Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-12-07


Liberia to which he was ELECTED by
the Protestant Episcopal church, he
will be returning to land in which
% years ago he discovered 100000
natives who had never seen a white
man.
At that time DR.. Overs, then 26
years old and fresh from the Uni
versity of Manchester, England,
was representative of the British
colonial government and the for
eign mission board of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church Of England,
his mission being to teach, preach
and study in the colony of Lagos.
inhabited by the Ijebus, tribe of
barbarians.
After several years work in the
jungles, Doctor Overs became So
worn by the African fever that he
was compelled to return to England
to regain his strength. He spent
several years on the continent and
then came to America. After sew
eral years in New York City and
along the shores of the New York
state lakes, he went to Bradford.
in the Pennsylvania hills. where he
regalned his strength. This enables
him to return to Africa, resume his
work and round out life's ambition.
Given Dual Position.
When Doctor Overs was gradu-
ated from the University of Man
chester, the colonial government
,,,n- r>>i,;po enr,appe ~ on IN
Lagos, on the Nave coast, to -estab-
lish school and churches that the
traders might follow and develop
the wonderful resources of the coun-
try. The board of foreign missions
OF the Methodist Episcopal church
was anxious for the propagation %
the gospel among sthe natives and
by agreement the young minister
was selected for the dual job.
With a bible in one hand and a
rifle in the other, the 26-year-old
preacher set out for that part OF
Africa never before visited by
white man. How we'll he performed
the many difficult tasks committed
to his care is a matter Of church
and colonial history which had an
important part in his election by the
Protestant Episcopal church as the
FIRST white man ever sent to Liberia
Is bishop. =,
He established IS schools and
churches and built roads in addition,
to combating the three principal
evils of equatorial Africa, human
sacrifice, slavery and polygamy.
Personality Made Impression.
He healed the sick by application
al standard remedies offsetting the
natives use OF sacred charms to ap
pease the wrath of the evil spirits,
which in their mind, was the cause
of all sickness and distress. He
performed minor surgical operations
and ministered to the spiritual as
we'll as mental welfare of the ma
tives. By his methods he gained
their admiration and affection.
His strong personality made such
an impression on the natives that
they elevated him to a chieftancy,
making him one of the principal
advisers to the king. BY reason of
this post lie was able to influence
the making of just laws, which
gradually resulted in the wiping
out of human sacrifice, a practice
then very common.
On being raised to the chieftancy,
DR.. Overs was presented by the
king with a large tract in the in
terror. He spent two days in walk
ing around its bounaries and then
conveyed it to the mission board.
II has since become very valuable,
its wealth in mahogany timber and
minerals being estimated at $1,000
GOO, which is now being used to
further the work he SO auspiciously
started.
Proposed Laws Adopted.
He studied the native laws and
proposed the following changes to
the king: ceasing the unnecessary
shedding of blood; no beheading
without trial; no punishment without
hearing; conhscation of property
for minor offenses. After much
arguing, all were adopted as edicts
of the Ijebus.
Whmen DR.. Overs went into
the territory, $4,000 of the 100000
ljebus were slaves. He started out
to fight the slave traffic and this
aroused the hatred of the traders,
several attempts being made on his
life.
One day a native tried to inoculate
his hand with a poison ring, but a
loyal native saved him by sweeping
aside the barbarian's hand, just as
DR.. Overs reached to grasp it
Another tried to wave poison, which
had been sprinkled on fan, into
Doctor Overs eyes. Again friend
" native upset the plot.
Every attempt failed, because OF
the loyalty of the native members
Of his household. One OF his most
highly priced possessions is a vestl
through which the knife Of a would
be assassin passed. A man whose
life had been saved when he was
i'll, by DR.. Overs, saved the mis-
sionary's life.
Wiped Out Slavery.
But DR.. Overs continued his fight
and by invoking the strong arm OF
the British government, virtually
wiped out the slave traffic.
Only in the matter of polygamy |
was no sweeping reform made. 1t
was almost impossible to convince
the natives of the error in their ways |
because the women did all the work.
But by working with the children
in the schools and instructing them
in the beauties of domestic life as
exemplified by the English people,
ne was able to sow the seed that |!
has done so much to abolish |
polygamy.
DR.. Overs was embarrassed by the
offers of wives and when he declined
the king took it as an insult. Rela-
tons between the two we're nearly