In the year 1908 the part on Asia was published as a separate volume under the title Missionary Heroes in Asia: True Stories of the Intrepid Bravery and Stirring Adventures of Missionaries with Uncivilized Man, Wild Beast and the Forces of Nature (London: Seeley & Co. / Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co.). and in 1913 a separate volume on the Missionary Heroes in North and South America (London: Seeley, Service & Co.) followed.
Introduction [7-8]
[7] In a “foreword” which he contributes to Dr. Jacob Chamberlain’s attractive missionary book, In the Tiger Jungle, Dr. Francis E. Clark expresses the opinion that one need not patronize sensational and unhealthy fiction to find stirring adventure and thrilling narrative, and then goes on to say: – “There is one source which furnishes stories of intense and dramatic interest, abounding in novel situations and spiced with abundant adventure; and this source is at the same time the purest and most invigorating fountain at which our youth can drink. To change the figure, this is a mine hitherto largely unworked; it contains rich nuggets of ore, which will well repay the prospector in this new field.” The field to which Dr. Clark refers is the history of modern Christian missions. His meaning is that the adventurous and stirring side of missionary experience needs to be brought out, and emphasis laid upon the fact that the romantic days of missions are by no means past. There are stories which are now among the classics of missionary romance. Such are the expedition of Hans Egede to Greenland, the lonely journeys of David Brainerd among the Indian tribes of the North American forests, the voyage of John Williams from one coral island of the Pacific to another in the little ship which his own hands had built, the exploration of the Dark Continent by David Livingstone in the hope of emancipating the black man’s soul. But among missionary lives which are more recent or less known, there are many not less noble or less thrilling than those just referred to; and the chapters which follow are an attempt to make this plain. [8] There is, of course, a deeper side to Christian missions – a side that is essential and invariable – while the elements of adventure and romance are accidental and occasional. If in these pages the spiritual aspects of foreign mission work are but slightly touched upon, it is not because they are either forgotten or ignored, but simply because it was not part of the writer’s present plan to deal with them. It is hoped, nevertheless, that some of those into whose hands this book may come will be induced by what they read to make fuller acquaintance with the lives and aims of our missionary heroes, and so will catch something of that spirit which led them to face innumerable dangers, toils, and trials among heathen and often savage peoples, whether in the frozen North or the burning South, whether in the bidden depths of some vast continent or among the scattered “islands of the ocean seas.” […] It is the author’s earnest desire that the narratives which follow may help to kindle in some minds an enthusiasm for missions like that which characterized Frederick Temple to the very end of his long and strenuous life; or, better still, that they may even suggest to some who are looking forward to the future with a high ambition, and wondering how to make the most of life, whether there is any career which offers so many opportunities of romantic experience and heroic achievement as that of a Christian missionary.
