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WHO BECAME
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PRINCETON, N. J.
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Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund.
3V 3625 .N6 C762 1888
Page, Jesse.
Samuel Crowther
Number
THIRD EDITION. THIRTEENTH THOUSAND,
Samuel "Crowther
The Slauc Boij tuha became
BISHOP OF THE NIGER
BY J
JESSE ^AGE
Author of "Bishop Patteson, the Missionary Martyr of Melanesia.
-^;«—
From out the darkness gleamed a single star,
And lo ! the tempest-driven hailed its light;
So from the gloom of Afric, shone afar
The witness of the Lord, a blessed sight
Which many grateful saw, and kneeling there
Heard first the tidings of Salvation near.
-■^
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO
Fjiblishcrs cf Evangelical Literature.
'f'\- <>-\'.\^-
I\EFAC£;.
*$^
THE name of Crowther is a household word m the
record of missionary enterprise. The fact of his
being the first native Bishop of Africa, the pathetic
incidents of his early life, and the gracious success
which has crowned his efforts on the banks of the
Niger, have all combined to make an imjjress upon
the memory and heart of Christian peojjle in England
which will not grow slighter with the passage of the
years. Many whose eyes look upon these pages will
remember the striking effect of the black Bishop's
first appearance on our platforms, and will recall the
more frequent occasions when in the pulpits of our
churches he has pleaded the cause of the work to
which he has devoted his energies and life.
But like all men of real character, to understand
and appreciate Crowther you must personally know
him. Few men have a more interesting and impressive
individuality.
VI rnEFACE.
I shall never forget the rush of feeling which I ex-
perienced when in his little room at Salisbury Square
I had first the privilege of seeing the subject of this
biography face to face. In our many subsequent in-
terviews this sense of heartfelt veneration increased
more and more, and I recall gratefully the hours of
patient and invaluable attention which he gave to the
proof sheets of this work, as, word for word, I read
them to him. From time to time he would arrest
the reading to correct a date or even the spelling of
a native name, and oftener with emotion to linger on
the old scenes and explain more fully the incidents of
his career as they passed in review. One of the
characteristics of Bishop Crowther is a strong disap-
probation of " the praise of men," and he recognised
with evident pleasure that these pages aimed rather
to glorify God than to magnify man.
The work on the Niger, with which his name will be
for ever identified, is throughout a remarkable evidence
of the advantage of employing native agency, if only
to save a needless sacrifice of European lives, and at
the same time exhibits what the Gospel can do, and is
doing, when confronted with heathenism on the one
hand and a debased form of Mohammedanism on the
other. Of course the reader will not imagine that
there have been no failures, no disappointments and
breakdowns. In common with mission work every-
where, there have been discouragements on the Niger
to try the faith and patience of the workers. But the
pennon of the Cross borne aloft is still advancing, and
PItKFACE. vii
victory is sure to those who in His name endure to
the end.
At a time like the present, when the horrors of
slavery are being once more forced home upon the
English conscience, it is earnestly hoped that these
pages may do something to awaken sympathy for the
sufferings of those in direst bondage. Crowther, let
it be remembered, was once a slave, and he is keenly
sensitive to the woes and wretchedness of his unhappy
brethren in Africa. Had it fallen within the province
of this book, much, very much more, might have been
said about slavery, — it has been indeed difficult to
repress a reference to the horrible tidings of deeds
done in Africa which week after week shock even the
most prosaic of us by their vileness. The knocks at
the door of the English heart, once so lightly moved,
are many to-day. Cardinal Lavigerie, Lieutenant
Wissman, and others, speak of that which they have
seen until our hearts are faint with the sickening re-
cital, and last not least. Commander Cameron in a
recent article says, " The time has now come when
we can no longer plead ignorance ; from missionaries
of every branch of the Catholic Chm-ch of Christ we
hear of the sufferings of the negro. Those who
would raise the native races, and abolish slavery by
the introduction of the arts of peace and the extension
of legitimate commerce, have been attacked by the
slave dealers, and a gentleman holding the position
of British Consul has been stripped of his clothes,
and flouted and jeered at by the traders in hunian
Vlil PKEFACE,
ficsli." Tutn he closes vath a declaration which does
honour to his spirit, " I am ready to act up to what I
write, and would freely give my life in the cause of
freedom, and will gladly co-operate in any possible
manner, either here or in Africa, with those who, I
trust, will resolve that this disgrace to humanity shall
no longer exist."
The observations of Bishop Crowther on that other
curse of Africa, Mohammedanism, in these pages, will
well repay the reader's consideration. Few men have
had a closer experience of the real teaching and
practice of Islam than he, and even his charitable
mind cannot credit it with the i^hilosophic sweetness
and light with which it is the fashion in some quarters
to invest the religion of the false x^i'op^iet. It must
not be forgotten that this religion is that of the
slave driver and slave killer throughout the Dark
Continent.
It only remains for me to acknowledge with thanks
the great courtesy I have received from the Church
Missionary Society, in having placed at my disposal
the journals and other literary material out of which
this work has been constructed. Without this invalu-
able assistance at Salisbury Square these pages could
nut have been written/
Jesse Pagb,
^^^\JL^^ it3 ( U yC-'O^-'^y^ '}1r^^ec^^^y ^tt-t-fcxi^ '>n-tr\.<^ /Vi^ /ife C-A-*-*'*-*-^
God speed thee !
Though weary weight of years he thine,
Strong is thine heart, while rays Divine
Upon thy pathway ever shine.
God speed thee !
To the sad sinner's heart of pain.
To the poor slave in Satan's chain ;
Tell Christ hath died and risen again.
God speed thee !
He knows their suffering and their fears.
He hears their sighing, counts their tears,
For Afric's children Jesus cares.
God speed thee!
Strengthen thine hand to battle on,
Brave to contend, till from the Throne,
Falls on thine car the glad "Well done."
God speed thee!
Thy day of work will soon he o'er,
Then comes the eve of rest, and sure
The daivn of life for evermore.
ooKteKts.
CHAP.
I. The Home-Land of the Slave ,
II. A Childhood of Slavery ■ ,
III. On the Threshold of the Work
IV. The Niger first Explored
V. A Sorrowful Retdrn
VI. An Unexpected and Happy Meeting
VII. Another Brave and Better Voyage
vni. A Voyagk and a Wreck , ,
IX. An Enforced Halt — Onitsha ,
PAGE
. 13
. 22
. 33
43
54
. 63
. 74
. 85
. 96
XII
CONTENTS.
CHAT.
X. The Boy brcomi:s thf. Bishos'
SI. r.jNNY A Bethel .
XII. TuK Fruitage of thk Seed
PAGB
109
126
140
^lu ptcjjle thnt tonlkcii
in !titti'hucsi3 hn\3z seen
n gre;it light : they that
btuell in the tanb of the
shaisolu of bcath, itjron
th£in hath the light
0hinel).
Isaiah ix. 2.
SAMUEL CROWTHER.
CHAPTER I.
The Home-Land of the Slave,
^^iih
From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strarid,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand ;
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain
They call us to deliver
Their land from error's chain." — Heceb.
-^!^
FOB centuries the history of Africa has been the
mystery and sorrow of the world. Up to a time
still fresh in the memory of om: grandfathers the map
of the Dark Continent, dark in more senses than one,
gave little trouble to the schoolboy, being simply an
irregular coast-line enclosing wide spaces in blank,
trespassed upon by lines of almost guess-work
boundaries, and in the middle thereof sundry high
places denoted by the romantic title of the Mountains
of the Moon.
14 SA:^ruEL crowther.
Its history is, strange to say, of the oldest and the
youngest. Amid the sands of its northern deserts we
turn up the reHcs of a civiHzation which astonished
Joseph and his brethren, while our knowledge of the
interior is but the discovery of yesterday. A weird
mystery hangs over this marvellous land ; we know
not whether our next step will reveal the dim shadowy
life of a day when the world was in its early spring,
and awaken the echoes of a past unknown.
If it were the purpose of the present work to revive
the memories of Africa's remote glories, especially
when its Christian martyrs and teachers swelled the
roll of the early Church, much might be told of
enthralling interest ; but we have in these pages to
tell the story of our own time. And yet the better
to understand our ground, we must glance back at
the growth of our acquaintance with the Dark Con-
tinent during the last two or three centuries.
It seems remarkable that for so many years the
traders who were the only European visitors to its
shores should have remained contented with a
knowledge of the very fringe of that vast land, making
few if any efforts to penetrate into the interior. For
the discovery of the coast-line credit must be given to
the Portuguese, whose stately galleons in the fifteenth
century touched in turn at the Canary Islands,
Cape Verd, Sierra Leone, the Cape of Good Hope, and
round eastward up as far as Cape Guardafui.
It was two hundred years later that the Dutch
settled in the southern districts, where still their
nationality makes itself known and felt. Nothing
seems to have been added to our store of information
about Africa until comparatively recent times, when
TflF, nOJIE-LAND OF THE SLAVE. 15
our own couiitr^'ineii began to search for the source of
the Nile. Neither the philosopher's stone nor the North
Pole can boast of more ardent and spirited discoverers
than those brave explorers, who under privations and
perils sought the secret spot where the bubbling watei s
of the Nile first rushed forth araid tangled grasses and
fronded palms on their way to the sea. Bruce traced
the Blue Nile along its devious course at the end of the
last century; but it was only a little more than
twenty-five years ago that Speke on his second journey
sent home the message, "The Nile is settled," as
Grant and he stood on the shores of that magnifi-
cent inland lake, the Victoria Nyanza, from which
mighty source the ancient river of Egypt evidently
flows.
Before then, however, other rivers had been traced
at the price of precious lives, notably the Niger,
which Mungo Park sighted in 1796, and afterwards
Denham, Clapperton, Laing and Lander ; the Congo
where Tuckey died in 1830, and the Zambesi, by
whose banks David Livingstone, in 1854, made his
brave and patient way while traversmg the Continent.
But in these later days the " eye to business " motive
has quickened interest and exploration, and European
States are scrambling for allotments of the black
man's land.
Of the people, we know enough to awaken our pity
rather than our admiration. If they are accounted
naturally indolent, it is because in their native
condition there is no necessity to put forth energy,
save in war. A distinguished man, who has recently
visited them, assures us that when an opportunity
presents itself they can work as hard and more
16 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
patiently than otliers. Their intellectual capacit}^
and painstaking studies, the subsequent pages of
this book will verify in the life of one of Alrica's
worthiest sons.
Many have treated the black man as having no
mind, and more have virtually denied him a soul.
That he has both, however, is the growing conviction
of the Christian Church to-day, and she is anxious
to vindicate her responsibility in support of this. The
spiritual condition of the Africans is curious and
distressing. Taking the population to be about two
hundred millions, quite three-fourths of them are
utter heathen, living in the densest darkness of
superstition and sin. The immense majority of the
other fourth are followers of the false prophet, and
the spiritual conquest of Africa by the green flag of
Mohammed is still actively pressed to-day.
There are a few Jews living on the shores of the
blue Mediterranean Sea, and of course Christianity
is not without its witnesses. Also, besides the
Eoman Catholics and Protestants, there are the
Copts and Abyssinians. But, speaking generally,
the natives of Africa profess two religions, one of
Mohammed, the False Prophet, and the other of the
Devil in multiplication. Of the former we shall have
something to say in the later pages of this work, for
it is the key to much of the misery of this sad land.
But even in those districts where Mohammedanism lias
got the firmest hold, it has not superseded, but rather
grafted itself upon the superstitious demon worship
of the natives everywhere.
In a fearfully real sense, to the African "the things
which are seen are temporal, and the things which
THE HOME-LAND OF THE SLAVE. 17
are not seen are eternal." His terror is the environ-
ment of evil spirits, peopling the air, hiding in the
trees, whispering in the wavelets of the stream, seated
on the crest of every hill, and lurking in the rank
grasses of the plain. From this ubiquitous company
of devils the poor negro can never hope to be free.
We have only then to add, that these satanic
agencies are all credited with a vindictive hatred to
the human race, to complete the picture of unspeak-
able and oppressive horror which crouches like a
nightmare upon the hearts of the African people. In
their wretched dread they are for ever making friends
with these demons, propitiating them not unfre-
quently with the sacrifice of human life.
No wonder, then, that witchcraft is everywhere, and
that the medicine man, like the Eomish prelate of the
Middle Ages, can strike a terrified submission even
into the heart of kings. Tetzel with his indulgence
business never did so well as they ; to make a charm
nothing comes amiss — a stone, a bit of bone or filthy
rag, a shell, a leaf, an animal or a piece of it, any of
these will do as a fetish, with power to exorcise the
evil spirit. The priest's hand, true of superstition
everywhere, has in Africa its black grasp on the
substance of the poor.
Here, too, is evidence of that declaration of Holy
Writ, that "the dark places of the earth are full of
the habitations of cruelty." The " customs " of the
country show an utter disregard of human life; and
in the western districts, with which these pages will
have more especially to do, it will be seen that a
wholesale slaughter often follows the death of a
king, in order that he may be suitably accompanied
0
18 SAIHUEL CROWTHER.
to the land of shadows. The cruel and pitiless
character of paganism is here fully revealed.
In one respect, at least, the superstitious fear of the
poor African is well founded, for upon his country
has settled an evil spirit in verity and truth, and that
demon is called Slavery. In the mere mention of
that word, with the knowledge of what it means, one
realises how weak at the strongest is language to ex-
press the truth. Words of burning flame are wanted
to describe this awful curse. There was a time when
the hearts of the English people were thrilled and
shocked with their own responsibility in the matter,
and we made perhaps the costliest sacrifice in history
for the sake of moral xn-inciple. It became high
time to act. A hundred years ago our ships carried
their share of 38,000, out of 74,000 slaves, exported
annually, and Granville Sharp sent the Lord Chan-
cellor a cutting from a newspaper, advertising the
sale of a black girl, at a public-house in the Strand !
There is no need to tell the story over again. Wilber-
force as well as Wellington will be never forgotten,
for "peace hath her victories as well as war." The
patient and prayerful agitation of years was crowned
by the passing of an Act of Parliament, which struck
the fetters from the slave on English ground. Imme-
diately our cruisers appeared in African waters to
capture the slave dhows, and set the living freights
at liberty.
But while curtailed by our watchfulness of the coast,
the trade in " black ivory " still throve, and we are
ashamed to say thrives still, in the interior of Africa.
To arrest this we have spent lives more precious than
gold. One of the first, best, and noblest friends Africa
20 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
ever had, David Livingstone, telling his countrymen of
the desolating wrongs of the slave trade, besought them
to "heal this open sore of the world." And when
weary with his wanderings he laid himself down to die
on the grass at Ilala, he breathed his last, as he would
have wished, on the soil of the land for which he had
worked and prayed. Ajid Gordon too, the fearless
Christian knight whose very name makes the heart
beat more quickly, all the world knows how in Lower
Egypt he drove back what seemed the irresistible
progress of Arab slave-trading ; and in his supreme
moment of victory and defeat he also poured out his
blood upon the desert sand of that Africa he loved so
well.
We have called it the home-land of the slave because
from its shores he is dragged a helpless and illtreated
exile. With all its pains and sorrows it is still his
home. To it in many a moment of lonely and distant
captivity he turns his thoughts again, and on the
threshold of another world his longings lie towards
Africa. Longfellow has beautifully expressed this in
his well-known poem, a few verses of which shall close
this chapter.
Beside the ungathered rice he lay,
His sickle in his hand ;
His breast was bare, his matted hair
Was buried in the sand,
Again in the mist and shadow of sleep
He saw his native land.
Wide through the landscape of his dreams
The lordly Niger ilowed,
Beneath the palm trees in the plain
Once more a king he strode,
And heard the tinkling caravans
Descend the mountain road.
THE HOME-LAND OF THE SLAVE.
21
He saw once more his dark-eyed queen
Among her children stand,
They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheek,
They held liim by the hand !
A tear burst from the sleeper's lids,
And fell into the sand.
•7<- * -x- ■)«• 45-
The forest with their myriad tongues
Shouted of liberty ;
And the blast of the desert cried aloud,
With a voice so wild and free.
That he started in his sleep and smiled
At their tempestuous glee.
He did not feel the driver's whip
Nor the burning heat of day,
For death had illummed the land of sleep.
And his lifeless body lay
A worn out fetter which the soul
Had broken and thrown away.
CHAPTER II.
A Childhood of Slavery.
" Let the Indian, let the Negro,
Let the rude Larbariau see,
That Divine and glorious conquest
Once obtained on Calvary,
Let the Gospel
Loud resound from pole to pole." — Williams.
-^i^
HAVING now glanced at Africa as a whole, we will
set our foot upon the banks of the lordly Niger,
which will be the scene of the wonderful story of
God's providence and grace which this volume seeks
to tell. This river, second only in depth and import-
ance to the Nile, cannot boast of a like classic history ;
but it is now full of memories of faithful work and
endeavour, none the less valuable or interesting that
they pertain to the present century.
All round the Dark Continent, with few breaks, is
an invisible rampart of pestilence, the fever boundary
which no European can attempt to pass without a
risk, and often a loss, of life. In some places, however,
the danger is deepest ; and because this is true of the
A CHILDHOOD OF SLAVERY. 23
Gold Coast, it has been aptly and pathetically called
"the white man's grave." At this point the Niger
enters the sea, not with a broad expanse of rushing
water like most rivers, but spreading out into a
number of outlets as it slowly creeps through thickets
of mangrove trees, over stretches of poisonous slime
to the ocean. This forms the Niger delta, spreading
along the shore for over one hundred and twenty miles.
A French traveller, M. Adolphe Burdo, has vividly
described this terrible labyrmth of creeks, in which
utterly lost and disheartened his Kroomen despaired.
Again and again did they attempt some new passage,
pushing their way between the interlacing mangrove
branches along which the serpents crawled. A more
desolate region can hardly be imagined.
In its course of nearly two thousand miles this
river waters some of the most degraded and unhappy
districts of Africa. Between its western arm and the
sea-coast lies the country of the Yoruba people, natives
who have suffered more perhaps than other tribes
from the desolations and cruelties of the slave trade.
The people pride themselves on a remote ancestry,
and Captain Clapperton was informed, by a curious
geographical work he met with, written by a chief,
that the Yoruba nation "originated from the remnant
of the children of Canaan, who were of the tribe of
Nimrod." Whether this be founded on fact or not,
it is enough for us to know that out of this dark
region God caused a light to shine, and called forth
one who should become a shepherd to these souls. A
stream of life history starting from the humblest
source, and with these lowly beginnings, the career
of Bishop Crowther commenced to uni'oli].
24 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Early in the year 1821, in the midst of the Eyo or
Yoruba country, a devastating war was being waged.
The army of the Mohammedan Foulah tribe, swelled
by a miscellaneous crowd of escaped slaves and
man-stealers, ravaged the country to right and left.
Sweeping everything before them, they came at last
to Oshogun, a flourishing town mustering three
thousand fighting men. The ill-fated inhabitants
had no warning. In most of the huts the women were
peacefully preparing the morning meal, and the men
were either absent or had no time to seize their
weapons. Fierce warriors surrounded the fence which
protected the town. A short, sharp struggle ensued ;
the six gates were broken through, and the victors
poured mto the town. Here all was panic and
despair. Terrified women caught up their little ones,
and bidding the elder children to follow, tried to
escape in the bush. In many cases, however, they
fatally impeded themselves with baggage from their
huts. The Foulahs swiftly pursued them, flinging
lassoes over their heads and drawing them half-
choked back into their hands.
In one of the huts at this supreme moment rushed
again a father to beg his family to flee ; and then, the
warning given, he hurried back to the front to die in
their defence. His wife, like the others, hastened to
the bush with her little niece and three children;
one an infant of ten months, and the eldest a boy of
twelve years and a half, who, child as he was, valiantly
seized his bow and arrows to protect them. This
little fellow was Adjai, the future Bishop of the Niger.
They too, however, in their turn, were captured, and,
tied together with ropes, were led out of the burning
A CHILDHOOD OF SLAVERY.
25
town. As they passed along the blazmg streets they
saw many wounded and dying men lying, where they
had been struck down, at their own doors.
After twenty miles' weary marching they reached a
town, and caught a glimpse of some of their relations in
FOULAH CAPTURING LITTLE ADJAI.
the same miserable plight. The usual barbarities of the
slave-march followed. The old and infirm, being no
longer able to respond to the whips of their captors,
were mercilessly killed, or left, with less compassion, on
the wayside to die of hunger and exposure. At midnight
2G SAMUEL GROWTH ER,.
they reached the town of Iseh-n, where to their great
rehef, as the morning broke, they were freed from their
galling ropes and hurried in a body into the presence of
the chief. He forthwith began to allot them as slaves
and spoil of war to his warriors. That is, one half
were claimed by the chief, and the other half by the
soldiers. Little Adjai and his sister became the
property of the chief ; his mother, with her infant in
arms, was quickly transferred to other hands. This
was the first time the little lad had been separated
from his mother, and great of course was his grief.
The boy was exchanged for a horse, but the bargain
not being satisfactory, he was taken to the slave
market of Dah'-dah, where to his great delight he met
with his mother again, and for three months enjoyed
comparative liberty, having the precious privilege of
seemg his parent whenever he wished. But one sad
evening a man came and suddenly bound him, and
he was carried away on the march again. By his
side trudged another little boy, who had also been
torn from the arms of his mother, and cried bitterly.
They were dragged along for several days, one hand
being chained to tlieir neck ; then Adjai was sold to a
Mohammedan woman, and with her travelled to the
Popo country, on the coast where the Portuguese came
to buy slaves. As he passed on his way, towns and
villages smoked in the ruin which the enemy had
wrought, and in some of the market-places five or six
heads were nailed to the large trees as a warning to
all who did not willingly submit.
Although his mistress was kind to her little captive
boy, a great dread seized upon his mind ; and he
determmed to destroy himself, sooner than be sold
28 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
into the hands of the white man. It seems very
shocking that the thought of suicide should gloom
the mind of one so young; but a merciful God,
who had marked him out as a chosen vessel in His
service, overruled and prevented the rash intention.
Though he tried to strangle himself with his waist-
band, his courage failed him when he held the noose
in his hand ; and it is remarkable that the thought
of usmg a knife, which was always ready at hand,
never occurred to his mind.
