Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-06-25

country was aflame. The dreaded ''war
boys" Of Chief Bal Burch had risen in re-
volt. The little American mission of Rati-
funk, hidden away in the forest, was
known to be marked for destruction by
the pagan natives.
The missionaries were all Americans.
There was but one man among them, Rev.
j. n. Cain. Besides his wife there were
Miss Schenk and the two women doctors,
Miss Hatfield and Miss Archer.
Under the leadership of Mr.. Cain and
the native guide the party set out for the
coast. They had gone scarcely mile
when they came upon body of the "war
boys" who completely blocked the way
Mr.. Cain tried to brighten them away by
| firing revolver over their heads, but this
| had no effect Then the heroic missionary,
| true to his religion, declared that he would
have no mans blood on his hands and
threw his revolver away.
Taking a position in front of the women,
he calmly awaited the assault of the in.
| furiated warriors. They seized the defense.
less missionaries and stripped them OF
their clothing. With unspeakable brutal.
| tiles the blacks dragged their victims back
to the mission house.
In the confusion Mrs. Cain, the wife OF
the minister, escaped with a native WON.
| an convert into the forest, but the wal
boys, soon discovering her absence, went
| shrieking after her and killed her in the
jungle.
Then followed the hideous death dance
on the very spot consecrated by 80 years Of
| devotion Of American missionaries.
The frenzied war boys encircled the lit
| tie group of remaining martyrs and began
the sacriflcial rites of their heather devil
worship. With horrible lamentations they
raised their battleaxes and dealt tortur.
ing blows on their captives One after an.
other the little band sank down, CULVER
ing in the agony of slow death. The fiends
danced on, hacking at those in whom life
fingered longest.
| Then the flames of the mission build.
ings burst forth, illuminating this terri
BILE scene Of pagan barbarity. 1t seems
like q rehearsal of the pages of the martyr
dom of missionaries ages ago rather than
an incident of the closing years of the
nineteenth century.
| The American missionaries who met
this dreadful fate were members of the
United Brethren church of the middle
west. Rev. j. N. Cain and his wife wert
from Eagle Grove, Mimi; Miss Hatfield
was from Huntington, Ind, and Mis-.
Schenck from near Dayton, O., and Miss
Archer was from Des Moines, la. Mis-.
Archer and Miss Hatfield were medical
missionaries.
Sierra Leone, where this latest and most
terrible missionary massacre occurred, IL
n Ilptf tSh I0Vv = hn -
Africa. 1t is situated in the tropics just
north Of the negro republic of Liberia,
formed by ex-slayes Of the United States
While American missionaries have beer
seeking to Christianize this sinkhole Of
humanity the English traders have beer
bartering gin with the natives and deep
ening their degradation. Sierra Leone i:
called 1.-THE White Mans Grave" owing
to the deadly climate and the natural en-
nifty of the natives.
For 43 years the United Brethren in
Christ have supported missionary station,
there, during which time they have suf
fered only one attack from the natives, in
1887, none of the missionaries being
killed.
Through these tribes there runs q sort
| of voodoo society which meets at stated
times to determine matters of tribal an6
national import. This society has the
power of '.pura," sort of taboo which i:
declared against institutions or persons
and devotes them to destruction. "Pura'
was declared against the English and al
their works late in April because of the
hut tax of 5 shillings upon all huts of one
room and 10 shillings upon all huts Of
more than one ROOM set by the British
government. Added to this was the resent
ment against the government because Of
its vigorous efforts to stamp out slavery
and eannibalism.