The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-03-29
DR.. Edgar Cells Lecture on
Darkest Africa.
FOREST ETERNAL TWILIGHT
Independent Explorer and Student of
Sociology Entertains and Instructs
II Large Audience.
From Fridays Daily.

| From Fridays Daily.
At the Presbyterian church last
| night a lecture OH "Cannibals, Before
| and After" was given by DIR. " illiam
Edgar Cell. a large and appreciative
audience listened for an hour and half
| to a most entertaining as well as in
structive discourse. The vivacity and
wit of the speaker made it seem but
half as long.
In fluent language and an impressive
manner he told of the marvellous prog
ress of the people of the dark CONT
nent," in the forest of eternal twi-
| light"
He is not Il minister, nor mission
airy, nor Il layman, but an Independent
explorer and student of sociology.
In the month of April, 1901, he left
| Philadelphia, turned a handspring and
landed in San Francisco After leav-
| ing the coast, on a ship bound for Hon
oulu, he found he must divide up the
| cubic feet of air of his berth with fell
low passenger, for they were crowded.
Through this fellow passenger he later
was able to spend twelve weeks lectur-
ing in Australia to immense audiences.
In Honolulu he stopped at royal
hotel 1t was royal lin expense) and
the same hotel Mark Twain had stopped
at when he travelled there. Here he was
| told of the many faults of foreign mis-
| siOnaries. Most of them were called
jokes.
He did not then dispute the men who
told these tales, but visited the lepers
| whom he found the jolliest sick folks
he had ever met, because they had been
converted to the Christian faith and
were surrounded with churches and
| Christian influences.
The people of Borneo have equipped
| their schools and generally run them
| themselves. Mr.. Cell showed wherein
these people have "bettered their in
more civilized than we, here in Mime
sofa, who still encourage the barbarous
custom of selling intoxicating beverages
Yet I'VE are the people,"
The cannibals that killed Captain
Cook, cut out his heart and let three
Young girls eat it while it was
warm, have today built at their own ex-
pense school costing $4,000.
his reformation of SO vast signifi-
canoe was started forty years AGO bv
Titus Choan and his helpers Through
his genius the work of conversion was
given such an impetus that for every
year there have been 1000 won to the
Christian faith. They have stopped eat
ing their white brethren: they can read
| and write and live intelligentlv and hap
-.
not helped instead of hindering the prog
ress Of those people.
Perhaps some of the foreign mis-
sionaries are not true disciples. but thew
can be expected to be no better than
the church members who send them.
1t Is not necessary to cross the water
to find cannibals. There are those i'm
Wall street who swallow their victims
at one gulp and when they find nice
tender legislators, take them dozen
at a time. An African cannibal would
sit down and take them bite bv bite
1t is said that there is larger per-
centage of Christianity among the con-
verts than among protesting Christians
! at home.
Mr.. Cell next described his journey to
the American islands of the Samoan
group. America is a magnificent fail
ure as a coIonizer." Here, also, schools
have been built, modern civilization has
been introduced and the natives are
making wonderful progress.
Again the speaker referred to the
American conceit. He said that we have
three nations to the far west of lis at
whom we must cease to laugh, China.
Korea and Japan. China can put 100000
men in the field and is the only one
who will put fifty million in when she
Is thoroughly awakened.
I'm ten years." Mr.. Cell prophesied
THE yellow cabinet of the east will sit
side by side with the white cabinet of
the west and decide what the world
shall do.
He said that the foreign countries. the
savages, and our own country are suf-
fering for the want of cultivated Chris
tian homes.
service was seen at which the ma
tives had bible reading, prayer and song.
Eighty out of every one hundred hold
these services at sunrise and sunset,
conducting them by themselves and not
needing white Christian to assist.
The grave of Robert Louis. Stevenson
was visited at the top of lonely noun
tain. On the New Nut Island LIS
people worship God in thirteen churches
which have not cost any Christian ma
ton one cent.
The FIJI Islands were visited and the
native princess was the guest of Mr.
Cell. She told him of the death of her
father, the royal chief, who had tasted
the flesh of 1000 white men in his day
and whose dying words were: Lord
Jesus, catch my spirit"
At the University of Fiji a cannibal
war dance was given but by converts.
Mr.. Cell told in conclusion that the
darkness of cannibalism could not be
painted black enough in words for us to
appreciate the great and all powerful
good civilization has done them.
He made an eloquent plea to the en-
lightened hall of this planet to serve
any of the unenlightened half, whites
at home or abroad whom they could.