The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-18
AFRICAN CHURCH ON WHEELS
MISSIONARIES FOLLOWING TbS
CAPE To CAIRO ROAD.

CAFE To CAEHO KUAD.
------
Two sucl, Mission Cars &C work Nov MAY
Vet Reach the Great Lakes % mo In
teriOr-Cape Government Heiping Nc
werk MANY Dlnacuitics Encountored.
The great distances between the South
African townships. In which whites and
blacks live side by aide. has suggested
a novel and practical mission whicii csars
the form Of railway carriages. capable
Of being hitched at a moments notice 10
passenger or freight trains between Cape
Town and the ZaInbea.
Betw cen the townships English settlers
are scattered In this way. Every Eve
miles or " along the line there may be a
cottage occupied by a white plate layer and
his family. with close by half q dozen native
huts filed to overlooking. Near the sta,
tlons or sidings. every twenty miles. two
or three white families are found. while
railway camps or villages stand from
seventy to a hundred miles apart. Here the
drivers. guards and other employees have
their homes.
Then there are any lumber OF lonely
farms. stores. inps and police camps. Al
Of these are utterly beyond the ordinary
ministrations Of the Church, and tho Cape
to Cairo Railway 10 always opening up
new centres. In spite Of free passage
granted by the Cape Government rail-
ways to spiritual pioneers 1t was found
hopeless 10 deal with the mixed population
OF English. Dutch INC natives scattered
along 1000 miles Of line.
For three years the Rev. Douglas Ellison.
who with the Rev. p. B. Simeon was the
first in this vast field. trsversed his parish
once every three months by goods train.
by railway trolley or on foot. He visited
the lonely CANCERS in the stations. the
railway camps and villages baptiXng and
teaching children. celebrating weddings.
burying the dead and holding services
in waiting rooms or even freight sheds.
At last the Cape Government gave Mr..
Ellison a coach. and later on the Bishop or
Grshamstown lent a small oottsge 10 serve
Ellison was invited by the Bishops Of Pre-
tona and Mashonaland to extend opera
ions into their diooeses, and now there il
a second railway coach whirlihg through
the Transvaal and a third In Rhodesis.
These missions on Wheels" are served by
nine English pastors, a deacon. three or
four laymen. five native catechists and two
women.
The railway coaches, without which this
work would be impossible. form smsil
p~eripatetio homes on wheels. and n OF
them-"No. l04"-is known throughout
nearly one-half Of the Dark Continent. IL
contains a state drawing room n bed
room in one. an entrance hail.. q sitting
room and bedroom for the native catechisss,
a kitchen. bathroom n a store roOnts
This sounds very opulent indeed, until
one realizes that all these apartments are
contained within a length OF twenty feett
No wonder MIR: Batty. working In Natal.
school Of fourteen children into the state
drawing room" and that he was almost
tempted to put the little ones In the luggage
racks.
A small Zulu boy travels with each coach
and unites In his one small person the o61ces
Of cook. housemaid, butler and valet. These
homes on wheels sound very interesting.
yet travelling over immense distances day
and night is inexpressibly wearisome. 90
hot and cramped and shaky are the coaches.
1t is hoped to extend the work proper,
~tionately with the new railway construction,
Of which no less than 1000 miles is pro-
jected for III next few years. This win
take these church homes on wheels away
up into the Great Lakes OF Central Africa.
and in due time they will doubtless reach
Khartum itself. Each coach has it's own
crew, who fare forth o n the old Gospel prin-
ciplc, W by two, on a beat OF a thousand
miles. 80
They move quietly along, establishing
IEl6uuly TBlbLlOflb Will LILO EdlIW tybluo DODu-
%lations, and watching not only new railway
Developments. but also opportunities Of or
g~anizing more permanent and settled min
istrations. The coaches are loaded with
literature OF various kinds. old magazines
and weekly papers being much appreciated
by the ieolated people, and also In thec camps
OF the South African ~Conetabulary, which
are often near the railway.
One can we'll imagine nos warmly -Old
404' must be welcomed. as Ahe trundles 10
to some remote siding; and in+his welcome is
often enough the nucleus OF a church. The
first meeting may be under the dazzling
skies Of Africa. Then comes some old
goods shed, decently garnished and deco
rated with flowers. The next stage ID a
humble enough little chapel, and later on
comes a regular church-which In one classic
instance was built Of nothing more substan-
tial than brown paper!
Indeed at Kliplaat at this moment may be
seen quite a handsome little church con-
structed entirely Of wire wove felt and q few
laths.