\ <3 wi. \q \ a o w ^r6 . J . MISSIONARY HEROES COURSE LIFE STORIES OF GREAT MISSIONARIES FOR TEEN AGE BOYS ARRANGED IN PROGRAMS Martyr of New Guinea SOURCE BOOK “Chalmers of New Guinea” By ALEXANDER SMALL Program Prepared hy FLOYD L. CARR I i Baptist Board of Education DEPARTMENT OF MISSIONARY EDUCATION 276 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY Course No. 1 James Chalmers Guinea SOURCE BOOK “Chalmers of New Guinea” By Alexander Small Baptist Board of Education DEPARTMENT OF MISSIONARY EDUCATION 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City OUTLINE Introductory Statement. Program for Meeting. Life Incidents. Life Sketch. Program based upon Chalmers of New Guinea by Alexander Small Doran $1.50 FOREWORD T HE Missionary Heroes Course for Boys meets a real need. It is a series of missionary programs for boys, based on great biographies which every boy should know. Course Number One, now available, provides programs for the ensuing twelve months and may be used in the monthly meetings of boys’ groups. Other courses are in preparation and will be issued for subse¬ quent years. It is suggested that the leader purchase three copies of each leaflet; one to be kept for reference and the other two to be cut up to provide each boy with his assigned part. In order to tie together the life incidents as they are presented by the boys, the leader should master the facts outlined in the biographical sketch and read carefully the volume upon which the program is based. These volumes are missionary classics and may be made the basis of a worth-while library of Christian adventure. Boys are keenly interested in stories of adventure and achievement and it is hoped that participation in the programs will lead many of the lads to read these great missionary biog¬ raphies. Attention is called to the eleven other life-story pro¬ grams in the series now available for Course Number One, and to the series now in preparation for the ensuing year, both of which are listed on the last page. The books upon which these programs are based can be ordered from the nearest literature headquarters. Portraits of these missionary heroes will also be made available for purchase. While these programs have been developed to meet the needs of boys’ organizations of all types— i.e., Organized Classes, Boy Scouts, Knights of King Arthur, Kappa Sigma Pi, etc.—they were especially prepared for the chapters of the Royal Ambas¬ sadors, a missionary organization for teen age boys, originating in the southland and recently adapted to the needs of the North¬ ern Baptist Convention by the Department of Missionary Edu¬ cation. We commend these materials to all lovers of boys. William A. Hill. PAGE . 2 . 3 . 4 . 6 o a PROGRAM FOR THE MEETING 1. Scripture Reading: Psalm 23. His father gave James a sixpence when a small hoy for being able to repeat this psalm. (See pages 4-5 of “Chalmers of New Guinea” by Alexander Small.) 2. Prayer. 3. Hymn: “The Son of God goes forth to War” introduced with a reference to his martyr death (see pages 158-161). 4. Introduction to Life Story* (based upon pages 1-11 of the above book). 5. His Conversion and Decision (pages 12-13). 6. An Eventful Voyage (pages 22-25). 7. Achievements on Rarotonga (pages 31-34). 8. Life Threatened by a Savage (pages 41-42). 9. The Murder of Some Native Helpers (pages 54-55). 10. Swift Transformations (pages 56-57). 11. Begins Work at Motumotu (pages 72-73, 75-77). 12. James Chalmers Meets Robert Louis Stevenson (pages 109- 111, 70). 13. Another Shipwreck (pages 123-125). 14. A Visit Home (pages 143-145). 15. Martyrdom on Goaribari Island (pages 158-161). * The leader should read both the brief sketch in this pamphlet and also pages i-n f “Chalmers of New Guinea,” by Alexander Small, in order as the program rogresses, to fill in the gaps between the assignments. 3 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JAMES CHALMERS J AMES CHALMERS was born at Ardrishaig, near Inveraray, Scotland, on August 4, 1841, his father being an upright stone-mason. His youth by the sea-shore was a continued story of adventure, mishaps, and brave exploits. When fourteen he entered a law office in Inveraray but a letter from a missionary in the Fiji Islands turned his mind to the missionary field. On his twenty-first year he entered Cheshunt College to prepare for the foreign field. On January 4, 1866, with his wife, he set sail on the John Williams for the South Seas. On the way from Sydney to Aneiteum the ship struck a hidden reef and their outfit was ruined by salt water. Proceeding after repairs, the ship again struck on a reef off the Savage Island and became a total wreck. All on board were rescued but Chalmers lost his entire equipment. He finally arrived at Avarua, Rarotonga, on May 20, 1867, after seventeen months en route. He found that the natives had been raised from a state of fierce savagery to semi-civiliza¬ tion through the labors of John Williams and his successors, but much remained to be accomplished. Ten years were spent here in mastering the various dialects, preparing text books, reorganizing the Students’ College, and placing the work upon a stable basis. At his request he was transferred to New Guinea in 1877, and landed on Stacey Island