The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1848-02-10
Mistellanrons.
From the Union Magazine.
THE BEWILDERED SAVAGE.
BY L. MARIA CHILD

The origin of the CATERS is lost in the
darkness of remote antiquity but their per
sons, manners and customs, Indicate ii higher
source Of civilization than the other tribes o
Africa. Before they were harried and hunt
ed by the white men that infcst their shores
they were a pastoral people, brave and manly
but rarely goadcd to deeds Of violence. Then
features are European, their color a clear
dark-brown their forms athletic and grace.
iul, and their manners frank and cheerful.
Christianity has been a form of sectarism
not differing from It's minor subdivisions eS-
Sentially in spirit, though necessarily some
what more enlarged in its boundaries. Hence
all nations who do not know the Divine Prin-
ciple Of the Universe by the name of God,
have been branded as heathens and infdels.
Mahometans have manifested the same spirit
Of limitation; and because the tribes of East
ern Africa worshippcd the Creator under the
name Of Udali, instead of Allah, the Moor,
called them kalirs, which is the Arabic word
for inidels. Hence their country came to be
known to the civilized world by the name Of
Calfer-land, or Caflraria. But doubtless the
angels judge quite differently Of these matters
They are attracted towards the religious sen
timent, without caring for its name. The
sigh, and the tear, and the simple reverentia.
thought, often rise up to them as prayer from
the moon-lighted desert, while the heavy at.
mosphere OF earth presses down, out Of then
hearing, pulpit o~rations, and many an un.
winged response from gilded prayer-books
In every form of society, Nature has hel
priests, her prophets, and her poets too, though
they pass away by thousands unrecorded, toi
y,,,t ,IF ,,tt,nnrn, tI,or~h l;+nunt,,o ,,I a.,
Arts.
Among the poetic temperaments of CATER.
land was Marossi, a dociIe, c%ontemplativ We
child, an earnest observer of the earth and
the heavens. "Mother, who made the stars?
was one of his earliest questions and when
told that Udali created them, he imagined
the winds were his voice, and the sunshine
his clothing The deep, quiet, little soul, wa,
overlooking with affection, 1t seemed an alb.
solute necessity of his existence, to be mean
something he could love. He must nestle
with his pet antelope under the shade Of the
mimoSa tree, or fall asleep with his little hand
within that of his mother. He was the young
est of her children, the most beautiful in form.
the gentlest in spirit; and something of rcve.
renee mingled with her love for him, while
she listened to his thoughtful questions.
When he was about eight years old, a Mo,
ravian missionary, who happened to be tray
cling that way, visited their cabin, and talked
to them Of the Christians God, under the
name of Utiko, which is an African word sig
uifying The Beautiful. His discourse, i'm.
perfectly expressed in CATER dialect, was still
more impertectly understood by the urtutor-
ed boy but still it made IA deep impression
on him. The missionary told them that Utiko
was all Love that his love descended in dew
to refresh the flowers, and in sunshine to
warm the earth, andinto the soul ofman, filling
it with peace and goodwill. Marossi never
forgot this description of the Christians God.
In the radiant beauty of sunset, in the mild
glory of moonlight, in his mothers smile, in
the lambert eyes of his antelope, he felt the
presence of Utiko. 1t seemed strange to him
that his father hated the Christians, and spoke
scornfllIy of their sacred book. When he
told of whole tribes killed by them, or carried
off into slavery, the toy asked his mother,
with sad establishment, whether these people
also believed in Utiko, who filled the souls OF
men with peace and goodwill and when