The caravan proceeded on the following morning, and by noon they arrived
at the Mission station of Butterworth, which was about one hundred and
forty miles from the colonial boundaries. This station had only been
settled about three years, but even in that short time it wore an air of
civilisation strongly contrasted with the savage country around it. The
Mission-house was little better than a large cottage, it is true, and
the church a sort of barn; but it was surrounded by neat Caffre huts and
gardens full of produce.
On the arrival of the caravan, Mr S, the missionary, came out to meet
the travellers, and to welcome them. He had been informed that they
would call at the station, and bring some articles which had been sent
for. It hardly need be said that, meeting at such a place, and in such
a country, the parties soon became on intimate terms. Mr S offered
them beds and accommodation in his house, but our travellers refused;
they were well satisfied with their own; and having unyoked their oxen,
and turned them out to graze with those belonging to the station, they
accepted the missionary's invitation to join his repast.
Alexander having stated the object of his expedition requested the
advice of Mr S as to his further proceeding, and asked him whether it
would not be advisable to see the Caffre king, and make him a present.
This Mr S strongly advised them to do; and to ask for a party of
Caffres to accompany the caravan, which would not only insure them
safety, but would prove in many respects very useful. All that would be
necessary, would be to find them in food and to promise them a present,
if they conducted themselves well. "You are aware," continued he, "that
Hinza's domain only extends as far as the Bashee or St. John's River,
and you will have to proceed beyond that; but with some of the Caffre
warriors you will have no difficulty, as the tribes further will not
only fear your strength, but also the anger of Hinza, should they commit
any depredation. But things, I regret to say, do not look very
peaceable just now."
"Indeed! what is the quarrel, and with whom?"
"Hinza has quarrelled with a powerful neighbouring chief of the name of
Voosani, who reigns over the Tambookie tribes, about some cattle, which
are the grand cause of quarrels in these countries, and both parties are
preparing for war. But whether it will take place is doubtful, as they
are both threatened with a more powerful enemy, and may probably be
compelled to unite, in order to defend themselves."
"And who may that be?"
"Quetoo, the chief of the Amaquibi, is in arms with a large force, and
threatens the other tribes to the northward of us; if he conquers them,
he will certainly come down here. He was formerly one of Chaka's
generals, and is, like him, renowned for slaughter. At present he is
too far to the northward to interfere with you, but I should advise you
to lose no time in effecting your mission; for should he advance, you
will be compelled to retreat immediately. I had better send to Hinza
to-morrow to let him know that strangers have come and wish to see him,
that they may make him a present. That notice will bring him fast
enough; not but that he well knows you are here, and has known that you
have been in his country long ago."
"It will be as well, after the information you have given us," said Mr
Swinton.
"What is your opinion of the Caffres, Mr S, now that you have resided
so long with them?"
"They are, for heathens, a fine nation,--bold, frank, and, if anything
is confided to them, scrupulously honest; but cattle-stealing is
certainly not considered a crime among them, although it is punished as
one. Speaking as a minister of the Gospel, I should say they are the
most difficult nation to have anything to do with that it ever has been
my lot to visit. They have no religion whatever; they have no idols;
and no idea of the existence of a God. When I have talked to them about
God, their reply is, `Where is he? show him to me.'"
"But have they no superstitions?"
"They believe in necromancy, and have their conjurers, who do much harm,
and are our chief opponents, as we weaken their influence, and
consequently their profits. If cattle are stolen, they are referred to.
If a chief is sick, they are sent for to know who has bewitched him;
they must of course mention some innocent person, who is sacrificed
immediately. If the country is parched from want of rain, which it so
frequently is, then the conjurers are in great demand: they are sent for
to produce rain. If, after all their pretended mysteries, the rain does
not fall so as to save their reputation, they give some plausible
reason, generally ending, however, in the sacrifice of some innocent
individual; and thus they go on, making excuses after excuses until the
rain does fall, and they obtain all the credit of it. I need hardly say
that these people are our greatest enemies."
"Are you satisfied with the success which you have had?"