on September 21. Here he was surrounded by naked cannibals and his life for a time was in great danger, but eventually his courage and tact disarmed their hostility. After a time the health of Mrs. Chalmers failed and he sent her to Sydney for treatment. But the sad tidings reached him, while he was on the way to her side, of her death on February 20, 1879. Seven years later, after having completed twenty years of service, he returned to England for a year’s rest. His ad¬ dresses aroused great enthusiasm. While in England he re¬ newed his acquaintance with a friend of his first wife, Mrs. 4 Sara Harrison, and the following year she met him at Cooktown and they were married October 6, 1888. They settled at Motumotu (Toaripi) as a center from which to supervise the work in New Guinea. He writes of his work: “For over two years there have been no cannibal ovens, no feasts, no human flesh, no desire for skulls. Tribes that could not formerly meet, except to fight, now meet as friends and sit down side by side in the same house, worshipping the true God.” His work required frequent voyages over dangerous waters; and at this time while on a voyage in the Harrier, he experienced his fourth shipwreck. A voyage to Samoa brought him into contact with Robert Louis Stevenson, and between them a warm friendship developed. In 1894 he was summoned home to England to take part in the centenary celebrations of the London Missionary Society, in which he was an outstanding speaker. He also visited his. boyhood home, Inveraray, and was honored with the freedom of the city. But the lure of his work was strong and by Jan¬ uary 1896 he was again back in New Guinea. Four years later, in 1900, his wife died at Daru, the final station opened by Chalmers. The next spring James Chalmers accompanied by his assis¬ tant, Oliver F. Tomkins, started on a tour of the stations, on the Niue. On April 7th they anchored off Goaribari Island and were immediately surrounded by hostile natives. They were persuaded to leave only by the promise that he would visit them the next day. On the morrow, accompanied by Oliver F. Tomkins, he went ashore. They were murdered at the village of Dopima and their bodies were eaten in a cannibal feast. Thus on April 8, 1904, was ended a glorious life of which his own utterance while in England in 1887, is the key¬ note : ‘ ‘ Recall the twenty-one years, give me back all its experi¬ ences, give me its shipwrecks, give me its standings in the face of death, give it me surrounded with savages with spears and clubs, give it me back again with the club knocking me to the ground—give it me back and I will still be your mission¬ ary. ’ * 5 INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF JAMES CHALMERS Reprinted from “Chalmers of New Guinea” by Alexander Small By permission of the publishers, George H. Doran Company His Conversion and Decision. (P. 12-13.) In the Highlands at that time folks worshipped a God of terror, and Mr. Meikle was looked upon as quite unorthodox because he preached a God of love. Chalmers heard sermons about the bottomless pit, everlasting punishment, and fire and brimstone, which affected him like a nightmare. These caused in him an antipathy to religion; and as he could not feel that he was one of the elect, he came dangerously near abandoning the Church altogether. But in November 1859 two evangelists from the north of Ireland arrived in Inveraray. Chalmers and some of his young chums were prepared to give them a hostile reception, to break up their meetings, and to prevent conversions. The first time, however, that he attended one of their services, he who went to scoff remained to pray. The singing and praying, and the intense earnestness of the speakers deeply impressed him, and he hurried home greatly upset. On the following Sunday night at another meeting in the Free Church he was so filled with conviction of sin that he felt lost beyond all hope of salvation. On the Monday Mr. Meikle came to his help and led him to the glorious promises of God, and so he found the truth and believed in Christ as his Saviour. Immediately he returned to the Sunday School as a teacher, and began in his enthusiasm to address meetings in public; his long-cherished vow to take the Gospel to the heathen came back afresh to his mind with com¬ pelling power, and he resolved to devote himself to his Master’s service as a missionary. An Eventful Voyage. (P. 22-25.) It was an eventful voyage. They had a rough time in the Channel and put into Weymouth for repairs, but as they went south the weather improved. Chalmers held “prayers” in the 6 saloon, preached on Sundays, and started a Bible Class for the men on board. They arrived at Adelaide on 20th of May, and proceeded to Sydney; then left Sydney in August for the New Hebrides in order to land two paseugers at Aneiteum, when unexpectedly and to their great dismay the vessel struck upon a hidden reef with every inch of canvas set. She hung there for some days, the pumps being kept going continuously. At last she was got off in a damaged condition, and temporarily patched up to enable her to return to Sydney for repairs. On this trip she was accompanied, for safety, by the Dayspring. Chalmers says, “We lost everything by salt water, 