of cloth. I did not intend to keep these things, as I felt I had no right to impose a fine, and besides I wished to show them that a missionary was different from a trader. In the case of Patagwane I felt I had a right to the fine, because so much time had been lost in looking the matter up. After keeping the sheep and cloth a week or ten days I called Mapia and returned them to him, telling him I did it simply because I wished to show him the difference between God's people and the children of Satan. Instead of looking at it in this light, however, Mapia went around the neighborhood telling that I had found out that I had no case against him, and that I returned the sheep and cloth, simply because I knew he was innocent. I feel now that I made a mistake in returning the sheep and cloth.

The heathen mind in its natural state is unable to see the philosophy of conscientiousness or mercy. Among themselves they must have their pound of flesh or they will pursue the matter to the bitter end. When we first went among them they were unable to see that we treated them kindly from principle. They imagined we were a timid people, and afraid to kick and abuse them as other whites did. In course of time, however, some of them got to see that the only thing that made the difference was that the aba mfundisi had the Spirit of him who teaches us to love even our enemies.

A way of settling disputes which is recognized by the Portuguese government is by what the natives call the "Sela wanga" process. The native idea is that if anyone is guilty of secretly committing a certain sin, some one in the kraal, or some relative, will die. So in case of a person's death the witch doctor is consulted, as to what is the reason of it. If the doctor decides that some one has sinned, they then accuse the parties concerned, and charge them with being the cause of the death in the kraal or family. The man will deny the charge and the matter will be tried by the "Sela wanga business. In this process the plaintiff and defendant will each take a fowl into court (among the natives discussions are held outside), poison will be administered to each chicken (it used to be administered to the people themselves, but the Portuguese stopped that) and one of the chickens dies, while the other one lives, or does not die at once, in which instance the party

owning the chicken which dies first loses the case. If it should be the man who has been accused of immorality whose chicken dies, he will be called upon to pay to the relatives of the person who has died in the kraal the sum of forty or fifty dollars, or perhaps more. He may be perfectly innocent, but no one will believe him, as the death of the fowl is equivalent to a decision from God himself. In fact, they have so much confidence in this thing, that it is a question whether the man who loses the case, although perfectly innocent, would attempt to defend himself. While in one sense he knows he is not guilty, yet, as the "Sela wanga" cannot lie, he is liable to conclude that in some unknown way he must have committed the crime.

CHAPTER XII.

ACQUIRING THE LANGUAGE-PREACHING TO THE NATIVES, ETC.

"How sweet 'twould be at even if you and I could say,

Kind Shepherd, we've been seeking the sheep that go astray; Heart-sick, and faint, and weary, we heard them making moan,

And, lo, we come at nightfall, bringing the lost ones home."'

When Mr. Agnew and the Kelleys first arrived at Inhambane they found a people who had no written language. The Rev. W. C. Wilcox of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, had translated some eighteen verses of the first chapter of Genesis into the Gitonga tongue, and also four or five hymns, and that was all. The missionaries did not settle at first among the Batonga people, but as quite a number of the Bandongas understood Gitonga the band were enabled to sing to them "Come to Jesus" and "There is a happy land" the first Sunday they were on the Komeni station.

Having no dictionary of the language they had as it were to "pick the words out of the natives' teeth." They soon learned the native form of interrogation for "What is this?" and, by its almost constant use, were enabled slowly to form a small dictionary for themselves. From the vocabulary thus secured they could make themselves understood to the natives sufficiently to inform them of their wants.

Upon Tom's arrival at the station their embarrass

ment due to ignorance of the language was much relieved, since he could act as their interpreter. This enabled the missionaries to labor more effectively. among the heathen who surrounded them. Mr. Agnew now began to visit the kraals, singing to the people and talking to them of righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, Tom accompanying him and acting as his interpreter. His mention of the resurrection of the dead caused some of his hearers to laugh incredulously and scoffingly, while others said, "We will hear thee again of this matter."

One thing these natives could not comprehend was why the missionary had come to preach to them; why he should be anxious to teach them to read, or to benefit them in any way. They reasoned that, in some way, there must be a money consideration in it for him, and so, many times when he asked them to come to school and learn to read and write, instead of regarding this as a privilege they should eagerly avail themselves of, they looked upon it as a favor conferred upon the missionary, and accordingly asked how much he would pay them for attending.

So utterly dark and selfish is the native heathen mind as to be incapable of any true conception or appreciation of the altruistic spirit inculcated by the gospel of Christ. Accordingly, whenever Mr. Agnew would undertake to explain to them what the gospel as a scheme of salvation would do for them, or in any way to benefit them or improve their condition, they would fail to see anything in what he proposed except some kind of lucrative advantage to himself. "Why should we go to school?" They would say: "Our fathers never went to school. Why should we at

tempt to improve upon our fathers?" Their veneration of their ancestors and of age-long customs and traditions made them blind and indifferent to the desirability of progress, and of improved conditions for themselves.

Their fathers lived in huts with doors

so low and small they could be entered only by crawling through them, and why should they think of having larger and more convenient doors? Their ancestors for generations had found the ground to furnish good enough seat, table and bed for them, and why