The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1913-05-24
CHEERING WORDS
FROM DR.. BOONE
Lott Carey Missionary Arrives
at LibOrian Capital
SAILED ON STEAMER CELTIC

Brooklyn.-In a letter dated at Mon.
rovia. Liberia. West Africa, to the
Rev. DR.. William Maurice Moss, pas
tor Of the Concord Baptist church in
this city. the Rev. DR.. @. @. Boone,
missionary under the auspices Of the
Lott Carey home and foreign mission
convention, gives a graphic description
Of his voyage from New York to Liv-
erpool and from thence to Monrovia.
He arrived on the west coast Of Africa
the latter part Of March.
DR.. Boone spent five years doing
I missionary work on the KOngo pre-
vious to returning to America a few
years ago for the purpose Of taking
medical course at Shaw university,
Raleigh, n. G. He was successful in
his studies. and. having graduated, the
Lott Carey convention, by which he is
engaged. gladly returned him to the
foreign field. with headquarters at
Monrovia-
Besides the letter to DR.. W. n. Moss,
the Rev. Mr.. Boone sent the following
to the chairman Of the executive com
mittee OF the National Negro Press as
ISOLATION He says:
The voyage from America to Ii
IBERIA was long, but pleasant Going
out from New York on the Celtic Of
the White Star line, we were at the
table with three missionaries, and
from Liverpool to Monrovia we sat
with two other workers for West AZ
RIGA We were detained in Liverpool
nine days. waiting for a steamer.
However. we made the trip IN a month
and three days.
The country here is quite different
from Kongo. In a radius OF eight or
ten miles from the ocean the land IL
level and thickly wooded The soil Is
the most fertile that l have ever seen
All the vegetables that grow at home
flourish here. Even watermelons grow
here in abundance.
Climate.-Being north Of the equator,
the rains come here from May to Oc-
tOber, Just the reverse to what they
do south We are having nice old Vir-
ginia weather now. Ny thermometer
has not registered but 81 degrees F. IN
the shade.
The people are many and OF many
tribes and nations. I have already
come in contact with Kongolese. Crew,
Day, Vey, Cola. Pessie and Mandingo.
Now, what language must l speak or
Learnt Well. since the Day are the
first people Of the country and have
the purest dialect that have found I
have decided to learn Day as a stand
ard and then associate the others as
occasion requires. The customs Of the
people are very peculiar here as well
as In other parts Of this great land
The church bells are sometimes rung
at midnight and horns blown
When 1 asked the cause / was in
formed that an old woman was dead
and that was the meaning OF the
alarm Another time / saw a large
crowd gathering and asked the zrou-
Bile, and they said that IT was the heart
man, a heather doctor that catches
people and takes their hearts for medi
cine. I went to see him, and they had
him tied / am out here at Brewer
Vile, and find Revs. Hayes and Gale
at their posts. But there Is not much
going on Just now, this being the sea-
son for gathering coffee. But we have
published that the Day school win be-
gin on the 14th Of April. and we are
going to push that work until Rev. and
Mrs Thomas come. Then that will be
their work
Ny first work is to get hold OF the
language You can make but very
little impression upon the native man
unless you can speak his own dialect
I shall not have a very hard task TO
master the Day language. although
there Is absolutely nothing In print IN
any OF the dialects. because I know
the Kongo so well-for instance, the
Kongo people say dia for food; the
Day, zia: the Kongo-Kwele, gone; Day
Kwele, 20. I have already gone far In
the Day language and have not been
here a month.
Here are a few little words and
phrases: Tongue-mai. tongues; miawe.
chair; ebe. checks: gaboye, boats;
awooI. lips: wemwosO. sun; grewOma,
God; grebo. got no sense: maho. have
got sense; masobo. water. / Ind that
have l52 such words and expressions.
That h not so bad for one that has
scarcely unpaeked bis luggage. - tit
Ny medical work Is simply growing
beyond all anticipations. have been
out here 6fteen days and have made
sixteen medical visits. held twenty-Ons
consultations. cured. and discharged
four patients and have -four waiting
for operations.
The outlook was never brighter IN
any country than IN Liberia Every
one Is longing for help and praying
for the gospel that saves from siE-
The American Negro Baptist should
send hfs congratulations 70 the poor
little struggling churches here AZ Brew.
erEiIle that have purchased 81 theiI
own free win tEenfy-nine acres Of
beautiful tableland and have gfven it
% the Lott Carey convention for M
son WORK That Is grand