The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-28
The Two Priests of Konnoto.
From Macmillan's Magazine. In Fou
Parts)

F'rom Macmillan's Magazine. In Four
Parts)
In the steaming depths of the Dahomey
forest stands the native town of Kon-
noto Round three sides of it flow the
yellow waters of the Kanu river, and on
the peninsula thus formed are many rows
| Of matched huts nesting beneath the
| tufted fronds of palms and groves of green
| oranges and lines. On the opposite bank
OF the river, and behind the town, the dark
| cottonwood forest rises Ike wall, with
narrow trails winding away into its green
shades.
The climate of Konnoto like that of most
| West African towns, is by no means a
| desirable one, for the dank mist which
| settles down at sunset upon river and
| forest is heavy with germs of fever. Small
| pox, dysentery, and cholera are rife, and
| many of the natives are crippled by the
foot-boring chicago or the horrible Guinea
| worm. The inhabitants. who as a rule
| despise all clothing but a device of blue
tattot or scantiest of waist-cloths, are,
! however, used to these things. and gen.
orally drive their sick into the bush TO die
/ or recover as best they can, or if the dis
ease be infectious. knock them on the head
their eyes the town makes the best of all
! possible worlds, for in that fertile soil
! all that they need to support life will grow
| almost without asking: while should they
! need the wherewithal to purchase luxuries
| from the coast, they have only TO rob a
! few Of the oii-carriers passing down the
| river, or to plumber a trading village
across the neighboring frontier of La
COS.
a little while ago there were two powers
| ruling in Konnoto. The first was the
Headman Amaro. huge, easy-going negro
who. so long as his armed retainers provid-
ed him with a sufficiency of wives from
the Egba country, and kept him supplied
with poisonous Hamburg gin, had no OBJ
lection to their plundering on their own
account. The second was the Ju-Ju man,
or Fetish priest, Bussa, who ruled with an
iron hand in the name of countless Ju-Ju
devils and legions Of wandering ghosts.
Bussa was old and decrepit, a man OF
slight stature among a race OF giants, and
MS shrivelled chest was covered with many
charms hung from a necklace of human
skin. There was, as usual, fierce jealousy
between the two powers. and but for the
fear of the evil spirits for there was no
negro in all Konnoto brave enough to
of his huO a spear-thrust might have cut
short Bussa's career
Such was the state Of affairs In the Da-
honey town when the Reverend David
Kinnett and his wife, carrying their lives
in their hands, undertook the conversion
of Konnoto on behalf of certain mission.
The missionary had been taught the forest
tongue at Lagos and commenced his work
with zeal and discretion, adapting his the
ology 10 the understanding of the natives,
as usual in Africa, in a manner which
would probably have made the subscribers
at home lift their hands in horror. He
had also studied surgery and physic, and
every negro has profound reverence for
a doctor, and will take unlimited drugs,
the stronger the better. The natives also
began 10 notice that the m:ssionarys pa
tents as rule recovered, while those Of
the Ju-Ju man generally died. So every
morning the dispensary was crowded with
applicants for medicine, most OF whom,
with the curiosity of the negro, remained
to hear the new doctrine which was being
preached among them by a priest who,
strange to say, threatened them with nei-
Their pestilence nor ghostly visitation If their
offerings were light.
So, step by step, the fever-stricken white
man and his sickly wife won the tickle
affection of the people, and Amaro looked
on approvingly at whatever weakened the
power of his rival For time Bussa smiled
grimly and said nothing. He had seen the
coming. and also the going. of two previous
od-palaver-men, one of whom died Of pes
thence, while the other had been driven
forth by order of the king. He also knew
that the instincts of centuries of rapine
and bloodshed are not TO be eradicated by
q few sermons very imperfectly under
stood, and that the longer it was depressed
the more violently would the old savage
nature break out some day.
Now David Kinnett had brought with
him a Mahomedan Haussa from the far
north. who understood the art of weaving
the fine native cloth shipped from Lagos: |
and when he offered to teach this art to
the inhabitants there were many pupils, |
the more so that the missionary assured |
them the cloth was convertible into Euro |
pean goods upon the coast. So the negro |
being quick to learn. much creGtable work |
was turned ont; and il was proud day for |
the missionary and his wife when a train |
of bearers marched south through the for |
ests. each man carrying a roll OF cloth |
upon his woolly head
Thus the influence OF the white priest |
spread slowly but steadily. while the black |
priest scowled darkly and bided his time |
in silence Strange to say, even Captain |
Sinclair and Lieutenant Smith, who. with |
the aid OF half a company of Mohamedan |
Yorubas, maintained some kind of law and |
order on the frontier OF the neighborng |
colony Of Lagos. would occasionally travel |
thEty miles through the forest 10 spend a |
day or two at Konoto station. This was the |
frontier officer does not love the mission
AIRY. and the captain bore the name of a
very hard case among those who knew
him. Moreover. the missionary did not
provide his guests with any alcoholic re-
freshment.
When Captain Sinclair saw the weavers
at work. and heard that a quantity of
cloth was already on its way to the coast
ne marveled; then he exchanged a sig
nificant glance with his subaltern and ask
ed lslguidly: DID you send a letter to
the Porto Novo traders, specifying what
articles you required in return?''
NO" said the lady. We thought this
time Il would be better for them 10 buy
whatever took their fancy. With the next
lot we will purchase window-frames and
bring up some carpenters from Lagos. to
make a beginning with the church We have
SO long prayed for
Il hope you will, madam" answered the
officer. The carriers should be back IN
three weeks: We Will have pleasure in VS.
ting you them" and he trod heavily upon |
the Ueutenant's toe, for the latter's face |
was twitching.
Next morning, as they swung through the
5ewy forest in their lurching hammocks, |
Captain Sinclair observed: II suppose I'm
baS lo- and xo;I're not much he-ter
Charlie. but I know a good woman when