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. . . . . . . .
Mary
Slessor -- a Scottish lass who went as a missionary to Africa
and helped end many tribal abuses such
as human sacrifice.
History of Christianity is a six part survey designed to stimulate your curiosity by providing glimpses of pivotal events and persons in the spread of the church.
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 he was one of the most incredible missionary
women ever. Her life seemed like one great adventure with God. Her mission
began on her mother's lap. As a child, her mother taught her about Calabar,
the deadly coast of Nigeria, known as "the white man's grave."
Like other Scottish children, she donated her precious pennies to help
the mission work. Eventually she asked the Presbyterian church to send
her to Calabar, too.
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In 1875, her answer came in the mail. "Dear Miss Slessor, I take
great pleasure in informing you that the Board of Foreign Missions accepts
your offer to serve as a missionary, and you have been appointed teacher
to Calabar." Mary, a twenty seven-year old factory worker, rejoiced
to read those words.
But could she go when her family needed her income from the factory?
From the age of only eleven she had worked in the sweat shops of Dundee
as a common mill hand, preparing jute and flax for the weavers. In time,
she had become a skilled weaver herself, able to manage two sixty-inch
looms at once, turning out ships' canvas, sacking, sheets, and cloth.
While a little girl, and exhausted by her work, for she was "wee
and thin and not very strong," Mary still made the most of her opportunities.
She attended school when not working and learned reading, writing, arithmetic,
geography, sewing, knitting, and a little music. If she was too tired
to follow the arithmetic problems, the teacher punished her by making
her stand during class. In winter, when the nights came early, she dodged
drunks and thieves as she walked home in the dark to do her chores and
face her father. And facing her father was not something to look forward
to.
Her Drunken Dad
Mary's father, Robert Slessor, was an alcoholic. He probably felt useless,
for the mills hired women and boys in preference to men, who had to be paid
higher wages. When Robert came home violent, red-haired Mary stood up to
him. To protect her from beatings, Mrs. Slessor shooed her out into the
street, to wander crying until her father fell into a drunken sleep. But
Mary learned to hold her own.
She was quick with her tongue. She described herself as a "reckless
lassie" full of mischief, who ran barefoot, jumped, and climbed trees
like a boy. She would never completely outgrow her tomboy practices. But
one day an old widow gathered Mary and some friends around her hearth.
Pointing to the fire blazing in it, she warned them that unless they repented
and believed in Christ, their souls would "burn in the lowin' bleezin'
fire for ever and ever!" The words startled Mary, and she turned
to Christ.
After she became a Christian, Mary tried to help children whose lives
were as bleak as her own. She held Bible classes to tell them of the friend
she had found in Christ Jesus. She took classes of boys into the countryside
for picnics and raced and played with them. Her behavior raised the eyebrows
of people in the pews who always wanted things done "properly."
Some toughs did not want to hear what Mary had to say. They jeered and
slung mud at her. Once they surrounded her while their leader whirled
a lead weight around and around on a string, approaching closer and closer
to her face. She stood without flinching, praying inwardly, but determined
not to duck or run. The lead grazed her forehead, but she stood with steady
eyes. The ringleader dropped the lead. "Its OK boys. She's game!"
He made his whole gang attend meeting that night. With persistent effort
she led many youngsters to Christ.
Off to Africa
On August 5, 1876 she sailed for Africa aboard the S. S. Ethiopia. When she
arrived in Calabar Mary quickly learned about cruel gods carved of wood
and stone. The Nigerians sacrificed humans to these gods. Mary put her own
life on the line, trying to rescue slaves and women from death. She also
fought against the practice of judging by ordeal. A person suspected of
doing wrong might be forced to eat poison beans, or boiling oil might be
poured over him. The gods were supposed to protect the innocent from harm,
but of course they didn't. Every one tested by these methods was "guilty."
Such cruelty infuriated Mary. When one man poured boiling oil on the hands
of an eleven year old boy, she grabbed a scoop of the scalding liquid and
chased the man to pour it on him to show him that he was not innocent either.
Everyone laughed, except the poor boy who was still screaming in agony.
Another horror was the treatment of wives after the death of a husband.