"Yes, I am, when I consider the difficulty to be surmounted. Nothing
but the Divine assistance could have produced such effects as have
already taken place. The chiefs are to a man opposed to us."
"Why so?"
"Because Christianity strikes at the root of their sensuality; it was
the same when it was first preached by our Divine Master. The riches of
a Caffre consist not only in his cattle, but in the number of his wives,
who are all his slaves. To tell them that polygamy is unlawful and
wrong, is therefore almost as much as to tell them that it is not right
to hold a large herd of cattle; and as the chiefs are of course the
opulent of the nation, they oppose us. You observe in Caffre-land, as
elsewhere, it is `hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
heaven.' I have asked the chiefs why they will not come to church, and
their reply has been, `The great word is calculated to lessen our
pleasures and diminish the number of our wives; to this we can never
consent.'"
"But still you say you have made some progress."
"If I have, let it be ascribed to the Lord, and not to me and my
otherwise useless endeavours; it must be His doing; and without His aid
and assistance, the difficulties would have been insurmountable. It is
for me only to bear in mind the scriptural injunction, `In the morning
sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest
not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both
shall be alike good.'"
"But have they no idea whatever of a Supreme Being, either bad or good?
have they no idea, as some of the African tribes have, of the devil?"
"None; and in their language they have no word to express the idea of
the Deity; they swear by their kings of former days as great chiefs, but
no more. Now if they had any religion whatever, you might, by pointing
out to them the falsity and absurdity of that religion, and putting it
in juxtaposition with revealed Truth, have some hold upon their minds;
but we have not even that advantage."
"But cannot you make an impression upon their minds by referring to the
wonders of nature,--by asking them who made the sun and stars? Surely
they might be induced to reflect by such a method."
"I have tried it a hundred times, and they have laughed at me for my
fables, as they have termed them. One of the chiefs told me to hold my
tongue, that his people might not think me mad. The Scriptures, indeed,
teach us that, without the aid of direct revelation, men are also
without excuse if they fail to attain to a certain knowledge of the
Deity,--`even his eternal power and Godhead,'--by a devout contemplation
of the visible world, which with all its wonders is spread out before
them as an open volume. But beyond this, all knowledge of the origin or
manner of creation is derived, not from the deductions of human
reasoning, but from the Divine testimony; for it is expressly said,
`Through faith we understand that the worlds were made by the word of
God.'"
"Nevertheless you must admit that, among the civilised nations of
Europe, many who deny revelation, and treat the Bible as a fable,
acknowledge that the world must have been made by a Supreme Power."
"My dear sir, many affect to deny the truth of revelation out of pride
and folly, who still in their consciences cannot but believe it. Here,
there being no belief in a Deity, they will not be persuaded that the
world was made by one. Indeed we have much to contend with, and perhaps
one of the greatest difficulties is in the translation of the
Scriptures. I sit down with an interpreter who cannot read a single
word, and with perhaps a most erroneous and imperfect knowledge of
divine things. We open the sacred volume, and it is first translated
into barbarous Dutch to the Caffre interpreter, who then has to tell us
how that Dutch is to be put into the Caffre language. Now you may
imagine what mistakes may arise. I have found out lately that I have
been stating the very contrary to what I would have said. With this
translation, I stand up to read a portion of the Word of God, for my
interpreter cannot read, and hence any slight defect or change in a
syllable may give altogether a different sense from what I desire to
inculcate."
"That must be indeed a great difficulty, and require a long residence
and full acquaintance with the language to overcome."
"And even then not overcome, for the language has no words to express
abstract ideas; but the Lord works after his own way, and at his own
season."
"You do not then despair of success?"
"God forbid; I should be indeed a most unworthy servant of our Divine
Master, if I so far distrusted his power. No; much good has been
already done, as you will perceive when we meet to-morrow to perform
Divine service; but there is much more to do, and, with His blessing,
will in His own good time be perfected; but I have duties to attend to
which call me away for the present; I shall therefore wish you
good-night. At all events, the Mission has had one good effect: you are
perfectly safe from Caffre violence and Caffre robbery. This homage is
paid to it even by their king and chiefs."
