The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-10-03
WORKS AMONG
THE SAVAGES
Distinctive Work Of Kansas
City Missionary Union
STRANGE ADVENTURES
Among Wild Berbers and South Amer
can Notwithstanding the
Bible Into Unwritten
Languages.

From the Kansas City Star.
There is a man in Kansas City to
| whom wandering in the least known
quarters of the world is an occupation.
Today he is here, tomorrow he may be
among the Berbers in North Africa,
whom he has visited four times since
1895 or among the Indians in the Andes
or in the wild pampas. He is George S.
Fisher, president of the Gospel Mission
airy union. with headquarters here.
Mr. Fisher was doing missionary work
last year in Morocco on one of his four
pilgrimages there since 1895. One day
he and his companion were riding along
on donkeys. They were unarmed. A
tribe of wild Berbers, the aboriginal race
of Morocco, rode down upon them.
Witness to the prophet" they cried.
They enlivened their words by flourish
ing their sharp scimitars above the heads
of the missionaries in this somewhat dis
concerted way. That was just their
pleasant means of informing the pill
grims that unless they acknowledged
Mohammed as the prophet they would
be beheaded. Although the two white
men failed to do this, the fierce stran-
gers suddenly let their cycles fall to
their sides and then rode rapidly away.
II can do nothing but attribute this
miracle to the Intervention of Cod Mr.,
Fisher said in telling the tale. Those
Berbers are the most bloodthirsty men of
today. They roam the country unsub-
dued by the sultan. Suffering resulting
of their cruelty Is pleasure to them.
1.-THE Berbers are fanatical, holding the
fiery faith of Mohammed. They make
war on all people. Few white persons
escape alive from their midst. Two of
our missionaries escaped once, but only
after they had been made to suffer tor
lures. These two white men were tied
to the ground. The members of the tribe
which captured and robbed them amused
themselves by running their sharp knives
across the throat just enough to pene-
trate the skin and bring the blood. The
leader of the band was the one who be-
friended the unfortunate men and let
them go.
Know Nothing of Education.
'The Berbers caused the recent trou-
BILE for Spain In Morocco They have
remained unconquered through all the
Christian era. The tribes are pastoral
and they roam much. There are about
5000 900 Berbers in Morocco.
Education is a thing unknown to
them. They have no written language
and none of them speak the pure Arabic
They speak what is called the Morocco
colloquial. This ignorance on the part
of these people makes it very hard to
carry the Christian religion to them. but.
In spite of the fierceness of the people,
two Of the missionaries of my gospel
union live with them In their tents in
the mountains.
I'VE are busy in the first translation
of the Bible into their language This
is very difficult. First we were com
PEELED to compile a dictionary In the
Berber dialect we now have Genesis and
the Psalms written. Into the Moroccan
language, which is not pure Arabic by
any means, we have Luke. Matthew.
john Romans and the Acts. It ha,
taken nine men six years to do this
Adventures in Ecuador.
The Gospel Missionary union, of
which Mr.. Fisher is the head. was begun
in Topeka ~ 1894. 1t is an Independent
religious body which has for it's object
the training of missionaries to do work
primarily in absolutely new fields The
union now has its headquarters at Sew
enth street and Euclid avenue In this
city A three-story. 1fty-room building
has been erected there. school for
missionaries Is In session in the building
from October until May.
Mr.. Fisher formerly was the secretary
of the Kansas Y. M. c. A. He gave up
this work when many of his fellow work
ers in Kansas went to the African Sou
dan to do missionary work. and has now
80 missionaries at work in Morocco,
Ecuador and In this country, especially
among the Navajo Indians
up to 1895 Ecuador practically never
had a missionary" Mr.. Fisher said. ST
went there at that time when General
Alfaro, a liberal leader, won his way to
the presidency through a revolution. We
now have a mission at Guayaquil. Away
UP in the mountain at 1900 feet altitude
we have two women missionaries work
ing with the aborigines. They are now
called the QuiclIna Indians. At the head
water of the Amazon river we have mis-
sionaries learning the language of the
Jivaro Indians SO that we might trans
late the Bible for them.
This work Is perilous. I. myself, was
lost In the SHOWS of old Chimborazo,
mountain q 900 feet high. I was up 14.000
feet at the time my companions became
separated from me. Luckily for me. I
found cabin, but even then feared
for my life for 1t was a time OF revolu-
ton and my hosts would have killed
me instantly If they had suspected me.
The next day found my companions"
To Convert the NavaJos.
Mr.. Fisher said that a great effort was
being made by his missionaries to con-
vert the Navajo Indians in this country
There Is no written language and 1t is
with the greatest difficulty that the
white men get in touch with the abor-
igines. They are on the move contin-
ually.
How do we get the money to pay for
this work." Mr.. Fisher said. "Oh, we
just pray for it. 1t Is our rule never to
ask for one cent or make collection.
The money with which to do things
always comes ssonfe way or other. I don't
mean by that that it drops from the
skies or that there is any miracle. But
do mean that the way we do the
things that we do is by having perfect
faith.
We have 80 missionaries in the field.
None of them receives a cent for his
work and we send them very little
money Yet none of them starves and
the work of all f1ourishes. We learn to
economize and we never incur a debt.
II we are without bread and have no
money with which to buy we go without.
Now. this building in which we have
our Headquarters was erected without
a collection and 1t is paid for as far
as 1t Is completed. Some of the rooms
are not finished One man gave US $1,000
as a beginner. Another means. used was
to have the students here build on 1t
at extra hours.
IAN of us are happy We make It a
rule to be happy. The world Is money
mad and unhappy. How different we
of this brotherhood are in our poverty
.uf VIA n a a n