Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-07

such simple diet these gathering noun.
taineers satisfied
l fell in with a group and passed TO the
place of worship half an hour before the
service. There is no church bu lding for
this great crowd. The mastering of the
men OF the mountains for morning worship
Is under the dome of heaven. Is not such
a temple better than
Rich windows that exclude the light
And passages that lead TO nothing:''
The great chief was there; having fasten-
ed ms huge spear in front of the crowd. he
TOOK his seat where his influence would be
most pronounced. l noticed boys with stom-
achs expanded to twice their natural size:
one man with twenty-eight rings on the
fingers of his two hands; still another wore
some thirty earrings in his lobes One of
the congregation stopped to show me Jig
ger he had taken out of his foot. Indeed
this was a feature of the congregation: be-
tween prayers jggers We're removed with
clumsy knives whetted to a sharp point.
Thirty minutes later still they come in
long lines down the mountain paths, up
from the valleys. climbing the steep. pre-
cfpitous sides of the mountain on which the
mission stands. Here come the widest of
the highlanders. They have descended from
5000 feet above the sea. They carry
swords, bows and arrows, knives and curl
Gus little pouches conta. ming snuff which
they place between the lips and teeth These
wild men hang their skin food sacks on
the limbs of trees, and one of them stops
carefully to examine the preachers three
black cats. Here and there is seen a stone
mason or other skilled workman dressed in
clean, white, loose garments and wearing
a tarbush. There comes a man with a
chunk of wood an inch in width and four
inches long in each of his ears.
The service is about to begin, and still
they come in long strings up and down pre-
cipitous inclines fit only for goats and
mountaineers. Many are heavily armed
but all are well behaved. Women with
shaved heads and men with hair done up i'm
so little knots and others with their hair
daubed with red clay and oil
Let this crowd be actuated by revenge
and what havoc they would wreak on
their unfortunate enemies for these are I'M
conquered trihesmen. Even the warlike
Masa failed to storm and take their ut
most Businesses. In this congregation are
spearpen who down lions with sharp sticks
and stab a leopard with short knife They
are attending worship with Mdomoka bows
and Muyama arrows, at their sides iron
pointed spears standing upright and knives
dangling from their shoulders.
Not many moons ago these valleys heard
a savage yell, saw wild rush, followed by
bloody massacre. Now, after only two
years of missionary work, they gather this
Sunday morning 800 strong. Sometimes
LOO and even 1.S00 have at one service on
this mountain side heard the gospel The
chiefs are here, the head men have come,
the young men, the warriors, the hunters,
the wives dusky maiders and children-a
real gathering Of the clans. In all the re-
g!on there is not a sound of work, no shout
ing of the chase. 1t is Sabbath in the
mountains.
They are packed in closely. sitting on the
ground as one imagines the mutitudes sat
on the shores of Galilee when He who
gave the bread of life ministered unto the
people. There is cheerful talking till the
service opens, when all is quiet and atten-
ton. Old, familiar hymns are sung In the
language of these mountaineers, which is
rightly spoken by only three white men in
all the world. Then the service of the
Church of England is conducted by the
missionary. The swarthy audience kneels
during prayer. They may not comprehend
the full meaning of all this, but who shall
say there Is no real worship the Dabda
range this quiet Sabbath morning?
The mission to the mountaineers is a stu
pendous success The massing of the noun
taineers at the Mbale Mission is the most
picturesque and thrilling sight this depo-
nent has thus far witnessed on the hot
continent Of Africa. The changes wrought
In the narrow span of twenty-four moons
make a modern miracle.