BARNABAS SHAW

 

THE STORY OF HIS LIFE AND MISSIONARY LABOURS

 

IN

 

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

 

 

WITH A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF WESLEYAN MISSIONS

IN THAT COUNTRY.

 

 

BY THE

REV. WILLIAM MOISTER,

 

AUTHOR OF “HISTORY OF WESLEYAN MISSIONS,” “MEMOIR OF THE REV. H. WHARTON,” “MISSIONARY PIONEERS,” “MISSIONARY STORIES,”

“MISSIONARY ANECDOTES,” ETC., ETC., ETC.

 

 

 

LONDON:

WESLEYAN CONFERENCE OFFICE,

2, CASTLE-STREET, CITY-ROAD;

SOLD AT 66, PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1877

 

 

PREFACE

 

PERHAPS there never was a Christian Minister sent forth to preach the Gospel in heathen lands whose labours excited greater interest among the friends of Missions than those of the late Rev. Barnabas Shaw, the founder of the first Wesleyan Mission Station in Southern Africa. Divine Providence opened his way in a remarkable manner, and everything favoured the promotion of that popularity which he soon won for himself as a faithful and successful Missionary of the Cross.

 

In the early part of the present century, when Mr. Shaw entered the foreign field, the Missionary enterprise was comparatively new. The spheres of labour then actually occupied were neither numerous nor extensive; and the Cape of Good Hope, to which Mr. Shaw was sent, naturally occupied a prominent place in the public eye. Several countries in which prosperous Missions have now been established, were at that time, wholly neglected by the Protestant Churches of Christendom.

 

There appeared, moreover, in Mr. Shaw’s character and proceedings a genuine candour, a singleness of purpose, and an earnestness of aim, which won the hearts of all who knew him; whilst his letters, as published from time to time in the Missionary Notices, were marked by a simplicity and a pathos which rendered them charmingly interesting to all classes of readers. Hence his name and that of his Namaqua Mission became household words in many a British home; and the stimulus given to the work by his beautiful letters was followed by the most pleasing results.

 

Nearly twenty years have passed away since Mr. Shaw finished his course; and yet, up to the present time, strange to say, no Memoir of him has been published, with the exception of a very brief sketch in a volume entitled Missionary Pioneers, by the present writer. In the hope of supplying this defect, and of giving to the present race of Juvenile Missionary Collectors, and to the friends of missions generally, such a narrative as they will appreciate, this volume has been prepared for the press by Mr. Shaw’s oldest surviving friend and fellow-labourer in South Africa.

 

The author desires to express his grateful acknowledgments to members of Mr. Shaw’s family who have kindly placed at his disposal some interesting manuscript notes, illustrative of the early history of the devoted Missionary; and especially to W. L. Blore, Esq., of Sandown, Isle of Wight, for information which he has most cheerfully furnished. The volume is now sent forth with the sincere prayer that the God of Missions may bless its perusal, and make it the means of a still wider extension of the Redeemer’s Kingdom

 

 

W. M.

 

Woodbine Cottage,

Newport, Isle of Wight,

December 4th, 1876

 

 

CONTENTS

Chapter I Ancestry and Parentage Page 1
Chapter II Birth and Early Days Page 8
Chapter III Ministerial Labours at Home Page 15
Chapter IV Mission to South Africa Page 24
Chapter V Journey to Namaqualand Page 38
Chapter V Journey to Namaqualand Page 38
Chapter VI Labours in the Interior Page 50
Chapter VII Pleasing Results Page 66
Chapter VIII Miscellaneous Incidents Page 79
Chapter IX First Visit to England Page 97
Chapter X Labours at the Cape Page 105
Chapter XI Second Visit to England Page 125
Chapter XII Evening of Life Page 143
Chapter XIII The Closing Scene Page 175
Chapter XIV Wesleyan Missions in Southern Africa Page 194

ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait To face Title Page
Cape Town and Table Mountain To face page 29
Native Escort Going to Meet the Missionary To face page 48
First Lesson in Writing To face page 70
Bucas Attacked by a Lion To face page 84
Wesley Chapel, Burg Street, Cape Town To face page 108
Khamiesburg and Mowbray Stations To face page 160
Wesleyan Chapel, Robertson To face page 201
Mission Premises, Graham’s Town To face page 204

BARNABAS SHAW:

 

The Story of his Life and Missionary Labours

 

CHAPTER I

 

ANCESTRY AND PARENTAGE

 

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” – EXODUS xx.12.

 

 

WHO has not observed that Yorkshire has been honoured above every other county of England, in producing and sending forth zealous and devoted ambassadors of Christ, to proclaim the good news of salvation on the high places of the Mission field? More than once have I enquired in social gatherings of Missionaries and their wives, in distant lands, as to the part of the dear old country from which each had come, and as often has it been found that a majority of the persons present were from Yorkshire. I last instituted this inquiry many years ago in Southern Africa, when several in the company claimed to be Yorkshiremen, of whom the oldest and most honoured was the venerable Barnabas Shaw, the celebrated pioneer Missionary to that country, the story of whose eventful and laborious life I propose now to give. This I shall do in the simplest and plainest manner possible, and in language which cannot be misunderstood, for the information chiefly of juvenile readers, and with the hope of interesting also the friends of Missions in general.

 

From manuscript notes kindly placed at my disposal by members of his family, it is gathered that Mr. Shaw sprang from a humble but pious and highly respectable ancestry. His grandfather was a farmer at a village near Pocklington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and his grandmother was eminent for piety, according to the light she had, at a time when spiritual religion was but little known in the neighbourhood in which she lived. This worthy couple were among the first to give encouragement to the Methodist preachers who first visited that part of the country; and they nobly exerted themselves to promote the cause of God in their native village, when almost all other people stood aloof. They also rendered great assistance in the erection of the first Wesleyan chapel that was ever built in Pocklington, Mr. Shaw’s grandfather himself providing the means of carriage for all the materials used in the building, and otherwise helping forward the enterprise. This was in or about the year 1745, so that we have to record very early devotion to the cause of Methodism in the family of which the Rev. Barnabas Shaw was, for more than half a century, the worthy representative.

 

On his mother’s side also, the subject of this narrative was of respectable descent. His maternal grandfather, whose name was Best, had a farm at Holme, on Spalding Moor, in the same county. Holme is a long, straggling village, about five miles from Market Weighton, and is remarkable for the hill on which the church stands. That building is supposed to have been placed as a landmark to travelers crossing the moors. Tradition has it that on the margin of a neighbouring moor, there was once a cell, founded by two monks who devoted themselves to the charitable task of guiding travelers across the trackless wilds, and that the one acted as conductor, whilst the other engaged in prayer for the safety of the travelers.

 

In the old family records are found some interesting notes in reference to Mr. Shaw’s maternal grandfather. He was a godly praying man, and, withal, a High Churchman. From the spiritual guides he had in the Church he received little or no light; but he was eminently charitable, and showed great strictness in the outward observances enjoined by his Church. He was, moreover, a man of a serious mind, and was very much impressed by his first careful perusal of the eighty-eighth Psalm, and especially by the fifteenth verse. There is no record to show what were his views of the plan of salvation; but the subject of the present Memoir, who was a favourite with his grandparents, and often paid them a visit, had many proofs that his grandfather was “a man of prayer.” He died about the year 1801, aged seventy-two. Barnabas was then only thirteen years of age; but, young as he was, he had received a deep impression of the excellency of his grandfather’s character. He well remembered his last words to him, “Be a good lad, and God will always bless thee.” The old man’s remains were interred in the churchyard at Elloughton, and, by his own request, the eighty-fourth Psalm was sung at his funeral.

 

Barnabas’s father, Mr. Thomas Shaw, was born near Pocklington, about the year 1754. He had two brothers, Robert and John, and one sister. His uncle Robert Mr. Shaw never saw; but his uncle John, who had a farm near Elloughton, he well remembered. His aunt, Mrs. Petch, of Wheldrake, near York, left two sons, who continued to occupy their father’s farm after his decease, and with whom Mr. Shaw stood in associations which were remembered in after years with much pleasure. Mr. Shaw’s mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Best, was born at Holme. She had but one sister, Ann, who was four or five years her senior. This sister married Mr. William Helstone, who occupied a farm about a mile from the Wesleyan Chapel at Holme. For many years she was a consistent member of the Society at that place, suffering much for her devotion to the cause of Scriptural Christianity. She lived to a good old age, having reached her ninetieth year when she was called to her eternal rest. She was much respected by all who knew her, especially by the family of Barnard Clarkson, Esq., of Holme House. This aunt was the first member of Mr. Shaw’s family who became directly attached to the Methodist Society. He writes concerning her, that “she endured great opposition from various quarters, but remained firm to the end.”

 

Mr. Shaw’s parents, who were married in 1777 at Elloughton, which is about eleven miles from Hull, had six children, of whom four died in infancy, and lie interred in Elloughton churchyard, beside their parents and grandparents. The two survivors, James and Barnabas, were brothers not only by blood, but in true Christian affection. From early youth they were steady industrious lads, devotedly attached to each other. Adverting to the kindly harmonious feeling which existed between himself and his brother, Mr. Shaw writes, “We never quarreled; but the good nature was all on his side. Although four years older, my brother never gave me an unkind word or look.” James was a good mathematician, and for many years conducted a school at Holme, with credit to himself, and advantage to his pupils. In early life he was much attached to the Established Church, and disliked anything approaching to enthusiasm; but, through his brother’s influence he was induced to attend the services of the Wesleyan-Methodists. He became deeply affected by the truth, and was converted to God when twenty-three years of age. Thenceforth he was a thorough Christian, and a consistent member of the Methodist Society. Under his influence many of his pupils also became seriously disposed, cast in their lot with the despised people of God, and helped to build up the cause of the Redeemer in their village. He was about to be married, but was seized with a sudden and fatal illness on the 5th of May, 1817, at the early age of thirty-three. His last words were, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” At his own request, his remains were interred at Holme, in the burial ground on the hill already mentioned.

