Page images
PDF
EPUB

CHRISTIAN FRIENDS

We intend again to draw your attention to our Yoruba Mission in consequence of the events that have recently transpired there, and the signal mercy which has been vouchsafed by Almighty God in the deliverance of Abbeokuta out of the hands of the cruel King of Dahomey. In March last, at the very time that we were putting before you the details of Badahung's threatened attack of the previous year, and the way in which that attack was frustrated, this bloodthirsty king was again making an attack upon Abbeokuta, which has issued, through the mercy of God, in his total defeat.

It appears that rumours had for some time been abroad that the Dahomians were intending to attack Abbeokuta, and happily those rumours were so far believed as to render the chiefs watchful: they made all needful preparations: the walls were repaired and raised, and the ditches cleaned out; a new wall was erected on the river-side to avoid the necessity of guarding so long a line on the opposite side of the river; stores of shot and gunpowder were laid in; and the people commanded to bring in all their farm produce, especially on the route likely to be taken by the Dahomian army. From time to time reports were brought of the approach of the enemy, of which various opinions were entertained. It was generally believed they were not far off, on some expedition, but doubts were entertained whether they intended to attack Abbeokuta. Many thought they would be wise enough to avoid a second defeat. On Sunday the town-crier was sent to warn the inhabitants, information having been received of a reliable character. Watch had been kept for some days before, the Bashorun himself having taken up his residence close to the wall. On Tuesday morning, March 15, the report of the gun at Aro gate, several times fired, alarmed the people, and information was speedily circulated that the Dahomians were in sight at Aro. At about seven o'clock such a discharge of muskets took place as Abbeokuta never before heard. On every side groups of men were seen hastening to the wall at the point attacked: there was no backwardness, no need of any effort to call men to go. The Rev. A. Maser, at the first alarm, assembled the women in the schoolroom for prayer : after this, another meeting was held by the women themselves in the same place. The fight had been going on for some time when a wounded man passed; a short time after, another: he was in a state of great excitement, but giving the welcome news that the enemy had been beaten back from the wall. Dr. Harrison, assisted by Mr. Maser, attended to the wounded that wanted help. After the mist had cleared away they were able to see something of the battle-field: the Egbas were then scattered over the open ground in front of their wall: the firing had become comparatively little, and appeared to be going on in the hollow and broken ground towards Aro. (Of this an illustration is given in our Frontispiece.) The number of Egbas on the field and behind the wall was at least three times more numerous than when the Dahomians came in 1851: they appeared to be pressing on their enemy, but the want of uniform dress rendered it almost impossible to distinguish them from the Dahomians at our distance, except by the direction in which they were looking and firing. As the Egbas pursued, prisoners fell into their hands, and many wounded in the previous fight dropped by the way. Many refused to surrender, and were killed. The Dahomians were not permitted to rest, but they made a stand at various places, and drove back their pursuers, to be driven back again by fresh bodies of the Egbas, or cut off

The various paths

by some that had got round them by other roads.
leading to the retreating Dahomians we saw crowded by Egbas.

The Rev. G. F. Bühler thus gives expression to his feelings of thankfulness to Almighty God, and to those Christian friends who, by their prayers, have given their support to this Mission

"The battle raged furiously for an hour; then, to our great joy, a messenger passed my house, calling out, 'The enemy is retreating.' This one hour's fight decided the battle. Christians and heathen could hardly believe that such a formidable enemy should be defeated in so short a time. But it was the hand of God, and this is acknowledged by thousands of heathen. It appeared to everybody like a dream. When, at ten o'clock in the morning, hundreds returned from the walls, and fetched provisions to pursue the enemy, the King of Dahomey, the terror of so many thousands, the man who had destroyed scores of towns, had slaughtered thousands of innocent people, and sold tens of thousands into slavery-the man who, in his pride, said, 'Where is that God that will deliver out of my hand'-the man who had made such mighty preparations, had hired other tribes with great sums of money to help him to take Abbeokuta-the man who had, according to the statement of captives, cleared a piece of land where he would execute the Missionaries whom he should catch in Abbeokuta-the man who wanted to destroy the church which the Lord of Hosts had planted, and favoured, and protected till now-that man suffered such a defeat as has no parallel in the history of Western Africa. The King of Dahomey had, in former years, destroyed most of the smaller towns on his way from Abomey to Abbeokuta, and the few villages which were still in existence were found empty on the approach of the enemy; so that the Dahomians met, according to the statement of captives, not a single soul. Their march to Abbeokuta took them twenty-two days. They had to pass through a country which they themselves had converted into a wilderness; the brooks were dried up, and provisions became very scarce; and how could he have passed Ishagga without remembering how much innocent blood he had shed there, and how he had defied the God of the Christians? He was apparently not aware that his hour was come, and that the Lord would pour out his wrath upon him.

