Historical quotations and extracts from various writers which may assist the thoughtful student of the Scriptures.
Historical Evidence Concerning the Commencement and the Close of the Seventy Weeks
ASSUMING, then, that the years referred to in this prophecy are to be interpreted as consecutive years, it follows that no calculation of these years from any one of the four edicts mentioned in Scripture as having been published by the kings of Persia for the building of the temple or city of Jerusalem will bring their termination even near the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, A. D. 70.
For, the first by Cyrus, was confessedly much more than the whole of the 490 years from the first year of the Christian era.
The same is the case with the edict of Darius, which Dean Prideaux (Conn. of O. and N. T. Hist. Pt. 1, bk. 5) has clearly proved to have been issued by Darius Hystaspes, and not by Darius Nothus, as supposed by Scaliger.
Moreover, as it has been clearly proved by Prideaux, and others, that the Artaxerxes who, in the seventh and twentieth years of his reign, issued the last two of the four edicts, was Artaxerxes Longimanus, and not Artaxerxes Mnemon or Artaxerxes Ochus, it is evident that 490 years from either of these edicts will not extend to the period of the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
The destruction of Jerusalem, therefore, was not an event which was to come within the period of the 490 years.
Nor do the words of the prophecy intimate this, but only that it was an event that would stand in close connection with those that were to happen within the 490 years. The events that were to characterize the sixty-nine weeks and the seventieth week are distinctly pointed out, and the destruction of Jerusalem, and its subsequent state of desolation, are spoken of as distinct events following the cutting off of the Messiah. The events that were to take place, according to the prophecy, during the 490 years, seem to be the following:—
1. That at the end of sixty-nine septenaries of years, or 483 years from the issue of the decree, the Messiah was publicly to appear.
2. That in the middle year of the seventieth septenary of years the Messiah was to be cut off, and thus the sacrifices and offerings of the Jewish law in the sight of God to cease and be abrogated.
3. That during the seventieth septenary the Messiah was to establish the covenant with many of the Jews.
Now, of the four edicts above mentioned, the first two are excluded from our consideration by the fact that 490 years from either of them would not reach even to the period of our Lord’s birth.
We have to inquire, therefore, whether either of the edicts of Artaxerxes, which Scripture informs us were issued in the seventh and twentieth years of his reign, will suit the conditions of the prophecy.
And here first we must ascertain in what year Artaxerxes commenced his reign.
According to Ptolemy’s Canon (the best and most impartial authority to which we can refer), the reign of Artaxerxes commenced in the year 284 of the Nabonassarean era, which [284th year] began on Dec. 17, 465 B. C., reckoning in Julian years. And the principle on which Ptolemy’s Canon is constructed is to reckon each king’s reign as beginning on the first day of the first month (Thoth) of the year in which that king succeeded to the throne; the number of years of each king’s reign being limited to the number of complete years to which his reign extended, reckoning from that time. So that while, according to the principle of the canon, the reign of Artaxerxes is reckoned as beginning with the first day of the year 284 of the Nabonassarean era, we only know from it that the actual commencement of the reign was sometime in the course of that year.
Now the time of the year when he began to reign seems determinable from Ezra and Nehemiah. It appears from Neh. 1:1 and 2:1, that in the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and consequently in the other years of his reign, the first Hebrew month, Nisan (March-April), came after the ninth, Chisleu (November-December). Consequently the date of his accession must have been sometime between Nisan and Chisleu. And from Ezra 7:7-10 it follows, that, in the seventh and therefore in the other years of his reign, the fifth month, Ab, (July-August) came after the first, or Nisan. Therefore the accession of Artaxerxes was somewhere between the latter end of July and the former part of November, i. e., somewhere about the summer of 464 B. C.
Therefore the seventh year of Artaxerxes12was from the summer of 458 to the summer of 457.
Moreover it appears from Ezra 7:8-10 that Ezra started from Babylon to Jerusalem, in accordance with the decree issued by Artaxerxes in his seventh year, on the first day of the first month, Nisan.
Therefore the decree was issued a little previous to that period; and, as it is evident from Ezra’s own account (Ezra 7:28 and 8 throughout), that he took counsel with the whole body of the captive Jews upon the subject, convening a meeting at the river Ahava before they made their journey to Jerusalem, it is reasonable to suppose that the decree was issued at least a month or two previously. And therefore we must conclude that the decree was issued about January, 457 B. C.
