White Queen of the Cannibals | Page 8

which he was bringing to her with
Mammy's consent.
"I thought you might be hungry," said Daddy Anderson.
"You and Mammy are perfect dears," said Mary. "I don't deserve all
your kindness." Mary soon began to visit the different yards or
compounds in Duke Town. Missionaries had been here for thirty years,
but there weren't many of them. They worked chiefly in Duke Town,
Old Town, and Creek Town--three towns at the mouth of the Calabar
River. They also had opened a station at Ikunetu and Ikorofiong on the
Cross River. One day Mary was at one of the stations with another
missionary. When he finished his talk, he said, "Mary, won't you speak
to these people?"
Mary stood up. "Please read John 3:1-21," she said. The missionary did.
Then Mary told the people how they could be born again. She told
them of the joy that they would have if they took Jesus into their hearts.
She told them of the hope of life after death with God in Heaven. The
natives listened. They liked her talk. After that whenever she came to
that district, crowds would come to hear her speak.
"Mammy," said Mary, after she had come from a trip to the outstations,
"it hurts my heart to see how cruel these people are. And those awful,
ugly, cruel gods they pray to. The chiefs are so cruel and mean and
have no mercy. And then that terrible secret society, the Egbo. I saw
some of their runners dressed in fearful costumes scaring the people
and whipping them with long whips. I saw a poor man whom they had
beaten almost to death. Then there is that horrible drinking. They are
worse than wild animals when they become drunk. And worst of all is
that they have slaves and sell their own people as slaves."
"Ah, lassie," said Mammy Anderson, "you haven't seen anything yet.
There are millions of these black people in the bush and far back in the
interior. Most of them are slaves. They don't treat a slave any better
than a pig. The slaves sleep on the ground like animals. They are
branded with a hot iron just as animals are. And just as the farmers

back home fatten a pig for market, so the girls are fattened and sold for
slave wives. The slaves can be whipped or sold or killed. When a chief
dies, the tribe cuts off the heads of his wives and slaves and they are
buried with him. The tribes are wild and cruel. Many of them are
cannibals, who eat people. They spend their lives in fighting, dancing,
and drinking. But the way they treat twins is one of the worst things
they do."
"What do they do to twins?" asked Mary.
"They kill them," said Mammy Anderson. "Sometimes they bury the
twins alive and sometimes they just throw them out into the bush to die
of hunger. The mother is driven into the bush. No one will have
anything to do with her. She is left to die in the jungle or to be eaten by
the wild animals."
"But why do they do such cruel, wicked things to harmless babies?"
asked Mary.
"They believe that the father of one of the twins is an evil spirit or devil.
But they don't know which one's father was a devil, so they kill both to
be sure of getting the right one."
"That must be stopped," said Mary. "I will fight it as long as I live. I
will never give up. Jesus loves twins just as much as other children.
The natives must learn that. They must learn that God said, 'Thou shalt
not kill.' I'll teach them."
Mary made many friends, not only among the children whom she
taught, but also among the grown-up natives. One day she heard a chief
speaking to his people about God and His love. He was a Christian.
Mary thought that he made a very fine talk. She could tell he was very
sincere. He talked so that everyone could understand him.
"Who is that chief?" asked Mary of the man standing next to her.
"That is King Eyo Honesty VII," said the man.

"King Eyo Honesty? I must talk to him."
As soon as she could, Mary went up to the chief.
"King Eyo Honesty," said Mary, "I am Mary Slessor. Many years ago
the missionaries told my mother about you. They told her what a fine
Christian you were. She told us. She will be very happy when I tell her
that I have met you."
"I am very happy to have met you," said King Eyo Honesty. "Perhaps I
could write a letter to your mother and tell her how happy I am that I
have met you.