Bolenge, a story of gospel triumphs on the Congo

Foreword

BoLEiSTGE has become a household word among the' Disciples of Christ.- In ten years one of the greatest churches in the world has been built up at that place out of the most unpromising materials. There has been a widespread demand for the publication of the facts relating to the Bolenge church. It was in response to that demand that this book has been written. It is believed that Christ will be greatly honored and the faith of many of His followers greatly strengthened by its publication.

Mrs. Royal J. Dye, the author, has spent two terms of missionary service on the Congo. She has had personal knowledge of the work there almost from the beginning. Because of the condition of her health she was unable to return with her husband on his third term of service. While at home she has assisted the work by writing this book.

The reader will find it a mine of information about conditions in Central Africa. Any one who will read the first chapter will want to read every line of the book, and will want to read everything else that he can find on the same subject. God is doing marvelous things on the Congo; things that all intelligent people will find worth knowing.

4 Foreword

It is reported that a popular magazine pays ex- President Eoosevelt one dollar for every word he writes about his hunting trip in Africa. Ex-President Roosevelt is an interesting man, but he has nothing to compare in value with the contents of Mrs. Dye's book. The accounts of the Arctic experiences and discoveries of Dr. Cook and Commander Peary are of much less significance to the Kingdom than this volume. "Bolenge" is a book to be read and studied. It is a book that will call out joyful thanksgiving from every one who is interested in the progress of the gospel.

Archibald McLean".

Cincinnati, September 11, 1909.

Contents

Chapter Page

Foreword, 3, 4

I. PLA.NTING THE Gospel oiT THE Equator, 9 11. Beautiful akd Busy Bolej^ge, - 19

Appendix

Those Who Have Toiled at Bolenqb, - 209

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing Page

Map of Africa, - 16

BoLENGE Station Scenes, - - - - 22

Procession of Heathen Women, - - - 38

Congo Curios, 48

An African Witch-Doctor, - - - - 64

Native Industries, 80

Plot of Bolenge Station, - - - - 88

Before and After the Gospel, - - - 96

All Aboard for a Long Itinerate, - - 106

Saved to Serve, 118

Joseph and Bonjolongo, . - - - igg

Baptizing in the Congo, . . - . 152

Class of Sixty-four Converts, - - - 158

A Stalwart Messenger, - - - - 164

The Land to be Possessed, - - - 174

The New Mission Steamer, - - - - 178

Native Buildings, 198

Our Workers on the Congo, - - - - 216

Bolenge; A Story of Gospel Triumphs on the Congo

CHAPTER I Planting the Gospel on the Equator

"Believe? Yes, I do believe that we shall all emerge into light again sometime. It is true that our prospects are as dark as this night. Though I love life as much as you do, or any other man does, yet on the success of this effort I am about to stake my life, my all.''

These words were addressed to a companion by Stanley, December 27, 1876, as he was starting on the long and perilous journey, seeking to trace the great river on which they had embarked, from its sources to its mouth. His flotilla consisted of twenty-three canoes with their burden of one hundred and fortynine people.

Because of the northerly trend of the river they were uncertain whether it was the Congo, the Nile, or an affluent of one of these. The morning was typical, that on which they set forth from Vinya-Njara. A dense, gray mist obscured even the palmy banks of the river. Little by little the mists lifted and the sun appeared, transforming all the face of nature. Even so the Sun of Eighteousness is now lifting the heavy mists of superstition and pouring into the deepest and darkest recesses of this mighty river His transforming light.

For days and months this intrepid explorer braved dangers from the quick, tropical storms on the Livingstone, as he called the unknown river. He faced dangers from starvation and from fierce tribes inhabiting the dense forests, that like an impenetrable barrier rise on either side of the river. Several canoes and many lives were lost in sudden fights with cannibal tribes. In spite of all obstacles, however, the expedition pressed forward and early in February, 1877, Stanley verified his conviction that the "unknown river" was the Congo itself.

Nearing the equator, where now is situated "Beautiful Bolenge," they had been for days unable to purchase food. The aborigines had been so hostile that even from their fishing canoes they had fired at them. At last Stanley's men in despair exclaimed : "What shall we do? What will be the end of all this? Whither, 0 whither are we going? God alone knows how we shall prosper below."

February 19th they discovered an enormous river more than a thousand yards wide, with a strong current. This stream refused to mingle with the Congo; the meeting of the two waters being plainly marked by a zigzag ripple. This was the largest tributary yet discovered, and proved to be the Bosira. In 1909, more than thirty years later, the first mission station on this river was opened. It is located at Longa, one hundred

Planting the Gospel on the Equator 11

miles from the river's mouth. From this new outpost the light is streaming for another two hundred miles up the great navigable branches of the Bosira. Beyond this the mist still hangs, low and impenetrable as a curtain, behind which all is darkness. Occasional trips are made by trading or Government steamers into this darkness. These go, not to carry light but to bring forth out of the dense forests their cargoes of rubber, ivory, gum copal, and such rare products as are demanded by civilization. And these traders halt not in their quest. They go even at the price of their own life and the life of the natives.

Stanley, on that memorable journey, after passing the mouth of the Bosira, or Ikelemba, as he called it, paddled on past the site of Bolenge to a point on an island in the river. This island was opposite Ikengo, a village near Bolenge. From this village the natives came across to him. They became most friendly, sealing their friendship with all traditional ceremony in blood, thus making a blood brotherhood, which is inviolable. Here they begged him for his note book which appeared most wonderful to them. Stanley says : "During the whole of this day life was most enjoyable, intercourse unreservedly friendly, and though most of the people were armed with guns there was no manifestation of the least desire to be uncivil, rude, or hostile, which inspired us once more with a feeling of security, to which we had been strangers since leaving Urangi two months before." As Stanley left Ikengo several canoes escorted him some distance, with many demonstrations of friendship. This was in marked contrast to the ferocity encountered soon afterward farther down the river. This experience held a forecast of the future, as we trace the remarkable receptivity of that people to the Gospel message. Fierce and warlike they certainly were and still are in the districts remote from the river, but ready to be friendly when once their confidence is gained. Perhaps the prophecy of a venerable chief of this same village, Ikengo, has made them more receptive. He foretold that a race of albinos were coming to that country, whose wool was as straight as that of a wild boar ; that canoes would come up river without paddles. So when the white man came with straight hair and in steamers without paddles they accepted them as inevitable.

It is not necessary further to follow Stanley in his long journey down the river to the pool which bears his name — past cataracts, rapids, and whirlpools, to the once more navigable waters rushing on to join the ocean. As Stanley turned, August, '77, to take a farewell glance at the mighty river on whose "brown bosom" he had endured so greatly, he says: "I felt my heart suffused with purest gratitude to Him whose hand had protected us and who had enabled us to pierce the Dark Continent from East to West, and to trace its mightiest river to its ocean bourne."

The news of the successful outcome of this stupendous undertaking had no sooner reached England, than the Livingstone Inland Mission was formed, to attempt an entrance into Africa by the new route. Dr. and Mrs. H. Grattan Guinness were the founders of this new mission. These great missionary philanthropists had been led of God some years previous to this, in 1872, to found the East London Institute for

Planting the Gospel on the Equator 13

Home and Foreign Missions. It had been their intense desire, even before the discovery of the Congo, to send the gospel into the interior. In the fall of '77, when Stanley's letters were published in England, the mission was quickly organized and the first missionary, Henry Craven, was sent out. Others soon followed him. The thrilling incidents of the first five years, as heard from the lips of those dauntless heralds of the cross, exceed those of any book yet written. Some of these who went out under the Livingstone Inland Mission are still laboring on the Congo. Through dangers unsurpassed, through seeming defeat, and ofttimes in the face of death, these brave men, undaunted by their calamities, went on and on until they planted the banner of the King of kings at Stanley Pool, on the Upper Congo. After the burning of one of their stations and the death of several of their missionary party, they wrote home: "We are not in the least daunted by these deaths. Forward is the order, and, with God's help, forward we

will go r

In 1883 these pioneers opened three stations on the Upper Congo above Stanley Pool, the last one being called Equator ville, or Waugata. This site was just above the present station of Bolenge, and there for the first time was the gospel planted on the equator.