5 ’ but the people at Sydney showed them much kindness, and in six weeks they were able to sail again for Aneiteum. There they landed their passengers and goods, and proceeded to the Loyalty Islands, and finally to Niue or Savage Island, where they received a kindly welcome from Dr. and Mrs. George Lawes. They were preparing next, to proceed to Samoa when another disaster, this time an irretrievable one, occurred on 8th Janu¬ ary 1867; about midnight the John Williams was dashed against the barrier reef of Savage Island by the force of the wind and the tide and became a total wreck. To appreciate the difficulty and danger of navigation among these South Sea Islands it must be remembered that the formation of a coral island is in shape that of a subterranean mountain rising sharply to a summit, and on the slopes of this lie the adherent walls of coral which form the barrier reef. Outside the reef there is no anchorage, for the water is of unfathomed depth. Anchored to the reef the ship is safe so long as the wind blows from the shore; the moment the wind—or even the tide—changes, the ship may be driven on the fangs of the coral unless it can save itself by sailing out to sea. When the John Williams struck she had seventy souls on board, and a great cargo of provisions. She struck with a fear¬ ful crash, and the rain came down in torrents. Eventually and with great difficulty the people were got off safely in boats and part of the cargo was saved, but Chalmers lost nearly all his belongings. For six weeks he remained on the island as a guest at the Mission house. Then a schooner belonging to the Samoan Trading Company called at the island and took the Mission party to Samoa. From Samoa to Rarotonga they sailed on a ship belonging to Bully Ilayes, a notorious pirate captain, but who, on the testimony of Chalmers, behaved like a thorough gentleman, and not only made no objection to the services which Chalmers held on board, but wanted to make attendance com¬ pulsory ! The weather proved very unpropitious, and it was 7 not till 20th May 1867 that Chalmers’s adventurous voyage was over and he arrived at Avarua, in Rarotonga, and was carried ashore by a native. The native inquired, “What fellow name belong you ? ” “ Chalmers, ’ ’ was the reply, and the native called out “Tamale’’ to his fellows on shore, and so Chalmers was called ever after. Achievements on Rarotonga. ( P. 31-34.) To show what Christianity was able to do for those natives let us look a moment at the case of Teava. In his youth a heathen and cannibal, he fought with and captured men, killed and cooked and helped to eat them. In manhood he was con¬ verted, became a true soldier of the Cross, and helped to lead others to the Saviour. He himself became a missionary and was sent to Samoa as a pioneer. Voyaging in an open canoe from island to island at the risk of his life, he strove to remove the prejudices of the people and to prepare the way for a European missionary. Subsequently he returned to Rarotonga, and there Chalmers met him and learned to admire him. He was always first at a meeting, coming early to ask a blessing before the service began. He was always ready to speak, and because of his long experience could preach as few others could. He was a great student of Scripture, and had a great delight in reading The Pilgrim’s Progress; and great was his influence for good among the chiefs. A day’s work in the life of Chalmers in Rarotonga was some¬ thing like this. At half-past five prayer meeting. Then break¬ fast, followed by prayers in English. Then medicine-dispensing till 8 o’clock. Teaching students till 10, mechanical or industrial instruction till 12 when dinner was taken. Rest or recreation for two hours; bath and change into clean clothes; then superin¬ tend printing office till tea at 4. Then visit the sick or other church members requiring visitation. At 6 lamps lit and prayers said in Rarotongon and English; further study till 9; and retire to rest at 10. At Avarua, where Chalmers was stationed, the church was improved and repaired at a cost of £700, and was re-opened in January, 1877, and in the same year Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Gill arrived to take up the work. Chalmers had now been ten full years in Rarotonga; he was thirty-six years of age, and he had developed in many ways and had accomplished much for the island. He had re-organ¬ ized and directed the Students’ College, prepared text-books, expounded the Scriptures, studied various dialects, and had co- 8 operated with the chiefs in the government of the people. The Directors had every reason to be satisfied with what he had done; and to his great delight they decided to send him to New Guinea. As he had had no furlough they suggested that he should in the first instance visit England, but lie replied that he felt no need for returning to the home country “so soon,” and prepared to go at once to his new sphere of duty. Life Threatened by a Savage. ( P. 41-42.) Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers selected Suau (or Stacey Island) as their first home in New Guinea. Here they were among swarms of cannibals who wore necklaces of human bones. But presents were exchanged and a. quarrel avoided. A suitable site for a mission station was agreed upon, and while the house was being built Chalmers and his wife accepted the rude hospitality of a chief, and lived behind a low partition in his house; a house that had an arsenal of spears and other deadly weapons, and was adorned with human skulls. The Mayri, a seven-ton lugger which had brought Chalmers and his goods, was anchored close to the shore, and one day when Chalmers was going to the boat he was surrounded by an armed and painted crowd of savages demanding tomahawks, knives, hoop iron, and beads, and threatening murder if they did not get them. One fellow, wear¬ ing as ornament a human jaw-bone and carrying a stone club, threatened Chalmers’s life. The missionary looked him straight in the face; “You may kill us,” he said, “but you will get nothing from us by force.” His terrified native assistant advised giving a small present, but Chalmers was firm, and reminded his oppo¬ nent that he had come unarmed among the natives as their friend. Gradually the natives retired, and next morning work was resumed as if nothing had happened, and the chief came and apologized for the behavior of the people. The Murder of Some Native Helpers. ( P. 54-55.) One tragic event in March, 1881, was the massacre at Kalo, carried out at the instigation of the chief, Quaipo, by which twelve persons, chiefly native teachers and their wives, were slain. The principal teacher was Andrea, a native of Raro¬ tonga, whom Chalmers himself had helped to train, and who was both a good teacher and a good compositor. Placed at Kerepunu in New Guinea he had done excellent work, and was on the best of terms with his people. He was on a visit to Kalo and was in a whale-boat with his companions when the tragedy occurred. 9 That morning 1 some trouble had broken out between the Kalo people and the wives of the native teachers, a massacre w r as determined on, and the signal for the fight was given by the chief, who stepped into the whale-boat, seized a tomahawk, and killed Andrea. The deed created such a stir that the Government sent Com¬ modore Wilson with his flagship to demand satisfaction, al¬ though the missionaries were strongly opposed to this action. The chief was defiant and said he would not be satisfied till he had Chalmers’s skull too; but one volley fired by the marines, which killed the chief and several of his men, was sufficient to bring the whole tribe into submission, and with the aid of Chal¬ mers, peace was made with the people. Swift Transformations. ( P. 56-57.) In 1882 Chalmers paid a visit to South Cape and con¬ trasted the condition of the natives then with what it had been only four years before. Then they had lived in gross darkness and cruelty, counting that chief as greatest who had slain most victims and gathered most skulls. Now for two years there had been no murder or cannibalism. Tribes formerly hostile, who could not meet except to fight, now sat side by side in the church, worshipping the true God, and delivered from the fear of evil spirits. Instead of war-cries or songs they were singing “Come to Jesus” and “I have a Father in the Promised Land”; and they who had formerly sought to slay the missionaries were now anxious to assist them even to the washing of their feet. Preaching, Chalmers quickly found out, was only a small part of a missionary’s duty. The continual moving about among the people, teaching them to clear the bush, to fence and cul¬ tivate their land, to keep their houses clean and tidy, and the influence of a Christian example as manifested in all the routine of ordinary life in work and in play—these were the means by which the gospel spread. “Before faithful preaching and ear¬ nest living Satan’s strongholds fall. No doubt the natives were savages and often very cruel, but Chalmers found that “when you get to know them you love them and seek] their good.” Begins Work at Motumotu. ( P. 72-73, 75-77.) In August, Chalmers landed at Adelaide, was welcomed by representatives of the Press and of various public societies as well as by the clergy, and was entertained to a public breakfast by the prominent citizens. Here also he had offers from the Government to give up mission work and devote himself solely 10 to exploration, but these were instantly declined. On landing at New Guinea lie stayed for a time with Mr. and Mrs. Lawes at Port Moresby, and then went to Motumotu, or Toaripi, as it is also called, to take up work there. Landing on New Guinea shores was always a difficult task, and Chalmers got drenched going through the surf. The people on the shore answered the shouts of the canoe party and came running to the beach to assist, carrying flaming cocoanut leaves as torches. When they realized that it was Chalmers there was a tremendous roar of excited welcome, and the chief himself came to welcome him and rub noses with him. . . . In Chalmers’s correspondence at this time we get glimpses of the kind of life he had to live day by day when at Motumotu. One day he tells us he went by canoe to visit Moveave with a boat-load of natives. “We smoked and chatted all the way,” the chatting mostly done in “pidgin” English. When near the first village on the route they came suddenly upon a canoe with a husband and wife and two