THE MENDI MISSION.
REV. A. F. JACKSON, AVERY.
When one enters upon this kind of work, he enters upon a tedious and arduous one—a work accompanied with many dark and gloomy days, as well as some bright ones. I suppose that you are aware that my work has been assigned me at Avery, or Mannah Bargroo Station, on the Little Sherbro river, about fifty-eight miles from Good Hope. At this station all of the agricultural work is carried on. We have here a mill, coffee-farm and ginger farm. I employ in the mill seven native men all the while; and on the farm two native men; besides a crew of boatmen, that row our boat from British Sherbro to the neighboring villages to sell the lumber that is sawed at our mill. We are enabled to keep one boat running all the while, and it is manned by natives entirely. They make first-rate crewmen, and have a decided advantage over a similar act of Englishmen or Americans, from the fact that they are always naked, and there is no impediment in case of an accident. All of them can swim in almost any kind of water. They do not stop to question whether there be alligators in the water or not, but go at the command. I can say that I have tried them sufficiently in all ways, and I have as yet found them all to be quite honest, with the exception of one man, who very politely went into my lot of goods on the way from Good Hope to my station, and took therefrom five or six yards of baft to trade for rice. This is the only dishonest act that I have known any one to commit since my arrival on the coast of Africa.
I have said a good deal about my boatmen, and will now give you a brief sketch of the habits and customs of this people. In the first place, the men go entirely naked, with the exception of a cloth they wear, something like that of an American baby’s diaper. The women wear about four yards of cloth thrown carelessly around them, covering the lower extremities, and tied by the ends about the waist.
When one dies, they have what they call “the cry,” in which all join. They go for miles to attend “the cry.” The body of the deceased is wrapped in matting, and conveyed to its long resting-place—a hole which is dug for that purpose. This has always been their mode of burying, and in many instances they prefer it to our way.
As to the general build of this people it is quite good. They possess very good features, as a general thing, having smooth skins and round faces. Their noses are not so flat as the American negro’s; neither are their eyes so red and blood-shot. Their mouths are not so disfigured. The most of them have quite a neat lip, not so thick as that of the American negro. Their hands and feet are generally small. Their bodies are very straight and well developed. It is astonishing to see how they carry burdens, either upon the head or back, with a loop so that it can be fastened around their foreheads.
A good stout man will carry as much on his head and back as you can pack on a young ass three years old, and they never murmur. They live in mud houses covered with thatch, but a thatch inferior to anything we know of in America. It is made of bamboo, and only lasts from nine to twelve months.
They subsist on rice, cassada, cocoa, fufu, crencray, palaver-sauce and fish. Any one of these vegetables mentioned will grow without any attention at all, except the cocoa, and that is a very tender plant, indeed, and the consequence is, that they have less of it than anything else. The cocoa and cassada are the only vegetables that I have learned to eat. The cocoa, after it is cooked, is much like an Irish potato, and makes a very palatable dish, indeed. The cassada, when cooked, resembles an American squash, and is a very nice dish for dinner or breakfast. Should a person presume to eat these vegetables mentioned, without having been a good while in the country, he at once had better have a mill-stone hanged about his neck, and his body committed to the briny deep. He would fare about as well. No foreigner, of whatever nationality he may be, can come into Africa and subsist at first upon the native productions.
We are all aware that Africa has long been called the burying-ground of missionaries. The reasons are, in my judgment, these: In the first place, missionaries in going to Africa generally exert themselves too much on entering the field. The climate is such as rapidly to reduce one’s physical strength. It is a custom among all persons, as soon as they have been informed of their malady, at once to retire to their beds, and demand that a physician be called. The calling of the physician is all right; but it is far better to keep out of bed, and to keep moving; for if you give up and go to bed, you are almost sure to die. Another reason, as I before said, is trying to live on native productions too early after arriving on the continent.
I must say, just here, that two-thirds of what you hear about Africa is fabulous. At least it is so in the region in which our missions are established. There is a great deal said about the native bread-tree. There is such a thing as a bread-tree in this country, but it is almost as scarce in the region in which the mission is established as the orange-tree is in the States, and you are aware how plentiful the orange-tree is there. The fabulous tree so called, might very appropriately have been named a squash-tree, because it bears no similarity to bread, and will not answer at all in the place of bread. When green, or before it is plucked, it bears a close similarity to what is known in the States as the hedge orange, and, when cooked, it tastes something between a potato-pumpkin and squash.
There are some oranges here, but they are scarce. They do not seem to be a native fruit, because they do not grow everywhere in the country, but only where the ground is cleared up, and the undergrowth cut down. They are not of a rich yellow color like an American orange, but greenish and small. They have quite a delicious taste, somewhat devoid of juice, when compared with our Florida orange, but equal to it in sweetness. We have another fruit here, known as the lime. It bears a close similarity to a lemon; in fact the only difference that I can detect is, that the lemon as a general thing is larger, and not so round. As to the pine-apple, it grows only where it is taken care of; it may grow in the wilds, but never bears fruit. The rice that is grown in Africa is not so good as that in the States. It is really the main thing grown upon the continent in the way of eatables. If you buy two bushels of rough rice, you will not get more than sixteen quarts that can be used, and you must pay from 2s. 9d. to 3s. per bushel. This, I am sorry to say, is about the way with all the country productions.
Knowing that you are always anxious concerning our health, I, perhaps, ought to have spoken of it sooner. I am in quite good health, and have been since my first attack of the African fever. My wife has had quite a severe attack of the fever; so severe that I thought I should lose her; but God in his goodness saw fit to spare her to me. She has never regained her strength, but I trust that God in some way or other will restore her to perfect health again.
The religious work at Avery is going on nicely. I found here a small chapel, but no church members. Dr. James had kept up a prayer-meeting, and there was some interest among the people, but there had been no ingathering of souls to Christ. After looking around and seeing the real condition of things, I came to the conclusion that whatever was done must be done quickly; so I made it my aim to get at the people at once with the truths of Jesus Christ, and they seemed to take right hold of them as fast as given to them. I adopted this plan: to take my Bible every evening and go out among the regular heathen; but I soon found out that I was unable to reach them in that way, from the fact that I could not speak their language. So I gave that plan up, and adopted the one of going among them twice a week, and taking with me my Bible and an interpretor. This I found to be the best plan; so then and there I got hold of the people. Now, having found this to work well, I began to preach to the people in their own villages and “fackies,” as they call them. After I found out that I could gather them together in their fackies, I then set to work to persuade them to come to my church; which I did with great success, and from time to time I gathered into the church the following persons and names. June 16th, I opened the doors of the church, and enrolled the following: H. C. Hallock L., Isaac Vincent L., James Cole L., John Davis R., Samuel Wise R., Richard Wilkerson R., Yamba R., One Pound R., Henry Peters R., Small Banna R., William Wilberforce L., Mrs. Lucker L., Mrs. Peters R., Mrs. Hannah Vincent L., and a Sherbro chief, A. P. Cardy R.
June 30th, I opened the doors of the church again, and enrolled the following: James Picket L., Sarah Tucker R., Mrs. Elizabeth Beal R., Elizabeth Wilberforce R., Mrs. Mary Cole L., Mrs. Nancy Davis R., Madam Damba R., Madam Dambee R. July 28th, I opened the doors and took the following names. The chief Karry Pherner L., chief, Lalula R., John Bull R., Cunda R., Kirby R., Matilda Leatum L., Mrs. Yamba R., Mrs. One Pound R., and Bye R. As I neglected to tell you in regard to the conversion of these persons I will give you some idea of it by the following letters. The letter “R” signifies recently converted, and the letter “L” long converted. I must say that the especial blessing of the Lord seemed very near all on the 4th of August. This was the first Lord’s Supper celebrated at Avery Station. On this day I preached to a very large number of native men and women. I baptized seven grown persons and four children, making a total of eleven persons baptized.
This people, as a general thing, have very many troubles among themselves that must be settled at once, in order to secure peace among them. If you have gained their confidence, they will at all times call upon you to settle any disturbance that may occur among them, it matters not how difficult the case may be. Great caution is required in rendering your decision, otherwise it may cause speedy bloodshed and panic throughout the region. I am sorry to say that the prospects are quite threatening just now for an outbreak at any time in the region adjacent to Avery and the Little Boom. But I hope that it will not be very serious. The Governor is expected to investigate the Boom trouble this week, and it is thought that it can be settled without any serious damage to either side. I have felt greatly the lack of reading matter at my Station. There are many dreary hours out here that might be whiled away with good reading matter. I rather think that some of the good friends in New York would be glad to send a paper or two now and then to a poor wayfarer on the distant shores of Africa.