-

His troops marched in the night; they were tired when they approached Abbeokuta; they had already suffered severely from want of water; many of the prisoners stated they had not eaten any thing for the last twenty-four hours.

"The king was the first who fled to save his life. The fleeing army was soon broken up, and many of their leaders being killed, great confusion ensued. Again and again they endeavoured to check the pursuing Egbas, but this gave the latter only opportunity to make an attack in the flank, and the slaughter was otherwise frightful. Hundreds of Dahomians died from exhaustion: they had no rest, no food, no water, and thus perished miserably. The number of captives brought in for seven or eight days was immense, and cannot be much below 3000, whilst the number of killed was by far greater. They could not take their wounded with them all of these perished on the way. The Egba young men pursued the Dahomians closely day and night until they had crossed the river Yewa. The villagers on the way did apparently what they could in catching and killing Dahomians. What a frightful judgment! the innocent blood of so many thousands came upon their heads.

[ocr errors]

Praise, and honour, and glory be to our gracious God, who has delivered our lives from destruction, and has answered us with mercy and loving-kindness! But I cannot conclude without expressing, in my own name and in the name of thousands of Christians and heathen, our deepest gratitude towards all those who have offered up their constant, earnest prayers at home on our behalf. May the Lord grant unto all everlasting blessings! It is remarkable that so many of the heathen, and especially the chiefs, in their public meetings, have publicly acknowledged that they owe this great victory to the prayers of the Christians. We told them last year how prayers were offered up at home day and night for this town, and now they acknowledge it openly. There is no boasting heard among the people, but a comparatively quiet and happy

rejoicing. The Bashorun said in a public meeting to the people, "They had geen how their white men had kept to them, and how much they had the welfare of the town at heart;' and then added, 'Let nobody say one word any more against them.' Oh that it might please the Lord to turn their hearts towards Him, that they might acknowledge Him, in word and deed, to be the Lord. The war with Ibadan is a great trouble to them: they wish for peace to pursue trade and agriculture. As the Governor of Lagos is ex

pected the beginning of next month, possibly something may be done towards restoring peace. Oh that it may please the Lord to hear the many prayers which are offered up for this land. Surely the Lord will do it in his own good time. It is a great comfort to us to know that we, and our flocks, and this country, are daily remembered at home before the throne of grace. We are still much in need of the prayers of God's people. Such a long war necessarily demoralizes the people; but our trust is in the Lord our God."

Rev. J. B. Wood, writes thus with upon this subject

Another of the Missionaries, the reference to the feelings of tne people "You will naturally ask how the sion upon, and scattered their enemies. victory over the Dahomians is viewed They praise the white men much, and by the Egbas in general. I will give the Christians with them, and say that you a brief answer. They regard it as now they are sure that both are their from God, and not of themselves: they firm friends. I trust this feeling may say that He interposed and gave them continue to prevail, and may induce the victory; that He brought confu- them to attend to good counsel. Mr. Wood also mentions that a strange and unexpected report had reached him, which we are sure will cause great delight to our friends, viz. that Doherty, our agent at Ishagga, for whom we have mourned as one dead, is still alive.

about the third day after the Ishagga captives reached Abomey, his master, whose official name is Imewu delivered into his care a man whom all knew by the name of 'Daddy.' This man afterwards, when they were in the farm, gave his keeper some account of himself. He told him that, nine days before the Dahomians took Ishagga, he had returned from Abbeokuta. I have made particular inquiry, and am told that Doherty did leave Abbeokuta so many days before Ishagga was attacked.