The policy of the Livingstone Inland Mission was to plant a chain of stations into the interior. This they could not accomplish. When they felt that another society was better able than they to carry forward this mighty undertaking, the whole mission was tendered to the American Baptist Missionary Union and accepted. This showed the true missionary spirit of the consecrated founders of the Livingstone Inland Mission. For the first time in the history of modern missions so large a mission was transferred from one society to another without any compensation. The Livingstone Inland Mission then was composed of six established stations with supplies and buildings and twenty-five missionaries. The property had cost $125,000, and many lives. Besides this, the mission steamer Henry Reed, which cost $25,000, was turned over to the American Baptist Missionary Union as a free gift. This was a valuable heritage of life and property. It included Equator Station, which was then considered of great importance and as giving promise of success. The single condition under which this unique transfer was made was that the mission should be '^vigorously sustained."

The expense, however, of carrying on so great a work was stupendous, especially on the Upper river, and a constantly increasing problem to the American Baptists. The years which foUpwed proved the inability of the American Baptist Missionary Union to fulfill the ideals of the Livingstone Inland Mission, for the stations then established could barely be supported. It was thought wiser to concentrate efforts on the Lower Congo, where a strong work was in progress, though the stations on the Upper Congo should suffer in consequence. The missionaries had to provide much of their own support, so little did the churches at home then understand the great opportunity given to them by iCrod. But God is ever watchful of His own, and was raising up another agency to carry on the work so courageously begun and kept up, amid so many discouragements.

Planting the Gospel on the Equator 15

In November, 1895, at the annual meeting of the Foreign Christian Missionary Society of the Churches of Christ, a committee on Africa was appointed, with J. A. Lord as chairman. In substance their report was as follows: "The Continent of Africa is now, by the providence of God, open to the entrance of the Gospel of Christ, and the way into its darkest depths, already blazed by the heroic efforts of Christian missionaries who have entered it for Christ. ... Its people seem peculiarly ready for the reception of the truth of God.

"In view of these facts, it seems our pressing duty, as loyal disciples of Christ, to open a mission effort in Africa with the least possible delay. . . . We recommend that the Board be requested and authorized to open, or prepare for opening, during the coming year, a mission in Africa, if the resources shall permit; if in its best judgment there be no insuperable difficulties in the way.''

Two years later one man had been found willing to be the pioneer of this work, and the report of another committee on Africa, with W. F. Eichardson as chairman, reads thus:

"Beneath a baobab tree, beside Lake Ilala, in the interior of Africa, lies the heart of David Livingstone. His body, borne upon the shoulders of the dark-skinned sons of that heathen continent, was carried to the distant coast and thence conveyed to an honored burial in Westminster Abbey. Into this vast field, thus opened by this man of God, others have entered, enlightening its darkness with the beams of the Sun of Eighteousness, bringing liberty to the captives and hope to the despairing.

"Many Christian bodies of believers have sent of their number, chosen men and women who have counted it a joy to lay down their lives in behalf of this race so long in darkness and sin, so eager to receive the saving gospel of our Lord. In this great work the people who delight to call themselves Disciples of Christ have not yet borne a part. In choosing fields for mission work among the heathen the Dark Continent has not yet been entered by them. But it has for several years been on their hearts, and the way seems now open for beginning this work.

"One consecrated, earnest man, E. E. Earis, is willing and anxious to go to Africa to plant the standard of the cross. He has been accepted for this mission. It has been deemed important that a medical missionary accompany him. The committee urges that no small thing shall stand in the way of a movement on Africa. Too long have we delayed at the threshold of this open door.

"We desire to lay this upon the conscience of the whole Church. ... If we move forward in obedience to the Lord's command He will open doors, and raise up men to enter them."

Mr. E. E. Faris and Dr. H. N. Biddle accordingly were sent forth upon this mission, going to the Congo Free State, which had been recognized as such by a conference of the nations of Christendom at Berlin, in 1884. At that time it was declared: "Liberty of conscience and religious toleration are expressly guaranteed to the natives, as w^ell as to the inhabitants and foreigners. The free and public eiercise of every creed, the right to erect religious buildings and to organize missions belonging to every creed, shall be subject to

The location of Bolenge and Longa are indicated by the dots.

Planting the Gospel on the Equator X7

no restriction or impediment whatsoever/' "King Leopold II was the elected sovereign of the Free State until 1908, when it became a regular colony under the administration of the central government of Belgium, and is now known as Congo Beige.

