From Madeira to Sierra Leone the voyage was pleasant as a picnic. Miss Thomas and Miss Comber were much in favour with their fellow-passengers, and the Captain made them his peculiar care. He was an English sailor of the best type, and though he had no special reverence for their mission, he unfeignedly admired their British pluck, in which they were at least his peers. Sometimes he told them dismal, tragical tales of Africa, with the purpose of testing their mettle, and when he found that they refused to be dismayed, he assured them they were just the kind of folk to do well on the West Coast, where courage and good spirits are the best defence against the hostilities of the deadly climate. One day he came upon them at afternoon tea, winked at their illicit spirit-stove, and craved to be allowed to join them. Thereafter, at this little function, he was their daily guest. He told them “wonderful stories of his wife, of whom he was very proud,” made his black boy “Dollar” their servant, and taught his retriever dog to amuse them and attend them. His apology for his rather more than conventional kindness was ingenious and conclusive. “At Liverpool the ‘Sky-pilot’ (Rev. John Jenkyn Brown) specially charged me to take good care of both of you, and I am going to fulfil my commission faithfully.” His protégées so far imbued him with the missionary spirit that he promised to give a concert at Bonny in aid of the work. The promise may have been kept, but the fulfilment of it is not recorded.
On March 19th the Corisco was “off Sierra Leone.” Nine days later she lay outside the bar at the mouth of Benin River. The Captain and some of his passengers had business up the river, and took the three missionary ladies with them. They were deposited in the launch by means of the crane and the chair, an experience which they found amusing, the time of their departure from the ship being 9 a.m. At the Bar the sea was rough to the point of ugliness, and the Captain regretted that he had brought the ladies; but there was no mishap, and very soon the voyagers, whose pulses had been quickened by the passage of the Bar, were enjoying the quiet waters of the mile-wide river, with its banks “dotted here and there by little towns.” Miss Thomas shall tell in her own words the rest of the story of her Benin expedition:—
“As we stopped at the various traders’ wharves while the Captain and some of the gentlemen went ashore, the people came crowding down to look at us, as only two white ladies had passed up the river before, and that many years ago. Our eyes were the great attraction, which all happened to be light. One woman was very proud because she could manage to say, ‘How do, Mammy?’
“We went on to see a Mr. Henderson whose house is built on an island. He is a very good man, and a total abstainer, so we determined to lunch with him. Upon arrival we knocked and made a great noise before we could get any answer. At last a man came, and most politely taking off his hat, inquired, ‘You live, Mammy?’ To which we responded, ‘Yes, we live. You live?’ Finally he brought a key and we went into the courtyard where we met Mr. Henderson whose astonishment was complete. He said that when he was told three white ladies had come, he surmised that the sailors of a ship in the river were having fun with him, and would not come down. We had a very nice lunch, and some delicious tea for which Mr. Henderson is noted. Among other presents he gave us a tin full of it. We commenced our return at 3.30 and had a very rough passage. Our little boat was tossed on the waves, and the spray kept breaking over us. Darkness fell, a tornado followed in our track, and the lightning was most splendid. We sat, well covered up, singing Sankey’s hymns. It was a fine experience, and happily we reached the ship just before the rain fell.”
On Sunday, March 30th, the Corisco reached Bonny, and on the morrow the mail steamer Senegal arrived bringing two passengers whose presence was cordially welcomed; Mr. Buckenham, who had come so far to meet his wife, and Mr. Liley, of the Livingstone Inland Mission from the Congo. But the pleasure of meeting Mr. Liley was shadowed by the heavy news he bore. From him Miss Thomas received part of that terrible budget of evil tidings which greeted George Grenfell at Stanley Pool, when he returned from his boat journey to the equator on March 4th. She learned that Mr. Hartley, the new missionary, and the two engineers sent out to reconstruct the Peace, had all died on their journey up-country, and that the work on the Congo, passing dear to her, was gravely disorganised by the sickness of several workers. Moreover, a letter from Miss Saker announced that Mr. Lewis had broken down and gone south, Miss Fletcher was ailing, while the writer herself was in such poor case that she would be compelled to start for a trip to Gaboon immediately upon the arrival of Miss Thomas. This would necessitate that Miss Comber should come to Bethel Station, Cameroons, to remain with Miss Thomas during Miss Saker’s absence, instead of commencing her work forthwith at Victoria.