According to the prophecy, then, at the end of 483 years from this period the Messiah was to appear.
Now, as there were different modes of calculating the length of the year among the ancients, and much has been said by writers on this prophecy, on the subject, we have first to consider which computation was probably intended in this place. The hypothesis adopted by some authors for making this prophecy correspond with the events predicted in it, has induced them to advocate the notion that the years were to consist of 360 days, according to the most ancient mode of reckoning. But as this incorrect mode of computation had long been laid aside at Babylon as erroneous, and was well known throughout the world in the time of Daniel to be seriously defective, it can hardly be supposed that the prophecy was founded upon such a faulty mode of reckoning. Among the Eastern nations, for centuries before the time of Daniel, the year had been reckoned as consisting of at least 365 days, and therefore no mode of reckoning less exact than this can fairly be considered as likely to be intended in this prophecy. And as in the space of 490 years the true mode of reckoning would only make the difference of about 120 days from this reckoning, the fulfilment of the prophecy may be sufficiently determined without our being able absolutely to prove that the year intended was the precise solar year. The event, however, will, I think, show the probability that such was the case, as might have been expected.
We have now to ascertain the dates of our blessed Lord’s birth and public appearance as the Messiah at his baptism. For the latter event, when our Lord first appeared publicly as the Messiah, and commenced his ministry in that character, is of course the event to which we should look, rather than to his birth, as that which Daniel had in view in this prophecy.
Let us first endeavor to fix the true date of his birth. It is so well known, and universally acknowledged, that those who first endeavored to fix this date, and from whose calculations the common Christian era has ever since been reckoned, made an error in their computation, that I need not stop here to prove that the vulgar Christian era does not exactly correspond with the real period of our Lord’s birth. It is universally admitted that his birth took place at a period previous to the year 1 of the vulgar Christian era, or, as it is said, A. D. 1. We have to inquire, therefore, what that period was, and on this point there has been much difference of opinion, varying from the year B. C. 8 to B. C. 1.
First, then, we get an approximation to the true date, if we can fix the date of Herod’s death; for our Lord must have been born some little time at least before Herod’s death.
Now, Josephus tells us (Antiq. 17: 6, 4) that an eclipse of the moon happened a few days before the death of Herod, and (ib. 9:3; De bell. Jud. 2: 1, 3) that he died just before a Passover. This eclipse, therefore, must have happened in March or April. Now the only eclipse of the moon at this period of the year that happened within more than eight years preceding A. D. 1 was on March 13, B. C. 4, at 2:45 A. M., which must have been, therefore, the eclipse referred to by Josephus. And consequently Herod’s death took place during the latter half of March B. C. 4.
Another note of the time of his death is also given us by Josephus, who tells us (Antiq. 17:8, 1; De bell. Jud. 1:33, 8) that he reigned thirty-four years after he had caused Antigonus to be slain, and thirty-seven after he had been declared king by the Romans; that is, according to the usual mode of reckoning, at that time, that he had completed thirty-three and thirty-six years respectively after these events, and died in the course of the thirty-fourth and thirty-seventh. If, therefore, he died March B. C. 4, these thirty-three and thirty-six years must have been completed either during the latter part of B. C. 5, or quite at the commencement of B. C. 4.
But Josephus tells us (Antiq. 14:14, 5) that Herod was made king by the Romans in the 184th Olympiad, when Caius Domitius Calvinus and Caius Asinius Pollio were consuls, the former for the second time. And the last year of the 184th Olympiad was from July B. C. 41 to July B. C. 40. Supposing, therefore, that Herod was made king toward the close of B. C. 41, or at the commencement of B. C. 40, we have exactly 36 years for his reign expiring some little time before his death in March B. C. 4. And as the consuls mentioned are generally considered as belonging to B. C. 40, and were probably appointed in January, we have the precise date of the commencement of his reign about the latter part of January, B. C. 40.