bairns in it. These poor people got a terrible fright. The husband flew to his bow and arrows; and the mother and children were about to plunge into the river, when the boat’s crew shouted that they were friends and that Tamate was on board. The bow and arrows were put down and the family party slowly paddled near. Then a little tobacco helped to soothe them, though the children were still crying piteously, and the husband and wife trembling with fear. Chalmers got them to go on ahead and warn the village people of the approach of the white man. On and on the Mission boat paddled and got into a narrow creek where if an attack had been made no escape would have been possible. The party landed, soon armed natives were seen gathering round. But they were told they must not come armed, because it was a visit of peace and because Chalmers was coming among them quite unarmed. So obediently they put away their weapons, and came in great numbers to see the white missionary. “They were glad, I believe, from the very depths of their hearts,” says Chal¬ mers, “that I had come to make friends with them.” And they showed their kindness by the care they took of Tamate. They would not let him step on a muddy wet place, but insisted on carrying him over all the puddles. Then 'Chalmers divided among them some sticks of tobacco, and went afterwards through the bush to another village and got the same kind of reception. On his return to the first village he found that the natives had erected a shade for him constructed of cocoanut leaves, and there he sat and conversed with them on the miseries of war and the blessings of peace. They gave him presents of cocoa- 11 nuts, betel nuts, and other treasures, and in return he gave them knives, looking-glasses, and jubilee medals, which were received w-itli expressions of delight. “It was a good time,” he says; and doubtless they would have said the same. James Chalmers Meets Robert Louis Stevenson . ( P . 109-111 , 70.) On the following evening (18th Sept. 1890) Chalmers gave a lecture to the white population on his experiences in New Guinea; there was a crowded house, and the chair was taken by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson on this occasion said, “There are some men who never need introducing, and Tamate is one of these. It has been my good fortune to steal a march upon my fellow-towns¬ men, and to anticipate many of you in the privilege of acquain¬ tance with Mr. Chalmers, for I travelled with him from Sydney here. This intimate intercourse has resulted in my having the highest admiration for Mr. Chalmers; and I am sure that all present will not only enjoy listening to his narrative but will also very heartily wish him God-speed in all his future endeavours as a pioneer of civilization and love. I believe we shall all be stimulated to greater courage in taking up the cross that all heroic souls have taken—the cross of light and progress. ’ ’ The meeting of two such famous compatriots as the great novelist and the great missionary is one that stirs the imagina¬ tion. We know how highly they appreciated each other, and no one can wonder at the sudden attachment which sprung up between them, for surely they were kindred natures, and in spite of some apparent surface differences, had much in common. Both were fervent Scots, both born adventurers, and both had faced death and danger in many ways and on many occasions. The slender, delicate, fastidious, and cultured Robert Louis Stevenson may have presented a great contrast to the stalwart and bronzed and somewhat Bohemian missionary; but both were sincere and unconventional, and they were alike in their view of the fundamental seriousness of life and the value of the human soul, and in their reverence for true Christianity and their love for their fellow creatures. And both were fond of good stories and had unusual experiences from which to draw. Stevenson with his keen insight into human nature and his experience of native character was an observant and shrewd but generous critic of missionary work in the South Seas. He admired many missionaries, sympathized with their work, and 12 even lent at one time a helping hand to it himself. “I had conceived a great prejudice against missions in the South Seas,” he confesses, “and had no sooner come there than that prejudice was at first reduced and then at last annihilated. Those who discriminate against missions have only one thing to do—to come and see them on the spot. They will see a great deal of good done; they will see a race being forwarded in many different directions; and I believe, if they be honest persons, they will cease to complain of mission work and its effects. ’ ’ He read papers by request before the Royal Geographical Society and the Colonial Institute, contributed numerous arti¬ cles to newspapers and magazines, and although composition was to him most uncongenial labour, he wrote and saw through the press his little book entitled Pioneering in New Guinea. It was of this book that Robert Louis Stevenson, some years later, wrote in his airy fashion to his friend Sidney Colvin: “I wish you to get Pioneering in New' Guinea by James Chalmers. It is a missionary book, and has less pretensions to be literature than Spurgeon’s