As soon, therefore, as it was practicable brother Langballe and his wife paid a visit to the Indians in those parts. They found the former settlement at HOPE, quite forsaken, and overgrown with bushes. About three miles higher up, on the Berbice side of the river, they met with a considerable number of baptized Indians, who formerly lived at HOPE, and had made a settlement there. Brother Langballe was received by them with great cordiality, and staid with them three weeks. Every day he held a meeting; and spoke with them on the necessity of true conversion, and faith in Christ. They listened with great attention and apparent devotion to his discourses; several of them expressed their sorrow at having no teacher now residing amongst them, and their earnest desire, not only to be favoured again with opportunities of hearing the word of God, but to live in conformity to it. Brother Langballe at that time could do no more, than make a regulation among them to meet together and read the New Testament. He encouraged them to turn anew with their whole heart to Jesus, and to forsake all heathenish practices, and help to build each other up in the faith. He then set out with his wife, and visited the other baptized, who lived dispersed on the Ziporotu and Mepenna rivers. Many of these poor people bewailed the loss of their teachers, and expressed their sincere wish that missionaries might again come and dwell among them. According to the best information brother Langballe could procure from those whom he visited, he found that of the former inhabitants of HOPE, one hundred and ninety-seven persons were still living. He himself had spoken with seventy-seven of the baptized.

Encouraged by these promising appearances, two missionaries, William Christian Genth, and John Hafa, who had lately arrived in Surinam, proceeded in June 1812 to the Corentyn, where they found a house ready for them, having been built by one of the christian Indians, in expectation of their arrival. It was about three miles distant from the site of the old settlement. With the assistance of some Negroes, they had brought with them from Paramaribo, they soon cleared a piece of ground for planting, and enlarged their dwelling, so as to accommo

date the Indians with a meeting room. Thirty of the baptized resided about a mile from them, and diligently attended divine worship. In process of time two or three Indian families came to settle with them, and others promised to follow; but that awakening and true conversion of heart, which the Spirit of God alone can effect, were still wanting.

From the most recent intelligence received from that quarter, and dated in April 1817, it appears, that the missionaries had left the station on the Corentyn, and removed to the river Neukeer, there to preach the gospel to the Negroes on the neighbouring plantations. Five Arawak Indians had accompanied them. Brother Genth had fixed his residence on an estate, called GOOD INTENT, about four miles from the mouth of the river. The proprietor had given him a dwelling-house with sufficient garden-ground, and a building to serve for a meetinghouse. This place lies in the centre of eight cotton plantations, from which the Negroes were allowed to attend divine service without molestation. Brother Hafa had settled on another estate near the coast, on the river Сорспате.

SECTION IV.

Bambey on the Sarameca.

THE government at Surinam having in the year 1764 made peace with the Free-negroes, living on the river Sarameca, and wisely judging, that their conversion to christianity would, more than any thing else, tend to make them peaceable, and put a stop to those depredations and cruelties, which they had formerly committed, made application to the Brethren to send missionaries to instruct them. In consequence of this application, the Brethren, in the year 1765, sent the missionaries Lewis Christopher Daehne, Rudolph Stoll, and Thomas Jones to Paramaribo; who set out from thence for Sara Creek, on December 7th. Their goods had been previously con

veyed up the river by a boat carrying soldiers, and they themselves arrived there on the 12th.

About the same time, Mr Doehring had been sent by government, as agent to the Free-negroes, to distribute presents among them, and do every thing in his power to engage their friendship. He was likewise commissioned to introduce the missionaries to the Chiefs, and to recommend them to their favour. In this view, he invited all the Chiefs to a conversation in his tent. A good many Free-negroes came with them, to whom Mr. Doehring presented the above mentioned brethren, informing them of the purport of their coming, namely to make them acquainted with God, their Creator and Saviour; and added "Whatever you do to these men, whether good or bad, I shall consider as done to myself." The Negroes unanimously promised to treat them in the best

manner.