 

Mr. Shaw was not in England at the time of his good brother’s death. He had already left his native country, and was far away in Namaqualand, peacefully pursuing his beloved missionary labours. When the mournful intelligence of his sad bereavement reached him, he was busily engaged in building the first Methodist Chapel erected in Southern Africa. The loss of such a brother was to Mr. Shaw most trying and afflictive. He found some relief in a flood of tears; and he never afterwards referred to the event, even casually in conversation, without indications of deep feeling; for his brother had been his dearest companion and friend. In briefly recording the event in his distant African home, Mr. Shaw quotes the following touching lines:--

“My brother the haven hath gain’d,

Out-flying the tempest and wind;

His rest he hath sooner obtained,

And left his companion behind.”

 

In thus giving a brief account of Mr. Shaw’s ancestors, as introductory to the story of his own life and personal labours, we have touched upon a subject which was always very dear to him. In common with other Missionaries who have made great sacrifices for Christ, he never forgot his native land and his kindred according to the flesh. The farther he was separated from them, the more precious they were to his memory. Nor was he ever weary of expatiating on the piety and personal excellencies of his beloved parents and other members of his family, who had distinguished themselves by their zealous devotion to the cause of the Redeemer. He considered it a great honour to have descended from such ancestors; and the prospect of meeting them in heaven was to him a source of consolation and joy amidst the trials and difficulties of Missionary life.

“My boast is not, that I derive my birth

From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth;

But higher far my proud pretensions rise—

The son of parents passed into the skies.”

 

 

CHAPTER II

 

BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS

 

“From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” –2 Timothy iii. 15.

 

 

WE now proceed to speak of the immediate subject of our narrative, and to tell the story of a consecrated life in all its principal incidents, so far as we have been able to collect them. We shall see many remarkable instances of the providence and the grace of God; and it will be well to take special notice of the lessons which are to be learned from what will pass in view. Especially shall we find abundant cause for gratitude in the blessings enjoyed in this highly-favoured land, as the truth is disclosed concerning heathen countries, in which little or nothing is known of the character and the worship of the true God. Nor should we fail to take a deeper interest in the great and glorious Missionary enterprise, when we see the remarkable manner in which Divine Providence raises up and qualified men for special spheres of labour, and how Almighty God blesses the preaching of His Gospel in various parts of the world.

 

Barnabas Shaw, the subject of this memoir, was born on the 12th of April, 1788, at the pleasant village of Elloughton, about eleven miles from Hull, on the northern bank of the Humber. That part of Yorkshire is celebrated for its beautiful rural scenery; and the hero of our story was reared and trained amidst scenes and associations well adapted to prepare him for the great life-work which awaited him in the Mission field. His education like that of most boys of his class, at the time at which he lived, was of a humble character; but what he lacked in school tuition, he endeavoured to supply by carefully reading useful books at home, a practice to which he became much devoted at an early period. It is astonishing to observe how much may be done in this way by youths of really studious and industrious habits. The annals of Methodism contain the names of a large number of great and good men, remarkable for their piety, zeal, and usefulness, who were not favoured with a collegiate education, but who, having passed through the ordinary course in common schools, diligently and with great success built upon the foundation thus laid, and so fitted themselves for positions of great influence in the Church and in the world. Self-made men, as they are sometimes called, are worthy of double honour, inasmuch as they have attained their positions under difficulties of which persons placed in favourable circumstances can hardly conceive.

 

In his early training, however, and in his pursuit of knowledge under peculiar difficulties, Barnabas Shaw had some advantages which others have not enjoyed, and which helped to compensate for the otherwise unfavourable circumstances in which he was placed. In his earliest attempts at reading and study he was favoured with the assistance of his brother James, his senior by four years, who was, moreover, qualified for the office of teacher by superior gifts and some advancement in knowledge. Some junior brothers foolishly dislike to be taught by those who are nearly related to them, however intelligent they may be, and put on haughty airs towards brothers or sisters who offer their friendly aid. This was not the case with young Barnabas. As we have already observed, he was united to his brother James by the strongest ties of affection and esteem; and he was ever ready to receive counsel and instruction at his hands. James afterwards became a professional tutor; but it is doubtful whether Barnabas ever attended his school, as, by that time, he had grown up to manhood, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits.

 

In early life Barnabas Shaw, like most young people, was fond of reading history and books of travel and adventure. He would sit for hours deeply absorbed in thought, over narratives of adventure in foreign lands. At such times he appeared lost to everything but the scenes of thrilling interest which were passing before his mental vision as he turned over the fascinating pages. He also took great delight in geography and kindred studies, noticing with feelings of deep interest the climates and the productions of different countries, as well as the manners and customs of the native tribes occupying various parts of the globe. Thus at a very early age, was he preparing himself for foreign adventure and for that Missionary enterprise by which he was afterwards distinguished. A vivid recollection of his own early experience never failed to prompt him to impress upon the minds of the young the importance and the necessity of attending well to their studies in the morning of life. I have heard him expatiate with deep feeling on these matters, in addressing a Sunday-school in his old age, assuring his youthful audience that he could remember distinctly many things learned in boyhood, although he sometimes found it difficult now to recall what had occurred only a few days before.

 

The subject of our story was, moreover, very fond of music, and the earliest recollections of his boyhood were associated with playing his flute in the upland pastures of his father’s farm, whilst he tended the flock, and watched the little innocent lambs as they gamboled around him. When, in after years, I repeatedly heard Mr. Shaw speak with sparkling eyes of those early happy days at home, I was often reminded of David and his harp, and imagined the humble shepherd boy watching his father’s sheep on the hills of Palestine, long before he became king of Israel. And, in connection with these references, I may add that I have often been led to admire the wonderful providence of God, as shown in raising up, training, and adapting His agents for the work which they have to do, in the advancement of His cause and kingdom among men.

 

But it was not merely in reading and study, in playing his flute, and in watching his father’s sheep on the banks of the Humber, that young Barnabas Shaw spent his early days. His father was a thorough disciplinarian; and, being an industrious man himself, he trained his sons to work as well as to play. The younger boy as he grew up to maturity was taught to imitate his elder brother by taking an active part in such work on the farm as he was able to perform. But when at length Barnabas was strong enough to handle the sickle and the scythe, and occasionally to follow the plough, he felt he was becoming a man, and exerted himself in a manner worthy of the highest commendation. Whilst engaged in these useful and invigorating exercises, little did he think that he was being trained and prepared for the secular duties of his future Missionary sphere, in which he would have to teach a rude and barbarous people the arts of civilized life and improved methods of tilling the ground, as well as to instruct them in the things belonging to their eternal peace. But so it was, and I have heard him gratefully acknowledge the intimate connection between his early training and the usefulness of his course of hallowed toil in the Mission field.

 

There is but little information as to the moral and religious character of the subject of this narrative during his boyhood, beyond the fact that he and his brother were kept under the strictest moral restraint by their upright and godly parents. Thus were they mercifully kept from evil company and from the practice of the glaring sins which were so common among young people in those days. They were, moreover, carefully taught to read the sacred Scriptures so far as their parents were able to instruct them; there were no Sunday-schools in that part of Yorkshire in those days. Nor were the public means of grace neglected. On the Sunday morning the young Shaws were regularly conducted by their parents to the parish church; and in the evening they were frequently found assembled with their neighbours in a humble cottage to hear a plain and faithful sermon from the lips of a Methodist preacher. Barnabas Shaw always gratefully cherished the recollection of the pains taken by his godly mother to teach him the fear of the Lord; and to plant in his youthful mind the seeds of Divine truth, by causing him to commit to memory collects, passages of Scripture, and verses of hymns, which he never forgot as long as he lived. This hallowed recollection made such a deep impression on his own mind that he was ever ready to promote, to the utmost of his power, the religious instruction of the rising generation; and when Sunday-schools and Missionary institutions came to be established, he was among their friends and patrons, often remarking with deep feeling on the contrast between former and recent times with regard to the religious privileges of children and young people.

 

This contrast is perhaps too little thought of by those whom it chiefly concerns. How thankful ought we to be for the advent of Sunday-schools, for the circulation of the Scriptures, and for the faithful preaching of the Gospel which distinguishes this highly-favoured land at the present day, when we remember the comparative darkness and ignorance of former times! Parents and children, teachers and scholars should all show their gratitude for the privileges which they are favoured to enjoy in this age and in this country of Bibles, Sabbaths, schools, and religious ordinances; and that gratitude should be shown by carefully improving every opportunity of being made wise unto salvation, and by following in all things the example of Him Who said, “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

“See Israel’s gentle Shepherd stand

With all-engaging charms:

Hark how He calls the tender lambs,

And folds them in His arms!”

 

“’Permit them to approach,’ He cries

‘Nor scorn their humble name:

For ‘twas to save such souls as these

The Lord of angels came.’”

 

 

 

CHAPTER III

 

MINISTERIAL LABOURS AT HOME

 

“I send thee to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” –Acts xxvi. 18.

 

 

IT is very pleasant to contemplate the moral and religious training of youth; but, although this frequently prepares the way for conversion to God, it does not render that change of heart unnecessary. However carefully we may be led to a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and of our Christian duty, we must also be the subjects of genuine experimental religion. Otherwise we can neither be truly happy, nor reasonably expect to be useful in promoting the salvation and spiritual welfare of our fellow men, nor be admitted into the kingdom of heaven at last. So important is this point that the Wesleyan-Methodist Conference requires of every candidate for the ministry, not only a clear knowledge of Scripture doctrine and ability to communicate it intelligibly and profitably to others, but also satisfactory evidence that he has passed from death unto life, and become “a new creature in Christ Jesus.”

 

I have not been able to glean many particulars with reference to the conversion and early religious experience of Barnabas Shaw; but as to the fact that he had in early life been brought to a saving knowledge of the truth, and made a happy partaker of Divine grace, there is abundant evidence. I have often heard him advert, with gratitude and joy, to the peace and comfort which he experienced in the sense of the favour of God, through Jesus Christ, and to the pleasure which he felt in proclaiming the good news of salvation to others. It appears from the family records that he was quite young when he began to be deeply concerned about personal religion. He considered his brother superior to himself in every respect; but it is evident that Barnabas was the first to embrace the mercy of God in Christ, and that after he was saved from the wrath to come, he, like Andrew of old, conducted his brother to Jesus. We therefore cannot wonder at the remarkable unity and affection which characterized these two brothers: they were united by a stronger tie than that which is afforded by natural relationship, being bound together by the love of Christ.

