Born 1848. Died 1915.
Having obtained the promise of protection from the chief men of the district she determined to go. When she moved to the Okoyong district she took with her five children who formed the inner circle of her household, the eldest a boy of eleven, the youngest a babe in arms, all of whom she had rescued from tragic deaths. Under her loving care and careful training these children grew to be a great comfort to her and in later years a great help in her work. From time to time their number was added to—and today these boys and girls are all helping to carry on the work she began.
On her arrival in Okoyong she was allotted a room in the woman’s yard or harem of Edem the chief, which had been previously used by one of his free wives, who had left its mud floor and mud walls in a filthy state. Here she and the children had to live for many weeks. Two cows occupied the apartment next; goats, fowls, cats, rats, cockroaches and centipedes were everywhere. It was not these things that troubled her, but the moral and physical atmosphere of the harem—and these were such that she wrote of these days, “Had I not felt my Saviour close beside me I would have lost my reason.” But her days were full, “mothering her bairns,” nursing the sick, and teaching all whom she could gather round her, old or young. In her simple, direct way she would tell them the story of Jesus and His love. Some of the younger ones learned to read quickly; but singing was their special delight.
The natives are never in a hurry but with a great deal of good, humored patience and persuasion on her part she finally prevailed on them to make a clearing in the bush and build two mud huts for her which were to be used later for rear parts of the mission house proper.
And in course of time this, too, was, under way under her directions and no small amount of labor on her part.
About this time Mr. Ovens, a Scotchman of the fine old type, offered his services to the Mission at Calabar as a carpenter. For a number of years this good man served the Lord with hammer and saw, in this dangerous field, adding much to the comfort of the missionaries and instructing the natives in this useful art. On his arrival in Calabar, he was sent at once to Okoyong to finish Miss Slessor’s house, and under his skilled hand the work was progressing splendidly, when something happened, which brought everything to a standstill for several months.
Since coming to Okoyong, Chief Edem had, faithful to his promise, protected her and shown her much consideration and now his eldest son had met with an accident, which at the end of a fortnight resulted in his death: and Mary Slessor was sick with fear, knowing the customs of the country. To Mr. Ovens she said “There is going to be trouble; no death of a violent character comes apart from witchcraft.” She had a number of times encountered the witch doctors but this was to be her fiercest fight and her greatest victory.
The natives believed that sickness and death were unnatural, and that death never, occurred except from extreme old age. When a, free man became ill or died, sorcery was alleged. The witch doctor would be called nay; and would name one individual after another, and all bond or free, were chained and tried and there would be much grim merriment as, the victims writhed in agony. To prove a, person’s guilt or innocence, boiling oil or the poison cup were resorted to. In the one test boiling oil was poured over the hands and if the skin became white and blistered it proved the victim guilty, and he was punished accordingly. But the surest and least troublesome test was the poison cup. If the body ejected the poison the person was innocent; but if guilty the investigation, sentence and judgment were carried out simultaneously!
The fact that a man’s position in the spirit world was determined by his rank and wealth in this one, demanded the sacrifice of much life, when chiefs died. A few months before Miss Slessor went up amongst them, a chief of moderate means died, and with him were buried eight slave men, eight slave women, ten girls, ten boys, and four free wives. These were in addition to the men and women who died as a result of taking the poison ordeal. Even when the death was due to natural decay the retinue provided was the same.
When Chief Edem’s son died, he shouted, “Sorcerers have killed him and they must die. Bring the witch doctor.” When the medicine man arrived, he laid the blame of the tragedy upon a certain village, to which the armed freemen at once marched. They seized over a dozen men and women, the others escaping into the forest, and after sacking all the houses returned with the prisoners loaded with chains, and fastened to posts in the yard which had only one entrance.
Miss Slessor went to Mr. Ovens and told him he would have to stop all work, for this was going to be a serious business. We can’t leave these prisoners for one moment, she said, “I’ll watch beside them all night and you’ll take the day.” And time and time about in that filthy yard, through the heat of the day and the chill of the night, these two brave souls kept guard opposite the wretched band of prisoners, with the half-naked people, armed with guns and machetes dancing and drinking about them. As one barrel of rum was finished another was brought in, and the supply seemed endless. The days went by and Mr. Ovens lost patience, and declared he would go and get a chisel and hammer and free the prisoners at all costs; but Miss Slessor begged him to wait a little longer.
Prayer had been her solace and strength during all these days and nights. She had told the father and uncle of the dead boy that there must be no sacrifice of life. They argued that only those guilty of causing his death would suffer. Her only reply was to sit quietly on guard. The chiefs became angry. To have a white woman—and such a white woman amongst them was good, but she must not interfere with their customs and laws. The mother of the dead lad became, violent. Even the slaves were openly hostile and threatening. The crowd, maddened, by drink run wildly about, flourishing their guns and swords. “Raise our master from the dead,” they said, “and you shall have the prisoners.”
Mr. Ovens had gone to the hut and Miss Slessor was keeping vigil when a stir warned her of danger. Several men came and unlocked the chains of one of the women—a mother—and ordered her to the front of the corpse to take the poison cup. Miss Slessor was in a dilemma. Was it a ruse to get her out of the yard? If she followed, would they bar the entrance and wreck their vengeance on the others who remained? “Do not go,” they cried, and gazed at her pleadingly. But she could not see a woman walk straight to death. One swift appeal to God and she was after the woman. The table was covered with a white cloth, and upon it stood a glass of water containing the poison. As the victim was in the act of lifting the glass she touched her on the shoulder and whispered, “Run.” She gave one quick glance of intelligence into the compelling eyes and off both bounded, and were in the bush before any one realized they were gone. They reached the mission house where the woman was quickly hidden and Mary flew back to the yard. “Where is she?” the prisoners cried. “Safe in my house,” she answered. They were amazed. She herself wondered at her immunity from harm. It might be that the natives were stupefied with drink—but she thought of her prayer.
By her patience, tact and quick wits she finally succeeded in gaining the release of all the prisoners, but not before she had had many heated arguments with the father of the dead boy, when he would become very, angry. He said he must at least do his son the honor to give him a retinue in the spirit land, but neither would Mary consent to this, and finally he was buried and only a cow had been placed in the coffin and her joy was great. But her troubles were not over.
A party of natives coming to the funeral met another party returning, drunk with excitement and rum. Recalling some old quarrel the latter killed one man; fighting became general between the two factions and many were wounded. This kept the whole district in an unsettled state for many weeks more, and there was much blood shed.
When peace and order were once more restored, Chief Edem came to Miss Slessor quietly and alone, one evening, and kneeling down held her feet, thanking her again and again for her wonderful love and courage, for her action in forbidding them to take life at his son’s death and for all the peaceful ways which she was introducing. “We are all weary of the old customs,” he said, “but no single person or house among us has power to break them off, because they are part of ‘Egbo, system.’”
And one by one, secretly and unknown to each other, the free people came to her and thanked her gratefully for the state of safety she was bringing about, and charged her to keep a stout heart and go forward and do away with all the old fashions, the end of which was always death.
Yes, it is just as true, whether in Africa or Europe or America, “the wages of sin is death,” but it is just as true “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23). If there is anyone who may read this story who is sinning against God in refusing to accept His Wonderful Gift, may they accept it now as freely, as gladly as it is offered.
(Continued from page 8).
(To be continued).