Before very long they approached the district where
the Portuguese would be prepared to treat for the
purchase of slaves, and here before he saw the dreaded
white men he was given a few sips of the white man's
evn spirit, a strong and unpurified rum. Then, still
pinioned to prevent escape, the little slave boy was
brought to the edge of a river ; and as this was the
first time he had seen so much water, he was much
terrified thereat. So paralysed with fear was he that
he could not obey the command of his driver to enter
the stream to reach the boat, so he was lifted in bodily,
and hid himself among some corn bags in the bottom
of the canoe. The night came on, and through these
fearful hours poor little Adjai expected every minute
would be his last. Dreadful indeed was his terror at
the sound of the waves as they dashed against the
sides of the canoe. He had no more desire to end his
career, as he had purposed, by casting himself over-
board.
Having reached the other side of the river, he was,
with his fellow-slaves, allowed his liberty, for escape
was impossible. After landing he was then employed
as storekeeper at his master's house at Lagos.
A CHILDHOOD OF SLAVERY. 29
Then, for the first time, he encountered the white
man, a spectacle as curious and alarming to him as
the first impressions of a black man would be to a
European boy. This Portuguese, who eventually pur-
chased him, made a close examination of the points
of little Adjai, as he would of a horse, and then,
with a number of other unhappy captives, he was
attached by a padlock round his neck to a long chain,
very heavy and distressing to bear. Here they were
stowed in a barracoon, or slave hut, almost suffo-
cated with the heat, and on the slightest provocation
cruell}^ beaten with long whips.
Early one morning they were hurriedly placed on
board a slaver, one hundred and eighty seven in
number, packed in fearful contact in the hold, the
living and the dying and the dead. Sea-sickness,
hunger, thirst, and the blows of their inhuman
masters made these poor half-expiring wretches long
for the end. But just at this extremity of suffering
and helplessness came God's provided opportunity.
Two English men-of-war, cruising about the coast,
caught sight of the slave-ship and gave chase. A
brief resistance, and the sailors boarded her decks
and at once liberated her human cargo, transhipping
them to the men-of-war. The master and slave-
drivers were placed in irons, and the black men,
hardly yet realising that they were in the hands of
friends, stood on the British decks looking on with
astonishment, not unmingled with fear.
An amusing instance of their suspicious and ground-
less misgivings was that they mistook the sight of
a hog, partly cut up and hanging to the rigging, for
the body of one of their own fellows, which the
80 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
English were going to eat. This idea was further
strengthened by the appearance of a number of
cannon balls, which they concluded must be the heads
of their unfortunate comrades. Soon, however, they
were relieved on this score, and showed in every way
they could the gratitude which was in their hearts
for their liberation from such cruel bondage.
The two vessels, full of freed slaves, made for Sierra
Leone. One was wrecked in a storm, and lost all
hands, including one hundred and two slaves; the
other, with Adjai on board, reached Bathurst in
safety.
Here is a wonderful indication of the working of
the Divine overruling of events. One of the vessels
which had captured the slaver was H.M.S. Myrmidon,
and upon the deck, engaged in rescuing little Adjai
and his companions was a young officer, whose
son years afterwards was the devoted and useful
Lieutenant Shergold Smith, the leader of the mis-
sionary enterprise on Lake Nyanza.
Shortly afterwards Adjai and the other slaves were
sent from Freetown, whither they had been taken, to
Bathurst, and returned for a short time in order to
give evidence against their former Portuguese owners ;
then, coming back, they were placed under wise and
kindly care. But it will be necessary, in order to
clearly understand why this provision was already
made for the reception of these poor slaves, to retrace
a few steps of history.
The long struggle of twenty years to impress the
mind of England with the horrors and inhumanity of
the traffic in flesh and blood was becoming more and
more desperate. The famous decision of Lord Chief
A CinLDHOOD OF SLAVERY.
81
Justice Mansfield had been delivered in 1772. Thir-
teen years later Thomas Clarkson drew public atten-
tion to the subject by his prize essay at Cambridge
University. Long before the passing of the Act, the
agitation in the interest of the slave was carried on
by the Abolition Society ; and in 1787 Mr. Granville
Sharp took charge of
a crowd of four hun-
dred negroes, and
formed a settlement
for them on the West
Coast of Africa. This
projecting piece of
land, from its resem-
blance to a lion, re-
ceived the name of
Sierra Leone ; and
here, where slavery
had hitherto been
most prevalent, a co-
lony had been formed
under British protec-
tion as a rescue home
for liberated Africans.
But the congregation
of so many degraded
and lawless men soon
produced anarchy and trouble in the colony, the
moral condition of the blacks was disgraceful, and
the prospects of the success of the enterprise seemed
very remote. However, what man caniiot do God
will accomplish, and in 1816 missionaries were sent
thither by the Church Missionary Society ; and after
82 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
much toil and constantly recurring deaths of the de-
voted workers, the blessing of the Almighty was seen.
In 1822 the Lord Chief Justice publicly stated that
in a population of 10,000 there were only six cases for
trial, and not one from any village under the super-
intendence of a village schoolmaster. This gratifying
fact was noted at the very time when the future
Bishop of the Niger, then a little liberated slave-boy,
had been landed at the place.
The climate was found to be most deadly for
Europeans, and during the first twenty years of the
Mission fifty-three missionaries or their wives had
succumbed to the malaria. But as fast as gaps
were made in the army of brave hearts, others came
from England to fill their place; and so by con-
stantly renewing the earnest helpers, the work was
graciously crowned with success.
Little Adjai exhibited a proficiency for study, and
under the care of the Mission schoolmaster made
good progress. We are told that when his first day
at school was over he hastened into the town and
begged a halfpenny from one of the negroes to buy
an alphabet card, all for himself. He became in time
a monitor, and received for that official position
sevenpence-halfpenny a month ; but, best of all, it
was here that the word of the Lord came unto the
little freed slave, and gave him a liberty from the
condemnation of sin which filled his heart with new
joy. He was baptized on the 11th December, 1825,
by the Eev. J. Eaben, taking the name of Samuel
Crowther, by which name we shall henceforth speak
of him as we pass along his interesting and useful
career.
CHAPTER III.
On the Threshold of the Work.
*
" 0 for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace.
" My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honours of Thy name." — Wesley.
•^Hr'-
THE wonderful improvements which followed the
introduction of Christianity into the disorderly-
colony of freed slaves at Sierra Leone was in no small
degree due to the earnest and practical efforts put
forth in finding something for their idle hands and
undisciplined brains to do. Trades were taught the
people ; and, generally speaking, notwithstanding the
common imputation that the negro is naturally a lazy
fellow, these liberated slaves took to their handicrafts
remarkably well. We have it on the authority of
Professor Drummond, who has so recently had an
opportunity from his own observation of the natives
D
S4 SAMUEL CROWTIIER.
of tropical Africa, that to blame the African for being
lazy is a misuse of words. " He does not need to
work ; with so bountiful a nature round him it would
bo gratuitous to work. And his indolence, therefore,
as it is called, is just as much a part of himself as his
flat nose, and as little blameworthy as slowness is to
a tortoise. The fact is Africa is a nation of the un-
employed." When we free him from the forced
servitude of the slave-driver we must fmd him employ-
ment elsewhere, and with proper tact and encourage-
ment ho will soon work away with a will.
Samuel Crowther, settling down under such patient
training, was instructed in that branch of human
labour which will ever be surrounded with sacred
memories. As a carpenter he soon showed a pro-
ficiency in the use of the chisel and plane, and in
after years this abihty to work for himself and for
others became exceedingly useful to him. But not
only were his hands employed, but his mind began
to drink with avidity from the stores of human
knowledge and education. Naturally studious and
intellectual, the future Bishop yearned after more
liglit.
It is not difficult to imagine with what wild joy
he received the announcement that his kind friends,
Mr. and Mrs. Davey, vrould take him with them on a
visit to England. This was in 1826 ; and in due time
he caught the first glimpse of the white cliffs of that
wonderful land about whose power and influence he
had already heard so much. The ship reached Ports-
mouih on the 16th August ; and shortly afterwards,
during his stay of three or four months in London,
young Adjai became a pupil in the parochial school at
ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE WORK. 85
Islington. These schools still remain, overlooking the
leafy churchyard of the Chapel-of-Ease; but in the
days when the youthful Growther came to work for
the first time by the side of English boys, Islington
was still a merrie village famous for its country walks
and new milk. Altogether he was not in England
more than a year, but doubtless he made good use of
his eyes and ears in making acquaintance with
English life and manners.
Meanwhile the educational movement, inaugurated
by the Church Missionary Society at Sierra Leone, was
making good progress, and the Industrial Boarding
School had developed into its original plan of a real
Christian institution, the centre of a network of
capital schools in the districts around. Hence it was
proposed to utilise the place as a nursery for training
native teachers, and an excellent clergyman, the Eev.
C. L. F, Haensel, went out in February, 1827, to
superintend its establishment. This became in due
time Fourah Bay College ; and the first name of the
half-dozen native youths who are entered on its roll
of students is that of Samuel Crowther.
As we have shown, the fatality of the climate to
Europeans gave urgency to this effort to train others,
who did not suffer from the same physical danger, to
labour in this field. It was high time that something
should be done. The Gold Coast had earned an awful
name, and again and again its fever-stricken shores
became whitened with the bones of the stranger.
" The churchyard at Kissy," writes Bishop Vidal years
afterwards, " with its multiplied memories of those
not lost but gone before, is a silent but eloquent
witness to the kind of schooling which the missionary
36 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
for Africa requires." Very graciously God blessed the
new venture, and it became a spiritual home from
which, from time to time, its sons sallied forth, full
of faith and zeal, to preach the unsearchable riches of
the Gospel to their brethren after the flesh.
Crowther made progress, and became an assistant
teacher in the College, and this mark of confidence and
respect was quite a turning point in his career. He
who was in the Providence of God to rise to such an
honourable position in the church, never forgot the
humility of those early days, and with gratitude he was
moved to say in a letter at this time, speaking of the
moment of his being carried into captivity :
"From this period I must date the unhappy, but
which I am ever taught in other respects to call blessed,
day which I shall never forget in my life. I call it an
unhappy day, because it was the day on v^hich I was
violently turned out of my father's house and separated
from my relatives, and in which I was made to
experience what is called to be in slavery. With
regard to its being called blessed, it was the day
which Providence had marked out for me to set out on
my journey from the land of heathenism, superstition
and vice, to a place where the Gospel is preached."
This thankfulness, which welled up from his heart,
shaped itself into a determination, so far as God should
give him opportunity and ability, to work among his
own people, teaching them as he had been taught, and
leading them also to the Saviour who had manifested
Himself to him.
By his side, in those early and happy days at
Bathurst, a little girl, taken like himself from the deck
of a slave ship, was taught with him in the same
ON THE THRESUOLD OF THE WORK.
37
house. They grew up together, and in due tune she
being a Christian, was baptized from her native name
Asano into the name of Susanna. They grew fond of
each other, and after a happy period of courtship,
which is the same sweet old story in Africa ag
elsewhere, they were married. It was the beginning
THE COLLEGE, FOURAH BAY.
of a long and blissful union, in which God blessed
them with dutiful and useful children. One of them,
theEev.Dandeson Coates Crowther,is now Archdeacon
of his father's diocese ; two others are doing well as
influential and godly laymen, and of his three
daughters two have been married to native clergy-
38 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
men, and are their faithful helpmeets in the service
of our Lord.
In the year 1830 Crowther was appointed from the
College to the care of a school at Regent's Town, and
his wife was officially associated with him as school-
mistress. Two years after they were promoted to still
more important duties at Wellington ; and finally he
came back to the College on the instaUation of the
Eev. G. A. Kissling, who afterwards became Archdeacon
of New Zealand, as the new principal. Here for
some years was Crowther's sphere of work ; and it is
gratifying to notice, that several who came under his
training at this period were afterwards ordamed and
appointed as government chaplains at important
stations on the coast.
In one respect Crowther has the same invaluable
gift as Patteson, a natural aptitude for languages;
and in his work at the College and elsewhere he
showed how great an advantage he possessed in
dealing with the chiefs and headmen of the district.
Tliis marked him out for notice at a critical moment
which was approaching.
In the year 1841 the mind of England was greatly
excited with a proposal, set on foot by Her Majesty's
Government, to explore the river Niger. In a memo-
randum from Lord John Russell, then Colonial Secre-
tary, it was explained to the Lords of the Treasury that
such an expedition, suitably manned and equipped,
would open up a new field for British commerce, and
at the same time materially assist in putting down
that infamous system of slavery which the English
people so deplored. Prince Albert, then in the vigour
of young manhood, and zealous as he always was of
ON THE 1URESH0LD OF THE WORK. 39
good works, warmly espoused the idea, and the sonfci-
meiit of the people was in its favour. It was pro
posed to give those in charge of the expedition, po\Yer,
in the Queen's name, to make contracts and enter
into agreements with the native chiefs in the direc-
tion of the abolition of the slave-trade, and the intro-
duction of commercial relations. They were also to
establish stations, under proper protection, where
factories might be built, and where the native might
be taught a better method of trading than that of
selling slaves.
The Committee of the Church Missionary Society
quickly perceived in this undertaking an opportunity
of exploring those undiscovered territori-^s of the
Niger, with a view to bringing the blessings of the
Gospel to those poor benighted people. The Govern-
ment agreeing to this, two representatives of the
Society were appointed to accompany the expedition
— the Eev. James Frederick Schon and Mr. Samuel
Crowther. The former had, during his ten years at
Sierra Leone as a missionary, become an authority
upon the African people and their characteristics,
and of the latter little more need be said than that he
was burning to preach the Word of Life, at any sa-
crifice, among his own people in the far-off interior.
Happily the journals of these ncble pioneers of
Christianity have been preserved, and we shall now
quote some of their own words th'srefrom, describing m
a most interesting manner the inciaents of the voyage.
When the tidings came to Messrs. Schon and
Crowther that they were to accompany the expedi-
tion, they gladly j)repared themselves for a step,
which was not unattended with prospects of danger
40 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
to themselves. The jealousy and cruelty of hostile
tribes, and the risks to health which the fearful
climate of those regions involved, faced them as
they entered upon their task. But the prospect of
preaching the Gospel to those who had never heard
of the love of Christ was a sufficient incentive to put
aside all fears. In each case, too, a separation from
wife and home was naturally painful, but most bravely
was it borne. Mrs. Schon was only just recovering
from a serious illness, and it was not until he had
prayed long and earnestly for Divine help that her
husband ventured to break the news to her of his
immediate departure.
He tells us, " This being done, I approached the bed
of my afflicted partner, and made her acquainted
with the arrival of the vessels. She was not taken
by surprise, but, on the contrary, to my astonish-
ment, calmly replied, ' Oh ! I can bear it. Never
mind me, I am only sorry that I cannot assist you
more in getting ready. Leave me, go on with your
business, God will take care of me.' To find her in such
a frame of mind was very cheering to me ; I knew
well that flesh and blood could not have given it to
her, and that it was an answer to many prayers. I
learned to understand anew that it was the will of
God that I should engage in this important work.
Hitherto the Lord has removed all obstacles, and has
given me more than ordinary strength to prosecute
my preparations for it. And although I more than
ever feel my unfitness, I am not dismayed. I can lay
hold on the precious promises of God, and will go on
my way rejoicing."
Such was the spirit of one of these noble men, and
ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE WORK. 41
in such grand faith and self-forgetfuhiess did his wife
bid him adieu.
With Crowther the parting was not less costly or
trying to human feeling. For many reasons he expo-
rienced much reluctance to leave Fourah Bay, his
College work, his home, and those dear to him. Not
a few tears were secretly shed during the packing of
his boxes ; but on the 1st July the Soudan sailed,
and he waved his last farewells to those on shore.
"To-day about 11 o'clock," he tells us, "the
Soudan got under way for the Niger, the highway
into the heart of Africa. She was soon followed by
the Wilherforce, which took her in tow in order to
save fuel. When I looked back on the colony in which
I had spent nineteen years — the happiest part of my
life, because there I was made acquainted with the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ — leaving my wife,
who was near her confinement, and four children
behind — I could not but feel pain and some anxiety
for a time at the separation. May the Lord, who has
been my guide from my youth up until now, keep them
and me, and make me neither barren nor unfruitful
in His service."
It was a sharp disappointment to Schon and
Crowther to find that they were not to travel to-
gether, the former being attached to the Wilberforce,
especially as they were hoping to work conjointly in
their leisure in translating the Scriptures into the
languages of the inland tribes. But by this arrange-
ment we have now two distinct and most interesting
accounts of the expedition, the Wilherforce exploring
the Tshadda, and the Soudan passing up the main
stream of the Niger.
42
SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Bearing no arms of war ; equipi^ed for no devas-
tating conflict with the natives, but carrying a mes-
sage of peace and g odwill, these Enghsh vessels
steamed up the river. The brave men who stood
full of hope upon their decks little dreamt how
disastrous would prove their venture, and how the
return of their vessels w^ould bring but a feeble
remnant back to their native land!
CHAPTER IV.
The Niger first Explored.
*
" Rise, gracious God, and shine
In all Thy saving might ;
And prosper each design
To spread Thy glorious light.
Let healing streams of mercy flow,
That all the earth Thy truth may know."— HURN.
» i UGUST 20th, 1841. The Wilherforce and the
A Soudan (so runs Crowther's journal) got under
way this morning in pursuit of the Albert, and in
about two hours we lost sight of the sea, and were
completely surrounded by thick mangroves on both
sides of the creek. Apparent satisfaction was seen on
every countenance, that we had now commenced our
river navigation, although some could not help re-
marking that they were going to their graves.
" August 21. We were gradually introduced from
the mangroves into a forest of palm and bamboo trees,
embellished with large cotton trees of curious shapes,
interspersed among them on both sides of the river,
and of other lofty trees of beautiful foliage. All hands
44 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
were invited on deck by this new scenery, and the day
was spent with great interest at this novel appearance.
We passed on both sides of the river several plantations
of bananas, plantains, sugar-canes, cocoa or kalabe —
so-called by the Americans — and now and then some
huts with natives in them.
" The natives were so timid that they several times
pulled their canoes ashore, and ran away into the bush,
where they hid themselves among the grass, and
peeped at the steamers with fear and great astonish-
ment. We got opposite to a village containing about
seven or eight huts, where the inhabitants in very
great earnest armed themselves with sticks and
country billhooks, and ran along the bank to a
neighbouring village, to apprise the villagers of the
dreadful approach of our wonderful floating and self-
moving habitation. These villagers also followed the
example of their informers. Having armed themselves
in like manner, they betook themselves to the next
village to bring them the same tidings. When they
were encouraged to come on board, it was difficult to find
persons brave enough to do so. Those who ventured
to come near took care not to go further from shore
than the distance of a leap from their canoe, in case
there should be cause for it.
" The Captain perceiving some of them inclined to
come off, stopped the engine, and persuaded them to
come near us. In the meantime he had come opposite
to a larger village into which all the former villagers
had collected themselves. There was a little boy who
acted as their interpreter because he understood two
English words, 'Yes' and 'Tabac,' which he had
picked up at some place. They constantly told him
THE NIGER FIRST EXPLORED. 4o
something to tell us, but he could not say anything
else besides his 'yes' and ' tabac'
" After much hesitation a large canoe came off with
no less than forty-three persons in it. It was with
great difficulty that some of them were persuaded to
come on board. Their fear may be accounted for by
the slave-traders having often pursued their victims
through the mangrove sv;amp. My expectation was
greatly raised when I found among them a Yoruba boy
of about thirteen years of age, from whom I thought we
could get some information about these people ; but
the poor little fellow had almost lost his native lan-
guage, through his lonely situation among them. He
could not even understand me very well when I asked
him about his father and mother and his own town.
He must have travelled hundreds of miles before he
got into this secret part of Africa. Here we were
overtaken by the Albert and Wilherforce, the latter took
another branch of the river this evening to prove its
course. The Albert and the Soudan dropped anchors
about ten miles from the branch taken by the Wilber-
force, to spend the first Sabbath of our ascent up the
Niger. Plenty of cocoanut trees were seen in many of
the villages to-day.
" August 22, the Lord's Day. We are now below a
small village quietly enjoying the Christian Sabbath.
Not more than two furlongs from us are a people who
know no heaven, fear no hell, and who are strangers
from the covenant of promise, having no hope and
without Grod in the world. How inexcusable art thou,
0 man, who art living in a place where the gospel of
Christ is preached every Sabbath, yet who preferrest
to live in darkness, in ignorance of God, of Christ, and
40 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
of the state of thine own soul, to being made wise unto
salvation by the saving knowledge of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Take care lest these people rise up in
judgment against thee, and condemn thee, because
thou rejectest the counsel of God aganist thyself.
" August 23. This morning, about half-past 5 o'clock,
we got mider way, leaving the Albert behind, as she
was waituig for the return of the Wilherforce. We
continued to pass several huts and plantations of
sugar-canes, bananas, and plantains. Many natives
made their appearance, and came out to us in their
canoes; some being dressed in old soldiers' and
drummers' coats, having on old common black hats.
You scarcely can imagine how they looked in these
dresses, having on neither shirt nor trousers, with the
exception of a piece of cloth or handkerchief around
their waists. As their coats were red and showy,
they took a very great pride in their whimsical dresses.
A blue flag, with fanciful figures of man, monkey,
bottle, etc., was flying in one of their canoes. They
were not afraid of us, for they came of their own
accord, with their notes of recommendation from the
captams of former steamers. After we had steamed
for about two hours we came to another large village,
from whence the natives soon came around us with
plenty of bananas and plantains. The people here
scarce want anything else in exchange for their fruits
beside rum, for which they constantly call out,
* Vlolo, Vlolo ! ' at the same time applying their
hands to their mouths, intimating to us that they
wanted something to drink. But as Captain Allen
would not countenance anything of the kind, we could
buy very little of their things.
48 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
"August 29, Lord's Day. Lay at anchor yester-
day, a little above Ibo, to enjoy the Sabbath, an
emblem of the rest that remameth for the people of
God."
Crowther then goes on to describe hiis visit to king
Obi, a potentate whose position and influence made the
incident of his coming in contact with the expedition
of much importance. A man of average size, with a
pleasant smile, dressed in calico trousers and coat,
and ornamented with huge strips of pipe coral, leopard's
teeth and brass buttons. In order that we may
better understand the king and his people we will
quote from the journal of Mr. Schon, who had specially
to arrange the slave treaty with him.
" King Obi sent one of his sons to welcome the
strangers. He was a very fine-looking young man,
about twenty years of age. Both himself and his
companions attended our morning devotions, after
which I told them what book it was of which I had
been reading a portion, and that I had come to this
country to tell the people what God had in it revealed
to us. They were surprised, and could not well
understand how it was possible that I should have no
other object in view. They are sensible of their
inferiority in every respect to white men, and can
therefore be easily led by them either to do evil or
good.