"Amongst the captives taken was a man named Joseph Madarikan, formerly a slave of Ogubona's. He states that it was not Doherty who was crucified, but a man whose name was Moses Osoko, formerly a member of the Ake congregation, and an Egba man. He built a home for himself in Ishagga, and was in that town when it was taken by the Dahomians. Shortly after hearing Madarikan's report, I heard that one of our converts had held a conversation with another captive, which led him to believe that Doherty was still alive. He came home and told what he had heard. In order to try what truth there might be in what the man said, I sent Doherty's son, who is assistant schoolmaster in this station, to see the man, and try to find out what he knew. Young Doherty's report of what the man said all but convinced me that Doherty was still alive. I next sent for the man, that I might hear for myself what he had to say. He says that pass first."

"When Doherty arrived in Abomey he was one chosen to be offered as a human sacrifice. The Imewu interfered to prevent this. He told the king it would be very wrong to offer Doherty as a sacrifice, because there was no doubt he (Doherty) was a British subject, and it might bring ill-feeling between the king and the English; that Doherty ought to be kept till asked for, even though twenty years should

We are sure that our friends who have already united with us in prayer to Almighty God on behalf of Abbeokuta, will now join with us in praise for His great goodness manifested in this great deliverance

Subscribers and Collectors of one Penny a week are entitled to a copy of this Paper free.

[merged small][merged small][graphic]

WORSHIP OF THE TOOTH OF BUDDHA, AT KANDY, CEYLON.

CHRISTIAN FRIENDS

THE picture which we offer to your notice this Quarter represents a scene gay to look upon, but filling the Christian mind with sorrow and compassion. It is a festival that takes place annually in Kandy, the metropolis of the central province of Ceylon, and the ancient residence of its native kings. Kandy is one of the most beautifully situated towns in the world. It lies at the north-west end of a small lake, about a mile in length, on whose winding shores runs a well-kept road, keeping close to its margin all the way round, and whose clear, glassy waters reflect the blue sky above, and the hills that stand about it. Mountains rise on every side, where the varying foliage of the thick jungle is interspersed with picturesque bungalows and bright patches of coffee plantations. Admirable roads lead in all directions, some to the rich plains of the low country, some to the higher ground of the coffee districts of the interior. The native inhabitants of the country are Singhalese; the coffee planters and superintendents, amounting to a few hundreds in number, are mostly English and Scotch; and 100,000 labourers whom they employ are Tamils from the neighbouring coast of India. The Singhalese in this part of the country are nearly all of them attached to Buddhism, a religion which teaches that there is no Creator, and no Supreme God by whom all things are governed; that the earth came into being of itself, and continues by its own power; that man can obtain happiness in the next world by his own merits, and by obeying the precepts of Buddha; that forgiveness of sins is impossible; and that every man will reap the consequences of misdeeds he now commits, by sufferings undergone after being born again in this or in some other world, as a man, or a devil, or an animal. Gautama Buddha, who founded Buddhism, was born in North India, about 600 or 700 years before the birth of our Lord. The religion which he taught was at one time professed by many millions of persons in his own country. These, however, were at length entirely put down by persecution, and his followers are now found in Ceylon, in China, and in some other countries lying between China and India. Buddhism has a very firm hold on the minds of many of the Singhalese; not that they care much, or know much about its doctrines; but they determine to keep to it, because it was the religion of their forefathers. In a Buddhist temple at Kandy there is a large tooth, which, from its shape and appearance, seems to be the tooth of a baboon, but which is called Buddha's tooth, and is believed to have been such by a large number of the Singhalese. This is exhibited with great pomp and many gorgeous processions, once a year, before vast crowds who assemble to worship it; a scene well represented by the picture on the first page.

The following describes the success which God has graciously vouchsafed to Missionary efforts amongst some of these very people, living in villages forty or fifty miles to the north-east of Kandy. The Rev. J. I. Jones, one of the Missionaries, writes, December 22, 1863—

When I last wrote you, in the latter part of June, I mentioned my intention of coming to this place for the prosecution of my work in the district of Seven Korles.

Early in July I carried that intention into effect, and have been now here nearly six months, labouring with but little interruption, and with, I am thankful to say, a good deal of encouragement and hope.

I have several times thought of writing to you, as the work presented some features of interest from the first; but on consideration I felt it would be better to defer doing so till I had an opportunity of recording something definite. This, through God's goodness, I am now in a position to do, having, on Sunday last, the 20th inst., been privileged to receive into the church of Christ, by baptism, thirteen adult

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »