Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-08-18

send home often throw avivid
light upon the dark and saw.
age conditions that cncom-
pass them. One Of the teachers of the
American Baptist Missionary Union, in
his annual report, tells of recent in
cidcnt that occurred far up the Congo
River among the natives living around
the shores of Lake Tumba, only short
distance south of the big river.
Early one Sunday morning, rs the
missionary and his wife We're prcpar-
ing for the duties Of the day. they
heard n shout from the lake. An old
man was seen seated in a canoe, which
4 number Of stalwart fellows We're
padding as fast rs they could toward
the little river that carries the waters
of the lake 10 the Congo, Il few miles
north. The old man was crying in n
frantic and dcspairing voice.
"Mpebc ma MonkNsa.'
These were the names by which the
missionary and his wife are known to
the natives. The old fellow called
them again and again, till he saw the
the beach. Then lie shouted to them:
"Oh, come and save me! They are
taking me away to kill and eat me-"
The missionary understood the situa-
ton at once. The place is not more
than Il days travel from the mouth of
the great Mobangi tributary of the
Congo. The banks OF the MoDangi are
iho1 ri is,
one Of the greatest hotbeds Of canni-
baliSm. Explorers have often told of
the canoes sent out from these tribes
to the districts little south Of the
Congo for no other purpose than to
buy slaves or steal men to carry away
to their homes for their cannibal
fcasts. Here was an old friend of the
missionary's who had fallen into the
power of these savage fOragcrs Not
Il moment was to be lost, for the canoe
was shooting past the station and rap.
idly approaching the foot of the lake.
At q word from the white man a half
dozen young blacks launched q canoe
in the lake and piled their paddles with
all their might. 1t was an exciting
chase. The cannibalS, seeing they
were pursued redoublcd their cncr
gics to reach the river n few miles
north of them. 1t was boat race in
dead earnest, and the stake was Il
human life. There were six Of the
pursuers and only four of the fugitive
canocmcn. Tho chasing party had a
larger sum total of muscle, and this
advantage began to tell. Slowly the
missionary boat gained on the canni-
balls, who saw at last that they would
certainly be caught before they reached
the river. Then they padded like mad
for the shore, and the pursuers were
only few boat lengths from them as
they run their canoe up on the beach.
The cannibals jumped out and three
of them made their escape into the
woods, carrying with them a consider
able quantity of brass wire, the form
of money they use in buying slaves
The fourth man was made prisoner
and was taken back to the missionary
settlement with the poor old captive,
who was now trembling with joy rs a
few moments before he had Quakcd
with fear. The missionary says that
if he mad not called for help he would
probably have been killed before night
The expected then happened. OF
course the savaGcs did not relish the
idea of returning to their people with.
out any victim and with one of their
party missing The white man felt
certain they would try to ransom their
cOmrafe, and, sure enough, the crest
fallen maneatcrs after a little while
appeared within Mailing distance.
They had brass wire, they shouted,
and how much did the white man want
in exchange for their friend. He
wanted all they had, and after cOnsid-
cradle parleying lot Of wire was
brought half way to the station. The
old man said he was sure this wire
was all his captors had in the canoe,
and finally it was accepted and the
prisoner released. The men probably
made their way as best they could
back to their tribe. The wire was
this was enough to keep the old man
In food for over nine months, ana the
fair inference Is that the cost of living
on the upper Congo has been reduced
to q bedrock basis.
The Congo State IS vigorously sup
pressing canniballsm rs far as its in
fluence extends, and therefore the ma
tives who indulge in the practice no
longer dare, in accordance with their
former custom, to send large cXpedi-
tons out to buy slaves. Now and
then, however, small party engage in
the hazardous business, hoping by the
smallness of their numbers to escape
the attention Of the whites.-New
York Sun.
Dangerous Prisoner.
fo