ADVANCE TO THE INTERIOR.
If we may believe one-half of the glowing accounts which come to us regarding the high table-lands of the interior, one or two hundred miles back from the coast, the region is full of rich promises as the scene of future missionary operations. It is said that the land is rich, the country wonderfully beautiful and healthy, the population dense, and cattle and horses abundant. There are difficulties in the way of reaching this country, but they are not insurmountable. One of our missionaries (Mr. Williams), well fitted for the work, has pushed his way back into this region, and reports very strongly in its favor. He brought back a horse with him as corroborative evidence of his statements, and there can be no doubt that in this healthier upland region the natives are more intelligent, more industrious, and every way superior, while they are also ready to welcome any who come among them for purposes of peace. Our present stations upon the coast, three in number, furnish excellent starting points and bases of supply, and should be maintained largely as such. But it should be our aim to work back from the low, malarious coast into these healthier and more promising highlands just as soon as the proper men and the means can be found. Starting from the stations already established, it would seem to be a wise thing to locate a chain of stations within easy distances of each other, stretching back to the mountains. At these points the missionaries could reside two by two, with mutual helpfulness and support. The natives of this region talk the same general language as upon the coast. They are said to be remarkably fine singers, and are fond of music. They manufacture great quantities of cloth and various other articles of a superior quality. They are, however, reported to be the husbands of many wives, counting their honors by the number of their wives. The rivers that drain this region afford an imperfect approach to the country, but are available for considerable distances. Let the means and the men be found, and this healthier and more promising country can soon be captured for Christ. It is only a question of time. This push for the interior must soon be made, and a larger and better work must soon be inaugurated.
BRIEF EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL.
On Wednesday, March 23d, we sighted the point of Sierra Leone by early dawn. The country as approached from the sea is beautiful. The serrated Lion Mountains slope to the water’s edge, covered with a luxuriance of tropical vegetation. The city of Freetown at a little distance appears comparatively well built. The public buildings are large and attract immediate attention, the streets are wide and regularly laid out; and the whole external aspect strikes one as much finer than what is naturally expected on this coast; but a nearer view suggests the truth of the old saying that “Familiarity breeds contempt.” The stay here was short, but into the time was crowded a variety of strange and novel experiences. From this point the mission boat “Olive Branch” carried us to Good Hope Station, on Sherbro Island, where we landed late in the evening of March 30th. This trip of about one hundred and twenty miles occupied three days and two nights, and was, perhaps, the most trying part of our journey. We experienced several severe tornadoes on the way, and suffered from the intense glare of the sun, now nearly vertical, and the difficulty of procuring proper food. Having reached the mission house, we at once made ourselves as much at home as possible. Thursday, March 31st, we were all up at an early hour, and went out before the intense heat of the day to inspect the grounds and buildings. The fine property of the mission had evidently suffered in many ways from neglect. All the buildings stood in need of repairs, and a large portion of the grounds, including the little cemetery where Barnabas Root is buried, was overgrown with bush. The spiritual condition of the church and station seemed also to bear some resemblance to its outward condition. It was not hopeless, but somewhat depressed. The grounds in the immediate vicinity of the mission house gave evidence, however, that the missionaries had neither forgotten to exercise their taste, nor been wasteful of the small force and slender means at their command. So, also, the spiritual condition of the station presented some encouraging features. The warm reception which Mr. Kemp and his wife received on every side gave some reason to hope that the church would yet nourish under his judicious care.
MISSION HOME, MENDI MISSION.
Friday, April 1st, was emphatically a day of calls. It had been quickly noised abroad that the new missionaries from America had arrived, and many availed themselves of the first opportunity to bid them welcome to Africa. Possibly a little curiosity was mingled with their politeness, but we did not care to analyze too closely, and were glad to see them all. The people we met were generally fine looking, of a rich, brown color, and not burdened by any superfluity of clothing. They talked a broken English, which was almost as difficult to understand as a new language.
To say that Sunday, April 3d, was a warm day would convey but a slight idea of the truth. When the thermometer indicates over 90° in America we are apt to call it rather warm; but a new adjective is needed to characterize African heat at 90°, for it is something so entirely different from the summer broils of other countries. No wonder that this is an unhealthy climate. The land is low, the water stagnant, the air moist, vegetation thick, and the heat intense. In the morning I preached in the mission church to an attentive audience on “The light that shineth in a dark place,” and was present at a service in the Mendi language at the school-house in the afternoon. The prayer meeting in the evening was well attended and full of interest.
On Monday, April 4th, we went in the “Olive Branch” to Avery Station, on the Mahna River, a branch of the Bargroo, forty miles inland. The trip took all of one night, the boatmen rowing and keeping time to their oars with a weird, monotonous singing all the way.
The inspection of the station at Avery consumed the early morning hours of Tuesday. We visited the mill, the boat houses, the coffee farm, the cassada fields, the rice houses, the boy’s department, the store, the church and school-room, and last, but not least, the “faki,” or native village, situated on the mission grounds, and under the control of the missionary. The situation of the mission house is a fine one, but the adjacent country is wilder than at Good Hope. The house stands on a high promontory, and commands a very picturesque view both up and down the river. This river abounds in fish and alligators, while the banks are alive with monkeys.