 

Having been brought “into the glorious liberty of the children of God,” and having joined the Wesleyan-Methodist Society in his native village (of which his honoured parents were consistent members), the subject of this narrative soon found an appropriate sphere for the exercise of the gifts with which he had been endowed by the great Head of the Church. At first he took part in cottage prayer-meetings, and other religious services for which his aid was sought in a district where preachers of the Gospel were “few and far between”; and it was not long before he entered upon the great and important work of calling sinners to repentance. He was twenty years of age when he thus began publicly to speak in the name of the Lord. Writing afterwards in reference to the date—July 20th, 1808—he says: “My mother informed me that on this day I preached my first sermon.” The dear woman, with true motherly fondness, had kept a record of the event of which she was naturally proud, and often referred to that event as one of the most pleasurable occurrences of her lifetime. His text on that occasion was Luke xix.10: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

The text selected by the youthful evangelist, on the occasion of this his first pulpit effort, may be taken as fairly indicating the general type of his ministry during his long and useful career; for whatever topics he might at times select for discussion in order to give variety to his preaching, the character and work of Christ, and the plan of salvation through faith in His atonement, with their cognate doctrines, were the themes on which he most delighted to dwell. Nor is it at all improbable that, at this early period, he felt within him the stirrings of those noble aspirations which eventually culminated in his entire consecration to the work of the ministry, when, in imitation of his Divine Lord and Master, he went forth into the wide world to “seek and to save that which was lost.” In the year 1809, Mr. Shaw was engaged in the instruction of others at Hook, at the same time devoting himself to the study of those subjects a knowledge of which was necessary to fit him for the great work to which, in the order of Divine Providence, he was soon afterwards set apart.

 

In 1810, the name of Barnabas Shaw appeared on the list of candidates for the Wesleyan ministry; and a young preacher being soon afterwards required in the Epworth Circuit, he was sent as a supply to labour under the superintendency of the Rev. T. Tattershall. Thus in the birthplace of Wesley, surrounded by scenes and associations full of interest to every lover of Methodism, did he commence that ministerial career which was destined to be so varied, and so important in its results. He left his humble home at Elloughton to enter upon his great life-work with peculiar feelings; for the life of a Methodist preacher in those days was one of peculiar trial, hardship, and privation; but he was sustained and comforted by a mother’s prayers and a father’s blessing. The Rev. Joseph Benson, who was President of the Conference that year, next sent Mr. Shaw as a supply to Winterton, near Brough, in the parish of Elloughton, where he had the Rev. Thomas Harrison for his superintendent and Messrs. Matthew Mallinson and John Scott for his colleagues. We find from his manuscript notes that during the remainder of that year he preached at Ferriby, Barton, Barrow, Brigg, and many other places. Winterton is no longer the head of a Circuit, but Barton and Brigg are both Circuit towns.

 

In the year 1811 Mr. Shaw attended the Wesleyan Conference, which was held at Sheffield, under the presidency of the Rev. Charles Atmore. He was much impressed with the wisdom and the dignified bearing of the devoted men to whose fraternity he had been admitted, and resolved, in the strength of Divine grace, to prove himself a worthy member of the body. At this Conference he was appointed to the Spilsby Circuit, which then included Boston, Wainfleet, and other important places, at which he preached with comfort and success. It was during his sojourn in this Circuit that Mr. Shaw formed a life-long friendship with R. C. Brackenbury, Esq., of Raithby Hall, a distinguished friend of the Missionary enterprise, in affectionate remembrance of whom he afterwards named more than one of his mission-stations in South Africa, as we shall find in the course of this narrative. During this period Mr. Shaw was highly-favoured in his ministerial associates. “My superintendent,” he says, “was good John Barrett;” and his colleague was Humphrey Stephenson. The Rev. Robert Pickering also occasionally visited the Circuit to render assistance, as Mr. Barrett suffered severely from the ague. Mr. Pickering and Mr. Shaw were always glad to meet with each other, as they had been associated from their boyhood, when Mr. Pickering was an apprentice with Mr. W. Much, of Elloughton.

 

In 1812 Mr. Shaw accompanied his superintendent to the Burton-on-Trent Circuit, where he laboured with credit to himself and advantage to the cause, preaching at Alrewas, Tamworth, and many other places in that neighbourhood. In the course of the following year, when on a visit to his native place, he “resolved, by the grace of God, to give himself to the Mission work in foreign lands,” earnest efforts being made at that time by the Church to which he belonged, to send the Gospel to the heathen. According to an entry which we find in his journal, this resolution was made “on Mill Hill at Elloughton,” a place to which he often retired for meditation and prayer.  During the Conference of 1813, Mr. Shaw was confined to his bed by sickness; but shortly afterwards, on his recovery, he was sent to Newcastle-upon-Tyne by the President, the Rev. Walter Griffiths. There he resided with Dr. Taft, and the Rev. J. Turton was his colleague. In his usual laconic style, he says: “The far-famed Orphan House above the Chapel was our residence.” In the course of this year he became acquainted with Mr. And Mrs. Reay, of Carville, whose friendship he highly esteemed, and of whom he always spoke in terms of the highest commendation.

 

At the Conference of 1814, under the presidency of Dr. Adam Clarke, Mr. Shaw, having applied for a station on the coast, was appointed to Bridlington Quay. Mr. Z. Taft accompanied him to Sunderland, whence he sailed in a collier to Scarborough. After a night’s rest he went on to Bridlington. Travelling in those days was a very different thing from what it is now, when steam-packets and railway-carriages are at the service of those who have to remove from place to place. At Bridlington the Rev. Thomas Ingham was the superintendent, and the Rev. Robert Jackson was Mr. Shaw’s colleague. During his sojourn in this Circuit he preached at Filey, Flamborough, Rudstone, Kilham, Langtoft, Burton and other places mentioned in his journal. He also records the fact that “Mr. Thomas Robinson, one of the oldest friends of Methodism, died this year at Bridlington Quay.” The sermon preached on the occasion of his funeral by the superintendent minister was afterwards published, in compliance with the request of friends.

 

Having completed his term of probation, and having been received into full connexion with the Wesleyan Conference in 1814, Mr. Shaw, after much prayer and consideration, took the important step of marriage. He writes: “Believing it not good for man to be alone, I was married on the 24th of July to Miss Jane Butler, of Bridlington Quay, in the old church at Bridlington.” As a circumstance quite in harmony with the character of the bridegroom, it may be mentioned that he preached on the evening of his wedding-day at Rudston Parvor, near Driffield.

 

At the next Conference, Mr. Shaw formally offered himself for the foreign work, in accordance with the pious resolution which he had formed two or three years before. At that time Missionaries were much required for India, the party of young men, from whose head Dr. Coke had been removed by death in such a mysterious manner, having commenced their labours in Ceylon, with encouraging prospects of success. For that important sphere of holy enterprise Mr. Shaw and other five devoted young ministers were accordingly designated at the Conference alluded to, and their appointment appeared on the Minutes. The newly-married couple, therefore, began at once to prepare for their departure from their native land. In September Mr. Shaw writes: “We parted with our friends in Yorkshire, to see some of them no more till we meet in eternity. Do Thou

‘Keep us, and every seeking soul,

Till all attain the heavenly goal!’”

 

In October Mr. And Mrs. Shaw proceeded to London to complete the necessary preparations for their voyage. There they received every attention from many friends of Missions, especially from the Revs. Messrs. Benson, Wood, Entwisle, Bunting, Edmondson, and Buckley, the gentleman last named being the Missionary Secretary at that time. They were kindly entertained at Mrs. Gilbert’s and, among other remarks in his journal, Mr. Shaw says: “About this time I heard Mr. Bradburn preach; but he is failing fast, and cannot last very long. What a change since I heard him at Howden seven or eight years ago!”

 

The happy intercourse which the young Missionary was favoured to hold with the great and good men whom we have named, and with others into whose company he was brought in the great Metropolis, had a most salutary effect upon his mind, and tended more fully to prepare him for the arduous enterprise on which he was about to enter in a far distant land, where he would be thrown entirely on his own resources.

 

During his sojourn in London, circumstances occurred which occasioned a change in Mr. Shaw’s appointment from Ceylon to the Cape of Good Hope. For the place last named a Wesleyan Mission had been planned by the Society some time before, and the Rev. John M’Kenny had been sent out as the first Missionary during the previous year. But, strange to say, that devoted man of God was not allowed to exercise his ministry in the Cape colony, in consequence of the jealousy which existed in the minds of the Government officials, and of the Dutch colonists generally, with regard to missionary influence. The Committee had therefore instructed Mr. M’Keny to proceed to Ceylon to supply a vacancy there, and “the Cape would have been given up but for the favourable testimony of a gentleman who had just arrived in London from South Africa, and who was called into the Committee to state what he knew of the Cape prospects, etc.” At this crisis it was resolved to make a second attempt to found a Wesleyan Mission at the Cape of Good Hope, and Barnabas Shaw was requested by the Committee to undertake the work. This change required all the faith and courage which the young Missionary could command; as he knew, in going to South Africa to begin a new Mission that he must toil for some time alone amid numerous trials and difficulties, whereas if his appointment had stood for Ceylon, he would have been favoured with the company of genial Missionary associates, whatever his other trials might have been. But his confidence was in God; and he proceeded in the path of duty without wavering.

“Give me Thy strength, O God of power;

Then let winds blow, or thunders roar,

Thy faithful witness will I be:

‘Tis fix’d; I can do all through Thee!”

 

 

CHAPTER IV

 

MISSION TO SOUTH AFRICA

 

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.”—Mark xvi. 15.