The young missionaries were delayed several days at Bonny, made a visit to Opobo, and called upon King Ja-Ja, whose hospitality they enjoyed, not without effort. The palm oil “chop” was an ordeal. The King himself was a nice man and friendly, but his house was frightfully dirty and wore the aspect of a curiosity shop, promiscuously furnished with odds and ends presented him by the traders. Miss Thomas and the other ladies were permitted to visit his wives, concerning which visit she significantly remarks: “It was awful.” The bright side of a depressing experience was the King’s earnestly expressed desire that a white missionary should come to reside in his town, and she had some hope that Mr. Buckenham’s society might be able to meet his wish.
Before leaving Bonny Miss Thomas and Miss Comber said “goodbye” to the Corisco and its genial captain, and were transhipped to the Loanda. A few days later they arrived at Victoria, and the elements accorded them a boisterous welcome, as the following extract from the Missionary Herald will make apparent:—
“On April 4th Miss Comber and Miss Gwen Thomas safely reached Victoria. Miss Comber writes: ‘When we reached Victoria, Mrs. Thomson came on the vessel to meet us, and when all was ready we started for the shore in two boats—our mission boat, and the ship’s boat—Mrs. Quintin Thomson, the doctor and the purser of the ship, going in the mission boat, while Miss Thomas and I went with the Captain in the ship’s boat. When we were near the shore a very large wave came suddenly, and before the Kroo-boys had time to pull away from it, it broke over us and turned the boat right over, and we directly found ourselves in the water. Fortunately the other boat was not far off, and very quickly came back for us and picked us up before we had been in the water many minutes. The children were all on the beach waiting to welcome us with singing, but when they saw Miss Thomas carried to the house (she had lost her shoes) and me walking up drenched with water, they said they were “not fit to sing.” Happily we are none the worse for our wetting. This happened on Saturday. On Sunday night we had the heaviest tornado I have ever known. Our people say there has not been so strong a one for twenty-three years. Unfortunately it did a good deal of damage to Brook Mount, taking down the front piazza and a good deal of the roof. It happened just as we were going to bed, and a second time we got a wetting; so we had rather a rough welcome to Africa.’
“From Bethel Miss Thomas adds: ‘The country is all so beautiful, and the climate so delightful, that it is hard to understand it is so unhealthy. I am very anxious to get on with the Dualla language, as I see it will be very necessary here. We had a most delightful day yesterday (Sunday). Miss Saker is away, just now, having gone South for her health. But we were just in time to see her before she left, and Miss Comber is with me now. I am so glad and thankful to be at last really engaged in mission work in Africa. We have six children in the house now, and there are several more wanting to come.’”
Miss Thomas was an excellent correspondent from the beginning of her missionary life, but not many of her earliest African letters are available, and the reader must be content with fragmentary notes of the beginnings of her work. The passage quoted above was written on or about April 16th, and on that date, in a letter to Miss Alice Hartland, she states that she is very well, and has not had a single headache since leaving England. The rains are just commencing. She has had a walk through the town with Mr. Silvey, and is impressed by the size of it. In the absence of King Aqua she has been granted the honour of an interview with his chief wife. She has also paid a visit to the week-old baby of Dubundu, the native pastor. The lady was almost as bare of clothing as the baby. The one struck her as “horrid-looking,” the other as “funny.” Definite arrangements as regards her particular work are postponed, pending the return of Miss Saker, who is expected home in ten days. A present is enclosed for “Mother’s” birthday.