" When I told one this morning that the slave trade
was a bad thing, and that white people wished to put
an end .to it altogether, he gave me an excellent
answer, * Well, if white people give up buying, black
people will give up selling slaves.' He assured me,
too, that it had hitherto been his belief, that it was
THE NIGER FIRST EXPLORED. 49
the will of God that black people should be slaves of
white people !
" This afternoon I satisfied myself of the correctness
of various particulars which I had previously obtained
of the Ibo people respecting some of their superstitious
practices. It appears to be but too true that human
sacrifices are offered by them, and that in the most bar-
barous manner. The legs of the devoted victim are tied
together, and he is dragged from place to place till he
expires. The person who gave me this information
told me that one man had been dragged about for
nearly a whole day before his sufferings terminated in
death. The body is afterwards cast into the river.
Interment is always denied them, they must become
food for alligators or fishes. Sometimes people are
fastened to trees or to branches close to the river until
they are famished.
"Also if a child should happen to cut its top teeth
first the poor infant is likewise killed; it is considered
to indicate that the child, were it allowed to live,
would become a very bad person. To say to any
person, * You cut your top teeth first,' is, therefore,
as much as to say nothing good can be expected
from you ; you are born to do evil, it is impossible
for you to act otherwise
" The Ibos are in their way a religious people, the
word ' Tshuku,' God, is continually heard. Tshuku is
supposed to do everything. When a few bananas fell
out of the hands of one into the water, he comforted
himself by saying, ' God has done it.'
" Their notions of some of the attributes of the
Supreme Being are in many respects correct, and
their manner of expressing them striking. * God
B
60 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
made everything. He made both white and black,'
is continually on their lips. Some of their parables
are descriptive of the perfections of God, when they
say, for instance, that God has two eyes and two ears,
that the one is in heaven and the other on earth. I
suppose the conception that they have of God's
omniscience and omnipresence cannot be disputed.
" On the death of a person who has in their estimation
been good, they will say, * He will see God ; ' while of
a wicked person they will say, * He will go into fire.'
" I had frequent opportunities of hearing these expres-
sions at Sierra Leone ; and though I was assured that
they had not heard them from Christians, I would not
state them before I had satisfied myself by inquiring
of such as had never had any intercourse with Chris-
tians, that they possessed correct ideas of a future
state of reward and punishment. Truly God has not
left Himself without witness !
** Another subject upon which they are generally
agreed, but which I am sorry to say, I shall have no
opportunity of pursuing any further, is the following :
It is their common belief that there is a certain place
or town in the Ibo country in which Tshuku dwells,
and where he delivers his oracles and answers inquiries.
Any matter of importance is left to his decision, and
people travel to the place from every part of the
country. It is said to be in the rainy season three
months' journey from this town, but that in the dry
season it could be made in a much shorter time.
" I was informed to-day that last year Tshuku had
given sentence against the slave trade. The person
of him is placed on a piece of ground which is imme-
diately and miraculously surrounded by water. Tshuku
THE NIGER FIRST EXPLORED.
cannot be seen by any human eye, his voice is heard
from the ground. He knows every language on earth,
makes known thieves, and
if there is fraud in the
heart of the inquiring he
is sure to find it out, and
woe to such a person, for
he will never return. He
hears every word that is
said against him, but can
only revenge himself when
persons come near him.
I once asked a man, * Did
the people ever drive him
out of his hole ? ' when he
said to me very seriously,
* Master, do not take such
a word, perhaps by-and-
by you go see the place.
Tshuku will kill you. You
hear now, " You must drive
me out of my hole;" and
the time he begin for talk
you no go open your mouth
again.' They sincerely
believe all these things,
and many others respecting
Tshuku, and obey his orders
implicitly ; and if it should
be correct that he has said
that they should give up
the slave trade, I have no doubt that they will do
it at once."
52 SAMUEL CROWTHER,
The native interpreter on board the Wilherforce was
Simon Jonas, one of the hberated slaves ; and when
he came amongst people who had known him they
could not credit the fact of his being still alive and
well. It was the prevalent notion among these natives
that slaves purchased by the white people were killed
and eaten, and their blood used to dye red cloth. One
of these poor heathen was, at the request of the inter-
preter, brought on board, and Mr. Schon goes on to
tell us :
" Though many years had elapsed since our inter-
preter was sold, and the other had in the meantime
become an old man, they instantly recognised each
other, and I cannot describe the astonishment mani-
fested by the Ibo man at seeing one whom he verily
believed had long since been killed and eaten by the
white people. His expressions of surprise were strong,
but very significant. ' If God Himself,' he said, ' had
told me this I could not have believed what my eyes
now see.' The interpreter then found out that Any a
was the very place to which he had been first sold as
a slave, and at which he had spent nine years of his
early life, and that the very person with whom he
was speaking had been his doctor and nurse in a
severe illness, on which account he had retained a
thankful remembrance of him. The Ibo man was
kindly treated by the captain, and his request to be
allowed to accompany us to Obi was instantly granted.
He calls himself brother to Obi ; but it is well known
that the word * brother ' has a most extensive signi-
fication in Western Africa. When he was asked
whether he thought that Obi would be glad to see
white men, he gave a reply which I was not prepared
THE NIGER FIRST EXPLORED.
53
to hear from the hps of a pagan. ' These three
months,' he said, ' we have been praymg to God to
send white man's ship.'
" Oh that I could beheve and be convinced that this
was something of the cry of the Macedonians, ' Come
over, and help us ! ' But a suspicious thought in-
trudes itself on my mind, and makes me suppose that
it is the desire of seeing a slave dealer with his cargo
in exchange for their own flesh and blood."
CHAPTER V.
A Sorrowful Return.
•^le
•' While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages cleft for me.
Let me hide myself in Thee ! "— ToplajjY.
^
THERE are few spectacles so disappointing as that
of brave endeavour baffled by forces which it
cannot overcome, returning with its noble aim un-
accomplished. Nothing could exceed the courage and
energy displayed by those who composed this expedi-
tion up the Niger ; and although in dealing with these
native tribes, especially on such a delicate subject as
the commerce in slaves, the explorers held their lives
very cheaply, they found a foe barring their progress
which no efforts of theirs could overcome. A pesti-
lential fever, which, leaving no impression on the
natives, was rapidly fatal to Europeans, soon began
to decimate the party. It is a saddening record
of high hopes extinguished in feebleness and pain.
There seemed to be a strange fatality attaching to
A SORROWFUL RETURN. 55
the ships, and accident as well as disease was at
work in impeding their progress.
Crowther tells us that when they reached the im-
portant native town of Attah, " the Ingalla inter-
jDreter, whose services were mostly needed at this
place, accidently fell overboard from the Albert, and
was drowned. I was just on the way to ask permis-
sion to go on board the Albert, as she was going nearer
the town with all who were desirous of going on
shore, when she got under way, in search of this
poor man who had made himself very useful in this
country. The Lord seeth not as man seeth. ' Trust
not in man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for
wherein is he to be accounted of.' "
It appears from what Mr. Schon says of this event,
that there was reason to deplore specially the end of
this man's life. He was a Christian convert, and had
been a communicant for several years of the church
in Sierra Leone ; and his only child, a girl of fifteen,
was then a promising pupil in one of the schools.
It seems, however, that on his return to his native
place here he spent the night on shore against the
orders of the commander, and had partaken too
freely of the palm wine of the natives. Thus it is
feared that on his return he was not altogether under
control, and paid the awful penalty of losing his life.
At his death the apathy of the natives was apparent,
although the poor fellow was struggling in the water
within reach of three canoes, holding at least a
hundred persons, not one attempted to stretch out a
hand to help him !
As the vessels approached the confluence of the
Tshadda with the Niger, the country became more
56 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
hilly, and the river had overflowed its banks, flooding
the villages in the vicinity up to the tops of the huts.
But notwithstanding the pleasant scenery, the illness
which was spreading over the vessels told too plainly
how deadly was the climate. Mr. Schon tells us what
he felt at this moment.
" The country we are now in, the clear air and dry
atmosphere we now enjoy would cause us to doubt
that the climate could be dangerous, were it not for
the sick and the dying by whom we are surrounded.
I pray for them, I pray with them, and thek sick-
beds have taught me many a lesson. I cannot speak
of decided cases of sick or death-bed conversions ;
but I have had pleasing proofs that my feeble assist-
ance was acceptable, and, I trust, blessed by God to
them. Of some I am certain that they have not
engaged in this expedition for the sake of double pay,
but were actuated by better and nobler motives ; and
to them belongs the promise of the Saviour, that they
shall in no wise lose their reward. I feel much sup-
ported by the assurance that many prayers are offered
up in distant lands on our behalf, by the friends of
the great cause in which we have the honour to be
engaged. The heat to-day was great — 87° at 5 p.m.
— but by no means oppressive. The only incon-
venience I felt arose from the want of sound sleep.
I am covered with the prickly-heat, which made me
feel all the night as if I was lying on needles.
" September 12th, Lord's Day. Another death on
board the Albert last night, and several persons still
very ill in each of our vessels. There is no knowing
what another day may bring forth. If ever I felt
the importance and responsibility of the minister of
A SORROWFUL RETURN. 57
the Gospel it -was to-day. Our service was to my
mind a solemn one. I administered the sacrament
for the first time on board the Wilherforce. The ser-
vice was held on the quarter-deck ; behind me was
the lifeless corpse of N , a sailor who expired last
night, before me an attentive audience of as many as
could be spared from their work. On deck were the
carpenters making a coffin ; on the forecastle of the
vessel were seven persons dangerously ill of fever ;
and at a few yards from us was the Albert, lying with
the usual sign of mourning — a lowered flag. I spoke
on the right state of mind which ought to possess us
at the approach of death. My text was taken from
Acts vii., the last two verses. It was not a studied
sermon, it came from the heart ; and if I'm not mis-
taken, found its way to the heart. The sailor was
buried by myself at Adda kudda this evening. I
heard of no new case of sickness to-day, and was
thankful when I observed that some of our people
were to all appearance improvmg. I could truly and
fully enter into the feelings of one man when he told
me that he hoped by God's mercy to be spared and
permitted to see his wife and child once more. The
chord of sympathy was powerfully touched by his
expression of this desire."
One of the most serious aspects of this fever was
that the medical men attached to the expedition were
beginning to suffer themselves ; and one of them, Mr.
Nightingale, the surgeon on the Albert, was mortally
struck down. He was a young and particularly healthy
man, with a prospect of being very useful, and learned
in his profession. One of the two missionaries was
with him in his dying moments, and was led to believe
58 SAMUEL CROWTIIER,
from his last words that the Saviour of sinners was
precious to him. Fifty-five persons were now lying
helpless on the decks of the ship, and from time to
time they were added to the number of the dead.
Where they had hoped to bring the blessing of Chris-
tian teaching they found only a grave, and a piece
of land was purchased from the king of Attah as a
burial ground, where Dr. Nightingale and others were
interred. A deep solemnity rested on the crews, and
the morning and evening prayers became times of
impressive feeling. As the shadows drew on and
night closed in they sang with heart-breaking emotion
and yet a reviving faith,
" Why do we mourn departing friends,
Or shake at death's alarms ?
'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends
To call them to His arms."
At last the captains being laid low, urgent steps
were necessary, and it was decided that the Soudan,
with a mournful cargo of invalids, should turn and
glide with all haste back to the sea. With it Crowther
returned ; and he tells us how dispiriting was that
journey, in which the two brave leaders, Captain
Trotter and Captain Allen, were lying side by side in
dangerous sickness. Death passed among the suffering,
and again and again they had to consign their bodies
to the deep ; while many of those who lived on raged
in delirium, and in one or two cases flung themselves
from the ships in the madness of fever. The Wilber-
force followed on the homeward track shortly after-
wards, a moving hospital, with scarcely enough
strength on board to direct its passage down the river.
The Albert, however, with a veiy small staff, was
60 SAMUEL GROWTH ER.
ordered to pursue her way up stream, and upon her
decks was Mr. Schon. With varymg experiences they
pursued their way, coming in contact with the Nufi
people ; observing everywhere the terror exhibited at
the oj)pression by the Fulatahs, and having a most
interesting and encouraging interview with Eogan^ an
old chief, at Egga. The Mohammedans had it all
their own way in these districts, and the Mallams who
represented that religion treated Mr. Schon very cour-
teously, giving him copies of their Arabic books,
which, however, they were not able themselves to
read. Much valuable information was obtained as to
the sale of slaves ; of service to those who came after-
wards. But death pointed once more with bony
finger down the stream, and commanded them to
return. We read in Mr. Schon's journals :
" October 4th. ' Hitherto shalt thou come and no
further,' was the message of this morning. ' Draw
up the anchor and return to the sea as fast as pos-
sible.' I always apprehended this. My feelings
naturally opposed it continually, and the thought of
it grieved my heart ; but now I feel reconciled to it,
seeing that it is the only resource left to us. Captain
Trotter was taken ill last evening, and the symptoms
of fever were too plain this morning to favour the
hope that it was merely a momentary indisposition.
Only one European officer was able to perform duty
on board. The fever on the others has not subdued ;
and not one will be able to do duty for some time,
even should their lives be spared, which at present
appears very doubtful.
"We made but little progress to-day in our return
to the sea, as there was some business going on at
A SORROWFUL RETURN. 61
Egga, and the engineers being still ill, steam could
not be got up. Captain Trotter, I am thankful to say,
appeared better this afternoon ; but the other invalids,
I am sorry to add, were apparently no better. May
their valuable lives be preserved for the good of the
cause in which they are zealously labouring.
" October 5th. All of us were disturbed last night
by the illness of several of our com^^anions, but espe-
cially by one, who, in a state of delirium, continued
making a great noise up to one o'clock this morning.
In the gun-room we surrounded the dying bed of
Lieutenant Stenhouse, expecting every moment to see
him yield up his spirit unto God who gave it. He was
partially delirious, but there was a great contrast in
his conduct to that of the others : the former cried,
* We are all lost — we are all lost — God Almighty
has said it ; ' while the lieutenant was as meek and
gentle as a lamb, and his expressions betrayed grief
on account of sin, and at times indicated some enjoy-
ment of the consolations of the Gospel.
" He said, ' God be merciful to me, Christ died for
me. Thy kingdom come !' Seizing my hand, he said,
* God bless you ! God be with you. I thank you.'
" Captain B, Allen seemed better in health this
morning. He is always in an excellent frame of mind ;
all the Christian graces shine in him. He says, and,
with the Apostle, feels what he says to be true, ' For me
to live is Christ, and to die is gain ; ' and if there be a
jDrevailing desire in his mind it certainly is, * rather
to be absent from the body and to be present with
the Lord.' O enviable state of mind ! May my soul
be seeking more and more to be in such a state ! "
The intense trouble which wrung the heart of Mr.
62- SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Scli6n may be seen in the following extract written at
the moment of their sad return, when he says that
the whole result of the expedition may be written in
one terrible word, "failure ! "
** I long for better days, and for a change in our
condition. I have endured personal sufferings, family
afflictions, sore and grievous, and witnessed and shared
in the trials of others during my residence of eight
years in Sierra Leone, but nothing that I have
hitherto seen or felt can be compared with our present
condition. Pain of body, distress of mind, weakness,
sorrow, sobbing, and crying, surround us on all sides.
The healthy, if so they may be called, are more like
walking shadows than men of enterprise. Truly,
Africa is an unhealthy country ! When will her
redemption draw nigh ? All human skill is baffled —
all human means fall short. Forgive us, 0 God, if in
these we have depended and been forgetful of Thee,
and let the light of Thy countenance again shine
upon us that we may be healed ! "
In due time they sighted the other ship, and a new
life thrilled the blood of the poor invalids as it was
announced to them that the sea glittered in the
distance. The salt breath of the ocean seemed to
bring energy back again ; but alas, to many it was but
the flicker of life's expiring flame ! With hearts full
of deep thankfulness, Mr. Schon and Mr. Crowther
met each other once more ; and thus ended the fatal
and sorrowful enterprise known as the first Niger
expedition. So great was the disappointment and
regret in England that for twelve years public opinion
would not allow another expedition to follow it.
CHAPTER VI.
An Unexpected and Happy Meeting.
— -^ —
" Tell it out among the heathen that the Saviour reigns !
Tell it out ! TeU it out !
Tell it out among the nations, bid them burst their chains I
Tell it out ! Tell it out 1
Tell it out among the weeping ones that Jesus lives,
Tell it out among the weary ones what rest He gives ;
Tell it out among the sinners that He came to save.
Tell it out among the dying that He triumphed o'er the grave.'
Haveegal.
-^1^
ALTHOUGH the first Niger expedition had closed so dis-
astrously, there was one fact which it evidenced
most satisfactorily, namely, that Samuel Crowther had
within him the stuff of which a true missionary is
made, and was entitled to be ranked among those
glorious witnesses for Christ who are charged with the
message of mercy to heathen lands. In many hours
of trial and suffering, when the crews of the ill-fated
vessels lay around the decks in agony, Crowther
showed the sympathy of a Christian minister, and his
words were not unfruitful at such a trying time.
There was also shown in his treatment of the chiefs
of the various tribes the advantage of negotiating
64 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
through one of their own colour and country, and
whatever success did attend the efforts put forth in
establishing good relations with the natives was
largely due to the services of the future Bishop of
the Niger. Combining courage with gentleness, and
possessing no small show of that patient tact which
is indispensable in dealing with these people,
Crowther won his spiritual spurs under these trying
circumstances. It was also very satisfactory to find
that while the white people were prostrate with
sickness, Crowther maintained his thoughts and
vigour, demonstrating beyond question the import-
ance of working such a dangerous field with native
agency.
It is not surprising, therefore, that on his return to
Fourah Bay College, Mr. Schon wrote to the Committee
of the Church Missionary Society in Lomlon, pointing
out Crowther's usefulness and ability, and recommend-
ing them to prepare him for ordination. In accordance
with this he was recalled to England, and on the 3rd
of September 1842, landed again upon our shores.
During this voyage he had busied himself with his
translations, and had prepared a grammar and voca-
bulary of the Yoruba tongue, which was afterwards
of the greatest service in spreading the Gospel among
those of his own people and country. He came
to the Highbury Missionary College, in the Upper
Street, Islington, which was then under the able care
of Eev. C. F. Childe. Here he prosecuted his studies,
and in due time, on Trinity Sunday, June 11th, 1843,
he received at the hands of the Bishop of London
(Dr. Blomfield) the rite of ordination, the first of
several native clergy who were then dedicating them-
AN UNEXPECTED AND HAPPY MEETING. 65
selves to the service of the Lord. After four months
of diaconate he was admitted into full orders as a
minister of Christ's flock.
It was the beginnmg of a new era in missionary
enterprise, and the good Bishop in his sermon on
behalf of the Society, referred to it in these terms of
appreciation and gratitude : —
"What cause for thanksgiving to Him, who hath
made of one blood all nations of men, is to be found
in the thought that has not only blessed the labourers
of the Society by bringing many of those neglecte.d
and persecuted people to the knowledge of a Saviour,
but that from among a race who were despised as
incapable of intellectual exertion and acquirement,
He has raised up men well qualified, even in point
of knowledge, to communicate to others the saving
truths which they have themselves embraced, and to
become preachers of the Gospel to their brethren
according to the flesh."
As soon as possible Crowther was on his way to
Africa ; and it was on the 2nd December, 1843, that
once more he stepped on shore at Sierra Leone, and
on the Sunday following preached his first sermon in
English to the crowded assembly of native Christians
which filled the chm-ch. His text was appropriately,
"And yet there is room," and he spoke, as it were, the
pioneer word of faith and hope in his new work. At
the close of the sermon he administered the sacrament
to a large number of negroes, and when he got home
penned the following words in his journal :
"December 3rd. Preached my first sermon in
Africa. . •. . The novelty of seeing a native clergyman
performing divine service excited a very great interest
F
66 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
among all who were present. But the question,
* Who maketh thee to differ ? ' filled me with shame
and confusion of face. It pleases the Disposer of all
hearts to give me favour in the sight of His people,
and wherever I go they welcome me as a messenger
of Christ."
Not long afterwards he preached again, but in his
native Yoruba ; and among a crowd of rescued slaves
he proclaimed in their own language the wonderful
works and mercy of God. At the close they all
heartily responded with " Ke oh sheh," their equiva-
lent for our "Amen."
We have already seen, in giving the details of
Crowther's capture as a slave, how fiercely the Foulah
race were devastating the Yoruba people. The object
of these wars seems to have been simply to supply men
for the slave-market, and to effect this, three hundred
native towns were ruthlessly destroyed. But such
oppression could not for ever be pui'sued ; so we find
that the several refugees gathered together finally
at a spot where a huge rock, called Olumo, lifted up
its head as with a protective air, and there they
founded a great city, four miles in diameter, and with
a population of 100,000 souls, called Abeokuta, or
*' under the stone." They strongly fortified their
position; and being only seventy miles from their
port of Badagry, a trade soon began to be established
between their city and Sierra Leone. Some of those
who returned from the latter place to Abeokuta
were baptized Christians, and they begged that a
missionary might be sent to them. Mr. Henry Town-
send was therefore despatched thither, and received
from the principal chief, Shodeke, a very cordial recep-
AN UNEXPECTED AND HAPPY MEETING. 67
tion. Thus in 1844 the Yoruba Mission was begun,
and Crowther, with Mr. Gollmer, another missionary,
went there to estabhsh this work, taking with them
their wives and children, with interpreters and native
catechists.
They were detained for eighteen months at Badagry ;
and while there learned with some dismay that the
friendly chief Shodeke was dead, although they soon
received from his successor a hearty welcome.
Dm-ing this enforced stay at Badagry they worked hard
among the people. Crowther translated the Scriptures
into Yoruba, and preached the Gospel to a large war
camp which was estabhshed in the district. The
door of opportunity which eventually opened for them
to go up hke men to take the city in Christ's name
was singularly unclosed by a slave dealer. This man
was finding his infamous trade suffering, so he sent
;£200 m presents to the chief at Abeokuta, offering
more in return for slaves. With this Crowther sent a
messenger to the new chief, Sagbua, and immediately
the road was opened and the missionaries entered
Abeokuta on August 3rd, 1846. Great rejoicings
followed their arrival, the Christians especially hail-
ing with delight teachers who would instruct them
and build up thek Church. And here, after three
weeks, there occurred an incident in the life of
Crowther, which is perhaps one of the most pathetic
and interesting this book can record. It was the
meetmg with his mother. We cannot refrain from
telling the story in his own words.
"August 21. The text for this day in the Christian
Almanac, is ' Thou art the Helper of the fatherless.'