"I will say, that if we are only to judge by the little we have seen,
the Mission appears to have done good," observed the Major. "In the
first place, we are no longer persecuted, as we have been during our
journey, for presents; and, as you may observe, many of the Caffres
about are clothed in European fashions, and those who have nothing but
their national undress, I may call it, wear it as decently as they can."
"I made the same observation," said Alexander. "I am most anxious for
to-morrow, as I wish to see how the Caffres behave; and really, when you
consider all the difficulties which Mr S has mentioned, it is wonderful
that he and those who have embraced the same calling should persevere as
they do."
"My dear Wilmot," replied Mr Swinton, "a missionary, even of the most
humble class, is a person of no ordinary mind; he does not rely upon
himself or upon his own exertions,--he relies not upon others, or upon
the assistance of this world; if he did, he would, as you say, soon
abandon his task in despair. No; he is supported, he is encouraged, he
is pressed on by faith--faith in Him who never deserts those who trust
and believe in Him; he knows that, if it is His pleasure, the task will
be easy, but at the same time that it must be at His own good time.
Convinced of this, supported by this, encouraged by this, and venturing
his life for this, he toils on, in full assurance that if he fails,
another is to succeed,--that if he becomes a martyr, his blood will
moisten the arid soil from which the future seed will spring. A
missionary may be low in birth, low in education, as many are; but he
must be a man of exalted mind,--what in any other pursuit we might term
an enthusiast; and in this spreading of the Divine word, he merits
respect for his fervour, his courage, and self-devotion; his
willingness, if the Lord should so think fit, to accept the crown of
martyrdom."
"You are right, Swinton; nothing but what you have described could impel
a man to pass a life of privation and danger among a savage race--
leaving all, and following his Master in the true apostolic sense.
Well, they will have their reward."
"Yes, in heaven, Wilmot; not on earth," replied Swinton.
The next day, being the Sabbath, with the assistance of Mahomed, who was
valet as well as cook to the whole party, they divested themselves of
their beards, which had not been touched for many days, and dressed
themselves in more suitable apparel than their usual hunting costume,--a
respect paid to the Sabbath by even the most worldly and most
indifferent on religious points. The bell of the Mission church was
tolled, and the natives were seen coming from all directions. Our party
went in, and found Mr S already there, and that seats had been provided
for them. The numbers of natives who were assembled in the church were
about 200, but many more were at the windows, and sitting by the open
door. Many of them were clothed in some sort of European apparel; those
who were not, drew their krosses close round them, so as to appear more
covered. A hymn in the Caffre language was first sung, and then
prayers, after which the Litany and responses; the Commandments were
repeated in the same language. Mr S then read a chapter in the Bible,
and explained it to the assembly. Profound silence and quiet attention
generally prevailed, although in some few instances there was mockery
from those outside. Mr S gave the blessing, and the service was ended.
"You have already done much," observed Mr Swinton. "I could hardly
have believed that a concourse of savages could have been so attentive,
and have behaved with such decorum."
"It certainly is the most difficult point gained,--to command their
attention, I mean," replied Mr S; "after that, time and patience, with
the assistance of God, will effect the rest."
"Do you think that there are many who, if I may use the term, feel their
religion?"
"Yes, many; and prove it by travelling about and sowing the seed. There
are many who not only are qualified so to do, but are incessantly
labouring to bring their countrymen to God."
"That must be very satisfactory to you."
"It is; but what am I, and the few who labour with me, to the thousands
and thousands who are here in darkness, and require our aid? There are
now but three missions in all Caffre-land; and there is full employment
for two hundred, if they could be established. But you must excuse me,
I have to catechise the children, who are my most promising pupils. We
will meet again in the evening, for I have to preach at a neighbouring
village. Strange to say, many who doubt and waver will listen to me
there; but they appear to think that there is some witchcraft in the
Mission church, or else are afraid to acknowledge to their companions
that they have been inside of it."