 

 

WHEN Mr. Shaw found that the Cape of Good Hope was to be the sphere of his future labours, he made special preparation for the particular kind of work in which he would have to engage. In addition to the careful reading of books which gave information about the character of the country and its productions, he paid special attention to the language in which he would be expected to minister. This was the Dutch, which was then spoken not only by the descendants of the Hollanders who first founded the Cape Colony, but also by the coloured people and slaves for whose special benefit the Mission was designed. With the view of becoming so far grounded in the knowledge of the language as to be able to pursue his studies in it during the voyage and afterwards, he received lessons from Mynheer Balwin Janson, an intelligent Hollander, resident in London, and author of a valuable Dutch Grammar and Dictionary. Meanwhile he was busily engaged in completing his outfit, and in attending sundry public meetings and religious services, which were held at different places in the Metropolis almost every night of the week.

 

Everything being ready for the voyage, and the time fixed for the vessel to sail, Mr. And Mrs. Shaw took leave of various friends whose acquaintance they had formed during their pleasant sojourn in London, and on the morning of the 19th of December, 1815, they and their fellow-voyagers took breakfast with the Rev. Joseph Benson, who not only showed them much kindness, but also commended them to the providence and grace of God in fervent supplication. In reference to the pleadings of this devoted servant of Christ, on this and on other occasions, Mr. Shaw says, “Such a man of prayer I have never heard.”

 

Thus fortified by the prayers of God’s people, and actuated by the principles of true Christian charity,--love to God and love to man,--Barnabas Shaw and his devoted wife proceeded at once to London Bridge, where they went on board a steamboat to join their ship at Gravesend. They were accompanied down the river by a party of friends, consisting of the Revs. Messrs. Wood, Bunting, Buckley and others, who, on the 20th of December, saw them safely on board the Eclipse, and again commended them to God in prayer. The ship was bound for Ceylon as well as for the Cape of Good Hope. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw were therefore, favoured in having the Revs. Messrs. Carver, Calloway, Broadbent and Jackson as fellow-voyagers. To these esteemed brethren Mr. Shaw soon became ardently attached; and in after years he was wont to speak of them in the most loving and affectionate manner.

 

Finding the ship not quite ready for sea, the mission party returned to Gravesend, where Mr. Shaw preached in the evening from the appropriate text, “Consider, how great things God hath done for you.” They spent a pleasant day or two on shore, waiting for the sailing of the ship, and greatly enjoyed the kindness and hospitality of some friends of Missions. They returned on board on the 22nd, and without further delay proceeded on their voyage.

 

On Christmas-day the Eclipse was passing Dover with a high wind and a heavy sea, which tended to make the first experience of the missionary passengers on board far from agreeable; but they had embarked in a good cause, and were prepared to suffer as well as to do the will of God. The storm continued, while the gallant ship proceeded down the Channel under close-reefed topsails, sometimes tossed with the waves, and staggering like a drunken man. The gale was so severe that she was obliged to put into Dungeness for shelter, till more favourable weather should prevail. There she remained at anchor for six days without communicating with the shore, the passengers in the meantime being subject to considerable discomfort from sea-sickness and other causes. At length the weather became milder, and the anchor was weighed once more, and the voyage resumed on the last day of the year.

 

On the 3rd of January, 1816, the Mission party lost sight of the white cliffs of dear old England, and their hearts were truly touched with the thought that they might never see their native land again. Mr. Shaw gave expression to his feelings in the beautiful language of Montgomery:--

“I love Thee, O my native Isle!

Dear as my mother’s earliest smile,

Sweet as my father’s voice to me,

Is all I hear, and all I see.”

 

Having called at Madeira and St. Jago, the gallant ship crossed the equator on the 7th of February; and, on the 3rd of March, entered the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, on the coast of South America, where she had to take in supplies. Here Mr. Shaw beheld for the first time a specimen of the horrors of slavery. Multitudes of Negroes were at work, carrying heavy burdens upon their heads, and singing mournful dirges as they walked along the streets. The language of the poor outcasts was quite unintelligible to the Missionary; but their plaintive hapless song affected him much; and he thought it sounded like “Pity poor Africa!” and from that time he adopted the pithy saying as his motto when pleading the cause of Christian Missions. As indicative of the extent to which the slave trade was carried on at that time, he was given to understand that 40,000 poor slaves were annually dragged away from their native homes on the shores of Africa, and brought to the Brazils, to say nothing about the tens of thousands who were taken to the West Indies, North America, and other places, to wear out their miserable lives in hopeless bondage.

 

At Rio Mr. Shaw had also a view of popery on a scale which he had never witnessed before. Processions of priests and monks, with elevated crosses, were constantly parading the streets, whilst multitudes of superstitious people were bowing and kneeling in a manner shocking to behold, since they were notorious for their immorality and profaneness. In the manuscript notes now before me is found the following characteristic entry:--“March 11th. Visited the convent of St. Anthony, where we sat down with a number of priests to an excellent repast. They told us some strange stories; but who believed them?”

 

After remaining at Rio for nearly two weeks, the Eclipse weighed anchor again, and proceeded on her voyage; and now the Missionary and his devoted wife were overtaken by a trial, the very mention of which will be sufficient to excite the tenderest sympathy of the reader. On the 23rd of March, Mrs. Shaw became the mother of a lovely little daughter; but the helpless infant did not long survive amid the tossing of the tempest, and the rude motion of the ship; for God sent the angel of death to bear to Himself the redeemed spirit of the little stranger, and its tiny body was consigned to a watery grave in the Atlantic Ocean; while the parents endeavoured to console themselves with the thoughts that Christ is the resurrection and the life, and that, at the last great day, “the sea shall give up the dead that are therein.”

 

On the night of the 12th of April, Table Mountain, the grand promontory of South Africa, was discovered by the light of the moon. Then, the cry of “land ahead!” was heard; and after so long and so tedious a voyage, it was indeed a welcome sound, and brought many on deck to try their sight. Next morning when the sun arose, the white houses of Cape Town were clearly seen, stretching along the semicircular shore, with the gently sloping hills on each hand, and the almost perpendicular mountain rising behind to the height of four thousand feet. In the course of the day the gallant ship passed Green Point and Robin Island, and came safely to anchor in Table Bay, the Missionary party gratefully recognizing the ever watchful providence and protecting care of that God

“Who rides upon the stormy sky,

And calms the roaring seas.”

 

And now, with the coast of Africa in view, we must give a brief account of the country and its inhabitants before we accompany the Missionary on shore, and follow him in his travels and his labours. Southern Africa is that portion of the great African continent which lies to the south of the Equator. It is about two thousand miles in length and the same in breadth. In a country of such vast extent we meet with great diversity of scenery, soil, and climate. There are, however, some striking features, which belong pretty generally to this extensive and interesting portion of the globe. Wherever we travel in South Africa we behold everything on a grand scale. Every scene in nature corresponds with the magnitude of the Continent on which it is found. The mountains generally rise to a great height, and stretch away as far as the eye can reach, till they are lost in the dim distance, from which they sometimes again emerge to the view of the admiring traveler, as he pursues his journey. The valleys, the rivers, the lakes, and the extensive deserts, are equally imposing in their general aspects. The soil is very unequal. Extensive tracts of country may be seen in many places, which present to the view nothing but rocky and barren wastes, where the zebra, the wild deer, and the ostrich, obtain a precarious subsistence from the scanty herbage which is to be found in isolated places. In other localities, especially in the valleys among the mountains, good arable land is met with, which amply repays the toil of the husbandman, whilst his cattle can graze with advantage on the sloping hills around his homestead. The climate of South Africa, in the Cape Colony, in Natal, and in the Free States, as well as in the regions beyond the colonial boundaries, is generally healthy; and besides the various tribes of native inhabitants, a constantly increasing European population has established itself in many places, in addition to the original Dutch settlers found in the country when it was given over to the English.

 

From the Missionary’s point of view the aborigines, or native inhabitants, of a country, claim our chief attention. In South Africa these are greatly diversified, and are of various tribes. They may, however, be classified under the general divisions of Hottentots, Kafirs, Negroes, and Malays. The Hottentots are undoubtedly, the true aborigines of the Cape of Good Hope, and were found in considerable numbers by the Dutch when they first took possession of and colonized the country. They now have become scattered, and to a considerable extent mixed with other tribes of natives. The Bushmen, Namaquas, and Koranas are all of Hottentot descent, whilst the Griquas are a mixed race of half-castes. The Kafirs are a noble race of men, and superior both in physical development and in mental ability to most other South African tribes. They evidently came originally from the north and drove back the former Hottentot inhabitants. They are divided into numerous petty clans, with appropriate names, and are governed by subordinate chiefs. Hence we read of the Amakosa, Amatembu, Amaponda, Amazulu, Tambookies, Fingoes and others, all of whom belong to the Kafir race. The Negroes of the Cape Colony have generally been brought from the east or west coast, where they were rescued from slavery by British cruisers; and they are now employed as free domestic servants or labourers. The Malays are a class of people originally brought from Batavia as slaves, by the Dutch settlers; but they are now free, and constitute a very thrifty, industrious, useful people, being employed as artisans, domestic servants, and labourers, although they are generally Mohammedans.

 

For the benefit of these various tribes of people Christian Missions have been established in various parts of the country. In 1814 the Wesleyan Missionary Society made its first attempt to take its part in the noble work; but that attempt proved a failure through circumstances over which the Missionary and the Society had no control. That Missionary, as we have already seen, was the Rev. John M’Kenny, a very worthy man, who with his excellent wife arrived in Cape Town on the 7th of August, 1814. Such however, were the jealousy of the Government authorities and the unwillingness of the people to have their slaves instructed that Mr. M’Kenny was not allowed to preach in the Colony, although he produced credentials of the most satisfactory character. Under the circumstances all that he could do was to hold private meetings for conversation and prayer with a few pious soldiers and other persons who had hailed his arrival with great joy, and await the result of his representations to the Missionary Committee in London. Before the removal of the difficulties referred to, Mr. M’Kenny was instructed to proceed to Ceylon where he was afterwards made very useful in the service of his Divine Master.

 

Such was the state of things at the Cape of Good Hope when Mr. Shaw landed from the ship Eclipse on the 14th April, 1816, sent out to make a second attempt to establish a Wesleyan Mission in South Africa. Being anxious to conform to rule and usage, and hoping to obtain the requisite permission to exercise his ministry in Cape Town, Mr. Shaw at once waited upon his Excellency, Lord Charles Somerset, the Governor of the Colony. The Missionary was courteously received by the Governor, who carefully examined his ministerial credentials also a letter of introduction which he brought from Earl Bathurst; but at the same time his Excellency expressed his regret that he could not sanction the commencement of a Wesleyan Mission in Cape Town because there was already in his opinion an adequate supply of clergymen for both the Dutch and the English population, and because several of the slaveholders were still opposed to the religious instruction of the coloured classes.