But Josephus also tells us that he died in the thirty-fourth year of his reign, after the death of Antigonus. Now, the capture of Jerusalem by Herod and Sosius, soon after which Antigonus was slain, took place, he tells us (Antiq. 14: 16, 4), in the 185th Olympiad, when Marcus Agrippa and Caninius Gallus were consuls at Rome, and in the third month (that is, of the civil year), which is Chisleu, lasting from November 25 to December 25. But the third year of the 185th Olympiad lasted from July, B. C. 38, to July, B. C. 37. As Antigonus, therefore, must have been put to death about the end of December, B. C. 38, or early in January, B. C. 37, we have thirty-three years completed between that time and December, B. C. 5, or January, B. C. 4. And if we are to conclude that the consuls named were appointed in January, B. C. 37 (as they are generally attached to the year B. C. 37), we have a still more precise date for the period of the death of Antigonus. But the truth is, the precise time of the year when the consuls were appointed can not be definitely fixed.
The calculation of Herod’s death, in March, B. C. 4, also agrees with the accounts of the banishment of his successor Archelaus, in the tenth year of his reign. (Joseph. in Vita, c. 1, and Antiq. 17:13, 2). For in March, A. D. 6, he would have reigned nine years. And Dio (lv. 25, 27) tells us that he was banished when Emilius Lepidus and L. Arruntius were consuls, which was U. C. 759, or A. D. 6. And Josephus (Antiq. 18:2, 1) says that it was in the thirty-seventh year after the battle of Actium, which was in September, U. C. 723, so that in September, U. C. 759, thirty-six years were completed since the battle of Actium. And if Archelaus was banished toward the close of the year, it would be in the tenth year of his reign, and the thirty-seventh from the battle of Actium.
It agrees also with the date assigned by Josephus (Antiq. 18:4, 6) to the death of the tetrarch Philip. For, he says, that he died in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius, having ruled over Trachonitis, etc., thirty-seven years. Now, if he came to his government in the spring of B. C. 4, he completed his thirty-sixth year of government in the spring of A. D. 33. And Tiberius commenced the twentieth year of his reign (reckoning, as Josephus does, from the death of Augustus) in the following August. So that, if Philip died at any time during the first three quarters of the twentieth year of Tiberius, he would be said to have reigned thirty-seven years, that is thirty-six complete years, and a portion of a thirty-seventh year.
It also agrees with the dates on two coins of Herod Antipas, given in Eckhel, tom. 3, pp. 486, 487, which make the forty-third year of his reign current in A. D. 39, and, of course, the first in B. C. 4.
On the strength of all these testimonies, then, we may fairly consider it as proved that the death of Herod took place in the latter end of March, B. C. 4.
Consequently, our Lord’s birth must have taken place some little time previous to this.—“Fulfilled Prophecy,” by W. Goode, D. D., F. S. A., London, Jas. Nisbet & Co., 1891, pages 210-216.
(To be concluded)
Taking God's Promises in Vain
“I SHOULD no more dare to fret than curse and swear,” said John Wesley. A writer, in commenting on this remark, justifies Wesley by saying that to swear is to take God's name in vain, and to fret is to take God's promises in vain. Read the Bible to find its “fear nots,” and see how often God uses these words in speaking to his children, even in the midst of danger and sore trouble. Resting on the promises is far wiser, far nobler, than fretting; it is living with “God o’erhead.”—The Wellspring.
Temperance in the Home
By Augusta C. Bainbridge
AUGUSTA C. BAINBRIDGE
“Here I am at home! My, how good the house looks!” said Joe to himself, thinking out loud, as he entered the gate, and walked briskly up to the front door. He had left home, as usual, that morning; but so much had happened during the day, that it seemed a long time since he had turned the knob.
“Yes, mother, it is I, your young whirlwind, and so glad to see you,” said he, giving her an unusually warm greeting.
Sister Elsie fared the same, and even Tabby, quietly sleeping on the rug, had to be lifted and petted, with a, “Hey, puss! Do you know you’re well off?”
“You seem to be bubbling over, my son; what’s up? Are you particularly happy about something?” said Mr. Gray.
“Indeed I am, happy and sad all mixed together, and if I did not have a home like this to come to, I’d burst.”
“Let’s hear about it,” said mother, and all drew their chairs to the table, knowing that the story Joe had to tell would be for all ears.
“Father, you remember Guy Emmons, that tall, fine-looking young man who used to sail the yacht on the lake last summer?”
“Indeed I do, son.”
“Yes, and I remember the double price he paid me for milk, and would not wait for the change,” said Elsie.
