The daily gazette., 1880-09-01
From Prila. Press, Aug. 81.
THE PRESS IN AFRICA.

NEW JERSEY MISSIONARY TELLS HIS
STORY - WHAT CIVILIZATION HAS
ALREADY DONE.
A quiet looking, blue-eyed man
came into the Press publishing rooms
yesterday afternoon, and paid to the
clerk his subscI ip.iOn >, the Weekly
Press.
"What is the direction, sirs" asked
the clerk.
"Gaboon, West Afr1ca," modestly
replied the stranger. "You will please
send the paper by the way of France,
and then it will go on by the universal
postal arrangement"
81 leave for Gaboon in few weeks
said Mr.. Joseph Ii. Reading, the sui
scriber, of Frenchtown, New Jersey,
in answer to question of the Press
reporter. 81 am engaged as q mis-
sionary under the Presbyterian Board
to the French Colony Of Gaboon, in
South Guinea, on the West Coast of
Africa, fifteen miles north of the Eaua-
tor"
Il was first there in 1875. buried
my little boy there, and having con-
tracted a malignant form of the Afri-
can fever myself, l was Obliged to re-
turn. was there two years. The
people Of GabOon are no longer saw
ages. They now live like civilized
men. Many of them occupyflne houses,
some very handsome in fact, equal to
any in our country towns. But
these ale mostly confined to the
ports.
"On going to the interior you find
the savages still existing, and one of
the largest tribes of cannibals are 10
called at the short distance of only If
teen miles from Gaboon."
Eighl y-four miles south of Gaboon Ii
Large river emptying into the Atlantic.
IL Is nearly as large AZ the Congo, aud y
half mile wide NJ the entrance. The
average depth IL twenty feet, and the
current from five to six miles an hour.
Down at she mouth 1t Is broken into q
delta. The Presbyterian mission has
been started about 1855 miles up this
stream. The station was founded BY
Rev. II. III. Nassau, of Lawrenceville.
Mercer county. New Jersey. expect
TO go up shat river and form another
| station further up, but in the nsiRhbor.
hood. Then DR.. Nassau and will form
another station in connection with each
other. This work will take a couple OF
years or so.
This Ogovi-prouounced Ogowes-
River country is claimed by the French,
but Is really under native rule. II II
covered with a dense forest, and this
forest Is fillsd with elephants, gsrillas,
tigers, wild oxen, will hogs, ana great
variety of mOnkeys-forty different
kinds. The river Is full of hippOpota-
mus, allRators, crocodlies, anacondas,
boa coGstrictorr, etc. The exports OF
the country are ivory, India ruboer, eb-
0ny, and various kinds of dyewOOd
Small steamers can ascend the river for
a distance of four hundred miles, when
they come TO the rapids. Beyond that
the country is unknown.
IL Is mostly In English hands. Stan.
ley IL how about four hundred miles
south of this river, moving parallel with
1t on the Congo. He 's Sinking from
the coast inland, and is running In al
| most as parallel line-although four
hundred miles apart-as is Chestnut
| street with Market street in this city.
The natives are devll-worshi pers.
They worship evil spirits, to whom they
| pray that they will not hurt them. But
Africa will be Christianizsd. 1t is now
ALMOST SO in this section. Each denomi-
| nHtion of Christians have one section OF
country, and each is struggling to get
nearest four hundred miles Inward. The
Primitive Brethren of the Lohdon Mis-
| siOnary Society are nearest ut the south,
and the English baptists on the north.