I have never felt the force of this text more than I
68 SAMUEL CllOWTHER.
did this day, as I have to relate that my mother, from
whom I was torn away about five-and-twenty years
ago, came with my brother in quest of me. When
she saw me she trembled. She could not believe her
own eyes. We grasped one another, looking at each
other with silence and great astonishment, big tears
rolling down her emaciated cheeks. A great number
of people soon came together. She trembled as she
held me by the hand and called me by the familiar
names by which I well remember I used to be called
by my grandmother, who has since died in slavery.
We could not say much, but sat still, and cast now
and then an affectionate look at each other — a look
which violence and oppression had long checked —
an affection which had nearly been extinguished by
the long space of twenty-five years. My two sisters
who were captured with us, are both with my mother,
who takes care of them and her grandchildren in a
small town not far from here, called Abaka. Thus
unsought for— after all search for me had failed —
God has brought us together again, and turned our
sorrow into joy."
Shortly afterwards, during a tribal war, Abaka
was destroyed by the enemy, and Crowther's sisters,
their husbands, and children sold as slaves. He
however ransomed them ; and his mother, safe in
Abeokuta, became the first-fruits of the mission
there. That it was blessed with success may be
gathered by a note which Crowther makes in his
journal, under date August 3rd, 1849 : "This mission is
to-day three years old. What has God wrought during
this short interval of conflict between light and dark-
ness ! We have 500 constant attendants on the means
70 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
of grace, about 80 communicants, and nearly 200
candidates for baptism. A great number of heatben
have ceased worshipping their country's gods ; others
have cast theirs away altogether, and are not far
from enlisting under the banner of Christ."
About this time Mr. Townsend was recalled to
England, and the Egba chiefs of their own accord,
sent by him a letter to the Queen, expressing their
gratitude for the repression of the slave trade, and
asking that commerce might be encouraged with
the Yoruba nation.
"We have seen your servants the missionaries;
what they have done is agreeable to us. They have
built a House of God. They have taught the people
the Word of God and our children beside. We begin
to understand them."
The Earl of Chichester was instructed to reply
graciously to this native appeal ; and on a grand oc-
casion when all the great chiefs were gathered together
for that purpose, on May 23rd, 1849, the answer
was read. Mr. Crowther was the spokesman, and
translated the letter sentence by sentence in their
ears. Here is part of it.
" The Queen and people of England are very glad
to know that Sagbua and the chiefs think as they do
upon the subject of commerce. But commerce alone
will not make a nation great and happy like
England. England has been great and happy by
the knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ.
The Queen is, therefore, very glad to hear that Sagbua
and the chiefs have so kindly received the missionaries
who carry with them the Word of God, and that so
many people are willing to hear it."
AN UNEXPECTED AND HAPPY MEETING. 71
With this kind and admirable message came some
presents, two magnificent Bibles in English and
Arabic respectively from the Queen, and a steel corn
mill from Prince Albert ; this latter was a marvel to
the men. Crowther tells us how in their sight he
fixed the mill ; and then some Indian corn being put
in the funnel, to their great astonishment it came out
white flom' by simply turning the handle. It is
worthy of note that Crowther was a practical friend
and helper to these j^eople. He taught them handi-
crafts, and encouraged them in the cultivation of
cotton, for which there seemed a wonderful opening
in the way of trade.
The labours of these missionaries, and their friends
at home, for the restriction, if not total suppression,
of the slave trade, began to bear good fruit. The
principal centre of this infamous traffic on the coast
was Lagos, where, after vainly trying to impose
pledges upon the slave-owning tyrant of the district,
the English took possession of the place, and soon
changed what had been a desolate swamp with the
most distressing associations, into a thriving and
prosperous town. Lagos became a commercial out-
let of considerable importance, and a brisk trade
was speedily established between this place and
Liverpool.
Once more we find Crowther in England, and this
time engaged with Lord Palmerston in placing before
him the condition of things at Abeokuta, enlisting
his sympathy and help for the native Christians.
The king of Dahomey, with such a vile reputation
for cruelty and bloodshed, wa"" Harassing the states
which desired to co-operate with the English people
72 SAMUEL CllOWTHER.
in the advancement of religion and commerce. The
words of Crowther were not miavailing, and Lord
Palmerston soon afterwards wrote to him in the
following words :
" I am glad to have an opportunity of thanking you
again for the important and interesting information
with regard to Aheokuta, which yoa communicated
to me when I had the pleasure of seeing you at my
house in August last. I request that you will assure
your countrymen, that H.M. Government take a
lively interest in the welfare of the Egba natives, and
of the community settled at Aheokuta, which town
seems destined to be a centre from which the lights
of Christianity and of civilization may he spread
over the neighbouring countries."
Supported by such a generous interest in the welfare
of the people, the Missionary Societies in England
stirred themselves to reach out to the natives of the
interior the blessings of the Gospel ; and the Church
Missionary Committee were not behindhand in the
good cause.
Crowther, who was still working in England, was
able to complete his . valuable dictionary of the
Yoruba language, for the service of out-going helpers ;
and the Eev. 0. Vidal, a clergyman of remarkable
linguistic gifts, was consecrated Bishop of Sierra
Leone.
God's ways are past finding out, and it is lamentable
to record that this faithful and useful pastor of the
flock of Christ was spared only for two years, dying,
to the regret and loss of all, on his way to England.
But though the great Taskmaster buries his workers,
the work goes on ; and as those whom He sent to feed
AN UNEXPECTED AND TIAPPY MEETING.
73
His flock on that fatal shore were in succession laid
low, He supplied their places with other brave and
capable men.
Although in Bishop Vidal the Mission lost a valu-
able helper the vacant episcopate was well filled again
by Bishop Weeks, who had a long and useful knowledge
of the colony already. Then on his decease from fever,
after two years' work, Dr. Bowen left the Holy Land
to take his place. Two years more, and he, too, died
in harness; and since then Sierra Leone has had
three other bishops in succession.
CHAPTER VII.
ANOTHER Brave and Better Voyage.
— ^f- —
" Thou, whose Almighty Word,
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight.
Hear us, we humbly pray.
And where the Gospel-day
Sheds not its glorious ray
Let there be light." — Marriott.
*^
AN expedition was once more fitted out to learn the
secret of the Niger, and to follow — and if possible
further extend — the path of their unhappy predecessors.
In this case it was with the consent, but not at the
expense of the English Government, having been
started by Mr. Macgregor Laird, a merchant of Mincing
Lane, who, with a small party on his vessel the Pleiad,
had made up his mind " to establish a basis of com-
merce with the nations of the interior." There was
also another incentive in the fact that Dr. Barth, the
eminent African traveller, was supposed to be lost in
the interior, and it was hoped that the expedition
might meet with him, and bring him home. By the
ANOTHER BRAVE AND BETTER VOYAGE. 75
permission of the Committee of the Church Missionary
Society, CroNvther was permitted to accompany the
explorers, and Mr. Simon Jonas, a native interpreter
and a Christian, was also allowed to make another
of the party.
Crowther had by this time returned to Africa, and
had continued, at Abeolmta and elsewhere, to make
known the unsearchable riches of Christ. He spent
some time in Sierra Leone, preaching in a manner to
arouse the greatest enthusiasm on behalf of his work
up the river. On landing at Lagos he was struck with
the recollections of the place, when as a little slave boy
he had first caught sight, with fear and trembling, of
the great sea. He says, " I could well reoollect many
places I knew during my captivity, so I went over the
spots where slave barracoons used to be. What a
difference ! Some of the spots are now converted into
plantations of maize and cassava, and sheds built on
others are filled with casks of palm oil and other
merchandise, instead of slaves in chains and irons,
in agony and despair."
His church at Abeokuta was a large and well-built
edifice, boasting eight windows, and generally filled
with a dense congregation of about three hundred
natives. In one place the school children were
seated, and all through the service the attentive
audience, dressed in native costume, was a gratifying
example of what Christianity can do for the welfare
of savage man.
Already the babalamos or priests were gaining an
ascendency over the mind of the new chief, and as a
consequence a persecution broke out which sorely tried
the faithfulness of the converts. At one time so
76 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
violent did this tyranny rage that Crowther's house
was watched day and night, and none suffered to
speak to the missionaries under pain of death.
Under such circumstances those who were stedfast
were brought into more vital union with each other
and their common Lord ; and when abetter day dawned,
it was upon a church purified and established in faith
and patience. We can well imagine with what
affection and regret these simple people came to say
farewell to Crowther as once more he essayed to extend
the Kingdom of God into regions of the upper river
which they had not visited before.
His journals of this voyage are full of deep interest,
and extracts from them will be welcome to the reader
of these pages. When the party began to ascend the
river, with the dismal recollection of the death-rate
of the previous expedition in view, Crowther thought
that probably the mischief of fever which had been
so fatal then was the result of the green wood being
packed in the bunkers for days together, and there-
fore he suggested the advisability in this case of
stowing the fuel in canoes to drift astern. This pre-
caution, which was readily adopted, doubtless saved
the expedition from sickness and consequent failure.
On the 21st July 1854, the Pleiad anchored off Aboh
or Ibo, where the brave explorers of 1841 had made
some progress with the king. They had promised one
day to return, and it is said that the old man used to
watch in vain for the coming ships, and at last told
his sons with a sad regret, " The white man has
forgotten me and his promise too." There had also
been some misunderstanding about the death of Mr.
Carr, a medical missionary who had disappeared in
ANOTHER BRAVE AND BETTER VOYAGE. 77
the king's dominions, and hostilities -were actually
commenced with a view to punish Obi for the offence.
In Mr. Schon's opinion, however, the old king was
innocent, and would have protected the EngHshman
had it been in his province and power. When the
Pleiad reached the place, it was to hear of the old
king's decease, and that his three sons were disputing
the heirship, and indeed agreeuag only upon the one
point : that when the white man came he would tell
them who should reign. The rightful heir seems to
have been Tshukuma, and to him Crowther and his
party paid a pre-arranged visit.
He says, "We landed close to
Tshukuma's house, which was
very small and confined, his
old house had been lately
burnt. He had been wor-
shipping his god that morn-
mg, which we saw on his piazza,
in a calabash placed in the
front of a wall, covered with a
white sheet. We waited about
ten minutes before Tshukuma made his appearance,
dressed in a pair of thin Turkish trousers, a white
shii-t, a white waistcoat, and a string of coral beads
about his neck. He is smaller in size than Obi, his
father, is very soft in his manners, and seems not
possessed of much energy. He shook us all heartily
by the hand, and in a short time the little square
was crowded to excess, so that there was no room
to move, and the place seemed so thronged that it
was difficult to keep one's seat on the mat spread for
our accommodation. Tshukuma used all his efforts
78 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
to command silence, but to no purpose. Obi's
daughters and the chief's wives took their turns to
command silence, but it only increased the noise.
At last Tshukuma requested us to frighten the people
away, which of course we did not do. As it was
impossible to obtain perfect silence, I suggested to
Dr. Baikie to begin business, as we could manage to
keep close enough to hear each other."
After this a conference was held, and an endeavour
was made to remove the feeling of suspicion and
want of confidence which rested on the mind of
Tshukuma. "Even then," adds Crowther, "Tshu-
kuma said my words were too good to hope that they
would be realised, and that he would not believe any-
thing until he had seen us do as we proposed ; that
there was no difficulty on their part, nor need we fear
any unwillingness to receive those who may be sent
to them, or learn what they may be taught ; but that
the fault rests with us, in not fulfilling what we pro-
mised to do." This will show how quick-witted
these heathen are, and how jealous of then* own
importance.
Shortly afterwards the king came on board the
vessel, where they had further conversation; and
came again on Sunday, July 23rd, when Crowther
preached on deck from the words, " Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world." The service over, Crowther tells us that
he hastened to go ashore in order to speak to the
people in the town, and he then had the opportunity
of a conversation with the chief on the all-impor-
tant subject of religion — Simon Jonas interpreting
as he went on.
ANOTHER BRAVE AND BETTER VOYAGE. 79
This is how this royal savage received the mes-
bage : " The quickness with which he caught my
explanation of the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, for the sin of the world was
gratifying. I endeavoured to illustrate it to him in
this simple way, What would you think of any per-
sons who in broad daylight like this, should light
their lamps to assist the brilliant rays of the sun to
enable them to see better? He said it would be
useless, they would be fools to do so. I replied. Just
so — that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, was sufficient to take away our sins, just as one
sun was sufficient to give light unto the whole world ;
that the worshijp of country fashion and numerous
sacrifices, which shone like lamps only on account of
the darkness of their ignorance and superstition^
though repeated again and again, yet cannot take
away our sins ; but that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
once offered, can alone take away the sin of the world.
He frequently repeated the name, Oparra Tshuku !
Oparra Tshuku ! " (Son of God ! Son of God !)
After varying experiences they reached Idda, and
sent word they would pay the Atta, or chief thereof,
a visit. Here, again, as in the expedition of 1841,
the king refused to demean himself by going into a
canoe to receive his guests ; and it was not until
after considerable delay they reached his place, and
found him sitting outside the verandah of the palace,
on a mud bank overspread with a cloth, with an old
carpet at his feet. On the carpet were placed his
royal message sticks, with brass bells attached to
them, and an old broken Souter-Johmiy jug stood
before him. He had on a silk velvet tobi and a
80 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
crown of white .beads fringed with red parrot tails in
front, with other fanciful decorations. His neck was
covered with a large quantity of strung cowries and
corals, and other beads. This interview showed the
necessity for the diplomatic tact with which Crowther,
in dealing with these chiefs, prevented disagreeable
results.
As they proceeded up the river, traces were con-
tinually seen of the ravages committed by the Filatas,
who appeared to be organized bandits, unwilling to
work themselves, and living upon the fruits of the
industry of others. So terrible was the desolation
wrought by Dasaba, one of the chiefs, that the whole of
the right bank of the Niger had been cleared of every
iown and village to the number of about a hundred,
and the inhabitants sold into slavery or killed.
An example of the practice of these bloodthirsty
tribes is furnished in the words of Crowther's journal
on August 11th. He tells us, " In the afternoon he
landed at Kende, where some of the few who escaped
seizure by the Filatas at Pandu have taken refuge.
Here again is a picture of the misery these poor
people are doomed to go through, for they live desti-
tute of everything but their liberty, and that with
difficulty. The Filatas, whose aim is not so much to
kill as to seize and enslave, took Pandu by treachery.
They professed friendship, and entered the town on
that pretence, and the king presented them with
bullocks and other necessaries. But when a sufficient
number had got in, they commenced seizing the
inhabitants, and scarcely gave them time to make
resistance. Only the king, Oyigu, and a few persons
about him, made any effort to repel them j but the
82 SAMUEL CROWTIIER.
king could not long stand against his enemies, and
was killed in the attempt. A great number was caught,
and very few were so fortunate as to escape. The
neighbouring towns and villages were immediately
deserted by the inhabitants, who took refuge on the
left side of the river."
It is not surprising that the appearance of the white
men struck terror into the minds of the poor natives,
who had lost all hope and happiness under the rule
of these Filatas. When the steamer had reached
Oruko the passage had become increasingly intricate,
and the shallows were very dangerous to their pro-
gress. At last the captain, with Dr. Hutchinson and
Mr. Guthrie, got into a boat to take soundings, and
returned with the decision not to proceed any further.
However, Dr. Baikie, who was, with Crowther, exceed-
ingly anxious to penetrate these unknown regions,
took entire charge of the vessel, and reached a place
where Adama, the king of the Bassa country, met
him. This king had also the same sad story to tell of
the devastation of the country by the slave trade ; and
after receiving a few presents, undertook to protect
any white men who should come up the river. The
old man, who was of small stature, was elaborately
prepared for the visit, having on a patchwork shirt of
blue and white triangles, and a red Turkey cap on his
head. He exhibited considerable politeness to his
guest, and they observed that he was saluted by kneel-
ing on the ground, two fingers of each hand being
rubbed in the dust, which is then rubbed on the fore-
head several times. The people salute each other bj'
embracing, the right hand being stretched parallel
with the other as far as the shoulder.
ANOTHER EKAVE AND BETTER VOYAGE. 83
On more than one occasion the explorers were in
considerable danger. Crowther tells us that at one
time they started for the Mitchi market to pur-
chase yams and other food. " On our approach we
heard a great noise and clamour in the market, which
is held in canoes on the water side, and when we came
near, all the Ojgo canoes had dispersed in different
directions, and everything was in great confusion.
Some of the women were crying, for the Mitchis had
plundered their property, and a strong party had
armed themselves with bows and poisoned arrows to
oppose our landing. We were but a few yards from
them, but could not speak directly with them ; besides
which there was such uproar and excitement that it
was impossible to gain their attention. They at times
beckoned us in defiance to land, and armed people
were stationed along the bank to oppose our doing so.
There was not a single weapon in our boat. Dr.
Baikie held out some handkerchiefs as an inducement,
but the very sight of them seemed to enrage the
people. At last an old grey-bearded man, who seemed
to be the chief, with great passion and significant
motion of both hands, wished us away."
The visitors wisely followed this advice. They after-
wards found that these warlike natives were cannibals,
who devoured the bodies of their enemies killed in
battle. Still, it is very satisfactory to note that in
most cases the people received these visits kindly, and
showed their gratitude to the white man for coming
to restore peace to their country.
Once a singular expression was used by a native
whom they descried on the bank of the river. They
addressed him in the Haussa language, which he
84 SAMUEL CnOWTIIEPv.
evidently understood, and told him they had come
from the white man's country, and wanted to see
the chief. Immediately he shouted, " Bature Anasara
maidukia na gode alia;" that is, "White men, the
Nazarenes, men of property, I thank God." Still
repeating this strange cry, h.e assisted the party to
land, and led them into the bush, where the chief
and a large party of armed warriors gave them a
cordial reception. Perfectly defenceless, the white men
moved safely among them, and delighted the chief and
some of his headmen by shaking hands with them.
Crowther draws attention here to the mistake which
explorers make in judging the natives of Africa as
always hostile to Europeans. Making allowance for
the antipathy aroused everywhere by the slave trade,
and bearing in mind that the frequent tribal wars
made the carrying of arms almost a necessit}^ he is
still of opinion that where once an Englishman's
peaceful intentions have been made clear, he has no
cause to be afraid.
On tlie 7th November the gallant explorers safely'
reached Fernando Po, and heartily joined in raising
their Ebenezer of thanksgiving for journeying mercies,
through many perils and hardships without a single
person being the worse either from sickness or accident.
Such a four months' experience led Crowther to close
his journal with the words, " May this singular in-
stance of God's favour and protection drive us nearer
to the Throne of grace, to humble ourselves before our
God, whose instrument we are, and who can continue
or dispense with our services as it seems good to His
imerryig wisdom."
CHAPTER VIII.
A Voyage and a Wreck.
-^[^
" Speed Thy servants, Saviour, speed them,
Thou art Lord of winds and waves ;
They were bound, but Thou hast freed them,
Now they go to free the slaves ;
Be Thou with them,
'Tis Thine arm alone that saves." — Kellt.
*
A GREAT advance had been made. It was clear that
the Niger was navigable, and that the natives
were not unwilling to receive the representatives of
the Christian faith. Crowther returned to Abeokuta,
and having had a conference with Mr. and Mrs.
Hinderer at Ibadan, and Mr. Mann at Ijaye, the
plan of missionary effort in the Yoruba country and
elsewhere was fully discussed.
Soon afterwards Mr. Gollmer, who had been his
coadjutor in establishing the Christian church at
Abeokuta, returned to Europe, and Crowther wag
compelled to take his place at Lagos, with the super-
vision of the mission stations on the coast. Here he
laboured hard at his translation of the Bible into the
86 SAMUEL CROWTIIEH.
Yoruba language, and also prepared a primer, a
vocabulary, and several extracts from the Word of
God in the Ibo language.
In the year 185 G his old teacher and guardian,
Mr. "Weeks, returned to Africa, as we have already
mentioned, as Bishop of Sierra Leone. After a very
profitable visitation of the mission field up the river,
he fell ill, and to the grief of all, and especially of
Crowther, died at Sierra Leone.
The time had now arrived when in the judgment of
the Church Missionary Society another expedition
should be arranged to establish a Niger Christian
Mission. The Committee made an appeal by depu-
tation to Lord Palmerston, and in 1857 the Day-
spring started on her way. It was at first intended,
that six different stations were to be established as
the basis of future mission work, and for this purpose
half-a-dozen native ministers were to accompany
Mr. Crowther and his fellow European missionaries.
This, however, was not to be ; Bishop Weeks died, as
we have seen, and with him passed to his rest,
Mr. Frey, one of the hard-working ministers of his
diocese. Another heavy loss was occasioned by the
death of Mr. Beale, one of the mission staff who had
conferred with Crowther about the approaching expe-
dition of the Dayspring. Thus the mission work at
Sierra Leone was unable to spare the native teachers
originally allotted to the work, and the vessel had to
start with Crowther, a native pastor, Eev. J. C. Taylor,
from Ibo, Crowther's old friend Simon Jonas, and two
youths who had been residing with Mr. Schon. Of all
the expeditions this was, humanly speaking, the least
prepared for such a great and difficult enterprise, and
A VOYAGE AXD A U'JIECK:. 87
yet it was from the Dayspring that the first stations
were planted of the Niger mission. The importance
of this jom'ney up the river cannot be over-estimated;
and although it came to an abrupt termination at
Eabbah, we shall find its record, as described in
Crowther's journal, full of interest.
One of the principal features of the new plan of
campaign was to establish a strong station at Abo,
where the old king Obi, as we have already seen,
showed such a willingness to receive the European
guests. They had already on a previous occasion
visited Tshukiima, who was favourably disposed to-
wards the mission, but now they made the acquaint-
ance of Aje, his brother, and certainly the impression
of him was not happy. When invited on board he
demanded rum, and was evidently chiefly disposed to
lay his hand upon whatever he could get. He appears
to have been a fine example of the acquisitive heathen.
Much of his impertinence and bad manners Crowther
charitably attributes to his familiarity with Europeans
from an early age. Common honesty was clearly not
one of his virtues, for he successfully purloined, or
attempted to do so, Crowther's slippers, the dinner
bell, the cushion against which his royalty leaned,
and a cigar which one of the party incautiously held
in his hand durmg the interview.