“I saw him to-day. I did not know him; but he knew me, and came to me. How he has changed! It is hard to believe a man could become so thin and pale in such a short time; and he looks so woe-be-gone—well-dressed, all right, but his face like an all-day funeral. We sat down on the bench there by the old fountain, and talked all my noon hour; and when I went back to the store, he asked me to meet him there after my work was done. Sure enough, there he was, and we’ve been talking ever since.”
“Well, what was it all about?”
“You see, he came out here for his health, last summer; for the doctor had told him to spend all his time in the open air, and to drink wine freely, to make blood and build up his body.”
“What a mix up! Fresh air for his lungs, and poison for his stomach!” said Elsie.
“You’re right, sis, and it has been a mighty mix up for him. At first, he thought he was better, but when he returned to the city, in spite of using liberally the very best port wine that could be bought, he said he knew he was worse. He drank more wine; changed doctors and drank whisky; but he could see for himself that he was losing blood instead of gaining. He told me that he had been drunk, absolutely drunk, several times under this treatment. His folks have sent him here for the summer again; and he said that he would have no doctor, and take no more doctor’s stuff. O, I couldn’t tell you half he said! He said he didn’t want to drink any more liquor; for he saw danger ahead of him, but he does not know what to do.”
“It almost made you wish you were a doctor, yourself, didn’t it?” said mother.
“Yes indeed, it did; and I hope I shall be a doctor some day, but not the drunkard-making kind. I told him the best I could remember of our last talk on alcohol and the circulation. I told him that the presence of alcohol in the blood will cause the red corpuscles to lose some of their ability to carry oxygen, that persons who use alcohol have a smaller number of white blood cells than the temperance people, and that was one reason why they were sick oftener. They could not resist disease. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my son,” said the father, “and what more did you tell him?”
“He kept asking me questions, and he listened so earnestly. I thought, ‘You are older, and wiser, and smarter, and richer than I am, but you have never heard this before.’ I told him about the capillaries in the lungs, and how fine they are, and about the little disks of blood moving one by one, in order, each one getting its supply of oxygen, and how alcohol paralyzes the capillaries, and hinders this.”
“So I am starving my blood, instead of feeding it,” he said. “I told him that was just it. I tried to tell him about the lungs and the heart. But how I wished for you, father,” and his hand, almost as large as his father’s, slipped across the corner of the table, and held that parent’s hand in a grip such as an earnest boy knows how to give.
With a loving look at his mother, he said, “I tell you, I felt proud of you all, and so thankful and glad that I have parents who really know what will make my life a blessing instead of a curse. Why! With all the money that Guy Emmons has, I wouldn’t change with him. And I might have been away off from decency and honor and home and God, but for you and what you have taught me. I am sorry for him, but O, I am so glad for myself!”
Just here Elsie led, and all joined her:
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him who heals the drunkard’s woe,
Praise him who leads the temperance host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
“O mother, I almost forgot, he is coming up in the morning for some milk, and you’ll tell him what’s good for him, won’t you?”
With a smile and a nod came the satisfactory answer, “The blood is the life,” you know.
San Francisco, Cal.
The Window Garden
If the soil in the pots has a dead, putty-like feeling to the fingers, no plant will grow in it.
When flower buds appear, give weak manure water once a week, with sunshine suited to the plants.
Water only thirsty plants; give them all the water they want, then wait until they ask for more. Over-watering brings on water-dyspepsia, and kills with sour soil.
The thin, greenish moss that develops only on water-sick soil is a symptom of a disease that will kill every root that is confined in it. Repot with fresh, healthy soil.
Overwatering can not be too often inveighed against; it is the bane of the window garden, and causes untold trouble. Watch the drainage, that it does not get clogged.
Turn the plants daily to keep them from growing lop-sided, unless outside show is preferred. Set a bowl or bucketful of boiling water under the plant table, or among the plants, to send its moisture through the air.
In rich soil, the variegated tradescantias are prone to revert to the plain green type. German ivies require a rich14soil, and more heat and water than tradescantias. Either of these makes lovely veranda vines; but the finest vines for the purpose are ivy geraniums.
The abutilon is fine for either the window in winter or the veranda in summer, blooming freely in either place. It grows rapidly, and is easy to care for; not too much root room, good, porous soil, moisture, with good drainage. Shower often, and give a warm, sunny situation.
Give potted plants plenty of fresh air, let them have good light, and, on bright, warm days, set them out on the veranda for an hour or two in the warmest part of the day. Season them gradually to bear the outer air, keeping the room cooler by degrees. This will prevent insects.—Selected.
