Phoenix weekly herald. [volume] (Phoenix, Maricopa County, Ariz. Territory) 1896-1899, 1898-10-06
WAS ONCE A cANN1BAL.
Comes from Africa to Save Sinners.

all of his former habits, customs and
peculiarities. and is to the world a
polite, polished negro. Robert T. Ia
goe is the mans name. Fifty years
ago. when the village of Akra was
wild settlement in west Africa, Ia
zoe was horn under the influences of
the dark kingdom and reared in all
the superstitions of his ancestors To-
day he is minister of the gospel and,
by some strange working of fate, a
missionary from darkest Africa en-
aged in the conversion of souls In
prea ching to a St Louis audience the
other evening the African minister told
the story of his life and the miracle by
which he was converted. He said he
had always been Il heathen but from
some strange curiosity. when the mis-
sionaries came to the village. he went
forward for prayer. to experience what
the white man could do and to solve
the mysteries of his religion. He went
forw ard an unbeliever and, behold. he
came back converted man. In telling
of his miraculous conversion the
preacher said:
''When I felt that the hand of the
Lord was stretched out to me and be-
gan to feel l was q saved man. | asked
for a sign to show me that l might
know I had the white mans religion
The preacher told me to kneel down
and he would pray for me. We all
went down on our knees, and while
was there the whole room became as
dark as night I could not see a thing
before me. 1 became alarmed. 1 trem-
Sled all over and Quaked with fear.
Suddenly there came such a white
light as 1 have never seen since, and
out of that wonderful illumination ap-
IA
IN a loud voice:
"1 will make thee a teacher of
many nations
Forthwith I got up, feeling a new
crea ture. 1 never felt so strange be-
fore and 1 went home to tell my folks
hat 1 had been saved by the white
mans religion When 1 got back to
our hut my mother became scared, L
looked so pale. My brother fell on the
ground, and my mother all doubled up.
Wherever 1 went everybody fell down
before me. When my father came
home and heard what I had done, he
said l would have to give up the re,
ligion or go away from his house. 1
said l would go, but when l started
my brother cried so, my father said l
might live in his home if L would not
talk to him. Father said 1 was crazy
and should travel for my health. He
gave me the money, and l went all
over Africa preaching the gospel, but
the more 1 Travelled the worse 1 got,
and here l am today preacher. At
ter several years of travelling l finally
went to Gloucester England, where 1
attended the university for ten years.
When 1 came out 1 began to travel
again, and 1 have visited nearly every
nation on earth. 1 have been to
China twice, India three times, Eng
land twice. France five times, and to
America once. One month from now
1 will sail for my native land, and
there 1 am going to spend the rest of
my life among my people, carrying the
word of this wonderful religion. The
first place / am going is to the kings
palace and tell him he is a heathen.'
In Jacobas, from where the African
missionary comes, there are those same
conditions which have existed since
creation. There the people worship
the moon and stars, and are guided
in all their actions by the movements
of the planets. Every full moon is a
day of sacrifice, and then blood flows
in floods. The populace assemblies in
large arena something like the old
fashioned coliseum, dug out of the
earth. Then comes the sacrifice a
large bull, which has been starved sew
eral days until he is furious, is brought
forth to be carved by the men appoint
ed by the king to offer the sacrifice
Through a gate the enraged animal is
turned loose on three men. who are
armed only with short penknives AS
he rushes at them they are to stick the
blades in his arteries and bleed him to
death. One by one his arteries are
cut, until he loses so much blood he
can not longer fight Then he is killed,
roasted in the aren't, and everyone of
the guests must eat of the sacrifice
In the event the bull kills the men they
are roasted and fed to the multitude
and the animal is kept for another
sacrifice. In another tribe, the Hub
lnlas. just to the north the people
snakes, lizards and vultures.
Any one killing one of these creatures
S wrathfully put to death to eXpiate
the crime. As their neighborS, they
have their day of sacrifice, but the
are always of human beings.
BY lot the victim is chosen, and on the
appointed day he is slaughtered and
cooked before the crowd, who sit on
he ground in a circle around the
burning stake to watch the merriment
n another tribe to the east the inhab-
tants of the dark region are no better.
heir offenders and cast them into the
tvers- In that land, whenever a per-
on dies he is supposed to go to another
and and continue his life just the
anne as he has lived here So, ma
urally, they want to make him as
comfortable in death as they possibly
an. They send all his earthly pos
essions along with him so that he will
ave no trouble in his new home.
Whenever a king dies all his wives
re brought forth and beheaded that
hey, too. may join their husband in
ne next world.
In Africa religion and gods do not
lean the same as they do in civilized
lnds. Their religions are all of this
nth. as their beliefs of the next world
eadily show. They do not worship
II things spiritual, but pray for bles-
ngs of wealth and fortune. 1t is COM
ION among all the people to have
lree gods-a national god for every d d
lie to worship, household god for the U
lmily and a personal god which u u
lch person should wear =!
The little personal gods are for u
good luck" Rev. Tagoe says that =
ley mean nothing more than the 10
farms worn in America, and that he U
as surprised that in a civilized land :
1e this people would be victims to &c
e superstitions of Darkest Africa e
aw York Dispatch. az
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OF THE AUSTRIAN S,