 

Mr. Shaw returned from the Government-house disappointed, and somewhat dispirited; but he was not a man to be easily turned aside from his purpose in such a great and glorious enterprise; and he therefore made his request known unto God and forthwith acted according to his convictions of duty. Referring to this crisis in his history he says:--“Having been refused the sanction of the Governor, I was resolved what to do, and commenced without it on the following Sabbath. If his Excellency was afraid of giving offence to the Dutch ministers, or the English chaplains, I had no occasion to fear either the one or the other.” Accordingly, following the example of the Apostles of old, who said, “We ought to obey God rather than man,” Mr. Shaw, on the following Sunday morning opened his commission, and preached the first Methodist sermon ever heard in South Africa, in a room hired by a few pious soldiers, in which they had for some time held their own prayer-meetings and other religious services.

 

This is not the only instance recorded in the annals of the Missionary enterprise of pious soldiers having been the pioneers of the Gospel. They have often, by their noble examples and zealous efforts, prepared the way for the Christian Missionary and by their influence and prayers helped him in his good work. In this case they had written to Dr. Coke long before, earnestly pleading that a Wesleyan minister might be sent to the Cape of Good Hope, for their benefit as well as for that of hundreds and thousands of the mixed population around them, who were sitting in darkness and in the region and shadow of death. They had grieved over the inability of Mr. M’Kenny to exercise his ministry among them and they now rejoiced that a Missionary had been sent from England who had courage to obey God rather than man, and who actually dared to proclaim to them and others the unsearchable riches of Christ. It was matter of regret, however, to Mr. Shaw, that before his arrival Sergeant Kendrick, the leader of this noble band of Methodist soldiers, had passed away to his reward in heaven. That brave hero of the cross, who had been brought to God in early life, under the ministry of the Rev. George Morley in Leeds, died happy in the pardoning love of Christ on the 18th of November, 1813. His surviving comrades conducted the Missionary to the military burial ground at Green Point, that he might look upon the grave of their departed friend and brother. They had marked the spot in which his body sleeps with a rude monument bearing the following lines:--

“Live till the Lord of glory come,

And wait your heaven to share:

He now is fitting up your home;

Go on; we’ll meet you there.”

 

The Missionary turned away from the grave of the Methodist soldier with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow,--sorrow that he had not been favoured to see and converse with so devoted a servant of Christ; and joy that his happy spirit had reached the place where “the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest,” and that the fruits of his labour still remained. He resolved, moreover, to do all in his power to promote the spiritual welfare of a class of men who are worthy of Christian sympathy, and who have great power for good or for evil, wherever their lot is cast. Mr. Shaw, accordingly did not confine his attention to the neighbourhood of the garrison in Cape Town, but extended his labours to Wynberg, a village about eight miles distant, where there was at that time a considerable military establishment. There he found that the praying soldiers had erected for themselves a little chapel in the neighbouring forest in which they were wont to meet for worship, as they had opportunity. To that humble sanctuary they conducted the Missionary, and there listened with delight to his message of mercy, experiencing a fulfillment of the prophetic work, “The solitary place shall be glad.”

 

The history of that rude house of prayer, as related to the Missionary by the pious soldiers, was of great interest. It had been built by the kind permission of Captain Proctor, on his own ground, in the place of a previous one which had been burned down by order of the Colonel of the Regiment, because, from its position in the village, it was alleged to be a nuisance. While digging the foundation, the soldiers found a quantity of shining particles, both white and yellow, from which circumstance they conceived that they had discovered a silver or gold mine. Mrs. Tate, the wife of one of the corporals, a pious and active Christian woman, immediately filled her apron with the supposed treasure; and hastened to exhibit it to Captain Proctor, saying, “Look here, Captain Proctor, the Lord is blessing you for allowing us to build a chapel on your ground: we have found a mine.” As it had been reported that a silver mine was discovered in the neighbourhood during the time of the Dutch Government, and as there was a place not far off the name of which reminded them of the report, it was natural enough for the soldiers to suppose that they had actually hit upon a vein of silver; but although better informed persons than the corporal’s wife at first thought the shining particles valuable, they after all proved to be but pieces of common quartz and granite.

 

The next place to which Mr. Shaw directed his attention was Simon’s Town, situated on the margin of a convenient bay about twenty-two miles from Cape Town. On the occasion of his first visit he received much kindness from Mr. Martin, of His Majesty’s Dockyard, and preached to a goodly company of soldiers and civilians in a room belonging to a sergeant of the 83rd Regiment. On proceeding next morning to the top of the mountains above the town, he met with a Mohammedan, and also an aged Pagan, both black or coloured men, whom, in conversation, he found altogether ignorant of spiritual things. He says: “I longed to be able to speak to them more fluently, and to be employed in preaching to the Gentiles ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ.’”

 

Hitherto Mr. Shaw had proceeded in his labours without any interference or molestation. It is highly probable that he might have been allowed without any hindrance to continue his efforts for the benefit of those to whom his attention had been chiefly directed, notwithstanding the somewhat irregular manner in which he had commenced his ministry; but being of an ardent temperament, and feeling himself called by God as a Missionary to the heathen, he was ill at ease in his narrow and circumscribed position, seeing, as he did, that there was no prospect of access to the slaves and the coloured population of Cape Town and the neighbourhood. The more he thought of the hundreds and thousands of pagan natives in the far-off interior of Africa, who were perishing for lack of knowledge, the more earnestly he desired to go forth to proclaim to them the “glorious Gospel of the blessed God.” Whilst he was thus musing, and also praying for Divine direction, circumstances occurred by which the way was opened for the carrying out of the desire of his heart. Thenceforward his Missionary career was one of uncommon interest and of almost uninterrupted success. To this new opening, with its attendant incidents, we shall direct our attention in the next chapter, finding occasion gratefully to acknowledge the guiding hand of the Almighty.

“By Thine unerring Spirit led,

We shall not in the desert stray;

We shall not full direction need,

Nor miss our providential way;

As far from danger as from fear,

While love, almighty love, is near.”

 

 

 

CHAPTER V

 

JOURNEY TO NAMAQUALAND

 

“The Lord said…He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear my name before the Gentiles.”—Acts ix. 15.

 

 

WHILST Mr. Shaw was revolving in his mind the subject of a Mission to the heathen in the interior of Africa, and anxiously considering the ways and means by which it could be accomplished, there arrived in Cape Town, from Great Namaqualand, the Rev. H. Schmelen, of the London Missionary Society, with about a dozen converted natives from his station. This incident was destined, in the order of Divine providence, to determine the course of Mr. Shaw’s proceedings with reference to his future sphere of Missionary labour. Returning home one day to his humble temporary quarters in Cape Town, he communicated the intelligence to his anxious wife, when, in substance, the following conversation took place:--

 

Mr. Shaw:--“My dear, I have seen a German Missionary from Great Namaqualand, far away in the interior, and he assures me that if we could get to that country, I should find a wide and promising field of labour, and have ample opportunities for usefulness, without the annoyances and the opposition to the religious instruction of the natives, which we find in Cape Town and its vicinity. I have been quite delighted with the conversation I have had with him.”

 

Mrs. Shaw:--“Indeed! I should like to see him. What kind of people does he say the natives are? And how does he think we could get there?”

 

Mr. Shaw:--“It would appear that the Namaquas are not a very attractive people to look at; but when brought under the influence of religion they become docile, affectionate, and sincere Christians. Some of those whom Mr. Schmelen has brought with him are very excellent men indeed; and I understand that before they were converted they were as wild and as savage as any of those who still remain in heathen darkness. As to the means of getting to their country, I understand we should have to purchase a traveling wagon and a span of oxen, and stores for the journey as well as for the supply of our wants after reaching our distant station; as very little of what Europeans require for their subsistence is to be had there. All this, you see, would be expensive; and, without the permission of the Missionary Committee, I should feel reluctant to take the step, as they expected that I should, in the first place, labour in Cape Town and its vicinity, where such a heavy outlay would not be required.”

 

Mrs. Shaw:--“I see the reasonableness of what you say; but I do not think the Committee would object to the expense, if they knew the circumstances; and even if they did, we could bear a part of it ourselves out of our private means, which will by-and-bye come to us. For my part I shall be very glad to give up the little I shall have for such a purpose. But I should like to see these Namaquas as well as the Missionary. Will you ask Mr. Schmelen and his people to take tea, and spend the afternoon with us tomorrow?”

 

Delighted with the noble response of his devoted wife, Mr. Shaw hastened back to the German Missionary and his converted natives, and invited them to his quarters according to Mrs. Shaw’s wish. When the Namaquas came, they excited much attention by their strange appearance, and the uncouth and unintelligible gibberish in which they addressed one another, as well as by their wonderful accounts of their country and people; and that afternoon was a time long to be remembered. The result was that, after mature deliberation and earnest prayer to God for direction, Mr. And Mrs. Shaw made up their minds to accompany Mr. Schmelen and his affectionate Namaquas on their return to the interior, feeling confident that the Lord would direct their steps. They lost no time in procuring a wagon and oxen, as well as the supplies necessary for the commencement of a new Station; and it was not long before they had everything in order for the journey.

 

And now, before we accompany the Missionary party on their long and weary journey, some account must be given of the strange mode of traveling in South Africa. The regular traveling wagon is a huge vehicle covered with a canvas tent to keep off the sun and rain. It is mounted on four strong wheels, being so loosely put together as to allow of considerable play and friction. Otherwise it would be broken to pieces by jolting over the rocky roads. It is fitted up with convenient chests before and behind, in which are stowed away the crockery ware and such small articles as bread, tea, coffee, pepper, salt, etc. There are also a small chest or two on the sides of the wagon, in which are generally placed the tools, &c., necessary for repairs in case of an accident. And there is a trap behind, on which are packed iron pots, tea-kettle, frying-pan, and other things required in cooking. The heavier articles of stores are packed in bags and boxes in the body of the wagon; and over the whole, in the after part of the vehicle, is fixed the cartel on which are placed the mattresses and bedding for sleeping accommodation; whilst the front part is used as a sitting-room. This cumbrous machine is drawn by a span or team of sixteen or eighteen oxen. It often serves as a dwelling-house for a Missionary and his family for weeks and months together, whilst traversing the dreary desert, far away from any human habitation.