Go Out Quickly
By MRS C. M. SOLLARS
MRS C. M. SOLLARS
We are longing for our home land,
Blessed Jesus, Saviour, Friend,
We are striving to be faithful,
And endure unto the end.
Now the battle rages fiercely,
Yet we know it is not long;
Soon the conflict will be over,
Soon we'll sing the victor's song.
See! around us signs fulfilling,
Telling now the time is near;
We may lift our heads with gladness
Our redemption draweth near.
We are longing for our home land;
Earth has naught to bind us here:
Now we claim the promised blessing,
And proclaim thy coming near.
Give us freely of thy Spirit,
Souls to win for that great day;
While the harvest-time is waiting,
Help us bear the sheaves away.
Give us power to gather quickly
All who will believe and come.
Finish quickly, Saviour, quickly:
We are longing for our home.
Ballard, Wash.
A Tour Through Venezuela
By B. E. Connerly
B. E. CONNERLY
It was my privilege in December of 1907 and the January and February which followed to make quite an extended trip through Venezuela, one of the large republics of South America. It was discovered by Columbus in 1498, and was first settled by Spanish colonists in 1510.
Of the twelve million Indians that were found in South America at the time of the Spanish occupation, possibly one million were in Venezuela; and on these peaceable, harmless people Spain made war for more than fifty years, when they were subdued, and Venezuela became a Spanish colony, and remained so until 1821; then the patriots under Gen. Simon Bolivar defeated the Spanish army, and liberated that part of South America now known as the republics of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
Venezuela is a large country, embracing as much territory as eight of our Southern States; namely, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas; and has a population of two and one-half million, nearly one fourth of whom are Indians. The first constitution was adopted in 1830, and the following year the first president was elected. Since that time they have had fourteen different presidents, and the new republic, like many others, has had many long and expensive revolutionary wars, but today many things indicate that there are better days ahead for Venezuela.
The Roman Catholic is the state religion. The churches are built and the ministry paid by the government. Article 17, section 13, of the constitution grants religious liberty to all people in the country, but article 80, section 23, of the same, forbids the entrance into the country of people who believe in any other than the Catholic religion. There is in the country at the present time, partly through the influence of the Free Masons and partly through the spirit of the age, quite a strong effort in favor of the separation of church and state, and in anticipation of this a few missionaries are beginning in a small way to try to teach the Bible there.
I had planned to enter the country through the port at La Guayra, but because of an epidemic of smallpox and yellow fever I was compelled to leave that port; I then decided to make a trip up the Orinoco River.
This trip was wonderfully interesting to me, for when, as a boy, I studied geography and saw the pictures of the crocodiles along the banks of this river, I determined that if I ever grew to be a man, I would visit the Orinoco. When the steamer entered the broad waters of this great river, I felt that I had lived to realize my childhood dream, and I thanked God that it was as a representative of the third angel's message that I was going.
Venezuela has a purely tropical climate; the flowers are ever in blossom, and the trees never cease from yielding fruit. All along the banks of the river I saw the crocodiles, and I also saw four tigers. One of the tigers was killed in a village near the river. It had entered the village at dawn and killed a mule. I saw a great many different kinds of monkeys, and snakes from fifteen to eighteen feet long. There are three hundred varieties of birds, and I saw them of every size and color, some with the most beautiful plumage imaginable, and many very sweet singers.
I visited several Indian villages; and as some of the Indians talk the Spanish, I could converse with them. As a rule, they are very poor, and their homes are the poorest that can be imagined. They sleep in hammocks, and cook their food on camp-fires; they use neither table nor dishes, and do no washing, for they wear no clothing whatever. About their houses you will find a burro, two or three goats, two or three pigs, a chicken or two, six or eight monkeys, four or five parrots, and at least a dozen dogs. The trip from Trinidad to Bolivar is made in three days, and costs sixteen dollars. At Bolivar the change is made to a smaller boat, which runs to San Fernando in six days, and the trip costs thirty dollars.