When our missionaries arrived in the Congo they soon found that the "religious liberty and freedom to establish missions" had long been refused to Protestant societies. For months they traveled up and down the Congo and its tributaries seeking an abiding place but finding none. The missionaries of other societies received them into their homes and helped them in every way possible. The American Baptist Missionary Union had offered to the Foreign Christian Missionary Society certain of their stations on the Upper Congo, and after investigation the offer of Bolenge was accepted with grateful appreciation of the courtesy and good-will of that society. Two thousand five hundred dollars was paid as a small return for the added equipment made to the station during the years of their occupancy.

The uncertain life, together with exposure and weakening health, proved too much for the brave young doctor, H. N. Biddle. Before he had ever seen the site of the new work he was compelled to start for home. He never reached America. More personal mention will be made of him in another chapter, and we leave him now to follow the other young man, E. E. Faris, to Equator Station, now known as Bolenge. The Baptist missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Banks, were still at the station, discouraged and disheartened by the terrible trials through which they had gone. In the meantime the news of the death of Dr. Biddle had reached America, and another doctor and his wife were Bent immediately to fill the vacant place. Dr. and Mrs. Eoyal J. Dye took with them the papers for the transfer of the station, and after their arrival at Bolenge, April 17, 1899, the station was given over to these three inexperienced young people. With sad hearts they saw Mr. and Mrs. Banks leave the home where they had patiently struggled to build up the cause of Christ amid what seemed insuperable difficulties.

Now for the third time the gospel began to be planted on the equator. The soil which gave hopes of such an abundant harvest in earlier years had become more and more stony, and the seed which had been sown and had immediately sprung up had soon withered away because there was no root. "These were they who have no root in themselves, but endure for awhile; then when tribulation or persecution ariseth — straightway they stumble." There was but one Christian left, though there were some active backsliders in the heathen village. Yet none but the Heavenly Father can tell how much seed then sown has sprung up in these later days as showers of blessings have been poured out upon Bolenge. It is God who gives the increase. It has been a great honor for us to have followed those heroes and heroines who counted not their lives dear unto themselves. Ours is a station whose history is fraught with many memories. Even the sheets of zinc of which one of the mission bungalows is built are still marked with 'Tj. I. M." in large letters. We have entered into a holy ministry. And herein is that saying true, "One soweth and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored and ye are entered into their labors/'

CHAPTER II Beautiful and Busy Bolenge " Where every prospect pleases And only man is vile."

For years these lines were a fitting word picture of Bolenge. Situated more than seven hundred miles from the coast, directly on the equator, it occupies a commanding position in the great Congo basin. For hundreds of miles on all sides of Bolenge this basin is an extensive marshy plateau, covered by the renowned forest of the Congo. This region is thought by some to have once been a great inland sea. For these hundreds of miles there is not a hill and the native languages have lost the words for hills and mountains.

Wherever there is a rise of land sufficiently large to accommodate the necessary buildings, there a Government post, a trading post, or a mission station is built. The intervening marsh is drained by beautiful rivulets that frequently break forth to join the resistless tide of the Congo. The scenery is an ever-changing panorama from Stanley Pool to Stanley Falls, a distance of one thousand miles. From the stately white "Dover Cliffs'^ at the Pool, rises a long line of hills, with picturesque groves of borassus or fan palms in the valleys between. Through these groves runways have been made by herds of elephants and buffaloes coming down to the river for drink. Occasionally a hippopotamus pokes his huge brown nose up through the water to give a loud grunt of disapproval at being disturbed in his peaceful, watery home.

Soon the hills begin to recede and hundreds of miles of low lying land is passed. There are no longer rocks to be avoided in the river, but shifting sandbars take their place, where crocodiles lie basking in the sun. The winding, ever-changing course of the river relieves the monotony. Chattering monkeys and flocks of birds afford diversion for the sportsman. The flowers and gorgeously beautiful birds that commonly are supposed to abound in the tropical forests are rare, but the foliage makes good the loss. Each bush and tree vies with its neighbor in the beautiful hue of freshly bursting leaves. The beauty of these trees even surpasses the beauty of the autumn leaves in the home land, the old leaves with their varying shades of brown and green making the trees look like a giant flower bed. The bright young leaves bursting out amid the dull tones of the old gives mere foliage the appearance of rich bloom. Here and there where a rivulet breaks forth appears a vista of young palms. How glorious, how magnificent 1 But a few days of scorching sun and the beauty fades and withers. How typical is the tropical foliage of the tropical folk ! All beauty is in youth ; old age is dried and seared and unlovely.

