growl : her shawl

fell off,the baby was hurriedlytransferred to some one qualified
to hold it, and with a few trenchant words she made for the
door hulking, overdressed
where a native stood. In a moment
she seized him by the scruff of the neck, boxed his ears, and
hustled him out into the yard, tellinghim quite explicitly what
he might expect if he came back again without her consent.
I watched him and his followers slink away very crestfallen.
Then, suddenly as it had
as arisen the tornado subsided, and
(laceshawl, baby, and all)she was again gently swaying in her
chair. The man was a local monarch of sorts, who had been
impudent to her, and she had forbidden him to come near her
house again until he had not only apologisedbut done some

prescribedpenance. Under the pretext of calling on me he

had defied her orders " and that was the result.
I have had a good deal of experience of Nigerian Courts
of various kinds, but have never met one which better deserves
to be termed a Court of Justice than that over which she

presided. The litigantsemphatically got justice sometimes, "

" "
perhaps, like Shylock, more than they desired and it was "

essential justice unhampered by legal technicalities. One

decision I recall I have often subsequently wished
" that I
could follow it as a precedent. A sued B for a small debt.
"
B admitted owing the money, and the Court (that is Ma ")
ordered him to pay accordingly: but she added, "A is a
rascal. He treats his mother shamefully, he neglects his
children, only the other day he beat one of his wives with quite
unnecessary vehemence, yes and she was B's sister too, his
farm is a disgrace,he seldom washes, and then there was the

palaver about C's goat a month ago. Oh, of course A didn't

steal it, he was found not guilty wasn't he ? " all the same the
affair was never cleared
satisfactorily up, and he did look
unusually sleek just about then. On the other hand, B was

thrifty and respectable,so before B paid the amount due

he would
give A a good sound caning in the presence of

everybody."

XXIII. "
Eccentricities," Spade- Work, and

Day-Dreams

Does it seem as if we were watching the career of

a woman of hard, self-reliant,and masculine character,
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 131

capable of livingby herself and preferringit, and uncon-

scious

of the natural weakness of her sex ? In reality Mary

was a winsome soul, womanly in all her ways, tremulous
with feelingand sympathy, loving love and companion- ship,
and not unacquainted with nervousness and fear.
When people saw, or heard of her, toiling with her hands
they were apt to imagine that she possesseda constitution
of iron,never realising that her lifewas one long martyrdom.
She was seldom free from illness and pain. Whether her
methods of life were partly responsiblefor this cannot
be stated. In any case, she seemed able to do thingsthat
would have proved fatal to other people. She never used

mosquito-netting,which is considered to be indispensable

for the securityof health in the tropics. She never wore

a hat, which seems a miracle to those who know the strength

of the sun in these regions. Her hair she kept cut close,
partlybecause it was a cleanlier fashion, and partlybecause
it was less trouble to look after. Shoes and stockings,
also, she never wore, although jiggersand snakes and
poisonousplantswere common in the bush pathways. Mr.
James Lindsay, who was the engineer of the Mission at
"
this time, says, I walked many miles with her through
the bush, and only once did I know her to be troubled with
her feet. She had been to Duke Town, attendingPresby- tery,
and made some small concession to the conventions
by wearing a pairof knitted woollen slippers. On returning
to Okoyong through the bush, small twigs and sticks
penetrated the wool and pricked her feet. With an

expressionof disgustshe took the slippersoff and threw

them into the bush. That was the only time I saw her
other than barefoot." She never boiled or filtered the
water she drank, two precautions which Europeans do
not omit without suffering.She ate native food, and was

not particularwhen meals were served. Breakfast might

be at seven one morning and at ten the next ; dinner
might be an hour or two late ; but
this was, of course,

mainly due to the constant calls upon her time, for she
was often afoot most of the
night, and her days were
frequentlytaken up with long palavers.
These habits, so seemingly eccentric to people lapped
132 MARY SLESSOR

in the civilised order of things,had grown naturallyout

of the circumstances into which she had been forced in

pursuit of the task she had set herself. She had ately
deliber-

given up everythingfor her Master, and she accepted

all the consequences that the renunciation involved. What
she did was for Him, and as she was not her own and
had taken Him at His word and believed that He would
care for her kept in line with His will, she went
if she
forward without fear, knowing that she might, through
inadvertence, incur suffering,but willingto bear it for His
sake and His cause. Her faith and devotion led her into
strange situations, and these shaped the character of her
outward life and habits. She shed many conventions,
simply because it was necessary in order to carry out the
will of Christ. She knew there were some people like the
official who saw her pushing a canoe down to the river
and preferred not to know her ; but she was always
sustained by the knowledge that she was acting in her
Master's spirit. She found in her New Testament that He

ignored the opinion of the world, and she was never afraid
"
to follow where He led. What," says Mr. Lindsay,
"
she lost in outward respectability she more than gained
in mobilityand usefulness. She kept herself untrammelled
in the matter of dress that she might be ready for any

emergency. In case of a sudden call in the night to some

distant villagewhere twin children had been thrown out

or a bloody quarrelwas imminent, she was literally ready

to leave at a moment's notice." The one thing essential
to her was her work, and anything that hampered her
freedom of action was dropped.
Not that she was thoughtlesslyreckless of her health.
She frequently wrote about the need of conserving her

strength,and stated that she was taking all due care.

She apologisedfor reading her Bible in bed on Sunday
mornings ; it gave her a rest, she said, before she began
her day's work. As her Sunday began at 5.30 a.m. and
ended at 7 p.m., and during the greater part of that time
she was walking, preaching,and teaching,she might well
allow herself the indulgence. It may be noted that she
"
sometimes misplaced Sunday. I lost it a fortnightago,"
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 133

"
she wrote, and kept it on a Saturday. Never mind.
God would hear all the prayers and answer them all the
same." On another occasion she was discovered on a

Sunday on the roof of the house thinking

executingrepairs,
it was Monday.
Mr. Ovens relates that once when he went up on a

Monday to do some work he found her holding a service.

" "
She was glad to see him ; but what," said she, is Duke
Town coming to when its carpenter travels on the Sabbath
"

Day ?
" " "
Sabbath
Day ! he echoed. It's Monday."
"
Monday ! why, I thought it was Sabbath. Well,
we'll have to keep it as Sabbath now."
" "
Na, na," he replied, it's no Sabbath wi' me. I
canna afford two Sabbaths in a week."
"
Ah, though," she said ; adding in a whisper,
we must
"
I was whitewashing the rooms yesterday."
"
Realisingthat he must save her face," he took part
in the service and started his work next morning.
In one of Mr. Goldie's letters to a friend at this time
"
there is a delightfultouch. I am at Okoyong," he
"
wrote, and am not sure of the date."
Her womanly sympathy and tenderness were never

better exhibited than in her relations with her dark sisters

about her. She entered into their lives as few have been
able to do. She treated them as human beings,saw the
romance and tragedy in their patientlives,wept over their
trials,and rejoicedin their joys. There was one little
idyllof harem life which she liked to tell.
Some slave- dealers arrived at Ekenge, and among their
" "
bargains was a young and handsome girl,
whom Edem
bought for one of his chief men. Ma Eme, who heard of
the transaction but paid no attention to it,had a able
respect-
slave-woman at one of her farms whom she ordered
to come and live in her own yard. The woman obeyed
somewhat and
unwillingly, in the village
began to grumble
to others about her enforced removal. The new slave-
girlwas cooking her master's food when she heard the voice-
As she listened memories were stirred within her and she
ran out and gazed at the woman, then went nearer and
134 MARY SLESSOR

stared closelyinto her face. The woman demanded what

she was looking at. The girlscreamed and caught her
round the neck and uttered a word in a strange language.
It was the name of the woman, who, in turn, stared at the
girl. When the latter called out her own name the two
embraced and held each other in a grip of iron. The
daughter had found a mother who had been stolen many

years before. yard and sat on the

Both went into the
ground discussingtheir experiencesand receivingthe warm
congratulationsof the other women in the village.
There was trouble at the time in the district,and Mary
had occasion to see Ma Erne after midnight. She found
the two sittingbeside some burning logs,with Ma Eme
on the other side, all three talking over the mystery of
life and its pain and parting and sorrow. She squatted
down beside them, and graduallythe girltold her story.
How she had prayed to the great God for some one to

capture her so that she might have a chance of finding

her mother when the traders went to Calabar. She believed
that among the crowds at Duke Town she would see her
face, and when they left there she almost lost hope.
But "
Ma "
craved the companionship of her kind, and
she enjoyed going down to Duke Town to the various

meetings,and seeingthe ladies of the Mission. She would

not leave the children behind, and as the whole family
would descend unexpectedly on a member of the Mission
staff, some embarrassing situations occurred. One sionary,
mis-
a bachelor, was preparingto turn in about 10 p.m.

when he heard people crowding up the stairs of the

verandah, and a babel of voices. It was "Ma" and all
her boys girlsand babies come
and to lodge with him for
a week. Fortunately he knew his guests, and, as he sur- mised,

they were content with the floor. When the house-

hold

grew, and she could not leave the children so often,

she would sometimes walk with them to Adiabo on the
Calabar River, taking provisionswith her, and there, half-
way,
would meet and picnicwith the Calabar lady agents.
It was about this time that the sense of her loneliness

grew upon her to such an extent that she could not sleep
"
at nights. "
I feel dreadfullylonely,"she wrote, and
136 MARY SLESSOR

On her visits to Calabar she was an object of much

interest. One who knew her then says :
"
She had the
power of attractingyoung men, and she had great influence
with them. Whether they were in Mission work, or traders.
or government men, they were sure to be attracted
by her
vigorouscharacter and by the large-hearted,
understanding
way she would talk to them or listen to their talk of their
work or other interests. She loved to stir them to do
great things."
It was sometimes remarked by visitors that her roundings
sur-

had not the spick-and-span appearance which

usuallycharacterises a Scottish Mission station. She had,
nevertheless, a real appreciation of order and beauty, and
liked to have everything clean and tidy about her. How
to accomplish this was her daily problem, and perhaps
only those who have lived in tropicallands can understand
the position. The difficulty there is not how to make

things grow, but how to prevent them growing. She

waged as fierce and incessant a war with vegetation as she
did with man, but it proved too much for her strength.
" "
I
think," she wrote, if I left alone some of the outdoor
work, even if the place did go to bush and dirt,I would not
be so tired, and I could do more otherwise. But I can't
help it. I must put my hands in wherever there is work
to be done." The task had not become easier for her, for
the new trade with Calabar had brought about a demand
for Okoyong yams, and the people were so busy planting
at their farms that she was unable to hire labour. The bush
would creep up swiftlyand stealthily to the edge of the

dwellingsand become a covering for beasts of prey, and,

then she and her girlswould sallyout and cut it down
and burn it and dig out the roots. And in its place would
be planted corn and cocos and yams and other products,
the children each
having a plot to tend. A privatepath-
way
to the springwhich she had constructed in order that
the girlsmight not mix with the villagewomen and hear
their talk had also to be kept clear. It was hard work in
the hot sunshine, and she and her bairns literally watered
the soil with their perspiration.But no tears were shed
at the work save those caused by merry jokesand laughter.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 137

She often
surveyed the scene with pride,revelHng in the
wild beauty of form and colour, the brilliancyof the
flowering trees, the tender green of the yams on their
supports, the starry jasmine with its keen perfume. She
loved flowers, and taught her scholars to bring them to
school. They had never been conscious of these before,
and the fact that they began to appreciate them was,
she considered, a step forward in their educational ment.
develop-

Often she longed for the power to bring out thousands

of the slum people from the cities at home to enjoy the

open life,and to work the rich lands. Not that she used
" "
the word slum ; it seemed to reflect on the poor, many
of whom she
regarded as the heroes and heroines of God ;
in her humility she believed that many of them would
have been far ahead of her if
they had had the same

advantages. One of her day-dreams was to inherit a

" "
fortune and to spend it all on the poor. If only "
but
"
she would check herself and say, Mary Slessor ! as if
God does not know what to give and how to give it,and
as if He did not love and think for all these poor creatures
who are so mercilessly
pushed aside in the race of life."

XXIV, Maiden-Mother and Angel-Child

Of all the tasks to which she put her hand the sweetest as

well as the saddest was the care of the babes of the bush.
Her house was the refuge of little children : sicklyones
that were left with her to nurse and return ; discarded
ones that were taken to her ; outcast ones that she rescued
from injury and death. So many came, received names,
were described in her letters,and then passed out of sight,
that her friends in Scotland were unable to keep abreast
of her efforts in this direction.
They arrived
in all stages of sickness,but usually the
last. With many a broken body she had never a chance,
but with marvellous patience and tenderness she washed
them and nursed them and loved them and fought the
dark shadow that was ever ready to hover over the
tiny
forms. Night after night she would sit up watching a
138 MARY SLESSOR

face that was wasted and twisted with pain, or walk to

and fro crooning snatches of song to soothe a restless mite

in her arms. Sometimes a hammock was slung up beside
her into which
they were placed, so that if they awoke
during the night she could touch it with her foot and swing
them to sleep again. More than once, when the supply
of condensed milk ran out, she strapped her latest baby to
her body and tramped the long miles to Creek Town
through the bush, and returned next day with the child
and the tins.
The children that were brought back to health and
strengthand restored to their parents it
always a pang was

to part with. She wished she could have kept them and
trained them up away from the degraded influences of
their homes. Those who died she dressed and placed
among flowers in a box, held a service over them, and
buried them in a little cemetery, which by and by became
full of tiny graves. She mourned over them as if they had
been blood of her blood. Mr. Ovens used to say to her,
" "
Never mind, lassie,you'llget plenty mair " and indeed
there were always plenty.
Of all the African children that passed through her
hands none endeared itself so much to her as Susie, her
firstOkoyong twin. The mother, lye, was a slave from
Bende, lightin colour and handsome, and was the property
of one of the big women, who treated her with kindness
and consideration. When the twins arrived all was

changed. Miss Kingsley,who arrived at Ekenge the same

day on a visit to Mary, thus describes the scene :

She was subjectedto torrents of virulent abuse, her things

were torn from her, her English china basins, possessionsshe
valued most highly,were smashed, her clothes were torn, and
she was driven out as an unclean thing. Had it not been for
the fear of incurringMiss Slessor's anger, she would, at this
point have been killed with her children, and the bodies thrown
into the bush. As it was, she was hounded out of the village.
The rest of her possessions
were jammed into an empty gin-case
and cast to her. No one would touch her, as they might not

touch to kill. Miss Slessor had heard of the twins' arrival and
had started off, barefooted and bareheaded, at that pace she
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 139

can go down a bush path. By the time she had gone four
miles she met the coming to her, and all
the
procession, woman

the rest of the villageyellingand howling behind her. On the

top of her head was the gin-case,into which the children had
been stuffed, on the top of them the woman's big brass skillet,
and on the top of that her two market calabashes. Needless
to say, arrivingMiss Slessor took charge of affairs,relieving
on

the unfortunate, weak, staggering woman from her load and

carrying it herself,for no one else would touch it,or anything
belonging to those awful twin things,and they started back
together to Miss Slessor's house in the forest-clearing, saved
by that tact which, coupled with her courage, has given Miss
Slessor an influence and a power among the negroes unmatched
in its way by that of any other white.
She did not take the twins and their mother down the

villagepath to her own house, for though, had she done so, the
people of Okoyong would not have prevented her, yet so
pollutedwould the path have been and so dangerous to pass
down, that they would have been compelled to cut another,
no lighttask in that bit of forest,I assure you. So Miss Slessor
stood waiting in the broilingsun, in the hot season's height,
while a path was being cut to enable her justto get through to
her own grounds. The natives worked away hard, knowing
that it saved the pollutingof a long stretch of market road,
and when it was finished Miss Slessor went to her own house

by it, and attended with all kindness, promptness, and skill

to the woman and children. I arrived in the middle of this
affair for my first meeting with Miss Slessor, and things at
Okoyong were rather crowded, one way and another, that
afternoon. All the attention one of the children wanted " the
boy, for there were a boy and a girl "
was burying,for the people
who had crammed them into the box had utterlysmashed the
child's head. The other child was alive,and is still a member
of that household of rescued children, all of whom owe their
lives to Miss Slessor.
The natives would not touch it,and only approached it after

some days, and then only when it was held by Miss Slessor or

me. If either of us wanted to do or get something, and we

handed over the bundle to one of the house children to hold,

there was a stampede of men and women off the verandah, out

of the yard, and over the fence, if need be, that was exceedingly
comic, but most convincing as to the realityof the terror and
140 MARY SLESSOR

horror in which they held the thing. Even its own mother
could not be trusted with the child ; she would have killed it.
She never desire to have
betrayed the slightest it with her, and
after a few days' nursing and feeding up she was anxious to

go back to her mistress, who, being an enlightened woman, was

willingto have her if she came without the child.

The woman's own lamentations were pathetic. She would
sit for hours singing or rather mourning out a kind of dirge
"
over herself
Yesterday I was
: a woman, now I am a horror,
a thing all people run from. Yesterday they would eat with
me, now they spit on me. Yesterday they would talk to me
with sweet mouth, and now they greet me only with curses and
execrations. They have smashed my basin, they have torn
my clothes," and so on, and so on. There was no complaint
against the people for doing these things,only a bitter sense
of injury against some superhuman power that had sent this
witheringcurse of twins down on her.
The surviving infant, Susie, was not commonplace in
feature like the other black children ; she was not in
realitya negress, but fair,shapely,and clean-skinned,with
a nose like a white child's and a sweet mouth "
a mouth
"
which Miss Kingsley called the button-hole." Every one

loved her, and she was

queen of the household.
When she was fourteen months old Miss Slessor one day
went to the dispensaryand left her in charge of Mana, who
put down jug of boilingwater on the floor beside her.
a

Susie thought it a plaything,and, seizingit,pulled it over

"

upon herself. Instead of callingfor Ma Mana ran with "

the child to the bathroom and poured cold water over the
wounds. For thirteen days and nights she was never out

of Mary's hands. Fortunately Miss Murray, a lady agent

who, at her own request, had been stationed at Okoyong
for a time, and whose companionship she valued, helped
"
her greatly. She was like a sister to me," she wrote.
Thinking more might be done by a medical man she started
off with the child in her arms, arrived at Creek Town at

midnight, and woke up the doctor, who, however, said he

could not do more than she had done. She returned at

once to Ekenge, and again watched the sufferingbabe by

day and night. In the darkness and silence,when all were
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 141

"
asleep,she would hear the faint words, Mem, Mem,
"
Mem ! "
the child's name for her " and the wee hand would
be held up for her to kiss. Early one Sunday morning
she passed away in her arms. Robed in a pinafore,with
her beads and a sash, and a flower in her hand, she looked
"
like an angel child."
The event caused a strange stir in Okoyong. None of
the villagers
went to their farms or market while the child
was hovering on the brink of death, and when she passed
away they came and mourned with "
Ma."
She was buried in the cemetery where so many other
haplesswaifs were already at rest. In her anguish Mary
could not conduct the service, but sat at the window and
looked out while Miss Murray bravely took her place.
The and sad, gathered
people,respectful round the grave "

the grave of a twin !" and one of the women, a leader in

heathenism, praised the white Mother's God for the child,
and prayed that they might all have her hope in the Beyond.
" "
Surely," was Mary's comment, they all felt the vast
difference between their burials with all their drink and
madness, and ours so full of quiet hope and expectant
faith."
The slave-mother had often come to visit her, and
had actuallygot to love the child,and when it died she was
" "
heartbroken. Ma," she said, don't cry. I have done
this. God hates me. I shall go away and not bring any
more evil on you." With that she went back to her hut
in the bush.
" "
If I were a wealthy woman," said "
Ma," I would
buy her ; but I cannot afford it,so we must do our best to
cheer up."her
Although she objected to buying slave- women, even to
restore them to freedom, on account of the wrong impres-
sion
it left on the native mind, she made an exception in
the lye, and not long afterwards she
case of was able to

purchase her libertyfor "lO, and she became an inmate

of the Mission House, Miss Slessor's intention being to train
her so that she might be useful to any lady who lived at the
station during her absences in Scotland. To the natives
'^
lye was an outcast, and had "no character." Etubom,"
142 MARY SLESSOR

"
Mary said to Mr. Ovens, if a slave-dealer came round I
" " "
would not get "6 for her." Why ? said he. She has
no character." "
But he would buy her and take her up
" " "

country." "
What for ? To feed her for chop ! . . .

For some time she suffered physicallyfrom the shock

she had received. No mother could have grieved more
"
bitterlyover the loss of a beloved child. My heart aches
"
for my darling,"she wrote. Oh the empty place, and
the silence and the vain longingfor the sweet voice and the
"
soft caress and the funny ways. Oh, Susie,Susie !

XXV. Mary Kingsley's Visit

Miss Kingsley paid her visit to the West Coast in 1893.

Like all who travelled in West Africa, she heard of the
woman missionary who lived alone among the wild

Okoyong, and made point of going up

a to see her. Miss
"
Slessor welcomed so capable and earnest a worker. She
"

gave me," says Miss Kingsley, some of the pleasantest

days of my life." In some respects these two brilliant
women were much polesasunder in
akin, though they were

regard to their outlook on spiritualverities. They had

long discussions on religioussubjects,and would sit up
late beating over such questions as the immortality of
"
the soul. Miss Kingsley was profoundly impressed. I
would give anything to possess your beliefs," she said
wistfully, but I can't, I can't ; when God made me He
"

must have left out the part that one believes with."
Nevertheless Miss Slessor said that for all her beliefs and
unbeliefs she was one of the most truly Christian women
she had ever met. On her return to England Miss Kingsley
spoke often of her in terms of affection and admiration, and
acknowledged to friends that she had done her much
spiritualgood. Mary, on her part, poured into her session
pos-
all her treasures of knowledge concerningthe fetish
ideas and practicesof the natives, and probably none knew
more about these matters than she. Most missionaries
confess that they never get to the back
of the negro mind,
and one who worked in a neighbouringfield once said that
after nineteen years' careful study he had yet to master
144 MARY SLESSOR

grey and sunless." Hearing of a proposed memorial to the

intrepidtraveller she sent a guinea as her mite towards it.

XXVI. An All-Night Journey

An outburst of fightinghad taken place amongst the

factions around Ekenge, Women were the cause of it,
and a number had been herded into a stockade near the
Mission House, where a band of men were proceeding to
murder them. Mary came on the scene and held them
at bay. All day she stood there and all night, her girls
handing her from time to time a cup of tea through the
poles of the enclosure. Next night matters had become
quieter,a tornado of rain and wind having eased the
situation, but she was soaked, whilst the mats of the
Mission House had blown up and the interior had been
flooded, so that both the girlsand herself needed dry
garments. Then the condensed milk was nearly done, she
was told, and the baby she was nursingwould suffer without
it. Both clothingand milk could only be procured from
Calabar, and as she had no messenger to despatch there,

she resolved to go herself.

After dark she stole out of the stockade, placed the
child in a basket, secured a woman as guide, and with a

lantern started out to walk through the bush to Creek

Town. She reached Adiabo on the Calabar River about
half -past ten, obtained a cup of tea from the native pastor,
and pushed guide lost the way, a deluge of rain
on. Her
fell,and they wandered aimlesslyfor a time through the
dripping forest,before again strikingthe track.
Creek Town was reached at four o'clock in the morning.
She knocked up Miss Johnstone, who sent her to bed for

an hour, and sought for some tins of milk. As soon as

two had been procured Mary was eager to be off. Miss

Johnstone gave her some changes of clothing, and King

Eyo put his canoe and a strong crew at her disposal, and
she was soon speedingup-river. On her arrival she found
to her satisfaction that her absence had not been discovered,
and she was able eventuallyto restore peace without the

shedding of blood.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 145

Two days later a canoe which came down-river to Duke

Town brought word that she was ill with dysentery. Dr.
Laws of Livingstonia, who was then visiting the Mission
as a deputy, happened to be at Creek Town and was asked
to go and see her with Mr. Manson, one of the industrial
staff,as guide. Their nearlyswamped by rain,
canoe was

and they had to change their clothingwhen they arrived.

She was soon up and through to the hall to provide
hospitality for her guests, supportingherself by the table
the while. A peremptory order came from Dr. Laws to

return to bed at once. She gave him a long curious look,

and then without a word went and lay down. He noticed
that his companion appeared both astonished and amused,
and it was not until he returned to Calabar, and heard
" "
Mr. Manson tellinghow Ma Slessor had been taken
in charge for once, that he realised how bold he had been.
Dr. Laws thought that few women, or even men, could
have stood the isolation that she endured.

XXVII. Akom: a First-Fruit

Although force of circumstances made her the ment

instru-
of law and order her chief aim was to win the people
to Christ, and all her efforts were directed to that end. It
was for" souls she was always hungering,and the lack of
conversions was her greatest sorrow. Nevertheless she
was making progress. The people were becoming familiar
with the name of God and Christ and the principles
underlying the Gospel, and there were many who leant
more to the new way than to the old, whilst some in
their hearts believed. The boys that were being trained
at school and service were perhaps the most cheering
element in the situation, and upon them she set her
hopes.
It was wonderful that she achieved what she did in
view of the conditions that prevailed. How difficult it
was for a native to break away from habits and customs

ingrained in them through centuries of repetitionmay

be gathered from the story of Akom, a freewoman, one of
the most self-righteousof the big ladies of the district.
L
 146 MARY SLESSOR

She had been betrothed, when a year old, to a young and

powerful chief,and brought up in the harem
had and been
was a zealous upholder of all superstitious practices. On
her lord's death she escaped the poison ordeal, and was
active in placingwives and slaves into the grave. By and
by Ekpenyong made her his wife and mistress of the harem,
and for twenty years she held undisputed sway.
When Edem's son was killed by the fallingof a log it
will be remembered that Ekpenyong was blamed for the
event and retired to the bush. Not long afterwards a

young chief there fell sick, and the witch-doctor on sulting

con-

his oracle declared that he saw Akom and her son

dancing the gailypiercingthe sick

whole night long,and
man with knives and spears. Akom was charged with
sorcery, and asked to take the poison ordeal. Her friends
advised her to flee,and she and her son disappearedduring
the night and took refuge in Umon, where the people gave
them the protectionof their ibritam or juju.
"
"
Ma was in Scotland at the time. When she returned
Ekpenyong begged her to interfere and have his wife

brought back. This she managed to do after Akom had

taken inbiam, " the strongest and most dreaded of native
oaths, which included the drinking of blood shed from the
wrist. The woman came to see her, but stood outside.
" " "
What ? exclaimed "
Ma," you cannot come within
" " "

my gate ? No," was thereply ; you had a twin-

mother once livingin the yard, and I cannot come in lest
I touch the place she touched." Those who took the
mbiam oath believed that they would die if they came in
"
contact in any way with a twin-mother. "
Ma
pretended
to be hurt, and said, " If my house is polluted you had
better go home, as I do not receive visitors on the road."
After a time Akom ventured in, and she was kind to her
and gave her an order for mats, at the making of which
she adept.
was an
" "
She then came regularlyand listened intentlyto Ma's
teaching,although she said nothing. By and by she began
to remark on the purity of the Gospel religion and show
increased reverence at the services. Twins came, and she
mastered her fear and went into the house. But alas ! a
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 147

mysterious pain straightway developed in her foot, and

this surely was mbiam punishing her ; and when a skin
disease followed, her faith nearly failed her, and she wailed
and mourned in despair. "Ma" spoke stronglyto her;
"
and at last she rose and said, I am a fool ; my God, my
Father, listen not to my foolishness. Kill me if Thou

wilt, but do not leave me."

The disease was checked, and a native medicine effected

a cure. But she stood out against any sacrifice,saying

very
"
sensibly, My Father owns the bush and gives us
the knowledge of the medicine, and as the Master knows
what He has made He knows also how to bless it apart
from any outsider."
Ekpenyong all this while had ignored his wife, expecting
that the mbiam would do its work. He looked grimly on,
and when she injured her foot against a root he believed
the end had arrived. All the people watched the struggle
between the white woman's prayers and the mbiam's

power, and when the woundnonplussed, healed they were

but quaintly explained the miracle by saying that their
Mother was different from other white people,and so had
prevailed.
Akom grew in grace despite her surroundings, and
found strength in her contact with Christ. An amazing
thing to her was that the man who had accused her of
witchcraft came and made friends with her.
"
"
Ma," she said, see what God has wrought. The
man who demanded my life comes to tell me his affairs !
I sometimes wanted to take revenge, but I have got it
from God, and His revenge is of a sweeter kind than that
of the Consul."
It was cases like this that coloured Miss Slessor's lifewith
joy. Sometimes, too, she was unexpectedly cheered by evi-
dence
of the fruit of her work in past days. In 1894 a lad,

an old scholar of hers in Duke Town, turned up in the village.

He had made good use of his education, and wherever he
went, on farm and on beach, he held worship and got the
people to listen. It was not surprisingthat she regarded
the boys as her most hopeful agents, although she was
always very careful in choosing them as teachers for bush
148 MARY SLESSOR

schools ; she thought it beHttled the message to send

those who were not thoroughly fit for the work.

XXVIII. The Box from Home

The most joyous break in the domestic life at Ekenge,

both for the house-mother and the children, was caused

by the arrival of boxes of giftsfrom Scotland. So many

congregationsand Sunday Schools had become interested
in her and her work that there was a continuous stream
"
of packages to Okoyong. I am ashamed at receivingso
much," she would say. Her own friends also remembered
her ; and on one occasion she wrote to a lady who had sent
a personalcontribution, It seems like a box from a "
whole

congregation,not from an individual."

She was speciallydelightedwith the articles that came

from the children of the Church, and many a letter she

wrote in return to the scholars in Sunday Schools. None
knew better how to thank them. She would give them a

pictureof the landing of the boxes at Duke Town, and the

journey up the Calabar River in the canoe or in the steamer
David Williamson which they had themselves subscribed
"

for and supplied to the beach, and of the excitement

"

when the engineer came over, perhaps with visitors,to

announce the arrival.
"
"
White people come, Ma ! The cry by day or night
always roused the girlran to make up
household. One
the fire and put on the kettle, another placed the spare
room in order, a third took the hand parcelsand wraps,
and "Ma" herself welcomed the guests with a Scottish
word or two, and a warm hand-clasp. They would give
her home letters,but these she would lay aside until she
was more at leisure. Then a whisper would go round
that there were goods at the beach, and every man, woman,
and child about the place would be eager to be off to bring
them up. But the boxes would be too large and heavy
to be borne on heads through the forest, and they would
be opened and the contents made up packages, with
into

which the carriers marched off in singlefile. Depositing

them at the house they would return for more until all
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 149

were safelyconveyed. Then the articles would be exposed

amidst cries of wonder and delight,and the house become
like a bazaar. Sometimes there would be a mix-up of

articles,but the loving messages pinned on to each would

clear up the confusion. to Mary dearly loved lingerover
each giftand spin a little history into it, and she would
"
pray with a full heart, Lord Jesus thou knowest the
giver and the love and the prayers and the self-denial.
Bless and accept and use all for Thy glory and for the good
of these poor strayingignorant children, and repay all a

thousandfold."
She was careful in her allocation of the giftsamongst
the people in order that they might not be regarded as a
bribe to ensure good behaviour or attendance at the
services. She would not even give them as payment for
work done, as this, she thought, put the service on a

commercial basis and made them look again for an

equivalent gain. Pictures and texts, like dolls, were

somewhat of a problem, as there was a danger of the people

worshipping them. But they liked to beautify their

squalid huts with them, and she regarded them as an

educative and civilising agency not to be despised. Also

to a certain extent they gave an indication of those who

had sympathy with the new ideas, and were sometimes a

silent confession of a break with heathenism.

To one old woman, the first Christian,was given a copy
"
of The Light of the World." Holding it reverentlyshe
"
exclaimed, Oh ! I shall never be lonely any more. I
can't read the Book, but I can sit or lie and look at my
Lord, and we can speak together. Oh, my Saviour, keep
"
me till I see you up yonder ! It was explained that
the picturewas an allegory,
and the woman understood ;
but she simply saw Christ in all the fervour of her born
new-

love and faith,and Mary trusted to keep her rightby

dailyteaching.
Some of the articles found odd uses. A dress would
be given to a girl who was entering into seclusion for
fattening ; a dressing-gown would go to the chief who
was a member of the native Court, and he would wear it
when trying cases, to the admiration of the people ; a
150 MARY SLESSOR

white shirt would be presented to another chief, and he

" "
would don it like a State robe when paying Ma a

formal visit. Blouses she retained, since no native women

wore them. The pretty baby-clothes were a source of

wonder to the
people they were speechlessat
" the idea
of infants wearing such pricelessthings. It must be
" "
confessed that there was something for which Ma
always searched when a box from her own friends arrived.
Like the children she was fond of sweets, and there would
be a shriek of delightfrom more than juvenilelipswhen
the well-known tins and bottles were discovered in some

corner where they had been designedlyhidden.

XXIX. An Appeal to the Consul

"
Religiousmissions have worked persistently and well,
and pointed out to the people the evil of their cruelties
and wrongdoing, but there comes a time when their efforts
need backing up by the strong arm of the law of civilisation
and right."
Sir Claude Macdonald wrote this in the autumn of 1894.

Perhaps he had in mind the case of Okoyong. For in that

year Miss Slessor came to the conclusion that it was time

to invoke the great power which
lay behind her in order
to put a stop to the practice of killingon charges of

witchcraft.
She was busy with a twin-murder case when word
suddenly arrived that a man was being blamed for causing
his master's death, and that a palaver was going on. She
sent some of the children at once to say that when her
household had retired she would walk over in the light.
moon-

But a tornado came on, and the rain poured all

night. As soon as it cleared she despatched a message :

"
Don't anything till I come
do I will come " when the
"
bush is drier." On receivingthis the accuser rose : Am
I not to give him any ordeal tillMa comes ? I will not be
able to do it then ! She won't be willing. Unlock his
chains and take him to Okat Ikan, where he will be beyond
her reach."
Seizing the man his henchmen hurried him off, and
152 MARY SLESSOR

fear, and preparing them for the subjectsthat would be

dealt with.
It was Mr. Moor, the Vice-Consul, who came, and he
brought a small guard of honour which paraded in the
village, and gave Okoyong a greater thrill than it had yet
experienced. Mr. Moor found "Ma" on the roof of her
house repairingthe mats which had been leaking,but she
was not in the least perturbed,and received him with perfect
composure. He was very patientand kind with the chiefs,
but sought to impress upon them the necessityfor some
improvement in their habits. Already Mary had been
much impressed with the new stamp of Government
officialunder Sir Claude Macdonald, and this representative
of the class she thought one of the best.
As a result of the conference the chiefs promised to
"
abstain from
killingat funerals,and to allow Ma to have "

an opportunity of saving twins and caring for them in a

special hut. She gave thanks to God ; but she knew
the African nature, and did not relax her vigilance. A
month after the Consul's visit a kinsman of the above
"
chief,older and much
wealthy, died suddenly.
more We
trembled for their promise to the Consul," she wrote,
"
but we left them to themselves, believingthat it was
better to trust them to a great extent, and instead of going

and stayingwith them to watch, we sent our compliments

and gifts, and told them we expected they would remember
their treaty and the consequences of any breach of faith.
After all was over not a slave or vassal
missing,and was

though there were not wanting idle tongues let loose by

the unlimited supply of strong drink, and brawlings,and
determinations to take the poison of their own accord in
order toprove their innocence, not one person has died
as the direct result of the dread event."
Mrs. Weir once spent a week-end at Okoyong, and
accompanied her to a villagetwo or three miles away
where she was in the habit of going to conduct a service.
When they they found that the head of a house
arrived
had died, and was being buried, according to custom,
inside the house. They were taken to the place and saw
the dead man's possessions his pipe, snuff-box, powder-
"
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 153

flask,and other articles "

placed in the grave in order that

they might be useful to him in the other world. Mrs.

Weir could help wondering at
not their after
superstition
all the teaching that they had been given. She said
nothing; but Mary, with her keen intuition, read her
"
thoughts and said, You will be thinking they are not

different yet, but when I came to Okoyong, do you

very
think I would have seen men and women moving freely
about like this ? They would have all been refugeesin
the bush, and those who had been caught would have been

in chains, waiting to be put to death, so that their spirits

might accompany the chief."
Towards the end of the year she had what she called
one of her descents into the valley of the shadow, and
" "
was removed to Duke Town. Daddy Anderson, who
had retired,but had come out again to Calabar on a visit,
walked over to see her ; he said very little,but just sat
and held her hand. He, himself, was passing into the
shadow, but not to return. She was with him at the
"
last, and did her best to comfort him. Dear Daddy
"
strange land
"
Anderson ! she wrote ; Calabar seems a to

me now. All the friends are strangers to the old order.

The Calabar of my girlhood is among the things of the

past."
scepticismregardingthe promise of the people was
Her
justified, of twins went
for the killing on as usual ; and in
the followingyear she brought up Sir Claude Macdonald
himself to renew the covenant. Sir Claude was all kind-
ness

courtesy, assuringthe chiefs that he did not come

and
to take their country, but to guide them into a proper

way of governing it,that all,bond and free,might dwell in

safetyand peace. What he insisted on was their recogni-
tion
and humanity.
of the claims of justice The spokesman,
an greyheaded man, said they wished to retire,in order
old
to consult together. On returninghe naivelyexcused their
conduct by stating that when they only heard words
once they thought the matter unworthy of their considera-
tion,
but when they were repeated,they thought there
must be something in them, and so they would obey the
requirements of the Government this time. As regards
154 MARY SLESSOR

"
twins, they were doubtful. We are not sure that no evil
will happen to us if we obey you ; we have our fear,but we

will try." They would not, however, consent to keep

them in their own homes, and again Mary said that if they
would notifyher of the births she would be responsiblefor
their welfare.
She had been acting as interpreter, and as the palaver
lasted from early morning until after dark she was much
fatigued. Her last words were to encourage the chiefs to
keep their pledge,and they would enjoy the benefits when
she might be no more with them. The very suggestionof
"
farewell alarmed them. God cannot take you away
"
from your children," they exclaimed, until they are able
to walk by themselves."

XXX. After Seven Years

Africa is slow to change : the centuries roll over it,

leavingscarcelya trace of their passing: the years come

and go, and the people remain the same : all effort seems

in vain. Could one weak woman affect the conditions

even in a small district of the mighty continent ?
It had been uphillwork for her. At firstthere had been
only dogged response to the message
a she had brought.
When some impression had been made she found that it
soon disappeared. In ordinarylife the peoplewere volatile,
quick as fire to resent, and as quick to forgiveand forget,
and they were the same in regard to higherthings. They
went into rapture over the Gospel,prayed aloud, clasped
their hands, shed tears, and then went back to their drink-
ing,
and quarrelling.They kept to
sacrificing, all the old
"

ways, in case they might miss the rightone. Yes, Ma,"

"
they would say, that is rightfor you ; but you and we are

different."
"
But she never lost hope. There is not much progress
"
to report," she was accustomed to say, and yet very
much to thank God for, and to lead us to take courage."
She was quite content to go bringingrays of sunshine
on

into the dark lives of the people, and securing for the
"
children better conditions than their fathers had. After
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 155

all,"she would say,

"
it comes back to this,Christ sent me

to preach the Gospel,and He will look after results." She

was always much comforted by the thought of something
she had heard the Rev. Dr. Beatt, of her old church
in Aberdeen, say in a sermon : she could recall nothing
but the heads, and one of these was,
"
Between the sower

and the reaper stands the Husbandman.'' But results

there were of a most important kind, and it is time to take

stock of them. Fortunately she was induced at this time

to jot down some impressions of her work, and these,
which were never published,give the best idea of the re-
markable

change which had been wrought in the life and

habits of Okoyong. It will be noticed that she does not
"
use the pronoun I." Whenever she gave a statement

of her work she always wrote "

we," as if she were a worker
co-

with a Higher Power.

"
"
In these days of high pressure,"she says, men demand

large profitsand quick returns in every department of our

commercial and national life,and these must be served up with

the definiteness and precisionof statistics. This abnormal
and feverish haste has entered to some extent into our religious
work, and is felt more or less in all the pulses of our Church.
Whatever may be the reasons for such a course regard to
in

its
worldly callings, methods and standards are utterlyforeign
to the laws of Christ's kingdom, and can only result in distor-
tions
and miscalculations when applied to His work. While

thanking God for every evidence of life and growth, we shrink

from reducing the throes of spirituallife,the development and
workings of the conscience, or the impulse and trend toward
God and righteousness,
to any given number of figureson a

table. Hence it is with the greatest reluctance that we

endeavour to sum up some tangibleproof of the power of God's

Word among our heathen neighbours. While to our shame
and confusion of face it has not been what it might, and would
have been had we been more faithful and kept more in line with

the will and spiritof God, it has to the praiseof the glory of
His grace proved stronger than sin and Satan.
"
We attempt to give in numbers
do not those who are

nominally Christian. Women, lads,girls,and a few men profess

to have placed themselves in God's hands. All the children
within reach are sent to the school without stipulation.One
156 MARY SLESSOR

lady of free birth and good positionhas borne persecutionfor

Christ's sake. We speak with diffidence ; for as no ordained
minister has ever been resident or available for more than a

short visit,no observance of the ordinances of Baptism or the

Lord's Supper have been held and we have not had the usual
definite offers of persons as candidates membership. for Church
We have just kept on sowing the seed of the Word, believing
that when God's time comes to gather them into the visible
Church there will be some among us in the
ready to participate
privilegeand honour.
"
Of results as affectingthe condition and conduct of our

people it is
generally, more easy to speak. Raiding,plunder-
ing,
the stealingof slaves,have almost entirely ceased. Any
person from any place can come now for trade orpleasure,and
stay wherever they choose, their persons and property being as
safe as in Calabar. For fullya year we have heard of nothing
like violence from even the most backward of our people.
They have thanked me for restrainingthem in the past, and
begged me to be their consul, as they neither wished black man

nor white man to be their king. It would be impossible,apart

from a belief in God's particularand personal providence in
answer to prayer, to account for the ready obedience and
submission
seemed sometimes
drunken, passion-swayed men
to our judgment
to be almost
which
miraculous
should
was

give heed
accorded
that hordes
and
to us.

of armed,
chivalrous
It
i
homage to a woman, and one who had neither wealth nor

outward displayof any kind to produce the sentiment

slightest
in her favour. But such was the case, and we do not recollect
one instance of insubordination.
"
As their intercourse with the white men increased through
trade or otherwise, they found that to submit to his authority
did not mean loss of libertybut the opposite, and gradually
their objectionscleared away, tillin 1894 they formallymet and
bound themselves to some by extent treaty with the Consul.
Again, later, our considerate, patient,tactful Governor, Sir
Claude Macdonald, met them, and at that interview the last
objection was removed, and they promised unconditional
surrender of the old laws which were based
unrighteousness on

and cruelty, and cordial acceptance just of the

and, as they
' '
called it, clean code which he proffered them in return.
Since then proclaimed them
he has a free peoplein every respect
among neighbouring tribes, and so, placing them on their
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 157

honour, speak, has made out of the roughest material a

so to

lot of self-respecting men who conduct their business in a

fashion from which Europeans might take lessons. Of course

they need superintendence and watching, for their ideas are
not nicely balanced
so as ours in regard to the shades and

degrees of right and wrong, but as compared with their former

ideas and practice they are far away ahead of what we

expected.
"
No tribe was formerly so feared because of their utter

disregardof human life,but human life is now safe. No chief

ever died without the sacrifice of many lives,but this custom
has now ceased. Only last month the man who, for age, wealth,
and general influence,exceeded all the other Okoyong, chiefs in
died from the effects of cold caught three months before. We
trembled, as they are at some distance from us, and every drop
of European drink which could be bought from all the towns
around was bought at once, and canoes were sent from every
hamlet with all the produce at command to Duke Town for
some more, and all was consumed before the people dispersed
from the funeral. But the only death resultinghas been that
of a man, who, on being blamed by the witch-doctors, went and
hanged himself because the chiefs in attendance "
drunk as

they were give him the poison ordeal.