They were automatically suspected of witchcraft. A chicken was beheaded
in front of each wife. Depending on how it flopped, the wife was pronounced
guilty or innocent. The legs of the "guilty" wives were broken
and the women thrown alive into their husband's grave. Ma Eme, a chief's
sister, went through this ordeal. Her chicken declared her innocent, and
she fainted from relief. After that, she often informed Mary secretly
when ordeals were happening so that Mary could rescue the accused women.
Facing the Forces of Fear and Evil
The Nigerians enslaved and branded each other. Girls were fattened up to
sell as slave wives. Slaves were expendable, and when a chief died, dozens
were killed. Other evils included throwing unwanted babies into the bush
to be nibbled by insects or gobbled by leopards. Twins were believed to
be a great evil. One had the devil as its father, said the Nigerians, but
since no one knew which one, both were buried alive or thrown into the forest.
Their mother was driven away to die. The tribes fought and danced and got
drunk. Sometimes they ate one another. Everyone lived in fear. A secret
society known as the Egbo went around in masks and beat people. Once Mary
chased a group of Egbo and tore off a mask.
Mary contracted malaria. She had to return to Scotland. On furlough she
told church women about Calabar and many became interested in her work.
Strangely, although Mary was very bold to talk to African chiefs, she
was too shy to speak in front of men in Scotland's churches.
Single Mom with Many Kids
When she returned to Africa, Mary was allowed to work alone in Old Town.
She liked her new freedom. For fun, she climbed trees. She ate when she
felt like it and set her own work pace. Her house was soon full of orphans
and twins that she rescued, fed, and cuddled.
One twin became so sick that Mary took her into the hills where it was
cooler. She brought her other babies with her. A leopard entered her tent
and seized a baby boy in its mouth. Mary grabbed a flaming stick and drove
it into the leopard's face. The leopard dropped the boy and fled howling.
Fortunately, the boy was not hurt.
While at Old Town, Mary ate African food and learned African ways. With
simple medicines she cured sickness. When trade routes were cut off by
a war, she secretly led men across the mission station at night so they
could sell their goods. When Chief Okon asked her to visit Ibaka and teach
his people about Christ, she was brought up river in an impressive war
canoe with thirty-three oarsmen.
However, Mary again became ill and had to return to Scotland. When she
recovered, she could not go directly back to Africa because her sister
was dying. The last three members of Mary's family died within a year
of each other. It was almost two years before Mary could return to Africa.
Up-Country
More than ever, she wanted to work up country. The mission board was afraid
to send her alone, and other missionaries did not like to work with her
because she lived a helter skelter life. Mary could not change her style,
as it was so much part of her. And she knew that she always had to be ready
to drop everything at a moment's notice to help where she was needed in
order to save lives. Finally the mission gave in. On August 4th, 1888, Mary
set out for Okoyong. The canoe landed near dusk. An eerie silence hung over
the forest. No one met her. It turned out everyone was at a funeral. Mary
had to find her way to a hut in darkness and pouring rain. To calm the fears
of the children with her, she sang silly songs. "What is courage, but
faith conquering fear?" she asked.
From then on, Mary worked alone, pushing further and further inland.
Because Mary understood the people's customs so well, they brought their
quarrels to her to settle. The British government made her a vice-consul
with authority to judge. When the slave trade ended, the people of the
countryside needed new income. Mary helped them make peace with the people
on the coast so that they could trade palm oil in exchange for goods.
She made a major contribution in bringing an end to some of the worst
ways. She grabbed women and took them to her house before they could be
forced to drink poison. More than once she sat up all night, or even several
nights, to protect slaves from execution. When the natives insisted on
clinging to cruel practices, Mary asked the British to send an armed force
into the interior to "palaver" with the chiefs. The expedition
won a peaceful end to some of the evils. More importantly, Mary increasingly
and widely helped the Africans recognize that lives were worth saving.
In 1914, she fell so sick that she was taken by canoe to the government
hospital. She recovered for a few weeks but collapsed again in January.
As she lay semi-conscious she whispered "O God, release me."
She died January 13, 1915. She had not ended all evil practices, but she
had an extraordinary influence for good over thousands of square miles
of Africa.
Years after Mary's death, African women still reenacted the story of
the time she drove off a hippopotamus by yelling and waving her umbrella.
"God and one are always a majority," Mary often said. |
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