White Queen of the Cannibals: the Story of Mary Slessor of Calabar Part 9

Mary examined the chief to see what his sickness was. She opened her little medicine chest and took out some medicine. She gave the chief a dose. It made the chief a little better.

"I don't have enough of this medicine with me," said Mary. She knew that away on the other side of the river another missionary was working. She knew he had some of the medicine. She went to the men of the village.

"You must go across the river to Ikorofiong for more medicine," said Mary.

"No, no, we cannot go," said the men of the village. "Our enemies are on the other side of the river. They will kill us if we go there."

"But I must have the medicine," said Mary.

"There is a man from that village down the river a little ways. He is living in his canoe on the river. Maybe he will go," said one of the men.

Some of the men ran down to the river. They found the man. They promised him many things. At last he said he would go. The next day he brought the medicine to Mary.

For days Mary nursed Chief Okurike. She taught one of his wives how to help her. She also told the chief and his family about Jesus. Whenever she could leave the chief for a short time she would talk to the tribe about the Saviour and how He would change their lives if they believed in Him.

Day after day Mary prayed for Chief Okurike. At last prayer won out. Chief Okurike got well. The people were very happy.

"Ma Mary," they said, "we want to learn book." They meant that they wanted to learn about the Bible.

"I am glad you do," said Mary, "but then you must do what the Book says."

"We will," said the people. "We will make peace with Calabar. We will not kill the traders who come to our land or the other white people."

"Then I will always be your worker and I will send you a teacher as soon as I can, who will teach you of the Saviour who died for you to pay for your sins."

Mary went back to Ekenge. Here she found that Chief Edem was very sick. He had some very bad boils on his back. Mary put medicine on the boils. Every day she came to his house and took care of him. One day when she came in she saw feathers and eggs lying around the room. This was witch doctor "medicine." On the Chief's neck and around his arms and legs were witch charms.

"Oh, Chief Edem," said Mary, "how could you do this? Surely you know that doing witchcraft is a sin against G.o.d. I do not see how you could go back to it after you had learned to know about Jesus."

"Ma, you don't know all about these things. Someone is the cause of this sickness. You don't know all the badness of the black man's heart. Look, here are the proofs that someone is working witchcraft against me. The only one who can fight that is the witch doctor. He is the only one who can make me well. See, here are the things that were taken from my back."

Chief Edem pointed to a collection of shot, egg sh.e.l.ls, seed and other things which the witch doctor said had come from his back. He believed the witch doctor. He believed that someone using witchcraft had sent them into his back.

Mary knew what would happen. Everybody whom the chief thought might have done the witchcraft would have to take poison. The people thought that if the person who took the poison died, he was guilty, but if he was not guilty he would live. The tribe would also use other tortures like pouring boiling oil on people to get them to confess.

"That is all wrong," said Mary. "The sickness is because you have not eaten good things or taken care of yourself and kept as clean as you should have. Don't believe the bad witch doctor." (G.o.d said something about that in Exodus 22:18.)

Chief Edem would not listen. He had everyone he thought might have the witchcraft made a prisoner. The witch doctor took the chief and his wives and chief men and prisoners to a nearby farm. Mary was not allowed to come to this farm.

Mary knew of Someone who could help her. She prayed to G.o.d again and again to keep these people from doing the bad things they planned. Days went by. Mary prayed that Chief Edem might get well. G.o.d heard Mary's prayers. He did what she asked. He made Chief Edem well again.

When Chief Edem was well again he decided not to kill the prisoners, the people he thought might have done witchcraft against him. He let them go free. Then the chief and his wives and the chief men came back to the village.

The tribe had a big party to celebrate. They were happy the chief was well. It was the wildest party Mary had ever seen. The people stuffed themselves with food until they became sick. They got drunk. They had wild dances. They did many wicked things.

Mary had often prayed that G.o.d would turn the heathen people from their wicked ways, but here they were carrying on worse than ever. The only answer to her prayers that she could see was that the prisoners who were going to be killed had been set free.

"Am I doing anything for my Saviour?" Mary asked herself. "Am I having any success in winning people for Jesus?"

7

_Witchcraft_

One day Chief Njiri and his warriors came to visit Chief Edem. They stayed several days. They had wild parties every day. They drank native beer until they became drunk. Then they would quarrel and fight. They asked Mary to settle their quarrels and decide who was right. Mary was praying every day that there would not be bad fights and that no one would be killed.

Finally it was the last night of the visit. The men were so drunk that Mary knew there would be trouble. When the chief and his men were ready to leave, everyone was excited. The people were shouting and pus.h.i.+ng. Some shots were fired and the men began stabbing with their swords. They were too drunk to know what they were doing. Mary ran into the crowd. She went up to Chief Njiri.

"Chief," said Mary, "your visit is over. Go now before trouble starts." She took hold of the chief's arm and led him out of the village and his men followed him. They started for their own village.

"I'm glad that's over," said Mary, but she had spoken too soon.

On their way home, as they were staggering along, Bakulu, one of Njiri's men, cried out, "Look!" and pointed with his finger. The chief and his men stopped.

"It is witchcraft," said Bakulu. "See the little banana plant with palm leaves, nuts and a coconut sh.e.l.l close by!"

"Don't go past it," said one of the other men. "It is bad medicine. You will get sick and die."

"It is the people in the last village we pa.s.sed through. They did it. Let us punish them," said Chief Njiri.

"Yes, let's punish them," shouted the men. Mary had been following the men to make sure they would go home.

She heard the shouting. Now the men started running past her. She tried to stop them, but they slipped away. Mary took a short cut through the jungle. She reached the road to the village before the men did.

"G.o.d, our Father in Heaven," prayed Mary, "help me for Jesus' sake to stop these men, so there will not be a b.l.o.o.d.y battle."

"Stop," she cried as the first men came in sight. "Stop, I want to talk to you."

The men stopped. The others soon came running up. They had to stop, too.

"You men are planning to do something bad. You do not know that the people of this village did bad things to you. You only think they did. You have drunk too much beer. You do not know what you are doing. Go home."

"But Ma," said Njiri, "they have made bad medicine against us. They made witchcraft. They must be punished before we are hurt."

Njiri and his men argued with Mary, but finally they listened to her. They turned around and once more started for home. Mary went with them to make sure they would get there. At last they came again to the banana plant and the witch medicine. They were afraid to pa.s.s it.

"If we pa.s.s it, we will get sick and die," said Njiri.

"That is sinful foolishness," said Mary. "That banana plant and those other things will not hurt you. I am not afraid of them."

Mary picked up the banana plant, the palm leaves, nuts and coconut sh.e.l.l and threw them into the jungle.

"Now, brave men, come on. I have cleared the path. Let us go to your village."

Timidly the men tiptoed past the place where the "medicine" had been. Then they went on to their own village. Once more Mary thought that all would be peaceful now for a while. She started for the village of Ekenge.