" refused to Some chiefs,
gathered for palaver at our house on the day of his death, in
'
commenting on the wonderful change said, Ma, you white
people are God Almighty. No other power could have done
this.'
"
regard to infanticide and twin-murder
With we can speak
hopefully. It will doubtless take some time to develop in them
the spiritof self-sacrifice to the extent of nursing the vital

spark for the mere love of God and humanity among the body
of the people. The ideals of those emerging from heathenism
are necessarily low.
almost What the foreigner does is all

very well for the foreigner,but the force of habit or something

more subtle evidently excuses the practiceof the virtue among
themselves. Of course there are exceptions. All the evidence
goes to show that something more tangible than sentiment
or principledetermines the conduct of the multitude, even

among those avowedly Christian. But with all this there has
dawned on them the fact that saving, even at the
life is worth
risk of one's own : and though chiefs and subjects alike, less
than two years ago, refused to hear of the saving of twins, we
 158 MARY SLESSOR

have
already their promise and the first instalment of their

fidelity to their promise in the persons of two baby girlsaged

six and five months respectively, w ho have already won the
hearts of some of our neighbours and the love of all the school
children. Seven women have literally touched them, and all
the people,includingthe most practicalof the chiefs, come to
the house and hold their palavers in full view of where the
children are being nursed. One chief who, with fierce gesticula-
tions,
some years ago protested that we must draw the line
at twins, and that they should never be brought to lightin his
lifetime,brought one of his children who was very ill,two
months ago, and laid it on our knee alongsidethe twin already
there, saying with a sob in his voice, There ! they are all '

yours, livingor dying, they are all yours. Do what you like
with mine.'
"
Drinking,especially among the women, is on the decrease.
The old bands of roving women who came to us at first are now

only amemory and a name. The women still drink, but it is

at home where the husband can keep them in check. In our

immediate neighbourhood it is an extremely rare thing to see

a woman intoxicated, even on feast days and at funerals. None

of the women who frequent our house ever taste it at all,but
they still keep it for sale and give it to visitors. Indeed it is
the only thing which commands a ready sale and brings read}''
money, and their excuse is just that of many of the Church
members at home, that those who want it will get it elsewhere,
and perhaps in greater measure. But we have noted a decided
stand being taken by several of the young mothers who have
been our friends and scholars
against its being given by husbands
or visitors to their children. We have also thankfully noted
for long that on our making an appearance anywhere there is
a run made to hide the bottles, and the chief indignantly
threatens any slave who brings it into our presence.
"
All this
points to an improvement in the condition of the
people generally. They are eager for education. Instead of
the apathy and incredulous laugh which the mention of the
Word formerly brought, the cry from all parts is for teachers ;
and there is a disposition to be friendly to any one who will
help them towards a higher plane of living. But it brings
vividlybefore us the failures and weaknesses in our work ; for
instance, the desultoriness of our teaching, which of necessity
stultifies the results that under better conditions would be sure
160 MARY SLESSOR

motive, and unless you are very fortunate in j'-our purchase,

the slave may bring you into conflict with the powers that be,
owing to their law which recognises no freedom except that
conferred by birth. After all this is
day by day, where seen to

is the time and strength for comprehensive and consecutive

work of a more directlyevangelisticand teachingtype ? speci-
ally "

when the latter is manned year by year by the magnificent

total of one individual. Is it fair to expect results under such
"
circumstances ?

XXXI. The Passing of the Chiefs

In the year 1896 Miss Slessor realised that she was no

longer in the centre of her people. Like all agricultural

populations addicted to primitivemethods of cultivation,
they had gradually moved on to richer lands elsewhere.
Even Ma Eme had gone to a farm some distance away.
A market had been opened at a place called Akpap, farther
inland and nearer the Cross River, and farms and villages
had grown up around it, and she saw that it would be

necessary to follow the population there. The Calabar

Committee "
a Committee had succeeded the Presbytery "

was at first doubtful of the wisdom of transferringthe

station, largely owing to the remoteness and bility
inaccessi-
of the new site,the nearest landing-placebeing six

miles away, at Ikunetu on the Cross River. There was

some advantage in this, however, for the Mission launch

was constantlymoving up and down the waterway. The
voyage was between low, bush-covered banks broken by
vistas of cool green inlets,with here a tall palm tree or

bunch of feathery bamboos, and there a cluster of huts,

while canoes frequentlypassed laden with hogsheads
were

of palm oil for the factory,or a little dug-out containing a

solitaryfisher. The track from Ikunetu to Akpap was

the ordinary shady bush path, bordered by palms, bananas,

trees, ferns, and orchids, but in the wet season it
orange
was overgrown with grass, higher than
thick one's head,
which made a guide necessary, since one trail in the African
forest looks exactly like another.
After some consideration it was decided to sanction
 "xMa's" C^rABTEUS AT AkPAP.

Thiti tlie hut in whicli she and the children lived before the
was

Mission House was built.

The Tragedy of Twins.

Pots in which they were crushed and left in the bush to die.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 161

the change,and to build a good Mission House with a beach

shed at Ikunetu. Long before the house was built, how-
ever,
and even before it was begun, Mary installed herself
at Akpap, in conditions similar to those of her first year
at Ekenge. Her home consisted of a small shed of two
divisions, without windows or floor,into which she and the
children and the furniture packed. And from
were this
humble abode, as from a palace,she ruled Okoyong with
all the dignityand power of a queen. Never had days her
been so busy or her nights so broken and sleepless.No
quarrel,tribal or domestic, no question of of any
difficulty
kind, was settled other than in the Mission hut. times
Some-
the strain was greater than she could
almost bear.
There was much sickness among the children, and an fectious
in-
native disease, introduced by a new baby, caused
the death of four. Matters were not mended by an epidemic
of small-pox,which swept over the country and carried
off hundreds of the people. For hours every day she was

employed vaccinating in all who came to her. Mr.

Alexander, who was the engineer of the Mission at this
time "
the natives called him etiibom uhom nsunikan
" "

captain of the
smoking canoe "
remembers arriving
when her supply of lymph had run out, and of assisting
her with a penknifefrom the arms of those who had already
been inoculated.
The outbreak was severe at Ekenge, and she went over
and converted her old house into a hospital. The people
who were attacked flocked to it, but all who could fled
from the plague-strickenscene, and she was unable to

secure any one to nurse the patients or bury them when

they died. She was saddened the loss of many
by friends.
Ekpenyong was seized and succumbed, and she committed
his body to the earth. Then Edem, her own chief,caught
the infection, and she braced herself to save him. She
could not forget his kindness and consideration for her
throughout all these years, and she fought for his life day
and night, tending him with the utmost solicitude and
patience. It was in vain. He passed away in the middle
of the night. She was alone, but with her own hands she
fashioned a coffin and placed him into it,and with her own

M
162 MARY SLESSOR

hands she
dug a grave and buried him. Then turningfrom
the ghostly spot with its melancholy community of dead
and dying, she tramped through the dark and dew-sodden
forest to Akpap, where, utterlyexhausted, she threw herself
on her bed as the land was whitening before the dawn.
Towards the villagethat day two white men made their
way, " Mr. Ovens, who was coming to build a Mission House,
and Mr. Alexander who had brought him up. When they
arrived at the little shed it was eleven o'clock in the fore-
noon.
"
Allquiet. Something wrong," remarked
was

Mr. Alexander, and they moved quickly to the hut. A

weak voice answered their knock and call,and on gaining
" "
entrance they found Ma tired and heavy-eyed.
"
I had
only just now fallen asleep,"she confessed. But it was
not for some time that they learned where she had been
and what she had done.
When, two days later,Mr. Alexander went over to bring
some material from the old house, he found it full of corpses
and not a soul to be seen. The
place was never fit for
habitation again, and gradually it was engulfed in bush
and vanished from the face of the earth.
Conditions were the same far and wide, and her
"
heart was full of pity for the helplesspeople. rending
Heart-
"
accounts," she wrote, come from up-country,
where the fleeingand leaving
people,panic-stricken,
are

the dead and dying in their houses, only to be stricken

down themselves in the bush. They have no helper up
there, and know of no Saviour. I am just thinking that
perhaps the reason God has taken my four bairns is that
I may be free to go up and help them. If the brethren

say that I should go I shall."

It is not surprisingthat these events had a depressing
effect upon her ; she said she had no heart for anything.
It was an unusual note to come from her, and indicated
that her strength was waning. The presence of Mr. Ovens
was a help; his sense of humour seasoned the days, and
he made lightof difficulty
and trial,though he was far
from comfortable. One of the divisions in the shed had
been turned over to him, she and her children crowding
into the other. The placewas infested by ants and lizards,
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 163

and all night the rats used hisbody as a springboard to

reach the roof. There was always one scene in the strange
household which touched him with feelingof pathos and
a

reverence family worship

" in the evening. A lightfrom
a small lamp illumined the interior. Miss Slessor sat on

the mud-floor with her back restingon the wall. Squat-

ting
before her in a half-circle were the girlsand boys of
the house. Behind these were ranged a number of baskets
" "
filled with twin babies. Ma spoke and prayed very
simply and naturally. Then a hymn of her own position
com-
"
was sung in Efik to the tune of Rothesay Bay,"
she accompanying it with a tambourine. If the attention
of the girlswandered she would lean forward and tap them
on the head with the instrument.
One human solace never failed her " ^the letters from \
home. How eagerly longed she for them ! How they
lifted her out of her surroundings and chased away for a

time the moral miasma that surrounded her and often

seemed to choke her as if it were physical. Some one
"
wrote about the
Synod meetings. good," It is easy to be
"
she said, with all the holy and helpfulinfluences about
you. Fancy a crowd of Christians that fillthe Synod Hall !
It makes me envious to read about it. Away up here among
heathenism, working away with the twos and the threes
and the tens, one almost forgetsthat there are crowds
who would die for Christ. But, with all their imperfections,
there are, and we are not in a losingcause at all. I am

seldom in Duke Town or Creek Town, and hear littlein the

way of sermons, and have little of the outward
help you
have. But Christ is here and the Holy Spirit,and if I *

am seldom in
triumphant or ecstatic mood
a I am always^
satisfied and happy in His love."
Her furlough was overdue, but there was a difficulty
in filling her place,and she would not leave the people
" "
alone. Meanwhile she kept drudging away as well as
she could from dawn till dark. People were coming to
her now from far-off spots, many from across the river
from unknown
regionswho had never seen a white person
before, drawn to her by the fame of her goodness and

power. At first they sat outside, and would not cook or

164 MARY SLESSOR

eat or drink compound because of the twins,

inside the
but by and by they gained courage and mixed with the
household. The majority of these people were neither
bright nor good-looking,but she only saw souls that were

precious in the sightof her Master. In one of her letters

"
she describes what was the daily scene : Four at my

feet listening; five boys outside getting a reading-lesson

from Janie ; a man lyingon the ground who has run away
from his master and is taking refuge until I get him for- given;
an old chief with a girlwho has a bad ulcer; a woman
begging for my intervention with her husband ; a nice girl
with heavy leglets from her knee to the ankles, with pieces
of cloth wrapped round to prevent the skin being cut,

whom I am teaching; and three for vaccination."

"
On the last night of the year she wrote : My bairns
have been made happy and myself glad by a handsome
Christmas box from the Consul-General and Colonel
Boisragon of our Consular staff. They were up with a
party, and spent the greater part of three days with me,
trying to do good among my people : and they have sent

dolls and sweets and fruit and biscuits, and many useful

things for the house, and a carpenter to mend my stair,

and plane and rehang my doors. He is here now doing
odds and ends about the house, so I feel quite cheered up.
He (the Consul) must have gone to a steamer and got all
these things for us, for there are no such things for sale

here, and it shows how much interested he is in mission

work. It is seldom, comparatively, that Government

officials care for these things."

XXXII. Clothed by Faith

As Mr. Ovens was at Akpap engaged on the new Mission

House the Calabar Committee decided to send her home in
"
1898 whether they could supply the station or not. It
will be rather trying to get back to the home kind of life
"
and language,"she said ; but I shall just want a place
to hide away in from: conventionalities and all the
of civilisation."
paraphernalia Her chief problem was the

disposalof the children, whom she dreaded to leave under

166 MARY SLESSOR

was coming. And at the railway station she confidingly

handed her purse to the porter, asking him to take it and
buy the tickets. Mrs. M'Crindle met her at the Waverley
Station, Edinburgh. There was the usual bustle on the
arrival of a train from the South. The sight of a little
black girlbeing handed down from the carriage caused a

mild stir,when another came the interest increased, when

a third dropped gathered, when a fourth
down a crowd
stepped out the cabmen and porters forgot their fares
and stared, wondering who the slight,foreign-lookinglady
could be who had brought so strange a family.

XXXIII. The Shy Speaker

Eagerly looked for after her heroic service in Okoyong

she received a warm welcome from her friends in the
United Presbyterian Church. For some weeks she lived
at Joppa, and then anxious to be independent she took a
small house near at hand, where she and Janie managed
the work and cooking. It was not a very comfortable
" "

menage, and Miss Adam, one of the chief women of

the Church and Convener of the Zenana Mission Committee,
made arrangements for her and the children staying at
Bowden, St. Boswells. Here, lookingdown upon a beautiful

expanse of historic border country, she spent a quiet and

restful time. As her vitalityand spirits came back she
began to address
meetings, and found that the interest
in her work had deepened and extended.
She was, if anything, shyer than ever, and would not

speak before men. At a drawing room gathering in -

Glasgow the husband of the lady of the house and two

well-known ministers were present. She rose to give an

address, but no words came. Turning to the men she said,

" "
Will the gentlemen kindly go away ? The lady of the
house said it would be a great disappointment to them not
" "
to hear her. Then," she replied, will they kindly go
"
and sit where I cannot see them ? When she began to

speak she seemed forgether diffidence,and she held the

to

littleaudience spell-bound. At a Stirlingmeeting a gentle-

man
"
slipped in. After a slightpause she said, If the
 ^4. R. Edwards, Selhirk.

The Okuyon'g Household in Scotlanj).

Alice. Mary.
Maggie. 'Ma.

Native Court in Okoyong.

" "
Ma presiding,along with chiefs. The Court Messenger is standing beliind.
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 167

gentleman in the meeting would hide behind the lady in

front of him I would be more at my ease." On another

occasion she platform when
fled from called on to the
speak, and it was only with difficulty that she was brought
back. When people began to praise her she slippedout
and remained away until they had finished.
"
She was a most gentle-looking lady," writes one who
heard her then, rather below the average
"
height,a com-
plexion

like yellow parchment, and short lank brown hair :

a most pleasingexpressionand winning smile, and when
she spoke I thought I had never heard such a musical
voice." She went to her home-city, Aberdeen, and
addressed a meeting in Belmont Street Church, which her
mother had attended ; and of her power of speech the
Rev. Dr. Beatt, the minister, who was in the chair, says :
"
It was characterised by a simple diction, a tearful sym-
pathy,
a restrained passion,and a pleading love for her

people, which made it difficult to listen to her without

deep emotion." At one meeting in Glasgow she spent an

hour shaking hands.

"
What a lot of love there is in the

world after all," she said gratefully. She received such

a reception at a meeting in Edinburgh that she broke
down. Recovering herself she earnestlydenied that her
work was more remarkable than that of any other sionary
mis-
in Calabar :
"
They all work as hard or harder than
I do." She went on to plead for an ordained missionary
for Okoyong.
"
I feel that my work there is done, I can

teach them no more. I would go farther

like to inland
and make a home among a tribe of cannibals."
Many a appeal she
stirring made for workers.

"
If missions are a failure,"she said, "it is our failure and
not God's. If we only prayed and had more faith what a

difference it would make ! In Calabar we are going back every

day. For years we have been going back. The China Inland
Mission keep on asking for men, men, men, and they get what
they want and more than we get. We keep callingfor money,

money, money, and we get money " of great value in its place "

but not the men and the women. Where are they ? When
Sir Herbert Kitchener, going out to conquer the Soudan required
help,thousands of the brightestof our young men were ready.
168 MARY SLESSOR

Where are the soldiers of the Cross ? In a recent war in Africa

in a region with the same chmate and the same malarial swamp
as Calabar there were hundreds of officers and men offering
their services,and a Royal Prince went out. But the banner
of the Cross goes a-begging. Why should the Queen have good
"
soldiers and not the King of Kings ?

Her nervous timidity was often curiously exhibited.

She was, for instance, afraid of crowds, and she would
never cross a city street alone ; and once, when she was

proceedingto she would not take a short

a village meeting
cut through a field because there was a cow in it. Yet she
was never lacking in high courage when the need arose.
At a meeting in Edinburgh several addresses had been
delivered, and the collection was announced. As is often
the case the audience drew
sigh of relief,
relaxed attention,
a

and made a stir in changing positions. Some began to

whisper and to carry on a conversation with those sitting
near them. She stood the situation as long as she could,
then rose, and spoke,regardlessof all the dignitariesabout
her, and rebuked the audience for their want of reverence.

Were presentingtheir offerings

they not to the Lord ? Was
that not as much an act of worship as singingand praying ?
How then could they behave in such a thoughtlessand

unbecoming manner ? There was something of scorn in

her voice as she contrasted the way in which the Calabar
converts presented their offeringswith that of the well-
educated Edinburgh audience. When she sat down it
"
was amidst profound silence. That is a brave woman,"
was the thought of many.
With her bairns she left towards the end of the year (1898),
Miss Adam accompanying them to Liverpool to see them
safelyon board. A more notable person than she realised,
she was sought out by a specialrepresentativeof Renter's
Agency and interviewed. Her story of the superstitious
practicesconnected with the birth of twins in West Africa
"
had the element of horror which makes good copy," and
most of the
newspapers in the kingdom next day gave a

long descriptionof these customs and of her work of rescue.

Incidentallyshe stated that up to that time she had saved

twins from destruction.
fifty-one She thought nothing of
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 169

this talk with the reporter,never mentioning it to any one,

and was unaware of the wide pubHcity accorded to her
remarks. She spent Christmas on board the steamer.

Again every one was kind to her, the officers and stewards
vying with each other in showing her attention. All
along the coast she was well known, and invitations came
from officials at Government headquarters,but these she
modestly declined. She was interested in all things that
interested others, and would discuss engineering and railway
extension and trade pricesand the last new book as readily
as mission work and policy. The children she kept in the

background, as she had done in Scotland, and would not

allow them to be spoiled. On arrival in Calabar they were
much made of, and it was only the experiencedJanie who
did not like the process.

XXXIV. Isolation

An exceptionallytryingexperiencefollowed. ments
Arrange-
had been made by the Committee in Scotland for
the better staffingof the station, but these broke down,
and for the next three years she worked alone, her isolation
only being relieved by an occasional visit from the
lady
missionaries in Calabar. During that long period she
fought,single-handed,a double battle in the depths of the
forest. She was incessantlyat war with the evils that were

still rife about her, and she

struggleagainstlong had to

spellsof low fever and sleeplessness.And right bravely ^

did she engage in the task, conquering her ill-health by

sheer will-power,and gaining an ever greater personal
ascendancy over the people.

1. A Mother in Israel

The gradual pacification of Okoyong brought about by

her influence and authorityincreased rather than diminished
her work. As the people settled down to orderlyoccupa-
tions
and trade the land became valuable, and disputes
were constantly cropping upregarding ownerships and
boundaries. There was much underground palavering,
of which no one knew but herself,which kept her always
170 MARY SLESSOR

on the strain. She had to mother the whole tribe, and it

took all her patience and tact to prevent them reverting
to their old violent practices. A Government official of
that time, who had to enquire into a number of cases over

which there had been correspondence with her, says,

" '
I stayed with Ma,' and had my first lesson in how to
deal with natives. It did not requirevery long for even
' '
a fresher to see what a power in the land she was. All
came to her in any kind of trouble. As an interpreter she
made every palaver an easy one to settle,by the fact that
she could represent to each side accuratelywhat the other
party wished to convey."
Her fame had gone still farther, and people were now

coming from places a hundred miles distant to see the

wonderful person who was rulingthe land and doing away
with all the evil fashions. And what did they see ? A
powerful Sultana
sittingin a palace with an army at her
command ? No. Only a weak woman in a lowly house
surrounded by a number of helplesschildren. But they,
too, came under her mysteriousspell. They told her of all
the troubles that perplexed their lives,and she gave them
advice and helped them. In one week she had deputations
from four different tribes, each with
tale of wrong and
a

oppression. Innocent people fled to her to escape the fate

decreed by the witch-doctor : guiltypeople sheltered with
her, knowing that they were sure at least of nothing worse

than justice. She welcomed them all,and to all she spoke

of the Saviour, and strove to bring them to His feet. And
none went away without carryingsome of the fragranceof
that knowledge, and in remote districts unvisited by the
white man it lingeredfor years, so that when missionaries
went there later on they would come across a man or a
"
woman who said, Oh, I know all about Jesus, the White
Mother once told me."
She was so interested in these strangers that the desire
came to know more about them and their surroundings,
and she made numerous tripsup the Cross River by Mission
steamer and canoe and visited the townships on the banks.
On one of these journeysshe felt for the first time that death
was at her side. A dispute had arisen between Okoyong
172 MARY SLESSOR

Mary opened the calabash and found that it contained

two twin boys.
There were other promising signs. The mother of a

twin baby who was saved came to the Mission House and
lived there, working at the farm during the day. One
master took a twin and the mother home. All his other
wives at once gathered up their children and left him, but
he remained firm. As the woman had been a neighbour
"
of "
Ma's at Ekenge, it is probable that her influence had
told on her then. But the
outstanding event in this
direction was that a twin boy was taken home by his
parents, who were determined to keep him. The affair
made a great stir,but she told all the chiefs that she would
stand by the parents, and if
they dared to say a word or
"
trace any calamity to the family she would make palaver."
They were grimly silent,but could not dispute her word.
She believed that their attitude was only due to fear,
which would die away if a stand were made.
Her work in school and
beginning to Bible Class was

tell. Six of the best boys of free birth and good standing
whom she was trainingwere now Christians, and working
in the villagesaround. Two, sons of the most powerful
chiefs in the district,took the reading and another was the
"
speaker. It was not much to boast of perhaps. I feel
"
the smallness of the returns," she said, but is the labour
"
lost ? A thousand times No !

2. The Cares of a Household

Her trying fight during these years was

most with
ill-health. She was now occupying the new house, which
"
she pronounced lovely,"but it was hotter than any she
" "
had lived in, and she often sighed for her lowly mud-hut
again. At one time she was three months in bed, and

recovery was always a slow and weary process. The

people were afraid she would have to go to Scotland and
came and assisted her in every way, while her boy scholars
maintained the services. But often she would struggle
up and conduct the Sunday meetings herself,although it
"
meant a sleeplessnight. I am ashamed to confess,"
"
she wrote, that our poor wee services here take as much
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 173

out of me as the great meetings at home did." To fill in

the wakeful hours she would rise in the middle of the
night,lighta candle, and answer a batch of correspondence.
There were friends to whom she did not requireto write
"
often : Ours is like the life above, we do not need to
tell ; we can go on loving and praying, but this is a rare

thing in the world." Others were not so considerate.

"
Some of her letters at this period are marked Midnight,"
" "
3 A.M.," Just before dawn," and so on. But more

often she was unable to sit up, and was too tired to write,
and lay thinking of her last visit home, and particularly
of her sojourn at Bowden ; "I never had such a time ; I
live everything all overagain during these sleepless nights;
it gripsme more than my real home life of long ago."
She never grumbled to her correspondents, even when
in the grip of nervous debility. Her letters are filled with
loving enquiries about people, especiallyyoung people,
at home. She kept them all in mind, followed their lives
with interest, and was always anxious to know if they
"
had consecrated themselves to the service of Christ. Life
"
is so great and so grand," she would write, and eternity
is so real and so terrible in its issues. Surely my lads out
here are not to take the crown from my boys at home."
Now and again,however, a strain of sadness is ible
percept-
in her letters,perhaps due to the state of her health
and her isolation,as well as the outlook abroad, which was
" "
then unrestful. All is dark," she said, except above.
Calvary stands safe and sure." Often she wondered what
worldlingsdid in the midst of all their entanglements and
the mysteriesof life and death without some higher hope
"
and strength. Life apart from Christ," she would say,
"
is a dreadful gift."
Her own future loomed uncertain, and the thought of
"
the children began to weigh upon her mind : It is not

likelyI shall ever go home again. I feel as if I did not

want to. How could I leave the bairns in this dreadful
"
land ? Who would mother them in this sink of iniquity?
"
And soon afterwards she wrote : I do not think I could
bear the parting with my children again. If I be spared
a few years more I shall have a bit of land and build a
174 MARY SLESSOR

wee house of my own near one of the principalstations,

and just stay out days there with my bairns and He
my
down among them. They need a mother's care and a

mother's love more than ever as they grow up among

heathen people,and I could do a through them, for
little,
the dark homes and hearts around, and it would be a house
and home for them when I am gone, where the missionaries
could be near them."
Janie, the faithful, unselfish soul who had been with
"
her from babyhood, was at last married. Her husband,"
she said,
"
is my best scholar, and if his social standing
is not highest,he is a real companion to her and to my
the

bairns, who worship him." The ceremony was performed

by Ma," and the entry, in Efik, in a tiny marriage register
"

runs as follows :"

December 21, 1899.

Janie Annan took oath beforeObon Okon

(chief), Ekpo,
and Erne Ete, that she will marry Akibo Eyo alone. Akibo
also took oath that he will marry Jane alone. They went

to the farm with Eme Ete. M. M. S.

The break in the family life gave her much more to

do, but Janie "

or Jean as she was now more often called
" still clung to her, and spent much time at the Mission
House attending to the babies as before, her husband not

objectingto her handling the twins, and even allowingher

to take one home to her house during the day. But
and
difficulty disappointment came, as they so often do in
Africa, and once more Jean became an inmate of the
household, in which she was to remain to the end. One

day a baby arrived whose mother had died after

giving
it birth, and she took it and made it her specialchild.
This was Dan MacArthur Slessor " called after a home
friend of the Mission "
a black boy who was to become
almost as well known in Scotland as Jean herself.

By and by with returningstrength the house-mother

was able to resume her old strenuous ways from cock-crow
till star-shine. The cares of her household never grew
fewer. "
Housekeeping in the bush," she would remark,
"
means so much more as well as so much less than in
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 175

'
Scotland. There are no at homes,' no drawing-room
ornaments to dust, no starched dresses, but on the other
hand there are no butchers or bakers or nurses or women,
washer-
and so I have to keep my shoulder to the wheel
both indoors and out of doors." There were defects in the
situation ; she did not need other people to tell her that ;
she was often overwhelmed with the multitude of her
"
duties, at her wits' end to manage all the children. I
"
have only three girlsat present,"she writes, and I have
nine babies, and what with the washing and the school
and the palavers and the visitors,you may be sure there
are no drones in this house." Sometimes she would stand
in a state of pretended distraction and repeat "

"
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children she didn't know what to do,'*

She was not a housewife in the real sense, although she

knew domestic economy with the best, and there were

days when she arose in her might and introduced order

and tidiness, but matters soon fell back into the normal
conditions. She was always quite candid about her
"
deficiencies. I have not an elaborate system or method
of work ; it is just everything as it comes. I am afraid
my mind is not a trained machine. It only works as it
chooses."
Yet no family of white children could have been more

cared for or loved. She endeavoured- to make Sunday a

speciallypleasantday for them, and tea then was always
a happy function. All sat at a big table in the hall "

Jean,
Mana, Annie, Mary, Alice, and Maggie, with bunches of
small boys and girlson the floor. It was then that boxes
of delicacies from home were opened and devoured. How
"
gratefulshe was to all her friends ! The gifts,"
she would
"
write, are veiled in a mist of love, real Scottish love,
reticent but
deep and strong, full of pathos and prayer ;
the dear love inspiredin our strong rugged Scots character
by the Holy Ghost and moulded by our beloved Presby-
terianism of the olden time ; love that does not forgetwith
the passing years." Two years after she returned she
related cheerfully that she was still wearing the dress that
176 MARY SLESSOR

had been given to her on furlough as her best on the

occasions when Government officials called upon her.
She pathos in these
saw gifts,but none of that deeper

pathos which lay in her own life. She saw nothing to

grieve about in her own position,but only in the empty

houses along the Cross River. She was not anxious about
herself, but desperately anxious about the extension of
"
Roman Catholic influence in Calabar. To think," she
"
exclaimed, that all our blood and treasure, love and
sacrifice and prayer, should have been given to make a

place for them."

From her house in the bush she had been eagerly
watching the sweep of that great movement which minated
cul-
in 1900 in the union of the United Presbyterian
and Free Churches of Scotland. She loved the blue
banner of the United PresbyterianChurch, and one of her
constant admonitions to the younger generation was to

carry on the grand old traditions. At first she had been

inclined to favour a kind of fraternal federation, each
denomination keeping its distinctive but
principles, she
came to believe in the transfusion of the two streams of
life.
spiritual
"
"
We must not forget,"she wrote, that the Free Church

people were met at the Disruptionby empty exchequer and

an

a confusion and blank that taxed all their energies. It took

them such hard work in those days to get churches and homes
for themselves that they got a bias that way, and the outlook
'
to the '
other sheep may not have been so wide as that of our

forefathers. These used the Uttle

prayer-houses and humble
meeting-places for prayer and preaching : they were men

nursed in persecutionand contempt and poverty, and they

reaped God's compensations in a detachment from the world,
and
and in the gritand spirituality faith and unity which stress
and breed.
persecution And we have inherited it all,and it
is our contribution to the Church life of to-day."

hope was
Her that the Union might create a new and

enlarged interest in the foreignfield and fill up the ranks

in Calabar ; but she was to be disappointedin this,and she

often expressedthe view that the Mission to which she

 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 177

had given her heart and life had been swallowed up, and
had somehow lost its individuality. . . .

Into the United Free Church the United Presbyterians

brought thirty-eight women missionaries and one hundred
and eighty-five women agents, and the Free Church
brought sixty European women missionaries and ten

Eurasians, and nearlyfour hundred native women agents,

making, on the women's side of the work alone, a total
missionarystaff in round numbers of one hundred European
workers assisted by nearly six hundred local agents, and
all these were now put under a new body, the Women's
ForeignMission Committee, composed of some of the most

gifted and consecrated minds of the Church.

XXXV. Exiled to Creek Town

A dramatic publicevent which

vitallyaffected her own
life and the course of the mission enterprise brought her
seclusion to an end. The story belongs more to the next

phase of her career, but may be briefly

noticed here. With
the extension of British influence into the interior of the
continent the form of Government had undergone another
development. Two protectorates were formed, Northern
and Southern Nigeria,and Sir Ralph Moor was appointed
High Commissioner of the latter. The same policy of
pacifyingand "cleaning up" the country continued; but
there were still large stretches practically untouched by
the agents of the Government, includingthe territory
lyingbetween the Cross River and the Niger,in the upper
part of which slave-raidingand trading went on as it'
had done for centuries. The Aros, a powerful tribe who
controlled the juju worship, were the people responsible
for this evil. They would not submit to the new conditions,
continued to make war on peaceabletribes,and indulged
in human sacrifices,
blocked the trade routes, and resisted
the authority of the Government. One officer was only
able to penetrate fifteen miles west of the Cross River, not
without perilousexperiences,and then was obliged to beat
a rapid retreat to escape being killed and eaten. The
Government was very patient and conciliatory; but it
N
178 MARY SLESSOR

became absolutelynecessary at last to despatch a small

expedition,and a field force was organisedat Calabar for
the purpose. Dr. Rattray of the Mission staff was attached
to it as medical officer. The Aros did not wait for the
advance they ; raided villageonly fifteen miles
a from
Ikorofiong,and, as a precaution,all the missionaries up-
river were ordered down to Duke and Creek Towns.
" "

Okoyong was unmoved by these matters. Ma

Slessor's authoritywas supreme, but while the Government
believed that all would be well, they thought it better that
she should also come to Calabar until the trouble was over.

Very much againsther will she complied. They sent up a

specialconvoy for her, and treated her with all consideration.
They even offered to build a house at Creek Town for her
and her largefamily ; but she did not wish to become too

closelyidentified with the Government, and declined their

kindly assistance. She found accommodation in part of
the hospital, where, however, she had no privacy, and was
not very comfortable.
It was the first time she had been in Calabar since her
arrival three before, and she was
years not happy. She
was never otherwise than ill,and she longed to get away
"
from the crowd and the bright,the terriblybrightsky."
The children also were unwell. But there were tions.
compensa-
The Okoyong people kept steady during the unrest,
and remained true to their Queen. They came down to

see her, brought all their disputes for her to settle, and
loaded her with giftsof food, which were very acceptable,
as priceshad risen. Her lads kept on the services,and the
people attended regularly. She heard good news of the

twins, which the mothers had taken in order to relieve

her ; they were in four different homes in four different
districts,and nothing had been said by the people. One
of her oldest friends, the wife of a big chief, a wealthy
leisured woman, bore twins. She instantlywrote to the

chief tellinghim to put her into a canoe and send her down
to Creek Town. "
sorry for her," she said, " but
I am

we cannot make different laws for the rich and for the poor,
and yet one may press too far with a chief, and incite
rebellion. After all we are and
foreigners, they own the
180 MARY SLESSOR

your peace." Many acknowledged that they had their

Hves enriched, their faith strengthened,and their work
helped by contact with her.

XXXVI. Pictures and Impressions

The younger missionaries began to frequent Akpap,

and from the accounts of their visits we obtain some

unstudied and vivid picturesof "

Ma" and her household.
This slightwoman with the shrunk and colourless skin,
the deep-set eyes, and the Scots tongue, so
remarkable

poor in the giftsof the world, so rich in the qualities of

the spirit, made a deep impressionupon them, although it
is a question whether they ever fullyunderstood all she
was and did. They lived in the European atmosphere,
she in the native ; they noticed only superficial aspects,
she moved deep beneath the surface amongst conditions
of which they were only dimly aware.
"
We walk for five or six miles along the pleasantbush
"
path," writes one, and as we near the big trees and the
clearinground the Mission House, children's voices cry,
'
Ma is coming,' and a sweet, somewhat strident voice
'
inquires, What Ma ? Jean put the kettle on, Jean put
'
the kettle on.' And we'll all have tea,' sings out my
' '
friend. How are you, Ma ? for we have reached the
'
verandah, and Ma,' eagerly hospitable,is giving us a

royal welcome." usually found barefooted

She and
was

bareheaded, with a twin-baby in her arms and a swarm of

children about her, or on the roof nailingdown the sheet-
iron which a tornado had shifted, or holding a palaver
from the verandah, or sittingin Court, but always busy.
"
No one can have much time for rest here," was the
"
verdict of one missionary after a short stay. Her power,"
"
wrote another, is amazing ; she is really Queen of the
whole of Okoyong district. The High Commissioner and

his staff leave the administration of it in her hands. It is

wonderful grip she has of the most
to see intricate
the
questionsof the country. The people
native and political
tell me she knows their language better than they do
themselves, and that they appeal to her on their own
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 181

customs and laws. She has done a magnificent work, and

the people have a deeper reverence for her than you can

imagine. When they speak of her their tones change.

One thing I noticed, she never allowed a native to sit in
her presence. She keeps them all at a respectful
distance,
although when they are ill,sometimes with the most
loathsome diseases, she will nurse them ; and she never

shakes hands with them. She told the High Commissioner

to do so with some " but for herself, never ! When I
asked her the reason she looked at me and said simply,
^I live alone.'"
The reference to her command of the language bears
out what all competent observers have stated. Some
missionaries retain their
long service and accent even after

speak as foreigners, but she had all the vocabulary, the

idioms, the inflections,the guttural sounds, the interjec-
tions,
and sarcasms, as well as the quick characteristic
"
gestures that belong only to the natives. She excelled
even the natives themselves in their own tongue," says
"
Mr. Luke. She could play with it and make the people
smile ; she could cut with it and make them wince ; she
could pour spates of indignation until they cried out,
' '
Ekem ! Enough, Ma ! and she could croon with it and
make the twins she saved happy, and she could sing with
it softlyto comfort and cheer." One visitor who panied
accom-

a missionary friend found her haranguing a crowd

who had arrived to palaver. She stopped now and again
"
and spoke to the visitors in broad Scots. Well," said
" "
the missionary afterwards, what do you think of her ?
" "
I would not like her to catch me stealingher chickens !
was the reply.
One of the qualities which astonished her guests was her
utter fearlessness. There were no locks on her mission
doors. She went everywhere, condemning chiefs, fining
them, divorcingthem ; and came home to her bairns to be
a child with them, and to romp and sing to them queer
little chants of her own composition. One story of these
days her visitors carried away. A murder had been
committed, and the slayer was pursued by the people,
who intended to follow out their custom and torture him.
182 MARY SLESSOR

He was seized and chained. Strainingto break loose, his

"

eyes almost burstingfrom their sockets, he cried, Beware !

You may kill me, but my spiritwill come back and spoil
you. Ay, it will not be you, the slaves,but you, the chiefs,
that will suffer. Beware ! I will come if you do not
take me to Ma's house."
He was taken to "Ma," who on hearing the evidence
ordered him to be conveyed to Duke Town. Then she
loosed him from his chains and sat down with him alone
in the house for the whole afternoon. The doors and
windows were open, and all he had to do was to strike
her down and fly. But she showed no fear. At night he
was again chained and placed in the prayer- or store-room

underneath until the guard arrived. During the night

he managed to slipoff his chains and was free to escape
into the bush. When she went into the room in the
morning with food and called him, there was no sound or

reply. It was dark in the place, but she entered and

moved around to find the prisoner. At the back of the
door she came into contact with his swinging body. He
had taken off his loin-cloth and hanged himself.
Her visitors noticed, almost with wonder, her devotion
to her children and the little morsels of humanity that
came pouring in upon her. Miss Welsh, LL.A., thus
"
describes the household : Jean, the ever-cheerful and

willinghelper; Annie the drawer of water and hewer of

wood, kind willingworker Mary the smart, handsome ;
favourite ; Alice the stolid dependable little body, and
Maggie the fusionless,Dannie the imp, and Asoquo who
looked with his big innocent eyes a wee angel, and who
yet was in constant trouble, chieflyfor insistingon sharing
the cat's meals. Then there were the babies "

a lovely
wee whom
twin-girl, their mother was nursing, a poor wee

boy almost skin and bone lying cradled in a box. Behind

the house in a rough shelter was another twin-mother

caring none too kindly for her survivingchild." Another

"
writes, I never saw anything more beautiful than her
devotion to these black children. She had a poor sick

boy in her arms all the time, and nursed Iiim while walking
up and down directingthe girls. He died at 11.30 and
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 183

she sleptwith him in her arms all

night. Next morning-
he was put in a small milk packing-case,and the children
dug a grave and buried it and held a service."
"
And here we have the scene at evening prayers : We
began with an Efik hymn of her own, which she repeated
line by line, while the little ones chanted it with a weird
intonation. They then sang the whole to the tune French.
She tested their memory of the morning lesson, and gave
them a homely but powerful address, interruptingherself
once to tell us how hydrophobia had broken out a few

days before, and how she had held one poor lad of ten in
her arms until he died. She
prayed, and the children
bowed down their heads till they rested upon the ground.
'
They next chanted the Amen,' and half -chanted the
'
Lord's Prayer, and finished with what she called one of
' '
the new fanciful English hymns If I come to " Jesus.'
Then very simply and sweetly she commended us all to
the Father's love and care."
Long talks, often prolonged into the night, would
" "
follow. How Ma talked," says Miss Welsh, and what
a privilegeit was to listen,what an experience,and what
an education ! How she made the past vivid as she lived
it again the days of her girlhood her mischievous
over " "

pranks, her love of fun, her earlydays in Calabar, tales of

the old worthies, tales of herself,and her own life,of her
early pioneering,of loved ones at home, of kind letters
whose messages of cheer she would share, of comfort and

help from God's word " from the passage of the day's
reading, of new lessons learned, of new light revealed.
I can still hear her, still listen with the old fascination,
stillenjoy her wild indignations,stillmarvel at her amazing
personality,her extraordinary vitalityand energy, still
feel as I have ever felt her God-given power to draw one

nearer to the Lord she loved so well."

When her guests departed she would walk with them
"
a long way, her feet bare, her head uncovered. No,"
"
said a missionary, I would not like to see other ladies
do that, but I would not care to see her different. It is

easy give a to false impression of her. She is not

unwomanly. She is eccentric if you like,but she is gentle

184 MARY SLESSOR

of heart, with a beautiful simplicityof nature. I join in

the reverence which the natives show her."