 

It is usual to have one Hottentot attendant in front as a leader to guide the oxen, and another on the front chest as driver, with a long whip which he wields with both hands. It is also necessary to have a native servant or two to drive a small flock of sheep or goats that may serve as provision for the way, and to assist at the out-spannings or encampments. At each of these, which occur in the evenings, and occasionally during the day, a few sticks are gathered, a fire is lighted and the never-failing tea-kettle is called into use; and after a homely repast, the whole company come together for family worship. The Scriptures are read, hymns are sung, and prayers are offered in the native language of the people.

 

As I write I call to mind some very pleasant meetings of this kind around the evening camp-fire; and, no doubt, some of my youthful readers will regard this mode of life as pic-nicing on a grand scale, and would like to have a share in it. They would probably find, however, on making the trial, that the novelty would soon wear away, and that considerable inconvenience and discomfort would attend a long journey in the African desert, notwithstanding the attractive and romantic appearance of the enterprise when seen at a distance.

 

Mr. And Mrs. Shaw set out from Cape Town for the interior, in company with the German Missionary and his people, on the 6th of September, 1816. They were accompanied to their first encampment on the Cape Flats, beyond Salt River, by a few religious friends from the city, who commended them to God in prayer, and then returned home, whilst the Mission party pursued their journey towards Namaqualand. Wishing to get well away from the noise and turmoil of the busy city and its suburbs, before they outspan for the night, they traveled on till a late hour. At length they halted at a place where there was an ample supply of grass and water for the cattle, and Mr. And Mrs. Shaw began to prepare for spending their first night in an African wagon. This was no easy task, however, as the slaap kamer (bedroom) was in a state of utter confusion, being “filled with bags, boxes, guns, saws, spades, articles of clothing, implements of agriculture, tea-kettles, pots, pans, etc., which had been thrown into the wagon in a hurry.” They were consequently obliged to recline as best they could among the baggage till they had time and strength to put things into order.

 

When Mr. Shaw crept out of the wagon next morning, he found Mr. Schmelen sitting under a bush with a cup of coffee before him, which he was stirring with a piece of stick. He smiled as he responded to the usual Dutch salutation, “Goede morgen, Mynheer,” (Good morning, Sir), and added, holding up the piece of stick, “Dit is een Namaqua lepel.” (This is a Namaqua spoon). After breakfast they assembled for worship and the converted natives united heartily in singing the praises of God, and devoutly knelt during prayer with their faces towards the ground. Having collected the oxen, and inspanned, the party proceeded through the sand, towards Fishershok; but, the wagons being heavily loaded, and some of the oxen proving restive, the rate of progress was slow. Towards evening Mr. Shaw’s wagon stuck fast in the bed of a periodical river; and neither the shouts of the people, nor the application of the drivers’ whips to the oxen, and of the shoulders of the Missionaries to the wheels, could extricate it, till Mr. Schmelen’s oxen were brought to unite their strength to that of the others. This was only the first of many difficulties of the kind which had to be experienced in the course of the journey.

 

Having crossed the Berg river, passed the village of Piquet Berg, and spent a night at Peter’s Fountain, they came on the 24th to Uitkomst, the residence of Mr. H. Van Zeyl, the well-known friend of Christian Missionaries of all denominations. Having in after years enjoyed the hospitality of the kind family at Uitkomst, I have the greater pleasure in quoting Mr. Shaw’s testimony to Mr. Van Zeyl’s generosity. He says:--“On my journey to Namaqualand, we remained four days to rest the oxen, and although we were twelve in number, and all supported at his table, he would accept of no remuneration. At our departure, Mrs. Van Zeyl put loaves of bread into our wagon, till we were obliged to beg her to desist. Mr. Van Zeyl also supplied us with a bag of meal, three goats and five sheep, which I had agreed to purchase; but when I came to inquire the amount of payment, he said, “Niets, Mynheer” (Nothing, Sir). On pressing him to allow me to pay, he answered, “Moet my niet quuat maken” (Do not make me angry). He further said, “You come and dispense to me and my family the bread of life,--it would be strange indeed if I could not give you a little provision to help you through the wilderness.”

 

About midnight on the 26th the travelers reached a place called Heere Lodgement (Gentlemen’s Lodge). The oxen, having had no water during the day while toiling through the deep sand, rushed to the pools with great avidity, as soon as they were let loose from the yoke; and the travelers themselves felt faint and weary. Here they gladly remained for two or three days, to rest their jaded cattle, there being a good supply of water and herbage. Whilst the men were engaged in making bullets for their guns, the Missionaries visited a curious cave or fissure in the rock, described by the traveler Vaillant, to whose name, inscribed on the wall in 1712, they added their own, all which I myself read and examined with great interest, several years afterwards, when detained for a day or two at the same place.

 

On the 3rd of October they came to the Elephant River, which they found so swollen by the heavy rains that they were obliged to convey the contents of the wagons across in a small boat. In the afternoon the wagons themselves were taken through, but, because of the depth and rapidity of the stream, they were in great danger of being overturned. With reference to this part of the journey Mr. Shaw says:--“It was both imposing and painful to behold the oxen proceeding slowly onward, the drivers vigorously applying their large whips, and the people shouting, hallooing, and using every possible exertion to prevent both wagon and oxen from being carried away by the stream. The Namaquas who led the oxen, being excellent swimmers, were as buoyant on the water as ducks; and all were brought over in safety.” On the banks of the river the heat was excessive, the thermometer rising to one hundred and ten degrees in the shade; and the slight wind that blew was felt as if mingled with particles of fire. Proceeding northward, the travelers entered upon what is called the Karree, or arid desert, where scarcely a farm-house is to be seen, and where grass and water are very scarce.

 

At this point of their journey there occurred a very remarkable incident, which was destined to fix the locality of Mr. Shaw’s future labours, and which clearly shows the superintending care of Divine Providence. This part of the story will be best told in the Missionary’s own words:--“When we had traveled for a short distance, it was announced that the chief of the Little Namaquas, with four of his people, was approaching. We immediately halted, and entered into conversation with them, when they proposed that we should remain together for the night. The request was complied with, and the chief stated that, having heard of the Great Word, and of other tribes that had received it, he also was anxious to have it, and had commenced this journey in search of a teacher. They had already traveled about two hundred miles, and had designed proceeding to Cape Town, which would have been two hundred more. It was certain that they could have obtained no Missionary there, and it appeared a peculiar providence that we should thus meet them in the wilderness; for had we commenced our day’s journey half-an-hour sooner, or they theirs half-an-hour later, we should have continued our route towards Great Namaqualand, and should consequently have missed them coming from Little Namaqualand. As the finger of God was evidently perceptible throughout the whole of this event, it was proposed that I should accompany the chief to his kraal. He was highly delighted at this, and willingly accepted the offer. At the evening’s service, he, with his people, bowed their faces to the ground; and when Jesus was set forth as the Great Shepherd, who had black sheep as well as white, having said when on earth, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd:’ the chief wept, and appeared to rejoice as one who had found great spoil.”

 

The course of the Missionary party was now changed and directed towards Little, instead of Great Namaqualand. Both men and oxen suffered much from the heat, and from scarcity of water, and the remainder of the journey was performed chiefly in the night, that the jaded cattle might rest during the heat of the day. On the 14th they found they were approaching the great place of the tribe whose chief desired a Missionary. In the afternoon they had to ascend the steep side of a mountain, at the top of which was situated the Naamrap, or cattle place, of the Namaqua chief. Of this part of the journey Mr. Shaw says:--“So rugged was the path, so steep the ascent, so many the large stones scattered in the way that every moment our wagons were in imminent danger of being overturned, or thrown over the edge of some frightful precipice. Every bullock had here to exert all his strength, as the failure of one might have been the destruction of the whole. The enormous whips of the drivers were in constant application, the crack of which, echoing among the surrounding rocks, sounded like thunder. With all this exertion, so difficult was the ascent that we only proceeded by inches, and I began to despair of ever reaching the summit. At length, however, we effected our purpose, and could look back with gratitude, exclaiming, ‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.’”

 

A strange scene presented itself to view as they continued slowly to ascend the slopes of Khamiesberg, near the summit of which, at Lily Fontein, was the home of the tribe. The chief had gone on before to communicate to his people the joyful news that he had found a teacher. A native escort was, therefore, immediately dispatched to meet the Missionary and his wife, and to conduct them in triumph to the great place. “Between twenty and thirty Namaquas,” says Mr. Shaw, “were seen approaching, who rode upon beautiful young oxen. They passed us at full gallop, and after having pulled up, stood on the side of the road with their heads uncovered, saying, “Goeden dag, Mynheer, Goeden dag, Jeffrouw; welcom, welcom aan dit land’ (Good-day, Sir, Good-day, Madam; welcome, welcome to this country). Having thus saluted us, they rode off at full speed to proclaim our approach. On arriving at the residence of the chief we were soon surrounded with men, women, and children, who talked so incessantly that we could scarcely hear ourselves speak. In the evening we held divine worship, and then requested them to retire, in order that we might rest for the night.”

 

On the 15th a council was held formally to consider the question of the Missionary’s remaining with the tribe. The proceedings were commenced with prayer, and a discourse on the words, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” The whole assembly was at first still as midnight, but before the conclusion several wept. The chief, Haaimaap, fell with his face on the ground, and was so much affected that they had to wait some time before the conversation could be commenced. In answer to the questions put by Mr. Shaw as to the facilities which would be afforded for the formation of a Mission Station, by aid in the erection of buildings, and by the appropriation of ground for cultivation and pasturage, etc., first the chief, then his head men, and, finally, all the people with one voice assured him that they would help to the utmost of their power, if he would only remain to be their teacher. He, therefore, consented, believing that he had been directed to the place by the special providence of God; and Lily Fountain became the first Wesleyan Mission Station in South Africa.