Away from the river and back in the plains there are thousands of good cattle, also good horses and mules. Minerals are found in almost all parts of the republic, and good wheat grows in the highlands of the Andes; coffee and cacao in the mountains farther east, good corn in the valleys and on the plains. The exports are coffee, cocoa, sugar, hides, and rubber. By far the larger part of the imports come from New York. Nature has done much for Venezuela, and she would be one of the richest countries in the world, but for the frequent revolutions which paralyze everything. There is a large American flour mill at La Guayra, and I enjoyed a pleasant time with the two Minnesota boys who make the flour. The railroads were built with English and German capital.
Caracas, the capital city, is large and beautiful, and its high altitude gives it a delightful climate, neither hot nor cold. There are a number of large churches and theaters, a military academy, a medical college and other institutions of learning; but I was told that they are not appreciated nor patronized as they should be, doubtless because, as one15man told me, the generals, doctors, and professional men are born and not developed. I found here the best markets, with fruits and vegetables, that I have seen in the tropics. The people are very fond of the bull-fight, and gather by thousands in the circuses to witness them. The toreros, or fighters, come from Spain, and are dressed in glittering uniforms. In the fight that took place while I was there, they said there were five out of six of the bulls killed, and two of the fighters were injured.
And now, what are we doing for this people? Are not we as a church debtors to them? Has not the time come for them to hear the third angel's message? The Lord is working by his Spirit here. The Bible is being sold, the Presbyterians are doing a little, and the Missionary Alliance have made beginnings at Caracas, Valencia, Maracaibo, and La Guayra. Surely this year will not pass before we have a representative here.
The first native convert whom I met asked me at once to what denomination I belonged, and when I told him that I was a Seventh-day Adventist, he said, “O, I am glad, for I want to know what you are like! You must come to my house. The American missionary told me that there were one hundred various sects in the States, and that the worst of them all was the Seventh-day Adventists. My wife and I are both anxious to know why you are the worst, and what you believe.”
I found many persons with whom the Spirit of the Lord is working. I readily sold all the books that I had with me, and took subscriptions for El Centinela in all the towns, and distributed many tracts. “The harvest truly is great, but laborers are few.” We must find messengers somewhere for this great field in Venezuela. I am now on my way back to Porto Rico.
Mayaguez, Porto Rico.
Effects of Cigarette Smoking
DR. MARDEN, in Success, has this to say to the boy beginning the use of the cigarette: “The whole tendency of the cigarette nicotin poison in the youth is to arrest development. It is fatal to all normal functions. It blights and blasts both health and morals. It not only ruins the faculties, but it unbalances the mind as well. Many of the most pitiful cases of insanity in our asylums are cigarette fiends. It creates abnormal appetites, strange longings, undefined desires, discontent, uneasiness, nervousness, irritability, and, in many, an almost irresistible inclination to crime. In fact, the moral depravity which follows the cigarette habit is something frightful—lying, cheating, impurity, loss of moral courage and manhood, a complete dropping of life's standards all along the line, are its general results.”
Magistrate Crane, of New York City, says: “Ninety-nine out of one hundred boys between the ages of ten and seventeen years who come before me charged with crime have their fingers disfigured by yellow cigarette stains. I do not care to pose as a reformer, but it is my opinion that cigarettes will do more than liquor to ruin boys. When you have arraigned before you boys who are hopelessly deaf through the excessive use of cigarettes, boys who have stolen their sister's earnings, boys who absolutely refuse to work, who do nothing but gamble and steal, you can not help seeing that there is some direct cause, and a great deal of this boyhood crime is, to my mind, easily traced to the deadly cigarette. There is something in the poison of the cigarette that seems to get into the system of the boy and to destroy all his moral fiber.”
Cigarette smoking is no longer simply a moral question. The great business world has taken it up as a deadly enemy to advancement and achievement, and many leading business firms, all over the country, have put the cigarette on the prohibition list. Anything which benumbs the senses, deadens the sensibilities, and dulls the mental faculties is a deadly enemy, and nothing will do this more quickly than the cigarette.—Physical Culture Magazine.
West Coast of Africa
By D. C. BABCOCK
D. C. BABCOCK
LEAVING Cape Palmas, on the south-western coast of Liberia, the evening of August 10, we reached Axim Monday morning, August 12. This was our first stop on the Gold Coast. This place is noted for its export of mahogany. Steamers and sailing-vessels were loading logs for different parts of the world. As we viewed the different vessels through the field-glass, we spied the American flag floating on one, and for an instant a homesick feeling crept over us, but we turned away, knowing that this message knows no such feelings.