XXXVII. A Night in the Bush

Miss Slessor began to feel that her days in Okoyong were

drawing to a close. Her part of the work there was done.

The district was civilised,and all that the station
required
was organisationin detail and steady development. But
she was not one to rest in any circumstances in which she
was placed. She abated nothing of her devotion in the
interests of the people,and although her strengthdid not
now allow her to take long journeys on foot she never
hesitated to answer the call upon her sympathy and

courage. She had more than one adventure in these days,

but she had passed through so many hard experiences
that she made light of them, regarding them as mere
incidents in the day's work.
One afternoon, while she was in school, there appeared
before her a young man of the superiorclass of slaves, who
said his wife had given birth to twins in the bush more
than twelve miles away. All the people had deserted her,
a tornado was brewing would she come and help ?
"

"
Ma
*'
thought of her brood of children, and one a sickly
baby, but turning them over to the slave twin- mother

she had bought, and leavingfood with her in her hut, she
committed the whole twelve to Providence and set out

with Jean.
"
The young man led them at a breathless pace. If
"

only you could dion the rain-cloud," he cried back. I

am praying that God may keep it back," was all Mary
could jerk out. The way seemed endless,and the shadows
of night fell swiftlyabout them, but at last they arrived
near the spot and were joinedby the mistress of the slave
and an old naked woman. TJiey found the mother lying
"
on the ground surrounded by charms. Ma pushed these "

away with her foot. The night was pitch dark, there were

occasional raindrops,and the woman was delirious. She

ordered the husband and his slave-man to make a stretcher.
They regarded the idea with horror, and pleaded that they
 THE CONQUEST OF OKOYONG 185

could never carry her, their belief doubtless being that they
would die if they touched the unclean burden. All begged
" Ma" to leave the woman to her fate,but she turned upon
them with a voice of scorn, and such was her power that
the men hastilyset to and constructed a rough stretcher
of branches and leaves, and even helped to place the
woman upon it.
Before leaving,a sad little ceremony had to take place.
One of the infants was dead, and Jean took her machete
and dug a little cavity in the ground, and upon some soft
leaves the child was laid and covered up. She then lifted
the other twin, the men raised the stretcher,and the party
set red
off,a fire-stick, at the point,and twirled to maintain

the glow, dimly showing them the way. The rain kept
off,but it was so dark that "
Ma" had to keep hold of the
hem of Jean's dress in order not to lose her. The latter
"
stumbled and fell,bringingdown Mary also. Where are
"

you ? each cried, and then a hand or a foot was held

out gripped. Sometimes
and the men dropped to their
knees, but the joltingbrought no cry from the unconscious
form they were carrying.
By and by they drew up in the utter solitude, and had
to confess they were lost. The men left to grope for signs
of the path and the two women were alone. Jean grew
"
depressed, not on her own account button Ma's," for she
knew that she was utterlyexhausted, and could not hold
" "
out much longer. What if they desert us ? she said.
"
Well," repliedMary, trying to appear as if fatigue and
fear and wild beasts had no existence, we shall just stay "

here until the morning." Jean's response was something

like a grunt. One of the men returned. "
Can't find a

road," he grumbled, and disappeared again.

What was that ? A firefly
? No, a light. The other
man had discovered a hut, and had procured lighted
a

palm tassel dipped in oil. Poor as it was the lightserved

to show the way until the path was reached.
After sore toil they gained the Mission yard. The men

laid the stretcher in an

open shed and, overcome with their
exertions, threw themselves down anywhere and went

asleep. But there was no rest yet for Mary. Securing

186 MARY SLESSOR

some old doors and sheets of iron she patched up a room

for the woman, in which she could pass the night.

The children were awakened and crawled out of lye's
hut into the yard crying in sleepy misery. Jean and
Annie carried them to the Mission House and put them
to bed, and brought back some hot food for the patient,
"
who was constantly moaning, Cold, cold ; give me a

fire."
Not till she was fed and soothed did
Mary give in.
She could not summon sufficient strength to go upstairs,
but lay down on the floor where she was, with her clothes
on, and all the dirt of the journey upon her, and slepttill
daybreak.
The baby died next day, and the mother hovered at the

point of death. Mary strove hard to save her, but the

result was doubtful from the first. None in the yard would
give any help save Jean ; the woman was a social
leper,
and all sat at a safe distance, dumb or blaspheming.
Conscious at the end, the poor girlcried piteouslyto her
husband not to reproach her. "It is not my fault," she
"
said, I did not mean to insult you."
"
"
placed her hand on her hot brow calming her, and
Ma
prayed that she might find an entrance into a better world
than the one which had treated her so badly. When she
passed away she thrust aside the leperwoman whom her
people sent to assist her, and washed the body herself and
dressed her so that for once a twin-mother was honoured
in her death. She was placed in a coffin of corrugated
iron, strengthened with bamboo splints,and beside her
were put the spoons and pot and dish and other things
which she had used.
Her husband and his slave bore her away into the bush,
and there at a desolate spot, where no one was likelyto
live or plant or build, they left her and stole from the place
in terror.

XXXVIII. With Loving-kindness crowned

On the fifteenth anniversary of that notable Sunday in

1888 when Mary settled at Ekenge, the first communion

188 MARY SLESSOR

103rd Psalm to the tune Stroudwater. When the third

and fourth verses were being sung "

Kprukpru muquafikpo ke ima All thine iniquities who doth

Enye adahado ;
Most graciously forgive :

Anam udofid okure, Who thy diseases all and pains

Ye ndulukho fo. Doth heal, and thee relieve.

Enye oriim, fi ke uwem, Who doth redeem thy life,that thou

Osio ke mkpa ; To death may'st not go down ;

Onyuii odori fi eti Who thee with loving-kindness doth

Mfdn y''aqua ima. And tender mercies crown "

she seemed to be lost in a trance of thought, her face

had a far-away look, and tears stood in her eyes. She

was thinking of the greatness of God's love that could

win even the oppressed people of dark Okoyong.

She could not let the assembly break up without saying
a few words. Now that they had the beginnings of a

congregation they must, she said, build a church large

enough for all who cared to come. And she pled with

those who had been received to remain true to the faith.

"
Okoyong now looks to you more than to me for proof
of the power of the Gospel."
In the quiet of the evening in the Mission House, she

seemed to dwell in the past. Long she spoke of what the

conditions had been fifteen years before, and of the changes

that had come since. But her joy was in those who had

been brought to confess Christ, and she was glad to think

that, after all, the work had not been a failure. And all

the glory she gave to her Father who had so marvellously

helped her.

For a moment also her fancy turned to the future. She

would be no longer there, but she knew the work would

go on from strength to strength, and her eyes shone as

she saw in vision the gradual ingathering of the people,

and her beloved Okoyong at last fair and redeemed.
 NOTE

The distance east to west in this sketch is roughly 90 miles, and

map
from north to south 120. It represents only a very small corner of the

colony and protectorate of Nigeria, which has an area of 335,700 square

miles, or a little less than that of the United Kingdom, France and Belgium
combined, and a native population numbering 16,258,000. Amongst these,
missionary societies working, the proportion assigned to the Calabar
5 are

Mission of the United Free Church being about one-third, or 5,4i9"333-

The staff of the Mission at present consists of 18 European missionaries,
including the industrial members, 3 medical missionaries, and 13 lady agents.
The wives of the missionaries also render excellent service. In addition

there are native pastors and workers.

 FOURTH PHASE

1902-1910. Age 54-62.

THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK

"
I feel drawn on and by the magnetism of this
on land of
dense darkness and mysteriousweird forest."

I. The Reign of the Long Juju

Again had come the fulness of the time, and again Mary
Slessor, at an age when most women begin to think of

taking their ease, went forward to a new and great work

for Christ and civihsation. Kind eyes and loving hands
beckoned to her from Scotland to come and rest, but she

gazed into the interior, towards vast regions as yet entered,

un-

and saw there the gleam of the Divine light

leading her on, and she turned with a happy sigh to

follow it.
In this case there was no sharp division between the
old and new spheres of service. For ten years she had been

brooding over the conditions in the territoryon the west

side of the Cross River, so near at hand, so constantly

skirtedby missionaries, traders, and officials as they sailed
up-river,and yet so unknown, and so full of the worst

abominations of heathenism.
Just above Calabar the Cross River bends back upon
itself,and here at the point of the elbow the
Enyong Creek
runs inland into the heart of the territory towards the

Niger. At its mouth high ground stands the township

on

of Itu, of sinister reputation in the history of the West

Coast. For there on the broad beach at the foot of the
189
190 MARY SLESSOR

cliff was held a market which for centuries supplied

Calabar and the New World with slaves. Down through
the forest quiet waters
paths, of the
down Creek,
the
countless victims of man's cupidityhad poured, had been
huddled together there, had been inspected,appraised,
and sold, and then had been scattered to compounds
throughout the country or shipped across the sea. And
there still a market was held, and along the upper borders
of the Creek human sacrifice and cannibalism were

practised.Only recentlya chief had died, and sixty slave

people had been killed and eaten. One day twenty-five
were set in a row with their hands tied behind them, and
a man came and with a knife chopped off their heads.

It is a strange irony that this old slave creek, the scene

of so much misery and anguish, is one of the prettiest

waterways in West Africa. It is narrow and still and

winding, and great tropicaltrees covered with the delicate

tracery of creepers line the banks, their branches sometimes
interlacingabove, while the undergrowth is rich in foliage
and blossom. Lovely orchids and ferns grow in the
hollows of the boughs and old trunks that have fallen ;

but the glory of the Creek is its which

water-lilies, cover

the surface everywhere, so that a boat has often to cut its

way through their mass. On either hand, side-creeks can

be seen twisting among the trees running deeper into

and

the heart of the forest. The silence of the primeval

solitude is unbroken save when a canoe passes, and then

a startled will slipinto

alligator the water, monkeys will

scurry chattering from branch to branch, parrots will fly

screaming away, blue kingfishersand wild ducks will
disappear from their perch, and yellow palm birds will
gleam for a moment as they flit through the sunlight.
The Creek is beautiful at all times, but in the earlymorning
when the air is cool and the lightis misty and the vistas
are veiled in dimness, the scene is one of fairylikeenchant-
iiient.

Above the Creek all the country between the Cross

River Niger up to near Lokoja in Northern Nigeria,

and the
was occupied by the Ibo tribe, numbering about four

millions,of a fairlyhigh racial type, who were dominated

 A Glimpse of thk Enyoxg Creek.

iTir, SHOWING THE BeACH WHERE THE SlAVE-MaRKET WAS HELD.

The Mission House and Mary Slessor Hospital are situated among
the trees in the distance.
192 MARY SLESSOR

new slave was 200 or 300 rods and a bad slave. So wide-
spread
was the net cast by the Aros, and so powerful their
influence,that if a chief livinga full week's journey to the
" "
north "vere asked, What road is that ? he would say, "The
road to Aro." All roads in the country led to Aro.
A few years before this a party of eight hundred natives
had proceeded from the territories about the Niger to
consult the Long Juju on various matters. They were
led by a circuitous route to Arochuku, and housed in a

village. Batches of from ten to twenty were regularly

taken away, ostensibly to the Juju, but were either sacrificed
or sold into servitude, only a miserable remnant of 136
succeedingin reaching the hands of Government officials.
Of a totallydifferent type were the people livingto the
south of the Creek, called the Ibibios. They were one of
the poorest races in Africa, both morally and physically,
a result largelydue to centuries of fear and oppression.
Ibibio was the chief raiding-groundof the head-hunters,
and the people lived in small isolated huts and villages

deep in the forest,in order to lessen the risk of capture.

In demeanour they were cowed and sullen, glidingpast
one furtivelyand swiftly,as if afraid ; in language and
life they were untruthful and filthy. The women, who
wore no clothingsave a small piece of native cloth made
of palm fibre,were mere beasts of burden. All the young
people went naked. Most unpromising material they
seemed. Yet they never ceased to draw out the sympathy

and hope of the White Mother of Okoyong ; there was no

people,she believed, who could not be recreated.

She knew a great deal about the Aros and their slave

system, more, probably, than any other white person in

the country. Indeed few hadknowledge any of them.
"
What is sad about the Aro Expedition,"wrote Mr. Luke,
"
one of the Cross River pioneers, is that nearly all the
town names in connection with it are unknown to those
of us who thought we had a passable knowledge of Old
Calabar. I never heard of the Aros, of Bcnde, or of
Arochuku. It is somewhat humiliating that after over

fifty years' work as a mission, the district on the right

bank should be so littleknown to us." Mary had first-hand
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 193

acquaintance with people. Refugees camethe to her

from both Ibo and Ibibio with stories of crueltyand wrong
and oppression; chiefs from both regionssought her out
for advice and guidance; slave-dealers from Arochuku and
Bende, with their human wares, called at Ekenge and
Akpap, and with many of these she was friendly,and
learned from them the secrets of their trade. She told
them franklythat she was coming some day to their country,
and they gave her a cordial invitation,but hinted that it
might not be quite safe. It was not the danger that
prevented her. She would have gone before, but the
difficultywas providingfor Okoyong when she was absent.
She would not leave her people unless they were cared
for by competent hands. She asked for two ladies to be
sent in order that she might be free to carry out her idea
of visiting the Aro country, but none could be spared,and
so she had, perforce,to wait. It was not easy, but she
loyallysubmitted. The test of a real good missionary,"\
"

"
she wrote, is this waiting,silent,seemingly useless time.
So many who can distinguishthemselves at home, missing

the excitement and the results,get discontented, morose,

cynical,and depreciateeverything. Everything, however '"

seeminglysecular and small, is God's work for the moment,

and worthy of our very best endeavour. To such, a mission
house, even in its humdrum days, is a magnificentoppor-
tunity
of service. In a home like mine a w^oman can find
infinite happiness and satisfaction. It is an exhilaration
of constant joy I cannot fancy anything to
"

surpass it on
^
earth."
Then came militaryexpeditionto break up the
the
slave system and the false gods of Aro. The troops were
moved into Arochuku by way of the Creek, and the forces
of civilisation encountered the warriors of barbarism in
the swamps and bush that
edge the waterway. When the
troops entered the towns they found juju-housesevery-
where,
and in almost every home were rude images smeared
with the blood of sacrifice. The dreaded Long Juju was
discovered in a gloomy defile about a mile from Arochuku.
The path to it wound a tortuous way through dense bush,
with others constantlyleadingoff on both sides,evidently
o
194 MARY SLESSOR

intended to puzzle the uninitiated. A watch-tower was

passed where sentinels had been posted. At the bottom

of the valley,between high rocky banks clothed with ferns
and creepers, ran a stream which widened out into a pool
covered with water-lilies. In the dim light was seen a

small island, and upon it a rude shelter surrounded by

a fence of gun-barrels.Lying about were gin-bottles,
cooking-pots,and human skulls,the witness of past orgies.
At the entrance was a white goat starvingto death.
Most of the chiefs had never seen a white man, and when
Sir Ralph Moor went up to hold palaver, their interest
a

was intense. They sat on the ground in a semicircle in

the shade of a giant cotton tree, suspiciousand hostile,
listeningto the terms of the Government, which included
disarmament, suppressionof the juju-worship, and the
the
prohibitionof the buying, pawning, and sellingof slaves.
After much palaver these were agreed to. Over two

thousand five hundred war-guns were surrendered, but

sacrifices continued " and still to some extent go on in
secret in the depths of the forest. Much work also had
still to be done before Government rule was generally
accepted. Throughout the whole time occupied by the
expedition,but more particularlyin the later stages, the
" "

important chiefs kept continually in touch with Ma

Slessor, and one official states that it was to her influence
more than all the force and power of the Government
emissaries that the final settlement of the country was

due. . . .

It is interestingto speculate what might have been

the course of events had she been able to carry out her

plan before the punitive expedition was called for. Mr.

"
Wilkie goes so far as to say that had she been settled in
the Aro country it is doubtful whether an armed expedi-
tion
would have been necessary, and it is at least possible
that suppression of the slave-trade would have been
the
achieved by the peaceable means of the Gospel." Primitive

peoples often bend more quickly before Christ than break

before might of arms.
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 195

II. Planting a Base

A largetract of new territorywas open to outside

now

influences. Who was to be the first to settle in it official, "

trader, or missionary ? Mary studied the situation again

in the lightof the new conditions, obtaining information
first-hand from officials and natives. There were two

stations on the west of the Cross River Ikorofiong,

"

which,
however, was reallyan Efik trading town, and higher up,
Unwana, which was a back-water and unfit for a base for
inland work. Tentative efforts had been made from time
to time to secure footing elsewhere, but had
a come to

nothing,and the policyof the Mission had been to continue

up - river as being the line of least resistance. Her

conviction was that extension, for the present at least,
should take place not up the river,where the stations were

cut off from the base during the dry season, but laterally
across the country between the Cross River and the Niger.
There were, she saw, three strategeticfactors which
dominated the situation "
the Enyong Creek giving admis-
sion
to the new territory,Itu at its mouth, and Arochuku,
the and political
religious centre of the Ibos. The central
positionof Itu impressed her ; it commanded the three
contiguousregionsand peoples the Ibo, Ibibio, and Efik, "

and her plan was to seize and hold it as a base, then one
of the towns of Arochuku as the threshold of Iboland, and,
Bende.
if possible, Her views did not commend themselves
to all her colleaguesin Calabar, but how wise, how far-
seeing,how statesmanlike was her policythe later history
of the Mission proves.
She felt she could do
nothing until help was obtained
for Akpap. Fortunately there was one lady missionary
in Calabar who had the courage to prefer Okoyong to

quieterstations Miss Wright of the Girls' Institute,who

"

asked the local Committee to send her there as assistant

to Miss Slessor; and although the Committee approved,
the matter was referred to the Women's Committee at
home. As there seemed no prospect of anything being
done, she began to move quietlyalong her own lines. Her
school lads were now old enough and educated enough to
196 MARY SLESSOR

be used as advance agents, and her hope lay in these. In

January 1903 she left Akpap with two boys, Esien and

Effiom, and one of her girls,

Mana, and canoed to Itu,
and planted them there to teach school and hold services.
Esien took the chief part in the latter,whilst Efiiom led
the singing. Mana's work was the teaching of the girls.
A few weeks later she found that the results had exceeded
all her dreams. The chief said he was too old to change
his ways, but the younger ones could learn the new ideas "

anyway God had made him, and so was bound to look

after him whatever sins he committed. But the children
were eager to learn, and made apt scholars, and the people
crowded to the services until there was no more room for
them. She went up again and selected a site on the top
of the hill with a magnificent view and built a school,
speeding the work with her own hands, and set the willing
people to construct a church, with two rooms for herself
at the end. When one of her fellow-missionaries, Dr.
"
Rattray, heard of this he wrote : Bravo ! Uganda was

evangelisedby this means, and the teachers there could

only read the gospelsand could not write or count ; the
Mission understood its business to be to spread the Gospel,
and all who could
taught others read and spread the news.
Perhaps we educate the people too much, and make them
think that education is religion."
When in February she heard that the Roman Catholics
were intending to settle at Bende her heart was heavy.
"
The thought that all that is holiest in the Church,
should have been shed to create an opening for that corrupt
body makes me ill. And not even a station opened or
the hope of one ! Oh, if I were able to go or send even a

few of my bairns just to take hold. The country is far

from being at rest, but if the Roman Catholics can go so
can I. . . .
There is a great future for Nigeria; if only I
"
were young again and had money !
She wrote to Dr. Adam, a Government friend in Bende,
a soldier of the Church as well as a servant of the King, and
he supplied her with all the information she needed.
Bende, he said, was not the place it was supposed to be ;

the population numbered from two to four thousand ;

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 197

it was not trading centre ; whilst the

likelyto become a

overland transport was a disadvantage. The journey

was by launch to Itu, by steel canoe up the Enyong Creek,
thence by foot or hammock to Arochuku and Bende. He
stated that Bishop Johnston of the Church Missionary
Society was already in Bende prospecting.
When she received his letter she said to herself,
" "
Shall I go ? She did not wish to compromise the
missionin any way, and proposed to go about the matter
quietly,
at her own expense. She would travel if necessary
in a hammock, as she was not so sure of herself as of old,
and would find rest wayside huts, and
at she would take
lye to act as interpreterwhere the women did not know
"
Efik. I would do what I like, and would come back
to my work rested and refreshed. But " I want God to

send me."
What was influencingher also was the conviction that
the end had come for her at Akpap. Again she had the
consciousness that it was time for the station to be taken
over by an ordained missionary, who would build up a
"
congregation. I shall not say that I shall leave my
home without a pang, but I know that I can do work
which new folk cannot do, and my days of service are

closingin, and I cannot build up a church in the way a

minister can." She believed that in the specialconditions

of West Africa women were better than men for beginning
work in the interior. And she still retained her faith in
the home - trained domesticated type "
girlswho had
brothers and sisters and had learned to give and take and
find duty in doing common things,rather than those turned
out by the trainingschools, who were, she thought, apt to
be too artificial and full of theories. Her ideal of a man

missionary was Rattray, who was a Dr.

good carpenter
"
and shoemaker and general handy-man, far better "

accomplishments than a collegeeducation for the African

field." She did not, of course, depreciate culture, so
long as practical qualitiesof heart and hand went

with it.
The
proposal regarding Miss Wright going to Akpap
having been agreed to, she began to look forward to her
198 MARY SLESSOR

advent as an event that would determine the future.

Seldom has one been so eagerlywatched for ; for months
"
it was nothing but "
When Miss Wright comes," Wait
till Miss Wright comes," and so on. For days before she
appeared the household were in excited mood, every
morning fresh flowers were placed in her bedroom, the
boys and girlskept themselves dressed and ready to
receive her. When she did arrive it made all the difference
that was hoped. capable, unselfish, plucky
She was a

girl; she knew the language,and was experiencedin the

ways of the people. Very quietly she slipped into the
method of the house, taking the school and dispensary
" "
olf Ma's hands, and looking after the babies with the
same pityingsympathy. The girlsbecame quite at home
with her, and in the long nights she would sing to them,
recallingthe times in the bush when Mr. Ovens used to
"
entertain them. She is a right sisterlyhelpmate,"
"
wrote Mary, and a real help and comfort in every way.
Things go as smoothly as on a summer's day, and I don't
know how I ever got on alone. It seems too good to be
true."

III. On to Akochuku

On a morning of June 1903 she left Akpap for Itu,

tramping the forest path to Ikunetu in order to pick up
the Government launch on its weekly journey to the
garrisonsup-river. The Government, as usual, gave her
every facilityfor carrying on her new work, granted her
free passages, took charge of her packages and letters,
placed their Rest Houses at her disposal,and told her to
ask for whatever she wanted. She did not care to trouble
them unduly, but was very gratefulfor their consideration.
On arrivingat Ikunetu she went into the teacher's house
to rest, charging the boys to call her as soon as they
sighted the launch. They did not notice it until it was too
late for her to signal,and it passed onwards and out of
sight. But she was not put out ; her faith was always
strong in the guiding hand of God ; and she turned and
tramped back the same long road. When she reached
the Mission House tired and weary, she assured Miss Wright
200 MARY SLESSOR

pointed out how the situation was practicallya crisis "

no ground had been broken west of the Cross River, no

teachers had been sent to the east. For a quarter of a

century the supply of men had not sufficed for the existing
needs of the Mission, and extension had been impossible.
The givings of the Church
foreignmissions had been for
far below the urgent requirements. Either, he said, the
staff and income must be largelyincreased, or they would
have to step aside and invite others to divide the field with
them. No
adequate response was made to this and similar
appeals,and the lonelypioneer was forced onwards upon
her solitarypath.
A short time afterwards she went back to Arochuku,
taking two lads, and a school was opened in the palaver
shed of Amasu, one of the towns nearest the Creek. A
hundred children crowded into the building along with
women and men, and not a few of the old slavers, and the
scholars were soon well on in the first book. In one village
which she visited she found
young trader who a had brought
news of the Christ religion
from the Niger,and was anxious
to introduce a church and teacher. When she left the
district again, the people came to the landing-beach and
"
cried after her, Don't be long in coming back, Ma ! If
"

you don't care for us, who will care for us ?

As her canoe was paddled down the creek, she lay back
enjoyingthe beauty of the scene. The water was as smooth
as a mirror, and like a reflected the delicate tracery
mirror
of the overhanging foliage; bright birds sailed hither
and thither, gorgeous butterflies flitted about, and brilliant
blossoms coloured the banks. She had passed in succession
two snakes attempting to cross the stream, and was

watching the efforts of a third when a small canoe shot

out from behind clump a of bushes and bumped into her
craft. She apologisedto the man in it, but standing cap
"
in hand he said, I meant it.Ma ; I have been waiting
for you ; my master at Akani Ohio sent me to waylay you
and bring you to his house." Taking a letter from his
cap he handed it to her.
The canoe was turned and entered a stillcreek, a picture
of delicate loveliness,with multitudes of lilies and other
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 201

aquatic plants,which made her feel as if she were moving

through an exquisite dream. A shingly beach, evidently
a busy trading-place,was reached, and there stood a young
man and young woman, handsome and well-dressed, who
assisted her to land. good house and
They led her into a

into a pretty room with concrete floor, a European bed-

stead,
clean and dainty, with mosquito curtains and all
the appointments that indicated people of taste. The
man was Onoyom lya Nya, a born statesman, the only
one in the district who had not been disarmed by the
Government, and the one who had been chosen President
of the Native Court, and was shaping well as a wise and
enlightenedruler.
It was a moving story that Mary heard from his lips,
while his wife stood by and listened. It went back to
1875 when he was a boy. One day a white man appeared
in the Creek, and all the people decamped and hid.
He, alone, stayed on the beach, and in response to a

request from the white man, offered to lead him to the

chief's house. During the palaver that ensued he lingered
by, an absorbed listener. When the white man left he
was tried
by the heads of the town and severelypunished
for having acted as guide. The stranger was the Rev.
Dr. Robb, one of the ablest missionaries in the Mission,
then stationed at Ikorofiong.
The boy never forgotthe incident." But he grew up a

heathen, and went to the cannibal feasts at Arochuku.

When his father died, ten little girlswere slaughtered,and
five of the bodies placed beneath the corpse, and
were five
above, that they might occupy the positionof wives in the
spiritworld. He married, but misfortune seemed to dog
him. His house was burned down, and then his child
died. Seeking for the man who had wrought these things
by witchcraft, in order to murder him, he met a native
who had once been a Mission teacher in Calabar, but who
had fallen into evil ways and was now homeless and a

drunkard.
"
How do you know," the latter said, " that it is not the
God of the white man that is angry with you ? He is
all-powerful."
202 MARY SLESSOR

" "
Where can I find this God ? the chief queried.
"
I worthy to
am not say, but go to the white Ma at

Itu, and she will tell you."

"
I will go," was the reply.
He took a canoe and watched Mary on the Creek,
for
but missed her. In his impatience he engaged the old
teacher, who had still his Bible, to come and read Iko
"
Ahasi to him. Again he sent for Ma," but she had gone
on to Arochuku. Then he kept a man on the look-out
in the Creek, and it was he who had interceptedher.
" "
"
And now," he said,
will you show me what to do ?
As he told the story several big,fattened ladies had come

in, and a number of children and dependants. She prayed

with them, sent for the teacher's Bible, and talked with
them long and earnestly. The chief's wife made her a

cup of tea, and she left,promising to come later and see

what she could do to develop a station.

The detour had made her late,and the canoe ran into a

sudden storm of wind and rain, but her heart was jubilant,
and kept singing and praying way all the to Itu. For
God was good, and He was leading her, and that was

perfecthappiness.

IV. A Slave- Girl's Triumph

The
problem was how to follow up so promising a
beginning. It occupied her thoughts day and night,but
she came to the conclusion that she could not tiously
conscien-
leave Miss Wright alone at Akpap. The station
was too isolated for her, and if she became illit might be
weeks before any one knew. An alternative was to

remain herself at Akpap, and allow Miss Wright go toto

Itu, where she would be in touch with the Mission, and

could canoe down to Calabar if anything went wrong.
The plan she liked best was to hand the station over to a

minister, so that both she and Miss Wright could establish

themselves at Itu and work the Creek between them. As
the months went by and she paid flyingvisits to the infant
causes at Itu and Amasu, she became more and more

convinced of the magnificent opportunity lying to the

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 203

Church's hand in these congregation

regions. At Itu the
had grown to one of over three intelHgentand hundred
well-dressed peoplemeeting in a church built by themselves.
In August at Amasu she found a school of sixty-eighton a

wet day, and of these thirty-eightcould read the first

book. That they had been brought under discipline was

shown by the fact that as she entered all rose silently and

simultaneously, as if they had been years instead of weeks

at school.
The same month witnessed an event which gave her
unbounded happiness. Jean, and Mana the slave-girl,
lye the twin - mother Susie, Akom
of the first-fruit of

Ekenge, and Esien the teacher at Itu, were baptized,and

sat down at the communion-table. Many others were there,
and in the celebration,but owing to difficult
joinedin spirit
native complicationscould not take the step, and Mary
never cared to force matters. Esien's mother had been

very unwillingfor her son to come under Christian influence,

and now she was not actuallysat beside
only present, but
two twin-mothers, Akom's face was transfigured.Jean's
adopted child, Dan, was also baptized on the occasion,
and it was a great and solemn joy to Mary to see her oldest
bairn give him to God, and promise to bring him up in
His fear.
In October she was at watching the buildingof the
Itu
house for herself and teacher, and nothing delightedher
more than the way in which the women worked along with
"
the men. I wish Crockett had been here to gather the
shafts and sparks of wit and satire that flew with as much
zest as ever obtained in a Galloway byre or market fairin'.
It is such a treat to me, for no intercourse is permitted
between the sexes in Okoyong, except that of the family,
and then it is strained and unnatural, but here they were

daffin' and lauchin' as in Scotland. How wholesome are

God's own laws of freedom and simplicity." The house

was to have six rooms "
three for herself, one for Miss

Wright or other lady missionary,one for Mana, and one for

"
Esien and Effiom. I'm afraid that is too much for you,"
she said, thinking of the mats which were not easy to

obtain. "It's not too much, Ma; nothing can be too

204 MARY SLESSOR

much. We will do it." One woman came and insisted

on washing her feet in hot water. She had to give in,
"
and as she sat down the woman said, Ma, I've been so

frightenedyou would take our teacher away because we

are so unworthy. I think I could not live again in dark-

ness.
I pray all the time. I lay my basket down and
justpray on the road."
This woman sometimes prayed in the meetings, and
electrified the audience, and she had begun to have tions
devo-
in her own home, though her husband laughed at
her. There were many others of the same type, and it
was a black
slave-girlwho had been the one behind it all.
Mana taught and nursed and trained them, quietly and
modestly, as a mother might. It was an inspirationto
Mary to her ; as she looked upon such results she cried,
see
"
Oh ! if only the Church knew. If only it would back
"
us up." To her friends she wrote, Prayer can do thing
any-
; let
power." us try its
Returning Akpap with two to of the girlsand some

small children, she was caught in a tornado and made her

way over the six miles of bush-road through peltingrain.

The darkness lit up
was by almost continuous lightning,
but they lost their way, and she had at last to mandeer
com-

an old experiences
native to lead them. Such
were now part of her
ordinary life again. tripsup On her
and down the Creek
she was constantly driftinginto
strange situations,and being reduced to sleepingon mud
floors, or on straw in the open, drinking tea made in

empty milk tins, and subsistingfor days on yam and

oranges. And always she was treated by the natives

with as much gallantryand courtesy as if she were a queen,

and always she was singingin her heart psalms of thanks-

giving
and gratitude.
But she was not able as formerly to resist the effects of
such exposure, and was often weary, and her weariness
brought nervousness and lack of sleep. At times she was

afraid of the unknown future opening out before

her, and
appalled when she thought of all the details of labour,
supplies,and management that were coming upon her
"
shoulders. In the dark she would rise and cry, Calm
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 205

me, O God, and

keep me calm." Then she would go and
look at the sleepingchildren and comfort herself with the
" "
sight. Surely," she would say, I have more reason

to trust God than childhood has after all the way He has
led me."

V. A Bush Furlough

She at last determined

give up her furlough in Scot-
land, to
now drawing near, and spend the time instead in
prospectingin the new country. All her hopes and aims
were expressedin a definite and formal way in the following
document, which she sent to be read at the November
meeting of the Committee "
now the Mission Council "

at Calabar :

I think it is an open secret that for many years the workers

here have felt that our methods and modes were very far from
adequate to overtake the needs of our immense field,and, as

the opportunitiesmultiply and the needs grow more clamant,

the question grows in importance and gravity. The fact that
only by stated consecutive work can a church be evolved and
built up, and a pagan nation be moulded into a Christian people,
cannot be gainsaid,and yet there is an essential need for
something between, something more mobile and flexible than
ordinary congregationalwork and methods. The scattered
broken units into which our African populations are divided,
their various jujus and mbiams and superstitionswhich gate
segre-
even the houses of any common make
village, it necessary
for us to do more than merely pay an occasional visit,even if
that visit results in a church or a school being built.
Many plans suggest themselves. Church members organ-
ised
iiTto bands of two or three or four to itinerate for a week
over local
neighbourhoods ; teachers spending a given native
number of days in each month in the outlying parts of their
districts ; trading members of the church undertaking service
in any humble capacity on up-rivertrading stations in these "

and many other ways the gaps might be bridged and a chain of
personalinterest and livingsympathy link on the raw heathen
to the church centres, and the first rays of gospel light be
conveyed and communication be opened without the material

expense which the opening of new stations involves. For

instance,I have spent a Sabbath at Umon, and ever so many
206 MARY SLESSOR

Efik traders, men and women,joined in the congregational

worship,reading from Bibles and hymn-books which had been
locked in their boxes ; but either timidityor some other cause

kept them silent when there was no one to lead. Could not

a beginning be made for those, either by initiating

such a service
or organising those who were trading at any place so that
evening worship or some such simple way of bringing gospel
truth before the minds of the heathen could go on continuously?
The same holds good of Itu and other places.
For the last decade the nearer reaches of the river on which
we ply have occupied a great deal of my thoughts, but from
various causes no sort of supervisionat all adequate suggested

itself. So there has been little definite work accomplished.

A few readers at Odot, desultoryteaching at Eki and the back
of Itu, and Umon, covers it all,I fear.
With Miss Wright'scoming,opportunities, not of our personal
seeking, have forced themselves on us, and though we have
done the best we could with the materials at hand, all seems

so little and incomplete that the followingproposal or petition

or request or whatever you may term it, has been prepared,
and that from no mere impulse of the moment but after careful,
prayerfulconsideration. I may say here that Miss Wright is
fullyin sympathy with it,and it is from both of us.

By the 2nd January 1904 I shall have been out five years,
and furlough would then
so my be due, but as I have not the
slightestintention of going to Britain " I am thankful to say
I do not feel any necessityfor so doing I propose to ask leave "

from the station for six months, during which time I should,
in a way,
very easy try to keep up an informal system of
itinerating between Okoyong and Amasu. Already I have
seen a church and a dwelling-housebuilt at Itu, and a school
and couple of rooms
a at Amasu. I have visited several towns
of Enyong in the Creek, and have found good enough modation,
accom-

as there are semi-European houses available and

open for a lodging. I shall find my own canoe and crew, and
shall stay at any given place any length of time which the
circumstances suggest, so as not strength,and
to tax my own

members of my own family shall help in the elementary teaching

in the schools. From our home here we should thus superintend
the small school at Idot, and start in a small way work at Eki,
and reside mostly at Itu as the base, working the Creek where
the Enyon towns are on the way to the farther base at Amasu,
208 MARY SLESSOR

ocean steamers, having waterway all the year round and a

good beach front,it is the natural point,I think,at which our

up and down river work should converge.

But I am willingto change, and Miss Wright is willingto
change, any plan of ours in order to let any largerundertaking
make way if it should be proposed.
This communication was considered, and various
proposalsmade, but the findingof the Council was that
they were unable to accept the whole responsibility
of the
scheme, and that the matter should be forwarded to the
Women's Committee in Scotland, and Miss Slessor asked
to wait their decision. The question of further develop-
ment
was, however, discussed, and the unanimous opinion
was that Itu should be adopted as a medical station in
view of extension into the Aro country.
Miss Slessor was not discouraged. She next asked
Mr. Wilkie to come and see the nature of the ground for
himself, and the it held
possibilities ; and the result was a

New Year trip up the Creek, the party consistingof Mr.

and Mrs. Wilkie, Miss Wright, and herself. She was far
from well "
far more unwell than even Miss Wright was

aware of " but she, nevertheless, resolved to go, and was

conveyed to Ikunetu in a hammock. At Itu they camped

at the church house, neither of which was
and yet finished,
the doors being temporary erections, and the windows
being screened by grass mats. Mrs. Wilkie's camp-bed
occupied one end of the church. Miss Wright's the centre,
whilst at the other end Miss Slessor's native sofa was placed
with mats round it for the children. Mr. Wilkie found a

resting place in one of

- the native houses in the town.

Militaryoperationswere and
stillprogressing, there was a

camp of soldiers at the foot of the hill,

whose presence terri-
fied
the people,and they besought the missionaries to re-
main

for their protectionuntil the men moved on, and this

they did. Colonel Montanaro, who arrived later,called on

the ladies,and had a long talk with Mary, to whom he pressed

ex-

hisdelightat the result of his invitation to Arochuku.

"
These men," she wrote, are held by invisible but strong
"

bands to what is good, though outsiders do not see it."

On the way up the Creek they were obligedto pass the
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 209

night at Akani Obio, where Chief Onoyom came down to

the beach and escorted them to his house, and gave them
all the room they required,two courts lit up by European
lamps,and new mats. His fine face and courteous manners

made the same impressionon the strangers as they had done

on Miss Slessor. It was found that the native teacher
had been doing his best, but the chief was keen for all
" "
the advantages of a station,and was relyingupon Ma's
word to assist him. Next morning they again took to the
canoe, but the water became so shallow that they had to
land and tramp six miles to Amasu, passingthe trenches
where the natives sought to ambush the punitive force.
New roads were beingconstructed everywhere,and barracks
had been erected on a wind-swept hill in the neighbourhood.
The church was built near the Creek, and was still
incomplete. As they camped in the
there was no house
church as best they could, Mrs. Wilkie sleepingon a mud

seat. The district,includingthe scene of the Long Juju,

was inspected,and the people interviewed, and the party
returned as they had come. They stopped at several
villages, in one of which an old chief brought out a box
containingBibles and a Pilgrim'sProgressand reading-
" "
books. I had a son," he said, I was fond of him, and he
was anxious to learn book and God palavers,and I
bought
these books and got some one to teach him, and was looking
forward to my boy becoming a great man and teachingthe
peoplegood ways, but two moons ago he died, and I have
no more heart for anything. ...
I want God," he con-
tinued
"
fiercely,and you won't leave me tillI find Him."
" "
Oh, father," repliedMary, God is here. He is waiting
for you." The chief found God, and became a Christian.

VI. Beginnings

Miss Slessor's indomitable

spiritnever gave in, but her
body sometimes did. She had been suffering much these
past months from weakening ailments brought on as the
result of exposure and lack of nourishing food, and she
finallycollapsedand was again far down in the dark valley.
But kind hands ministered to her and nursed her back to

p
210 MARY SLESSOR

"
health. I rose," she said, "
a mere wreck of what 1
was, and that was not much at the best. My hair is
silvered enough to pleaseany one now, and I am nervous

and easilyknocked up, and so rheumatic that I cannot

get up or down without pain." She gladdened by

was

the news that the Mission Council had given her permission
to make her proposed tour, and was not troubled by the
condition that she must not commit the Mission to sion.
exten-

The Council thought that in view of her illness she

ought rather to go home, and offered to provide for the
work at Akpap and care for her children until she returned.
But the burden of the Creek lay sore on her mind, and as

Miss Wright's furlough was also due, she wished to be

near Akpap in case of need. She informed the Council
that if she could be relieved she would begin her tour at

once. When Miss Wright left she gave more into the hands
of Jean, who, she said, was as good as any white servant ;
her righthand and her left.
When the matter once more came up at the Council it

was decided to send up two ladies to Akpap, and she was

at last free to carry out her desire. She looked forward

"
to enterprise with mingled feelings. It seems
the
"
strange,"she said, to be startingwith a family on a
gipsy life in a canoe, but God will take care of us. Whether
I shall find His place for me up-riveror whether I shall
come back to my own people again, I do not know. He

knows, and that is enough."

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this new
forward movement was that she was going at her own
expense, backed by the private liberality of friends in
Scotland, and assisted by native girls and boys,who received
nothing from her but their board. She never asked the
Mission to defrayany of the expenditurewhich she incurred,
and the building was accomplishedby herself and household,
with the free labour of the people. All that the opening up
of the Enyong Creek to the Gospel cost the Mission was her
salary which "
was now "100 per annum. She spent
scarcely anything of this on her own personal wants.
" "
I have no objecton earth," she wrote at this time, but
to get my food and raiment, which are of the and
plainest,
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 211

to bring up my bairns." A certain amount was reserved

at home by Mr. Logic, who all these years had managed
her affairs,and even this she was always encroaching upon.
Whenever she saw an appeal in the for any good
Press

object she would write to him and request him to send a

contribution.
There were many matters to be attended to before she

left Akpap, and she went down to Duke Town to hand

over the business of the native Court, and buy material

for the buildingsin the Creek. It was the first time for

many years that she had been on Mission Hill,and she greatly
enjoyed her stay with the Wilkies, in whose home she was
able to quietness and comfort.
find The old people who
knew the early pioneersol the Mission flocked to see her,
" "
and her sojourn was one long reception. A command
invitation also came from the Commissioner, but this she
had temerity to decline, saying that
the she was not

visiting.It is doubtful whether she had the attire fit for

the occasion. He, however, came to see her, and was

charmed with her personality.

It was on this visit that she brought another of the
younger missionaries under her spell the Rev. J. K.
"

Macgregor, B.D., Principalof the Hope Waddell Institute.

After his first meeting he wrote : "A slim figure,of middle

height,fine eyes full of power, she is no ordinary woman.

It was wonderful to sit and listen to her talking,for she
is most fascinating,and besides being a humorist is a

mine of information on mission history and Efik custom."