 

On the following day Mr. Schmelen and his people, who had hitherto accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, to see them finally settled in their new station, took their departure for Great Namaqualand, and the newly-arrived Missionary and his heroic wife were left alone in the wilds of Africa, strangers in a strange land. The invariable kindness of this pious German and his converted natives had made a deep impression on the minds of Mr. And Mrs. Shaw; and it was not without tears of sorrow that they now took an affectionate leave of them. In their loneliness they endeavoured to cast their care upon Him Who has said “Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

“Alone, yet not alone am I,

Though in this solitude so drear;

I feel my Saviour always nigh;

He comes my weary soul to cheer.

I am with Him and He with me;

E;en here alone I cannot be!”

 

 

 

CHAPTER VI

 

LABOURS IN THE INTERIOR

 

“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.”—Matthew ix. 37, 38.

 

 

THE toils and trials connected with the establishment of a Mission Station among a rude and barbarous people, can only be fully understood and appreciated by those who have not experienced them. Not only have the people to be instructed in the doctrines and duties of the Christian religion, but much attention has to be given to their secular affairs, with the view of training them in improved methods of cultivating the ground, building houses, and managing cattle, with other arts and practices of civilized life. For direction and aid in these things, as well as for medicine in sickness and counsel in difficulty, the natives are in the habit of looking to their Missionary with implicit confidence, regarding him as a person who knows everything.

 

Mr. Shaw was a man well fitted by nature and by grace for the important position to which he was divinely called, as a pioneer Missionary; and he addressed himself to his new and peculiar duties with characteristic zeal and diligence. His first care was to provide a temporary dwelling for himself and his wife, of which they felt the need, after having been so long subject, by night and by day, to the jolting of their covered wagon. They were kindly allowed to occupy a native hut, made in the form of a beehive, with bent sticks stuck in the ground, and covered with rush mats; and they thankfully took up their abode in it, although it had neither window, chimney, nor door, and was, moreover, of very small dimensions. Of this, his first African habitation, Mr. Shaw quaintly says:--“It is certainly an advantage that we have no furniture, possessing neither chairs, nor a table, nor even a bedstead to encumber us; yet, when weary, we find no difficulty in sleeping on the floor.”

 

Near to his hut the Missionary cultivated a small plot of garden ground, in which he sowed lettuce, onions, radish, mustard, cress, and other seeds, which he had brought from England. Great was the astonishment of the natives when they saw some of these spring up in the course of a few days, exhibiting various forms and devices, even, in some cases, letters of the alphabet. Nor was their surprise less marked when they saw the use that was made of the salad. On seeing it brought to the white man’s table as part of the mid-day meal, they clapped their hands in ecstasy, exclaiming, “We never saw anything like this. If Mynheer and Jeffrouw can eat grass they need never hunger!”

 

Having fixed upon a site for a more permanent dwelling-house, Mr. Shaw made inquiry respecting timber, but was told that there was none in the vicinity of Lily Fountain. Wishing to ascertain for himself, he set off to explore the country among the mountains, and wandered from one valley to another, till he was faint and weary, but could not find a single tree suitable for building purposes. He afterwards learned that the mimosa, or thorn tree, could be obtained at a distance of one day’s journey from the Station. He therefore set off, accompanied by a few natives, taking with him a cross-cut saw and some hatchets. Speaking of this novel enterprise he says: “On our arrival at the Naauwe River, one of the Namaquas and myself worked the saw, and in a very short time several trees were lying on the ground. The saw, with its numerous teeth, was an object of great curiosity to the Namaquas; and they were so delighted to see how soon two of them could make a tree fall, that, even after we had obtained a sufficient quantity, I could not restrain them for some time from using it. Many trees were consequently left behind for which we had no room in the wagons.”

 

When the materials were collected for the new Mission-house, the patience of the Missionary was severely tried by the indolence and the awkwardness of the natives, who had given fair promises of assistance, but who had never been accustomed to continuous labour. Sometimes they would partake freely of the food which he had provided for their support while engaged in the work, and then wander off among the mountains he knew not whither. At other times they would dash along for a while in a manner likely to spoil both the tools and the work. To give a specimen of this kind of annoyance, I may quote Mr. Shaw’s own account of his foreman in the undertaking:--“Old Adam, so called, who had occasionally lived with some of the Boers, came and said, ‘If you please, Sir, I will be the baas bouwmeester,’ (master-builder). He was allowed to begin, and took up much time in squaring his eye, and looking at the angles to see if they were correct; but, after a while, I discovered such a bulge in the wall that I was under the necessity of taking down a great part of it, and then undertook the business myself, and succeeded tolerably well. It was a source of grief to me that my architect had failed, as I had so many other engagements; and he felt somewhat mortified at losing his situation; for though little in person, he thought himself far superior, both in intellect and ability, to those around him.”

 

By patient persevering, the dwelling-house was at length finished and occupied; and, by degrees, it was furnished with a bedstead, tables, stools, and other useful articles, of homely manufacture, made chiefly with the Missionary’s own hands. A rude Chapel was afterwards erected as well as a smith’s shop, and other necessary buildings, and Lily Fountain began to wear the aspect of a Christian village, being a center of civilization in a benighted land. Hitherto the small patches of ground which had been cultivated had been dug up with rude wooden instruments; but Mr. Shaw taught the Namaquas how to make a plough; and great was their astonishment when they first saw that wonderful instrument put in motion. “Come,” said the chief to his counselors, as he stood on an eminence, “Come and look at this strange thing that Mynheer has made. See how it tears up the ground with its iron mouth. If it goes on so all the day, it will do as much work as ten wives!” This was said in allusion to the fact that, when they were in their heathen state, the labour of cultivating the ground devolved chiefly on the women and slaves.

 

Whilst these secular labours were going on, and the Missionary was exerting himself to elevate and improve the social condition of the natives, he was not indifferent to their moral and spiritual welfare. This was the prime object of his concern, and often, after the toils of a laborious day, spent in building, ploughing, sowing, or reaping, he was seen sitting under a tree surrounded by a number of children and young people, teaching them to read or instilling into their minds the elementary principles of the Christian religion. Twice on the Sabbath, and frequently on week-nights, regular public worship was held, when the Scriptures were read, prayer offered, hymns sung, and the Gospel of Christ simply and faithfully preached to the people. So soon as assistance could be obtained from the more intelligent of those who were brought under the influence of Divine truth, a regular Mission School was organized, and all the machinery of a Mission Station was put in motion.

 

The difficulties connected with the prosecution of the work at this early period were neither few nor small; but they were all overcome by the undaunted courage and patient perseverance of the devoted Missionary pioneer, sustained and assisted, as he was, by his heroic partner. Mr. Shaw soon acquired such a knowledge of the Dutch language as enabled him to make himself understood either in conversation or in preaching. But this acquirement, valuable as it was, only partly met the case; for although Dutch was in a sense the vernacular of the Cape Colony, these Namaquas spoke a dialect of the Hottentot, with its strange clicks and gutturals, and very few of them knew anything of either Dutch or English. The Missionary, therefore, had to preach and teach in Dutch, through the medium of a Namaqua interpreter,--a method of communicating instruction attended with many disadvantages, especially when interpreters have to be selected from among the unconverted.

 

The deplorable ignorance of the people when the Gospel was first introduced among them was another impediment to its progress. Referring to this subject Mr. Shaw says:--“They had no correct notions of a Supreme Being, and, indeed, many were without a conception of the very existence of God. Some had heard from the colonists and solitary travelers, that there must be a Creator of all things, but many of them disbelieved. An aged man, when spoken to by Jacob Links respecting spiritual things, angrily said, “If there be a God, why does He not take away the pain from my back.’ Another who was entrusted with the care of a farmer’s horses, on one occasion fell asleep, so that the horses were lost. After a long but unsuccessful search, he said at length, ‘I have heard that there is a God, and that if people pray to Him, He will answer them. I will now try Him, and if I find the horses, I will believe.’ Many of the leading men could not count to five, and they were a distinguished few who could proceed as far as ten. Those who were thus clever, in general made use of their fingers for this purpose; and as they advanced in knowledge, they added the toes on each foot, till they arrived at fifteen or twenty. If it were asked, how many are two and three, or four and six, when added together, their powers of calculation were severely tested, and in despair they would answer, “Ik weet niet, Het is all te zwaar.’ (I know not; it is too difficult.) In our meetings for conversation, I have sometimes endeavoured to state as simply as possible some great doctrine of Christianity, as, for instance, the doctrine of Repentance. When I afterwards inquired if they had understood me, some would answer with a deep sigh, others with a significant shake of the head; while many would say, ‘Neen, neen, nee, ik kan niet verstaan.’ (No, no, no, I cannot understand.) On my endeavouring to impress the Doctrine of Repentance upon their minds, by repeating it again and again, and requesting them to remember it till we next assembled, at least its three principal traits, Contrition, Confession, and Conversion from Sin, they simultaneously exclaimed, ‘Ja, Mynheer; ja, Mynheer. (Yes, Sir; yes, Sir.) But to my great mortification, a few minutes were quite sufficient to obliterate every trace of what had been said; and when I again asked, not one individual in the place could furnish a reply.”

 

There were, nevertheless, among the people some remarkable instances of native talent and sagacity, in reference to other matters. A man named Robert Kaffir, who possessed three or four hundred sheep and goats could never count further than twenty, and yet if, on coming from the field, one sheep or goat were missing, he was sure to find it out, as he seemed to know them all by sight. Nor were the people generally incapable of receiving instruction. When the first difficulty had been overcome, and they had become habituated to reflection and inquiry, they made as rapid progress in learning as could have been expected; and in a short time a few so far excelled as to become teachers of others.