When the party landed, and prepared to secure a
piece of ground for premises of the mission, with the
joint consent of these two rival dignities, Aje was
fmdously jealous of Tshukuma's presents, and was
finally pacified with a pink cocked hat, and umbrella
of a like gaudy hue. Poor human nature ! Subse-
quently Aje, with all his wives dressed in ships'
88 SAM i; EL CROWTIIER.
bunting, tried to make an impression of his greatness,
and what was much more serious, opposed and inter-
fered with the estabhshmcnt of the mission in his
country. And yet Crowthcr makes this fair note of
this individual on leaving him. " Before quitting
Abo for the present I think it is right and just to
say a word in favour of Aje's faithfulness in one
respect, whatever his failings may be in other
matters. It will be remembered that through an
interposition in 1854, the prisoners who were con-
fined and would have been either killed or sold for
their offences, were then released. Since that time
they have never been touched, and really pardoned,
according to Aje's promise to us. One of these men
on seeing me, fell on his knees in thankfulness for his
deliverance, and on the return of his companions,
who had been absent, they brought me some palm
wine as an acknowledgment of their gratitude. Had
not these men introduced themselves three years
after it might have been doubted whether Aje had
fulfilled his promise."
Leaving this place, the Dayspring passed on to a
very important town, Onitsha, which is 140 miles up
the river, and on Ibo territory. At first, in alarm at
the first sight of white men and their ships, the
natives appeared with their weapons in their hands ;
but they were soon reassured, and led the party
along a road to their town.
The cotton, yams, and Indian corn were very well
cultivated, and the conduct of the king Akazua and
his headmen showed no small amount of intelligence.
The visitors were entertained by the king and his
councillors, who heard with respect all their proposed
A VOYAGE AND A WRECK. B'J
plans; and, after a conference together, the king
stepped forth and appealed to the people whether they
agreed to them or not. A spot was agreed upon where
the Mission buildings could be erected, and a hired
house was taken in preparation for a factory. The
town itself is embosomed in trees, and pleasantly
situated ; and the houses are arranged in twenty-six
groups. Each comprised about 250 persons, so the
population as a whole is not far short of 6500 souls.
Here, however, they were in fear of their enemies, and
to prevent a surprise have look-out posts established
in high trees, where a constant vigilance is displayed.
One day, when the visitors entered the place, there
was great rejoicing, beating of drums, dancing and
frantic gestures and moving. Crowther says, "When
we came to our lodging, one of the headmen paid us
a visit, and I asked him the cause of this amusement,
and was told it was in honour of the burial of a
relative of our landlord who died some six months ago.
Simon Jonas, who remained on shore last night, had
heard that a human sacrifice was to be made to the
manes of the dead, and he told the people of the
wickedness of the practice. On my putting the ques-
tion as to the cause of the amusement, the headman
was conscience stricken, and told Simon Jonas that
the victim was not yet killed. We then took the
opportunity, and spoke most seriously to the head-
man in the hearing of many people, who stood in the
square, of the abomination of this wicked practice, the
more so, as the victim was a poor, blameless, female
slave. He then assured us that he had not known
that it was wrong to do so ; but as we had now told
them, the human sacrifice should not be performed,
90 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
but a bullock should be killed in its stead. He
proposed that we should buy the woman, that they
might buy a bullock with the cowries in her stead.
This we refused to do, as we are not slave traders.
He then said that the woman should be sold to some-
body else, which we thought was better than to kill
her. Before we returned to the ship, Simon Jonas
was told that the poor woman was loosed from her
bonds."
Here Crowther left Mr. Taylor to prepare the work
and settle the mission at Onitsha.
We follow the voyagers through various experiences
until they reach Idda. Here, after much delay and
parade of heathen dignity, the party were admitted to
the Atta, who received them in great state, seated on
his throne and dressed in a rich silk-velvet robe of
light green hue. The conference was much assisted
by the presence and sympathy of the Lady Adama,
a dowager queen, and a site for mission buildings was
secured in a very favourable situation. The position
of this town, standing on a high cliff, and overlooking
the confluence of the Kworra and Tshadda rivers,
marked it as a point of great value in the future plan
of work.
Passing up the Kworra the Day spring soon found
itself on the friendly waters of the Galadima, and
here they were shown an old copy of the Koran. The
importance of a knowledge of Arabic was evident ; and
Crowther makes a note at this point, that their native
catechists should be taught this language at the
seminary at Sierra Leone. He tells us how in the
town of Gbebe he began teaching the natives : —
" Besides my English, I took an Arabic Bible and
A VOYAGE AND A AVRECK, 91
Schon's translations of Matthew and John into
Ilaussa, and an Ibo primer, out of which to teach the
alphabet. Taking my seat in the Galadima's ante-
hall — which is the common resort of all people, holding
from forty to fifty persons — a number of both sexes,
old and young, soon entered as usual to look on.
Having carefully placed my books on the mat, after
the custom of the Mallams, Mr. Crooke sitting on my
right, and Kasumo on my left, I commenced my
conversation by telling them that to-day was the
Christian Sabbath, in which we rest from our labour,
according to the commandment of God. The Galadima
came in, and to him I read some verses from the
third chapter of St. John in the Haussa language, in
the hearing of the people, which he understood, and
which by further explanation became more intelligible
to him. In the meantime some Mohammedans walked
in, and desired to see the Arabic Bible, which I
delivered to Kasumo to read and translate to them.
The Galadima, who reads Arabic, expressed a wish,
as soon as the school is opened, to learn to read
Haussa in Eoman or Italic character. There was an
intelligent young man present who could read Arabic,
who was also very anxious to read our translations in
the Italic character.
" After a long talk I ran over the alphabet from
the Ibo primer several times, with the Galadima and
the young man, at which they showed much quickness
and intelligence. I then gave this Arabic copy of
the Bible as a present to the Galadima. This was so
unexpected that he did not know how sufficiently to
express his gratitude in words, and, contrary to the
usage of the Mohammedans, he actually was going
02 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
to throw dust on his forehead, as a token of the
vakie he placed on the gift, when Kasumo stopped
him by saying it was not our custom to do so. He
said his father would be able to read it fluently.
May the Lord bless this small and feeble beginning
of an attempt to mtroduce the religion of Christ into
this benighted part of Africa ! May the prayers of
the Church be heard on its behalf."
We shall see later on that this prayer was
answered.
At Egga or Eggan, as it is there pronounced, they
found an aged chief who remembered the 1841 Ex-
pedition, and received them very cordially. His
town is filthy, and after a shower of rain almost
impassable with soft mud. His Majesty used high
clogs under the circumstances ; while his guests,
sinking at every step far above the ankles, panted
after him in vain. Picking their way through the
streets they heard a little boy rehearsing his lesson
in Arabic ; and further on, seeing what they thought
to be a mosque, they found a barber's shop, in which
the operators were shaving the head, the eyebrows,
the armpits, and the nostrils of their customers with
marvellous facility and safety.
As. they passed Fo-Fo, the mate of the Day spring
breathed his last, and was buried on the sand beach.
Arriving at Eabbah the Dayspring unhappily struck
upon a rock, and within a very short time settled
down aft on her starboard side. Crowther and his
companions escaped in time upon the shore ; and
under the discomfort of a severe tornado made a tent
of mats, into which they gathered such effects as they
could rescue, and began to look very anxiously for the
^i>f^
94 SA^MUEL CROWTHER.
steamer Sunbeam, which was to follow them. To acLl
to the danger of the situation, the native Kroomen were
insubordinate, and the headman had to be threatened
with irons to save a revolt.
The native chiefs into whose hands they had fallen
were not very friendly; and in addition to the
disappointment occasioned by the loss of the ship
and the termination of the enterprise, they had much
to unsettle and distress them. But one day, in the
midst of a crowd of warriors, a strange voice saluted
them with, *' Good morning, sir ! " and the speaker
proved to be Henry George, a Sunday scholar at
Abeokuta who had joined the army of Dasaba, and
had passed through many trials. This providential
meeting led to the man being engaged by Crowther
as guide and servant, and he accompanied them on
their overland journey to Abeokuta.
Reaching Ogbomosho they were delighted to meet
with the Eev. Mr. Clark, a Baptist minister, who
entertained them. Shortly afterwards they spent
Christmas Day on the banks of the Niger, one of the
party concocting a plum pudding. After a narrow
escape from the attack of a leopard, and other stirring
incidents, they had the melancholy duty of burying
Mr. Howard, the purser, and one of the Kroomen,
who had died.
At one time they were passing through a Moham-
medan district at the time of the Eamadan, and
much conversation ensued upon the observation of
the Christian Sabbath and the obligation of fasting.
"Do not the Anasaras fast?" was a constant query.
Crowther's reply was, "Yes, they do fast; but the
fast of the Anasaras is of a more private and con-
A VOYAGE AND A WRECK.
95
scientious kind than your public one. Thousands of
the Anasaras may fast to-day, and their neighbours
know nothing of it; but their fast is known only
to God and themselves. Just so is their prayer in
secret, as Christ has taught us ! " The reply always
received was, *' You are true persons ; and your
religion is superior to ours."
It is noticeable how frequently these poor healhen
expressed their appreciation of the advantage of the
Christian religion as compared with their own, even
when mixed with those inducements which to the
natural man would be so attractive in the creed of
Mohammed. The truth is, in the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ they heard the voice of a herald pro-
claiming good news of liberty to the captive, not
merely as regards slavery, but with respect to those
galling bonds which a false religion had thrust upon
them. They had endured a yoke, but had never
known a peace ; and to them at last came One who
bade them come unto Him in their weariness, and He
would give them refreshment of soul and rest.
—
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CHAPTER LX.
An Enforced Halt— Onitsha.
-^
" Come labour on !
Away with gloomy doubts and faitlile'^s fear,
No arm so weak but may do service here ;
By feeblest agents can our God fulfil
His righteous will.
" Come labour on !
Ko time for rest, till glows the western sky,
While the long shadows o'er our pathway lie,
And a glad sound comes with the settinpr sun,
Servants, well done ! " — H. L. L.
-^
THE loss of the Daysjjring, while it precluded any
farther progress up the river, left Crowther and
his party to settle for a time at Eabhah and the
immediate neighbourhood. That which is perplexing
to the huiLan mind is, however, always in God's good
time evidence of His goodwill and guiding providence ;
and so we find that the visits of the future Bishop of
the Niger to the kings and headmen of these out-of-the-
way places prepared the way for the establishment of
Christian missions in their midst at a future day.
Crowther's journals, written in the midst of these
AN ENFORCED HALT. 97
wild people, and often under circumstances of peril,
are full of deeply interesting incidents. The people
of Nupe held the great river which flowed through
their land, the Niger, in high esteem. Their in-
tensely superstitious minds had believed it to be
the mother of all the rivers of the world, and it
was customary when the corn ripened to offer a
few grains to the rushing stream, with many prayers
to propitiate its powers. Here also there is the
divine worship of the manes of the dead which we
find in all quarters of the inhabited world. That
strange undying impress of immortality links the
living with those who are passed into the land of
spirits.
As in Yoruba, the natives of Nup^ sacrifice to
these spirits under .the personation of a mask, and
Crowther tells us that the Gunuko or masquerader
who performs this function is of an enormous height.
Raised some twelve or fifteen feet by slight bamboo
supports, and dressed in a frightful costume, he dances
along the villages, filling the hearts of the people
with terror, and his own hands with the cowries which
they gladly give him.
This constant fear, which made the hearts of the
poor natives quake, was prevalent everywhere, and
Crowther laboured hard to break the fetter from their
spirits, pointing them to that Great Deliverer whose
perfect love casteth out all fear.
In one respect the religion of the Yoruba natives
corresponds with that of the Chinese. They have a
rite by which a sheep is offered as a sacrifice to their
ancestors. In our illustration the figures traced on
the wall represent the honoured dead, and the various
u
98 SAMUEL GROWTH ER.
birds, agricultural implements, and so forth, are to
set forth his rank and condition. The zigzag scroll
work is the sacred signs of the Oro worship, and is
coloured red and white. Before the victim is killed
some leaves are given to it ; and when its blood is
shed it is caught in a bowl, and then reverently
sprinkled upon the forehead of the persons present.
During Crowther's wanderings at this time the work
and influence of Mohammedanism was plainly dis-
cerned as having its non grip on the consciences of
the people ; and when in the course of his preaching
he alluded to Adam, Noah, Abraham, or any of the
ancient patriarchs, the natives recognised the names
at once as being taught them by the Mallams.
These teachers of the false prophet are most diligent
in their efforts to extend the belief of their religion.
Sometimes they will spend the whole night in the
tents of the kings and chiefs, reading to them from
the Koran, and expounding it to their listeners. Its
stra.nge and imaginative stories, just written in a style
to catch the attention of a barbaric outlaw, with his
many wives and unlimited lust of battle, chain the
attention of the African people.
In the practical working of the Moslem creed, too, the
harms and fetishes are found very useful auxiliaries,
as, for instance, when the story of Jonah is told. The
Mallams relate that this prophet, called Nunsa-bun-
Mata (Jonah the son of Amittai), presumptuously fling-
ing himself into the sea, a great fish swallowed him.
An alligator then swallowed the fish; and finally a
hippopotamus swallowed the alligator. So in these
threefold walls Jonah hid a thousand years, and then
in answer to his prayer God commanded these creatures
SACRIflCIAL WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AMONG THE NATIVES.
100 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
to throw him upon the land. The gaping wonder
with which this extraordinary story is received may
be well imagined ; and the lesson is so readily believed
that whenever anyone has a fish-bone in his throat he
has only to say " Nunsa-bun-Mata," and the charm
will remove it. •
Crowther on several occasions saw these Mallams
produce a long parchment roll inscribed with the
names of the great angels and prophets, beginning
with Gabriel, and at the foot of the list is Isa, Jesus.
Surely the day will come, is the anticipation of the
true Christian, when He whose right it is to reign,
whose Name is above every name, shall enlighten
these dark places of the earth with His glorious light
of life. Crowther, face to face with this great enemy
of Christianity, places on record his impressions of
the magnitude of the evil, and how needful it is that
Mohammedanism shall be dealt with wisely. He
says : —
" These are the people Christian missionaries have
to withstand and oppose ; their false doctrines have to
be exposed, their errors corrected, and they, as well as
the heathen population, led and directed to Him who
is 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life.' In doing this
a few things must be remembered, namely, that they
are the masters of the country, and bigoted protectors
of their religion, and that by this * craft ' the Mallams
have their wealth. If these things are not well pon-
dered, and the instruction of our blessed Saviour, 'Be
wise as serpents,' is not closely adhered to and
practised, we may defeat our object of doing any good,
either to the Mohammedans themselves or to the
heathen population under their government. Now
AN ENFORCED HALT. 101
that so many centuries have passed without this light
of the glorious Gospel of Christ shining into the
country, and into the dark hearts of this benighted
people, now that it has pleased the Lord of the
harvest to give the Church an access to them, shall
His servants by an unwise step block up the way
against themselves, and the introduction of the Gospel
of Christ, by a zeal without knowledge, which may
prompt them to act as if the natives were the nation
to be converted in a day ?
" The soil on which we have to work in this un-
ploughed ground is gross heathenism and Moham-
medan bigotry, through ignorance.
*' The Word preached finds a more yielding soil in
the minds of the heathen hearers than in that of
prejudiced Mohammedans. The same reasonable
Scriptural exposure of the heathen superstition made
use of by the Prophet Elijah (1 Kings xviii.), by the
Psalmist (Psa. cxv.), and by the Prophet Isaiah (Ixiv.),
sympathetically read to them, applied to the hearts
by the Holy Spirit, never failed to have the desired
effect. Hence our success among this class of the
people, among whom we labour.
*' On the contrary, Mohammedanism arms the hearts
of its professors with deadly weapons against Chris-
tianity, by denying its fundamental doctrine, the
Sonship of Christ, and His divinity as one with God
the Father, to be blasphemy according to the teaching
of the Koran.
"Thus their hearts are hardened with prejudices,
self-conceit, self-righteous spirit, and self-confidence
in their meritorious religious performances, especially
in prayer and fasting, and in works of supererogation,
102 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
w?iich they believe they can make over for the benefit
of others who are deficient. They are freely allowed
the indulgence of the sinful lust of the flesh ; they do
not scruple to commit acts of cruelty and oppression
on those who are not professors of their faith ; slave-
holding and trading is fully sanctioned, to carry out
which slave wars are waged against the heathens with
great cruelty, in order to enslave them with oppression
and violence, without remorse, contrary to the law of
charity, ' Do to others as you would that they should
do to you.' Hence slave wars have desolated the
lands of populous heathen tribes and nations, whose
inhabitants were carried away captives and sold into
slavery, and those who are reserved in the country are
doomed to perpetual servitude, hewers of wood and
drawers of water, and most oppressive tributaries.
" This is a faint description of the soil of the minds
of the professors of Islamism, in which the seed of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is being attempted to be sown,
by j)reaching repentance of sin and a renewed change
of heart through faith in Christ Jesus the Son of God,
who is * the Way, the Truth, and the Life,' without
whom none can come unto the Father. But for all his
earnestness, the preacher is looked upon with horrified
contempt as a blasphemer, because God never had a
Son. * There is no God but God, and Mohammed is
His prophet.' Notwithstanding these stern oppositions
from Mohammedans, one feature of encouragement
that Christianity shall prevail must not be overlooked,
namely, Christianity was only recently introduced
into these parts of West Africa — to Abeokuta in the
Yoruba Mission in 1846, and to the Niger in 1857 —
notwithstanding that Mohammedanism had been
ONITSHA. 103
introduced into these countries a century before, with
full licence of all sinful enjoyments.
" What surprises me most is, that Christianity, with
its strict restraints of the enjoyment of sinful lusts,
and, moreover, enjoining conscientious self-denial of
all the allurements of the world, the flesh, and the
devil, should get so many converts in the face of all
the free allowances in the enjoyments of all these by
the religion of the false prophet. It proves that
Christianity appeals to the hearts and consciences of
man as a reasonable being who ought to judge
between truth and error. Even some Mohammedans
have been known to admit the truth of Christianity,
but dare not confess it, lest they should be persecuted
by their co-religionists. Notwithstanding all oppo-
sitions, Christ ' shall divide the spoil with the strong '
in this spiritual warfare."
Crowther's idea clearly is that, instead of spending
our time and strength in fighting the Moslem creed,
we had better pass it by in silence, and trust to the
sword of the Spirit to win the victory for Christ.
Mohammedanism, baleful as it is, must be treated as
an accomplished fact, which however must fade and
lessen as the knowledge of the Saviour spreads abroad.
But a positive attack upon it will probably result in
the incensed enmity of its votaries, and the Christian
missionaries being driven from the spheres of their
labours for the Lord.
One of the most important results of the voyage of
the Dayspring was the foundation being laid of the
mission work at Onitsha. This important point on
the Niger was reached at the end of July, 1857, and it
will be remembered how favourably the visitors were
104 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
received by the king, Obi Akazua. After Crowther
had carefully prepared the way, and stayed for a short
time to arrange with the king and his chiefs as to the
site for mission premises, he left the Eev. J. C. Taylor,
a native missionary, with Simon Jonas, the interpreter,
to take charge of the work.
Fortunately, Mr. Taylor kept a journal of his
experiences in the midst of this field of labour. He
tells us that soon after he had settled down, he called
upon one of the chiefs and entered into conversation
with him in his hut. " I drew his mind to the
principles of religion, and pointed out to him the
sinful nature of man by nature. I asked him
whether he had a soul ? * Yes,' he replied. ' How is
that soul to be saved?' ' Amazoru,' i.e., '1 do not
know,' was the answer. Then I pointed out to him
that Jesus Christ is 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life.'
He exclaimed, * Jesu Opara Tshuku, Zim uzo oma, i.e.,
* Jesus, Son of God, show me the good way.' "
A difference arose with the king of Ogidi, and
the missionary had to transfer his work to the war
camp, and there he preached the Gospel with great
effect. The Lord's Prayer, which he had translated
into their tongue, made a deep impression upon them,
the sentence of all others which seemed to strike
them most being, "But deliver us from evil." As
Mr. Taylor reasoned with them their faces assumed a
wonderful change, and, from what he gathered, their
faith in the false gods and fetishes was severely
shaken. So gracious were the signs of success that
he writes with great joy and earnestness: "I am
thankful to say that I begin to see signs of the
remarks of the late Bishop Vidal being fulfilled :
ONITSHA. 105
that the thne will come when the Tshuku (gods) of
Aho and the Ibos in general shall fall down before
the Gospel, as Dagon fell before the ark. Their mul-
tifarious shrines shall give way for the full liberation
and introduction of the Gosi^el to their forlorn,
degraded, long bewitched, but ransomed people, to
lead them to God."
On every ha^nd he found the people willing and
glad to hear the Gospel. On the morning of Sunday,
October 25th, a service was held in one of the
enclosed spaces near a chief's house, and a large
crowd of natives listened with eagerness to the Word
of God. Mr. Kadillo, a Baptist interpreter, trans-
lated for Mr. Taylor, who, although very weak
through an attack of fever, preached a sermon on
the text from St. Luke : "If any man will come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily and follow Me."
As the weary missionary was going home after the
service two women came to him, saying, " The word
is a true word, we will not be ashamed of Tshuku
(God) . You must bear patiently till God shall turn
the whole of Onitsha to follow your religion, which
is far better than all our fetish customs." What a
wonderful word of encouragement from these poor
natives !
Mr. Taylor, in exchange, gave them also a loving
and cheering message from his Master, and urged
them both to follow the gracious Saviour whose word
they had heard that day. " One of them raised her
eyes unto heaven," he says, "and with uplifted hands
heaved out this short petition, * Opara Tshuku mere
ayi ebere,' i.e., ' Son of God, have mercy upon me !'
106 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Christians, imagine my feelings on this occasion.
Might not the words of our Saviour be applied to
her, * Ought not this woman, being a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan hath bound these many
years, be loosed from her bonds on the Sabbath
day?'"
Still there was much to shock and distress the
heart of the Christian in the conduct of these poor
heathen. One day the missionary was walking with
others towards the river, and presently a crowd
shouting and crying approached them, dragging a poor
young girl, tied hand and foot, with her face on the
ground, to the river. This was one of the superstitious
customs, for they believe in making a sacrifice for their
sins by beating out the life of a fellow-creature in
this manner. As she is drawn along, the crowd
cry, " Aro ye, Aro, Aro ! " i.e., " Wickedness, wicked-
ness ! " and believe that the iniquities of the people
are thus atoned for.
There is also a horrible practice among the Onitsha
people of killing all children who happen to be born
twins. This superstition is so deeply rooted that the
mother is also degraded and cruelly treated. One
such, a convert to Christianity, one night became the
mother of two little girls, and immediately in sheer
terror she fled to the bush for safety. Her friends
hesitated about casting the infants away to be torn
of wild beasts, as was customary, and sent for Mr.