Mr. and Mrs. Macgregor grew into intimate friends, and
their home, like that of the Wilkies', thereafter became a

haven of healingand rest.

She reached base, Itu, with her family,in July, her

her
health still enfeebled, but her spiritburning like a pure
fire,and established herself in a house that was still finished.
un-
"
What a pictureit presented,"writes a ment
Govern-
"
doctor who visited her then. A native hut with a

few of the barest necessities of furniture. She was sitting

on a chair tiny baby, while
rocking a five others were

quietlysleepingwrapped up in bits of brown paper and

newspapers in other parts of the room. How she managed

 212 MARY SLESSOR

to look after all these children, and to do the colossal

work she did passes my comprehension." The joy of the

people at her advent was boundless. Her bairns had done

wonders congregation numbered
; the 350, all devout,
" "
intelligent
people. To-day," she wrote, as the custom
is after the lesson, the bairns each took a part in prayer,
'
and before we rose a boy started come.'
Come, Holy Spirit,
We sang it through on our knees."
.^
But calls came every day from other regions. A
"
deputation from the interior of Ibibio pled, Give us even
"
a boy ! Another brought a message from a chief in the
" "
Creek : It is not book that I want ; it is God ! The
" "
chief of Akani Obio again came. Ma," he said, we

have "3 in hand for a teacher, and some of the boys are

finished with the books Mr. Wilkie

gave us and are at a

standstill." And, most pathetic of all, one night, late,

while she was reading by the lightof a candle, a blaze of

lightshone through the cracks of the house, and fifteen

young men from Okoyong appeared before her to say that

the young ladies who had come to Akpap had already
"
gone, and they were left without a Ma." She sent them
to a shelter for the night,and spent the hours in prayer.
" "
Oh Britain," she exclaimed, surfeited with !
privilege
tired of Sabbath and Church, would that you could send
"
over to us what you are throwing away !
^
Invited to the Mission Council in November 1904, she
went, this being her first attendance for six years, and gave
" "
what the minutes call a graphic and interestingaccount
of what had been accomplished. In Itu a church and
teacher's house had been built ; and there were regular
Sabbath services and a catechumens' class, with forty
candidates, and a day-schoolwas conducted. At Amasu,
Arochuku, a good school was built, and ground had been

given by the chiefs. There were also the beginnings of

congregationsand buildingsat four points in the Creek,
at Okpo, Akani Obio, Odot, and Asang. The work, she
said, had yet reached
not a stage when she could con-
scientiously

leave it; but she hoped before departing to

see established such a native, self-supporting agency
under the control of the Mission as would guarantee a
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 213

continuance of the enterprise. The Council received her

report with thankfulness, and gave her permission to

continue for other six months on the same condition as

before "
that no expense to the Mission should be involved
in what she undertook.
Many upbuilding followed, con-
months of strenuous
stantly

interruptedby petty illnesses of a depressingkind.

The house at Itu was completed, she herself layingdown a
cement floor, and Jean whitewashing the walls. Cement
underfoot for many reasons was preferred,one being that
it was impervious to ants. If these pests obtained hold
of a house it was difficult to drive them out, and many a

night her waging battle with them.

entire family was up
In connection with her suppliesof cement she was once

picked up at Ikunetu by some of her colleagues,who

remarked on the number of trunks which accompanied
"
her. You are surely richer than usual in household
" "

gear," they said. Household gear ! she echoed ;

"
these are filled with cement I had nothing else to bring "

"
it in ! Once in Scotland a lady asked her if she had had
" "

any lessons in making cement. No," she replied; I just

stir it like porridge; turn it out, smooth it with a stick,
'
and all the time keep praying, Lord, here's the cement ;

if to Thy glory,set it,'and it has never once gone wrong.''

A picture of the days at this time is suppliedby Miss
"
Welsh : We visited the women in their homes "
we had

evening prayers yards as the owners in such

were willing
' '
to allow them. From morning tillnight Ma was busy "

often far into the night. One brought a story of an unjust

divorce, another was sick; one brought a primer for a
reading-lesson, another was accused of debt and wished
'
'
Ma to vouch for his innocence ; another had, he declared,
been cheated in a land case. All found a ready listener,
friendlyadviser and helper,though not all found their
a

protestationsof innocence believed in, and none went away

without hearing of the salvation God had prepared for
them."
The Okoyong people continued to come to her with
" "
their troubles. They seem to think," she says, that
no one can settle their affairs but this old lady." Rescues
214 MARY SLESSOR

of twin -children were also going on all this time. She

could not now rush off,as she used to do, when the news

arrived, but she sent Jean flying to the spot, and the
infants would be seized and the excited people held in
"
check until she came on the scene. One more woman
"
spoilt," she would say, and another home up."
broken
Nothing gave her greater joy than the rapiddevelopment
going on at Akani Obio. Chief Onoyom had never swerved
from his determination to Christianise his people, and,
although knowing practicallynothing of the white man's
religion, had already started to build a church, using for
the purpose "300 which he had saved. At first he planned
a native that if he were
building,but reflecting constructing
a house for himself it would be of iron, he felt he could not

do less for God. He therefore decided to put up as fine a

structure as he could, with walls of iron and cement floor

and a bell-tower. To make the seats and pulpithe had the
courage to magnificent tree which
use a was regarded as
the principaljuju of the town. The story goes that the
people declared the juju would never permit it to be cut
down. God "
is stronger than juju," said Onoyom, and
went out with a following to attack it. They did not
succeed the first day, and the people were jubilant. Next
morning they returned and knelt down and prayed that
God would show Himself stronger than juju, and then,
hacking at the trunk with increased vigour, they soon
brought it to earth. That the peoplemight have no excuse
for absenting themselves from the services during the wet
season, Onoyom also erected a bridge over the Creek for
their use.

To the dedication of the building came a reverent,

well-dressed assembly. The chief himself was attired in

a black suit, with black silk necktie and soft felt hat. He

provided food for the entire gathering,but would not

allow anything stronger than palm wine to be drunk.

" "

Very shyly he came up to Ma and offered her a handful

of money, asking her to buy provisionsfor herself,as he

did not know what kind she liked.
Two short years before,the place and people had been
known only to traders.
216 MARY SLESSOR

up Creek was a new experience. As the canoe pushed its

way through the water - hhes the Institute boys sang
Scottish Psalms to the tunes Invocation and St. Georges,
"
much to Mary's dehght. It's a long time since I heard
"
these," she exclaimed. It puts me in a fine key for
Sabbath." At Asang she translated Mr. Macgregor's
"
sermon to a gathering of 300 people. Her tion,"
interpreta-
"
he says, was most dramatic ; she gave the address
far more force in Efik than it had in English. It was
"
magnificent. And how the people listened ! He had the
" "
opportunityhere of seeinghow deftlyshe handled a bad
" "
native. Don't come to God's house," she ended ; God
has no need
of the likes of you with your deceit and craft.
He can get on quitewell without you though you can't get "

on without God. Ay, you have that lesson to learn yet."

At Arochuku it happened to be Egbo day, and the place
was astir with naked people,who came and stared at them

as they ate. One man, who was dressed in a hat, a cloth,

loin-
and a walking-stick,
sat in a corner and received a
"
lecture from Ma," which lasted the whole meal. They
explored the district,saw the tree where criminals were
hanged after terrible torture, the old juju-house with its
quaint carving and relics of sacrifices,
the new palaver-shed
of beaten mud, and the great slave-road into the interior.
"
At one spot she stopped and exclaimed, That was the
road to the devil." It was the path to the Long Juju of
bloody memory. They returned by the new road through
the Ikot Mbiam, the accursed bush into which the sick and
dying slaves were flung when their days of useful service
were over. At first the people would not use this road ;
but now the land was laid out in farms and cultivations,a
tribute to the influence of British rule.
On
the voyage down there were frequentshowers in the
Creek, and Mary sat with a waterproof over her head and
shoulders, a strange figure,but
glowing with with a face

spirit. When the end was in sightshe proposed that they

should sing the Doxology, and, none offeringto accompany

her, she sang it herself "

twice. . . .

In the quiet of the tropicnightsshe read the books and

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 217

magazines and papers which friends sent her, and in this

way kept abreast of world affairs. Her favourite journals
were The British Weekly, The Christian, The Life of Faith,
and The Westminster Gazette. Her Record she read from
cover to cover. It was painful interest that she
with
followed at this time the developments of the great Church
"
crisis in the homeland. It tears my heart," she wrote,
"
to see our beloved Church dragged in and through the
mire of public opinion." But she had faith that good
would issue politician,
out she thirsted
of it all. A keen
for election telegrams during periods of parliamentary
transition. But in all times of public unrest and excite-
ment
she fell back on the thought that God was on His
throne and all was well. -

VII. Moving Inland

Ibo or Ibibio " which was it to be ? Both regionswere

callingto her, and both attracted her. As the result of
an arrangement with the Church
Missionary Society the
administrative districts adjoining the Cross River were
recognisedas the sphere of the United Free Church Mission.
" "
Now that this is settled," she wrote, I shall try to take

a firmer hold in Arochuku. The church there is almost

finished. My heart bleeds for the people, but the Spirit
has not go." The dark masses
yet suffered me tobehind
her at Itu drew her sympathies even more, simply because
"
they were lower in the scale of humanity. It is a huge
country, and if I go in I can only touch an infinitesimal
part qf it. But it would be criminal to monopolise the
rightsof occupation and not be able to occupy."
Her line of advance was practicallydetermined by
the Government. Even with military operations still
going on a marvellous change was being effected in the
condition of Ibibio. The country was being rapidlyopened
up, roads were being pushed forward, and courts estab- lished
; the stir and the promise of new life was pulsating
from end to end of the land. To her hut at Itu came

Government and trade experts, consulting her on all

manner of subjects,and obtaining information which no
218 MARY SLESSOR

other one could supply. The natives, on the other hand,

came to her enquiring as to the meaning of the white man's
movements, and she was able to reassure them and keep
their confidence unshaken in the beneficial character of
the changes.
She made rapid reconnaissances inland, and these set
her planning extension. Even the officials urged her to
"
enter. They pointed to the road. Get a bicycle.Ma,"
"
they said, and come as far as you can "

we will soon

have a motor car service for you." Motors in Ibibio ?

The idea to her was incredible,but in a few months it was
"
realised. Come
Okpene," wrote onthe officer
to Ikot
"
at that distant centre the road is going rightthrough,
"

and you will be the first here." She thought of these men
and their privations and their enthusiasm for Empire.
"
Oh," she said, "if we would do as much for Christ ! "

She, at any rate, would lagging,and in the

not be found
middle of the year 1905 she sallied forth, taking with her a
boy of twelve years named Etim, who read English well,
and, at a place called Ikotobong, some five and a half miles
inland, she formed a school and the nucleus of a congrega-
tion.
" "
I trust," she said, that it will be the first of a
chain of stations stretchingacross
country. The old the
chief is pleased. He told me that the future, the mystery
of things,was too much for him, and that he would welcome
the light. The people are to give Etim food, and I will
give him 5s. a month for his mother out of my store."
The proved an excellent teacher
lad and disciplinarian,
and gathered a school of half a hundred children about
him. Soon she was again in the thick of buildingopera-tions,
and for a time was too busy even to write. Slowly
but surely Ikotobong became another centre of order and
light. The officialswho ran in upon her from time to time
said it was like coming on a bit of Britain, and the Governor
who called one day declared that the place was already
too civilised for her.
Much to her joy there was a forward movement also on

the part of the Church. The Mission Council had not put
aside its decision to make Itu a medical base, and had been
pressingthe matter upon the Foreign Mission Committee
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 219

in Scotland, which recognisedthe value of her pioneer

also
work and the necessityof following it up and placing it
upon a proper basis. It was finallyagreed to carry out
the suggestion. Dr. Robertson from Creek Town was

transferred oversightof the work on the

to Itu to take
Creek, a new mission house and a hospitalwere planned,
and a motor launch for the Creek journeys was decided
on. For the launch the students of New College,Edin-
burgh,
made themselves responsible, and they succeeded
in raisinga sum of nearly "400 for the purpose. The
hospitaland dispensaryand their equipment were provided
by Mr. A. Kemp, a member of Braid United Free Church,
Edinburgh, an admirer of Miss Slessor's work, and at his
suggestion it was called the Mary Slessor Mission Hospital.
When the news came to her she wrote : "It seems like a

fairy tale. I don't know what to say. I can just look

'

up into the blue sky and say, Even so, Father ; in good
and ill,let me live and be worthy of it all.* It is a grand

gift,and I am so glad for my people."

Thus relieved of Itu she established herself at Ikotobong.
But she was again eager press forwards, and
to wished to

plant a station some fifteen miles farther on. It was a

pace faster than the Church could go. It had neither the
workers nor the means to cope with all the she
opportunities
was creating. It is a strikingpicturethis, of the restless
little woman ever forgingher way into the wilderness and
dragging a great Church behind her.
She had been amused at the idea of ridinga bicycle,
but
she would have tried to fly if she could thereby have
advanced the cause of Christ, and when Mr. Charles
Partridge, the District Commissioner of Ikot Ekpene,
presented her with a new machine of the latest pattern,
"
direct from England, she at once started to learn. Fancy,"
"
she wrote, an old woman like me on a cycle ! The new

road makes it easy to ride, and I'm running up and down

and taking a new bit in a villagetwo miles off. It has
done me all the good in the world, and I will soon be able
to overtake more work. I wonder what the Andersons
and the Goldies and the Edgerleys will say when they see
"
that we can cycle twenty miles in the bush I The
220 MARY SLESSOR

Commissioner had also

brought out a phonograph with him,
and she was asked to speak into it. She recited in Efik
the story of the Prodigal Son, and when the words came
"
forth again,the natives were electrified. Does not that
"
open up possibilities,"
she said, for carryingthe Gospel
"

messages into the bush ?

Her work of patient love and faith on the Creek saw

fruit towards the end of the year (1905), when the two
churches at Akani Obio and Asang were opened. A special
meeting of Presbytery was held in the district,and eight
members were present at the ceremonies. At Akani Obio
the Rev. John Rankin accepted the key from Chief
Onoyom in the name of the Presbytery,and handed it to
Miss Slessor, who inserted it in the lock and opened the
door. There was an atmosphere of intense devotion, and
"
Mr. Weir preached from the text, This is none other but
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." The
collection was over "5.
Boarding their canoe again the party proceeded to
Asang, and were met by crowds of people. Flags floated
everywhere, and they passed under an arch of welcome.
When the new native church, larger even than that at
Akani Obio, came into sight,surrounded by well-dressed
men and women and children, words failed the visitors
from Calabar. Again Mary opened the door, and again
thebuildingwas unable to hold the audience. Mr. Rankin
"
preached from To you is the word of this salvation sent."
The collection was watched with astonishment by the
visitors. It was piledup before the minister on the table,
and bundle after bundle of rods followed one another,
coming from those outside as well as those inside, until
the amount reached "20 "

a remarkable sum from a people

who were still heathen, but who were eager to know and
learn about God and the right way of life. The visitors
looked at one another. "It is wonderful," they said.
" "

Surely it is of God."
"
Ma was pleased but not
surprised; she knew how the people were crying for the
light,and how willingthey were to give and serve. After
the meeting the people would not depart,and she and Mr.
Weir addressed them outside. On the party returning
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 221

"
to Akani Obio an evening service was held, and," wrote
"
one of them, the night closed down on as happy a group
"
of missionaries as one could imagine." It was grand,"
"
said another ; the best apologetic for ChristianityI
ever saw."
Some weeks later the church Okpo, where Jean had
at

been teaching the women and girls,was opened in the

view of hundreds of the people,who contributed a collec-
tion
of "7.
Not all the natives regarded these strange doings with
equanimity. At Akani Obio some of the chiefs were so

alarmed that they left the town in the belief that misfortune
would come upon them on account of the church. But
when they saw the people throwing away their charms
and flockingto the services and no harm befallingthem,
they returned. They were very angry when Onoyom put
away his wives " he made ample provision for them " and
took back as his one consort a twin-mother whom he had
discarded. By and by came a fine baby boy to be the light
of his home. Akani Obio became a prohibitiontown, and
on Sundays a white flag was flown to indicate that no

tradingwas allowed on God's day.

VIII. The Problem of the Women

One of the most baffling

of West African problems is the
problem of the women. There is no place for them outside
the harem ; they
dependent on the social system of
are

the country, and helplesswhen cast adrift from it ; they

have no proper status in the community, being simply
the creatures of man to be exploitedand degraded his "

labourer, his drudge, the carrier of his kernels and oil,the

boiler of his nuts. A girl-child, if not betrothed by her
guardian,lacks the protection of the law. She can, if not
attached to some man, be insulted or injuredwith impunity.
There was no subject which had given Mary so much
thought, and she had long come to the conclusion that it
was the economic question which lay at the root of the
evil. It seemed clear that until they were capable of
supporting themselves, and subsistingindependently of
222 MARY SLESSOR

men, they would continue in their servihtyand degradation,

a prey to the worst practices of the bush, and a strong
conservative force against the introduction of higher and
purer methods of existence. Enhghtened women frankly
told Miss Slessor that they despaired of ever becoming
free from the toils of tradition and custom, and that there
seemed no better destiny for them than the life of the
harem and the ways of sin. It was a serious outlook
for those who became Christians, "
about whom she was

most concerned, " and she could not leave the matter alone.
Her active mind
always moving amongst the condi-
was tions
around her, consideringthem, seeing beyond them,
and suggestinglines of improvement and advance ; and in
this case she saw that she would have to show how women

could be independent of the ties of a House.

rendered
In Calabar Christian women supported themselves by
dressmaking, and much of their work was sent up-country,

and she did not wish to take the bread out of their mouths.
Gradually there came to her the idea of establishinga
home in some populous country centre, where she could
place her girlsand any twin-mothers, waifs, or strays, or
any Christian unable to find a livelihood outside the harem,
and where they could support themselves by farm and
industrial work. girls'school could
A also be attached to

it. Two principles

were laid down as essential for such an

institution : it must be based on the land, and it must be

self-supportingshe " did hot believe in homes maintained

from without. All native women understood something
of cultivation and the raisingof small stock, and their
efforts could be chieflyengaged in that direction, as well

as washing and laundrying, baking, basket-making,

in
weaving, shoemaking, and so forth. Machinery of a
simple character run by water-power could be added when
necessary.
In view of the uncertaintyof her own future, and the

opening up of the country, she wisely held back from

deciding on a site until she knew more about the routes

of the Government roads and possibledevelopments

the
of districts. She wanted virgin land and good water-
power, but she also desired what was stillmore important "
224 MARY SLESSOR

gave her a chance others in the Mission had not, and she
sought in the most tactful way to lead them to a tion
considera-
of the highestthings.
Christmastide as a rule came and went in the bush
without notice, except for a strange tighteningof the heart,
and a renewal of old memories. But this year, 1905, the
spiritof day seemed the
to fall upon these lonely white
folk, and they forgathered at Ikotobong, and spent it in
something like the home fashion. In a lowly shed, which
had no front wall, and where the seats were of mud, no

fewer than eight men "

officials,engineers,and traders
"
from far and near " sat down to dinner. They could
" "
have gone elsewhere," wrote Ma," but they came and
held an innocentlyhappy day with old woman,
an whose
day for entertainingand pleasingis over."
There was no lack of Christmas fare. An officer of
high standing had received his usual plum-pudding from
home, but as he was leaving on furlough, he sent it to
" " "
Ma ; a cake had come from Miss Wright, the dear
lassie at Okoyong," and shortbread had arrived from
Scotland. But there was not a drop of intoxicatingdrink
on the table.
After dinner the old
hymns full of home songs and
inemories and associations were sung, often tremulously,
for each had loved ones of whom he thought. Jean, who
had secured a canoe and come from Okpo, and the other
children, were present, and they sang an Efik hymn ;
and although Mary was the only Scot present the proceed-
ings
" "
were rounded off with Auld Lang Syne." I just

lay back and enjoyed it all," she wrote. "It is fifteen

years since I spent a Christmas like it. Wasn't it good of

my Father to give me such a treat ? I was the happiest

woman in the Mission that night ! If I could only win
these men for Christ "
that would be the best reward for
their kindness." Next day they sent her a Christmas
card on a huge sheet of surveying-paper, with their names

in the centre.
Miss Wright, along with Miss Amess, a new colleague,
arrived on the 30th on a visit, and three of the Public
Works officials spent the evening with them. Mary began
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 225

"
to talk as if it were the last night of the year. Oh,"
"
said one of the men, we have another day in which to
" " "
repent, Ma." Have we ? she
replied. I thought it
was the last night "
and I've been confessingmy sins of
the past year ! I'll have to do it all over again." These
officialsasked the ladies to dine with them on New Year's
night,the form of invitation being "

"
The Disgracesthree desire the company of the Graces
three to dinner this eveningat seven o'clock. Lanterns and
hammocks at 10 p.m. R.S.V.P."
" "
In
reply Ma wrote some humorous verses. The
dinner was given in the same native shed as before. As
the table-boypassed the soup, one of the men made as if
"
to begin. Ma," who was sittingbeside him, put her
"
hand on his and said, No, you don't, my boy, until the
blessingis asked," and then she said grace. After dinner
the bairns, who had been sittingat the door in the lightof
a big fire,were brought in, and prayers were conducted

by Mary. On that occasion, when Miss Amess was bidding

" "
her Good-bye," she said to her, Lassie, keep up your
pluck."
These men were very much afraid of the least appearance
"
of cant, but they would do anything for " Ma ; and when,
a days later,in order
few to give an object-lessonto the

natives, she proposed an English service, they agreed,

and one of them read the lessons, and another led the
singing. A short time before white men were unknown
to the district.

X. Mutinous

She was, under official ruling,to return to Akpap in

April 1906, and she was now reminded of the fact. She
"
was in great distress,and inchned to be mutinous. There
is an impellingpower behind me, and I dare not look
"
backward," she said. Even if it cost me my connection
with the Church of my heart's love, I feel I must go
"
forward." And again, I am not enthusiastic over Church
methods. I would not mind cuttingthe rope and going
adrift with my bairns, and I can earn our bite and thing
some-

more." She had thoughts of taking a post under

Q
 226 MARY SLESSOR

Government, or, with the help of her

girls,opening a store.
In a letter to the Rev. William Stevenson, the Secretaryol
the Women's Foreign Mission Committee, she pointed out
how her settlement at Itu had justified and referred
itself,
to the rapid development of the country :
"

In plainlyGod has been leading me.

all this how I had

not a thought of such thingsin my lifetime,nor, indeed, in the

next generation,and yet my steps have been led, apart from
any plan of mine, right to the line of God's planning for the
country. First Itu, then the Creek, then back from Aro, where
I had set my heart, to a wilderness
solitary of the most forbidding
description,where the silence of the bush had never been
broken, and here before three months are past there are miles
of road, and miles and miles more all
surveyed and being
worked upon by gangs of men from everywhere, and free labour
is being created and accepted as quickly as even a novelist
"
could imagine. And the minutes say, I am to return to
"
Akpap in April ! Okoyong and its people are very dear to

me. No placeon earth now is quite as dear, but to leave these

hordes of untamed, unwashed, unlovely savages and withdraw
the littlesunlightthat has begun to flicker out over its darkness !

^ dare not think of it. Whether the Church permits it or not,

^ \ feel I must stay here and even go on farther as the roads are

made. I cannot walk now, nor dare I do anything to trifle

with health, which is veryqueer now and then, but if the
my
roads are all the easy gradient of those already made I can

get four wheels made and set a box on them, and the children
can draw me about. . . .
With such facts pressingon me at

every point you will understand saying / dare not go hack.

my
I shall rather take the risk of finding my own chop if the
Mission do not see their way to go on. But if they see their

way to meet the new needs and requirements, I shall do all in

to further them without extra expense to the Church.
my power
"
"
This," she added,
characteristically is not for
V publication; it is for digestion."

There had never, of course, been any intention on the

part of the Church to draw back from the task of evangelis-

ing
the new regions. But the various bodies responsible
for the work were stewards of the money contributed for

foreignmissions, and they had to proceed in this particular

Both
part of the field according to their resources. men
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 227

and means were limited, and had to be

adjusted to the
needs, not in an impulsive and haphazard way, but with
the utmost care and forethought. All connected with
the Mission were as eager for extension as she was, but
they desired it to be undertaken on thorough and like
business-
lines. The difference between them and her was one

of method ; she, all afire with energy and enthusiasm,

would have gone on in faith ; they, more prudent and
wished
calculating, to be sure of each step before they
advanced another.
To her great relief she was permitted to have her way.
When it was seen that she was bent on pressingforward,
it was decided to set her free from ordinary trammels and
allow her to act in future- as a pioneer missionary. It was
a remarkable
position,one not without its difficulties and
dangers, and one naturallythat could not become common.

But Mary Slessor was an exceptionalwoman, and it was

to the honour of the Church that it at last realised the line
of her genius,and in spiteof being sometimes at variance
with her policy,permitted her to follow her Master in her
own fashion.
Her faith in the people and their own abilityto support
the work was proved more than once. It was a plucky
thing for these men and women to become Christians,
since it meant the entire recasting of their lives. Yet this
is what was now being often witnessed. One event at
"
Akani Obio was to her a foretaste of heaven "
" the
baptism of the chief and his slave-wife and baby, a score
of her people,and sixteen young boys and girls,
including
one of the lads who had assisted to paddle the canoe on

the day when the Creek was first entered. She was ill,and
was carried to and from the town in sharp pain and much
discomfort, but she forgot her body in the rare pleasure
she experiencedat the sightof so many giving themselves
to Christ. She had to hide her face on the table.
communion-
"
Over forty sat down in the afternoon to remember
'
our Lord's death till He come.' It cannot go back this
work of His. Akani Obio is now linked on to Calvary."
"
She thought of those rejoicingabove. I am sure our

Lord will never keep it from my mother."

228 MARY SLESSOR

The news from Arochuku

cheering,although the was also

messages told of persecutionof the infant Church by the

chiefs,who threatened to expel the teachers if they spoiled

the old fashions. "And what did you say to that?"

" '
she enquired. We replied, You can put us out of our
" "
country, but you cannot put us away from God.' And
" "
the women ? They said they would die for Jesus
Christ." She was anxious to visit Arochuku again, but
there hadexceptionalrains, and the Creek had risen
been
beyond its usual height and flooded the villages.Akani
Ohio suffered greatly,the church being inundated. The
chief was downcast, and in his simplicityof faith thought
God was punishing him, and searched his heart to find
" "
the cause, until Ma comforted him. He determined
to rebuild the church on higherground, and this intention
he carried out later. About a mile further up the Creek
he chose a good site,and erected a new town called Obufa
Ohio, the first to be laid out on a regularplan. The main
street is about forty yards wide, and in the middle of it
is the chief's house, with the church close by. The side
streets are about ten yards wide All the houses have
lamps hanging in front, and these are lit in the evenings.
The boys have a large football field to themselves. Chief
Onoyom, who is one of the elders of session, continues to
exercise a powerful influence for good throughout the Creek.
One incident of the floods greatlysaddened Mary. A
native familysleepingin their hut, but above the
were

waters. The mother woke suddenly at the sound of

something splashingabout below. Thinking it was some

wild animal, she seized a machete and hacked at it. Her

husband also obtained his sword and joined in. When
lightscame, the mangled form of the baby, who had fallen
from the bed, was seen in the red water. Distracted at

having murdered her child, the mother threw herself into

the Creek and was drowned.
So convinced was Mary of the importance of Arochuku,
and so anxious to have a recognisedstation there, that she
offered to build a house free of expense to the Mission, if
two agents could be sent up. This brought the whole
matter of extension to a definiteissue, and a forward
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 229

movement unanimously agreed on by the Council

was "

the ladies being speciallyanxious for this any ments

develop- "

to take place by the way of the Enyong Creek. A

committee was appointed to visit Arochuku and to confer
with Mary. Two ladies were actuallyappointed by the
Council, one being Miss Martha Peacock, who was wards
after-
to be so closely allied with her. When these matters
came before the Foreign Mission Committee in Scotland, a

resolution was passed,which it is well to give in full :

1. they recognisethe general principle,that, in all

That
ordinary circumstances the Women's Foreign Mission should
not make the first advance into new territory,but follow the
lead of the Foreign Mission Committee, the function of the
former being to supply the necessary complement to the work
of the latter.
2. That, however, in view of (a) the earnest desire of the

people of questionto receive Christian teaching,

the district in
and their willingness to help in providingit ; (b) the fact that
the region has been claimed by the United Free Church as

within the sphere of its operations,and has had that claim

acknowledged by the Church MissionarySociety ; (c)the steps
which have already been taken by Miss Slessor, and what she
is further prepared to do : they regard it as not only highly
desirable,but the duty of the Church to occupy the region in
questionas soon as it is possible.
3. That in view, on the other hand, of the present condition
of their funds, which are overtaxed by the already existing
work, the Committee deeply regret that it is beyond their
means to add two new members to the staff,as the Council

requests, and that, therefore, the sending of two new agents

to Arochuku must be meantime delayed.
4. That the Committee, however, approve of the acceptance
by the Mission Council of Miss Slessor's generous offer to build
the house, but recommend the Council to consider whether the
execution of the work should not be delayed till there is a

nearer prospect of new agents being supplied.

They further return thanks to Miss Slessor for her generosity,
and record their warm appreciationof her brave pioneerwork ;
and they express the earnest hope that the Church, by larger
liberality,
may soon enable them to make the advance which
has been so well prepared.
230 MARY SLESSOR

Meanwhile the Rev. John Rankin had been given a

roving commission in order to ascertain the best location

for the future station, and he came back from a tour in
Ibo and Ibibio and fired the Council with the tale of what
he had seen, and the wonderful of this great
possibilities
and populous region.
"
Close to Arochuku within a circle,the diameter of which
"
is less than three miles, there are," he said, nineteen large
towns. I visited sixteen of these, each of which is largerthan
Creek Town. people are a stalwart race, far in advance
The
of Efik. The majority are very anxious for help. A section
is stronglyopposed, even to the point of persecutionof those
who are under the influence of Miss Slessor, and others have
'
alreadybegun to try to live in God's fashion.' This
opposition
seems to be one of the most hopeful signs,as proving that there
will be at least no indifference. The head chief of all the Aros,
'
who was the chief formerly in control of the long juju,'is one

of those most favourable. He has already announced to the

other chiefs his intention to rule in God's ways. He has been
the most keen in asking the missionary to come. A new church
will be built,and he offers to build a house for any missionary
who will come."

With something like enthusiasm the Committee set

apart Mr. Rankin himself to take up the work at Arochuku,

and of sending him
acceptedthe responsibility at once. . . .

Thus Arochuku, like Itu, passed into the control of the

Foreign Mission Committee, and became one of their
stations and the centre of further developments, and thus
Miss Slessor's long period of anxiety regardingits position
and future was at an end.

XI. On the Bench

" "
Recognising that Ma had an influence with the

natives, which it was impossibleto abrogate,the Govern-

ment
decided to invest her with the powers of a magistrate.
The native courts of Nigeria consist of a number of

leadingchiefs in each district,who take turns to try cases

between native and native. The District Commissioner is

232 MARY SLESSOR

She thanked the Government for the honour and for

the confidence reposed in her, and said she was wilHng to
give her services for the good of the people in any way, but
she decHned to accept any remuneration.
She took over the books in October, acting then and
often afterwards, as clerk, and carrying through all the
tedious clerical duties. It was strange and terrible,but to
her not unfamiliar work. She came face to face with the
worst side of a low-down savage people, and dealt with
the queerest of queer cases. One of the first was a murder

charge in which a woman was involved. Women were

indeed at the bottom of almost

palaver every mischief and
in the country. marriage was With up poisoning, mixed
sacrifice,exactions, oaths, debts, and crueltyunspeakable.
"
Mary was often sick with the loathing of it all. God
" "
help these poor helplesswomen ! she wrote. What a

crowd of people I have had to-day, and how debased !

They are just like brutes in regard to women. I have had
a murder, an esere case, a suicide, a man for branding his
slave-wife all over her face and body ; a man with a gun
"
who has shot four persons it is all horrible !
"

Here are three specimen charges, and the results, in

her own writing: "

For Imprisonment

O. I. Found guilty of brawling in market and taking by

force 8 rods from a woman's basket. One month's hard
labour.
P. B. Chasing a girlinto the bush with intent to injure.
One month's hard labour.
U. A.
(a) Seizing a woman in the market. (6) Chaining
her for 14 days by neck and wrists. Throwing mbiam with
intent to kill should she reveal it to white man. Sentenced to
six months' hard labour, and to be sent back on expiry of
sentence to pay costs.

She had the

right of inflictingpunishment up to six
months' imprisonment, but often, instead of administering
the law, she administered justiceby giving the prisoner
a blow on the side of the head !
The oath taken was usually the heathen mbiam. For
 Court House at Ikotobong.

taken and
'"
Ma
"

the jury were in the little

When this photograph was

retiiing-room (in front) considering a verdict.

"
Ma," with the Material for Administering the Native

THE Native Oath at her Feet. Oath to a A^^itness.

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 233

this were needed a skull and a vile concoction in a bottle,

that was kept outside the Court House on account of the

smell. After a witness had promised to speak the truth,

one of the members of the Court would take some of the
stuff and draw it across his tongue and over his face, and
touch his legsand arms. It was believed that if he spoke
falselyhe would die. After Miss Slessor took up her
duties, a heathen native, who clearly borne false
had
witness, dropped down dead on leaving the Court, with
the result that mbiam was in high repute for a time in the
district.
Although three local chiefs sat by her side on the
"
bench," and the jury behind her, she ruled supreme.
"
I have seen her get up," says a Government official of
"
that time, and box the ears of a chief because he tinued
con-

to interrupt after being warned to be quiet. The

act caused the greatest amusement to the other chiefs."

They often writhed under her new edicts regardingwomen,

but they always acquiesced in her judgment. For not
providing water for twin-mothers, she fined a town "3.
Miss Amess tells of a poor woman wishing a divorce from
" "
her scamp of a husband. The Court evidentlythought
she had sufficient cause, and there and then granted the
request, and asked her colleagueto witness the act. The
woman was triumphant, feelingvery important at having
two white people on her side,while the man stood trembling,
" "
as Ma expressed her candid opinion of him. In the
Government report for 1907 it was stated that a number of
summonses had been issued by the District Commissioner
against husbands of twin -bearing women for desertion
and support, and in every case the husbands agreed to

take the women back, the sequelbeing that other women

in the same plight were also received again into their
" "
families. The result," says the report, is sign of the
a

civilisinginfluence worked through the Court by that

admirable lady. Miss Slessor."
Some of her methods were not of the accepted judicial
character. She would try a batch of men for an offence,
lecture them, and then impose a fine. Finding they had
no money she would take them up to the house and give
234 MARY SLESSOR

them work to earn the amount, and feed them well. less
Need-
to say they went back to their homes her devoted
admirers. Her excuse for such irregularprocedure was,
that while they were working she could talk to them, and
exercise an influence that might prove abiding in their
lives. This was animating all her actions in
the motive
" ' '
the Court. When Ma Slessor presided,"it was said,
"
her Master was beside her, and His spirit guided her."
The Court was popular, for the natives had their tales
heard at first hand, and not through an interpreter.
" "
Ma's complete mastery of their tongue, customs,
habits, and very nature, gave her, of course, an exceptional
advantage. One District Commissioner spent three days
in trying a single case, hearing innumerable witnesses,
without coming within sight of the truth. In despair he

sought her aid, and she settled the whole dispute to the
satisfaction of every one by asking two simple questions.
It was impossiblefor any native to deceive her. A Govern- ment
doctor had occasion to interview a chief through an
interpreter.She was standing by. As the chief spoke
she suddenly broke in, and the man simply crumpled up
before her. The doctor afterwards asked her what the
"
chief had done. He told a lie,and I reprimanded him "

but I cannot understand how he could possiblyexpect me

not to know." Again and again she reverted to the matter.
" "
To think he could have expected to deceive me !
Another official tells how a tall,well-built,muscular chief
"
cowered before her. Having no knowledge of the
language, I could not tell what it was all about, but plainly
the man looked as if his very soul had been laid bare, and
as though he wished the earth would
open and swallow
him. She combined most happily kindliness and severity,
and indeed I cannot imagine any native trying to take
advantage of her kindness and of her great-heartedlove
for the people. This is the more remarkable to any one

with intimate personalacquaintance with the native, and

of his readiness to regard kindness as weakness or softness,
and his endeavour to exploitit to the utmost."

All this Court business added to her toil,as a constant

stream of people came to her at the Mission House in
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 235

connection with their cases. She did not, however, see

them all. It became her practiceto sit in a room writing

at her desk or reading,and send the girlsto obtain the
salient features of the story. They knew how to question,
and what facts to take to her, and she sent them back with
directions as to what should be done. When she was ill
and feeble she extended this practiceto other palavers.
People still came from great distances to secure her ruling
on some knotty dispute,and having had their statements
conveyed to her, she would either give the reply through
the girls,
or speak out of the open window, and the deputa-
tion
depart satisfied,and act on
would her advice. Her

correspondencealso increased in volume, and she received

a curious commuhication. The natives would
many
sometimes be puzzled how to address her, and to make
"
absolutelysure they would send their letters to Madam,
Mr., Miss, Slessor."

XII. A Visitor's Notes

Apleasantglimpse of her at this time is given in some

notes by Miss Amess. On Miss Wright going home she "

shortly afterwards married Dr. Rattray of the Mission

staff,both subsequentlysettlingin England Miss Amess "

was not permitted to stay alone in Okoyong, and she asked

to be associated with Miss Slessor at Ikotobong. It was
a relief it is,"
"
a happy arrangement for the latter. What
she wrote,
"
to have some one to lean on and share the
of the bairns.
responsibility Miss Amess is so sane and

capable and helpful,and is always on the watch to do

what is to be done "
a dear consecrated lassie." Miss
Amess says :

When I went to Calabar I heard a great deal about Miss

Slessor, and naturally I wished to see her. She had been so

courageous that I imagined she must be somewhat masculine,

with a very commanding appearance, but I was pleasantly
disappointedwhen I found she was a true woman, with a heart
full of motherly affection. Her welcome was the heartiest I
received. Her originality,
brightness, and almost girlish spirit
fascinated me. One could not be long in her company without
 236 MARY SLESSOR

enjoyinga rightheartylaugh. As her semi-native house was

justfinished, and she always did with the minimum of furniture

and culinary articles,
the Council authorised me to take a filter,
dishes, and cooking utensils from Akpap, and I had also provi-
sion
cases and personalluggage. I was not sure of what Ma " "

would say about sixteen loads because

arriving, there were no

wardrobes or presses, and one had justto live in one's boxes.

" "
When Ma
the filtershe said, Ye saw
"
maun a' hae yer
filters noo-a-days. Filters werna created ; they were an

after-thocht." She quiteapproved of my having it all the

same.

Mail
day was always a red-letter day. We only got letters
fortnightly
then. She was alwaysinterested in my home news
and told me hers,so that we had generallya very happy hour
together. Then the papers would be read and their contents
discussed. To be with her was an education. She had such a

completegrasp of all that was goingon in the world. One day

after studyingEfik for two hours she said to me,
"
Lassie,
you have had enough of that to-day, go away and read a novel
for a short time."
She was very childhke with her bairns and dearlyloved them.
One nightI had to share her bed, and duringthe nightfelt her
clappingme on the shoulder. I think she had been so used
with black babies that this the force of habit,for she
was was

amused when I told her of it in the morning.

"
There was no routine with Ma." One never knew what she
would be doing. One hour she having a political
might be
discussion with a District Commissioner,the next supervising
the buildingof a house, and later on judgingnative palavers.
Late one eveningI heard a good deal of talkingand also the
sound of working. I went in to see what was doing and there
" "
was Ma making cement and the bairns spreadingit on the
floor with their hands in candle light.The whole scene at so
late an hour was too much for my gravity.
When prayers with
at her children she would sometimes
play a tambourine at the
singing, and if the bairns were half
asleep it struck their curlyheads instead of her elbow.
Her outstandingcharacteristic was her great sympathy,
which enabled her to get into touch with the highestand the
lowest. Once while cyclingtogether we met the Provincial
Commissioner. After salutations and some conversation with
him she finished up "
by saying, Good-bye,and see and be
"
a guid laddie !
238 MARY SLESSOR

obtained. On this side one sees far into Ibo beyond

Arochuku, on that the vision is of Itu and the country
behind it, while palm-covered plain rises
on the west the
into the highlandsof Ikot Ekpene. It is one of the fairest
of landscapes,but is the haunt of leopardsand other wild
beasts, and after rain the roadway is often covered with
the marks of their feet.
The
ground was cleared, and buildingoperationsbegun,
the plan worked out being a small semi-European cottage
and native yard. Other cottages would follow. Before
long, however, the feelinggrew that Ikotobong should
be taken over by the Women's ForeignMission Committee,
and she foresaw that Use would require to be her own

headquarters.
Towards the end
M'Kinney, one ofof the year Miss E.
the lady agents, called at Use, and found her livingin a
singleroom, and sleeping on a mattress placed upon a

sheet of corrugatediron. As the visitor had to leave early

in the morning, and there were no clocks in the hut,
" "
Ma adopted the novel device of tying a rooster to her
bed. The plan succeeded ; at first cock-crow the sleepers
were aroused from their slumbers.
It was not so much a rest-house for others that was

needed, as a rest for herself.

gradually coming She was

to the her strength. Throughout the year

end of 1906

she suffered from diarrhoea, boils, and other weakening

complaints, and the Government doctor at last frankly

told her that if she wished to live and work another day,
she must go home at once. Her answer to his fiat was to
" "
rally in a wonderful way. It looks," she said, as if
God has forbidden my going. Does this appear as if He
could not do without me ? Oh, dear me, poor old lady,
how little you can do ! But I can at least
keep a door
open." It was, however, only a respite. By the beginning
of 1907 she could not walk half-a-dozen steps, her limbs
refused to move, and she needed to be carried about. It
was obvious, even to herself, that she must go home.
Home ! the very word brought tears to her eyes. The
" "

passionfor the old land and kent faces, and the graves
of her beloved, grew with her failingpower. A home
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 239

"
picture made her heart leap and
long. Oh, the dear
homeland," she cried, " shall I reallybe there and worship
in its churches again ! How I long for a wee look at a
winter landscape,to feel the cold wind, and see the frost
in the cart-ruts, to hear ring of shoes
the on the hard
frozen ground, to see the glareof the shops,and the hurrying
scurrying crowd, to take a back seat in a church, and hear
without a care of my own the congregation singing,and
hear they preach and
how pray and rest their souls in the
hush and solemnity."
She arranged to leave in May, and set about putting
her household affairs in order. The safeguardingof the
children gave her much solicitude. For Jean and the
"
older girlsshe trembled. They must be left in charge
of the babies, with only God to protect them." Dan, now
six years old, she took with her as a help to fetch and carry.
Her departure and journey were made wonderfully easy
by the kindness of Government who
officials, vied with each
other in taking care of her and
making her comfortable.
One of her friends, Mr. Gray, packed for her, stored her
furniture, conveyed her to Duke Town, and asked his
sister in Edinburgh to meet her. Mr. Middleton, of Lagos,
wrote to say he was going home, and would wait for her in
"
order to convoy her safely through all the foreign
countries between Lagos and the other side of the Tweed."
"
"
Now there," she wrote to the Wilkies "
Doth Job serve
"
God for nought ? Very grateful she was for all the
" "
attention. God must repay these men," she said, for
I cannot. He will not forgetthey did it to a child of His,
unworthy though she is." After the voyage she wrote :

"
Mr. Middleton has and
faithfully very tenderly carried
out all his promises. Had I been his mother, he could not
have been more attentive or kind."