On a little bay of the river, surrounded by this tropical verdure, lies the bank whereon Bolenge stands. This is a rare spot, overlooking the dark turbulent Congo.

The beach is lined with huge boulders of conglom-

Beautiful and Busy Bolenge 21

erate rock. Much time was necessarily spent in making a safe landing-place for the steamers. Just out of the rocky hillside above, flows a clear, sparkling spring, over which a brick house has been built with palm-thatched roof. This spring supplies pure, crystal water to both missionaries and natives. No steamer landing here ever fails to fill, from the spring's never-failing supply, every available demijohn. Even the native is learning to prefer it to the more highly flavored water of the river.

Up from the reddish rocks on the beach, the green bank rises, a steep slope of sixty or seventy feet. Winding paths lead up on each side of the slope to the level plat above, when the station is laid out. This is often called "The Park." The palm-bordered avenue which skirts the station and the century-old, fern-bedecked palms make a picturesque setting for the whole; being a natural conservatory enclosed by the arching sky and warmed by the intense sun, all tropical vegetation grows with great rapidity and luxuriance. Oranges, mangoes, guavas, alligator pears, grape-fruit, pineapples, bananas, and numerous other varieties of fruit have been successfully introduced. Of these, only bananas are grown by the natives — an insipid variety.

At the front of the station, facing the river and nestling amid this wealth of shade and beauty, are the three little mission bungalows. A wide avenue of golden moor acacias stretches across the station in front of the houses. When in bloom these trees look like gorgeous hanging flower beds. The school chapel once occupied a position on a line with the bungalows, facing the river, but was moved from this site to a more central position nearer the native village. Facing on Church Street, the chapel is accessible from all directions, being approached by paths from Orange Avenue and Main Street. Opposite this, across Orange Avenue, is the Tabernacle and site for the new Auditorium and Bible College. As may be seen from the plan of the station, the printing house, carpenter's shop, sheep and goat folds, and orphanage are placed in convenient positions here and there. Pretty streets and wide avenues lead to all these. In one secluded corner to the left of the chapel, bordered round with young palms, lies the quiet city of the sainted dead.

To the right and left of the station along the telegraph path which runs back of the station, parallel with the river, lies the native village. Immediately back of the stations is growing up a distinct Christian community, though the whole village of Bolenge is almost altogether Christian now. All the day long the streets of the station are scenes of busy traffic and industry. The children from the villages run about, throng the paths at the ringing of the school bell, and fall in line to march into the chapel. Workmen may be seen at all hours hurrying with their paddles to make a trip across the river for necessary building material, carrying lumber, or otherwise busily occupied. The sound of hammers and saws tells of new buildings being erected. Long lines of boys may be seen slowly coming up the hill from the beach with boxes full of clay for brick-making. Others are quickly mixing it with sand, while some are molding and carrying the fresh bricks to the drying sheds. Sewing machines hum as the girls turn out the neatly made garments for sale in the mmmM^

i^^i

Bolenge, from the River.

A corner of Bolenge Station. Missionary homes in the background.

Beautiful and Busy Bolenge 23

mission store. Others are cooking, washing, sweeping, and scrubbing. The smaller children are busy picking up bits of paper and keeping the lawn tidy. Crowds of sick are waiting their turn at the Dispensary. One by one they come and go, bringing corn, cassava roots, eggs, fowls, and ducks to exchange for salt, enameled dishes, spoons, forks, knives, fish hooks, and other articles. Women with huge baskets on their backs sit beneath the trees. They are waiting while the station boys pick oranges and mangoes, which these women have come to buy. This fruit they in turn sell to ready purchasers on Government steamers at a good profit. The hum of the mission press reminds one that here a new literature is being made and a new trade being learned. The missionaries are a busy group, for all these many departments must have personal supervision. A busy life in a beautiful place, but under difiicult conditions, such must it ever be to the missionary who goes forth to Central Africa to preach the gospel of the Son of man.

This is but a glimpse of the out-of-door sanctuary to which God has called His messengers, there to exemplify in word and deed the life of His Son before a heathen world. God said, "I will be to them a little sanctuary in the countries to which they have gone." To us has this promise been fulfilled.