The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1909-01-30

I
South Africa when no one else dared
venture outside of the white settle
ments, and no one thought of molest-
| ing him. He was the only man who
had any influence over Moselikatse.
the most bloodthirsty chief in South
Africa.
The great Norwegian missionary,
Bishop Schroeder, held a similar posi-
| ton in the regard of the fierce Zulu
chief Cetewayo, and it was Schreuder's
presence in the English camp that
gave the natives courage to surrender
themselves to the British when they
had been vanquished in the last Zulu
war in 1870. His house was the only
white mans dwelling that was left
standing in Zululand. The savage
army, drunk with temporary victory,
split in two, one division passed over
the hills to the north of Schreuder's
station, the other over the hills on the
south, for the chiefs knew that in the
frenzy Of battle their braves could not
be restrained from destroying what
ever came in their way.
Missionary work in most parts of
Africa has lost much of its spectacular
features. 1t now is mostly matter
of hard, grinding, monotonous work
The popular conception Of missionaries
includes two figures. One is that of a
spiritual fanatic bent mainly on teach
ing the savages to sing hymns instead
of bowling war songs, the dupe usual
" of willy savages who feign .conVer-
sion" while laughing in their new mis-
sionary Bingham sleeves The other
is that Of a clever seIf-seeker exploit
ing the childish native to his own adj
vantage.
The True Missionary.
There is a third figure, very different
from either. Kipling has written with
sympathetic insight the story Of the
obscure official or non-commissioned
officer in his struggle to beat ciyiliza-
ton into the savage half devil and
half child The Sergeant What's-Is
Name" of the mission field has yet to
find his interprete her interpreter,
for the sergeant is just as often
woman.
Life at an African mission station is
very much the same throughout the
continent. The day begins usually
with the call of the bell at sunrise in
the summer and an hour or two before
that time in the winter, for in the mat
ter of early rising it is the white man
who must adapt himself to the native
habit. After brief sunrise prayer the
boys and girls of the school are mus
tered in the courtyard; they shoulder
their hoes, and it is away to the corn
field or the sweet potato patch. Stand
ing in a row at the bottom of the field.
they lift their heavy hoes far above
their heads and bring them down with
a force that sends the iron blade far
into the ground, lift them again and
let them fall with rhythmic regularity.
AS they do SO they chant in a slow,
heavy monotone, which is their near
est approach to singing, any incidents
in their life that may be uppermost
corn, the marriage of the chiefs
daughter or any of the happenings of
the day. Sometimes the work Iags and
needs the constant impatient She
shani' (hurry) of the white teacher.
The African holds theory quite the
monkeys were evolved from a race Of
lazy people that 1oafed leaning on the
handles of their hoes, until the useful
implements grew into tails, to the
everlasting shame of the loafers.
Breakfast consists of one of the three |
staples, sweet potatoes, squash or corn,
either as mush or on the cob. Fl is
eaten from platters at bare table /
with quick lunch effect, rather a test /
OF discipline, for the native loves to I
squat on a straw mat and take his
time about chewing. No greater dis
courtesy can be offered a native than |
to interrupt his meal But the school |
bell is fnexorah1e.
Bible Images Familiar.
Glasses and reeitations and more
particularly lessons to be prepared Of
fer more xielenAe 70 the native preju-
diees. He likes to hear the Bible
stories or stories of other countries and
to read them for himself when he has
mastered the combination of letters In.
to familiar sounds. The oriental images
OF the Bible are perfectly familiar to /
him. The idea of the patriarehs of the
Old Testament living in tents as cattle I