XIV. Scotland : the Last Farewell

A telegram to Mrs. M'Crindle Joppa informed

at her
that her friend had arrived at Liverpool and was on the

way to Edinburgh. She met the train, and saw an old

wrinkled lady huddled in a corner of a carriage. Could
240 MARY SLESSOR

that be Miss Slessor ? With a pitying hand she helped

her out and conveyed her, with Dan, to the comfort of
her home.
But soon letters,postcards,invitations, parcelsbegan
" "
flowing in. This correspondence," she wrote, is

overwhelming. I cannot keep pace with it." There was

no end to the kindness which people showered upon her.

Gifts of flowers, clothes, and money for herself and her
"
work, and toys for Dan were her dailyportion. It is a
"
wonderful service this," she said, which makes the heart
leap to do His will, and it is all unknown to the nearest

neighbour or the dearest friend, but it keeps the Kingdom

of Heaven coming every day anew on the earth." One
"
"5 was slippedinto her hand for her bairns. My bairns
"
don't require it," she replied, and won't get it either,
but it is put aside, till I see the Board, as the nest-egg of
Home for Girls and Women in Calabar. If I can get
my
them togive the woman or women, I shall give half of my

salary to help hers, and will give the house and find the
servants, and I can find the passage money from personal
friends. Pray that the Board may dare to go on in faith,
and take up this work."
spellsof colds and fevers she visited friends.
Between
At Bowden again she had the exquisiteexperience of
enjoying utter rest and happiness. A pleasant stay was
at Stanley,with the family of Miss Amess, who was also at

home, and with whom she rose early in the morning and
went out cycling. She cycled also with Miss Logic at
Newport, but was very timid on the road. If she saw a

dog in front she would dismount, and remount after she

had passed it. She went over to Dundee and roamed

through her former haunts with an old factorycompanion,

lookingwistfullyat the scenes of her girlhood.

"
I have been gladdened," she wrote to an English friend,
"
at finding many of those I taught in young days walking in
the fear and love of God, and many are heads of families who
are strengthand ornament
a to the Church of Christ. About

thirty-five
or thirty-eight years ago three ladies and myself
began to work in a dreadful district " one became a district

nurse, one worked among the fallen women and the prisonsof
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 241

our cities,and one has been at home working quietly and we "

all met in good health and had such a day together. We went

up the old roads and talked of all God had done for us and for
the people, and again dedicated ourselves to Him. It was

probably the last time we shall meet down here, but we were

glad in the hope of eternity."

She had not been in Scotland since the Union of the
Churches, and one of her first duties was to call upon

Mr. Stevenson, the Secretary of the Women's Foreign

Mission Committee, and his assistant,Miss Crawford. She
had high sense
a of the value of the work going on at

headquarters,and always maintained that the task of

organisingat home was much harder than service in the
field. But she had a natural aversion to officialdom,and
anticipatedthe interviews with dread. She
pictured two
cold, unsympathetic individuals "
a conception afterwards
recalled with amusement. What the realitywas may be
gathered from a letter she wrote later to Mr. Stevenson :

"
I have never felt much at home with our conditions,
new

and feared the result of the Union in its detail, though

I most heartilyapproved of it in theory and fact. No !
I shall not be afraid of you. Both Miss Crawford and
yourselfhave been a revelation to me, and I am ashamed
of my former fancies and fears, and I shall ever think of,
and pray for the secretaries with a very warm and thankful
heart."
There was an element of humour in her meeting with
Miss Crawford. The two women, somewhat nervous,
stood on oppositesides of the office door. She, without,
was afraid to enter, shrinkingfrom the task of facingthe
unknown personage within "

a woman who had been in

India and written
book, and was sure to be masculine
a

and hard ! She, within, of gentle face and soft speech,

leant timidly on her desk, nerving herself for the coming
shock, for the famous pioneer missionary was sure to be
" "
difficult and aggressive. When Mary entered they
glanced at one another, looked into other's eyes, and
each
with a sigh of relief smiled and straightway fell in love.
When Mary gave her affection she gave it with a passionate
abandon, and Miss Crawford was taken into the inmost
R
242 MARY SLESSOR

"
sanctuary of her heart. You have been one of God's
most precious giftsto me furlough,"she said later.
on this
In her humilityMiss Crawford spoke about not beingworthy
"
to tie her shoe. Dear daughter of the King," exclaimed
"
the missionary, why do you say that ? If you knew
"
me as God does ! Never say that kind of thing again !
The ordeal of meeting the Women's Foreign Mission
Committee was also a disillusionment. Her friend. Dr.
Robson, was in the chair, and his
opening prayer was an

inspiration,and lifted the proceedingsto the highestlevel.

Nothing could have been kinder than her reception,which
"
delighted her greatly. There was such a sympathetic
hearing for Calabar, especiallyfrom the old Free Church
section, who are as eager for the Mission as the old United
Presbyterians." A conference was held with her in regard
to the positionof Ikotobong, and her heart was gladdened
by the decision to take over the station and place two
lady missionaries there. Miss Peacock and Miss Reid.
At another conference with a sub-committee she discussed
the matter of the Settlement, gave an outline of her plans,
and intimated that already two ladies had offered "100
each to start the while
enterprise, other sums were also
on hand. The sub-committee was much impressed with
the sense of both the necessityand promise of the scheme,
and recommended the Women's Committee to express
general approval of it, and earnest sympathy with the
end in view, and to authorise her to take the necessary
steps on her return for the selection of a suitable site,the
preparation of plans, and estimates of the cost of the
ground, buildings,and agents, in order that the whole
scheme might be submitted through the Mission Council,
at the earliest practicable date, for sanction. The general
Committee unanimously and cordiallyadopted this recom-
mendation.

It expected that she would address many

was meetings
throughout the country during her furlough to interest
people in her work and projects,but she astonished every
one by intimating that she was leaving for Calabar in
October, although she had only been a few months at

home. In her eyes friends saw a look of sorrow, and said

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 243

to one another that the burden of the work was lyingupon

her heart. But few knew the secret of her sadness. To
"
some who remonstrated she said, My heart yearns for

my bairns "

they are more to me than myself." The

truth was that a story aboutby a Jean had been set afloat
native and had reached her in letters,and she could hardly
contain herself until she had found out the meaning of it.
At all costs she must get back. Even her pilgrimageto
the graves of her dear ones in Devon must be given up.
Much againsther will and pleadingshe was tied down to
give at least three addresses in the great towns, but with
her whole being unhinged by the shadow that overhung
her, she had little mind for public speaking. Her old
nervousness in the face of an audience returned with
"
tenfold I
trembling for the meetings," she
force. am
"
wrote, but surelyGod will help me. It is His own cause."
"
And again, I am sufferingtortures of fear, and yet why
is it that I cannot rest in Him ? If He sends me work,
surelyHe will help me to deliver His message, and to do
it for His glory. He never failed me before. If He be
that
glorified is all,whether I be considered able or not."
She never prepared a set speech, and when she was

going up to the Edinburgh meeting with Mrs. M'Crindle,

" " "
she turned to her and said, What I to say ?
am Just
open lipsand let God
your speak,"repliedher friend. She
was greatlypleased with the answer, and on that occasion
she never spoke better. Dr. Robson presided,and Mrs.
Duncan M'Laren, in bidding her farewell on behalf of the
"
audience, said, There are times when it needs God-given
vision "to see the guiding hand. We feel that our friend
has this heavenly vision, and that she has not been dis- obedient
to it. We all feel humbled when we hear what
she and her brave colleagueshave done. In God's keeping
we may safelyleave her."
At the meeting in Glasgow the feelingwas even more

tense and emotional, and a hush came over the audience

as the
plain little woman made her appeal,and told them
that in all probabilityshe would never again be back.
At the benediction she stood, a patheticfigure,her head
drooping,her whole attitude one of utter weariness.
244 MARY SLESSOR

On the eve of her departureshe was stayingwith friends.

At night they went into her room and found her weeping
quietlyin bed. They tried to comfort her, and she said
half whimsically that
- she had been overcome by the
feelingthat she was homeless and without kith and kin
"
in her own country. I'm a poor solitarywith only
"
memories." But you have troops of friends "

you have
"
us all "
weyou."all love grateful," Yes, I ken, and I am
" " "
she replied, but wistfully it's just that I've none
"
"

of my ain folk to say good-bye to."

"
She was very tired when she left. I'm hardly myself
"
in this country," she said. It has too many things,and
it is always in such a hurry. I lose my head." Again
kind hands eased her way, and settled her on the steamer.
Dan was inconsolable, and wept to be taken back toJoppa.
The voyage gave her a new lease of life. The quietness
and peace and meditation, the warm sunshine and the
breezes, the loveliness of the sky and sea, rested and healed
her. This, despitethe conduct of some wild passengers
bound for the gold-mines. One day she rose and left the
table by way of protest,but in the end they bade her a
kindly good-bye, and listened to her advice. At Lagos
the Governor sent off his aide-de-camp with greetings,
and a case of milk for the children. Mr. Grey also appeared
"
and escorted her to Calabar. Am I not a privileged and
"

happy woman ? she wrote to his sister.

The same note of gratitude filled a letter which she

wrote on board to Dr. Robson, asking him to put a few
lines in the Record thanking every one for their kindness,
as it was impossible to answer all the letters she had
received. The letter itself was inserted, and we give the
concludingparagraph :
" To all who have received me into their homes, and given me
a share of what are the most sacred things of earth, I give
heartfelt thanks. What Bethany house must
the have been
to our Lord, no one can better appreciatethan the missionary
coming home to a strange place,homeless. I thank all those
who have rested me, and nursed me back to health and strength,
and who have nerved me for future service by the sweet

ministries and hallowinginfluences of their home life. To the

246 MARY SLESSOR

night, returning at dawn. Whole

days were occupied
with palavers, many of the people coming such long
distances that she had to provide sleepingaccommodation
for them. Old chiefs would pay her visits and stay for
" "
hours. It is a great tax," she remarked, but it pays
even if it tires." Sundays were her busiest days ; she
went far afield preaching, and had usually from six to
twelve meetings in villagesand by the wayside. Often
on these excursions she came across natives who had made
the journey to Okoyong to consult her in the olddays.
The situation was now reversed, for people from Okoyong
came to her. One day after a ten hours' sittingin Court
she went home to find about
fiftynatives from the hinter-
land
of that district waiting with their usual tributes of
food and a peck of troubles for her to straightenout. It
was after midnight before there was quiet and sleep for
her. Her heart went out to these great-limbed, straight-

nosed, sons of the aboriginalforest,and she determined to

cross the river and visit them. She spent three days
fixingup all their domestic and social affairs,and making
a few proclamations,and diligentlysowing the seeds of
the Gospel. When she left she had with her four boys
and a girlas wild and undisciplinedas mountain goats,
who were added to her household to undergo the process

of taming, training,and educating ere they were sent back.

In what she called her spare time she was engaged in the
endless task of repairingand extending her forlorn little
shanties. There was always something on hand, and she
worked as hard as the children, nailingup corrugatediron,
sawing boards, cementing floors,or cuttingbush. Jean, the
ever-willing and cheerful, was practically in charge of the

house, keeping the babies, lookingafter their mothers, and

teaching the little ones in the school. Up to this period
" "
she had never received more than her board, and Ma

felt it was time to acknowledge her services, and she

therefore began to pay her Is. per week.
Now and again in her letters there came the ominous
words, "I'm tired, tired." On the last night of the year
" "
she was sittingup writing. I'm tired," she said, and

have a few things to do. My mother went home eighteen

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 247

years ago on the passage of the old year, so it is rather

lonelyto-nightwith so many memories. The bairns are
all asleep. But He hath not failed,and He is all-sufficient."
She was often so wearied that she could not sit up straight.
She was too exhausted to take off her clothes and brush
"
her hair until she had obtained what she called her first
rest." Then she rose and finished her undressing. She
would begin a letter and not be able to finish it. The
ladies nearest her, Miss Peacock and Miss Reid at Ikotobong,
"
redoubled their attentions. Miss Reid she said was a

bonnie lassie,tenderly kind to me." What Miss Peacock

was to her no one but herself knew. She was a keen
judge of character,
though generous, almost extravagant
in her appreciationof those she loved, and Miss Peacock
"
has justified her estimate and her praise. Sterlingas a
Christian, splendid as a woman, whole-hearted as a sionary,
mis-
capable as a teacher, she is one after my own
"
heart," she wrote. She is very good and kind to me,
and a tower of strength. I am proud of her and the great
work she is doing." Miss Peacock began the habit about
this time of cycling down on Saturday afternoons and
spending a few hours with her, and Mary looked forward
to these visits with the greatest zest.
The friends at home were also ceaseless in their kindness.
They scrutinised every letter she sent, and
frequently were

able to read between the lines and anticipateand supply

her needs, " much to her surprise. Have I been "

" "
grumbling ? she would enquire. You make me

ashamed. I am better off than thousands who give their

money to support me." A carpet arrived.
"
And oh,"
"
she writes, what a difference it has made to our comfort.
You have no idea of the transformation ! The mud and
cement were transformed at once into something as
' '
artistic as the boards of the bungalow, and the coziness
was simply beyond belief. It did not look a bit hot, and
it was so soothing to the bare feet, and I need not say it
was a wonder to the natives, who can't understand a white
"
man steppingon a cloth " and such a cloth ! On another
"
occasion a bed was sent out to her, and she wrote : I've
been jumping my tired body up and down on it just to
248 MARY SLESSOR

get the beautiful swing, and to feel that I am lying level.

I'm tired and I'm happy and I'm half-ashamed at my own
"
luxury." And next morning, What a lovely sleep
"
I've had !
The Macgregors made their first visit to Use in 1908,
" "
and on arrival found Ma sittingwith a morsel of infant

in her lap. She was dressed in a print overall with low

neck ; it was tied at the middle with a sash, and she was

without stockings or Sunday she set out

shoes. On the

early on foot on her customary round, carryingtwo roasted

corn-cobs as her day's rations, whilst Mr. Macgregor took
the service at Ikotobong. He was tired after his one
effort,but when he returned in the evening he discovered

her preaching at Use Church her tenth meeting for the "

day, and her tour had not been so extensive as usual. At

six o'clock next morning people had already arrived with
" "

palavers. One woman wanted a husband. Ma looked

at her with those shrewd eyes that read people through
"
and through, and then began in Scots, It's bad eneuch

being a marriage registrar,without being a matrimonial

agent forby. Eke mi'o ! Mr. Macgregor, send up ony
o' your laddies that's wanting wives." Then she went into
Efik that made the woman wince, and pointed out that she
had come to the wrong place.
She watched with interest the progress of the Creek
stations, although they were out of her hands. There
were now at Okpo forty members in full communion, and
the contributions for the year amounted to "48 : 3 : 3.
At Akani Obio, where there were forty-fivemembers in
full communion, the total contributions amounted to

"93 : 11 : 4. And at Asang, where there were one hundred

and fifteen members, the contributions amounted to

"146 : 6s. At those three stations

the total expenses were

fullymet, and there was a largesurplus. Where four years

ago there was no church member and no offering,there
were now two hundred members, and contributions

amounting in all to "287.

So the Kingdom of her Lord grew.

 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 249

XVI. "The Pity of It"

experienceof 1908, when she was

One down at Duke

Town attending the Council meetings, is worth noting.

Though she hked the bush better she was always interested
in watching the movements there. It is a great cheer "

to me," she said, "

all the young
to meet folks, and to be
with them in their enthusiasm and optimism, and this vast
hive of industry,the Hope Waddell Institution, with its

swarm of young men and boys, givesme the highest hopes

for the future of the Church and the nation now in their

infancy. Mr. Macgregor is a perfect Principal, sane,

self-restrained,and tactful,but I would not be in his place
for millions." The town was a very different place from
that which she first saw in 1876. It was now a flourishing
seaport, with many fine streets and buildings. The swamp
had been drained. There was a fully-equippednative
hospital,and a magnificent church in the centre of the
town, and the Europeans enjoyed most of the conveniences
and even the luxuries of civilisation.
On this occasion an invitation came from the High
Commissioner to dine at Government House, and meet a

certain woman writer of books. She would not hear of it.

She had no clothes for such a function, and she did not
wish to be lionised. The Macgregors,with whom she was

staying,advised her to go ; they thought it would do her

good. She consented at last,but when she left in a mock,
ham-
which specially
had been
sent for her, there was the
lightof battle in her eyes. Mr. Macgregor knew that look
and laughed ; there was no doubt she was going to enjoy
herself ; she had still the heart of a school-girl, and greatly
loved a prank. When she returned, her face was full of
" "
mischief. Ay," she said, I met your lady writer, and
"
I wheedled 10s. out of her for milk for my bairns !
"
Under the title of But
yet the pity of it,"the authoress
gave an account of the meeting in the Morning Post, in a

way which excited laughter and derision in the Calabar

bush. It was in the pathetic strain :

"lam given to admiringmissionaryenterprise,"

not she wrote.
"
The enthusiasm which seems to so many magnificent seems to
250 MARY SLESSOR

me but a meddling in other people'sbusiness ; the money that

is poured out, so much bread and lightand air and happmess
filched from the smitten children at home.
"
But this missionary conquered me if she did not convert me.

"
She was a woman close on with
sixty, heavily-lined
a face,and
a skin from which the freshness and bloom had long,long ago
departed ; but there was fire in her tired though
old eyes still,
they looked ; there was sweetness and firmness about her
lined mouth. Heaven knows who had dressed her. She wore

a skimpy tweed skirt and a cheap nun's veilingblouse, and on

her iron-greyhair was perched rakishlya forlorn broken picture-
hat of faded green chiffon with a knot of bright red ribbon
to give the bizarre touch of colour she had learned to admire

among her surroundings.

" '
Ye'll excuse my hands,' she said, and she held them out.

"They were hardened and roughened by work, work in the

past, and they

just now bleedingfrom work
were finished but
now ; the skin of the palms was gone, the nails were worn to

the quick ; that they were painfulthere could be no doubt,

but she only apologisedfor their appearance."

" "
Ma is thus made to tell the incident of the witness
dying suddenly after attending the court at Ikotobong :

If you
" '
put mbiam on a man and he swears he
falsely dies.
Oh, he does. I ken it. I've seen it mysel'. There was a man

brought up before me in the court and he was charged wi'

stealingsome plantains. He said he had naught to do with

them, so I put mbiam on him, an' still he said he had naught

to do wi' them, so I sent him down to Calabar. An' see now.

As he was going he stopped the policeman an' laid himself

down, because he was sick. An' he died. He died there. I

put mbiam on him, an' he knew he had stolen them and died.'
"
There was pity in her face for the man she had killed with
his own lie,but only pity,no regret."

So well was she succeeding with her that

mystification
"
she went on to talk of the hard lot of women and the

pair bairns," and then comes the conclusion :

"'My time's been wasted. The puir bairns. They'd be

better dead.'
"
Her scarred hands her dress, her tired eyes
fumbled with
looked out sunshine, her lipsquivered
into the blazing tropical
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 251

'
as she summed up her hfe's work. Failed, failed,'she cried.
All that she hadhoped, all that she had prayed for,nothing for
herself had she ever sought except the power to help these
children,and she felt that she had not helped them. They
would be better dead. . . .

"
But the Commissioner did not think she had failed. Is
the victoryalways to the strong ?
"*She has influence and weight,'he said; 'she can go where
no white man dare go. She can sway the people when we

cannot sway them. Because of her they are not so hard on

the twins and their mothers as they used to be. No, she has
"
not failed.'

And so with a reference Thermopylae, and the

to
Coliseum and Smithfield, the lady litterateur placesher in
the ranks of the immortal martyrs of the world.

XVII. The Settlement begun

This was of the

waiting periods in Mary Slessor's
one

life,which tried her patienceand affected her spirits.The

mist had fallen upon her path, and the direction was dim
and uncertain. She had received what she thought was
a call from a distant region up-country, but if she settled
far away, what would become of her home for women

and girls? She had no clear leading,and she wished the

way to be made so plainthat there could be no possibility
of mistake. Friends were sending her money, and the
Government were urging her to start the Settlement, and
"
promising to take all the products that were grown. The
District Commissioner was here to-day," she wrote.
"
He
wonders how he can help me, has had orders from the
Governor to assist me in any
way, but the Pillar does not
move. I have buildingmaterial lyinghere, and have a "lO
note from a friend at home for any material I want, but
there is no leading towards anything yet. ...
I am

longingfor an outlet, but I can't move without guidance."

She would not hurry "
the matter was not in her hands.
"
God, she was assured, was softly,softly," working
towards a natural solution, and as she was only His
instrument, she could afford to wait His time.
252 MARY SLESSOR

One night the mist on the path lifted a little,

and next

day she walked over the land at Use, and there and then
fixed the site for the undertaking. ample room There was

for all the cultivations that would be required,and plenty

of material for building and fencing,and good surface
water. Already she had three cottages built, including
the one she occupied,and these would make a beginning.
She at once set about obtaininglegalpossession, and with
the permission and help of Government she secured the
land in the name of the girls. The Council agreed with
her that it was most advisable to develop industries which
the people had not yet undertaken, such as basket-making,
the weaving of cocoanut fibre,and cane and bamboo work.
When asked if she would
agree to remain at Use for one

year to establish the Settlement and put it in working order

with the assistance of one or two agents, she would not
commit herself. She rather shrank from the idea of a

large institution ; it ought, in her view, to begin in a

simple and natural way by bringing in a few people,
instructingthem, and then gettingthem to teach others.
And there were other regions callingto her. When minded
re-

that a large sum of money was on hand for the

project,she said it was not all intended for this special

purpose ; much of it was for extension ; and she pointed

to the needs of the regionup the Cross River, statingthat
she was willing to have the funds used for providing
agents there.
Nothing more definite was decided, and meanwhile
she went on quietly with the beginnings of things. She
planted fruit treesby the Government,
sent up mangoes, "

guavas, pawpaws, bananas, plantains, avocado pears, as

well as pineapples,and other produce, and began to think
of rubber and cocoa. She also started to accumulate
stock, though the leopards were a constant menace. She
had even a cow, which she bought from a man to prevent
him going to prison for debt " and often wished she had
not, for it caused infinite trouble, and the natives went

in terror of it. Although it had a pailattached to it by a

rope, it was often lost, and the whole town were out at

nights searching for it. It would run away with the

254 MARY SLESSOR

It was sheer will-powerthat gained her a little strength

to face the ordeal of the official visit. She determined to

make no change whatever in the course of her daily life,

and she was deputiesmight not find
afraid the things to
their liking and be disappointed. They were the Rev.
James Adamson, M.A., B.Sc, of Bonnington, Leith, and
the Rev. John Lindsay, M.A., Bathgate, who was panied
accom-

by Mrs. Lindsay. They entered the Creek one

market day, when it was crowded with canoes, and the
landing-beach one for the missionaries
" had just been
constructed at Okopedi was swarming with people, "

amongst whom the arrival of the

strangers caused the

greatest excitement. On bicycles the party proceeded

uphill to Use. Mr. Adamson went on ahead, and at a
spot where rough steps were
a fewcut in the steep bank
" "
he saw a boy standing. He called out, Ma Slessor ?
The boy signed to him to come it was a short cut to the "

house. Clambering up the bank and making his way

through the bush, Mr. Adamson came upon a little native
"
hut. Miss Slessor advanced to meet him. Come awa in,
laddie, oot o' the heat," was her greeting. When the
Lindsays arrived it was also her chief concern to get them
into the shade. Mr. Adamson was her guest, whilst the
Lindsays went on to Ikotobong. His room "
an erection
built out from the house " had mud walls and a mat roof,
and was furnished with a camp-bed, a box for dressing-table
and another for a washstand, and for company he had
abundance of spidersand beetles and lizards. He proved
"
a delightfulguest. He is a dear laddie," wrote Mary ;
"
"
all the bairns are in love with him, and so am I !

While he was with her a woman came to the yard with

twins. She had been driven out of her house and town,
" "
and had come several miles to Ma for shelter. Her
husband and her father were with her "
which denoted
some advance " and the three were crouched on the ground,
a picture of misery.lying in a basket
The twins were
" "
and had not been touched. Mr. Adamson helped Ma
to attend to them, and she felt as proud of him as of a son
when she saw him sittingdown beside the weeping mother
and gently trying to comfort her. She gave the parents
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 255

some food and a hut to

sleepin, and made the man promise
to stay until the morning. Neither would, however, look
at the twins, and they were given over to the girls.
A service was held at which Mr. Lindsay was also
"
present, and about a hundred people attended. Take
our compliments to the people of your country," the latter
"
said to the deputies, and tell them that our need is great,
and that we are in darkness and waiting for the light."
What astonished the natives was to see the white visitors
standing up courteouslywhen spoken to by black men.
From the meeting the party cycled to the little wattle-
and-thatch Court House at Ikotobong, Miss Slessor being

pushed by Dan up the hills. She took her seat at the

table in thesimplest possibleattire. Before her was a

tin of toffee, her only refreshment, with the exception of

a cup of tea, during a long sitting. The jury, composed
of the older and more responsiblemen in the various
villages, occupied a raised platform behind. In front was
a bamboo railing,which formed the dock ; at the side
another railingmarked the witness-box. Several cases

were heard, the witnesses giving their evidence with

volubilityand abundant gesture, and the judge,jury,and
clerk retiringto a little shed at the back to discuss the

verdicts. One was that of a man who, under the influence

of trade gin,had hacked his wife with a machete, because
she had insulted his
dignity by accidentallystumbling
" "
against him. Such a case always aroused Ma's ire,
and she wished a severe punishment awarded. The jury
were very unwilling. The headman started by laying
down as a fundamental principlethat men had a perfect
rightto do whatever they liked with their wives ; otherwise
they would become unmanageable. But in deference to
the white woman's peculiar views they would go the
length of admitting that perhaps the husband had gone
a little too far in the use of his instrument. He had not
done anything to merit a severe sentence, but in view of
"
the prejudicesof the Court," they would send him to

prisonfor a short term.

" "
Suddenly the toot of the Government motor-car
was heard, and in a moment jury, witnesses, prisoners,
256 MARY SLESSOR

and policemen rushed out of the building to catch a glimpse

" "
of the new steamer that ran on the road. Then back

they drifted, and

proceedings went on. the
Mr. Adamson appreciated the service which Miss Slessor
was accomplishing by her work in the Court. She told
"
him she did not care for it ; the moral atmosphere of a

"
native court is so bad," she declared, that I would never

go near one were people to get

it not that I want the

justice." But he saw the exceptional opportunity she

"
possessed of dispensing gospel as well as law. As a rule,"
"
he says, her decision is accompanied by some sound
words of Christian counsel." He left Use with a profound
"
admiration both for herself and Miss Peacock. Words,"
"
he wrote in the Record, cannot describe the value of the
work that is being done by these heroic women."
There was no improvement in her health as the months
went on, and another severe illness caused by blood-
poisoning shattered her nerves. The Wilkies spared no
"
labour or love to heal and strengthen her. Once more,"
she wrote,
"
I believe I owe my life to them."
She felt that the time had come to relinquish her court
work, and accordingly in November she sent in her resigna-
tion.
The Commissioner of the Eastern Province wrote

in reply :

Dear Miss Slessor " I have been informed of your decision

to resign the Vice-Presidentship of Ikotobong Native Court the

by the District Commissioner, Ikot Ekpene, which I note with

great regret, and take this opportunity of thanking you for the
assistance you have in the past given the Government, and of

expressing my deep appreciation of the services you have

rendered to the country during the period you have held the

office which you have now relinquished. Believe me. Yours "

sincerely, W. Fosbery.
very

She slipped out of the work very quietly, and was glad
to be free of a tie which hindered her from moving onward
on her King's more pressing business.
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ENYONG CREEK 257

XIX. A Motor Car Romance

The Government motor car, which now ran up and down

the road into the interior,was the cause of several changes
in the household of Use. charge of it at
In first was a

white chauffeur, who, curiouslyenough, was a member

of Wellington Street Church in Glasgow, which now

supportedMiss Slessor,and with him was a native assistant,

a young well-educated Anglican, who came from Lagos.
When the car made its appearance Dan was so fascinated
with it that he could scarcelykeep off the road, and he
now struck up an acquaintance with the native driver,
"
which brought him many a rapturous hour. Ma,"
who did not then know the lad, was in terror for the safety
of his body and his morals, and so despatched him as a

pupil to the Institute at Duke Town to be under the care

of Mr. Macgregor. But David, the driver, had done more

than capture Dan he had

capturedthe heart of one of the
;

girls Mary. Annie was

"
already happily married, and
she and her husband were preparing to join the Church;
but Mary was not disposedto follow her example,although

she had two suitors, one in Okoyong, and one in Ibibio.

" "

Why can't I stay at home with you ? she said to

" "
Ma." I don't want to go anywhere." But the Lagos
"
lad succeeded where others had failed,and Ma," giving
her consent, they were married before the District missioner
Com-
in Court. David went back to his work, and his
" "
wife to the Mission House, for Ma would not allow him
to take her home until the Church ceremony had been
performfcd. Mr. Cruickshank appeared one day before he
was expected, and before the wedding-gown was quite
ready, but a note was sent to David, and he cycled down
in his black suit. Miss Annie M'Minn, then at Ikotobong,
came and dressed the bride, the children put on white
frocks, and there was a quaint and picturesquewedding.
There was also, of course, a breakfast. It was given
in the verandah of the hut. David was earlyon the scene

arranging tables and forms, and Miss Peacock and Miss

M'Minn laid and decorated them, a conspicuous object
being a bunch of heather from Scotland. Jean and the
s
258 MARY SLESSOR

bride cooked the breakfast. By 11 o'clock the

company
had assembled. At the head sat an aged Mohammedan in
white robes and turban, a friend of David's family. A

number of his had

co-religionists come to the district,and
" "
some even attended Ma's services. This particular
"
man greatlyadmired her. Only God can make you such
a mother and helper to everybody," he had said at his
first interview, and on leaving he had taken her hand and
bent over and kissed it,and in his eyes invoked
with tears

a blessingupon her. Few expressionsof respect from white

men had touched her more, though she was half-afraid her

feelingwas scarcelyorthodox. Then came the bride and

"

bridegroom and Ma's clerk. At "

the next table sat

another of David's friends "

an interpreter and "
a lad
from the bride's house, headman on the road Department ;

David's next-door neighbours,a man and his wife ; and

eightheadmen over the road labourers. Outside were the

school children, who were fed by Jean with Calabar chop,

sweets, and biscuits.
After the breakfast the Mohammedan came indoors to
"
Miss Slessor and made a speech. I knew David's mother
before he was born," he said, "
and I praise God he was led
"
here for a wife." David came forward. Mother," he
"

said, you won't let us go without

"
prayer ? and down
he knelt, and she committed the couple to God. A pie
and cake, which the Ikotobong ladies had baked, were
presented, along with a motor cap, silk handkerchief,
" "
ribbon, and scissors. One of Ma's presents was a sewing-
machine. Then she walked down to see them off,supported
in her weakness by the Mohammedan. When the pair
arrived at their home, the latter stood on the doorstep
praying for them as they entered on their new life. It
was only a bamboo shanty run up by the Government,
but it was a home, and not, like all others, a room in a

compound, and family worship was conducted in it in

English. Good news came from it as time went on. The

"
bride was sometimes seen drivingin the motor car. She
"
was here morning," writes the house-mother,
this full
of importance as she passed to market. She had biscuits
for the children, a new water- jarand a bunch of fine bananas
 The Govf.rnmknt Motor Car

With Daviil (the driver), Mary his wife, and their two children.

David's brother stands behind.

Miss Slessor's Heathen Frieni", Ma E.me.

She i.ssitting beside the place where the spirits of her ancestors are \\ orsliipped
in the dress prepared for her burial.
260 MARY SLESSOR

this sounds small in comparison with home events, but it

isonly a very short time since this place was dark and
degraded and drunken and besotted."
The glow and exaltation of the service lingeredwith her
for weeks, and her letters are full of and
sprightliness wit.
"
She told of a visit from Lady Egerton "

a true woman
"
"

and of the Christmas giftfrom their Excellencies "

a case

of milk ; and of the present of acycle sent from

new
" "

England from her old chief Mr. Partridge,to replacethe

old one which he thought must be worn out by this time.
The wonders of aviation were engrossing the world then,
and she merrilyimagined a descent upon her some afternoon
of her friends from Scotland, and discussed the capabilities
of her tea-caddy.
Well on into the
busy with regular
next year she was

station work, teaching, training,preaching,building up

the congregation,and acting as Mother to her people and

to many more. Then in the midst of her strenuous

activityshe was suddenly and swiftlystruck down by what

" "
she termed one of the funniest illnesses she ever had.
The children were alarmed, and sent word to David. He
informed the white officers,and they rushed in a motor

car down to Use and removed her to Itu, where she was
"
nursed back to life by Mrs. Robertson. I shall never

forget the kindness and the tenderness and the skill which
have encompassed me, and I shall ever remember Dr.
Robertson and his devoted wife, and ask God to remember
them for their goodness. Dr. Robertson brought me out

of the valley of the shadow, and when I was convalescent

he lifted me up in his strong arms and took me to see the
church and garden and anywhere I wished, justas he might
have done to his own mother." Her friends in Calabar
also did everything they could for her, the Hon. Mr.
Bedwell, the Provincial Commissioner, sending up ice and
English chicken and other delicacies in a speciallaunch.
The little daughter of the missionaries was a source

of great delightto her who loved all children. She was a

very winsome girl,and had won the hearts of the natives,

who regardedher with not a little awe. She was the only
white child they had seen, and were not sure whether she
262 MARY SLESSOR

ning of the work, and for a

hut for herself at the back of

the native prison, where, she thought, she would have

some influence over

the warders. As she was never able

to establish this station, its history be rounded off

may

here. Early in the 1911 she brought the matter

year

before the Calabar Council, which agreed to build a house

at Ibiacu out of the extension fund, and later she went

in a
hammock to complete the arrangement, accompanied
" " "
by Miss Welsh, who, as
Ma phrased it, fitted into

bush life like a glove," and who occupied and developed

the station. This missionary lives alone, looks

young

after the children, has a

clever and clever hands, and
pen
"
is following much on
the lines of the great Ma."
very

To the chagrin of the latter, Ikot Ekpene was

taken over

by the Primitive Methodist Mission before she could secure

it, but she consoled herself with the thought that it did not

matter who did the Master's work, so long as

it was

done.
. . .

Then her path, which had been so long hidden, cleared,

and she saw it stretching out plain and straight before her.
 FIFTH PHASE

1910-January 1915. Age 62-66.

ONWARD STILL

"
It is a dark and land, and
difficult 1 am old and weak "

hut happy."

I. In Heathen Deeps

The new sphere to which Miss Slessor felt she was called,
had been occupying her attention for some time. During
one militaryexpeditionsinto the interior, the
of the minor
troops were suddenly attacked by a tribe who fled at the
first experienceof disciplined firing. A lad who had been
used by the soldiers was persuaded by some of their number
to conduct them to the great White Mother for her advice
andhelp. When they appeared at Use, she and they
talked long and earnestly, and they returned consoled and
hopeful. Some time afterwards the guide came down on

his own account, bringinga few other lads with him. Her

influence was such that they wished to become God-men,

and they returned to begin the first Christian movement
in one of the most degraded regionsof Nigeria.
She knew nothing of the place save that it was away
in the north-west, on one of the higher reaches of the
up
Enyong Creek, and a two days' journey for her by water.
The lads lived at a town called Ikpe, an old slave centre,
that had been league with Aro, and
in the focus of the
" "
trade of a wide and populous area. It was a closed

market, no Calabar trader being allowed to enter.

On her return from Scotland the young men again

appeared, saying that there were forty others ready to
263
264 MARY SLESSOR

become Christians,begging her to come up, and offering

to send down a canoe. She disUked all water journeys,
and even on the quiet creek was usually in a state of inward

trepidation. But nothing could separate her from her

duty, and she responded to the call. For eight hours she
was paddled along the beautiful windings of the Creek ;
then a huge hippopotamus was encountered, and frightened
her into landing for the night on the Ibibio side,where she
put up in a wretched hut reekingwith filth and mosquitoes.
Here the Chief was reaching out for the Gospel, holding
prayers in his house, and trying to keep Sabbath, though
not a soul could read, and the people were laughingat him.
As the Creek made a bend she left the canoe and trudged
through the bush to Ikpe. She found the town larger
and more prosperous than she had anticipated, with four
different races mingling in the market, but the darkness
was terrible, and the wickedness shameless, even the
children being foul-mouthed and abandoned. The younger
and more progressive men gave her a warm welcome, but
"
the older sulky
chiefs Poor were " old heathen souls,"
"
she remarked, they have good reason to be, with all they
have to hope from tumbling down about their ears."
The would-be Christians had begun to erect a small church,
with two rooms for her at the end. That they were in
earnest was proved by their attitude. She had eager and
reverent audiences, and once, on going unexpectedly into
a yard, she found two lads on their knees praying to the
white man's God.
She made a survey of the district,and came to the
conclusion that Ikpe was another strategicpoint, the key
to several different tribes,which it would be well to secure

for the Church, and she made up her mind to come and
live in the two rooms, and work inland and backwards
towards Arochuku. There was the Settlement to consider,
but that, she thought, she could manage to carry on along
with the occupation of Ikpe.
Her bright and eager spiritdid not reckon with the
frailties of the body. When she returned, she entered on

a long period of weakness. Now and again deputations

came down to her. Once a score of young men appeared,
 ONWARD STILL 265

"
and before stating their business said, Let us pray."
She made another visit,saw the beginningsof the church
at Ikpe, and another at Nkanga on the Creek bank, three
miles below Ikpe, and, what affected her more, heard
rumours of a possibleoccupationby the Roman Catholics.
"
I must come," she said to herself.
On one journey she was accompanied by Miss Peacock,
who rose still more highly in her regard on account of the
resolute way in which she braved the awful smells in the

villages.On another, Mr. and Mrs. Macgregor shared the

hardships of the trip with her. When these two arrived
at the landing-beach for Use, a note was put into their
"
hands from Ma," to the effect that she had not been able
to obtain a canoe, and they had better come to the house
until she saw by it. They remained
what the Lord meant
" "
at Use some days, Ma suffering from fever, but refusing
to postpone the trip,saying that if she had faith she would

be able to go. They were to start earlyone morning, but

her guests sought to keep her in sleepuntil it was too late.

They succeeded until 1 a.m., when she awoke, gave direc-

tions
"
about packing, and rose. What do you think of
" "
her ? they asked of Jean. She is often like that, and
gets better on the road," she replied,which was true.
" " "
As Ma herself said, I begin every day, almost every
journey in pain, and in such tiredness that I am sure I
can't go on, and whenever I begin,the strengthcomes, and
it increases."
The party left at 3.15 in the moonlight, and soon

afterwards were in a canoe. For hours they paddled,

past men with
two-pronged fish-spears fishing,by long
stretches of water-lilies
of dazzling whiteness, by farms
where the fresh green corn was beginning to sprout, by
extensive reaches of junglewhere brilliant birds flitted, and

parrots chattered, and monkeys swung from branch to

branch by a bridge of hands. They stopped for lunch,

and Mr. Macgregor was interested in watching her methods
with the people. A chief wished to see the Principal, and
said he was anxious to place two more boys with him in
the Institute. She told Mr. Macgregor to say he would
see him after they had eaten. The business-like Principal
266 MARY SLESSOR

thought this a waste of time, but she held that he must

not cheapen himself " if he made food of more importance

than the education of their boys they would think him
dignifiedand respect him. And she was right.
By and by they came to a tortuous channel as narrow

as a mill-dam, and it was with difficulty

that the canoe was

punted through. They swept on under trees, hung with

orchids, where dragon-flies flashed in and out of the sunlight.
This was the country of the hippos, and the banks were

scored by their massive feet ; it was also, as they found

to their cost, the haunt of ibots, a fly with a poisonous
bite. After passing over a series of shallows they reached
Ikpe beach towards dark, and camped in the unfinished
" " "
church, Ma in the vestry,"and the Macgregors inside
the building.
Mr. Macgregor had seen much of Nigeria,but he had
never witnessed such degradation as he found existing
here. The girls went without any clothing, except a string
of beads, and the married women wore only a narrow
stripof cloth. He had again a lesson in native manners.
Paying ceremonial visits to the chiefs,they sat and looked
at the ground, and yawned repeatedly,and after a time
" "
left. To him the yawning seemed rude, but Ma said
it was the correct thing, and when the chiefs returned the
calls he knew that, as usual, she was right.
"
One of the questions that the chiefs asked was, Is
"
this the man you have brought to stay and teach us ?
" "
"
Ma turned to the
Principalwith a wry face. Well,"
"
she said in English, I like that. They'll need to be
content wi' something less than a B.D. for a wee while "

tillthey get started at any rate." She informed them who

Mr. Macgregor was, and the great work he was doing in
Calabar, and goodness of his heart he had
that in the come

up to see the positionof thingsin the town.

