Chapter III: Preface: vii

PART I

CHAPTER I

EN ROUTE TO CONGO

_I am packed in a box--Sent to Congoland--My journey on the 1
ocean steamer--Curious names of the Kroo boys--Landed at
Banana--Thrown on the deck of a river steamer_

CHAPTER II

MY JOURNEY UP THE CONGO

_Our captain and tyrant--River scenes--We camp at a 6
trading-station--Native riddles_

CHAPTER III

MY OVERLAND JOURNEY BEGINS

_The white man’s fetish--I am exchanged with others for rubber 12
and ivory--My new companions express freely their opinions
about the white men--Why the white men are on the
Congo--Native suspicions and prejudices_

CHAPTER IV

WE REACH THE TOWN OF MY OWNER

_Crossing the Mpalabala hills--The head man knocks his toes--It 19
is an evil omen--He visits the “medicine man”--Finds his
brother dying--Last hours of the dying chief_

CHAPTER V

A FUNERAL ORGY

_Satu becomes chief--Preparations for the funeral feast--My box 24
is opened--I become a neck ornament--Bakula, my new owner, is
smart, but superstitious--The mourners assemble and present
their gifts--The toilet before eating--Drunkenness and
quarrelling--Corpse is carried to the grave--A white man wants
to steal the ivory trumpets--He is shaved and sent about his
business_

CHAPTER VI

OUR TOWN LIFE

_Streets are irregular--Houses small and draughty--Their 34
reception, dining, and drawing rooms are in the open
air--Their many charms and fetishes--Routine of the
day--Bakula tells a story: “How the Sparrow set the Elephant
and the Crocodile to pull against each other”--Tumbu, a slave,
relates the tale of “The Four Fools”--And Bakula tells: “How
the Squirrel won a Verdict for the Gazelle”_

CHAPTER VII

THE SEARCH FOR THE WITCH

_People believe their chief died by witchcraft--They send for 49
the witch-finder--His arrival and antics--The ceremony of
discovering the witch--Satu’s brother, Mavakala, is
accused--Why was Mavakala accused?--He takes the
ordeal--Proves his innocence--Other tests are forced on
him--He is done to death_

CHAPTER VIII

VISITORS ARRIVE

_The dulness and pettiness of native life--Arrival of two 58
visitors--Bakula questions them about the white man--They
relate the little they know about him--Old Plaited-Beard stirs
the people up against the white man--They exchange their views
about him--They agree to oppose him--The white man is seen
approaching--He is driven from the town and has to sleep in
the bush_

CHAPTER IX

SOME CUSTOMS, GAMES, AND A JOURNEY

_The Luck-giver is called to bring prosperity on the town--His 69
mode of procedure--Satu and some of his people go on a visit
to a great chief--Good and bad omens--The game at
“Antelope”--Bakula narrates a story: “How the Fox saved the
Frog’s Life”--Another lad tells why inquiry should come before
anger--The difficult road--Bakula and his friends dress
themselves--Their mixed wardrobes_

CHAPTER X

OUR RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT

_The welcome of Tonzeka and his people--A case judged--We find 89
the white man in Tonzeka’s town--Tonzeka defends the white
man--He complains of the effect of the white man’s
preaching--A drunken bout_

CHAPTER XI

SATU VISITS THE WHITE MAN

_Bakula goes to the white man to have his wound dressed--White 100
man puts in a good word for the traders--Bakula is touched by
the white man’s kindness--A native dance--An exhibition of
native pride--A long talk with the white man--We gain many new
ideas from our conversation--Bakula has another interview with
the white man and they become good friends_

CHAPTER XII

NATIVE GAMES AND PASTIMES

_Make-believe games--“Biti” and needle--Game with canna 114
seeds--Hoop game--“Mbele,” or Knife game--The story of “The
Four Wonders,” or a puzzle story--Conundrums--“The Adventures
of the Twins”_

CHAPTER XIII

BAKULA ACCOMPANIES AN EMBASSY

_A title reverts to Satu--He sends Old Plaited-Beard to the King 131
with a present--The embassy arrives at the King’s town--Has an
audience in the King’s house--King promises to send a deputy
to install Satu--King dines with the white man and sees a
magic lantern--Bakula and the white man renew their
acquaintance--He sleeps on the Mission Station and hears all
about the King’s household_

CHAPTER XIV

BAKULA STAYS WITH THE WHITE MAN

_The working of a Mission Station--Buying food--The 148
school--Bakula is afraid to enter the school--Repairing the
station--Boys work in the gardens--A quarrel, and how it was
settled--An evening’s chat with the white man--Rubbing evil
spirits out of a man--Sunday
service--Congregation--Sermon--Visit to a near town--Religious
talk with the King--Boys pray for their white
teacher--Witch-doctor’s trick exposed_

