EAST AND EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA.
By S. N. H.
SOUTH of the Barbary States, and to the west of Egypt, lies the great Sahara Desert, and it is in the region directly south of this, on the west coast, and on the Congo, that God has so greatly blessed the missionary efforts that have been put forth by those who have sacrificed the pleasures of home and friends, and gone to this unhealthy clime to labor to uprear the cross of Calvary. Abyssinia, in East Africa, has a population of between three and four million. The prevailing religion is a corrupted form of Christianity. The Abyssinians are a fine, strong race, of a copper hue, more or less dark, and altogether different from the negroes, with whom, however, they have frequently been confounded, because they are called a black people. Their noses are nearly straight, their eyes clear, yet languishing, and their hair is black and crisp, but not woolly. They are, on the whole, a barbarous people, addicted to the grossest sensual pleasures; and their priests, among whom marriage is customary, are little better than the common herd of the people. They live in huts, a large assemblage of which forms a so-called town. Notwithstanding the low state of their religion, the Christians in Abyssinia are not allowed to keep slaves, although they may purchase them for the purpose of selling them again. Sensuality is characteristic of nearly all the barbarous tribes. Their characters are faithfully delineated in the first chapter of Romans. In the early centuries they have had the light of the gospel, and the legitimate fruit of its rejection is now made manifest. Slave dealing is common. Commander Cammaron, in "African Traveler," states that there are about half a million on the continent that are taken and sold every year. Certain tribes among the Arabs make it a business to hunt and trade in them. Captives taken in war, and their children, are slaves. Such are some of the evils found with these tribes, with which the missionary is obliged to contend. They are also superstitious to a degree, believing in witchcraft. There are missions in the countries south of the equator, such as Zanzibar and Mozambique on the east coast, bordering on the Indian Ocean, southward from the Gulf of Aden. Some of these tribes are more tractable than others. Many schools are established among them, and many converts to Christianity are claimed. The University Mission has been chiefly educational, and has rendered efficient aid in the suppression of the slave trade. Their principal stations are on the island of Zanzibar, and on the bordering coast of the mainland. They have a bishop, archbishop, priests, and European and native deacons; in all, their staff consists of eighty workers. The English Church Missionary Society commenced labor at the Eastern Equatorial African Mission, at Mobassain, 1844, and they have since increased their stations. The United Methodist Free Church of Great Britain, the London Missionary Society, the Established Churches of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, and the American Board, have missions at different points in all these countries, with a large staff of ministers, teachers, and European artisans. With some of the schools an industrial department is connected. The English Church Missionary Society began their mission in Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1844, and have increased their stations at different places in 1846, 1875, 1879, 1883, 1885, and 1887. This shows the rapid increase of the mission work of one society alone, while many others have also increased proportionately. But there is no field opened, of recent date, that presents greater advantages for the harvest of souls than the Congo Mission. The river Congo is in the western part of Africa, south of the equator; together with its tributaries it waters some 6,000 miles of territory. From the mouths of this imperial stream there is 125 miles that is navigable, and this to the largest vessels. Then come 185 miles of rapids and cataracts; but beyond this is one grand stretch of navigable water, running over 1,000 miles, with tributaries on either side, penetrating from 100 to 800 miles into the heart of a rich and beautiful country. Mr. H. M. Stanley, the explorer, estimates the area at 1,056,000 square miles, with a population of 27,000,000. The State is under the sovereignty of King Leopold II., of Belgium, who grants a liberal subsidy towards its maintenance. The exports amount to $12,500,000. It is divided into the Upper and Lower Congo, and the inhabitants of these two places differ widely in their habits. In Upper Congo cannibalism was formerly quite common, but at present it is on the decrease. In Lower Congo it is not so. The Arabs ravage the district of the Upper Congo after slaves. They were formerly sent by the Sultan to Zanzibar to conquer the country. A great deal of ivory is found in the Upper Congo. Beautiful forests abound in these lands, the rubber tree is found in abundance, and in many places the redwood, which is valued at $150 a ton in England. It is stated that in the Upper Congo Valley there are about 10,000,000 inhabitants. They are called the Balolo. These are more intelligent and more readily take to civilization than those in some other parts of the continent. Although Lower Congo is quite thickly populated, the people know nothing of morality or immorality. The mission is an extension of Livingstone's inland mission. They have many mission stations, and great hope is entertained for the people and the country. Trade and commerce are on the increase since the State came under the Universal Postal Union, in 1886. Another prosperous mission field is on the river Niger, which enters the Gulf of Guinea north of the equator. Mr. Thompson says that in all the wide range of tropical Africa there is no more promising field for commerce than this semi-civilized region, which occupies the central area of the Niger basin, not on the ground that the soil is more fertile than other portions, but on account of its dense population and good government. Life and property are almost as safe as in civilized countries. The people are more advanced in civilization, and their manufactories are famed for their excellence throughout all Northern Africa. The necessary machinery for inland traders is at hand, and the people possess much enterprise. The horse, donkey, camel, and bullock flourish by the thousands. The river presents an uninterrupted water-way into the very heart of the region. In view of all these inducements, France, Germany, and other countries are turning their attention to this country. The Niger River is one of the longest in Africa; it rises in the Congo Mountains, and its head-waters are 17,000 feet above the level of the sea. There are many large towns on the river, and they are continually increasing in size. The English have sent quite a number of persons up the river, and have now a large station and fort at Elmira. At Dixcone the English have a strong fortification, with extensive dwellings and warehouses. There are mission stations at different points along the river, and the towns are described as having a prosperous and thrifty appearance. The printing press is employed to scatter the seeds of divine truth. The Wesleyan Mission alone has 42 missionaries, 519 native preachers, with more than 13,000 membership. Other missionary societies have also prosperous missions in this district. It should be remembered that the mission work in this locality is less than twenty-five years old. No one can read an account of the work of the missions in all of these places without feeling that the providence of God has been over them. During the last half century there have been men and women who have gone to all these places, and given up their lives to the cause of spreading the gospel. And we ask, Why is this?—Is it not that God may be glorified in gathering a people from each nation, kindred, tongue, and people, to shine as stars throughout eternity to the glory of the world's Redeemer? It would seem that God designs in this, the most wicked age that has ever been, to show the triumphs of his grace as never before. He is placing his sentinels everywhere, that when the latter rain is poured out there will be no portion of the earth that will not be represented in the triumphs of the gospel. S. N. H.