" " "
Ma "

incredulously do you mean that this " is not

"
the man who is to come and lead us out of darkness ?
"
No, he is not the man "
yet."
"
"
Ma "

reproachfully "
"
you always say wait. We
have waited two years, and again you come to us and say
"
wait. When are you coming to us ?
 ONWARD STILL 267

There nothing
was for it but to put them off once more.

But she improved the occasion by extolling the Institute,

with the result that when they left, two boys were taken
to the canoe and consigned to Mr. Macgregor's care, one

decently clad in a singletand loin-cloth, and the other with

only a single bead hanging at the throat.
Mr. Macgregor went exploring on his own account, and
came across a Government perched on the brow Rest House

of a cliff,with a magnificent view over the plain. Here he

noticed that the people were particularlyopposed to white
" " "
men. One of the villages Ma had labelled dangerous,"
and he learnt that when the Court messengers appeared,
they were promptly seized, beaten, and cast out. This,
" "
it is interestingto note, came to be the scene of Ma's
last exploits. He rejoined the ladies at Nkanga, where
the little native church had been completed. They held
the opening service. The Principal had no jacket ; his
shirt was torn, his boots bore traces of the streams and
mud through which he had passed. Miss Slessor wore the

lightestof garments. It was one of the strangest opening

ceremonies in the history of Missions, but they worshipped
" "
God from the heart, and Ma seemed lifted out of herself,
and to be inspired,as she told the people what the church
there in their midst meant, and the way they should use

it for their highest good.

The Macgregors left her at Arochuku, and she continued
down-creek. She had been
upheld by her indomitable
spiritthroughout the journey, but now collapsed,and was
so ill that she had to spend the night in the canoe. In the
darkness she was awakened by one of the babies crying,
but was so weak that she could not move. The girlswere
sound asleep,and could not hear her. Exerting her will-
power,
she rolled over to the child, whose head had become

wedged between a box and the footboard of the canoe,

and was being slowly killed. In the early dawn the

journey was resumed to Okopedi beach, and thence she

crawled over the weary miles to Use.
268 MARY SLESSOR

" "
II. Real Life

"
I must go. I am in honour bound to go." It was

her constant cry. She heard that services being

were

held regularlyat Ikpe on Sundays and week-days, and

yet no one knew more than the merest rudiments of
Christian truth ; none could read. A teacher had gone
from Asang, but he was himself only at the stage of the
first standard in the schools, and could impart but the
crudest instruction. They were groping for the light,
and worshipping what to most of them was still the known
Un-
God, and yet were already able to withstand secution.
per-
The pathos of the situation broke her down.
" "
Why," she cried, cannot the Church send two ladies
there ? Why don't they use the money on hand for the

purpose ? If the wherewithal should fail at the end of

two years, let them take my salary,I shall only be too

glad to live on native food with my bairns."

Once more she went up, and once more she stood
ashamed before their reproaches. She could not hold out
"

any longer. I am coming," she said decisively.She

was not well "
she was never well now " she had bad
nights,was always "
tired out," "
too tired for anything,"
yet she went forward to the new life with unshakeable
fortitude. In a short time she was back with fiftysheets
of corrugated iron and other material for the house.
" "
I am committed now," she wrote. No more idleness
for me. I am entering in the dark as to how and where
and when. How I am to manage I do not know, but my
mind is at perfectpeace about it, and I am not afraid.
God will carry it through. The Pillar leads."
She did not care much for the situation that had been
granted ; it was and
low-lying, she was anxious to conserve

her health for the work's sake, but she had faith that she
would be taken care of. Palm trees bordered the site on

three sides, and amidst these the monkeys loved to romp.

" "
These palms," she said, are my first joy in the morning
when the dawn comes up, pearly grey in the mist and fine
rain, fresh and cool and beautiful." She lived in two

rooms at the back of the church, with a bit of ground

270 MARY SLESSOR

willingto believe in when the highertruths are brought before

them. In many things it is a most prosaic life,dirt and dust
and noise and silliness and sin in every form, but full,too, of
the kindliness and homeliness and dependence of children who
are not averse to be and taught, and
disciplined who understand
and love just as we do. The excitements and surprisesand
novel situations would not, however, need to be continuous,
as they wear and fray the body, and fret the spirit
and rob one

of sleep and restfulness of soul,"

Use was stillher headquarters,and she often traversed

the long stretch of Creek, though the journey always left
her terriblyexhausted. On one occasion, when she had
arrived at Use racked with pain, she was asked how she
" "
could ever endure it. Oh," she said, I just had to
take as big a dose of laudanum as I dared, and wrap myself
up in a blanket, and lie in the bottom of the canoe all the
time, and managed fine." She often met adventures by
the way. Once, after thirteen hours in the canoe, she
arrived at Okopedi beach late in the evening,along with
Maggie and Whitie and a big boy baby. Stowing the
baggage in the beach house they started in the dark for
" "
Use, carryinga box with five fowls and some
Ma odds
and ends, and Maggie, who was ill,the baby. When they
reached the house they found they had no matches and

were afraid of snakes, but she was so tired that she lay
down as she piled high with clothes, the
was on a bed
others on the floor, the baby crying itself to sleep. At
cock-crow fire was obtained from the village, and a cup
of tea made her herself again,and ready for the inevitable
palavers. Again, she went up to Ikpe with suppliesby
night ; the w ater had risen, she had to lie flat to escape
the overhanging branches, and finally the canoe ran into

a submerged tree and three of the paddle boys were pitched

into the water. Not long afterwards she left Ikpe at
6.30 A.M., was in the canoe all night, and reached the
landing-beachat 5.30 on Christmas morning with the usual
motherless baby.
"
On this occasion she received a message, Ekereki said
"
I was tell you that his mother
to is asleep referring "

to the death of one of the firstmembers of the congregation.

 ONWARD STILL 271

a gentle and superior woman for whom she had a great

regard. The wording of the message made her realise
how soon the changing even
Gospel had the the power of

language of a people. Some time previously Annie's

two-year-oldboy had died, and the questionof a Christian
burial-placehad been considered by the congregation.
Heathen adults were buried in the house and the children
under the doorstep. It seemed cruel to leave bodies out

in the cold earth, but of their own volition the members

secured a piece of ground and laid the child there ; and

now this woman was placed by his side, the first adult to

obtain a Christian burial in that part of Ibibio.

On New Year's eve she was down with fever, and was
"
very weak, but, she wrote, My heart is singingall the
time to Him Whose love and tender mercy crown all the
days." In the middle of the night she was obligedto rise.
" '
My '
first-feet were driver ants, thousands and thousands
of them, pouring in on every side, and dropping from the
roof. We had two hours' hard work to clear them out."

III. The Autocratic Doctor

Returning from Ikpe on one occasion in 1911, she

found that a tornado had played havoc with the Use
house, and immediately set to, and with her own hands
repaired it. The strain was too great for her enfeebled
frame, and symptoms of heart weakness developed. She
had nights of high fever and delirium, and yet so great
was her power of will, that she would rise next day and
teach and work, while on Sundays she took the services,
"
although she was unable to stand. I had a grand day,"
"
she would say, notwithstandingintense weakness."
Dr. Robertson of Itu had gone home on furlough, and
there came to take his place, Dr. Hitchcock, a young,
eager, clear-headed man, as masterful in his quiet way as
"
Ma." He had proposed going to China in the service
of the Church, but agreed meanwhile put in a year at
to
Itu. She watched him for a time with growing admiration,
and saw the curiosityof the natives turn rapidlyto fidence,
con-

then to appreciation, then to blind devotion and

272 MARY SLESSOR

worship. When she looked at the great crowds flocking

day after day to the dispensary and she
hospital, thought
of the scene of old when the poor and the halt and the
"
maimed gathered round Christ. A rare man," she said,
"
a rare Christian, a rare doctor. A physician for soul
and body. I am beginning to love him like a son." And
like a son he treated her. Although he had scarcelya
minute to spare from his work, he ran up every second
day to Use to study her. He believed that she was not

being nourished. That there were grounds for his picions

sus-

her own diary records. There was money for her

in Duke Town, she had often cheques lying beside her,
but it was not always easy to obtain ready cash, and
sometimes she ran short. On June 14 she wrote :

Market Morning. Have only 3d. in cash in

" the house ; sent
it with 2 Ikpats (the first Efiik schoolbook) and New Testament
to buy food, and sold all 3 books for 6d. Got 5 small yams,
oil,and shrimps,with pepper and a few small fresh fish.

It was on the folloAving

morning as early as six o'clock
that the doctor called to examine her again. His decision
was that she was not to go to Ikpe, she was not to cycle,
she was to lie down as much as possible. She laughed,
and on the Sunday went to church and conducted two

services ; but she almost collapsed,and when the doctor

came next day he ordered her to take to her bed, and not

go to any more meetings until she obtained his permission.

"
Mary had at last met her equal in resolution. He is
"
very strict,"she confessed, but he is a dear man. Thank
God for him."
A tripto Ikpe which she had planned for the Macgregors
had to be cancelled, and they decided to go to Use instead,
and aid and abet the doctor in his care of her. She got
"
up to receive them, and then wrote, The doctor has sent
me back to bed under a more stringentrule than ever.
"

Very stern. I dare not rise." You must eat meat twice
"
a day," the doctor said. I'm not a meat eater, doctor,"
she rejoined. His reply was to send over a fowl from Itu
"
with instructions as to its cooking. Why did you send
" "
that fowl, doctor ? she asked next day. Because it
 ONWARD STILL 273

could not come itself,"was all the satisfaction she got.

It was not the first fowl that came from Itu "
the next

came cooked "

while the Macgregors telegraphedto Duke
Town for their entire stock.
"
What a trouble you dear

folk take," she sighed.

"
You will have to go to Duke Town for a change,"
"
suggested the doctor one day. Na, na," she replied;
"
I've all my plans laid, and I cannot draw a salary and
not do what I can." "
You have done so well in the past,"
remarked Mr. Macgregor,
"
that you need not have any
qualms about that." "
I've been paid for all I've done,"
was her retort. But the doctor insisted, and the very
thought of leaving the station and the household work
"
unattended to, put her in a fever. Of course," she said,
"
to the doctor only thing, but I can't
my health is the

get rest for body while my 'mind is torn about things. He

is vexed, and I am vexed at vexing him."
Not satisfied with the progress she was making, the
doctor transferred her to Use, where she was under his
constant observation. hardly worth living,"she "
Life is
complained, but I'm doing what I can to help him to help
"

me, so that I can be fit again for another spellof work."

That was her one desire, to be well enough to go back
to the bush. A messenger from Ikpe came down to find

out when she was returning.

"
Seven weeks," was the
doctor's firm reply. I may run
"
up sooner than that,"
was hers. "
I'm quite well, if he would only beheve it."
But it was well on towards the end of the year before
she was, in her own words, out of the clutches of the
"
dearest and cleverest and most autocratic Mission
doctor that ever lived." She literally
ran away, and was

up Ikpe at once, exultant at having the privilegeof

at ^

ministeringagain to the needs of the people. There was a

throng at the beach to welcome her. She was soon as

busy as she had ever been, though she was usuallycarried

now to and from church and other meetings. Jean she

placed at Nkanga as teacher and evangelist, the people

" "

giving her Is. per week and her food, and Ma providing
her clothes. It was astonishingto her to see how she had

developed. An insatiable reader, she would place a book

T
 274 MARY SLESSOR

open anywhere in order that she might obtain a glimpse

"
of the words in passing, reminding " Ma of her own
device in the Dundee weaving-shed. Her knowledge of
the Bible was so thorough and correct that the latter
considered her the best Efik teacher she knew. Soon she

gathered about her some two hundred men and women

from the upper Enyong farms, who were greatlypleased

with her preaching. She came over to Ikpe for Christmas,
the first the household spent in that savage
had land, and
there was a service in the church, which was decorated
with palms and wreaths of ferns. Mary told the story of
Bethlehem, and the scholar lads, of their own accord,
marched through the town singinghymns. . . .

About this time Miss Slessor rendered important service

to the Mission by her testimony before an ImperialGovern-
ment
Commission, which had been sent out to investigate
the effects of the import,sale,and consumption of alcoholic
liquorin Southern Nigeria. She provided very convincing
evidence of the demoralisation caused through drink, but
with keen intuition she felt that little would come of the
"
palaver,"and she was right.

IV. God's Wonderful Palaver

/ Her attitude to money was as unconventional as her

attitude to most things. It had no place in her interests ;
she never thought of it except as a means of helping her
"
to carry out her projects. How I wish we could do
" "
without it ! she often used to say. I have no head for

it, or for business." Her salary she counted as Church

money, and never spent a penny of it on herself except for

bare living,and until the last years the girlsreceived
"
nothing but food and their clothes. You say," she
"
wrote to one giver, that you would like me to spend the
money on my personal comfort. Dear friend, I need
nothing. My every want is met and suppliedwithout my
"
asking." Her belief was thus expressed: What is

money to God ? The difficult thing is to make men and

women. Money lies all about us in the world, and He

 ONWARD STILL 275

can turn it on to our path easilyas

as He sends a shower
of rain." Her faith was in
justified a marvellous way,
for throughout all these years and onwards to the end she
obtained needed, and that was
all she not little. She

required funds for extension, for building,for furniture,

for teachers' wages, for medicines, for the schoolingof her
children, and many other purposes, and yet she was never

in want. Nothing came from her people,for she would not

accept collections at first,not wishing to give them the

impression that the Gospel was in any way connected
with money. It came from friends, known and unknown,
at home and abroad, who were interested in her and in
her brave lonelystruggle. There was scarcelya mail
and
that did not bring her a cheque or bank-draft or Post-Office
" "
order. It often happens," she said once, that when
the purse is empty, immediately comes a new instalment.
God is superbly kind in the matter of money. I do not
know how to thank Him. It is just wonderful how we

ever fail in our trust for a moment." On one occasion,

"
when she was a little anxious, she cried, Shame on you,
"

Mary Slessor,after all you know of Him !

Her attitude towards all this giving was one of curious
detachment. She looked upon herself as an instrument
carryingout the wishes of the people at home who supplied
the means, and she gave them the honour of what was

accomplished. Their gifts justifiedher going forward

in the work ; each fresh "lO note she took as a sign to
advance another stage, so that, in one sense, she felt her
Church backing up her efforts. As she regarded
was

herself as being owned by the Church, all the money she

received was devoted exclusively to its service ; even tions
dona-
from outside sources she would not use for personal
needs. One day she received a letter from the Governor
"
conveying to her, with the deep thanks of the Govern-
ment,"
a giftof "25 to herself,in recognition of her work.
The letter she valued more than the money, which she
would only accept as a contribution towards her home for
women. All the sums were handed over to Mr. Wilkie
or Macgregor, who banked
Mr. them at Duke Town, and

they formed a general fund upon which she drew when

276 MARY SLESSOR

necessary. She looked upon this fund as belonging to

the Mission Council, to be used for extension purposes either
up the Cross River or the Enyong Creek, or for the Home
for Women and Girls when the scheme matured, and she
never sought to have control of it. Mr. Wilkie was always
afraid that she
just to herself,and she had some-
was not
times

to restrain him from sending more than she required.

It was the same later when Mr. Hart, C.A., had charge of
the accounts. This explains why, on more than one

occasion, she was reduced to borrowing or sellingbooks

in order to obtain food for herself and her household.
There was money in abundance at Duke Town, but she
would not ask it for private necessities. Sometimes also
she was so remote from civilisation that she was unable
to cash a cheque or draft in time to meet her wants.
Many a hidden romance lay behind these giftsthat
came to her " the romance of love and sacrifice and devotion
to Christ. One day there arrived a sum of "50, accompanied
by a charming letter. Long she looked at both with wonder
and tears. Her thoughts went back to the Edinburgh
days, when she was a girl,
on the eve of leavingfor Calabar.
One of her friends then was a Biblewoman, who was very
good to her. Always on her furloughs she had gone to

see her in the humble home in which she lay an invalid,

"
or Mary expressed it, lingeringat the gate of the
as

city." She thought she must now be dependent upon

others, for she was old and frail. And yet here she had
sent out "50 to help on her work.
If there was giving,there romance in the was pathos
in the spending. Acknowledging sums she was bidden
expend upon herself, she would go into detail as to her
purchases a new Efik
"
Bible to replace her old tattered

copy, the hire of three boys to carry her over the streams,
seed coco yams for the girls'plots,a basin and ewer for
" "
her guest-room " I can't," she said, ask visitors to

wash in a pail," "

a lamp, and so on. She sought to explain

"
and extenuate the spending of every penny. Is that
" "

extravagant ? "Is that too selfish ? she anxiously

asked. After enumerating a number of things which she
"
intended to buy for Ikpe house, she said, Does that seem
278 MARY SLESSOR

I have." She saw few pretty things,and had never the

opportunity of looking into a shop window, so that the

arrival of these boxes was an occasion of much pleasurable
excitement to her and to the girls. Her only trouble was

that she could not hand on some of the food to others ;

"
When you good thing,or read a good thing,or
have a

see a humorous thing,and can't share it, it is worse than

having to bear a trial alone." She was particularly

gratefulfor a box of Christmas goods that came in 1911.
She had been much upset by the local food, and she ate
nothing but shortbread and bun for a week, and that made
her better !
The people about her, too, were kind. Women would

bring her presents of produce ; one, for instance, gave her

fifteen large yams and a half-crown bag of rice,and a large
"
quantity of shrimps. You are a stranger in these
"
markets," she said, and the children may be hungry."

V. Weak but Strong

She met disappointment early in 1912.

with a severe

The Calabar Council was willingto send two ladies to

Ikpe, but thought it right to obtain a medical report on
the site which had been given for the house. This was
unfavourable ; the Creek overflowed its banks for four
hundred paces thirty on the other, and
on one side and
the surroundingsof the house would be muddy and damp.
She would not, however, acquiesce in the judgment thus
passed, and remained on, and prosecuted the work as
usual. The Council was very anxious for her to take a

furlough,and her friends,personaland official, in Scotland

were also urging her to come for a rest. She had now

never an hour of real health or strength,and was growing

deaf, and felt like a splutteringcandle," and she began
"

to think it would be the wisest thing to do. As the idea

took definite shape in her mind, she looked forward with

"
zest to the renewal of old friendships. We shall have

our fill of talk and the silences which are the music of

friendship." The East Coast of Scotland was now barred

to her by medical opinion, but she had visions of the

 ONWARD STILL 279

lonelyhills of the south, and of Yarrow, and all that Border

country where she had spent so many happy days, and
would go there, away from the crowds and the rush.
Discerning a note of pity in the letters from Scotland,
she bade her friends not to waste their sympathy upon
"
her. I am just surrounded with love," she wrote. It
"
was to the children she referred. I wake up in the early
dusk of the dawn and call them, and before I can see to
take my Bible, the hot cup of tea is there, and a kiddie to
' ' ' ' "
kiss me Good-morning and ask, Ma, did you sleep?
It was not wonderful that she loved those black girls. They
had been with her from their birth. She had nursed them
and brought them up and taught them all they knew, and
they had been faithful to her with the faithfulness which
is one of the most remarkable traits in the African nature.

Mary could never abide the superior folk who referred

slightingly to them because of their black skin, and she
was too proud to justify her feelings towards them. Alice,
"
the princess,"had now grown into a fine womanly girl,
quiet and steady and thoughtful. One night in the dark
" "
she crept to Ma's side and shyly told her that some
months before she had given her heart to Christ. It was
a moment of rare joy. As neither Alice nor Maggie was
betrothed though often sought after and they had no
" "

legalprotector against insult,she decided to send them for

training to the Edgerley Memorial School, where they
would be under the influence and care of Miss Young,
another capable agent whom she had led to become a

missionaryand with whom she had a very close and tender

friendship. She regarded her as an ideal worker, for she
"
had been thoroughly trained in domestic science. I
woufd have liked that sort of training better than the
Normal trainingI got at Moray House," she said.
Meanwhile, as she was forbidden to cycle,her thoughts
"
harked back to her old plan of a box on wheels." She
"
had never been reconciled to a hammock. I feel a brute
in it,it seems so selfish to be lying there, boys while four
sweat like beasts of burden. To push a little carriageis
Hke skilled labour and no degradation." She, therefore,
" "
wrote to Miss Adam, whom she called the joint-pastor
280 MARY SLESSOR

of her people,to send out a catalogueof "

these things."
Miss Adam however, unwell, and
was, the ladies of
Wellington Street Church, Glasgow, hearingof the request,
promptly despatched what was called a Cape cart, a kind
of basket-chair,capable of being wheeled by two boys or
girls. The giftsent her whole beingthrillingwith gratitude,
as well as with shame for being so unworthy of so much
kindness, but her comfort was that it was for God's work,
and she took it as from Him.
The proved a success, but the success
vehicle proved
"
the undoing of her furlough. Instead of going home as

I had planned, in order to get strengthfor a wider range

of work, I shall stay on and enjoy the privilege of going
over ground impossiblefor my poor limbs." On one of
the first drives she had, she went in search of a site for a

new largerchurch which she had determined

and to build,

and was gatheringmaterial for,at Use, and then she planned

to go to Ikpe via Ikot Ekpene by the new Government
road, opening up out-stations wherever she could get a
village to listen to themessage. Her aim, indeed, was
nothing less than to plant the whole Ibibio territorywith
a network of schools and churches. She seemed to grow
more wonderful the older and frailer she became.
spurt lasted for a time, but again the terrible
The
weakness troubled her, and she had to conduct household
affairs from a couch. School work was carried through
on the verandah, and when she spoke in the church she

was borne there and back. She came to see that only
a real change would do her permanent good, and that it
would be true economy to take a triphome, even for the
sake of the voyage, which, much as she feared the sea,

always invigorated her. What made her hesitate now

"
was the depleted condition of the Mission. We were
"
never so short-handed before," she said, and I can do
what others cannot do, what, indeed, medical opinionwould
not allow them to try. No one meddles with me, and I

can slipalong and do my work with less expenditure of

strength than any." Had there been some one to fill

her place she would have gone, but she was very reluctant
to shut the doors of the stations for so long a period. How
 ONWARD STILL 281

she regarded the idea may be gatheredfrom a letter to a

friend who had given her some domestic news :

"

ghmpses, hke pictures,of home

These Uttle and the old
country",of familyties and love, make me long for justone long
summer day in the midst, if only as an onlooker, and for the
touch of loving hands and a bit of family worship in our own

tongue, and maybe a Sabbath service thrown in with a psalm

and an old-fashioned tune, and then I should feel ready for a

long spellof work. But I should fret if it were to take me from

this, my own real life and home and bairns. This life is full,
the other lies at the back quiescent, and is a preciouspossession
to muse on during the night or in the long evening hours when
I'm too tired to sleepand the lightis not good enough to read
or sew, or mostly when I'm not well and the doldrums come

very near. But I should choose this life if I had to begin

again : only I should try to live it to better purpose.

Another respiteor two carried her into the middle of
the year, when her opportunity of a furlough was lost.
She said she would have to hold on now for another winter
"
or go up higher. In September she completed thirty-six
years as a missionary,and took humorous stock of herself :
"
I'm lame and feeble and foolish ; the wrinkles are

wonderful "
no concertina is so wonderfully folded and
convulated. I'm a wee, wee wifie,verra little buikit " but
"
I grip on well, none the less." Ay," said an old doctor
" '
friend to her, you are a strong woman, Ma.' You
ought to have been dead by ordinary rule long ago "

any
one else would."

VI. Her First Holiday

Anxiety as to her health deepened both in Calabar and

Scotland, and pressure was brought upon her to take a

rest. One of her lady friends on the Women's Foreign

Mission Committee, Miss Cook, appreciatedher fear of the
home winter, and wrote asking her to take a holiday to
the Canary Islands, and begged the kindness at her hands
"
of being allowed to pay the expense. I believe," she
"
said, in taking care of the Lord's servant. I am afraid

you do not fullyrealise how valuable you are to us all,

282 MARY SLESSOR

the Church at home, and the Church in Nigeria." The

offer,so delicatelyput, brought tears to Mary's eyes, and
it made her wonder whether after all she was safeguarding
her health enough in the interests of the Church. As soon

as the matter became a duty, she gave it careful considera-

tion,
resolvingto abstain from going up to Ikpe, and to

go down to Duke Town instead, where she would consult

the Wilkies and the Macgregors. But she would not
dream of the cost of any change being borne by Miss Cook,
and she asked Miss Adam to find out if her funds would
allow of her
taking a trip. There was no difficulty
ing
regard-
clothing. Among the Mission boxes she had received
was one full of warm material, and she surmised that God
was on the side of a holiday.
Her friends at Calabar did not hesitate a moment ;

they wanted her off at once. She went to consult her old
"
friend.Dr. Adam, the senior medical officer,that burning
and shining light,"as she called him, who first showed
her through the Hospital, where she spoke with loving
entreaty to every patient she passed, and left many in
tears. After a thorough examination, he earnestly be- sought
her to take the next boat to Grand Canary. Still
she shrank from the prospect. It was a selfish thing to
do ; there were others more in need of a holiday than she,
it was a piece of extravagance, it would involve closingup
the stations. And yet might it not be meant ? Might
it not be of the nature of a good investment ? Might
she not be able for better work ? Might it not do away
with the necessityfor a furlough in the followingyear ?
She decided to go.
It was arranged that Jean should accompany her, and
that she should put up at the Hotel Santa Catalina, Las
Palmas. Letters from Government officials were sent

to smooth the way there for her. Miss Young and others
prepared her outfit,and made her, as she said, " wise-like
and decent," "
she, the while, holding daily receptions,
for she was now regarded as one of the West African sights,
and every one came to call upon her. Mr. Wilkie managed
the financial side, and gave the cash-box to the Captain.
When she transhipped at Forcados it was handed to the
 ONWARD STILL 283

other Captain,and he on arrival at the Islands passed it

on to the manager of the hotel. On board she was carried

up and down to meals, and received the utmost kindness

from officers and passengers alike. The Captain said he
was prouder to have shaken hands with her than if she had
been King George.
The season at Grand Canary had not begun, and there
were very few visitors at the hotel. Those who were there
saw a frail nervous old lady, followed by a black girlwho
"
was shy to raise her eyes.
too We were certainlya
frightened pair," Mary afterwards confessed. But the

management attended to her as if she were a princess.

" " "
What love is
wrapped round me ! she wrote. All are

kind, the manager's family,the

" doctor's family,and the
visitors. It is simply wonderful. I can't say anything
else."
The days were spent in the grounds, drinking in
first
the pure air, watching the changing sea and sky, and
admiring the brilliant vegetation. The English flowers,
roses and geraniums and Michaelmas daisies and
mignonette, were a continual joy, whilst the crimson
clouds piled above the sapphire sea often made her think
"
of the city of pure gold." Later, she was able to ascend
" " "
the hill at the back, and there she says, I sat and
knitted and crocheted and sewed and worked through the
Bible all the day long,fanned by the sea-breeze and warmed
by the sun, and the good housekeeper sent up lunch and tea
to save my walking, and in the silence and beauty and
peace I communed with God. He is so near and so dear.
Oh, if I only get another day in which to work ! I hope
it wiU be more full of earnestness and blessingthan the
past."
It was her first real holiday,but she felt it had been
worth waiting a lifetime for. There was something
infinitely pathetic in her ecstasy of enjoyment and the
gratitude for the simple pleasuresthat came to her. Only
one thread of anxiety ran through her days, the thought
of the appalling expense she was incurring,for she had
made up her mind that the cost was to be paid out of her
own slender funds.
284 MARY SLESSOR

A lady in the hotel, with whom she formed an intimate

and lastingfriendship,and who saw much of her, gives
this impressionof her character :

She made many friends,her lovingsympathy, her simplicity,

her keen interest in all around her, her sense of humour and
love of fun endearing her to all. The entire negation of self
which she evinced was remarkable, as well as her childlike
faith and devotion to her Master and to His service. A lady
"
was heard to say, Well, after talkingto Miss Slessor I am

converted to foreignmissions." Her mind was ever upon her

work and her children,and she used often to say she was idling,
there was so much to be done, and so little time in which to
do it. Of all the people I have met she impressed me the most
as the perfectembodiment of the Christian life.

Jean waited
upon her mother-mistress with a patient
and thoughtfuldevotion which was a wonder to those who
saw it. She wore her Calabar frock and bandana, and
had she not been
very a sane person, her head would have
been turned, for she was a favourite with every one, and
was given as many ribbons as would serve her all her life.
But she was shy the day
as she left as when she arrived.
The departure came in the middle of the night. A
generaland his aide-de-campand a merchant each offered
to convoy her to the ship, and pleaded that they had
conveyances, but the manager of the hotel would not hear
of it, saw her himself safely into her cabin, and placed
the cash-box once more into the Captain'shands. It was

the same steamer by which she had travelled to the Islands,

so that she felt at home. On board also was Dr. Hitchcock,
on his way out again to take up work at Uburu, a large
market town in the far north amongst a strangelyinterest-
ing
tribe. How she envied him, young and strong and
enthusiastic, entering on such glorious pioneer work !
At Accra the Governor of the Gold
Coast, a stranger to

her, sent off to the steamer a bouquet of flowers, with an

expression of his homage and best wishes for a renewal

of her health.
When she arrived at Duke Town Dr. Adam again
examined her, assisted by Professor Leiper of the London
286 MARY SLESSOR

VII. Injured

But furlough home was

a far from her thoughts. She
rejoicedin her new strength,and set herself with grim
determination to redeem the time. She was now doing
double work, carrying on all the activities of the settled
station at Use, and establishingher pioneer centre at

Ikpe. During the next two years she travelled between

the two points,sometimes using the canoe, but more often
now the Government motor car, which ran round by Ikot
Ekpene and dropped her at the terminus, five miles from
Ikpe. David was the driver, and she had thus always the
opportunity of seeing Mary, his wife, who lived at Ikot
Ekpene.
At Use the work had gone on as usual ; there had been
no backsliding, and the services and classes had been
kept
up by the people themselves ; and she proceeded with the
buildingof the new church, which was erected under her
superintendence and without any outside help. When
she was at Ikpe she placed Annie's husband they were "

both now members of the Church in charge, and he "

conducted the services, but Miss Peacock, whom Mary

"
styledher Bishop," gave generalsupervision.
On one of her earlyjourneys up to Ikpe she met with a
slightaccident, a pelletof mud sti iking one of her eyes.
The people were alarmed at the result, and would have

gone off at once to the District Commissioner had she not

restrained them. Some native workmen passing his
station later mentioned the incident, and within a few
minutes the officer had a mounted messenger speeding
along the tract to Ikpe, with an urgent order to the people
to get her conveyed in the Cape cart to the nearest point
on the road, where he would have a motor car waiting.
Next morning, although it was market day, the members
of the church left everything and took her to the spot
indicated. Here were the District Commissioner and a

doctor, with eye-shade and medicine and every comfort,

and with the utmost despatch she was taken round the
Government road to Use. The hurt was followed by
and
eiysipelas, she was blind for a fortnightand suffered
 ONWARD STILL 287

acute pain and

heavy fever ; but very shame at being ill
after so fine a holiday made her get up although the eye
"
was swollen and sulky," and she was soon in the midst
of her work at Ikpe as if nothing had happened.

Building, cementing, painting, varnishing,teaching,

healing,and preaching filled in the days. A visitor found
her once at 10 a.m. finishingschool in a shed. She con-
tinued

it in the afternoon. Then she visited the yards of

the people,and they crowded round her and brought her
giftsof food. Later she leant against a fallen tree trunk
and talked to one and another. In the gathering dusk
she sat on a small stool and attended to the sick and
dressed their sores. After dinner some men and lads
arrived carrying lamps, and she held her catechumens'
class "

a very earnest and prayerfulgathering.

The burden of the untouched region around her vexed
her mind. Sometimes she was depressed about it all,and
said she would need to fill her letters with nonsense, for
"
it would not bear writing." Time and again she sought
"
to impress her friends with the needs of the situation : The
last time I was at school
eight hundred women I counted
and girlsrunning past in eager competition to secure the
where the men
best placesat the fishing-grounds had been
working all the morning, and these are but a fraction of
our womankind. But what can I do with supervision of
"
the school and church and dispensary and household ?
She did notpretend that she worked her station properly,
and she pointed out how necessary settled,steady,persever-
ing
"
teaching was. These infant churches," she said,
"
need so much to be instructed. The adults are illiterate,
and the young need systematic teaching of the Bible.
They are an emotional
people,and are fain to keep to speak-
ing
and singingand long prayers, and the sterner practical
side of Christianityis set aside. They are children in

everything that matters, and when we have led them to

Christ apt to forget how
we are much more they need in
order to make a strong, upright,ethical character on which
to build a nation. Then we need a literature,and this,too,
is the work of the Church. What ails it ? Is it not getting
for-
"
that God canH give His best tillwe have given ours?
288 MARY SLESSOR

With all its bustle it was a very lonelyand isolated life

she led. There was no mail delivery,and she had to

depend mainly on the kindness of Government officials

"
to forward her correspondence. I have been here seven
"
weeks," she wrote on one occasion, without one scrap
from the outside " letter or paper "

nothing to read but

the old advertisement sheets of papers liningthe press
and theIf you boxes. wish for the names of hotels or

boarding-houses in any part of Europe " send to me. I

have them all on my tongue's end." It was a red-letter
day when a stray white visitor entered the district,for
there would be tea and a talk, and a bundle of newspapers
would be left "
one never forgetsanother in this way in
the bush. She was amused to receive a note from Scotland
asking her to hand on a message to Dr. Hitchcock at Uburu.
" " "
Do you know ? she replied, you are nearer him than
"
I am " the quickestway for me to send it is via Britain !
Life was not without its menace from wild beasts, the
forest being full of them, and the doors had always to be
closed and fastened atnight to keep them out. Snakes
were prevalent,and prowled about the building,and many
a fightJean and the others had with the intruders.

VIII. Friendships with Officials

" "
Throughout these years, as always, Ma Slessor's
relations with the Government officials were of the most

friendlynature. It was remarkable that although she was

essentially feminine and religious, and although she was
engaged in Mission work, she attracted men of all types

of character. of this power was due to her intense

Much
sympathy, which enabled her to get close to minds that
would otherwise have been shut to her. What she wrote
of another appliesto herself :

What a strange thing is sympathy ! Undefinable, un- translatable,

and yet the most real thing and the greatestpower

in human life ! How strangelyour souls leap out to some

other soul without our choosing or knowing the why. The

man or woman who has this subtle gift of sympathy and

 ONWARD STILL 289

magnetism of soul possesses the most preciousthing on earth.

Hence it is rare. So few could be trusted with such a delicate,
sensitive,Godlike power and hold it unsullied that God seems

to be hampered for want of means for its expression. Is that

"
the reason that He made His Son a Man of Sorrows and
"
acquaintedwith grief ?

Most of these men had no interest in missions, and some

"
did not believe in them. The more I see of mission
work in West Africa the less I like
it," said one frankly
"
to her. Give me the genuine bushman, who respects
his ancestral deities and his chief and himself. . . .
But
"
if all missionaries were like you ! None of these men

belonged to her own Church ; three of her favourites were

Roman Catholics. Her introductions to some were of the

most informal character." One day
stranger appeared a
"
and found busy on
her the roof of the house. Well,"
" "
she what
said,eyeing him critically, do you want ? He
"
stood, hat in hand. Please, Ma'am," he repliedmeekly,
"
I'm your new District Commissioner "
but I can't help
"
it ! She was delighted,and took him into the inner
circle at once. As frequent changes took place in the
staff,the number whose acquaintanceshe made gradually
increased, until she became known and talked of in all the
colonies on the West Coast and even in other parts of the
world.
The official view of her work and character differed
little from any other. Says one who knew her long and
well :

/ I suppose that a pluckierwoman has rarelyexisted. Her

life-work she carried out with immeasurable courage and

capacity. Her strengthof character was extraordinary,and

her life was one of absolute unselfishness. She commanded
;
the respect and confidence of all parties,
and for years I would
; have personallytrusted to her judgment on native matters in

preferenceto all others. Shrewd, quick-witted,sympathetic,

yet down on any one who presumed, she would with wonderful
patience hear all sides
equally. Her judgment was prompt,
sometimes severe, but always just. She would speak much
of her work to those who, she knew, took an interest in it,
but very rarelyof herself.
V u
290 MARY SLESSOR

Another writes :

My first impressionof her was that she was a lady of great

strength of mind and sound common sense. Also that for one
who had lived so years in the bush
many wilds she was very
well read and up-to-dateon all subjects.
Mr. T. D. Maxwell, who knew her in Okoyong days
and to the end, says :

I am sure that her own Church never had a more loyal

adherent, but her outlook on this life "
and the next "
was never

narrow. Her religion was above religions "

certainlyabove
religiousdifferences. I have often heard her speak of the
faiths and rituals of others, but never without the deepest
interest and sympathy. She was young to the end ; young
in her enthusiasm, her sympathy, her boundless
energy, her

never-failing
sense of humour, her gift of repartee, her ability

always to strike the apt "

even the corrosive" epithet. A
"
visit to her was, to use one of her own phrases, like a breath
"
o' caller air to a weary body and in West Africa that means "

incomparably more than it can at Home.

It was a peculiarlyaffectionate relation that existed

between her and many of those men whom she regarded
as
"
the strength and the glory of Britain." A witty
member of the Mission once said they were given over to
" "

Mariolatry "

an allusion to her first name. They never

were near without visitingher, and often made long

journeys for the privilegeof a talk. They were delighted
with her sense of humour, and teased her as well as lionised
her. Half the fun of a visit to her taking her unawares,
was

and they often threatened to bring their cameras and

" "
"
snapshot her on sight. Ma," they would write before
" "

calling, get your shoes on, we are coming to tea !

They wrote her about their work and ambitions and
worries as if she were a mother or sister,and discussed
the and
political racial problems of the country as if she
were a colleague,always with a delicate deference to her
experience and knowledge, sometimes veiled in light
" "
banter. I am at your feet. Ma," said one, and your
wisdom is that of Solomon." They often twitted her
about being able to twist them round her little finger:
 ONWARD STILL 291

"
You break our hearts, and get your own way shockingly."
On one occasion she received a grave and formal ment
Govern-

typewritten communication about land, which ended

in this way :

I have the honour to be,

Madam,
and affectionate
Your obedient servant.
A

When Colony they kept up the friendship.

they left the

Many were bad correspondents,yet from the remotest

parts of the world they wrote letters,as long as her own,
full of kind enquiriesabout her work and the bairns, and
begging for a reply.
On her part she wrote them racy and informative
letters ; and she also got into touch with their mothers,
sisters,and wives at home, who welcomed her news of the
absent ones, and good
were to her in turn. One
lady she
"
delighted by praising her husband. Naturally," the
"
lady replied, I agree with you, and you are welcome to
"
court and woo him as much as you like ! A high official
brought out his wife, and she wrote Mary from a desire
to make her husband's friends hers also. She ended in
"
the usual way, but he added, She sends her kindest
"

regards / send my
"
love ! The nature of some of the
friendshipsformed at home through officials may be
surmised from an order she gave for a silver gift,value
"5, to be sent to the first-born child of one of her "
chums."
"
It went to the mother, and the inscription
was From one

whom his father has helped."

Very notable was the kindness shown by the ment
Govern-
to her as woman and missionary. Instructions were

issued that she was to be allowed to use any and every

conveyance belonging to them in the Colony, on any road
or river, and that every help was to be afforded to her.
Workmen were lent to her to execute repairson her houses.
Individual members sought opportunitiesto be kind to
her. She was taken her first motor-car drive by a missioner.
Com-
The highest officials did not think it beneath
them to and
buy feeding-bottles forward them on by
292 MARY SLESSOR

express messenger. They sent her giftsof books, magazines,

and papers one forwarded The Times
" for years and at "

Christmas would
plum puddings, crackers,
there come -

and sweets. One dark, showery night the Governor of

Southern Nigeria, Lord Egerton, and several officials
appeared at her house to greet her, and left a case of milk,
two cakes, and boxes of chocolates and crystallised fruit.
"
"
The Governor is a Scotsman," she wrote, and must be

sympathetic to mission work, or else why did he come with

his retinue and all to a mud house and see me at that cost
"
to his comfort and time on anight ?
wet Lord Egerton
was charmed with her. Replying to some remark of his
"
she said, "
Hoots, my dear laddie I mean Sir ! "

It was the great anxiety of her official friends that she

should not outlive her powers : her influence generally
was great that to them
so the thought of this was distressing.
They were always very solicitous about her health, writing
to frequentlyto
her say that she should take life more

easily. Take care

"
yourself,Ma
of as much as you "

"
can." "
Don't be so ridiculously unselfish." Learn a

little selfishness "

it will do you all the good in the world,"
was the advice showered upon her. When she had the
Court work she was often urged to take a month's holiday.
On hearing of her intention to go to Ikpe one wrote,
"
Dear Lady, I hate the idea of your going so far into the
bush. Don't go. There are plenty of men willingand
be of service to but there
eager to you, away up you are

far away from help or care." Another warned her against

"
the people;
"
But," he added, we know you will go in
"

spiteof it and conquer "

!
"
Latterly they became importunate. Do be more

careful,"one wrote. Do take quinine and sleepunder a "

net and drink filtered water." Her custom of going hatless

into the blazingsunshine was long a sore point,and when
they failed to persuade her of the danger, they resorted
to scheming. We know why you do
"
it," they said
artfully.
"
You know you have pretty hair and like to

display it uncovered, imagining that it gets its golden

glint from the sun. Oh, vanity of vanities ! Fancy a
"

nice, quiet missionary being so vain ! Certainly no

 294 MARY SLESSOR

correspondence between earth and heaven. She Hkened

"
the process to a wireless message, saying, We can only
obtain God's best by fitness of receivingpower. Without
receivers fitted and kept in order the air may tingleand
thrill with message, but it will not
the reach my spirit
and consciousness." And she knew equally well that all

prayer wasworthy of being answered.

not Those who
were disappointed she would ask to look intelligently at
first causes as well as regretfullyat second causes. To

one who said he had prayed without avail, she wrote :

"
You
thought God was to hear and answer you by making
everything straightand pleasant "
not so are nations or

churches or men and women born ; not so is character

made. God is answering your prayer in His way." And
to another who was in similar mood she wrote : "I know
what it is to
pray long years and never get the answer I "

had to pray for my father. But I know my heavenly

Father so well that I can leave it with Him for the lower
fatherhood." In this as in other thingsshe had to confess
"
that she herself often failed. I am poor exponent
a of
"
faith," she would say. I
ought to have full faith in our

Father that He will do everything,but I am ashamed of

'
myself, for I want to see,' and that sends faith out of
court. I never felt more in sympathy with that old
'
afflicted father before in his prayer, Lord, I believe, help
'
Thou my unbelief "

every syllablesuits me."

