Mary Slessor, Missionary A LIFE OF SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 7, 9 January 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

Mary Slessor, Missionary A LIFE OF SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.

Slessor, of Calabar, the Scottish girl who lived, the greater part of her life and died among the savage tribes of West Africa, started her career as a •weaver in a Scottish factory. She worked long and hard, not merely because she •was the only support of a mother and young eistera, but because she had an ambition, and extra money was needed lor her to fulfil that ambition.

Mary's one great wish was to be a missionary, to go out to Africa and try to relieve the wretched state in which eo many of the ignorant, superetitioua natives lived. The money she worked so hard to earn was necessary to buy her education and training; a factory girl, she had attended only a village school, and that poverty had compelled her to leave early. Mary's mother could give no assistance in the way of money, but helped her daughter with sympathy and encouragement, and Mary worked to such good purpose that in August, 1870, eho sailed from Scotland to join the Scottish Mission in Calabar, down on the west coast of Africa.

At the missionary centre, Duke Town, on the Calabar River, Mary learned how things stood. While the natives on the coast, who had had a fair amount to da with white people, were fairly civilised and peaceful, a few miles up the river tiic tribes were savage, cruel and constantly at war among thcnise!ves. They refused to make friends with the whites, and treated in ail unbelievably cruel way their slaves, and prisoners. Some of their superstitions caused them to kill all twin babies and mothers of twins, and to put to death hundreds of unfortunate people who were suspected of witchcraft. Thesn dreadful things were deliberately encouraged by the chiefs and witch doctors, who did not wish w-hite men to teach and gain power over their tribes. •Mary stayed for some time in the safety of Duke Town, working hard to learn thoroughly the native customs and language. She was not satisfied till she could speak this as perfectly as the natives themselves, since her idea was to get amongst them and win their trust. She then went to a native village called Old Town, where she settled herself with some native children in a nuyl hut, built with her own hands. She ate only native food, and lived as far as possible in the native way. She was thus able to save some of her small salary to send home to her mother and an invalid sister, and also more quickly to make friends with the natives.

In this she rapidly succceded. She was soon extremely friendly with all the native women, nursing their sick children, mixing up medicines for them, and training boys and girls in useful ways. On Sundays she would hold services at half a dozen scattered villages in the surrounding hush, and she was always ■willing to give any native sympathy and advice. Mary next set herself the task of destroying the natives' horrid belief about twin babies being unlucky and therefore only lit to be killed. To do this, she would set out immediately she heard that twins had been born anywhere, secure tile poor squalling little Black tilings and have them and their mother brought to the shelter of her own home. By carefully bringing up several pairs of twins she was able to prove to tlie natives that, given a fair chance, tliey were not one bit more unlucky than other children, and could grow up to be as fine warriors and as good housewives as anybody. It took a long time to drive this into the superstitious negro heads, '"it at last Alary succeeded, and the chiefs then agreed that twins and their mothers had a perfect right to lie allowed to live. .Mary then taught her tribes how to engage in trade with other natives and with white men; herself leading them down the river to the coast when they were afraid to venture alone. Further Afield.

W lien Mary. by her hard and courageous work, had just about succeeded in flaking Old Town into a civilised little community, she was delighted to receive an invitation from a chief named Okon to visit him at his village of Ibaku, 30 'miles oft through the forest. Mary was "arned not to accept this invitation, as the natives of Ibaku had a very bad deputation for treachery and ferocity. But these rumours did not affect the fave little missionary in the slightest, ■-be proceeded to Ibaku and settled herself amongst its savage people,' who, it must he admitted, gave her a wonderful Welcome when she arrived. The natives j 1 tended her services in hundreds, and - e savage chief himself often sought the aaviee of "Mm." as they all called her. - fter some weeks at. Ibaku illness orced Marv to return to Old Town, and 'om here she was sent home for nine onths leave. On her return she was '' n . to Creek Town, an even more wild nr lemote village. Here, as usual, she a;, a complete success with the native ng and his people, most of whom came oiepend on ".Ma" to settle every serious P*o em of their lives, so much was advice valued. From Creek Town n< i W Set against the pleadan«.earnings of hundreds of her rivii- 6 , rien '' s > to try and carry some Ok™! 10,1 to the fierce cannibalistic J"°ng tribe, who lived in the neigh-

bouring district. These dreadful savages were by far the worst of any with whom the little Scotswoman had ever tried to deal.

Marv had now been over 12 years in Africa, and, never strong, her health had grown worse under the terrible tropical conditions. But, undaunted and unafraid, she set out to convert the terrible Okoyongs —only to find that the Okoyongs wanted none of her. Three times they refused to allow her into their territory, till at last the king of Creek Town provided her with an escort of his finest warriors, in his most handsomely painted war canoe. This time Mary was allowed to stay, and two special huts were built for her, on© each at Ekenge and at Ifaku, the principal villages of the Okoyongs. Alary, as always, made wonderful progress in her new surroundings, despite the bad reputation, of the Okoyongs, and very soon she was Able to persuade them to give up many of their horriible beliefs and customs. But she had great trouble with the witch doctors, who, naturally, did not like to see the white witch doctor, as they called her, taking away what they regarded as their business, the treating of the sick and the placing and removing of magic ©pells. Mary had the support of the two principal chiefs and their wives, but many a weary time all her good work seemed to have been wasted when there came in news of some horrible deed performed by a witch doctor.

When at long last Mary felt that she had the Okoyongs civilised and trustworthy, she led them down to the coast and taught them, too, how to trade with their neighbours. Then, satisfied with the Okoyongs, she turned her attention to other fierce tribes; the Aros and the Ibibios were the next to be conquered by her gentleness, wisdom and courage. With these it was the same story over again; the battle against ignorance, fear, and superstition, won in the end by the methods that had already converted thousands of bloodthirsty savages into peaceful Christians. Mary had by now been appointed a magistrate as well as a missionary, and in her double capacity was able to do even more good for the black people she had learned to love.

By 1!>14 Mary Slessor was very weak, exhausted nearly to the point of death by her long and unselfish years of labour. The news of the outbreak of war in Europe proved a cruel blow to her, who all her life had preached and practised peace. She sank beneath the blow, becoming even weaker and weaker, and on January 12, 1915, Mary Slessor passed away from that world where she had wrought so much good.