Perry, the minister. He said at once, " Destroy them
not, for a blessing is on them ; " and in spite of a
perfect tumult of a iger, *' a furious mob of five
hundred men armed to the teeth with guns, cutlasses,
spears, clubs, bows and arrows, who surrounded the
ONITSHA. 107
mission compound, demanding that the babes be given
up to them," the little ones were safely conveyed to
the English ship Wanderer on the Niger, and saved
from destruction.
There is a celebrated god called Tshi, whose power
is to preserve the people from witchcraft, and once,
when visiting one of the chiefs, the visitors were asked
by his wife to witness her sacrifice to this deity. A
goat was killed, and the blood allowed to run into a
bowl, and then over the slain victim, she said, "I
beseech thee, my guide, make me good ; thou hast
life. I beseech thee to intercede with God the Spirit,
tell Him my heart is clean. I beseech thee to deliver
me from all bad thoughts in my heart ; drive out all
witchcrafts ; let riches come to me. See your sacri-
ficed goat ; see your kotu-nuts ; see your rum and
palm wine." She tried to persuade her guests to
drink some of this wine, but they refused.
To the great sorrow of Crowther and Mr. Taylor,
on the return of the latter to Fernando Po, at the
end of November, the sickness of Simon Jonas in-
creased, and at last this useful helper in the mission
work passed away. He was a great loss, not only for
his excellent and consistent Christian character, but
because of his ability in translating into the language
of the tribes. On the Sunday after his death, Mr.
Taylor records in his diary the following affecting
incident :
"This morning a woman came into my residence
and requested me to follow her, for she wanted to see
me very particularly. I got myself ready and went
with her. After walking about two miles we came to a
very beautiful sand beach, where to my surprise I
108
SAMUEL CROWTHER.
found twenty-four persons, well clad in decent dress,
being twenty women and four men. One of them
rose up and said, ' Sir, we expressly sent for you to
preach to us the Word of God ; do, for we thirst to
hear God's living word ; please, sir, help us ! ' I stood
under a hollow tree, and told them I was sorry I had
no book with me. To my great surprise each one
brought out a hymn book. I then gave out that
beautiful hymn, * Jesus, where'er Thy people meet ; '
and I took one of their Bibles, and expounded the
words of the Apostle Paul from Acts xvi. 13 : * And
on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river-
side, where prayer was wont to be made ; and we sat
down, and spake unto the women which resorted
thither.' Thank God for this opportunity ! "
CHAPTER X.
THE Boy Becomes the Bishop.
•^je-
" Word of Life, most pure and strong,
Lo ! for thee the nations long,
Spread, till from its dreary night
AU the world awakes to light.
" Up the ripening fields you see,
Mighty shall the harvest be,
But the reapers still are few.
Great the work they have to do."--BAHNMAiER.
►^
WE must now pass more rapidly in review the
events of the next few years, in order to bring
the narrative of Bishop Crowther's career up to the
work in our own day.
In the closing months of 1858 we find Crowther
once more starting from Onitsha for a canoe expedi-
tion up the river ; and after travelling thus over three
hundred miles', he reached Eabbah in safety, the place
of his enforced stay after the wreck of the Dayspring.
From this point he made his way across country to
Ilorin, the Haussa capital in his native country, and
Abeokuta, the famous city under the stone; and from
110 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
thence he proceeded to the coast, arriving at Lagos in
the early part of the year 1859. The work, however,
was destined to receive some opposition ; and the trial
of faith which meets all true labourers in the vineyard
of God was to prove Crowther and his companions.
From Eabbah, where he had laboured so hard to
prepare the way for a mission establishment, there
came bad news during that year. The Rainhoiv passing
up the river was informed by Dr. Baikie that the place
was no longer open to Christian work, and as a proof
of the hostility of the natives, the ship on its return
journey was attacked, and two of its crew lost their
lives.
For a time it seemed as though the work of toilsome
years was to be undone, and the workers, baffled at
every point, must retire to the mouth of the river to
await another opening. But danger and disappoint-
ment brings a true Christian to his knees, and so
feeling his utter helplessness and incapacity, he is
strengthened and comforted by all the fulness of God.
He whose work it is will in due time, if we faint not,
open a way through which we may go up and possess
the land.
Mr. Taylor came to England, and awakened a new
interest in the Niger work, and returning, he, in con-
junction with Crowther, established an important
mission at Akassa, the mouth of the Nun river, which
is the navigable entrance to the Niger. When the
gunboat Espoir ascended the river to effect reprisals
upon the natives for their hostility to our vessels,
Crowther was on board, and was thus able to visit
some of the stations, to their great encouragement
and advantage.
THE BOY BECOMES THE BISHOP. Ill
It was just at this time that Mr. Laircl, to whose
energy and enterprise so much of the Niger explora-
tion was due, died, and as a result his factories on the
river were closed. This was a great loss to the
mission, and rendered their work increasingly difficult.
Still a new hope dawned in the hearts of the mis-
sionaries when the Investigator, a vessel fully
equipped for exj^loring the rivers, took Crowther and
a number of helpers on board on its way. Once more
they reached Onitsha, leaving Mr. Taylor to resume
his old work. Here we are told Crowther found no
less than twenty-eight natives ready for baptism, and
the services of the mission church were attended by
a large number of people.
Passing on to the confluence, he revisited his old
station at Gbebe, and to his joy found that although
for this long interval the people had been under the
care of a single native catechist, the work of the Lord
had prospered, and with a full heart Crowther baptized
a number of those who had believed to salvation. He
tells us, " This day at the morning service, though
with fear and trembling, yet by faith in Christ, the
great Head of the Church, who has commanded, ' Go
ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of tEe
Holy Ghost,' I took courage and baptized eight
adults and one infant in our mud chapel, in the pre-
sence of a congregation of 192 persons, who all sat
still with their mouths open in wonder and amaze-
ment, at the initiation of some of their friends and
companions into a new religion by a singular rite, the
form in the name of the Trinity being translated into
Nupe, and distinctly pronounced as each candidate
112 SAMUEL CROTVTHEB,
knelt. These nine persons are the first-fruits of the
Niger mission. Is not this a token of the Lord to the
Society to persevere in the arduous work to introduce
Christianity among the vast populations on the bank
of the Niger, and that they shall reap in due time if
they faint not ? More so when the few baptized per-
sons represent several tribes of large tracts of countries
on the banks of the Niger, Tshadda, Igara, Igbira,
Gbari Eki, or Burnu, and even a scattered Yoruba
was among them. Is not this an anticipation of the
immense fields opened to the Church to occupy for
Christ ? "
The sunshine of a great prosperity came upon
Crowther and his work, and with unremitting energy
he passed hither and thither along the banks of the
Niger, establishing at different points fresh centres
of Christian enlightenment. Neither was he wanting
in helping these poor heathen to help themselves by
promoting commerce; his practical and business
abilities prepared quite a market for the cotton trade
in the district. He was anxious to show them that
the Christians came to them with a message of peace
and goodwill, and that the introduction of the cotton
manufacture in the mission premises was to their
advantage.
On one occasion king Masaba, of Nupe, sent to
Crowther messengers, and these he conducted round
his mission buildings at Gbebe, showing them the
goods and their preparations for shipment to the
white man's country. This is the message he sent
back to the king: "We are Anasera (Nazarenes) ;
there (pointing to the schoolroom) we teach the
Christian religion ; these (pointing to the cotton gins
114 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
are our guns; tins (pointing to the clean cotton
puffing out of them) is our powder, and the cowries
(the little shells which are the currency of the country),
which are the proceeds of the operation, are the shots
which England, the w^armest friend of Africa, earnestly
desires she should receive largely."
The spiritual work also made the labourer's heart
thankful as he saw these natives professing faith in
Christ, and in their lives and death exhibiting the
power of the Gospel. One young female slave who
had been ransomed by Crowther, and had embraced
Christianity, died happily in the Lord, and others
followed with a like encouraging testimony.
When the old king, Ama Abokko, died, the mission
at Gbebe lost a good friend; and although his last
words to his sons were to commend the w^ork to their
protection, his decease marked its termination. One
of those fierce tribal wars which are constantly
ravaging the country swept over Gbebe two years
afterwards, and the town with its mission premises was
utterly destroyed. The Christian converts were scat-
tered, and a new station was as soon as possible started
at Lokoja, on the other side of the river. Other troubles
fell upon the work. Idda had to be given uj) through
the treacherous conduct of a chief, who made a
prisoner of Crowther and his son, the present Arch-
deacon, and demanded from the English a consider-
able sum for their ransom. They were, however,
rescued, but unhappily not without the loss of a
valuable life, that of Mr. Fell, the English Consul,
who was shot by a poisoned arrow and killed.
In the meantime the work in Yoruba was making
progi'ess, and Crowther had translated into his
THE BOY BECOMES THE BISHOP. 115
native tongue not only the Bible, but other works,
including the Prayer Book, and a Dictionary which will
be of inestimable service to workers who shall follow
in the field ; others had translated the Pilgrim's
Progress and the Pcej) of Dag.
The ancient capital of the Yoruba district was
Oyo; and here, in 1851, Mr, Townsend and his de-
voted wife, accompanied by Mr. Mann, another mis-
sionary, had an interview with Atiba, king of Yoruba,
and in the illustration which we give of the scene
it will be observed that a sacrifice of four human
beings took place in honour of the visitors. These
Egbas are Monotheists, although the Supreme Being
is known amongst them by a variety of titles, as
Olurun, the Prince of Heaven ; Eleda, the Creator ;
Alagbura, the Powerful One; Oludomare, the Al-
mighty ; Oluwa, the Lord ; and Elami, the Prince
of Life. Their salutations are reverent ; and on
parting with anyone they say, " I remember you,
and commit you to the care of God." It is common
amongst them to use the native equivalent for *' God
bless you."
Mr. Townsend says that these people never worship
the stars or heavenly bodies, and that one day, point-
ing to one of their idols, he asked the chief, " Why
do 3'ou worship that image when you know it was cut
out of a piece of wood by a man ? " *' I know it was
carved by a man. I don't worship it." "But I have
seen you worship it." *' I don't worship the image,
but the spu'it that dwells in it." " What does that
spmt do for you ? " *' He is my messenger to carry
my petitions to God."
Sacrifices sometimes of human beings are made to
116 SAMUEL CROWTFTER.
this idol, Shango. The illustration given on page 99,
of the sacrifice of a sheep is singular, as after getting
it to eat some plumtree leaves as a mark of accep-
tation, the animal is slain, and its blood scattered
over the idol; also the brows of those performing
this worship are marked therewith.
We must just add another instance to show the
belief of these people in Divine Providence. There
had been a fight between the warriors of Abeokuta
and Ijaye and those of Ibadan, and the priest thus
put it, the farmer, of course, referring to the defeated
party : —
"A farmer went to clear a piece of ground on his
farm for cultivation. Addressing a large tree that
stood in his way, he said, * To-morrow I will cut you
down.' The tree, full of trouble, told God of it,
saying, ' The farmer says he will cut me down to-
morrow.' To which God replied, ' Be contented, he
cannot.' The farmer returning home met with an
accident, and was unable to resume his work for a
long time. Then he repeated his threat, but with
the same result ; and now he was laid aside by a long
illness. The third time he cleared his farm, and
again addressed the tree, ' Tree, to-morrow, God
willing, I will cut you down.' The tree, again ad-
dressing God, repeated the farmer's words, to which
God answered, ' Did he say so ? then he will do it.'
On the morrow the tree was cut down." The point is
that as long as the farmer trusted in his own strength
he failed, but when he said, "I will. God willing," he
succeeded.
We have now reached a point when we find
Crowther once more in England. He had come to
THE BOY BECOMES THE BISHOP. 117
plead his own cause on the platform of our English
May Meetings, and was the principal attraction at
the Annual Meeting of the Church Missionary Society
at Exeter Hall. The excited interest of that im-
mense gathering was in a great part due to the fact
that a negro, one of the very race from the distant
African regions, was to tell his own tale. And a plain
straightforward and effective speech it was. It was
a remarkable evidence of the power of Christianity,
a unique blending of the pleader and the example of
the good of the cause at the same time. In the
course of his remarks he said : —
"On one occasion I was travelling with the late
lamented Bishop Weeks, then a simple minister.
I went with him on a visit to a friend in the country.
While I was in the railway carriage with him, a
gentleman attacked him, knowing that he was a
friend of missions. The gentleman said, 'What
are the missionaries doing abroad ? We don't know
anything about their movements. We pay them well,
but we don't hear anything about them. I suppose they
are sitting down quietly and making themselves com-
fortable.' Mr. Weeks did not say anything in reply,
I having made a sign to him not to do so. After the
gentleman had exhausted what he had to say, I said
to him, ' Well, sir, I beg to present myself to you as
a result of the labours of the missionaries which you
have just been depreciating ; ' and I pointed to Mr.
Weeks as the means of my having become a Christian,
and having been brought to this country as a
Christian minister. The gentleman was so startled
that he had nothing more to say in the way of
objection, and the subsequent conversation between
118 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
him and Mr. Weeks turned upon missionary topics.
On the banks of the Niger, where we have not been
privileged to be ushered in by European missionaries,
native teachers have maintained their footing among
their own people. Their countrymen look upon them
as very much superior to themselves in knowledge
and in every other respect, and listen to them with
very great attention when they preach to them the
Gospel of our salvation."
On St. Peter's Day, 1864, perhaps the most import-
ant event of his life took place, when in Canterbury
Cathedral Samuel Crowther was consecrated as the
first Bishop of the Niger. The scene was a memor-
able one, and is not likely to be forgotten by those
who stood in the vast crowd which filled every aisle
of the grand cathedral that day. The license of
Her Majesty had been duly promulgated in these
terms : —
" We do by this our license under our royal signet
and sign manual authorise and empower you the said
Eeverend Samuel Adjai Crowther to be Bishop of the
United Church of England and Ireland in the said
countries in Western Africa beyond the limits of our
dominions."
When the service began it was an impressive sight
to see the Archbishop of Canterbury, attended by live
other Bishops, enter the choir ; and following them the
three Bishops to receive the solemn rite of consecration,
viz : the new Bishop of Peterborough, the new Bishop
of Tasmania, and the new Bishop of the Niger.
Eemembering, as doubtless many did, the touching
history of his childhood and early struggles as a slave,
not a few in that vf-at building were moved to tears as
THE BOY BECOMES THE BISHOP.
119
the African clergyman humbly knelt in God's glorious
house to receive the seals of the high oftice of Shepherd
THE FIELD OF THE YORUBA AND NIGER MISSIONS.
in His earthly fold. Most of all must one heart have
betn affected, that of Mrs. Weeks, the missionary's
120 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
wife, at whose knee he received his first lessons in the
way of the Lord.
No one could fail to see how God had called forth
this native from the degradation of a boyhood of
slavery, to become a chosen vessel in His service. He
had proved himself as a true-hearted standard-bearer
of the Cross in much toil and patient endurance, and
it was meet that to him should be committed the
spiritual interests of the district in which he had
spent hitherto nearly the whole of his life since he
became a Christian.
On his immediate return to the Niger, the work
began afresh with renewed energy. Special attention
was given to the Delta, for King Pepple, having been
on a visit to England, made an application to the
Bishop of London to send missionaries to his
dominions. A more degraded district was not to be
found in Africa. Although its trade was very flou-
rishing, being one of the chief markets for palm oil,
the people were sunk in the lowest vices and
superstitions. At the time of which we speak, when
Bishop Crowther was forming the Christian Church
there, the shocking practice of cannibaHsm was not yet
wholly given up, and the people were entirely under
the power of the priests of the Juju or fetish worship.
As in Dahomey, no regard for human life seems to
have existed; men were sacrificed at every high
festival, and at the burial of any of their chief men'a
number of poor creatures would be slaughtered. The
ghastly spectacle of their temple, paved and elaborately
decorated with human bones, showed the ferocity of
their religion.
In the midst of this awful darkness came Bishop
THE l?OY BECOMES THE BISHOP. 121
Crowther and his fellow-lielpers, bearing the hght of
the Gospel, and iu due time many beheved and were
saved. It was as in the early Chm-ch of the first
centuries, the adherents of the new religion were
mostly slaves, and to escape their persecutors had
to meet for worship and counsel in retired places.
The little Mission Church of St. Stephen's was
opened on the 1st January, 1872, and from time to
time converts were baptized, and the little assembly
of believers increased. But the superstition of the
priests and their votaries constantly made the little
church the object of their persecuting hatred. Again
and again its members were compelled to meet in the
secrecy of the forest for prayer. The hour of martyr-
dom had come ; some few could not stand the test,
but very many gloriously held faithful to their Lord.
One instance of this is the case of Isiah Bara and
Jonathan Apiafe, who were important persons in
their country before they embraced Christianity.
From that moment, however, they were bitterly per-
secuted, and finally, for the crime of carrying the
body of a poor Christian slave to burial, they were
publicly impeached by the Juju priests. Offered meat
sacrificed to idols, they preferred death to such dis-
honour of their Lord. Then they were bound with
chains, and put in a shed in the bush to die of star-
vation ; but in secret some of their brethren conveyed
to them a little food at the risk of their own lives.
When tempted, first by offers of honourable and
influential positions among the chiefs, and then by
threats of horrible punishment, their replies are
among the brave words of Christ's witnesses well
worth recording : " I have made up my mind," said
122 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
one of them, " God helping me, to be in chains, if it
so please the Lord, till the coming of the judgment
day ; " and said the other, fired with a like heroism,
*' You know I never refused to perform my duty ; but
as for turning back to heathen worship, that is out
of my power, for Jesus has taken charge of my heart,
and x>adlocked it, and the key is ivith Him." For
twelve months these faithful ones endured this pain-
ful bondage, until relieved at last by the urgent
appeal of some English traders ; and they looked, on
emerging out of their captivity, more like wasted
skeletons than men.
Under such circumstances Bishop Crowther and
his son. Archdeacon Dandeson Crowther, appealed to
the Christians everywhere to aid the suffering mission
with their prayers, and from all parts of the world
letters of sympathy reached them, and in Tennyson's
figure we may say, the golden chains of prevalent
prayers bound once more the round world about the
feet of God. A special prayer-meeting was held, too,
at the Delta ; and, after it, the Archdeacon hastened
to the chiefs to ask them to withdraw the persecuting
hand against the Christians.
Three years afterwards the wife of a chief who
called himself Captain Hart, died. She had been the
very Jezebel of the persecution, and had urged her
husband to kill many Christians. Vainly did Crowther
seek access to her on her death-bed, the priests, to
whom she had always given largely of money and
presents, prevented this. "When she had breathed
her last, the chief, her husband, was inconsolable,
and was grieved to think that his Juju idol had failed
to save her. Crowther found him, and tried to com-
THE BOY BECOJIES THE BISIJOP. 123
fort the broken-hearted man. He says, " After
expressmg our sympathy, I added that all the words
of comfort we can tell him will fail to heal the sore
in his heart; but we who are believers in Jesus
Christ have a ' balm ' which heals such wounds ; there
is a Physician, above every earthly physician, who
administers it into our hearts, and a change takes
place for good. Should he like us to tell him of that
balm for his broken heart?" He answered, "Yes,
tell me, and I will listen to you." After reading from
the book of Samuel, of the punishment of David's
sin, Mr. Crowther tells us he " turned to Psalm li.,
and carefully read the whole to him, and concluded
by pointing him to Jesus Christ, who has shed His
blood for us all, for him (the chief), for me, for every
man, and he that believeth in His name shall be
saved. I closed my Bible, he sighed and said, ' God's
word is true and is good. Come at another time, and
tell me more.' "
The death of his wife, the failure of his gods and
priests to deliver him in his trouble, and, most of all,
the good words of the Lord, had such an effect on the
chief that some time afterwards, when, in his turn,
he waited death, a striking scene took place. He
renounced his faith in his idols in the most distinct
manner, ordering them to be thrown into the river.
This was done on the day of his funeral, and the
people in a great fury wreaked their vengeance on the
luckless jujus, dashing them into the river and break-
ing them up into fragments. Thus this Ahab died,
and his household gods were scattered abroad.
The most popular of the gods of Yoruba is Ifa,
and a very interesting account is given by the Picv.
124 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
James Johnson, the native African missionary, of
the conversion of one of its priests or medicine
men. The man was growing into old age when he
appeared before the Christian teacher as a seeker
after truth. He had been for years in the habit of
using his idol Ifa as a charm against the diseases
of the people, but he himself had a painful malady
which his idolatrous offices failed to cure. It so
happened, however, that Jonah Shekere, who was a
communicant of the Ake congregation, met him one
day, and told the disconsolate Babalawo Dosimu that
prayer to God through the Lord Jesus Christ would
be more likely to cure him than all his charms and
divinations. By appointment they met, and these two
natives knelt together to ask the Great Physician if it
was His will to take away the affliction from which
Dosimu was suffering. God was not inattentive to
their cry, and soon afterwards the sickness abated,
and the poor repentant heathen found that rest and
sleep, which for so long a time had forsaken him.
His Christian friend read to him the story of Jonah,
and this greatly impressed him ; and, although at
such an advanced age, he begged to be instructed how
to read, that he might know for himself more of the
wonderful teaching of the Word of God. He renounced
his idolatry, and brought to the missionary his Ifa or
idol, saying, "I cannot tell how much I have spent
in vain upon this useless thing! I sought recovery
from it in illness, and it promised it ; but its promises
and assurances have not been fulfilled. Prayer to
God has been of real help to me. I renounce Ifa, and
will follow Christianity, that the Lord may give me
perfect recovery."
THE BOY BECOMES THE BISHOP. 125
As the light slowly dawned upon his benighted
spirit, he spoke in a manner of his former worship,
which is not unusual with these heathen priests after
their conversion, " Such answers to prayers," said
he, " I have found to be not answers from Ifa, who I
had prayed to, but from God Himself, whom I
ignorantly addressed as the holy, sinless, and good
One, when I addressed Ifa thus, and was pleased to
apply to Himself the prayers and addresses offered in
simple faith though in ignorance to a thing that could
not helj)."
Mr. Johnson, the missionary, thus concludes his
sketch of this striking change of heart and life.
"Dosimu attributes his conversion entirely to God.
* What else,' he says, ' could have brought me ? ' His
chief anxiety is to be baptized, ' pinodu,' as he calls it.
Pinodu is an abbreviation of, ' Pa-ina-Odu,' to kill, or
put out the fire of Odu. Odu is a companion of Ifa,
and is represented by charcoal, powdered camwood
mixed with water and mud. He is the god who
afflicts mankind with sickness and other troubles, and
is said to be always in wrath against them. This
wrath is * ina ' fire. To put out this fire is to pro-
pitiate him, remove his wrath, and secure his favour,
and exemptions from his inflictions. Propitiation is
made in a priest's house with the blood of a goat or
sheep, and fowls slain at night at the time of offering.