"
/ She had absolute faith in intercession. Prayer," she
"
said, is the greatest power God has put into our hands
for service "

praying is harder work than doing, at least

I find it so, but the dynamic lies that way to advance the
\. Kingdom." She believed that some of her official friends,
the Empire -
builders, were kept straightin this way :
"
The bands that m.others and sisters weave by prayer
and precept are the strongest in the world." There was

nothing she asked her friends more often at home to do

"
than to pray for the Mission and the workers. Don't
stop praying for us," she pleaded, and her injunctions
were sometimes pathetic in their personal application:
"
Pray that the power of Christ may rest on me, that He

may never be disappointed in me or find me disobedient

 ONWARD STILL 295

to the heavenly vision when He shows the way, pray that

I may make no false moves, but that the spiritwill say,
' "
Go here and go there.' She was always convinced that
it was the people in Scotland that carried
prayers of the
"
her on and made the work possible. It is so customary
to put aside those who, like myself,are old-fashioned and
unable for the burden and heat of the day ; but in my
case it is care and love and forbearance all the way through ;
and all this I trace back to the great amount of prayer
which has ever followed me, to the qualitymore than the
quantity of that intercession. Prayer-waves pulsate from
Britain all through Calabar." To one who had always
prayed for her she also wrote : "I have always said that
I have no idea how and why God has carried me over so

many funny and hard places,and made these hordes of

people submit to me, or why the Government should have

given me the of
privilege a magistrate among them, except
in answer to prayer made at home for me. It is all beyond
my comprehension. The only way I can explain it is on
the ground that I have been prayed for more than most.
Pray on, dear one the power lies that way." She also
"

urged prayer for the Mission Committees, Home and Foreign

"
"
We expect them to do so much and to do it so well, and
yet we withhold the
they can do it."means by which alone
Almost invariably,when acknowledging money, she
would beg the donors to follow up their gifts by prayer
" "
for workers. Now," she would say, let us ask God
earnestlyand constantly for the greater giftof men and
women to fillall these vacant posts."
She used to pray much for her friends in all their

circumstances, asking for many things for them that they

"
desired, but eventually her petition came to be, Lord
give them Thy best and it shall suffice them and me."
Her religionwas a religionof heart, and her
the munion
com-

with her Father was of the most natural, most

childlike character. No rule or habit guided her. She

just spoke to Him as a child to her Father when she needed
help and strength,or when her heart was filled with joy
and gratitude,at any time, in any place. He was so real
to her, so near, that her words were almost of the nature
296 MARY SLESSOR

'

of conversation. There
formality,no self-cor' was no )us

or stereotypeddiction, only the simplestlanguage i n a

quiet and humble heart. It is told of her that wl en in

Scotland, after a journey, she sat down
tiresome at the
"
tea-table alone, and, liftingher eyes, said, Thank ye,
Faither ye ken I'm tired," in the most
"

ordinary way, as
if she had been addressing her friends. On another
occasion, in the country, she lost her spectacleswhile
coming from a meeting in the dark. Snow lay on the
ground, and there seemed little hope of recoveringthem.
She could not do without them, and she prayed simply
"
and directly : O Father, give me back my spectacles."
Early next morning the milk-boy saw something glistening
in the snow, and she had the spectaclesin time to read
her Bible. A lady asked her how she obtained such
" "
intimacy with God. Ah, woman," she said, when I
am out there in the bush I have often no other one to speak
to but my Father, and I just talk to Him." It was in
that way she kept herself in tune with the highest. Some- times,
when there had been laughingand frivolous conversa-
tion
"
before a meeting, she lost grip,"and was vexed and
restless and dumb. But a little communion with her
Father would put matters right. Once, oppressed by a
similar mood, she foresaw complete failure, but the minister
who presided,as if conscious of her attitude, prayed in
such a way as to lift the burden from her heart, and she
was given not only a calm spiritbut also an eloquent
tongue.
How natural it wasfor her to pray is evidenced by an

incident at one of the ladies' committee meetings at Duke

"
Town. Speaking of it she said, All the ladies were
laughing and daffin' over something of a picturesquesort,
when it struck me we ought to be praying rather, and I
just said so, and at once the whole lot jumped up, and we
went into the nearest room and were closeted with our

Master for a bit." Sometimes in the Mission House she

would call the children to prayer at odd hours, and Jean
"
would remonstrate and say, Ma, the time is long past."
" "
Jean," she would reply, the gate of heaven is never

shut." She said she wished to teach them that they

 ONWARD STILL 297

cou'^ iioray anywhere and at any time, and not only in the
chu. il
"
We reallyapart,"she once
are not wrote to a friend
in Scotland, '''for
you can touch God direct by prayer, and
so can I."

X. Bible Student

She had always intelligent

been studentan earnest and
of the Bible, and to her it grew more wonderful every day.
She believed that the spread of the Book was the simplest
and most natural and direct way of preaching the Gospel
and keeping it pure. Her own reading of it was mainly
accomplished in the earlymorning. As soon as there was
lightenough which was usually about 5.30
" she took a "

fine pen and her Bible and turned to the book she was

studying in the Old or New Testament. She underlined

the governing words and sentences as she went along in
her endeavour to grasp the meaning of the writer and the
course of his by word, sentence
argument by sen-
; tence, word
she patientlyfollowed his thought. Sometimes it
would be three days before she completed a chapter,but
she would not leave it until she had some kind of idea as

to its purpose. She was her own commentator, and on the

margin she noted the truths she had learned, the lessons
she had received, her opinions about the sentiment pressed,
ex-

or the character described. If her expositions

were not according to the
ordinary canons of exegesis,

they had the merit of being simple, fresh, and ventional.

uncon-

Her language was as candid, often as pungent,

as her remarks in conversation, its very frankness and
force indicatinghow real to her were the life and conditions
she was studying. When one Bible was finished she began
another, and repeated the process, for she found that new
thoughts came as the years went by. On one occasion we
find her interested in a recent translation, reading it to
discover whether it gave any clearer construction of the
more difficult passages. Such sedulous study had its
effect upon her character and life ; she was interpenetrated
with the spiritof the Book ; it gave her direction in all
her affairs " in her difficult palavers she would remark,
298 MARY SLESSOR

" "
Let us see what the Bible says on this point it inspired "

her with hope, faith, and courage. Often after an hour

or two of meditation over it she felt no desire for ordinary
literature,all other books seeming tame and tasteless after
its pages.
Some of the later Bibles she used are in existence, and
bear testimony to the thoroughness of her methods.
Almost every page is a mass of interlineations and notes.
As one turns them over, phrases here and there catch the
eye, arresting in thought and epigrammatic in form ; such
for instance as these :
God is never behind time.
If you play with temptationdo not expect God will deliver
you.
A graciouswoman has graciousfriendships.
No giftor genius or positioncan keep us safeor freefrom
sin.
Nature is under fixed and fine laws, but it cannot meet
the need of man.
We must see and know Christ beforewe can teach.
Good is
good, but it is not enough ; it must be God.
The secret of all failureis disobedience.
Unspiritualinan cannot stand success.

There is no escape from the refiexaction of sin ; broken

law will have its revenge.
Sin is loss for time and eternity.
The smallest things are as absolutelynecessary as the
great things.
An arm offleshnever bringspower.
Half the world's sorrow comes from the unwisdom of
parents.
Obedience bringshealth.
Blessed the man and woman who is able to serve cheerfully
in the second rank "

a big test.
What they were weary of was the punishment, not the sin
that broughtit.
Slavery never pays ; the slave is spoiledas a man, and
the master not less so.

It were worth while to die, if therebya soul could be born

again.
 ONWARD STILL 299

She was deeply interested in the earlier books, for the

reason that the moral and social conditions depicted there
were analogous to those she had to deal with in Calabar.

Every now and then we come across such remarks as these :

" "
a Calabar palaver," a chapter of Calabar history,"
" "
picture of Calabar outside the gospel area,"
a this
happens in Okoyong every day." Her own experience
helped her to understand the story of these primitive
and
civilisations, her annotations on this part of the Bible
have always the sharpestpoint. To the sentence, " The
"
Lord watch between me and thee," she appends, Beautiful
sentiment, but a mbiam oath of fear." Jacob she terms in
" "
one place a selfish beggar." Of Jael she says, Not a
womanly woman, a sorry story ; would God not have
"
showed her a better way if she had asked ? and of part
"
of Deborah's song she remarks, Fine poetry, poor
morality." Her opinion of Jezebel is thus expressed:
"
A vain, heartless woman ; one of the most revolting
stories in history,and she might have been such a queen !
A good woman is the most
thingon earth, but a bad beautiful
woman is a source of corruption. Had only her soul . . .

been clean, dogs might have been welcome to her body."

The book of Job was always well studied. She had a
"
great admiration for the upright,wealthy,greatly-feared,
"
and respectedsheikh," and little or none for the typical
philosophers,"who came, Calabar fashion, and sought to
comfort him in his day of trial. Job was not, in her view,
"
rebellious ; his plaintwas a relief to his own spirit,and
"
an appeal for sympathy." On chapter ix. she writes, The
atmosphere is clearing; the clouds are scattering,glimpses
of sunshine, of starlight, and beauty ; the spirit swings back
"
on its pivot and begins to see God." Farther on, Right,
Job "
turn to God ! Leave it to Him "
the fit of depression
will pass when you have sounded the depths, and profit
"
will follow." On chapter xviii. her comment is, Such is
" "
the friendshipof the world chapter xx.,
; on How
"

very sure the fool is in his explanationsof God's ways ;

"
on chapter xxvii., The ultimate values of life shall be
"
fixed not by wealth but by character chapter xxviii.,; on
"
A very mine of gems and preciousthings exquisitely "
300 MARY SLESSOR

lovely thoughts and language. Poetry like this in the

"
earliest ages of the world ! Of Elihu's contentions in
"
chapter xxxiv., A good many truths, but served up with
"
bitter herbs, not with love ; on chapter xxxvii., "
ful
Beauti-
poetry, but a very bleak and barren picture of God ;
hard, arbitrary,selfish,self-centred, strikingterror into
His works, and compelling obedience and service. Nature
" "
cannot reveal Him, Elihu ! On the next chapter, The
God of nature turns the picture,and behold it is no more

destruction and blind force, but beneficence and gracious

design and beauty," and so on to the end, when we read,
"

"
The voice of humanity demands some such judgment
and relief from the mysteriesand trials and misrepresenta-
tions
of this life. The poem rings true to the cry of the
spiritof man. Is there a modern drama in any language
"
to come near to this ancient production ?
The New Testament was brooded over and absorbed
with a care and thoroughness which must have made every
line and every thought familiar to her. St. John was her
favourite book. A few specimens of her remarks may be
given :
"
When the people saw that Jesus was not there . . . they
took shipping and came . seekingfor Jesus."
. .

"
The secret of our failures in winning men ; they don't
find Him with us."
"
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came and tempted
Him that He would show them a signfrom Heaven."
"
Man's cry for the moon ! What does a sign prove ?
"
Is God known by magic ?
"
And the people asked Him saying. What shall we do
then ?...'' He that hath two coats let him impart to him
"
that hath none.''
"
By love serve."
"
And He said unto them, When I sent you without purse
"
and scripand shoes lacked you anything?
" "
No, Lord, never was lack with Thee !
"
And her parents were astonished,hut He charged them
that they should tellno man what He had done."
"
Life will tell. Speech will end in chatter."
These illustrations,picked out at random, will serve
302 MARY SLESSOR

wonderful ! They gazed upon them in a kind of awe.

A few of the older men and women held aloof from the
twins, but not in any offensive way, and the general
disposition was to ignore the stain on their birth.
There touching meeting with Ma Eme, who could
was a
" "
not conceal her affection and joy at seeingher old Ma

again. Much to Mary's sorrow she was still a heathen,

and a very zealous one, as she sacrificed daily to the
spiritsin the crudest way, with food and blood, in abase-
ment
and fear. So strong was superstitionrooted in her
nature that she would not touch the twins, although she
confessed it was marvellous that they had grown up.
The two women, bound by so strange a friendship,
"
talked long about the old days. It was, Do you member
re-
" " "
this ? Do you remember that ? and then
would follow reminiscences of the killingtime when they
worked hand in hand in secret for the preservationof life.
" "
Nothing that Ma could say would induce Ma Eme to

throw off her

allegianceto her African beliefs,and at the
end of a long day she left, the same kind, high-bred,
mysterious heathen woman that she had always been.
"
She died shortly after. My dear old friend and almost
"
sister," said Mary, she made the saving of life so often
possiblein the early days. It is sad that she did not
come out for Christ. She could have been the honoured
leader of God's work had she risen to it. I cannot fancy
Okoyong without her. She made a foolish choice, and yet
God cannot forget all she was to me, and all she helped
me to do in those dark and
bloody days."
A service was arranged, but the throng who wished
" "
to hear Ma was so great that it had to be held in the
unfinished church, and thus Mary had the joy of being at

the first service. Over four hundred well-dressed natives

were present, the

largest number ever in a church in

Okoyong. She thought of the wild old days,and contrasted

"
them with the present scene. Truly," she said to herself,
"
one soweth and another reapeth." She spoke for half
an hour, giving a strong, inspiringtalk on the duties of
those who are believers to the world around them.
With her usual thought for others she sat down and
 "3 4 A"^ kla ""f|tlH ufc nil m !" ic K f

"Jf^f s"~

UJP l"..! *
"yj" t -J ""

-J

,.^gr^
to^Tv^^J-

OxK OF Miss Slessoh's Bibles.

E\ery page is packed with aunotatious.

Miss Slessor's Silver Cross.

"
Received for "
meritorious services from tlie Order of tlie Hospital of St. John

of Jerusalem in England.
 ONWARD STILL 303

wrote to her old comrade, Miss Wright (Mrs. Rattray),in

England, giving her the details of her visit, and accounts
"
of the people.
"
This house," she said, is full of memories
of you, and you are not forgotten." She described with

prideand hope the way in which the ladies were conducting

the station,and praisedthem in her usual generous manner.

After she left,it seemed to them that they had greater

influence among the people than ever.

XII. Royal Recognition

The friends who long were noticingthat

had known her
a new softness and graciousness were stealinginto her
life. She never grew commonplace, and was originalas
ever, but her character was mellowing, and her love
"
and humility becoming even more marked. Love will

overcome all," was love, for her, included

her belief,and
of the Christian faith
all the qualities simplicity,kindness, "

patience,charity,selflessness, confidence, hope. In herself

"
she was conscious of many faults. I don't half live up
"
to the ideal missionary life,"she said, with a sigh. It is

not easier to be a saint here than at home. We are very

human, and not goody-goody at all." Often she was deep
in the valley of humiliation over hasty words spoken and

opportunitiesof service let slip. But she was saved from

depression by her sense of humour. She laughed and

dared the devil. Of one who had just come out she wrote :

"
She is very serious, and will take life and work more in

the sense of tasks than of a glad free life ...

we want

one to laugh, to joke over

hitch all on to the yoke, and
that WQ don't like." She also became less uncompromising
" "
in her views. My opinions,"she acknowledged, may
not justsuit every one, and it is possibleother people may
be right and I far wrong. But although we differ . . .

amongst ourselves, and some thingsdifferentiate our work,

we are all in full friendship and sympathy with one
another."
It was not possiblefor self-abnegation
to go farther than
it did in her case. She was unable to see that she had done
"
anything out of the common. I have lived my life very
304 MARY SLESSOR

quietlyand in a way," she would

very natural and humble
"
say, and all the credit of her work
was given to God. It
isn't Mary Slessor doing anything,but Something outside
of her altogetheruses her as her small abilityallows."
" " "
She did not say my plan," or my scheme if she did "

"
she checked herself and said, What God wants me to

do." And she always paid generous tribute to her girls,

who, she said, did more than she did, though no one

counted it to them. She was distressed to receive letters

praisingher. One who saw her go out from Scotland to

her life-work, and had lovinglyfollowed her career ever

since, wrote saying that her reward would be a starry

crown in the glory land, and her reply was, "
What would
I do with starry crowns except to cast them at His
"
feet?
Nothing illustrated this feature so notably as an event

M^hich shortly after her

occurred Two visit to Akpap.

years previouslya few of her friends in Calabar, official and

missionary, had talked over the possibility of securing
some public recognition of her unique service. Mr.
Macgregor wrote an account of her life-work for the Govern-
ment,
but it was not until Sir Frederick Lugard arrived
as Governor-General of the united provinces of Northern
and Southern Nigeria that action was taken. He was so

struck by the heroic record placed before him that he at

once sent home a strong recommendation to the Secretary

of State for the Colonies, that Mary's services should be

brought to Royal notice. The Secretary of State was
equallyimpressed,and laid the matter before the Chapter-
General of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem in England, of which the King is SovereignHead,
and the Duke of Connaught Grand Prior. This was done,
and she was selected for admission. When she received
the august looking document
-
asking her to accept the
"
honour, she said to herself, Now, who has done this ?
Who am I, and what is my distinction that I should have
"
it ? She was in a quandary how to answer, but eventually
complied with the request, thinking that would be the end
"
of it. Shortly afterwards came a letter statingthat her
selection had received the sanction and approval of His
 ONWARD STILL 305

Most Gracious Majesty King George V." The Chapter-

"
General, it was stated, elected her with particular
"
satisfaction Honorary Associate.
to the grade This of
honour is only conferred on persons professing the Christian

faith, who are eminently distinguished for philanthropy,

or who have speciallydevoted their exertions or fessional

pro-
skill in aid of the objects of the Order. The
Badge of an Honorary Associate is a Maltese Cross in
silver,embellished at the four principalangleswith a lion
passant guardant and a unicorn passant alternately.It
is worn by women on the left shoulder, attached to a black
watered riband tied in a bow.
" "
Ma kept the matter a secret, even after she had
received the diploma,but the silver Badge came through
the Colonial Office to the Commissioner at Duke Town,
and the honour being made public,her friends schemed
to get her down to a formal presentation. It was a

difficult problem, but it was solved by a letter being

sent stating that the decoration had arrived, that, of
course, she would not care to have it given to her titiously,
surrep-
and that her
duty was to come to Calabar for it.
A telegraph form, ready for dispatch,and bearing the
"
one word Coming," was enclosed. They knew she
would get agitated,and have no peace until the tele-
gram

was out of her hands. Their surmise was correct.

She sent the message and committed herself to the
ordeal.
She was not elated at the prospect of appearing at a

Government function ; neither was she perturbed,and she

went about her duties as usual. Miss Gilmour, one of the
new lady agents, tells how on the eve of her departureshe
gathered the bairns for family worship, and in a simple
and beautiful way read to them the story of the Good
Shepherd and the sheep that followed. Then, as an

illustration,she took the story of Peter's denial of our

Lord, and showed that Peter sinned because he followed
" " "
afar off." Eh, bairns," she said, it's the wee lassie
that sits beside her mother at meal times that gets all
the nice bittocks. The one who sits far away and sulks
disna ken what she misses. Even the pussy gets more

X
 306 MARY SLESSOR

than she does. Keep close to Jesus the Good Shepherd

all the way."
A Government launch was sent bring her down, an
to
honour she felt as much as the bestowal of the insignia,
and as she walked up to the Macgregors' house the "

Wilkies were in Scotland "

many who
there were were

struck by the dignity of her appearance, dressed though

she was in an old but clean cotton dress, straw hat, and
list shoes. On the Saturday afternoon she went to an
" "
At Home at the Barracks, where she was lionised in a

quiet way. She attended a cricket match " she was an

advocate of all games, and believed they were excellent

agencies and
civilising " also witnessed a sham fight,where
" " " "
the enemy dressed themselves up as savage warriors
and attacked the Barrack Hill. She was much impressed,
and kept saying to her old friend the Hon. Horace Bedwell,
"
the Provincial justsplendid. Look
Commissioner, That's
how the officers lead them." On Sunday she spoke for
three-quartersof an hour to the boys in the Institute in
Efik, and no boys could have listened more intently. On
Monday night she was at Government House at dinner.

The presentation took place in the Goldie Memorial

Hall on Wednesday, Mr. Macgregor presiding. All the
Europeans who could leave business gathered to do her
honour. The boys of the Training Institute and the girls
of the Edgerley Memorial School were also in the hall.
Had it not been that Mr. Bedwell and Mrs. Bedwell were

beside her, and that it was the former who made the
presentation, she would have felt more nervous. As it

was, she sat with her head buried in her hands. Mr.
Bedwell spoke of her unique work and influence, and of
her genius for friendshipin a way that overcame her.
She could not at first find words to reply. She turned to
the children, and in Efik told them to be faithful to the
Government, for at bottom it was Christian, and, as the
silver Badge proved, friendlyto missions. Self was thus
entirelyeffaced in her interpretationof the act ; she made
it appear to be the recognitionby the Government of the
work of the Mission, and suggested that it might have been
awarded to any member of the staff.
308 MARY SLESSOR

ence that the event evoked, and to all she made the same

modest reply,that she saw in the honour "

God's goodness
to the Mission and her fellow-labourers,
who were levelling
and building and consolidatingthe work on every side.
It is a token that He means to encourage them in the
midst of their discouragingcircumstances."

XIII. Battle for a Life

Each new kindness shown her was an incentive to

harder service. She threw herself again into work with an

extraordinarykeenness. Dissatisfied with what she was

"
doing at Ikpe, she moved in all directions in her box on
wheels," prospectingfor new spheresof usefulness, fording
rivers, crossingswamps, climbing hills,pushing through
bush, traversingroads that were unsafe and where by the
law people had to go in couples,and often putting up at
villagessix or ten miles distant. She saw crowds of
people, and hundreds of women and children in every
street, but no light; not even a desire for it,though here

and there she found a disciple or two. She met with more
oppositionfrom the chiefs than she had done in all her
"
experience. They would not hear of God fashions,"
and would not permit teachers to enter their districts or
churches to be built ; they forbade all meetings for worship.
She braced herself, body and mind, for the fight. She
spent days in palaver,but they would not give in. She
insisted that at least the rightof the disciples to meet and
worship in their own homes must be recognised. When the
chiefs saw her face, set with iron resolution, they were
afraid, wavered, and agreed. They then became quite
"
friendly. We don't object to schools," they admitted.
"
We want our children to learn to read and write, but we

want no interference with our fashions. If houses of God

are built, we shall all die, and we are dying fast enough."
"
I shall never give you teachers without the Gospel,"
"
she declared. If you don't take the one, you won't
have the other. But I'm going to bring both. I shall

put up a shed on the roadside, and hold services there

whenever I get a chance."
 ONWARD STILL 309

right,Ma," they said with something like

"
All tion.
admira-
"
Come yourself,but don't send boys."
"
And then she remembered. How can this poor
tabernacle do it, even with six lads to push and pull and
carry the cart through the streams ? But I have opened
the way, and that is something."
In Ikpe itself the currents of heathenism ran deep and
strong, and she found progress as difficult as in Okoyong.
But she solved all the problems in the samefearless way
as she had done there. Unlike those in other centres, the
women and girlsof the town took no interest in the work,
and would not come forward, and she knew there was no

hope for the community unless she secured their sympathy

and attachment to the cause. At first a few girlshad
ventured to sit by themselves in church. Then some

villageaccident made the chiefs believe that their juju

was angry because the girlshad forsaken their sacrifices
and deserted the heathen plays,and they placed pressure
on them to return. Some were floggedand made to pray
before a clay-pot with an egg in it, and all were forced
out on the moonlight nights to take part in the plays.
" "
If they don't do that," demanded the chiefs, how can
"

they have children for us ? The girlslost courage and

"
forsook the church, but she did not blame them. Poor
things,they are as timid as hares, and have never had a

choice of what to do until I came. But the chiefs " I will

"
be hard on them !
One day she gathered all those who were faithful to
the church laws, and interviewed the chiefs. The man
spokes-
for her party urged that the antagonism that had
been shown should cease ; he agreed that any one who
broke the ordinary laws should be punished, but no girl
or young man should be compelled to sacrifice or pray to

idols, or be ostracised
fearing God. The or fined for
words were received with scornful looks and laughs,the
chiefs being hardly able to restrain themselves, but they
"
had a wholesome fear of Ma," and were never outwardly
i n
disrespectful her presence. They looked at her. She
kept a severe and solemn face, and they were a little
nonplussed.
310 MARY SLESSOR

" "
Ma, have you heard ? they asked.
"
"
Am I not here ? she rephed.
Taking the giftof rods that had been offered,the chiefs
"
retired. When they returned they said : Ma, we hear.

Let the accept of it, and

present of we rods He, we

promise that we will respect God's laws, in regard to the

joining in our sacrifices ; and in regard to the Sabbath,
we shall respect it and leave our work ; but we will not

joinin the confusions of the church, that we cannot do."

"
God will doubtless be immensely pleasedand benefited
by your wondrous condescension," said she with good-
humoured sarcasm, and they laughed heartilyand tried
to be friendly,but Mary airilytold her people to rise
and go.
Fearing she was not pleased,the chiefs made to pany
accom-

her.
"
I'm going round to see a woman in the next street,"
said Mary pointedly. They stopped dead at once. Here
"
was the "
confusion they referred to, for the woman was

a twin-mother.
It was the old weary battle over again.
Her patience and persistenceeventuallywon a victory
for the girls. They were allowed to return to church, but
the line was drawn at the day-school. The chiefs said

girlswere meant to work and mother the babies, and not

to learn "
book."boys who attended, each
Even the

burdened with an infant to justifythe waste of time,

were not allowed to bring a baby girl. If the baby of the

home was a girl,he looked after her there and his placewas
vacant. Mary began to think of teaching the girlsapart
from the boys, when one day several girlsmarched in ;

she courted them with all the skill she possessed,and

gradually one or two chiefs brought their daughters,who

returned with dresses from the Mission box, and that ended
the opposition.
But there was no end struggleover twins.
to the Time
and again she had to send the girlsto bring babes to the
Mission House, and many a stirringnight she had, she
sleeping with them in her bed, whilst outside stealthy
forms watched for a chance to free the town from the
 ONWARD STILL 311

defilement of their presence. The first that survived was

a boy. The husband, angry and sullen,was for murdering

it and putting the mother hole in the swamp.
into a She
faced him with the old flash in her eye, and made him take
oath not to hurt or kill the child. He even promised to

permit it to live,for which magnanimity she bowed ally

ironic-
to the ground, an act that put his courage at once

to flight. She had come to realise that it was not good

to take twins from their mother, and she insisted on the
child being kept in the home. Jean was sent to stay and
sleep with the woman, and as she had, on occasion, as
"
caustic a tongue as Ma," the man had not a very agreeable
time. It was decided later to bring the woman and child
to the hut, and there, beneath her verandah, they rigged

up a little lean-to, where they were housed, Jean sleeping

with them at night keeping a watchful
and eye on the
" "
mother. "It is really,"said Ma," far braver and
kinder of her to live with that heathen woman with her
frettinghabits than it is for her to go out in the dark and

fight with snakes. Jean has as many faults as myself,

but she is
darling,none
a the less,and a treasure." All
going well, they went on Sunday to church and left the
mother. When they returned they found she had broken
the baby'sthigh and given him some poisonousstuff. With
care the boy recovered, but they redoubled their precau-
tions,
hoping that when the parents saw how handsome
and healthy and normal the little fellow was, they would
consent to keep him.
" "
Ma was due at Use, but she would not leave Ikpe
until she had conquered. Another month passed, and
she v^as running out of provisions, includingtea. To be
without tea was a tremendous deprivation. She thought
of the big fragrantpackage that had been sent out as a
gift,and was lying fiftymiles away but un-get-at-able,
and felt far from saintlyas she resorted to the infusion of
old leaves. One Sunday evening there was a shout. A

canoe had arrived, and in it was a box. With sudden

prescienceJean flew for a hammer and chisel and broke

it open, and sure enough inside was the tea from Use.
Mary marvelled, and with all the young folk round her
812 MARY SLESSOR

stood and thanked God, the Lord of the Sabbath, for His
goodness. The beverage had never tasted so sweet and
invigorating. Though her thriftyScottish nature rejoiced
that she had been able to save a httle, she confessed that
she would never be a miser where tea was concerned.
Whenever she received package
invariablysent a
a she
"
share to old Mammy Fuller at Duke Town. Mammy,"
"
she told a home friend, has lived a holy and consecrated
life here for fiftyyears, and is perhaps the best-loved
woman in Duke Town. Uncle Tom in the old cabin is a

child in the knowledge of God Mammy.

to So we all
love to share anything with her, and she especially loves
a cup of tea."
The parents of the twin were at last persuaded to take
the big happy child home and provide for it. Four days
later they sent for Jean, who returned, carrying a weak,
pinched form that had death written on its face. It
succumbed shortly afterwards and that was the end of "

" "
Ma's strenuous fightand Jean's ten weeks' toil by night
and day.

XIV. A Vision of the Night

She was down at Use for Christmastide with all her

children about her, and was
very happy at seeing the
consummation of her efforts to build a new church. The

opening took place on Christmas Day.

"
"
A bonnie kirk it is," she wrote. Mr. Cruickshank
and
officiated, was at his very best. Miss Peacock, my dear
comrade and her young helperMiss Couper "
a fine lassie "
came

and spent the whole day, grand time, the biggest

so we had a

Christmas I've ever had in Calabar. with

Three tali flag-poles
trade-cloth flagsin the most flaming colours hung over the

villagefrom point to point embracing the old and the new

churches. The people provided a plain breakfast in their
several homes for over eighty of our visitors,who therefore
stayed over the forenoon. It made our Christian population
look fairlyformidable, and certainlyvery reputableas a force
for uplifting and regeneratingsociety. It looks but yesterday
that they were a horde of the most unlikely and unresponsive
people one could approach, and yet the Gospel has made of
 ONWARD STILL 313

them already something to prove that it is the power of God

unto salvation to a people and to an individual every and
anywhere."
"
It was to her one of the reddest of red-letter days,"
such a day as only comes at rare intervals, and she fell
"
into the snare, as she said, of being carried away with it,"
with the result that at night she was down with fever.
This kept recurring every alternate night. It was the
harmattan season, in which she always wilted like some
delicate flower in the sun, and she grew so limp and fragile
that she could not sit up. She felt that she would be
compelled to go home in the summer with the Macgregors,
but the idea frightenedher, chieflybecause of the stir that
"
had been caused by the honour she had received. I
dare not appear at home after all this publicity," she said.
"
I simply could not face the music." As she recovered
a littleshe superintendedthe work of the girlsoutside, and
was amused at the way her advice was now received.
"
Jean and Annie do not hesitate to set it aside quietly
in their superior way ; it often works out better than
"
mine, truth to tell though I say "
it does so by accident !
This was a different house-mother from the one who ruled

years before.
In one nights,tossingin semi-delirium, she
of her fever
had a vision. She had been following the Chapman-
Alexander Mission in Glasgow with keen interest,and in
the long watches her excited brain continued to dwell on

the ijieetings. She dreamt, or imagined, that out of

gratitude for what had been accomplished, two young
Glasgow engineers had taken a six months' holiday,and
come out with their motor car to Calabar. They spent
their days running up and down the Government Road
through Ibibio, singingand giving evangelistic addresses,
she interpreting, the girls, who were packed into the cars,
doing the catering and cooking, and the Government
"
Rest Houses providing the lodging. What a night it
" "
was ! she wrote. The bairns were afraid, for I was

babbling more than usual, but to me it was as real as if

it had all happened. We ran backwards and forwards
between Itu and Ikpe,spending alternate Sundays with the
314 MARY SLESSOR

Churches, and taking Miss Peacock to her outstations, and

visitingMiss Welsh. It was magnificent."
The vision did not pass away ; she took it as a signfrom
God ; and out of it in the morning she formulated a scheme
which one day she hoped would be realised. "It is
"
strange," she said, that it has never dawned on us

before. Here is the Government making use of the

motor car to do its work. Why should not the Church
do the same when the roads are here ? It would permit
one man to do the work of three, it would save strength,
and make for efficiency.The why
reason I have been
able to go farther than my is that
colleagues, I have had
the privilegeof using Government conveyances by land
and water ; to have a car and a mechanic missionarywould
be supplying us with a grand opportunity for multiplied
service." She
expatiated on the matter in letters to her
friends at home, and the longer she thought of the idea,
the more it fired her imagination. Within a few days she
was flyingover the ground in the Government car on her
" "

way to Ikpe with many "

a ca' canny to the driver "

and her experiencebrought the conviction that the proposal

was a good one. It might be too novel a plan for the
Church to take up but
officially, she thought wealthy
men in Scotland might materialise her vision as a thank-
offering.
XV. Storming the Citadels

The Government road went as far as Odoro Ikpe, where

a Rest House, used as a shelter by officialson the march or

on judging tours, and the one seen by Mr. Macgregor, had

been built on the brow of a hill above the township. It
was Saturday when she arrived here, and she climbed the
ascent, taking over an hour to do it, and was captivated
by the situation. It had the widest outlook of any spot
she had seen ; she seemed to be on the very roof of the
world. A vast extent of bush stretched out before her,
unbroken save by the white road winding down the hill,
and instead of the stiflingstillness of the plains,a soft
breeze blew and cooled the atmosphere. It was five miles
from Ikpe, and the centre of a number of populous towns.
316 MARY SLESSOR

"
No, no, we will not have it. Our town will spoil."
"
After much talk they said, Go home. Ma, and we
"
shall discuss it and see again the native way of
you "

ending a matter.
Her next discussion was with the town of Odoro Ikpe
itself. The old chief was urbane, and gave her every
honour. Bringing out a plate with 3s. upon it, he said,
"
Take that to buy food while staying here, as we have no

market yet." She it, put her took the money, kissed
"
hands on his head, and thanked him, callinghim father,"
but requestedhim to take it and buy chop for the children,
and she would eat with him another day. The old man

went away and returned with some yams, which he asked

her to cook and they talked he graduallylost his
eat. As

fear, and then she asked him bluntlyabout his attitude to

the Gospel. He and his big men told her frankly what
their difficulties were, and these she demolished one by
one. After two hours'
fencing and arguing the tension

gave way to a hearty laugh, and the old chief said, with a

sweep of his hand toward the crowd :

"
Well, Ma, there they are, take them and teach them
what you like "
and you, young men, go and build a house
for book."
" " " "
No ! cried Ma," we don't begin or end either
with a house. We begin and end with God in our

hearts."
A
young man came forward, and without removing a
"
quaint hat he wore, said, Ma, we can't take God's word
if you bring twins and twin-mothers into our town."
" "
It was out at last. Instead of arguing, Ma looked
at him as witheringlyas she could and replied; "I speak
with men and people worthy of me, and not with a puny
bush-boy such as you have shown by your manners you
are."
" "
Off came the hat, and then Ma spoke to him in such
a way that the crowd fain to cry : were
"
Ma, forgive! forgive! he does not know any better."
There was no more after that about twins, and when
she left she felt that progress had been made.
Striking while the iron was hot she sent to Ikpe for
 ONWARD STILL 317

school books, and going into the highways and byways, she
began to coax the lads to come and learn. They stood
aloof, half-afraid and half-scornful,and would not respond.
Then she adopted a flank movement, and began to speak
to them about the rubber and cocoa which the Government
were planting in the district,and tried to awaken their
interest and ambitions
by telling them how the world was
moving outside their home circle. Gradually the sullen-
ness gave way, and they began to ask questions and to
chat. She took the alphabet card, but they shied at the
strange-lookingthing, and would not speak. One little
fellow who had been at Ikpe, and knew more than the
"
others, began tremblingly, A B ," and she and Alice " "

who was with her, joined in until one after another rendered,
sur-

and before long ^all were shouting the letters.

By the end of the week the lads were coming every spare
hour for lessons, and would scarcelygive her time to eat.
The Ikpe disciples had ruefullywatched this develop-
ment,
and at last went to her :

"
Ma, we areglad you have got a footing out here,
"
but are you forsakingus ?
Her heart ached at the words, and although now reduced
to coming and going in her Cape cart, she determined to

give them every alternate week when she was not at Use.
Thus from now onwards she was keeping three centres

going by her own efforts.

After a week at Ikpe in fulfilment of her promise, she
returned to Odoro Ikpe to hold the first Sabbath service.
A play was being enacted in the town, and scores of naked

young men and women were dancing to the compelling

throb of the drum. But some Ikpe and Ndot lads came

to support the service, and their presence helped the local

sympathisers to come forward. It was very simple; she
said it would have seemed babyish to Europeans, but it

was an epoch to the natives. Another meeting was held

in the afternoon ; and at night in the dark square, lit only
by the lightof the fires where the women were cooking
their meal, she stood, and again proclaimed, with sionate
pas-
earnestness, the love of God and the power of Christ
to save and uplift. It was, no doubts a day of small things,
318 MARY SLESSOR

but she knew from

long experiencethat small things were
not to be despised.
A month later,when she was at Ikpe holdingthe services,
she was astonished to see thirty of the Odoro Ikpe lads
marching into church. They had grown so interested,
that they had come the five miles to hear her speak. The
Ikpe people at once rose and gave the strangers their
seats, findinga place for themselves on the floor. It was
patheticto see their earnest faces and their ignorance as
to what they should do during the service,which was more
elaborate than they had been accustomed to. Having
brought some food they cooked it at the house and remained
all day.
On her return to Odoro Ikpe the chiefs appeared one
morning, and asked her to come out at once and survey
the land, and choose a site for a station. Her heart leapt
at the significance of the request. She happened to be
in her night attire, but as it might have been full Court
dress for all they knew, she went and tramped over the
land and chose what she believed would be the best situa-
tion
in the Mission. It was on the brow of a hill looking
over-

a magnificent stretch of country, across which a

cool breeze blew all the time. She immediately planned

a house "
one of six rooms "
three livingrooms above and
stores and hall and
girls'rooms below, with a roof of
corrugated iron for securityagainstwind and insects,and
prepared to go down to Use to buy the material.
There was one town still holding out, Ibam (where she
had been told to "go home and they would think about
it "), and she prayed that it, too, might accept the new
conditions. On the Sunday before she left for Use, while
she was conducting service, six strange men came in and
"
waited until all had gone. We are from Ibam," they
"
said. Come at once. Ma, and we will build a place
to worship God, and will hear and obey." She was so

upliftedthat she seemed to live on air for the next few

days. The villagers of Ibam gave up their best yard to

her, and crowds came to the meetings.
All the citadels of heathenism in the district had now

been stormed. Sittingone night on the floor of the Rest

 ONWARD STILL 319

House, her leaningagainst the mud

aching back wall, a
candle, stuck in its own grease, giving her light, she wrote
to her friends in Scotland, telling them that she was the
happiest and most gratefulwoman in the world.

XVI. Clarion Calls

The discoveryofcoal up in the interior at Udi brought

a new interest into her life,for her far-seeingmind at once

realised all the it contained.

possibilities She believed it
would revolutionise the conditions of West Africa. And
when a railway was projectedand begun from Port Har-
court, west of Calabar, to Udi, and there was talk of an

extension to Itu, she sought to make her friends at home

grasp significanceof the development. That

the full
railway would become the highway to the interior, and
Calabar would cease to be so important a port. Great
stretches of rich oil-palm country would be opened up
and exploited. She urged the need for more men and

women to work amongst the rank heathenism that would

soon collect and fester in the new industrial and commercial
centres. Up there also was the menace of Mohammedanism.
" "
Shall the Cross or the Crescent be first ? she cried.
" "
We need men and women, oh, we need them !
She had been saddened by the closingof stations for
furloughs,and the apathy of the Church at home.

We are lower in numbers in Calabar than ever "

fewer, if
you except the artisans in the Institute, than in the old
days
before the doors were opened ! Surely there is something
very far wrong with our Church, the largestin Scotland. Where
are the men ? Are there no heroes in the making among us ?
No hearts beating high with the enthusiasm of the Gospel ?
Men smile nowadays at the old-fashioned idea of sin and hell
and broken law and a perishingworld, but these made men,
men of purpose, of power and achievement, and self-denying
devotion to the highest ideals earth has known. We have
really no workers to meet all this opened country, and our

Church, to be honest, should stand back and give it to some

one else. But oh ! I cannot think of that. Not that. Lord !

For how could we meet the Goldies,the Edgerleys,the Waddells,
320 MARY SLESSOR

the Andersons ? How can our Church look at Christ who has
given us the privilegeof making Calabar history,and say to
" "
Him, Take it back. Give it to another ?

She had been deeply interested in the great World's

Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910, and had
contrasted it with State diplomacy and dreadnoughts,but
was disappointedthat so littlepractical result had followed.
"
"
After all," she said, it is not committees and organisa-
tions
from without that is to bring the revival,and to send
the Gospel to the heathen at home and abroad, but the
livingspiritof God working from within the heart."
All this made her more than ever convinced of the value
of her own policy. She believed in the roughest methods
for a raw country like Nigeria. Too much civilisation
and concentration was bad, both for the work and the
natives. thought, an
There should be, she office of
itinerating
or travellingmissionary permanently attached
to the Mission. It would have its drawbacks, as, she recog-
nised,
all pioneer work had, but it wouldalso pay well.
She was not sure whether the missionaries did right in
remaining closelyto their stations,and believed that short
regularexpeditionsinto the interior would not only keep
them in better health, but give them a closer knowledge
of the people. Not much teaching could be given in this
way, but their confidence would be won, and the way
would be prepared for further
hope advance. Her lay in
women workers ; theypioneers than men, made better
and as they were under no suspicionof being connected
with the Government, their presence was unobjectionable
to the natives. They could move into new spheres and
do the spade-work ; enter the homes, win a hearing,guide
the people in quiet ways, and live a simple and natural
life amongst them. When confidence had been secured,
men missionaries could enter and train and develop,and
build up congregationsin the ordinary manner.

