The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-24

tribes, although each tribe has its own
dialect. / was told that theywere quite
inaccessible as far as missionary work was
concerned, and, indeed, that they were con
sidered as infidels among the other tribes.
Elk President Payne of the Republic once
informed me that any attempt to Christian
ize them would be Throwing away my
time on hopeless taslz:'' but were he liv-
ing now, his opinion concerning the Kroos
would be greatly changed.
The heather tribes of Africa, as far as l
have investigated the matter, all believe in
the Immortality of the soul, thelgh their
belief is but dimly defined. They hold that
after the death of the body, the spirit
passes into some beast or serpent, and even
that il may be rehabilitated and returned
TO earth in human form as an infant
There is in such belief a faint resem-
blance to Buddhism. There is no nation
al or even tribal religion That which
they worship they call ''Ju-Ju'' and every
one is free to select and set up his own ''Ju-
Ju'' according to his spiritual inclinations
Many believe in the Great Ju-.Ju,o the
supreme one, but when Intercepted con-
cernlng him, they lapse into indetiniteness
and with a shake OF the head explain that
''he far, far away" and these julius
bein al hand, they can see them.
This strange jumbo of theology or
heathenism is a most interesting study
The name of God, the supreme one, in
kroo is "Nyswa.n in the Bassa it is
''Grippo.n in the Vey (VD, 'Konibaw y
Mingled with their worship IS much of the
superstition that finds expression in charms
and other trinkets. The Gree Gree'' is a
charm that is variously worn, IN small
rolls, in goats horn. or in other shapes.
and il is reputed TO possess the power to
keep the witches away" TO give long life
and immunity from sickness to the wearer.
to bring luck, etc. Like all heather ma
tions, these poor savages address their
prayers more to the powers of evil than to
the good; they think that unseen, baleful
influences follow them from their birth,
and, TO propitiate this relentless power,
they pray and offer sacrifices to it.
One OF the worst features of savage su-
perstition was the annual rite at Benny
and Old Calabar, where, to appease the
evil power of ''the mad water" an Albino
Dung woman was every year rowed out
in a boat to the bar and there sacrificed to
the spirit of the sea where the water was
the toughest. Such frightful atrocities,
however, are fast disappearing under the
te achings OF the missionaries OF the Church
of England at Bonny and those of the
Scotch Presbyterians at Old Calabar.
Still, when ! was at the latter place in
1880, / saw around almost every door
step a row of human skulls, which / was
told was placed there TO keep the witches
away
Another peculiar outcome of my visit
there was my discovery that the King had
just been persuaded to enact law prohiD bit
ing the killing of twins and their mother
Til that time this was universal practice
IN that part of Africa lone child.n the
natives explained, with the utmost gray
fly, ''be proper child; but one he be pro-
per deblee and the nanny he be deblee, or
he no born deblee.' This was the reason
/ given for taking the mother and tying and
leaving her in the bush, to be eaten by the
driver-ants or deyoured by wild animals,
her own father, mother and even her hus-
hand consenting to the 2trocity. In