 

When they had been some time under training, the natives manifested considerable aptitude for singing the praises of God, and they took such a delight in the exercise that they were anxious to improve their talents by all possible means. Mr. Shaw relates an amusing and somewhat ludicrous instance of a man who adopted very doubtful means for this purpose, in consequence of a hint casually thrown out by the Missionary; and the circumstance may serve to show what care ought to be used in speaking in the presence of simple-minded natives, who place such implicit confidence in their teachers. He says:--“Andrias Orang possessed, according to his own opinion, a very good ear for music, so that although with others he was a very passable singer, yet to his own more refined taste, there sounded a certain grating in his throat, very far from the sweet mellowness so charming to the lover of this art. In truth he was placed in the pitiable dilemma of a skilful musician who is required to elicit strains of sweetness from an imperfect instrument. When we were engaged in preparing the ploughs for seed time, Andrias appeared among the inquisitive and admiring by-standers, and presently asked, with great seriousness, if anything could be done to remove the unpleasant hoarseness of voice with which he was troubled. I intimated that I had heard that the swallowing of a frog was employed for this purpose by some of the professional singers in England. Andrias forthwith, though without the knowledge of the party, proceeded to the fountain; and so strong was his desire to be rid of his thorn in the flesh, that he caught and swallowed one of the croaking species. He then returned to our working place, and said with evident delight, ‘Now I have swallowed it, and I shall soon know if it be of any service.’ The Namaquas, astonished that he should have swallowed a living frog, inquired how he felt; for some of the frogs of Lily Fountain are very large. Thereupon Andrias with such characteristic oddity described, both by words and gesture, the descent of the frog—‘Scratch, scratch, scratch’ as it went,--that a simultaneous burst of laughter ensued, and I could not refrain from joining with the rest.”

 

The incessant labours of Mr. Shaw’s early years at Khamiesberg so taxed his strength that he was induced to apply to the Missionary Committee in England for the appointment of a colleague. In response to this appeal, the Rev. E. Edwards was sent out to the Cape of Good Hope towards the close of the year 1817; and there being no wagon to convey him to his destination in Namaqualand in the usual way he accomplished the astonishing feat of performing the whole journey from Cape Town to Khamiesberg on horseback, although the distance is nearly four hundred miles, and he was under the necessity of sleeping on the ground in the open air for several nights in succession. For his guidance and encouragement Mr. Shaw sent to the newly-arrived Missionary the following characteristic letter, which was found among his papers after his decease, and which clearly exhibits the kindness of the writer’s heart, whatever may be thought of his judgment;--

 

“KHAMIESBERG, Jan. 16th, 1818.—Dear Brother, May grace, mercy, and peace be with you, and the peculiar presence of the Lord, while journeying from place to place! I cannot send my wagon, for my corn is now ripe: some is cut, and the people must daily reap, and with the wagon it must be brought home. I cannot send you strong horses, but I send the best we have. I have endeavoured to borrow two from the farmers, but without success. My own is good (the one with the short tail). You had better ride him yourself, and Andrias, my servant, will arrange respecting the others. I send four horses, but three are weak. I therefore send two men, that one may remain on the road, with a horse or two to relieve the others. On Wednesday you will, God willing, arrive at this place. We shall hope to receive you in health, and I am sure we shall hail you with joy. You must not ride quickly: or if you do, all your horses will fail in the Karoo, (or desert) where there is very little grass, and perhaps no water. If you ride in the forenoon at all, set off before sunrise, and halt by nine or ten o’clock. Don’t begin to go again till about sunset, and ride all night. The moon favours you, and there is no danger whatever; you may perhaps hear a jackal or a baboon: but be not afraid, there is nothing to do you any harm. Here are some bread-loaves: you can give your people a little; be sure to keep sufficient for yourself to the end, as they can do with or without it. Here is a little tongue and salt beef: of the beef also give a little daily to the men. Likewise a little piece of cheese. When the sun begins to be warm, set the people to make a shadow for you of bushes, or you will receive harm, I am sorry it is not in my power to come to you; but you will, I think, do very well. I agreed with a farmer to bring you from Cape Town in his wagon, and should have sent mine to Piet Van Ardt’s to meet you; but I am so glad you are so near. Till I see you, I remain your affectionate, though unknown, brother,

 

“BARNABAS SHAW.”

 

Mr. Edwards at length arrived in safety at Lily Fountain, and proved admirably fitted for the particular kind of work which he had to do. Being thus assisted and relieved, Mr. Shaw began to think of extending his labours to the regions beyond. He first visited two or three places in Bushmanland, where several small parties of natives were settled, who never had an opportunity of hearing a sermon. He also went to Cape Town for supplies, and wherever he traveled, he availed himself of every opportunity which presented itself for preaching the Gospel of Christ, and for striving to promote the temporal and spiritual welfare of all classes.

 

But the longest and most adventurous journey which Mr. Shaw undertook at this period was one to Great Namaqualand, at the invitation of his old friend Mr. Schmelen, who gave him to understand that there were numerous promising openings for the Gospel in the far distant interior. When the people at Khamiesberg saw the Missionaries preparing the wagons for their departure, they were much excited, fearing lest Mr. Shaw might meet with another sphere of labour and not return to them. An aged man named Links was therefore delegated to remonstrate with him on the subject. He approached and addressed the Missionary substantially in the following terms:--“Mynheer, we cannot think of allowing you to go to Great Namaqualand, lest you should not return to us. The believing children have spoken with one another, and they have spoken to me. They are all sorrowful and resolved if possible to prevent your going. You, Sir, have planted a tree here, a beautiful tree; you have watered that tree; you have taken pains with it: and it is growing and bears fruit. If you go and leave us this beautiful tree will droop; if it be not watched and watered, it will die away. How can you go and leave it?”

 

Mr. Shaw having promised if spared to return to the Station, the people became reconciled; and accompanied by his devoted wife he commenced his journey northward, on the 28th of March, 1820. After traveling through a wild sterile country for about three weeks, including a day or two spent at the London Mission Station of Steinkopff, they came to the great Orange River which was found to be full. “Our Little Namaquas,” says Mr. Shaw, “unaccustomed to see the swell of a mighty river, or to hear its tremendous roar over precipitous rocks, hesitated to approach the rapid stream. Some said it was very angry, and might take them away; others feared lest wild beasts should be lurking by its side; thus, though we were parched with thirst, none would go down to the river for water. I therefore took the water vessel myself and hastened to the stream, when they immediately followed, each manifesting the spirit of Jacob Links, who said, ‘Waar Mynheer gaat, daar zal ik ook gaan,’ (Where you go, Sir, I will also go). After this long day’s journey, when we had taken some refreshment, our eyes were speedily closed in sleep.”

 

Crossing the Orange River is easy or difficult according to the state in which it is found. When the water is low, the traveler may easily ford it, as I have done myself, without alighting from the horse on which I rode. When the water is high, the oxen may draw the wagon through, but not without difficulty and danger. When the river is full, fording it is out of the question: the oxen have to swim across, whilst the wagon is taken to pieces, and its respective parts, together with its contents, as well as the travelers, have to be floated over on rafts, made of pieces of dry wood lashed together, and guided by native swimmers.

 

Having reached the northern bank of the river in safety, Mr. Shaw and his party traveled forward for several days, till they came to the Mission Station called Bethany, where they met with a cordial reception from Mr. and Mrs. Schmelen. Here was a good fountain of water, which amply supplied the wants of the inhabitants, and irrigated a considerable plot of ground which made the place a very oasis in the desert. All the rest of the country was fearfully barren. Writing of this place Mr. Shaw says:--“Forty days had now elapsed since we left Steinkopff, during which we had not seen a single dwelling-house of any description, and had passed through a country which, with the exception of a few Bushmen and Namaquas by the Orange River, is entirely destitute of inhabitants.”

 

From this point, the two Missionaries explored the country northwards, and found it equally sterile, with here and there a few fragments of scattered tribes, wandering along the most favoured spots on the beds of periodical rivers, where their cattle obtained a precarious subsistence, whilst they and their families lived chiefly on the milk of their flocks. With these people religious services were held as opportunities presented themselves; and it was hoped that a few rays of light were shed upon their dark minds.

 

In the course of this journey, many amusing and ludicrous incidents occurred, which cannot all be recorded here, for want of space. The following, in Mr. Shaw’s own words, may serve as specimens, and as illustrations of what Missionaries are called to experience in the course of their travels in the wilds of South Africa:--“When we were about to leave the place, a large fat ox was presented to us, by a kind of deputy chief; in consequence of which we had to remain another day to kill and eat. I gave him, in return, some small presents. He was very desirous to have a shirt, so I took off my own, and placed it upon him. With this he was mightily pleased, and attracted many admirers. The shirt did not long retain its colour, for the man apparently had never been washed since he came into existence. This was with our attendants a high day; from morn to midnight their fires were continually employed in cooking. Our cook roasted for us a part of one of the sides of the ox, which he suspended on sticks, over a large fire. For plates we sought out for ourselves flat stones; for gravy, we had the marrow from the large bones; for bread we had slices of liver; and for pepper and salt, the ashes which adhered to the meat.”

 

They next came to the kraal of the chief Gammap, to whom they presented a hat and some other small articles. But he soon came to the wagon to beg for more clothing. On being expostulated with on the impropriety of his conduct, and reminded of what he had already received, he replied., “What you say is true; but then the hat sits upon my head like an old crow upon a bush, and calls for a shirt and other things belonging to it. My old greasy karosse and the hat do not agree together at all.” This reasoning was so powerful that he obtained a shirt and other articles.

 

On returning from this long journey beyond the Orange River, Mr. Shaw resumed his missionary labours at Khamiesberg, in connection with Mr. Edwards with characteristic zeal and diligence, treasuring up the information which he had collected until the time should come when means would be available for the extension of the Mission. In the mean time the work was not prosecuted without difficulties, privations, and bereavements. During this period of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw’s residence at Lily Fountain, they had two children, both of whom were called away at an early period, and were laid in their little graves one after the other in the burial ground at Khamiesberg, which I visited with peculiar feelings many years afterwards. But the Lord graciously supported His servant under these and other trials. He had counted the cost of his noble enterprise, and only wished to live and labour and suffer for the honour and glory of his Divine Master, and the good of his fellow men.

 

“I would the precious time redeem,

And longer live for this alone,

To spend, and to be spent, for them

Who have not yet my Saviour known;

Fully on these my mission prove,

And only breathe, to breathe Thy love.”

 

 

CHAPTER VII