Contents
AsiaChapter I In the Steppes and Deserts of Mongolia
James Gilmour – His bold plan – Mongolia – Across the plains – Boarding in a lama’s tent – A Mongol menu – Scotch porridge – Learning to ride – Gilmour as pedlar and tramp – Wolves and bandits – The man in the iron cage – The wounded soldier and the living skeleton – Robinson Crusoe turned missionary 17
Chapter II In the Country of the Telugus
Indian race-groups – The Dravidians – The land of the Telugus – Dr. Jacob Chamberlain – A primitive ambulance – “The Divine Guru” – Under the “Council-tree” – The village Swami – A Mohammedan mob – Fight with a serpent – The “serpent destroyer” and the village elders – Some tiger adventures – A flood on the Godavery 32
Chapter III A Japanese Romance
Romantic Japan – The daimiok and the stable-boy – Thirsting for truth – In a junk to Hakodate – A schooner and a stowaway – A discovery in Hong-Kong – Arrival in Boston – Mr. Hardy and “Joe” – At Amherst and Andover – The Mikado’s embassy – Neesima’s educational dreams – Return to Japan – The “Doshisha” – The wooden cross and the living monument 47
Chapter IV “From Far Formosa”
George Leslie Mackay – A lawless land – The Malay and the Chinaman – Dentistry and the Gospel – A cruel plot – The capture of Bang-kah – The barbarians of the plain – The Kap-tsu-lan fishermen – The mountain head-hunters – A Christmas night in the head-hunter’s house 62
Chapter V A Heroine of Tibet
Mysterious Lhasa – The lady who tried to lift the veil – In the Himalayas – On the Chino-Tibetan frontier – The caravan for Lhasa – Attacked by brigands – The kilted Goloks – Among perpetual snows – A Tibetian love story – Noga the traitor – The arrest – Return to China – In the Chumbi Valley 76
Chapter VI “The Saviour of Liao-Yang”
A medical missionary’s power – The Boxer madness – The avenging Russians – Looting of Hai-cheng – The “Free Healing Hall” – In front of Liao-yang – “A fine thing done by a white man all alone” – “The Saviour of Liao-yang” – Russo-Japanese War – Battle of Liao-yang – A mission hospital in the hour of battle – Mr. Bennet Burleigh’s testimony – A robber’s point of view – Adventure with bandits 89
Africa
Chapter VII “The Hero of Uganda”
The kingdom of Mtesa – The young engineer – Victoria Nyanza – The Daisy – A baraza at Mtesa’s court – The land of blood – “Makay lubare” – A Brobdingnagian coffin – King Mwanga and the martyrs – Murder of Bishop Hannington – A visit from Stanley – Mackay’s death – An Easter Sunday in the Cathedral of Uganda 102
Chapter VIII The Lion-Hearted Bishop
“Mad Jim” – An ideal pioneer – A novel way of landing in Africa – “Teek, teek, teek” – Encounter with lions – Turned back from the goal – Bishop of East Equatorial Africa – The new route to Uganda – Through Masailand – The El Moran – Greasy bed-fellow – The forbidden land – Martyrdom 117
Chapter IX Pioneers in Nyasaland
Up the Zambesi and the Shiré – Lake Nyasa – Dr. Livingstone and Livingstonia – The first pioneers – Gravestones and milestones – The wild Angoni – A raid and a rescue – A great indaba – Arab slaves – The Arab war – African Lakes Corporation – Transformation of Central Africa – A dream-city 133
Chapter XX Vortrekkers in Barotseland
The three horsemen at the Great Kei River – Francois Coillard – Trekking northwards – In the clutches of Lobengula – In Khama’s country – The Makari-kari Desert – The Upper Zambesi – King Lewanika of Barotseland – A canoe voyage – Adventure with the Balubale – The coming of the Iron Horse 148
Chapter XI A Pioneer in Garenganze
King Msidi’s letter – Garenganze – Fred S. Arnot – His earlier travels – The expedition from Benguela – An African camp – The beeswax-hunters – Watershed of the continent – Reception by Msidi – A night with cheetahs and hyenas – Horrors of the slave traffic – The saviours of Africa 159
Chapter XII A Tramp Through the Great Pygmy Forest
Pygmyland – Mr. A. B. Lloyd – From Uganda to the Congo mouth – The Great Forest – Vegetable and animal life – Gorillas – The elephant and the zareba – “Don’t shoot; it’s a man!” – The friendly Pygmies – Appearance and habits – Pygmy worship – The Ituri River – “Riding on a snake” – Down the Congo – Pygmyland and the Kingdom of Christ 171
