W. HOLMAN BENTLEY D.D. UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW THB LIFE AND LABOURS OF A CONGO PIONEER BY HIS WIDOW H.. M. BENTLEY WITH A PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAIT, MAP, A.ND SIXTBEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. LONDON THE CAREY PRESS 19, FURNIVAL STRBET, B,C, 4. PREFACE T was with no little hesitancy that I complied I with the request to write an account of my dear husband's life. There were so many reasons that made it almost impossible for me to describe with any fairness the character and work of such a man as he was, that I shrank from the task. But when, finally, more than one friend urged it upon me, I felt in a way constrained to do it, if but to show how much may be achieved by any one man, if only he be willing to place himself unreservedly in the hands of God, to be used by Him and for His glory. One great difficulty that confronted me at the onset was that I had never met my husband until the year of our marriage. Happily I found two diaries of the years 1878 and 1879, which have helped me very much in my account of those years; and these, with his mother's recollections and the letters of friends, have enabled me to give an account of the way in which he was trained by God for his great life-work. Another vii viii Preface inconvenience was that his private correspondence had mostly been left behind in Congo, in the expectation of returning there after a reasonable absence on furlough. My grateful thanks are hereby offered to my husband's early co-worker and friend, the Rev. H. E. Crudgington, for the incidents which he sent me of the early years, without which it would have been impossible for me to have given any details of their discovery of Stanley Pool. There is a tendency in some circles to look down upon Missionaries as men who have adopted this life because they had no prosperous outlook at home. This idea is being dispelled by the many records of the achievements of the brave and devoted heroes of the Cross, and Holman Bentley's life's record deserves to rank amongst the highest, on account of what he was, as well as what he did. With his intense earnestness, his powers of concentration, his scorn for slovenly work, he might have earned success in any calling. A friend who knew him from earliest childhood, writes of him : ' He knew no failures ; ' and all Dr. Bentley's letters, received after his ' home-call,' are unani­ mous in their testimony to his gifts and graces. Yet, when informed that the University of Preface IX Glasgow proposed to confer on him the honorary degree of D.D., his surprise was so great that, in writing to a colleague, he expresses a fear that they will 'smile ' at the announcement. That friend, writing after his ' home-call' says : ' On the contrary, we who knew him best felt how worthy he was of such an honour.' His was no false humility, for modesty was one of his special characteristics. After Dr. Bentley's death, a friend in a letter of condolence writes : 'He was most beautiful in his character of charming courtesy and modesty. One would never guess from his manner how great things God had wrought through him. Perhaps this explains how He could so work by him.' Fram all mission fields we hear the cry ' Come over and help us.' The fields everywhere are white unto the harvest, and the workers so few. Is there any calling so noble, so Christ-like as that of being, as Paul calls it, ' ambassadors for Christ '·? Pathetic speeches are sometimes made about the missionaries 'laying their bones on a foreign shore' (as if it mattered where the bones are laid), and there is much talk of the 'sacrifices' made. Is this the way to regard it? Is this what He deserves Who died for us ? ' Who can look the Master in the face and talk of " sacrifice" ? ' Dr. Bentley asks in one of his * Preface early letters. In another letter he writes: ' I wish those at home knew what a grand wide door God has opened into dark Central Africa. I wish that they could understand that Missionary life, even out here, is much grander, worthier, than anything they are likely to do at home.' It is largely, then, in the hope that this volume may be a stimulus to others, to be followers of Holman Bentley, even as he was of Christ, that the sacred task of writing it has been undertaken. If I may add a personal word, it would be to urge those who are free to go, to consider the call that comes to them in this book, and, to quote once more the words of Dr. Bentley himself, to 'strive earnestly to be, and do, what they will wish to have been, and done, when they review the past in the light of the Eternal City.' H. MARGO BENTLEY. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE vii CHAPTER I EARLY LIFE AND HOME INFLUENCES Birth and parentage-Early years-'Playing at Chapel'­ An elder brothers past-Parental influence-School days -A maker of romance-' Go on, Bentley !'