When Dosimu says he wants to 'pinodu,' he means
to dedicate himself to God in baptism."
CHAPTER XI.
Bonny a Bethel.
— ^^ —
" 0 come thou radiaut Morning Star,
Again on human darkness shine ;
Ari.-;e, resplendent from afar,
Assert Thy roj-alty divine :
Thy sway o'er all the earth maintain,
And now begin Thy glorious reign." — Anon.
■■^^
AFTER the passing away of Captain Hart and his per-
secuting wife, there came to the infant church at
Bonny another season of peace and prosperity. The
native schoolmaster sent to Bishop Crowther a joyful
report, thanking God that "Bonny has become a
Bethel." The destruction of Captain Hart's idols
made a salutary impression upon the minds of his
friends and neighbours. "His household — men,
women, and children — came with great joy to the
house of God."
While in times past the church had been harassed
by the animosity of such a Jezebel as the late chief's
wife had proved to be, it was now comforted by a
woma,n of considerable position and influence in the
EONNV A TETHEL. 127
place, who, receiving the Gospel in her heart, lost no
time in helping the good work with all her power.
In her house, every morning and evening, a large
concourse of people, chiefly of her own establishment,
met for family prayer. So greatly did the mission
extend that another church was built, and these were
both crowded, at every service, by people thirsting for
the "Word of God.
This important station was placed under the care of
Bishop Crowther's son, the Archdeacon, and he
gathered the chiefs together and endeavoured to
persuade them to exercise at any rate toleration to-
wards the mission. An event, however, of consider-
able importance occurred about this time.
The titular king of Bonny, George Pepple, had gone
to England for his health ; and during his stay on our
shores had been everywhere received with respect and
enthusiasm. He made friends with the Lord Mayor
of London, was even introduced to the Prince of
Wales, and gave several addresses uj^on the subject of
his country's welfare, and the pleasure he felt at being
so well received. The most important feature of his
visit, however, was the interest evinced by all with
whom he came in contact in the mission work at
Bonny, and he was not slow to show his earnest
appreciation of its value and success. He must have
felt some twinges of conscience when he remembered
the persecutions the Christians had been subjected
to, and which no doubt he might have repressed
had he not stood in such fear of his chiefs. But now
that with renewed health and so many pleasant
recollections he was about to return to his native land,
he determined to take up a definite position as the
128 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
protector of, and sympathiser with, the work of Chris-
tianity in his kingdom. So this royal convert sent tiie
following letter in advance to Archdeacon Crowther,
announcing his return :
" Forgive me for not writing you prior to this. I
will make it all right when I meet you in Bonny.
People have made inquiries about you, and I have
given them the best possible account. I shall be
coming by next steamer, if it please God to allow me,
and I wish you to get ready for a special service at the
Mission church in Bonny. From the steamer (d.v.)
I will proceed to the church to offer my thanksgiving
to God."
In due time he arrived ; and at the service which ho
attended, a special prayer of thanksgiving to God was
read, and an earnest and impressive discourse preached
by Archdeacon Crowther on the text from the Psalms :
"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will
declare what He hath done for my soul."
The people, greatly encouraged by this action of
their king, flocked to the mission, and worked with a
will to erect fresh premises. In its after experiences,
Bonny became one of the most encouraging stations
m the district of the Lower Niger. On the pastoral
visit of Bishop Crowther, a service was held in St.
Stephen's Church, which, as described by his son in
one of his reports to the parent Society, can only
make the reader exclaim, " What hath God wrought ?"
The Formosa had steamed from Brass, and had the
Bishop on board. Then we are told, " Notice had
already been given at the church the last Sunday of
the expected arrival of the Bishop, who w^ould preach,
and a public examination of the children at school
BONNY A BETHEL.
129
was to take place afterwards. The following Sunday
(24th) came, the morning opened gloomily, but the
feathered songsters warbled out their praises to God
so cheerfully that morning, as if mdicative of the
many voices which would be. raised in jubilant praises
to God in His once neglected sanctuary.
"The tones of the church-going bell announced
the approach of the hour of service, and hardly had
the first bell stopped ringing when I saw on my way
to St. Clement's, by the beach path from Bonny,
scores of people hastening to St. Stephen's to secure
seats before the sound of the second bell. I returned
from St. Clement's, and found the Bishop preaching.
130 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Turning to the congregation, a sight never witnessed
before at Bonny met my eyes. The church was
densely crowded — seats provided, and extra ones,
closely packed to the pulpit and reading-desk, were
filled. The pews filled, the gallery well occupied by
the children, and the steps to the gallery lined with
people. King George was present with his sister.
Chief Fine Country, and other minor ones were there
also, with the rich woman already spoken of, who,
though ill during the week, yet was present at church.
No less than 503 persons were attentively listening to
the sermon, the Bishop telling them of the wonderful
works of God among the people :a the interior coun-
tries of the Eiver Niger.
" At the mention by the Bishop of such names as
Mkpo, Umu-oji, Nknere nsube, Aron, Elugu, etc. — that
the people of these places are sending messages to the
mission at Onitsha, and that our agents are now
travelling thither occasionally — one could notice the
smiles and nods of approval from these poor listeners,
many of whom had been caught and sold from the
towns mentioned, and hence the joy to know that the
Gospel will some day reach their own country.
" In the afternoon the Bishop again preached ; and
though the tide was high, above knee-deep over the
beach path, yet there were 419 persons present."
One day two young converts appeared before Bishop
Crowther at the mission -house for the purpose of
purchasing some religious books in their language.
In answer to the inquiry, "From where do you come?"
they stated their place of abode was "the Land of
Israel." In further explanation of this strange name,
they told the Bishop, " You do not know what changes
BONNY A BETHEL. 131
are taking place at Boimy ; yonder village Ayambo,
is named the Land of Israel, because no idol is to be
found in it. Though you may walk through the
village, you will not find a single idol in it as an object
of worship. All have been cleared out, and some
delivered to the Archdeacon. So it is free from
idolatrous worship ; and if anyone who professes the
Christian religion is not comfortable at Bonny town,
he is invited to this village, named the Land of
Israel."
The influence of the Christian religion was every-
where making way, and the good tidings of salvation
were being carried up the country. About thirty miles
from Bonny is the town of Okrika, where there is an
important market. Here people, who had been to
Bonny, carried the news of what God was doing
amongst the people there, and the chiefs and natives
of Okrika, although they had never seen a Christian
teacher, built for themselves a church, with a galva-
nized iron roof, which would hold at least three
hundred worshippers, and got a schoolboy from Brass
to come and read the Church Service to them. They
sent a pressing invitation to Bishop Crowther to come
and visit them. His son, the Archdeacon, however,
came in his place, and was received with enthusiasm,
and preached to them in the Ibo language. A few
days after he was shown over the town, and having
brought a brick-mould from Bonny he got some clay,
and explained to them the process of making bricks.
The results of his discourse on the choice between
Elijah's God and Baal was soon seen. " A chief
named Somaire, who had been hesitating, and happily
was ?t church, came after service and shook my hands,
132 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
and said, ' Uka ogala td,' * palaver set to-day.' I
asked him, How ? He answered, ' You will know
to-morrow.'
** On Monday morning lie came m a canoe contain-
ing a large and small box full of idols and charms,
four other chiefs who are church adherents were with
me. "We all stood by the wharf, and there he told me
that he had decided to follow Christ, to throw away
his jujus, and have nothing more to do with such
folly. I answered, ' Good, may God strengthen your
heart.' " But in course of time, the opposition and
intrigue of the chiefs, who disliked the support which
King George Pepple afforded Christianity, caused
serious trouble once more in Bonny.
In 1883 a letter of complaint against the Mission
was signed by a majority of the chiefs, and shortly
afterwards this was followed up by open revolt, and
the king was dethroned and exiled. The churches
were ordered to be shut up and burned down, and the
severest punishment was meted out to all those who
would no longer sacrifice to the jujus or idols.
Such a persecution soon displayed the martyr
heroism of the Christians of Bonny. Six women
who would not recant, were put into a canoe and left
helpless in the middle of the river, and several others
were banished or murdered. Archdeacon Crowther
was warned off from Okrika under pretence of a
coming war, and it seemed for the time as though
Satan had the work at Bonny helpless in his hands.
But with deepest darkness the star of dawn appeared,
and suddenly, in answer to many prayers, relief came.
Her Majesty's Consul, E. H. Hewitt, Esq., arrived at
Bonny in August, 1884, with a commercial treaty
BONNY A BETHEL. 133
signed by the chiefs of the oil rivers in the Gulf of
Biafra, and in this was a clause giving absolute free-
dom to missionaries to establish stations free from
molestation. This was signed by the rebellious chiefs
of Bonny; and afterwards, at the suggestion of the
English representative, a council of chiefs was estab-
lished, which led to the unanimous reinstatement of
King George Pepple as their rightful ruler.
The most important clause in the constitutional
memorandum, drawn up and signed by the chiefs on
the accession of their king, was that he should be
" exempted from taking part personally in any
ceremony that may be contrary to his religion."
Thus there was peace once more in Bonny, and the
kingdom of Christ continues to extend its gracious
power among the people.
The kingdom of Brass is one of the outlets of the
Niger, and it was in 1867 that Bishop Crowther first
met with its king, Ockiya, on the river Nun. He was
at once favourably disposed to Christianity, and
begged for ministers and teachers to be sent to Brass
to give the same blessings to his people as he had
heard had come to his neighbours at Bonny, further
up the stream. Here, then, Bishop Crowther laboured
hard, and as a result many were added to the Church ;
and so prosperously did Christianity win its way
among the people that the Juju priests, like those of
Ephesus, soon began to realise that their gains w^ere
gone.
A visitation of small-pox in the district gave them
the opportunity to blame the Christian teachers for
it, and forthwith was initiated a cruel persecution,
as bitter as that which we have seen was waged
134 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
at Bonny. Once more the spirit of faith and trust
in God was exhibited amid trials hard to be borne.
One of the converts was bound and dragged to
a place where a sacrifice was being offered to an
idol, and there his persecutors stood with a drawn
sword over him demanding his recantation ; but he
did not give way. The king was powerless to curb
this bitter outburst of his priests and chiefs combined.
But after nine years of labour and more than one
outburst of fanatical opposition, the Church at Brass
was well established.
When in his latter daj^s King Ockiya decided to
make a solemn and public profession of Christianitj^
he paid a visit to Tuwou village to be baptized. This
rite was administered by Archdeacon Crowther on
the first Sunday in Advent, 1879, the king receiving
the name of Josiah Constantine. But for years, this
native potentate had shown himself very friendly to
the introduction and progress of Christianity in his
dominions. In spite of his juju men, he utterly gave
up his idols, and the principal of these are to be seen
in the Mission House, Salisbury Square. In our
illustration these are as photographed at Lagos on
their way to England. The two men, on either side
of Bishop Crowther, are Josiah Bara and Jonathan
Apiafe, of whose brave and patient loyalty to their
Master we have already had evidence in these pages.
King Ockij^a was enabled by the grace of God to
give up polygamy, a great sacrifice for a royal
African to make ; and his example as a Christian led
to the conversion of several of his heathen priests,
who are riow baptised believers in the Saviour's
name.
KI.YG OCKIYA'S IDOLS ON THEIR WAY TO ENGLAND.
136 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Not only is there a great spiritual quickening
among the people, but their material prosperity is
evident. When Bishop Crowther visited one of the
chiefs, Samuel Sambo, he found his house beautifully
furnished, in the European style, with every luxury.
There was one apartment, however, more neatly
garnished, in which a table and a number of forms
were seen. This was the praying-room, where, twice
a day, the chief gathers his large household for family
prayer. This, too, in a land where at the time of
Bishop Crowther's first visit, cannibalism and super-
stitions of the vilest sort reigned supreme.
These poor heathen, so lately possessed with a
devilish worship and cruel practices, are now sitting
clothed and in their right mind, a spectacle of the
power of the grace of God, which is not without its
lesson even to the English people at home.
A striking instance of the reality of the change is
given by Archdeacon Crowther. These are his words.
"A sailing vessel called the Guiding Star, with cargo
consigned to one of the firms trading on the Niger,
arrived outside the Nun bar. No pilot was sent out
to bring her in, so the captain sent his boat with five
men in to get one. The boat capsized on the bar, one
of the sailors was drowned, and the rest clung to the
boat. Being ebb tide thej^ were drifted away to sea,
past Brass ; and by the time the flood set in they were
away down by an opening called the Nicholas.
Cannibals live in this vicinity, hence any unfortunate
being cast on Nicholas shore must be given up as lost.
These four sailors were drifted ashore there, and
picked up by the natives. Providentially for them one
of the Brass church converts, called Carry, had some
BONNY A BBTHEL. 137
trade business with the Nicholas people ; and his boys,
who also attend church, were there at the time.
They hastened and reported to their master about the
sailors. At once Carry went, and after a good long
talk, and showing them how God had turned the
Brass people from such shameful practices through
the Word of God, he succeeded in rescumg the sailors,
and returned them to their ship at the Eiver Nun.
Carry's words when he handed the sailors to the
captain of the ship (with whom I had conversation
two days after) were these : ' Had I not known God
and have become a Christian, these poor men would
not have been alive to-day ; we thank God ! ' This is
a testimony from the mouth of a captain of the effect
of Christianity and the power of the Gospel."
The improvement consequent on the establishment
of the mission at Bonny is exhibited everywhere.
Several years ago Bishop Crowther, in his report to
the Society, enlarged upon the gi;p,cious fruits of the
work of God among the people. There has been, from
time immemorial, a custom of making sacrificGS
whenever an expedition of war canoes starts for the
capture of slaves along the river. The blood of the
animals thus sacrificed was sprinkled on the canoes
in order to propitiate the god of war; but in tins
report we note that the Christian converts as one
man, refused to carry out these observances. In
one case a priest, who was not a Christian, ob-
jected to do what was required on the ground of
the useless folly of the thing; but the head chief
failing to compel him, told one of his slaves to take
the whip and punish him. This, however, the slave
declined to do, and again another refused. In a
138 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
great passion the headman took the whip himself,
and with all his might and main fell upon the delin-
quent. After this, under the impression that the
castigation he had inflicted had brought the priest
to a more willing state of mind, he again ordered him
to sacrifice, but this order he again disobeyed.
A short time after this the priest was admitted as
a candidate for Christian baptism. We read in the
words of Bishop Crowther that —
"Bonny is now wearing quite a new aspect in a
religious point of view ; great changes are taking
place for the better ; a "ad notwithstanding the perse-
vering efforts of some priests, backed by the influence
of some leading chiefs, heathenism is on the wane :
man}'- sheds, sacred to the gods, are out of repair,
and the great temple studded with human skulls is
going to ruin, with little hoi'e of its being repaired.
' Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee, and the
remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain.'
" Since the reaction took place at the death of
Captain Hart — that great patron of idolatrous system
and zealous supporter of this temple of human skalls
— the people have learned more and more to think of
the vauity of idol worship ; especially when this great
patron of heathenism could not conceal the fact which
he had at last discovered at his dying hour, namely,
that all the gods are lies : and withal, solemnly
warned all his adherents against putting their trust
in them any longer, as they were all lying vanities ;
and to exonerate himself as having been the great
leader in their worship, he seriously commanded them
to destroy all the images and figures of the gods
which might be found in his quarter of the town
BONNY A BETHEL.
139
after his death, that they might not be a snare and
an excuse to them through his former example in
worshipping them ; which order was executed to the
very word. Thus God caused the wrath of this man,
the great persecutor, murderer, and banisher of the
Christians, to praise Him, wliile He restrained the
remainder of wrath by his removal, that His cause
may run and be glorified.
"After this, the threat from a persecuting influ-
ential chief, to confiscate the property of a convert,
a rich W'Oman of Bonny town, could not induce her
to sell any article to this chief on the Lord's Day,
though he had fully determined to punish her for
thus refusing to grant his request, on the ground of
religious persuasion of its being a breach of God's
commandment. This persecution w^as designedly
planned to ensnare her ; but he was disappointed."
CHAPTER XII.
The Fruitage of the Seed.
" As labourers in Tby vineyard
Still faithful may we be,
Content to bear the burden
Of weary days for Thee.
We ask no other -wages,
When Thou shalt call us home,
But to have shared the travail,
Which makes Thy kingdom oouie
-IMONSEL.
TT will be remembered that Bishop Crowther is a
X Yoruba by birth and parentage, and, as might be
expected, there has ever been in his heart a special
yearning for the blessings of the Christian faith to be
vouchsafed to his own people and land. His visit to
Abeokuta, in 1846, has already been referred to in
these pages, when he was accompanied by that noble
co-worker, Mr. Henry Townsend.
This worthy missionary, who has not long gone to
his honoured rest, deserves something more than a
mere reference in this record of labour for Christ in
"West Africa. He was a native of the cathedral city
THE FRUITAGE OF THE SEED. 141
of Devonshire, unci his church in Abeokata, being the
gift of his many earnest friends, was called the
Exeter Church. He was for six years a schoolmaster
among the freed slaves at Sierra Leone ; and prompted
by a strong desire to explore the unknown regions of
the Yoruba country, from which many of the escaped
slaves, like the future Bishop of the Niger, had come,
he started for Abeokuta, the headquarters of the
nation. He was the first white man to enter its gates,
and his reception by Shodeki, the king, was remark-
able for its cordiality. The people were as a field
white unto the harvest, so great was their desh-e for
light and truth.
One striking instance of this must suffice. Mr.
Townsend tells us in his journal : " Towards evening a
large party encamped as on the previous evening, and
after they had eaten and made themselves comfortable
I spoke to them. I said, ' Do you know the true God
who made us all, and preserves us day by day?'
* No ; but we heard about ten years ago that white
men knew Him, and we have wished they would come
and teach us.' * Do you want to know Him ? ' ' Yes.'
' Then you must ask God to send you teachers, and
He will send them to teach and lead you in the right
way of God.' They arose, and lifting up their hands,
said, ' 0 God ! send us teachers to teach us about
Thee.' What more gratifying circumstance could
there have been than this. We were clearly called to
teach these people, and the result has further proved
it. Many who were then in heathen darkness have
since received the Gospel, and have died rejoicing in
Christ, trusting in Him alone for salvation."
After this visit, Townsend returned to England, and
142 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
after being fully ordained, was appointed to the mission
at Abeokuta, and with Crowther re-entered the city
in 1846. From that time it became the field of his
special labours, although Crowther from time to time
assisted in the establishment of the native church.
The Egbas, who had securely entrenched themselves
in this city, were continually being attacked by their
old and remorseless foes, the Dahomians; and although
in seven different campaigns the enemy ravaged the
towns of the country around, still Abeokuta held out
successfully.
In these onslaughts by the king of Dahomey, whose
cruel and bloodthirsty character had began to shock
Europe, the Christian converts whenever outside of
the city, fell into his hands, and suffered many
trials. One of them, named John Baptist Dasalu,
was made prisoner at the repulse of the Dahomey
attack in 1851, and was for twelve nights fastened to
the ground with forked sticks, and then, after cruel
torture, was sold as a slave, and sent to Cuba,
where, on the application of the English Government,
he was released. Another Christian Egba suffered
martyrdom by crucifixion like his Lord ; and not a
few others had their portion of persecution and
captivity.
In connection with the atrocities of Gezo, the king
of Dahomey, a very pleasing incident is on record of
the escape of a little girl from an awful death. It
was in 1850, when Commander Forbes of H.M.S.
Bonetta, was charged with a special mission to the
king to induce him to put down slavery in his king-
dom. In this excellent quest he was unfortunately
unsuccessful, and dmdng his short stay in the
THE FllUITAGE OF THE SEED. 143
country, at the king's court, he saw with his own
eyes what a number of Uves were sacrificed to please
the whim of this inhuman ruler. He was present at
the custom known as Ek-que-noo-ah-toh-meh, at
which sacrifice fourteen men in white dresses, with
high red night caps, bound and placed in small canoes
or baskets are flung by the king's own hand over a
precipice, and then decapitated by his servants below.
Two years before this the king's army had utterly
destroyed Okeodan, a city of the Yoruba country,
in the same manner as Crowther's native town
was destroyed in his childhood. Twenty thou-
sand captives formed the spoil of the conqueror ; and
among them was a little girl whose parents had been
killed, and she was only spared for a special sacri-
fice. This child was given by the king to Commander
Forbes to take back as a present to Queen Victoria.
She was baptised by the name of Sarah Forbes
Bonetta, and educated at the Church Missionary
Female Institution at Sierra Leone. After a few
years, at the Queen's direction, she was brought to
England to finish her education, and was in the care
of Mr. and Mrs. Schon at Chatham. She soon
became greatly loved, being of a lively, quick dis-
position, and was really promising in her English,
French, and German studies.
It is quite characteristic of the Sovereign Lady who
so happily rules this realm, that this little Yoruba
girl was never lost sight of by her, and at her Mid-
summer and Christmas holidays she was always at
the Palace for a few weeks, returning with some new
present from the Queen. Amongst others she had a
gold watch, a turquoise ring, and a beautiful gold
144 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
bracelet with the words : " From Queen Victoria to
Sarah Forbes Bonetta." She was specially invited
when the Guards returned from the Crimea ; and on
the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales she
had a ticket to the Eoyal Galleries, accompanied
with suitable apparel.
She married at Brighton a leading Lagos merchant,
and became Mrs. Davies, and her first child was named
Victoria. On her return to her native country she
became most useful in the mission work at Lagos, and
died full of a joyful faith in her Eedeemer, in Sep-
tember, 1880. The womanly sympathy of Her
Majesty is so well known, that comment is unne-
cessary ; but this brief but interesting incident must
not close witliout an extract showing how the Queen
received the news of the death of Mrs. Davies : —
"In August last (1880) Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson
were staying at Sandown, in the Isle of Wight, and
Mrs. Davies' daughter, Victoria (the Queen's godchild),
who was in England for her education, was with them.
While there the news arrived from Madeira that Mrs.
Davies was seriously ill, and that she wished the
Queen to be informed. This was done, and tlie fol-
lowing day Her Majesty sent for Victoria to come to
Osborne. Just as she was starting thither with Mrs.
Nicholson, the news came that her mother was dead."