America
Chapter XIII Among the Indians and Eskimo of Hudson Bay
A world of ice – The Hudson Bay ships – John Horden – A huge parish – Indians and Eskimos – Bishop of Moosonee – Ungava – “The last house in the world” – The tailless cow – Canoe adventures – The sea-ice – Last labours – Si monumentum requiris 186
Chapter XIV The “Praying-Master” of the Redskins
“The Apostle of the North” – The backwoods schoolmaster – Indians and fur-traders – At Norway House – The “praying-master” – R. M. Ballantyne – A famous dog-train – Camping in the snow – The Arctic night – The talking birch bark – A tragic incident – An Indian mother’s forgiveness – Adopted by the Chippeways 199
Chapter XV In the Land of the Dakotas
Hiawatha – Stephen and Mary Riggs – The Sioux Indians – Indian teepees – “Eagle Help” – The scalping-party – A sad experience – The return of the bison – The Indian rising – A dreadful flight – The Dakota prisoners – Preaching in the prisoner’s camp – A transformation on the prairies 214
Chapter XVI In the Forest of Guiana
The Caribbean Islands – The Waraoons of the Orinoco – Kingsley’s At Last – The tribes of Guiana – Rivers and itabbos – In the high woods – Swamps and forest bridges – Alligator and anaconda – The spotted jaguar – Humming-birds and fireflies, marabuntas and mosquitos – The house in the palm tree – Legends and sorcerers – Cannibal mounds – A spiritual romance 227
Chapter XVII The Sailor Missionary of Tierra Del Fuego
“The Neglected Continent” – The despised Fuegian – Darwin’s testimony – Captain Allen Gardiner – South American Missionary Society – A sly Patagonian – An exploring expedition – The final enterprise – At Banner Cove – How the tragedy came about – The cache in the rocks – Spaniard Harbour – The end – Search and discovery – The diary – Victory through death 241
Chapter XVIII The Schooner of Keppel Island
A problem and a plan – The schooner – The island – Captain Gardiner’s son – Jemmy Button – A disastrous enterprise – The massacre – Adventures of the ship’s cook – Holding the fort – The new expedition – Forgiveness, not vengeance – Life on Keppel Island – The graves of the martyrs – Bishop Stirling and Ushuaia 256
Oceania
Chapter XIX The Martyr-Bishop of Melanesia
In the Eaton playing-fields – A case of moral courage – Bishop Selwyn and Coley Patteson – Selwyn’s work in Melanesia – Wanted a helper! – The helper found – Patteson as skipper and college tutor – As Bishops of Melanesia – Exciting adventures – The kidnappers – The Bishop’s death 270
Chapter XX One of the Unreturning Brave
An unexplored island – “Tamate” – Sea-dwellings and tree-dwellings – A ghastly parcel – Toeless feet – A perilous retreat – Dangers of the surf – Chalmers as a great explorer – As a teacher of the ABC – R.L. Stevenson and Tamate – The last expedition to the Fly River 284
Chapter XXI Father Damien of Molokai
The Hawaiian Islands – Captain Cook and Father Damien – A brave rescue – Molokai and its lepers – Under the pandanus tree – Doctor, undertaker, and grave-digger – What was Father Damien like? Himself a leper – In life and in death – A statue and a monument 299
Chapter XXII Among the Cannibal Islands
The Fiji Islands – Man-eating – Human sacrifice – King George of Tonga – James Calvert – The King of Bau – The manhunters – Two brave ladies – Murder of widows – King Thamkombau and Queen Victoria – A happy Christian warrior 310
Chapter XXIII The Apostle of the New Hebrides
John Williams and John G. Paton – First night on Tanna – A lonely grave – The power of an empty revolver – Savages foiled by a retriever – A tragedy on Erromanga – The sandalwood traders – H.M.S. Pelorus – Bishop Selwyn’s testimony – The power of prayer – “The last awful night” – Facing the cannibals – Jehovah’s rain – Epilogue 323
Chapter XXIV Kapiolani and the Goddess of the Volcano
Opukahaia at the gates of Yale – The expedition to Hawaii – Titus Coan – New Acts of the Apostles – An adventurous tour – Kapiolani – The march to the volcano – The pythoness of Pélé – On the floor of the crater – The challenge to the fire-godess – Sudden fall of the Hawaiian Dagons 336