The missionaries intended to travel further into the country, but as the Negroes had not room in their boats for the accommodation of all, brother Stoll was obliged to return, with part of the baggage, to Victoria, and wait for another opportunity. This separation gave them much concern. However, as no other plan could be devised, the brethren Daehne and Jones went with the Negroes, and arrived December 24th; the former on the Sinthea Creek, with Abini, (father to John Arabini, who became a worthy member of the congregation at Bambey) and the latter with Samsam on Doose Creek. It was by no means their wish to reside at two different places, but Samsam, who was a Chief, and with whom brother Jones had travelled, kept him by force. This did not arise from particular regard or attachment to the missionary, but solely from ambition, that he might likewise have an European residing with him, which the Negroes esteem an honour. January 1, 1766, however, brother Jones found an opportunity of disengaging himself from his ungracious host, and rejoining his fellow missionary, Daehne, on the Sinthea Creek. Samsam continued for some time to be very troublesome, by insisting on having one of them as a resident in his house; and when he found

T

them resolute in their determination of dwelling together,kept back their goods, and either applied them to his own use, or suffered them to spoil. They felt their loss very severely. However, on February 2, brother Stoll arrived from Victoria, with the remainder of their baggage.

The meeting of all appointed to the same work gave them great joy; but, it was soon turned into grief, by the unexpected departure of brother Jones into eternal rest, on the 7th of the same month. The two remaining brethren, at first suffered great hardships and poverty, and lived in a small miserable hut, near the dwelling of two old Negroes, till Abini, becoming sensible of their distress, built a small house for them. In a short time, however, they lost likewise this friend and benefactor. He was shot in a battle between the combined force of the Sarameca Negroes, and the white people and Matuari Negroes. Before he went to the battle, he is said to have presented his son, John Arabini, to the missionaries, with words to the following effect: "that he did not know what sort of people the Brethren were, nor the cause of their abode in the country, but believed God had sent them."

In August the same year, Cujo, afterwards called Joshua, brought his son Scipio to brother Stoll, and requested him to teach him to read and write. With this boy the brethren began a school, which was afterwards increased by some other young people; but only the two first stayed, and at their pressing request went in the sequel to reside with the missionaries, and having received a real sense of the love of God in their souls, were baptized and admit-ted to the holy sacrament *.

Arabini, who was chosen Chief in the place of his father, proved a real friend and protector to the missionaries. Having in the course of a year acquired sufficient knowledge of the language †, to render themselves intelligible Per. Acct. Vol. ii. p. 414.

The language of the Free-negroes, though differing considerably from that spoken by the Negroes on the plantations, is not difficult of attainment to any one who understands English, or any language derived from the Latin.

to the inhabitants of the village; they informed them of their reason for coming to the country, namely, to make them acquainted with the true God, the Creator and Redeemer of man. This excited the jealousy and opposition of the idol-priests, and especially of the old women, who terrified their superstitious countrymen by representing to them that their gados (or gods) were angry with them for turning to the Gran-gado (the great God) of the white people. Not satisfied with thus deterring the Negroes from having any intercourse, with the missionaries, they even plotted their destruction. But, as our brethren were ignorant of their murderous design, they continued to hold their family devotions with their doors open, hoping that some of the savages might be attracted by curiosity to attend. They were, however, warned against going out of the house at night, and they themselves make the following remark in their report of 1767, " Our situation is

* The number of their gados is almost incalculable, every person choosing one according to his own fancy. Some fix on a large tree, a heap of sand, stones, a tiger, a crocodile, a serpent, &c. for their gado; and others make use of an image, or a stick, decorated with the teeth of some ferocious animal. Before these idols they perform their devotions with great reverence. However they are not scrupulous in reproving their gado, if they think he has done them a mischief. A water-serpent, called Boma, whom a Negrowoman had chosen for her idol, having one day killed the only duck she possessed, she rau in great fury to the river and exclaimed; "O gado! thou hast not done right in that thou hast killed my only duck, though I have very faithfully served thee, and thou hast done no harm to these people who have many ducks, and who seek to destroy thee, [meaning the missionaries] this is not right." Such fooleries, however, are not the whole, or the worst part, of their superstition. Some persuade themselves, in so lively a manner, that the spirit of their gado is upon them, that, while under this delusion, their bodies are subject to the most violent and frightful agitations; and the more ghastly and horrid the contortions of such a person are, in the greater veneration is he held by the people, who repose unlimited confidence in his pretensions. When the Negroes observe any thing uncommon, either in the bodily form, or in the intellectual powers, of a child, he is committed to the tutorage of an old idol-priestess who from infancy prepares him for the inspiration of a gado, in such a manner, that it is impossible not to discern the effects of satanic influence. And though a pupil of this discription is often dreadfully emaciated by the paroxysms, which accompany his initiation, he willingly subunits, in the hope of once becoming. a great man, and being respected as an obia, or gado-man, whose advice and counsel are sought in case of sickness, and on other occasions. Such persons are, in general, expert deceivers, who know how to turn the superstitious credulity of the people to their own advantage, and never fail to enrich themselves. Risler, Part Sec. 3. p. 182-184.