White Queen of the Cannibals | Page 7

out to her interesting sights as
they passed along.
"Look," said Mrs. Thomson, "there is Duke Town. That is where your
mission is."
Mary saw clay cliffs. She saw mud houses with roofs of palm leaves.
Duke Town did not look in the least like Dundee or the other cities in
Scotland which Mary knew. Duke Town did not look pretty, but Mary
did not care. To her it looked beautiful, because here she would have
the chance to serve the Lord.
Soon native canoes came out to the steamer. Then the boats of the
traders. All was hurry and bustle as the great ship anchored and
prepared to unload the part of its cargo that had been sent to Duke
Town. Mary looked about, wondering how she was going to go ashore.
A tall Negro came up to Mary. He bowed and said, "Are you the new
white ma that is coming to the mission?" By ma the native meant lady.
They called all white ladies "ma."
"Yes, I am," said Mary.
"Mr. Anderson sent me to bring you ashore and take you to the mission

house."
Mary was lowered from the great ship into a large canoe. Her baggage
was brought down and placed in the boat. Then with powerful strokes
the rowers sent the boat skimming across the water toward Duke Town.
Mary was helped ashore by the tall Negro who had come for her.
"At last," she said to herself, "at last I am in Calabar."

#3#
In Africa "Welcome, welcome, Mary," said "Mammy" Anderson, as
she hugged Mary. Mammy Anderson and her husband, William
Anderson, were among the first missionaries at Duke Town in Calabar.
"This is Daddy Anderson," said Mammy Anderson, "and Daddy, this is
Mary Slessor, just come from bonny Scotland to help us."
Daddy and Mary shook hands. "Long ago you preached in our church
in Dundee," said Mary. "You told how many missionaries were needed.
I wished then I could help you. I hope I can."
Mary liked this fine Christian couple from the start. The mission house
where they lived was high on a hill above the town. Mammy took Mary
around the house and the yard, which they called a compound. She
showed Mary where the workers stayed who helped at the mission
house. She showed her the school where the little black children were
taught to read and write and told of the dear Saviour who had died for
them, too, that they might be saved from sin and Hell and go to
Heaven.
"And here," said Mammy, "is the bell. I am putting you right to work.
One of your jobs will be to ring the rising bell for morning prayers.
You ring this at six o'clock. Then everyone will get up, and we will
have prayers in the chapel."
That was Mary's first job, but alas! Mary often overslept and did not
ring the rising bell in time. One morning she awoke and saw that it was

very bright outside.
"Dear me," said Mary, "I've overslept again." She jumped out of bed,
slipped into her clothes and rang the bell, loud and long. Soon the
workers began coming, rubbing their eyes and yawning.
"What's the idea of ringing the bell now?" asked one of them. "It's
much too early."
"But look how bright it is," said Mary.
Daddy Anderson laughed.
"Mary, Mary," he said, "it's only two o'clock in the morning. The light
you see is our bright tropical moon. It's not the sun." And all the
workers laughed, and Mary laughed with them.
"I guess I'm not a very good bell-ringer," she said.
Mary's real job was to teach the children in the school on Mission Hill.
She remembered how she had played when she was a little girl that she
was teaching the children of Calabar. Now she was really doing it. She
loved the little black children. After school she would take long walks
with them into the bush. There they saw beautiful birds of many bright
colors, and beautiful flowers of all kinds.
Mary ran races with the black children. How they loved that! She
climbed trees as fast as any boy. The black children loved their white
ma who taught them and played with them. But playing with the
children often made Mary late for meals.
"Mary, Mary," scolded Mammy Anderson gently, "you are late again. I
am going to punish you. You go to your room. Since supper is over,
you'll just have to go to bed without it."
Mary went to her room. In a little while she heard a knock at her door.
"It's Daddy, Mary," said a deep voice. "Please open your door."

Mary opened the door. There stood Daddy Anderson with his hands
full of biscuits and bananas