The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-16
CAT TURE'S;
AND KILLS <. /.
8n'hc Crueltics practiccd by Bel
GUMS King Upoi, 1gnorant
Blacks Of Africa.
MR.. sMoRRlsoN's DESCRIPTION
Missionary Spoke Twice Here Oh
Sunday Last-The supersti-
lions Of the People.

In two sermons preached hare Sunday,
the Rev. w. M. Morrison. u. D., tho dis
tinguished Presbyterian minister. gave
vivid and striking accounts Of tho re-
markable conditions prevailing to-day In
dark Africa, and Of some Of the honors
being Visited upon the heathen natives
by Leopold H.. tho Christian king.
II Will be recalled that Dr. Morrison
not So long ago created distinct sensa-
ton by his revelations concerning tho rule
OF the Belgian despot, in whose far-away
African, dominion tho missionary worked
for nnany years. TO him Ia largely due
The, credits OF provoking the Investigation
that all hope will lead to better and more
human government In the Congo. lie was
IN Richmond on Sunday In tho interests
OF tic missionary work in general, and Of
the new steamboat Lapsey In particular.
1T is absolutely necessary that a new
boat be built at once to tako the PLACE
OF the one that recently capsized With
such fearful loss Of life. About s25,Do
Is needed for this purpose, and Mr.. Nor.
.rlson visits Richmond and will visit other
places to seek to ma..e the collection Of
this fund possible. Hc spoke twice here
lin the morning ut tho First Prcsbyt terrain
Church, and In tho evening at Grace
Street. Some who heard. him declare that
appeals ever mado in Richmond
"A Remarkable Field.
According 10 Or. Morrison, the African
mission is the most remarkable Of the
enterprises OF the church. 1t was started
In 1881, and the first convert was received
In 1895. To-day there arc oyer 900. In 'ts
report to the last General Assembly the
mission showed that OF the entire number
OF converts In tho missionary field 1t
had received only ten missionaries. The
church at Luebo has had TO be enlarged
constantly. About eighteen months ago
new building was erected and It was
thought to be sufficiently largo TO satisfy
all demands and last for many years.
II seated 1900 to 1900 people In = recent
letter to Or. Morrison. worker In the
fields says the churc.. Is overlooking and
more room Is needed.
Tho African mission Is on the kassa
River, a tributary OF tho Congo, LOO
miles inland from the west coast OF Az
RIGA, and SIX degrees below the equator.
The work Is among tho great Baluba
tribe which Is more Intelligent and less
Euperytitious than the others. DR.. Morri-
son says the Southern Presbyterian
Church has found the keynote tobsthc
evangelzation in its plan OF sending out
Y negro missionaries. William II. Sheppard.
W
graphical Society went out with the I'M
mortal Lapsley. and he is still there. DR..
Morrison says he Is tho greatest negro
in the world. with tho possible exception
OF Booker Washington. The Congo church
Is sending out and supporting twenty-five
or thirty native cvangelists.
Is Down on Leopold.
or Leopold. who was chosen By the
powers to rule the Congo Free State, DR..
Morrison speaks with the utmost con-
tempt. He says a worse selection could
not have been made II the sigma tories to
the treaty had searched the wide world
over
The natives, says DR.. Morrison, live
in villages. and 1t is Lcopold's habit to
levy tribute from the villages every little
while. The tribute Is mostly OF ivory
and rubber, which the king appropriates
to his own use. II the natives cannot
pay, which Is usually the case, tn. vii
lage Is destroyed by soldiers the inhabi-
tants arc killed or captured. the women
and children are sold. the men with
ropes around their necks are carried
away and made to work on STEAMBOATS,
or serve In the army. The fear OF the
natives is SO great that whenever the
soldiers approach village to levy trl-
butte the whole people take to the woods,
This happened once at Leubo. where the
mission headquarters arc stationed-a
town OF 10000 to 1000 inhabitants
Everybody fled. Eighteen men were
eventually caught and dragged OFF,
Leopold makes no distinction among the
natives. and captures and enslaves Chris
tians and heathens alike. i.Es 8
The natives In the kings army are
mostly canntbals. Once by a base act OF
treachery tho officers secured entrance
4 into one OF the villages. They demanded
tribute. which the people could not pay,
and then slew many of them. Sheppard