-Business life-Conversion-Desire to be a missionary-A bank clerlls reading-Church membership and activitt'es­ Thinks of the Nearer East and learns Arabic-Tract distribution-An eventful missionary meeting-A call and a decision-Accepted for the Congo CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE OUT Preparations -Outfit- Valedi£tory meeting- Sails from Liverpool-Sea-sickness and the lemon cure-At Madeira -Spanish dishes-A mldnight incident-Kroo boys­ Worklng at naufti:al astronomy-After-results-Arrival at Banana-The Congo-Aku and the scum on the waters-A Congo catastrophe- Hipj;ojlotami-Croco- d:'les: their attacks-The case of Iye 16 xi XII Contents CHAPTER III TO SAN SALVADOR PAGE Up the river-.fourneying by land-Dijficultiesand hardships Rain-storms and their results-Arrival at San Salvador -The hi.story ofa flag-King and Court-A royal hearer andpopular doubt-House-building-A Congo home and its furniture 3 5 CHAPTER IV EARLY DAYS Stone houses-Industn"al work-Bentley's resourcefulness­ Bentley as a medical missionary-Bentley's example- ' The servant of all'-' The delicate one'-Sleep, the restorer-A strange bed-The clock and the sleeper­ Health troubles- Bentley and the Congo language -Aspirations and endeavours-Settling the alphabet­ Long hours-But steady progress-The interior beckons -Early attempts at exjJlorati'on-Attempts to go up­ country-Bentley and the natives-His inter,course with the children-His hopes for them-The story of Nlemvo­ How the children loved him-Tasks dnd talks-Results. 48 CHAPTER V TO STANLEY POOL The new route-A start made-The possibility of being eaten -Troubles with carriers-' Two very remarkablejetzshes' -A cloud of butterflies-News by drum-Hostile pre- paralions-A. narrow escape-Short of water-Bentley to the rescue-Rain-storms and native lnferences-The Pool at last-A hostile receptlon at Nshasha-'Perfect friends'-A bugle-call and z"ts result-At the mercy of Nga Liema-Bentley's dan"ng-Anri as peace-maker- Hi"s love for the people-And intercourse with them . 73 .... Contents X111 CHAPTER VI MANYANGA PAGE Back from the Pool-A hearty welcome-Intrigues of the Portuguese priests-The king's observations-His retort -Preparatlonsfor The Pool-Recruits needed-The con­ ditions of the work-Buying a site-' Where are the pigs?'-The A.I.A. and t"ts work-Rela!t"ons wt"th Belgian officials-Advantage of the Belgian Expedition -The advantages of 'God's white men '-Service to the Expeditio11r-Bentley as surgeon-In the trade distn"cts­ Bentleys coolness-' Killing the scent'-A night visz"t from a hippo-Meeting with H. M. Stanley-A weary missz'onary 88 CHAPTER VII 'IN JOURNEYINGS OFT' The need of reinforcements-Dangers for new men-' The chances of their being eaten up'-Transport work-A Pen"lous road-Moving statwns-The dangers of n·ver navigation-Home criticism-A providential escape­ A trying march-Successful work-Laying foundatlons -Native opinion-And a native patient rn3 CHAPTER VIII 'A PEOPLE IN DARKNESS" The condition of tlte people-Witchcraft-Its victims-The polson-test-The condemned six-Unavail£ng interven­ tion-A journey fn haste-Just in time !-A gallant rescue-The case of Tawanlongo-NegotiaHons-The poison-cup at last-Escape-Family feuds-Bentley as arbi"trater-The problem of polygamy-The attitude of the women-' The only one! Not a bit of it!'­ -Dnmkenness-Slavery-Greed-Social organisation . I r6 xtv Contents CHAPTER IX ARTHINGTON AT LAST PAGE Desire for reinJorcements-HapPz'ness of the work-The vast regions lying open-Mr. Comber t1l-The Pool-A Chiefs welcome-Moments of peril-The Belgian Ex­ pedition and the natives-A visit to Makito-Can-iers and their wages-The Bayansi-Inquiries for women missionan'es-Bentlejs views-The missionarjs wife . 132 CHAPTER X FIRST FURLOUGH, AND MANY LABOURS Leaves for home-Arn'val-Influence of his pleas-Mr. Arthington's help-The type of men wanted-The strain of deputation work-Congo politics-Newspaper work­ The strain on Bentley-Meets his future wife-Obstacles overcome-Marriage-Bentlejs loss of sight-Aku and her story-A nf!"dl assistant-An ingenious device-A blind man's wn'ting-Long hours-Dt'ctionary-making -Abstract terms-The difficulty oj accurate rendering --Proof-reading in Normandy 150 CHAPTER XI TO THE FIELD ONCE MORE Preparing for the journey-Losses by the Arthington fire­ A kind suggestion-How met-Visit to Malvern-The acddent by the way-Bentley's he!p--Tlte value oj Congo expen·ence-An expen'ment on himself-Bentley as doctor and surgeon-Inquin'es t'nto sleeping-sickness-Valedic­ tory meeting-Sails again for the Congo-An interesting find at Lisbon-Arn'val at Banana-An arbitrary Governor-Up the n·ver-Stations assigned--Arrival at Wathen-A domestlc incident-The n'val cooks-Up the Kwangu-The need of pioneer work explat'ned-Wt'tlt Contents xv PAGE some of z"ts perils-In charge at Stanley Pool-Scarcity of supplies-Bentley's incubator-At work on the Congo grammar-The grammar completed-Some home cn·ti'- cism and Bentley's reply-Iti'nerati"ng-A t Lemba-Fever again-But visitors also-The value of the journey­ Personal details-Emin Pasha expedition-Its purpose- The baby as a misst"onary-Nlemvo and Aku-Plans and prospects .