CHAPTER XV

SATU RECEIVES A TITLE

_The King sends for medicine--He is told to apply to St. 167
Catherine--The King’s promise--Bakula bids farewell to his
white friend--King’s deputy goes with us to Satu’s
town--Ceremony of conferring the title--Killing a
leopard--Satu redeems his brother--Releases his niece from a
hateful marriage--A story: “Appearances are sometimes
Deceptive”--A chief asks for Satu’s niece in
marriage--Marriage money is paid--The wedding--Satu gains a
new slave_

CHAPTER XVI

HUNTING AND BUSH-BURNING

_Manner of bush-burning--Witch-doctor makes a hunting 194
charm--Ceremony is carefully performed--Blazing bush and
rushing animals--Satu arranges with another chief to burn the
bush--Dimbula breaks the law and insults Satu--War is
declared--Old Plaited-Beard being unsuccessful accuses Bakula
of bewitching him--He tries to restore his luck_

CHAPTER XVII

SATU AND HIS PEOPLE GO TO WAR

_Satu as the insulted party makes the first move--He sends an 212
embassy to Dimbula--He asks for an apology or offers a
bullet--The apology is refused, but the bullet is
accepted--The witch-doctor makes a war charm--Mode of
fighting--The ridge-pole of chief’s house is captured--Dimbula
sues for peace with a white goat--Pays homage to Satu--Blood
brotherhood is made_

CHAPTER XVIII

GOVERNING, MARKETING, AND TRADING CUSTOMS

_The making and enforcing of laws--Fines imposed--Division of 223
fines--Congo week of four days probably named after their
markets--Raids and robberies--Preparing a caravan for the
road--Rules of the road--Arriving at a trading-station--Mode
of trading--Goods given and received_

CHAPTER XIX

AN ACCUSATION AND THE ORDEAL

_Old Plaited-Beard charges Bakula with stealing--The accusation 240
is denied--Bakula declares his disbelief in charms and
witch-doctors--Satu saves him from immediate death--The
missing cloth is found in Bakula’s house--Tumbu exposes the
accuser’s trickery--He is ridiculed--Bakula submits to the
ordeal of the boiling oil--His arm is badly scalded--During
the night Bakula escapes to the Mission Station_

CHAPTER XX

BAKULA AT SCHOOL

_After much nursing Bakula recovers--He becomes a school-boy--He 252
struggles with the alphabet--He learns to understand
pictures--Routine life--Bakula itinerates with his white
man--He does not relish sleeping in the wet bush--He is
convicted of sin--He inquires the way of salvation--The lads
play a trick on a witch-doctor--Bakula is received into the
Church--He returns to his town_

CHAPTER XXI

BAKULA’S WORK CHECKED

_The conservatism of the Congo people--Bakula and his scholars 267
build a school-house--A missionary visits his town--He
encourages Bakula in his work--A “luck fowl” dies--Its death
is put to the credit of the missionary’s visit and
teaching--The school-house is pulled down--Satu is afraid to
interfere--Native way of punishing an unpopular chief_

CHAPTER XXII

BAKULA FALSELY ACCUSED AND MURDERED

_Failure of various remedies--Witch-doctor engaged--Diagnosing a 274
case--Different “medicine men” are called in--Bakula denounces
their trickery--Suspicion of witchcraft falls on
Bakula--Native attempts to rid themselves of death, sickness,
etc.--Preparing a corpse for the grave--Bakula is accused of
bewitching his mother to death--He is guarded by Old
Plaited-Beard through the night--He is taken to the
hill-top--He falls and is done to death--Tumbu buries the
mangled body of his friend_

CHAPTER XXIII

I FIND MANY CHANGES

_Mikula while digging the foundations for a brick house 294
discovers me--The town is changed--There is daily
worship--Observance of the sabbath--Sunday
service--Collections for support of teachers--Christian
funeral--Visit to the Mission Station--Teaching
teachers--Martyrs for the cause_

CHAPTER XXIV

A MARRIAGE AND A HARVEST FESTIVAL

_A Christian wedding--Grateful offerings--Christianity a great 307
boon to the women--Reunion--Various meetings--Lady
missionaries conduct services--Auction sale of the
gifts--Changed lives--Mikula instructs a stranger in the way
of Salvation--Rules for candidates and for Church fellowship_

CHAPTER XXV

MIKULA AT THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

_Months glide quickly by while working hard--Deacon’s 326
meeting--Church-meeting--The kind of candidates who were
rejected--Baptismal service--The great meeting of the
Church--Election of deacons--The balance sheet--A
deficit--Native Christians wipe out the debt--Local missionary
meeting--The great communion service_

NOTES TO PART I 341