On Tuesday morning we arrived at Sekondi. Here I met for the first time our dear Brother J. D. Hayford. It was pleasant indeed to counsel with him concerning the work on the Gold Coast. The following morning, Wednesday, August 14, we arrived at Cape Coast Castle, and by ten o’clock we were settled in comfortable quarters. Before pitching our tent, I decided to visit several places down the coast, including Apam, which is the home of Brother F. I. U. Dolphyn, so Monday morning at four o’clock, in company with a boy to carry my luggage and act as interpreter, I started on my journey of eighty miles.
From Cape Coast Castle to Akkra, about seventy miles, the language spoken is principally the Fanti. I noted with much interest the origin of the village names. We left Mowure (pronounced Moree) a little to our right, and the first village of note was Anamabo, first settled by the English in 1753. The story of the origin of its name runs like this: When the natives were exploring the Coast, and reached the present site of the village, they all cried out “Anamabo,” as they saw hundreds of birds perched on a large rock near the seashore. Anama, in the Fanti language, signifies bird, and “bo,” a rock. The castle at Anamabo is built near this large rock, and commands a good view of the sea.
KROO WARRIOR AND WIFE
As we walked through the village, some one called to us, and on going up to the house, we found it was the home of the king. He very kindly offered us refreshments, and when we were ready to go, gave us an invitation to call on our return. I afterward learned that this king was very friendly to our work when Elder D. U. Hale was on the Gold Coast.
We passed through many villages of interest during the day, but as the evening drew near, we began to look for lodging for the night. About six o’clock we reached quite a large village, and my boy began to inquire for a place in which we could sleep. We passed several companies in their fetish worship at the setting of the sun, and came to a large open place in the village, where we sat on a cocoanut log to rest and counsel over our failure to find lodging.
I told my boy to look up the chief of the village, and ask him for a place to sleep.
Presently I noticed, peeping around the corner of the houses, men, women, and children; and I soon saw that their numbers were rapidly increasing. And as they increased in number, they became bolder, until I found myself surrounded by strange-looking people. They crowded closer and closer, until I could see hundreds of them, and from their gestures I knew they were enjoying my situation more than I.
The situation was becoming desperate, and I knew that I must soon do something. My first effort to speak was silenced by a roar of laughter that might be heard a mile away.
One old man, who could speak a few English words, said: “Massa, you want fo’ sleep?” I answered, “Yes;” and then another roar of laughter arose from the hundreds of voices. They began to point their fingers at me, make faces, and I hardly knew what next would follow.
Darkness was gathering fast. My boy had been gone fully one hour, and I could see no relief from my very trying situation. It may seem quite amusing as one thinks of it, but when placed in the actual experience, a person will begin to measure his life by God’s Word.
Soon the crowd began to give way, and I saw my faithful boy coming to my relief. He informed me that I was called before the chief. I wondered what was coming next. I followed the boy, and we soon arrived at the council hall, a large room in the second story of the chief’s house. Here I found fully twenty-five men, old and young, assembled in council over my stopping in the village that night. As I stood before the chief, I can assure you that I mustered all the etiquette I could think of, that was due such a personage, and as he reached out his hand, a sensation of relief permeated my whole being.
After a short conversation through the chief’s interpreter, I was escorted to rooms for lodging. We were well cared for. Our lunch for the evening consisted of keuki, which is a food made by soaking corn in water three days, after which it is ground between two stones by the women. After being ground, it is boiled until well cooked. This, with soup made of dried fish, was our bill of fare.
After the night’s good rest, as the16day began to break, we started on our way. A few miles’ travel brought us to another village, where I told my boy we must get breakfast. We at once hunted up the house of the chief, and to my surprise, we found a well-kept room, and a chief who spoke good English. We had not talked long when he asked if I would take something to drink. I politely declined, when he said, “Are you not a missionary?” I answered in the affirmative. He then said, “You must be a Seventh-day Adventist.” I was glad indeed to tell him I was. He then spoke freely of his esteem of Elder D. U. Hale and his work. He expressed his sorrow that others were in his village as educators instead of our own people.
From this chief I learned what caused our difficulty in the village we had just left. There had been severe fighting between the two villages, and more than sixty men had been killed, and I was looked upon as an English officer who had come to make arrests. After a few hours’ rest, making a fire and some good, nourishing food, we resumed our journey.