Mrs. Nicholson writes : "I never shall forget the
deep emotion shown by our beloved Queen when I
gave her the letter announcing Mrs. Davies' death,
and the motherly sympathy she expressed regarding
her, saying with deep feeling, ' She was such a dear
creature.' "
The constantly recurring wars have greatly bin-
THE FRUITAGE OF THE SEED. 145
dered the progress of the Mission ; and during an
outburst in 1867, all the missionaries were expelled,
and the Mission premises destroyed. But in the pro-
vidence of God the work was recommenced after the
lapse of a few years ; and besides the church at
Abeokuta, a good work is being carried on at different
points in the country.
No event, perhaps, is so full of pathetic interest as
the passing away five years ago of the mother of
Bishop Crowther. We are told that this mother in
Israel never gave up entirely her native style of life,
she eschewed the European costume, and used to sit
-by preference in the market-place at Lagos " like a
true Yoruba woman." To her, after a life of ninety-
seven years, the summons at last came ; and " in
a happy condition, full of joy to go to her Saviour,"
this aged saint passed to that land where partings,
cryings, the weight of age, and the wrongs of slavery
never vex again.
In reviewing the work of the Mission on the Niger,
the practical mind of Bishop Crowther is stamped on
everything. In dealing with native races the spiritual
must be allied to the educational, and especially
where the wise course is being adopted of preparing
the converts themselves for work among their own
people. The foolish but prevalent idea, that the
African intelligence cannot develop under teaching,
is at once exploded by the spectacle of such a work
as is carried on at the Preparandi Institution at
Lokoja, situate at the confluence of the Binue and
Niger. This was started by the Bishop for the further
training of native boys as catechists and school-
masters. The stones to erect this substantial build-
146 SAMUEL CROWTHER,
ing were collected from the hills around, and the
15,000 pieces were carried by women to the mason
who had been specially sent from Sierra Leone for
the purpose of the work. Everything was paid for,
and the sight of a number of men and women en-
gaged in industry, properly remunerated, was a signi-
ficant feature of that district. The place is a perfect
marvel to the natives. They cannot understand how
the stones keep together for such a height ; and as
they look in wonder, say to each other, " White man
pass every man; white man, he next to God." It is
quite on the College plan, with tutors' residences,
dormitories, class rooms, and a printing room, the
gift of the Society for Promoting Christian Know-
ledge. Such a centre of spiritual and educational
activity will influence to an untold extent the future
of the West Coast of Africa.
An apt illustration of how a little tact will overcome
a difficulty is given in the case reported by the Eev.
Daniel Olubi, of Ibadan in the Yoruba territory. At a
small outlying station, Ogbomosho, there is a mission
belonging to the American Baptists, and on the
occasion of the burial of one of the converts a great
riot ensued, the missionary who was making the coffin
having to fortify himself in his house against the
religious intolerance of the mob. The chapel, however,
was speedily demolished, and even the pieces were
taken away, so that in this emergency the missionary
applied to the Church Missionary station at Ibadan,
ftnd Mr. Olubi sent a native Catechist, Mr. I. Okusende,
to arrange the difficulty. After much opposition
he managed to secure an interview with the Bale or
lieadman, and learnt from him that a bitter feeling
THE FRUITAOE OF TUE SEED. 147
existed against the native Christians. They were
accused of betraying the secrets of the Oro worship,
and the Bale made many complaints which he had
heard against them. This is what followed :
" Now why," said Mr. Okusende, " do you trouble
yourselves about such things ? Why give heed to
these foolish reports? I beg," he continued, "that
you the Bale and the Elders of Ogbomosko make two
bags, long and large. One must be strongly sewn
up, with a good thick bottom, but the other must be
without a bottom. All reports and false accusations
that would trouble you and agitate your town drop
into the bag without the bottom, that they may fall
through, but all beneficial and peaceful affau's put into
the other." When he had finished, the Bale authorized
his "Are Ago" (great chief) to welcome Mr. Okusende,
and to wish him much blessing for the good message
he had conveyed to them ; and then himself added,
*' We are not vexed with the teachers, but with our
own people who go down to them to be taught and who
reveal secrets of Epingun, Oro," etc., (these are well-
known Yoruba superstitions.) " Stop," said Mr.
Okusende, interrupting him, ** such a word belongs to
the bag with the hole, drop it in." " Very well," the
Bale replied, with a smile ; and after a few words he
declared that all the suspicions and misunderstand-
ings were now removed out of the way. " The town
elders and myself," he said, *' have done with them.
The Church is again free and open as before, and all
may attend who choose, and we will help in the
rebuilding of the chapel."
We would commend the preparation of these
receptacles to the attention of the white men and
148 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
ivomen at home, who, like the Bale of Ugbomosko,
iometimes forget that of evil speaking a spark will
xiindle a whole fire of discontent and sorrow.
Eeference has already been made to John Okenla,
the brave chief of Abeokuta, who led forth his besieged
fellow-countrymen, and inflicted a severe defeat upon
the army of the king of Dahomey. He became the
leading lay member of the Church at Abeokuta, and
founded that interesting little Christian community
lying between the city and Otta. For many years he
held the post of Christian Balogun, and was always
ready to take an active part in good works.
His end was sudden, but peaceful. He had borne
well the weight of his eighty years, and on the
Saturday before his death had walked twenty-five
miles, and ten more on the Sunday morning early, so
as to be in time for service at his church. He partook
of the sacrament, and on the Monday following was
present at the Harvest Thanksgiving service, bringing
his own offering (twenty thousand cowries), and laying
it in front of the communion rails. On the Thursday,
after only two hours' illness, John Okenla fell asleep
in Jesus, and at his grave gathered the native choir
to sing a special song of mingled sorrow and joy,
composed by one of their number. It was a touching
scene, the strong men weeping bitterly at the loss of
their old and faithful comrade. But absent in the
body was present with the Lord, and John Okenla
had gone to join that glorious throng who without
ceasing praise the Lord.
A little lower down the river Niger than Onitsha, is
the Ibo country, where a mission station has been
successfully started by the converts of the former
THE FRUITAOE UF THE SEED. 149
place. On Easter Day, 1882, a very interesting visit
was made by about fifteen Christian Onitsha natives
to this place, when five hundred people gathered to-
gether to hear the strangers tell the wonderful story
of the Eesurrection.
In the November following Bishop Crowther and
Archdeacon Henry Johnson visited Obotsi, and held a
service so impressive that the Archdeacon says, " My
heart did leajD for joy on beholding the glorious scene
which unfolded itself before my eyes." An immense
semicircular concourse of chiefs and people were pre-
pared to receive them. The greatest attention was
given to the sermon, the subject of which was the
Prodigal Son, and all joined in the sentences of the
Lord's Prayer, slowly read out to them in the Ibo
tongue.
One of the interpreters spoke to the jDeople also
with eloquence and s^Dirit, relating his experiences of
Christianity at Sierra Leone, and begging them to
find the Saviour. Quite 1,500 people were present,
and a number of Christian native women acted as
churchwardens in keeping order, and showing the
congregation when and how to kneel. The Bishop
was greatly encouraged with the result of his inter-
view with some of his chiefs.
When the Bishop of Sierra Leone visited Port Lok-
koh, and other places of his diocese, in 1883, he had
an opportunity of talking with many of the chiefs
and headmen of the district. The remarks of one
of these were very significant, and showed a keen
appreciation of Christian privileges. Our laws he
admired because they made no difference between
rich and poor, and of the Bible he spoke with great
150 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
enthusiasm. His closing sentence will bear repetition,
" The paper of your Book is light, but its words are
heavy."
The eldest son of Bishop Crowther, the Archdeacon
of the Lower Niger, paid a visit to England in the
spring of the year 1883, in order to purchase two
new churches for the Brass Paver, the amount
required having been collected by the native Christians
themselves. These churches were constructed of iron,
carried in sections to Africa, and subsequently trans-
ferred in canoes to the places alloted to them up the
river. When the church was commenced to be
erected at Nembe, a vast concourse of people assem-
bled to witness it rising piece by piece from the
ground. The fixing of plates, equivalent to stone
laying in England, was a scene to be remembered, and
the special service which preceded it will not be soon
forgotten by the assemblage of natives which gathered
round. The chiefs and their wives, three hundred
and fifty in number, formed a group round the spot
where the banner of the Church Missionary Society
waved in the wind. The native Clergy in their
surplices, and the Catechist, occupied the small plat-
form in the centre of the group ; and after some
devotional exercises, two leading chiefs, William
Kennmer and Christopher Iwowari, members of the
Church, spiked down the two corner plates, and the im-
pressive formula, beginning "In true faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ," was read by the Archdeacon. After
a solemn prayer, committing the interest of the new
sanctuary to the God of all grace and truth, whose
house it was to be, all present rose and sang the
Doxology.
THE FRUITAGE OF THE SEED. 151
It is a pleasing feature in the work of this Church,
that a strong choir is gathered; and several beautiful
hymns, such as Bickersteth's "Peace, perfect peace,"
and " Come to Jesus," are no^Y translated into their
own tongue.
In 1883, in the course of his pastoral visitation,
Bishop Crowther accompanied Josiah Obuyanwuru, a
Christian native, to Obitsi. They had with them nine
female communicants, besides a number of young
persons, and arrived at their destination in time to
take the morning service in the new chapel built by
the converts there, helped by generous and willing
assistance from Onitsha. The building was of com-
modious size, thatched all along its sixty feet with
bamboo matting. The service was begun by the
singing of a hymn translated into their own language,
read out to them verse by verse by George Anya-
Ebunam, the interpreter. Then Josiah Obuyanwuru
asked that some one would lead in prayer, and one
of the female converts immediately offered an earnest
supplication, praying for the conversion of the people,
and specially mentioning the names of several of the
leading men.
Afterwards Bishop Crowther preached on that
watchword of missions, "Go ye, therefore, and
teach all nations." The Bishop, in his own words,
thus describes what follows : " After long speaking at
the service, together with six miles' walk before on a
gradual ascending land, I needed a little quiet rest
for an hour or so, which I had, when a message
came from Atta, one of the chiefs who was present
at service, that he would be very glad to see me at
his house, to which I consented to go. After the
152 SAMUEL CROWTIIER.
accustomed etiquette of offering the kola nuts and
palm wine as marks of friendship and kind reception,
the subject was broached, namely, their wish to be
correctly informed whether what the Onitsha converts
had told them in their preaching was correct, that,
when any of their chiefs or persons of rank die,
they should not keep the body for many days, during
which time they keep up firing guns, drumming, and
dancing until they obtain a slave for human sacrifice
to be buried with the dead. The Christians never
did such things, but quietly bury their dead as soon
as possible. I confirmed the teaching of the converts
as being quite correct, that at no death of a Chris-
tian in any part of the world would a human being
be killed to be buried with the dead, how honourable
soever the dead might have been in his lifetime,
because this act is a great abomination in the
sight of God ; neither would the relations of the dead
make that an occasion of drumming, dancing, and
firing guns for days, which I endeavoured to explain
to them as utterly useless to the dead as marks of
honour ; that if the dead be a Christian, as soon as his
soul leaves the body he is carried by the angels into
heaven, where he will enjoy everlasting happiness
with Christ, who has washed the soul clean with His
own most precious blood."
Death has been at work in different parts of the
Niger district, gathering among the native converts
many a shock of corn fully ripe. One of these was an
old man, James Odernide, who was converted under
the ministry of Mr. Hinderer at Ibadan. After thirty-
five years of consistent witnessing for Christ, he was
called hence after a long illness patiently borne. On
THE FRUITAGE OF THE SEED. liJo
one occasion, when the ministers were going to pray
with him, he said, " You must not ask God to spare
my Hfe longer, for I should like much rather to be
with Him before long." He longed for release, that
he might enjoy the blessedness of being with Christ
for evermore. Very full his heart was one morning
when he exclaimed, amid his pain and weakness,
" Would to God I were with Him to-day ! "
It is to be feared that too often the white man,
when for the purposes of trade or exploration he
enters the country of the heathen, does not show
much evidence of the Christianity of the land from
which he has come. He finds himself in the midst
of a people who, degraded as they are, have a religion,
and stand in awe of the god whom they ignorantly
worship; but, although he has been brought up in
the midst of surroundings of great enlightenment,
there is no fear of God before his eyes. Thus it is
that many natives learn, even before the missionary
comes to them with the glad tidings of salvation, to
despise the Christianity of the white man.
Again and again have Crowther's missionaries had to
deplore the baneful results of the alcoholic drink
exported from England to these heathen lands.
Dense as is the darkness of superstition and cruelty
among the poor people, we are, by our rum and gin,
blotting out every lingering gleam of humanity and
goodness from their lives and character. When the
barrel has gone before the Bible, or after it, for the
matter of that, the work of teaching the precious
truths of the Christian faith becomes exceedingly
difficult. That it is against the wish of the native
rulers will be abundantly shown by the letter from a
154 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
Mohammedan king whicli we here transcribe. The
original is in the Haussa language, written by Maliki,
Emir of Nupe, on the Niger, two years ago, addressed
to the Eev. C. Paul, a native missionary, to be handed
to Bishop Crowther. The translation runs as follows :
" Salute Crowther, the great Christian minister.
After salutation, please tell him he is a father to us in
this land; anything he sees will injure us in all this
land, he would not like it. This we know perfectly
well.
" The matter about which I am speaking with my
mouth, write it ; it is as if it is done by my hand, it is
not a long matter, it is about Barasa (rum or gin).
Barasa, Barasa, Barasa ! my God, it has ruined our
country, it has ruined our people very much, it has
made our people become mad. I have given a law
that no one dares buy or sell it ; and any one who is
found selling it, his house is to be eaten up (plundered) ;
any one found drunk will be killed. I have told all
the Christian traders that I agree to anything for
trade except Barasa. I have told Mr. Mcintosh's
people to-day, the Barasa remaining with them must
be returned down the river. Tell Crowther, the great
Christian minister, that he is our father. I beg you,
Malam Kipo (Eev. C. Paul, native missionary), don't
forget this writing, because we all beg that he (Bishop
Crowther) should beg the great priests (Committee
C.M.S.) that they should beg the English Queen to
prevent bringing Barasa into this land.
" For God and the prophet's sake, and the prophet
His messenger's sake, he (Crowther) must help us
in this matter, that of Barasa. We all have con-
fidence in him, he must not leave our country to
THE FRUITAOE OF THE SEED. 155
become spoiled by Barasa. Tell him ma}^ God bless
him in his work. This is the mouth-word from
Maliki, the Emir of Nupe."
In some cases, however, where the Gospel has been
already proclaimed in districts, Christian believers
are gathered together, and they gladly welcome any
who are in the fellowship of their common faith. A
very interesting incident of that is related of one of
the stations of the Niger. There, as we have seen,
native workers are in charge of the mission work, and
labour earnestly for the salvation of their brethren
according to the flesh. On one occasion one of the lay
agents of the Church Missionary Society, an European,
was visiting the great waterway of the Western Coast,
and being one evening at one of the stations, he took
part in the devotional services. He found, as is the
case everywhere, the natives were very fond of sing-
ing ; and to their great delight he sang in solo some
of those hymns with which we are so familiar in
England, such as "Safe in the arms of Jesus," "Hold
the Fort," and others. The effect of this may be
understood by the words of the native missionary to
him afterwards. He said, "You greatly astonished
our people last evening. Though the station has been
in existence twenty years, you are the first white
man that they or I have heard pray or sing here.
We always tell the people that we are sent and sup-
ported by good white people in England to teach
them the Way of Life. But they, from having seen
the white traders so busily engaged about their trade,
and never attending or taking part in religious ser-
vices, have drawn the conclusion that whilst teaching,
preaching, and worship are part of the white mans
156 SAMUEL CROWTHEIl.
religion, trading and getting money must be the
most important part of it, and to this, therefore,
he attends himself ; but that preaching and teaching,
and generally the spreading of his religion, being
matters of minor importance, he pays black men to
attend to for him."
Surely such an impression, which is generally pre-
valent on the West Coast of Africa, should not be
allowed to continue to exist ; and it is to be hoped
that the time will come when the increased interest
in mission work, and greater piety of our business
men both at home and abroad, will prove that we do
not in word only, but in very deed, " seek first the
kingdom of heaven."
In Lagos satisfactory progress is being made, and
the Native Pastorate Church, which is one of the many
blessed fruits of the work of the Church Missionary
Society, is distinctly gaining ground. In the Ebute
Ero Church, the members of which are all natives of
Lagos, a very interesting and encouraging event
occurred in September, 1878. The chiefs as they
joined the sanctuary, encouraged others to follow
them ; especially was this the case with chief Ogu-
biyi, after whom came king Tiwo, of Isheri. This
royal personage was intimate with another chief,
Jacob Ogubiyi — who entered into fellowship with the
Saviour under the ministrations of a native mis-
sionary, the Eev. James White, and whose idols are
now at Salisbury Square.
When this Christian chief attended the early
morning service at the church, it was the custom of
king Tiwo to wait for him to come out, and it is
recorded that it was during his tarrying in the door-
THE FRUITAGE OF THE SEED. 157
way that some words from tlie native minister fell
upon his ear, which led to his conversion. lie was
placed on trial for the baptismal rite, and in due
time the hour arrived when he should thus solemnly,
in the presence of his own people, enter Christ's
visible Church. The description of this scene was
given by a Lagos correspondent to the African Times
at that period, from which we quote the following
account : —
"Ebute Ero Church was not only crowded within,
but the church premises were densely thronged.
Among the crowd were several heathens and Moham-
medans who came to witness the ceremony. After the
prayers the choir was singing a special hymn, when
the Eev. William Morgan entered the communion
rail, and king Tiwo came forward, suitably attired,
and stood in the front of the communion rail.
" After the Baptismal Service had been read, Tiwo
knelt down. It was a solemn, impressive scene, and
instructive to all, including our brethren, the heathens
and Mohammedans, when Mr. Morgan (one of the
sponsors), in the native tongue, said, * Name this
person,' and Mr. Maser gave the name ' Daniel Conrad
Tiwo,' and he was baptized in the name of the Holy
Trinity. When the water was poured upon his head,
and the sign of the Cross made upon his forehead,
the heathen outside looking on, exclaimed in Yoruba,
' Olurun' {i.e. God), and the Mohammedans 'Allah'
{i.e. God), 'is great.' The sermon was preached by
Mr. Morgan.
" Tiwo soon gave evidence of his change of heart by
obeying the Divine command, ' Freely ye have received,
freely give.' He knew that as Christians we were
bound to do it by the examples of believers, both in
158 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
the Jewish and the Christian churches. Besides other
contributions, he freely gave £100 to the Ebute Ero
Church fund, and £'2,5 to the building of the parson-
age house; and it was announced at the Bible meeting
on the 9th inst., that he gave two guineas as a thank-
offering.
" On hearing of his admission to the visible church
of Christ by baptism, his subjects and friends from
Isheri, Otta, and districts about Lagos, came to see
him, and he told them of the blessings of God ; and
on Sunday, the 15th inst., no less than 560 persons,
male and female, including heathens and Moham-
medans, went with him to church, ' and offered
thanksgivings for late mercies vouchsafed unto him.' "
To all who earnestly desire the extension of the
kingdom of Christ, this incident must convey a lively
sense of encouragement and gratitude. When it is
remembered that these are all black people, both
ministers and congregation, and that it was at this
very spot years before that Bishop Crowther was
carried a poor slave boy, the reader is constrained to
say, "What hath God wrought ! "
The record of the closing years of his life is soon
told. During a brief stay in this country he wrote,
in his little room at Salisbury Square, that introduc-
tory letter with which these pages begin, invested
with a touching interest now that the hand which
penned it is still in death. After returning to his
diocese for about a year, he made one more visit to
England to consult a specialist about his eyes, and
this was the last time that his face was seen here.
Soon after his return to the Niger, troubles arose
there and the venerable Bishop strove with tact and
patience to restore unity between the native and
THE FRUITAGE OF THE SEED. 159
European clergy in his diocese. Thus the sky was
cloudy as his sun went down in the west. But he
had fought a good fight, and his purity of life and
loyalty to Christ and His Church, had given him, in
the retrospect of so long a life, cause for thankfulness
and peace. On the last day of the old year, 1891, at
Lagos, the old man passed away.
The Church Missionary Society, to which he owed
so much, and for which he had laboured so faithfully,
have placed on record that : " As regards the world,
it is the poorer for his removal. From his earliest
years, in the providence of God, Samuel Crowther's
lot was cast amidst some of the saddest manifesta-
tions of its wickedness and of the depravity of the
human heart ; and in this environment he patiently
find consistently carried on the battle against evil,
maintaining throughout an unblemished reputation.
As regards the Church, he has most courageously
fulfilled for nearly thirty years, to the best of his
abilities (and they were of no mean order), and with
unremitting diligence and devotion, the duties of a
Bishop under circumstances of almost unexampled
difficulty, and in face of very exceptional discourage-
ments and disappointments. As regards himself, we
may justly say that his life is a conspicuous proof of
the power of the Gospel, and of the continued pre-
sence of the Spirit of God in Christ's Church."
The lives of other servants of God may seem more
heroic, but his was conscientious and faithful well-
doing ; so unobtrusive was his character that the
worker is always lost in the work. He was unspoilt
by an office which often proves a giddy pinnacle for
many men ; his humility was perhaps his chief
characteristic. Now that he is gone, Africa has lost
160 SAMUEL CROWTHER.
one of its most honoured sons, and the missionary
cause throughout the world a faithful witness for the
Cross. Being dead he yet speaketh ; and beckons to
those in Christian England to come over and help his
beloved Africa, for whose welfare his long life was one
labour of love.
From Afric's wilderness there comes a cry,
A plea for help aud mercy, o'er the wave,
The voice of souls in sorrow, and for whom
The gracious Saviour shed His blood to save.
Is there a darker spot the round world o'er ?
Surely this land in deepest gloom doth lie,
The ci'uelty of hard oppression's yoke
Blights all the black man's days, until he die.
Who shall depict the miseries of the slave?
The galling fetter and the grinding toil,
The fatal march, the dying and the dead,
Where blood of countless victims stains the soiL
Is there no pity left in English hearts ?
Can we unmoved the tale of sorrow hear?
God of our fathers ! give us grace and love
The burden of our brothers' care to bear.
Bring to this deeply stricken people news
Of Christ's great love, the balm of Gilead pour
Into those wounded hearts. He, only He
Who died for sinners, can their sickness cure.
Shine, Sun of Righteousness, on Afric's land,
Break Thou the fetter, set the bondsmen free,
So shall the heathen to Thy Kingdom come,
And lift their sweet thanksgivings unto Thee.
LONDON: KNIGHT, PRIWTER, MIDDLE STREET, ALDERSGATH, E.C.
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