The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-12
BUTcHERED BY CANNlBALS.
SURVIVING MISSIONARIES BRING IN
A TALE OF MASSACRE.
Six Reached Here Yesterday From
Sierra Leone, Where They Left
Seven of Their CO-wOrlSers Dead
and the Mission buildings in


Ruins.
From the New York Sun.
Leaving behind them the work of years
ruined, their mission buildings burned or
torn down. and their coworkers murdered
by the savage tribes of Western Africa,
the missionaries of the church of the
United Brethren in Christ who survived
the Sierra Leone massaeres Of a month ago
arrived here yesterday on the Cunarder
Etrurla. In The party are the Rev. L, o
BURNER and Mrs. BURNER, the Rev. L. S.
Minshall, Mrs. Minshal and their baby,
Miss Mary B. Mullen and the Rev. A. A.
Ward. DR.. BURNER brought with him a
15-year-old Sierra Leone negro. who an
swers to the name of Henry, and for whom
him guardian was obliged to furnish
bond to the amount of $500 that the boy
would not become a charge upon the pub
lie. The party spent the day at the house
Of the Rev. Daniel Lorenz. 1853 Boulevard,
and left for Dayton. o., where the head
quarters of their denomination is, In the
evening.
They are the smaller half of the Ameri-
can colony which went out a few years ago
to carry on the mission work in Sierra Lee
one. Seven of their companions are dead,
victims to the fury of the tribes whom they
went to teach. These are the Rev. 1. ".
Cain and his wife, DIR. Mary Archer, DR..
Mariana Hatfield, dnd Miss Schenck, all
killed at the Rotufunk mission, seventy
miles east of FreetoWn on Tuesday, May 3;
and Mr. and Mrs. L. a. McGreW, killed at
Tiama station, 1875 miles east and inland
from Freetown. probably on May s. OF
the native missionaries, the entire colony
at Danville station Of eleven persons, the
family of Daniel Wilberforce was slaught-
cred, and there is hardly a doubt that Mr..
and Mrs. Hughes of Avery station, about
100 miles east Of F'reetown. which place
was taken by the savages on or about April
80, suffered the same fate.
J. A Evans, another member of the mis-
sion, started with the expedition led by
DIR. Burtner, but was separated from the
others in the fight by boat. When last
heard of no had reached a place of COM
parative safety, and it is probable that he
made his way to Freetown. There are stlll
left the native missionaries, the Rev. r.
N. Taylor and his wife, A. II. Sumner and
T. A. Davis. They may survive the war,
as they are on the island of Sherbro,
which, however, has been threatened with
attack from the mainland. The British
will do what they can to protect them
selves, as the tribes are up the country
over. The seat of government is at Free
town, where there is a sufficient force of
British soldiers to hold The place against
attack DR.. BURNER thinks that mission
airy work in that region is at an end for
two years, at least.sso embittered are the
tribe against all foreigners.
Sierra Leone Is a British colony govern
ed at present by Col. Sir Frederick Car
dew. For forty-three years the United
Brethren Of Christ have supported mission
airy stations there, during which time
they have suffered only one attack from
the natives-in 1857 none of the mission
aries being killed. Shengeh, the main mis-
sion station, is about leo miles from Free
town, on the seacoast, and Is a settlement
of 400 natives with many smaller towns
surrounding it. There the mission had a
stone church, schools and dlspensary,
besides smaller buildings The natives Of
the immediate neighborhood are of the
Sherbro tribe and are peaceful by nature.
There Is smattering OF Timnshs, how
ever, WaYlke cannibals, and consistent
haters of the English, under which head
they rank all whites. TO the north are
the Mendehs, another savage tribe.
Through these tribes there runs sort OF
Voudoo society which meets at stated
times to determine upon matters Of tribal
and national import. This society has the
power of ''pura" a sort of taboo which is
declared against institutions or persons
and devotes them to destruction. "'Pura"
was declared against the English and all
their works late in April because of the hut
tax of shillings upon all huts of one room
and 10 shlllngs upon all huts of more than
one room, set by the British government
Added to this was the resentment against
the government because of its vigorous eff
forts to stamp out slavery and cannibal-
ism.
The Timnehs and Mendehs were ripe for
an uprising, and the more umid Sherbros
were forced to join with them or be con-
victed OF being foreign sympathizers,
which meant torture and death at the
hands of their countrymen. This uprising
threatened not only the Shengeh, but all
the other stations along the coast.
The massacre at the Rotufunk mission
came almost without warning. Mr.. Ward,
the only member of the mission now alive,
left there on April % to get supplies in
FreetOwn. At that time there was not a
whisper of danger. What followed was
gathered from native sources OF Informal
tion by DR.. BURNERS party. Early in the
morning of May native women rushed
into the mission house crying that an arm
ed force was coming TO capture the place.
Having no means of defense the five mis-
sionaries took to the bush and shortly after
the savages, most Of whom were the Tim
neh trlbesmen, entered the mission with
yells of exultatlon. Finding that the
whites had fed, they began to beat tho
bush. Mr. Cain, with the four women in
his charge, made what speed he could
through the brush, but the noise of their
progress betrayed them to line of tho
blacks who had posted themselves back in
the thicket encircling the mission, and
they were taken.
Instantly the whole band was summoned
and the prisoners were stripped and
marched back to the mission house in sin
gle file, their captors pricklng them with
spear points and striking them with
switches which brought blood wherever
they fell. What followed, as the natives
told II, is like a bit from the early Indian
history of this country. 1t cannot be re-
peated here. Death put a welcome end
TO the shame and tortures. The mission
aries fell one after another in front Of their
own mission house, the women stabbed
30 death by spears or behaaded with cut
iasses. The man, after being cut alnos,
to pieces. was impaled on the barbed wire
fence which surrounds the mission
grounds, and hung there until he died.
That Is a part Of the story that DR.. Burt
ner told yesterday with shaking voice and
trembling lips There was more that he
tried to tell, but could not.
Meantime the colony of Americans al