Even then she did not see why elaborate churches

should be erected. She was always so afraid to put
anything forward save Christ, that she was quite satisfied
"
with her little mud kirks." The raw heathen knew
nothing of the Church as white people understood it. To
 ONWARD STILL 321

give them costlybuildingwas

a to give them a foreign
thing in which they would worship a foreignGod. To
let them worship in an environment of their own setting
meant, she believed, a more real apprehensionof spiritual
truth. The money they were trained to give,she would
spend, not on buildingsso much as on pioneer work
among the tribes.
So, too, with the Mission houses. She thought these
should be as and
simple as possible, semi-native in style;
such, she believed, to be the driest and most healthy. In

any case disease could come into a house costing"200, as

"
into costing"20, and
one there was such a thing as God's
providence." Still,she recognised the importance of
preservingthe health of newcomers, and admitted that her
"
ideas might not apply to them. It would be wrong,"
"
she said, to insist on mud-huts for a nervous or aesthetic
person."
It was feelingthat ran through her
much the same

objectionto the natives suddenly transformingthemselves

into Europeans. Her views in this respect differed a good
deal from those of her co-workers. One Sunday, after a
specialservice,a number of women who had arrayed them-
selves
in cheap European finery, boots and stockingsand
all,called upon her. She sat on a chair, her back to them,
and merely threw them an occasional word with an angry
jerk of her head. They were very upset, and at last one
" "
of them ventured to ask what was the matter. Matter !
she exclaimed, and then spoke to them in a way which
brought them all back in the afternoon clothed more

appropriately.
On all these questionsshe thought simply and naturally,
and not in terms of scientific theory and over-elaborated
system. She believed that the world was burdened and

paralysed by conventional methods. But she did not

"
undervalue the aesthetic side of existence. So many
think that we missionaries live a sort of glorified
glamour
of a life,and rightto think of any of the little
have no

refinements and elegancies which rest and sooth tired and

overstrained nerves certainlycoarseness and
"

uglinessdo
not help the Christian life,and ugly things are not as a
Y
 322 MARY SLESSOR

rule cheaper than beautiful ones." Her conviction was

that a woman worth her salt could make any kind of house
beautiful. At the same time she believed " and proved
it in her own life " that the spirit-filled
woman was to a

great independent of all accessories.

extent
What always vexed her was to think of thousands
of girlsat home livinga purposeless life,spending their
time in fashionable wintering-places, and undergoing the
strenuous toil of conventional amusement. Why," she "

"
asked, could they not come out here and stay a month
or six months doing lightwork, helpingwith the children,
cheering the staff ? What a wealth of interest it would
introduce into their lives ! "
She declared it would be
better than stoningwindows, for she had no patiencewith
the policy of the women who sought in blind destruction
the solution of and
political social evils. "
I'm for votes
for women, but I would prove my right to it by keeping
law and helping others to keep it. God-like motherhood
is the finest sphere for women, and the way to the tion
redemp-
of the world."
Many a clarion call she sent to her sisters across the
waters :

"
Don't
grow up a nervous old maid ! Gird yourselffor the
battle outside somewhere, and keep your heart young. Give

up your whole being to create music everywhere, in the light

places and in the dark places,and your life will make melody.
I'm a witness to the perfect joy and satisfaction of a single
life " with a tail of human tag-rag hanging on. It is rare !
It is exhilarating
as as an aeroplaneor a dirigibleor whatever
they are that are always tryingto get up and are always coming
down! Mine has been such a joyousservice,"she wrote again.
. . .

"
God has been good to mc, letting me serve Him in this humble

way. I cannot thank Him enough for the honour He conferred

upon me when He sent me to the Dark Continent."

Over and over again she put this idea of foreignservice

before her friends at home. Some were afraid of a rush of
cranks who would not obey rules and so forth. She
"
laughed the idea to scorn. I wish I could believe in
a crush "
but there are sensible men and women enough in
the Church who would be as law-abidinghere as at home."
324 MARY SLESSOR

real sense love-letters magic giftof sympathy

; and her
made them always prized by the recipients.She had no
home people of her own, and she pressed her nearest
" "
friends to make her one of the family." If," she
"
would say, you would let me share in any ments
disappoint-
or troubles, I would feel more worthy of your love "

"
I will tell you some of mine as a counter-irritant ! Many
"
followed her behest with good result. I'm cross this
morning," wrote a young missionaryat the beginning of a
"
long letter, and I know it is all my own fault, but I am
sure that writing to you will put me in a better temper.
When things go wrong, there is nothing like a talk with
you. . . .
Now I must stop, the letter has worked the
cure." Her letters of counsel to her colleagueswhen they
were in difficulties with their work were helpful and
inspiringto thehighest degree. On occasions of trial or

sorrow she always knew the right word to say. How

delicately, for instance, would she try to take the edge off
the griefof bereaved friends by describing the arrival of the
spiritin heaven, and the glad welcome that would be got
"
there from those who had gone before. Heaven is just
a meeting and a homing of our real selves. God will never
make us into new personalities.Everlasting life take "

that word lifeand turn it over and over and press it and

try to measure it, and see what it will yield. It is a

magnificent idea which comprises everything that heart
"
can yearn after." On another occasion she wrote, I do
not like that petitionin the Prayer Book, From sudden
death, good Lord deliver us. I never could pray it. It is
surelyfar better to see Him at once without pain of parting
or physical debility.Why should we not be like the
apostlein his confident outburst of praiseand assurance,
' ' " "
For I am persuaded ? Again : Don't talk about
. . .

the cold hand of death " it is the hand of Christ."

It was not surprisingthat her correspondence became
greater at last than she could manage. The pile of un-
answered

communications was like a millstone round her

neck, and in these latter days she began to violate an

old rule and snatch time from the hours of night. Headings
" " "
such as 10 P.M.," Midnight," 3.45 a.m.," became
 ONWARD STILL 325

frequent,yet she would give love's full measure to e very-

correspondent,and there was seldom sign of undue strain.

" "
If my pen is in a hurry," she would say, my heart is
not." When she was ill and unable to write, she would
simply lie in bed and speak to her Father about it all.
There was a number of friends to whom she wrote
and
regularly, whose relations to her may be judged from
"
the manner in which they began their letters. My lady
" "
of Grace," My beloved missionary," Dearest sister,"
were some of the phrases used. But her nature demanded
at least one confidante to whom she could
lay bare her
inmost thoughts. She needed a safety-valve,
a city of
refuge,a heart and mind with whom there would be no

reservations, and Providence provided her with a kind of

confessor from whom she obtained all the understanding
and sympathy and love she craved for. This was Miss
Adam, who, while occasionally from
differing her in minor
matters of
policy,never, during the fifteen years of their
friendship,once failed her. What she was to the lonely

missionaryno one can know. Mary said she knew without

"
being told what was in her heart, and how sweet," she
"
added, it is to be understood and have love reading
between the lines." Month by month she sent to Bowden
the intimate story of her doings,her troubles, hopes, and
fears, and joys, and received in return wise and tender
counsel and encouragement and practicalhelp. She kept
the letters under her pillowand read and reread them.
Never self-centred or self-sufficient, she depended upon
the letters that came from home to a greater extent than
many of her friends suspected. She needed the inflow
of love into her own life,and she valued the letters that
brought her cheer and stimulus and inspiration.Once
she wastravelling on foot, and had four miles of hill-road
to go, and was feelingvery weary and depressed at the
magnitude of the work and her own weakness, when a

letter was handed to her. It was the only one by that

mail, but it was enough. She sat down, and in the quiet
of the bush she opened it,and as she read all the tiredness
fled, the heat was forgotten, the road Avas easy, and she
went blithelyup the hill.
326 MARY SLESSOR

Outside circle of her friends many

the people wrote to
her from Scotland, and some from England, Canada, and
America. Boys and girlswhom she had never seen sent
her letters tellingher of their cats and dogs, of football,
and lessons and school. With her repliessometimes went

a snake skin, a brass tray, a miniature paddle, or other

curio. But it was the letter,rather than the
gift,that was
"
enjoyed. As one girlwrote : You are away out helping

the poor black people,and

kiddies and just as busy doing
good as possible, and yet you've time to send a letter home to
a littleScottish girl, a letter fragrant with everythinglovely
and good, that makes one try harder than ever to do right,

and that fillsone's heart with beautiful helpfulthoughts."

To her own bairns, wherever they were, she wrote
letters full of household news and gentleadvice. To Dan
at the Institute she wrote regularly very pleased she was "

when she heard he had been at lectures on bacteria and

understood them !"
and whenMaggie were Alice and
inmates of the Edgerley Memorial School she kept in the
closest touch with them. Here is a specimen of her
letters,written chieflyin Efik, and addressed apparently
to Alice :

My precious Children " I am thinking a lot about you,

for you will soon be losingour dear Miss Young ; and while I
am sorry for myself I am sorrier for you and Calabar. How
are you all ? and have you been good ? and are you all trying
to serve and please Jesus your Lord ? Whitie has gone to
sleep. She has been making sand and yono-ing my bedroom,
the bit that you did not finish. Janie has yoiio-dthe high
bits, so Whitie is very tired. Janie has gone to stay all night

with the twin-mother and her baby in the town where Effiom
used to live long ago. One baby was dead, but she is keeping
"
the other, and the chief says, Ma, you are our mother, but
what you have done will be the death of us." But I tell them

justto die.
The mother almost died. One child was born dead, and
Janie and I stayed all night there. Mary is at Ikot Ekpene.
We saw her as we passed in the motor. The whole town came

to-day and put splendidbeams in the verandah both in front

and behind, swept all behind, and put on a corrugated iron
roof, did the porch and various other things,and the safe.
 ONWARD STILL 327

Good-bye. Are you well ? We are well, through God's

goodness. Are you coming soon for holidays ? My heart is
hungry to see you and to touch your hands. Greetingsto Ma
Fuller. Greet Ma Wilkie and Mr. Wilkie for me. Greet each
other. All we greet you. With much love to Maggie, Dan,
Asuquo, " I am, in all my prayers, your mother,
M. Slessor.

The girlsand Dan also wrote regularlyto her in Efik "

such letters as this :

I ampleasedto send this littleletter to you. Are you well ?

I am fairlywell through the goodness of God. Why have you
delayed to send us a letter ? Perhaps you are too busy to
write, but we are coming home in a fortnight. If you hear
we are on the way come quickly out when you hear the voices
of the people from the beach",because you know it will be us.

Greet Whitie, Janie, Annie and all,and accept greetingfrom

your loving child Maggie.

After her death there was found at Use a bundle of

"
papers, evidentlymuch treasured, labelled My children's
letters."

XVIII. A Lonely Figure

She returned to Use, but only remained long enough to

arrange for the material for the house at Odoro Ikpe. Of

the specialdifficulties that would beset her on this occasion,
she was quite aware. The timber supply on the ground
was scarce, transport would be expensive,there was no

local skilled labour, and she was unable to work with her
own hands, while it was not easy to procure carriers and
other work-people,since the Government, with the consent
of the chiefs,were taking batches of men from each village
for the coalfields and railway,a measure she approved, as
it prevented the worst elements in the community drifting
there. But nothing ever discouragedher, and she returned
at the end of April and embarked once more, and for the
last time,
buildingoperations.
on

Friends kept tempting her to come to Scotland. Her

friend Miss Young was now Mrs. Arnot, wife of the Rev.
David Arnot, M.A., Blairgowrie,and from her came a
328 MARY SLESSOR

"
pressinginvitation to make her home at the manse. I
"
will meet you at Liverpool," Mrs. Arnot wrote, and
bring you straighthere, where you will rest and be nursed
back to health again." It was proposed that Alice should
come with her, and be left at Blairgowrie while Mary
visited her friends. She was delighted,and wrote gaily
"
that when she did come she would not be a week-end
visitor or a tea visitor,but a barnacle. It is,however, all
too alluring. One only thing can overtop it, and that is
duty as put into my hands by my King." Then she paints
a pictureof the pilesof timber and corrugated iron about
"
her for the buildingof a house, for the happy and privi-
leged
man or woman who shall take up the work of salvage,"
and of Ikpe waiting patiently, and the towns surrendering
"
on all sides,and adds, Put yourselfin my place,and with
an accession of strength given since I camped up here,
how could you do other than I have done ? I verily

thought to be with the Macgregors, but this came and the

strength has come with it, and there must be no more

moving till the house is up, when I hope and pray some
one will come to it. What a gloriousprivilegeit all is !
I can't think why God has so highly honoured and trusted
me."
She entered on a period of toil and tribulation which
proved to be one trying and exacting in her
of the most

life. The house itself was a simple matter. Large posts

were inserted in the ground, and split bamboos were

placed between ; cross pieceswere tied on with stripsof

the oil-palmtree, and then clay was prepared and pounded
in. But fiftymen and lads were employed, and she had
never handled so lazy, so greedy, so inefficient a gang.
Compelled to supervisethem constantly,she often had to
sit in the fierce sunshine for eight hours at a time ; then
with face unwashed and morning wrapper still on she
would go and conduct school. If she went to Ikpe for a

day, all the work done required to be gone over again.

Sometimes she lost all patience,and resorted to a little
"
muscular Christianity," which caused huge amusement,
but always had the desired effect. But she was very
"
philosophicalover it. It is all part of the heathen
 The HorsE on the Hill-top at Odoro Ikpe.

Note the "hen ladder" by which Miss Slessor ascended.

The Last Photograph of the Household.

Taken by Mr. Macgregor at Duke Town.

Behind "Ma," left to right, are Matthew, Maggie, Dan, and Jean. Beside her, on left,
is Whitie ; in front of Whitie is Alice sitting, and on the other side is Asoquo.
330 MARY SLESSOR

faith she looked hopefullyto the future, when those infant

stations about her would be occupied by consecrated men

and women.

XIX. When the Great War came

Into the African bush, the home

things that of many
white men cannot wasunderstand, there
stealing a troubled

sense of mystery. The air was electric with expectation

and alarm. Impalpable influences seemed fightingthe
feeble old woman on the lonelyhill-top.She was worried
by transport difficulties. What the causes were she did
not know, but the material did not come, and as she was

paying the carpenter a high wage she was compelled to

dismiss him. What work there was to do she attempted
to accomplish with her own thin, worn hands.
In the earlydays of August the natives began to whisper
to each other strange stories about fightinggoing on in
the big white world beyond the seas. News came from
Calabar that the European firms had ceased to buy pro-
duce
: canoes which went down river for rice and kerosene,
returned again with their cargoes of nuts and oil. She
wondered what happening. Then
was excited natives
came to her in a panic,with tales of a mad Europe and of
Britain fightingGermany. She pooh-poohed the rumours
and outwardly appeared calm and unafraid in order to

reassure them, but the silence and the suspense were

unbearable. On the 13th she received letters and heard

of the outbreak of the war. All the involved
possibilities
in that tremendous event came crowding upon her mind,
the immense sufferingand sorrow, and, not least to her,
the perilto Calabar. Nigeria was conterminous with the
Cameroons, and she knew the Germans well enough to

anticipatetrouble. The cost of articles,too, she realised,

would go up, and as she had little food in the house she
at once sent to the market for supplies. Already prices
were doubled. Her
oil gave out, and she had
kerosene
to resort to lightedfirewood to read at prayers.
She went on bravely with the routine duties of the
station "

Dan, who was her, helping in the school

now with
"
" but she longed impatiently for news. Oh, for a
 ONWARD STILL 331

"
telegram," she would cry,boy bawling in the
even a
"
street ! The officer at Ikot Ekpene, knowing her anxiety,
sent over the latest intelligence, but she half suspected
that he kept back the worst. The worst came in her
first war mail which arrived when she was sittingsuper-
intending
operationsat the house. She read why Britain
"
had entered the conflict and exclaimed, Thank God !
our nation is not aggressor." Then came
the the story of
the invasion of Belgium and the reverses of the Allies.
Shocked and sad she essayed to rise,but was unable to

move. The girlsran to her aid and lifted her up, but she
could not stand. Exerting her will-power and praying
for strength she directed the girlsto carry her over to

the Rest House and put her to bed. Ague came on, and
in half an hour she was in a ragingfever which lasted,with
scarcelyan interval, for a fortnight. She struggled on
amidst increasingdifficulties and worries, the horrors of
the war with her nightand day. Her old enemy, diarrhoea,
returned, and she steadilyweakened and seemed entering
the valleyof the shadow. She did not fear death, but the
thought of passing away alone in the bush troubled her,
for her skull might be seized and be worshipped as a

powerful juju by the people.

At last she lay in a stupor as if beyond help. It was
a scene which suggested the final act in Dr. Livingstone's
life. The girls were crying. The church lads stood
alarmed and awed. Then they raised her in her camp-
bed and marched with her the five miles to Ikpe. Next
morning they lifted the bed into a canoe and placed her
under a tarpaulinand paddled her down the Creek. They
landed at Okopedi beach, where she lay in the roadway in
the moonlight,scarcelybreathing. The agent of a trading-
house brought restoratives and sent for Dr. Wood, then
at Itu, who accompanied her to Use and waited the night
as he feared she would not recover. All through the
hours her mind was occupied with the war and the soldiers
in the trenches.
Next day she was a little better,but would not hear of
going to Itu to be cared for there. To her Use was home
where the children could minister to her, but realising
her
332 MARY SLESSOR

lack of strengthshe sent a message to Miss Peacock asking

her to come over. Miss Peacock said to her fellow-
"
worker, Ma must be very ill before she would send for

any one," and cycled to Use at

she once. Mary confided
"
to her that it might be the end, and Oh," she exclaimed,
"
if
only the war were over and my children safe in the
"
Kingdom, how gladly would I go ! She called the
bairns to her and told them what to do in the event of
her death. Like all natives in the presence of serious
illness they were greatly upset and wept but
bitterly, as

the disorder passed they began to think that she would

get better, and went about their duties, Jean to her
marketing, and Alice to the care of the house, with Whitie
to help,while Maggie looked after the baby.
The shadow of the war continued to darken her heart.
She agonised for the cause which her native land had taken
up, and many a cry went up to God on its behalf in the
hour of trial. Miss Peacock remained nights,and several
returned Ikotobong with a
to strong presentiment that
" "
Ma was not to be long with them, and she and Miss
Couper arranged to keep in touch with her as closelyas
possible.
As she plodded on towards strengthand as better news
arrived about the war situation she began to be more
like herself and take up her old duties. For a time she
lay in the verandah on a deck chair ; and then went to
the church, conducted the Sunday services,but was obliged
to sit all the time and lean her body againstthe table.
communion-
Yet in the midst of her weakness and suffering
she had always a bright laugh and a word of encourage-
ment
for others. Reluctantly she came to the conclusion
that nothing would heal her but a voyage home, and as
she was longing for a few more hours it was not
"

years
now "
of work she made up her mind to face it, and to
include in her furlough a visit to the graves of her mother
and sister at Exeter. The difficulty of the east wind in
Scotland was overcome by a proposal from Mrs. Arnot,
who in the
mystery of things,had suddenly been bereft
of her husband, that she would take a small house where
"
they could live together in quiet. I shall meet you,"
 ONWARD STILL 333

"
that lady wrote, and make a home for you and care for

you if God puts it into your heart to come." The ful

wonder-
kindness of the offer brought tears to her eyes and she
consented with a great content. Her plan was to return
to Odoro Ikpe, complete the house, and leave for Scotland
early in the spring; and she asked Miss Adam to send
her a hat and boots and other articles which civilisation
demanded. Her
only regret was at leaving her people
"
and speciallythose at Ikpe. It is ten years since I
first took them on, and they have never got a teacher yet.
"
It is bitterlyhard ! Miss Peacock and Miss Couper
noticed, however, that the old recuperativepower which
had always surprisedthem was gone, and one day she
said that she had been overhauling her desk and tearing

up letters in case anything should happen.

The tragedy of the war came home personallyto her.
Two of her official friends, Commander G. Gray and
Lieutenant H. A. Child, C.M.G., were servingin the Navy
and were both drowned by the capsizing of a whaler
when crossingthe bar at the entrance to the Nyong River.
"
They were my oldest and most intimate friends here,
capable, sane Empire -builders," and she sorrowed for
them with a great sorrow. Sometimes her old fighting
spiritwas roused by the news of the deeds of the enemy.
"
Oh if I were thirtyyears younger, and if I were a man !
. .
We .
must not have peace until Germany licks the
dust and is undeceived and stricken once for all." Her
comments brought out the fact that she had followed
European events very closelyduring the past thirtyyears,
whilst her letters to her faint-hearted friends in Scotland
showed her usual insight:
God does not mean you and me to carry the burden, and
German soldiers are flesh and blood and must giveout by-and-by,
and they cannot create new armies, and with long-drawn out
lines of battle on East and West they can't send an army that
could invade Britain. They could harass, that's all,and our

women are not Belgians; they would fighteven German soldiers.

Yes ! they would stand up to William the Execrated. over,
More-
Zeppelinscan do a lot of hurt,but they can't take London ;
and Ostend and Antwerp are no nearer Britain for any kind of
334 MARY SLESSOR

air attack than Berlin is, and above all our perspectiveis
doubtless better than yours "

any one can see that to try and

take towns and tofightin streets filled with civilians has not

a pennyworth of militaryvalue. It is a sheer waste of energy

and life which should have been utilised on the armies and
strongholds of a country. Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, even
Paris, had they got it, would be a mere blare of trumpets, a
flash in the pan, a spectacularshow, and if they took Edinburgh
or London or Aberdeen, it would be the same, they would still
have to reckon with a nation or nations. It has all been a

mistake for their own downfall, and they will clear out of
Belgium poorer than they entered it. Haven't the East Indians
done nobly ? Bravo our Allies !

"
She had now fallen into calmer mood. Miss Slessor,"
"
she would say severelyto herself, why do you worry ?
Is God not fit to take care of His own universe and purpose ?
We are not guiltyof
aggressionor lust of conquest,
any
and we can trust Him to bring us through. He is not
to be turned aside from the working out of His purpose
by any War Lord." She always fell back on the thought,
"
"
The Lord reigneth as on a soft pillow and rested
there. Writing one morning at 6 o'clock she described
the beauty of the dawn and the earth refreshed and cooled
and the hope and the mystery of a new day opening
out, and contrasted it with the darkness and cold and
"
fog experiencedby the army and navy. God is always
"
in the world," she said ; the sunshine will break out

and light will triumph." And she did not ignore the
''
deeper issues, May our nation be sent from its pleasures
to its knees, and the Church be awed and brought back
to Him."
On Christmas Day a service was held at which she
intimated the opening of the subscriptionlist for the
Prince of Wales' Fund. She did not like to speak of war

among Christian nations to natives ; but it was current

history,and she explanation she could,

made the best
though she was glad to turn their thoughts to the day of
National Intercession on the following Sabbath. Dan
acted as interpreter in the evening to Mr. Hart, who gave
an address.
 ONWARD STILL 335

To a friend she wrote :

There will be few merry Christmasses Europe this

in year.
But, thank God, there will be a more profound sense of all
Christ came to be and do for mankind, and a closer union and
communion between Him and His people,through the sadness
and insufficiency of earthlygood. He will Himself draw near,
and will fillempty chairs in lonelyhomes and hearts, and make
His people aye and thousands
"
who have not sought Him
" in

prosperity "
to know that here and now He is the Resurrection
and the Life, that he that believeth in Him shall never die.

On New Year's Day Miss Peacock and Miss Couper

went to spend the afternoon with her, and the former
writes :

According to old-time customs I had made her her favourite

plum-pudding and sent it over with a message that we meant

to come to tea on New Year's Day. On our arrival the tea-table

was set, and the plum-pudding with a rose out of the garden
stuck the top was
on on the table. Miss Slessor was as happy
as a and said she had to exercise self-control to
girl, keep from
tasting the pudding before we arrived. And we had a
merry
meal. Then, when we left,she had to escort us to the end of
the road. A new tenderness seemed to have come into her
life,and with regardto those with whom she differed,she seemed
to go out of her way to say the kindest things possible. She
spoke to me of something she had written which she had torn
"

up and said, I wonder I could have been so hard." It was

not difficult to see the last touches of the Master's hand to the
life He had been moulding for so many years.

XX. The Time of the Singing of Birds

At the turn of the year her thoughts were again with her
mother who had passed away then, twenty-nine years
before. She was feelingvery weak, but read and wrote

as usual. Her last letter to Miss Adam told, amongst

other things,of the previousday's service and how Annie's
little girlwould run about the church and point to her
" ' '
and call to her " I can't say Don't bring her for there
should be room enough for the babies in our Father's
"
house." Her closingwords to her old friend were, God
336 MARY SLESSOR

be with you till we

again." Even in her feeble
meet
state she was always thinking of others. David had
taken his wife to Lagos,and her vivid imagination conjured
up all the dangersof the voyage, and she was anxious for
their safety. In the same letter in which she speaks of
them, written on the 5th, she pours out sympathy and
comfort to a lady friend in Edinburgh whose two sons

had joinedthe Forces.

My heart bleeds for my dear, dear friend,but God's

you,
love gave the mother heart its love and its yearningover its
treasures, so He will know how to honour and care for the
mother, and how to comfort her and keep her treasures for her.
Just keep hold on Him, dear one, and put your boys into His
hand, as you did when they were babies. He is able to keep
them safe in the most difficultand dangeroussituations. I am

constantl}'' praying with you, and with others of my friends,

who, justas you, are givingup their dearest and most precious
at the call of Duty. God can enrich them and you and all the
anxious and exposed ones even through the terrible fires. In
God's governance not one preciousthingcan ever be lost.

On Fridaythe 8th she sat on a deck-chair in the little

garden outside the door enjoyingthe sunshine,for the
harmattan wind was cold, and writingsome letters. The
last she penned was to Mrs. Arnot, in which she said she
"
was better though a wee shade weaker than usual."
It was never finished,and was found, later,on her pad.
The final words were : "I can't say definitely whether
I shall yet come in March "
if I be spared tillthen ..."
In the afternoon there was a recurrence of fever. Alice
tended unceasingly,
her seldom leavingher bedside, and
stretching herself,when in need of rest, on a mat beside
the bed. She was a great comfort to Mary. On Sunday

spirit againdominated body ; she struggled up, went over

to the church, and conducted service. Next day she was
suffering acutelyfrom diarrhcea and vomiting,and one of
the girls went to Ikotobong and summoned Miss Peacock,
who immediatelycycledover.
" "
I got a messenger,"says Miss Peacock, and sent
him to Itu stating the symptoms, and askingDr. Robertson
to come and see her. All the afternoon the vomitingand

* /
338 MARY SLESSOR

was never in her surroundings,for she paid httle attention

to these, but in the hidden Hfe which we caught glimpses
of now and then forgot herself and revealed
when she
what was in her mind with regard to the thingsthat count.
"
As the hours wore on, several times she signed to us
to turn her, and we noticed that her breathingwas becoming
more difficult. It was a very dark night,and the natives
were sound asleepin their houses, but I sent off two of the
girls to rouse two men to go to Itu ; and we waited anxiously
the coming of the doctor. A strange uneasiness seemed
to come upon us. All the girlswere round the bedside,
and now and then one or two would begin to weep. The
clock had been forgotten,and we did not know the time.
'
A cock crew, and one of the girlssaid, Day must be

dawning,' but when I drew aside the curtain there was

nothing but pitch darkness. It was not nearly daybreak,
and we felt that the death-angel was drawing very near.
Several times a change passed over the dear face, and
the girlsburst out into wild weeping ; they knew only
too well the sign of the dread visitor. They wished to

rush away, but I told them they must stay, and together
we watched until at 3.30 God took her to Himself. There
was no great struggleat the end ; justa gradualdiminishing
'
of the forces of nature, and Ma Akamba, The Great
Mother,' entered into the presence of the King."

"
And so the long life of toil was over. The time of the
"
singing of birds," she used to say, is where Christ is."
For her, now, the winter was past, the rain was over and

gone, the time of the singingof birds had come. . . .

When the girlsrealised that she was gone, they gave

way to their grief,and lamented their position in the
"
world. My mother is dead "

my mother is dead "

we

shall be counted as slaves now that our mother is dead."

The sound of the weeping reached the town and roused the
inhabitants from their slumbers. Men and women came

to the house and mingled their tears with those of the

household. They sat about on the steps, went into the
bedroom and gazed sorrowfullyon the white still face of
 ONWARD STILL 339

her whom they regarded as a mother and friend. As the

news was passed on, people came from Itu and the district
round, to see in death her who had been Eka kpukpru owo,
"
Everybody's Mother."
As soon as Mr. Wilkie received the telegram announcing
the end, he obtained a launch and sent it up with the Rev.
W. M. Christie,B.A., who, Mr. Macgregor being at home,
was incharge of the Institute. While it was the way
on

an English and an Efik service were being held at Itu.

The launch arrived at 5.30 p.m., the coffin was placed on
board, and the return voyage begun. It was midnight
ere Duke Town was reached, and the body rested at
Government Beach until dawn. There the mourners

gathered. Government officials,

merchants, and aries,
mission-
were all there. The
boys of the Institute were
drawn up on the beach, policemen were posted in the
streets, and the pupilsof Duke Town school continued the
line to the cemetery. All flagsflew at half-mast, and the
town was hushed and still. Great crowds watched the
procession, which moved along in silence. The coffin was

draped with the Union Jack, and was carried shoulder

high by the boat boys, who wore black singlets
and ing
mourn-

loin-cloths,but no caps.
At the cemetery on Mission Hill stood a throng of
natives. Old Mammy Fuller who had loved Mary so much,
sat aloneat the top of the grave. When the procession
was approaching she heard some women beginningto wail,
"
and at once rose.
"
Kutna oh, kutna oh" she said. Do not

cry, do not cry. Praise God from whom all blessings

flow.
Ma was great blessing."
a

A short and simpleservice was conducted by Mr. Wilkie

and Mr. Rankin, and some of the native members led the
" "
singingof When the day of toil is done," and Asleep
in Jesus." The coffin was lowered by eightof the teachers
of Duke Town School, and lilies and other flowers were

thrown upon it. Mammy Fuller uttered a gratefulsigh.

"
Safe," she murmured. One or two women wept quietly,
but otherwise there was absolute silence,and those who
know the natives will understand the restraint which they
imposed upon themselves. Upon the grave were placed
z2
340 MARY SLESSOR

crosses purple bougainvilleaand white and pink frangi-

of
panni, and in the earth was planted a slipfrom the rose
bush at Use, that it might grow and be symbolic of the

fragranceand purity and beauty of her life. . . .

"
Ma," said Mammy Fuller to Mrs. Wilkie when all was

over,
"
I don't know when I enjoyed anything so much ;

I have been just near heaven all the time."

XXI. Tribute and Treasure

Many paid to the dead pioneer. As soon

tributes were

as Sir Frederick Lugard, the Governor-General of Nigeria,

"
heard of the event he telegraphedto Mr. Wilkie : It is
with the deepest regret that I learn of the death of Miss
Slessor. Her death is a great loss to Nigeria." And later
came the formal black-bordered notice in the Government
Gazette :"

It is with the deepest regret that His Excellency the

Governor-General has to announce the death at Itu, on 13th

January, of Miss Mary Mitchell Slessor, Honorary Associate

of the Order Hospitalof St. John of Jerusalem in England.
of the
For thirty-nineyears, with brief and infrequentvisits to
England, Miss Slessor has laboured among the people of the
Eastern Provinces in the south of Nigeria.

By her enthusiasm, self-sacrifice,and greatness of character

she has earned the devotion of thousands of the natives among
whom she worked, and the love and esteem of all Europeans,
of class
irrespective or creed, with whom she came in contact.
She has died, as she herself wished, on the scene of her
labours, but her memory will live long in the hearts of her
friends,Native and European, in Nigeria.

Testimony regardingher qualities and work was given

in Scotland by the Mission Committees of the United Free
Church, by officials,missionaries, and others who knew
her, and by the Press, whilst from many parts of the world
came notices of her career which indicated how widely
known she had been. The appreciation which would

perhaps have pleased her most was a poem written by a

Scottish fifteen years of age, with whom

girl, she had carried
on a charming correspondence Christine G. M. Orr, "
 ONWARD STILL 341

daughter of Sheriff Orr, Edinburgh. She would, doubtless,

have had it included in any notice of her work, and here,
therefore, it is given :

THE LAMENT OF HER AFRICAN CHILDREN

She who loved us, she who sought us Watching at the silent midnight.
Through the wild untrodden bushlands, So that nothing harms His people ;
Brought healing, brought us comfort,
us Taught us how to love each other,
Brought the sunlight to our darkness, How to care for little children

She has gone" the dear white Mother" With a we knew

tenderness not,
Qone into the great Hereafter. How, courtesy and honour,
with
To respect the gentle women.
Never more on rapid waters Nor despise them for their weakness.
Shall shedip her flashing paddle, But, as wives and mothers, love them.

Nor again the dry leaves rustle

Thus she taught, and thus she laboured ;
'Neath her footstep in the forest,
Never more shall we behold her Living, spent herself to help us,
Dying, found her rest among us.
Eager, dauntless on her journeyings.
Let the dry, harsh winds blow softer,
Now the children miss their teacher, And the river's song fall lower,
And the
women mourn their helper ; While the forest sways and murmurs

And sick, the weak, the outcast

the In the mystery of evening.
Long that she once more might touch them, And the lonely bush lies silent,
Long to hear her speaking comfort, Silent with a mighty sorrow.

Long to feel her strong hand soothing.

Oh ! our mother" she who loved us.
Much in loneliness and danger. She who lost herself in service.
Fevered oft, beset with trouble. She who lightened all our darkness,
Still she strove for us, her children ; She has left us, and we mourn her

Taught us of the great good Spirit, With a lonely, aching sorrow.

He who dwells beyond the sunrise ; May the great good Spirit hear us,
Showed to us the love He bears us. Hear us in our grief and save us.
By her own dear loving-kindness ; Compass us with His protection
Told us not to fear the spirits, Till,through suffering and shadow.
Evil spiritsin the shadows. We with weary feet have journeyed.
For our Father-God is watching, And again our mother greets us

Watching through the cloudless daytime. In the Land beyond the sunrise.

Both the Calabar Council and the Women's Foreign

Mission Committee in Scotland felt that the most fitting
memorial to her would be the continuation of her work,
and arrangements accordinglymade for the appoint-
ment were

*and supervisionof teachers and evangelists at Use,

Ikpe, and Odoro Ikpe. Provision was also made for the
care of the children, Jean being placed at Use under Miss
Peacock's supervision. It was also decided to realise her
settlement scheme and call it the Mary Slessor Home for
Women and Girls, with a memorial missionary in charge.
It would have pleased her to know that the lady chosen
for the position was her old colleague,Mrs. Arnot, and that
she was supported by a friend in her home-city Dundee.
She had worked hard and waited long for the accomplish-
342 MARY SLESSOR

mcnt of this idea, and

she may yet, from above, see of the
travail of her soul and be satisfied. . . .

By and specialpossessionswere
by her more collected
and sent home. If she had been an ordinary woman one

might have expected to see a collection of the things that

a lady likes to gather about her ; the dainty trinkets and
souvenirs, the jewelleryand knicknacks that have pleasant
associations connected with them. When the little box
arrived it was filled less with these than with pathos and
tears. It held merely a few much-faded articles,one or

two Bibles, a hymn-book (thegiftof some twin-mother at

home), an old-fashioned scent -

bottle, pebble brooch,
a

hair bracelet, two old lockets, and her mother's

ring all "

these were evidentlyrelics of the earlydays a compass, "

and a fountain pen.

But there also came a large packet of letters, those
received during her last years, which revealed where her
treasures on earth were stored " in a multitude of hearts
whose love she had won. They were from men in Nigeria "

Government missionaries, and

officials, merchants " from
men and women in many lands, from the mothers and
" "
sisters of the boys to whom she had been kind, from
Church officials,from children "
all overflowing with
affection and admiration and love. She had often called
"
herself a rich woman." One learned from these letters
the reason why.

XXII. Seen and Unseen

Miss Slessor had a sure consciousness of her limitations,

and knew she was nothing but a forerunner, who opened
up the way and made it possiblefor others to come in and
take up the work on normal lines. Both in the sphere of
mission explorationand in the regionof ideas she possessed
the qualities of the pioneer, imagination,daring,patience, "

" and like all idealists she met with opposition.It was not,
however, the broad policyshe originated that was criticised,
so much as matters of detail, and no doubt there was

sometimes for
justification this. She admitted that she
 ONWARD STILL 348

had no giftsas an organiser,and when she engaged in

constructive work it was because there was no one else
to do it.
What she accompHshed, therefore, cannot be measured

only by the visible results of her own handiwork. The

Hope Waddell Institute was the outcome of her suggestions,

and from it has gone out a host of lads to teach in schools

throughout the country, and to influence the lives of

thousands of others. She laid the foundations of civilised
order in Okoyong, upon regularchurch and school
which
life has now been built.
successfully When she unlocked
the Enyong Creek, some were amused at the little kirks
and huts she constructed in the bush, and asked what they
were worth "

just a few posts plasteredwith mud, and a

sheet or two of corrugated iron. they representeda

But

spiritualforce and influence far beyond their material

value. They were erected with her life-blood, they
embodied her love for her Master and for the people,they
were outposts, the first dim lightsin the darkness of a
dark land, they stood for Christ Himself and His Cross.
And to-day there exist throughout the district nearly
fiftychurches and schools in which the work is being carried
on carefullyand methodically by trained minds. The
membership numbers nearly 1500, and there is a large
body of candidates and enquirersand over 2000 scholars.
The remarkable progress being made in self-support may
be gathered from the followingfigurestaken from the
accounts of the five Creek congregationsfor 1914 :

All these churches and others that she began are ing
spread-
the Gospel not only by direct effort,but also by means

of their members as they trade up and down the country.

344 MARY SLESSOR

One cannot estimate the value of her generalinfluence

on the natives ; it extended over an area of more than
2000 square miles, from all parts of which they came to
seek her help and advice, whilst her fame reached even to
Northern Nigeria,where she was spoken of as the "
good
White Ma who lived alone." To West Africans,a woman

is simply a chattel to be used for pleasureand gain, but

she gave them a new conceptionof womanhood, and gained
their reverence and confidence and obedience. Although
she came to upset all their ideas and customs, which sented
repre-
home and habit and life itself to them, they loved
her and would not let the wind blow on her. She thus
made it easy for other women agents to live and work
amongst them ; and probably there is no similar mission
field where these can dwell in such freedom and safety.
And through her womanhood she gave them some idea of
the power and beauty of the religionwhich could make
that womanhood possible. Her influence will not cease,
for in the African bush, where there are no dailynewspapers
to crowd out events and impressions,and tradition is
tenacious, she will be remembered in hut and harem and
by forest camp fire,and each generationwill hand down
to the next the story of the Great White Mother who lived
and toiled for their good.
Upon the Mission staff her example acted like a tonic.
Her tireless energy, her courage, her enthusiasm, were
infectious and stimulating to the highest degree, and
stirred many to action. Such
inspiringforce is a
an

valuable asset in a tropicalland, where everything tends

to languor and inertia. And in Scotland her influence was

also very great. Round her name and work gathered a

romance which
deepened and widened interest in the
missionary enterpriseof the Church. Her career strates
demon-
how important is the personal touch and tie in
sustaining and increasing the attraction of the work
abroad. By the spellof her personalityshe was able to
draw support not only from large numbers of people
within her own Church, but from many outside who had
little thought or care for missions. It was because she
was not a mere name on a list,but a warm, living,
inspiring,
346 MARY SLESSOR

being made, there are usually more changes amongst

them than amongst the men missionaries, on account of
resignationsfrom ill-health marriage. Yet in Nigeria
or

women have unlimited opportunitiesfor the employment

of their specialgifts.
The remarkable feature of the situation is that the
Mission is face to face with an
open door. It is not a

question of sittingdown in the midst of a religiously

difficult and even hostile community as in India or China,
and waiting patientlyfor admission to the hearts of the
people, but of entering in and taking possession. The
natives everywhere are clamouring for teachers and
missionaries, education, and enlightenment,and they are
clamouring in vain. The peril is that under the new
conditions governing the country, they will be lost to the
Christian Church. With intercommunication, Islam
freer
is spreading south. All Mohammedans are missionaries,
and their religion has peculiarattractions for the natives.
Already they are trading in the principaltowns, and in
Arochuku a Mullah smilingand expectant, and
is sitting,

ingratiatinghimself with the people. Here the position

should be strengthened; it is, as Miss Slessor knew, the
master-key to the Ibo territory,for if the Aros are Christian-
ised,

they will carry the evangel with them over a wide

tract of country.
Miss Slessor' s life was shadowed by the consciousness
of how little had been done, as well as by the immensity
of what was still to do. Making every allowance for the
initial difficulties that had to be overcome, and the long
process preparing the soil, the net result of seventy
of

years' effort seemed to her inadequate. There is only a

Christian community of 10,800, and a communion roll -

of 3412, and the districts contiguous to the coast have

alone been occupied,whilst no real impression has been
made on the interior. Over the vast, sun-smitten land
she wept, as her Master wept over the great city of old,
and she did what she could "
no woman could have done
more " to redeem its people,and sought,year in, year out,
to make the Church rise to the height of its wonderful
opportunity "
in vain.
 ONWARD STILL 347

She knew, however, that the presentationof starthng

facts figuresalone would never
and rouse it to action ;
these might touch the conscience for a moment, but the

only thing that would awaken interest and keep it active

and militant would be a revival of love for Christ in the

hearts of the people ; and it was for this she prayed and

agonised most of all. For with it would come a more

sympathetic imagination,a warmer faith, greater courage

to go forward and do the seeminglyimpossibleand foolish
thing. It would, she knew, change the aims and ideals
of her sisters,so many of them moving in a narrow world
of self,and thrill them with a desire to take part in the
saving and upliftingof the world. There would be no

need then to make appeals,for volunteers would come

forward in abundance for" the hardest posts, and crated

conse-

workers would fillup the ranks in Nigeria and in

all the Mission Fields of the Church.
She knew, because it was so in her case. Love for
Christ made her a missionary. Like that other Mary who
was with Him on earth, her love constrained her to offer
Him her best, and very gladly she took the alabaster box
of her life and broke it and gave the preciousointment of

her service to Him and His cause.

Many influences move men and women to beautiful

and gallantdeeds, but what Mary Slessor was, and what
she did, affords one more proof that the greatest of these
is Love.

THE END

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