Sermons. Yet I think even through that, you will see some of the traits of the hero that wrote it, a man that took me fairly by storm for the most attractive, simple, brave, and interesting man in the whole Fly River, a desperate venture, it is thought; he is quite a Livingstone card. ’ ’ Another Shipwreck. (P. 123-125.) No sooner was Mrs. Chalmers settled in her home than her husband was called away again. At Port Moresby he learned the sad news of the death of several of his newly - installed native teachers. From there he proceeded to Cooktown and endured such bad weather all the way that some spars and sails were carried away, and the ship had to anchor near “Three Islands” to repair damages. The following night was wet and blowy and the sea high, and Chalmers was just getting to sleep when there was a sudden startling bump on the rocks, a horrible grating sound, and the ship stuck fast. Their posi¬ tion was both unsafe and uncomfortable, they threw ballast overboard, kept signals of distress flying, and fired rockets and burned blue lights, but were not seen. The pumps were kept going as long as possible, but by Sunday morning they were useless, the ship was leaning on its side and the sea flowing in and out; masts and rigging were cut away to prevent the ship capsizing; and then, as all felt they were in a desperate 13 condition, the whale-boat was provisioned and launched and put under charge of the second mate, and passengers and crew transferred. They were just on the point of leaving when Chalmers saw a sailor emerge from the hold. “Hallo! What are you up to?” he cried. “Looking for poor old Tom, the cat, sir, ’ ’ he yelled; 1 ‘ we must save him if we can ’ ’; and first the cat was rescued and then the pet cockatoo. There were eleven souls on board the whale-boat, and it was really over¬ weighted with provisions and other effects, and baling had to be constantly resorted to. However, the mate did splendidly and they landed safely on the lee side of “Three Islands” and took possession of a beche-de-mer station and waited for some passing ship. Again they burned lights and fired rockets, but it was not till next morning that they were rescued by the Governor Cairns, which took them all on board, supplied them with food and conveyed them to Cooktown. This was Chalmers’s fourth experience of shipwreck. A Visit Home. ( P. 143-145.) On reaching Thursday Island in March 1894, Chalmers found a telegram awaiting him calling him back to England to take part in the centenary celebrations of the London Mis¬ sionary Society. He landed at Tilbury in May, and was rejoiced to meet his wife again after a separation of two years. After a long life in the tropics Chalmers found the English winter very trying, and was twice threatened with a serious breakdown in health. He was able, however, to do a vast amount of speaking in the cities and towns of Britain, repeating the story of his wonderful adventures to delighted audiences and kindling missionary enthusiasm wherever he went. He was the principal and the most popular speaker at the centenary celebrations, and he also addressed large audiences at the City Temple, and at the Free Assembly Hall, Edinburgh. In the latter case the chairman of the meeting was Sir William McGregor, who had been Governor of New Guinea for seven years, and who knew Chalmers and New Guinea well. He bore emphatic testi¬ mony to the value of Mr. Chalmers’s work both as missionary and explorer, and declared it his opinion that there could be no finer mission-field than New Guinea, presenting as it did such a large population without any trace of literature or religion, and living practically in the Stone Age, and yet pos¬ sessing good intellectual qualities. Chalmers also visited Inveraray and received from the towns¬ men the highest honour they could bestow—the freedom of the 14 Burgh. The ceremony took place in Inveraray Court House ; the casket was presented by the Provost, and Chalmers delivered an address full of genial reminiscences of his youthful days. He told his audience that he had been one of the first volunteers in Inveraray and a member of its first cricket club, and had been considered one of the best football players in the district. He was naturally proud of the high distinction conferred upon him by his fellow-townsmen; and he concluded by telling them what had been always the animating principle of his life: “He had never been able to look far ahead, but he had tried every day to do every day’s work as well as he ever could.” Martyrdom on Goaribari Island . (P. 158-161.) On the 4th of April he left in the Niue for the East, intending to go as far as Cape Blackwood, and to return in a fortnight. On the 7th the schooner anchored off the east end of the island of Goaribari at the Aird Delta, and what happened then was only found out after Chalmers’s death. This is the tragic story. Crowds of natives came from the shore and remained on the schooner till sunset when Tamate persuaded them to return to the village, and promised he would visit them next day. At five next morning the natives returned and so crowded the deck of the ship that there was no room to move; the canoes in which they came were full of arms. As it was impossible to get the natives to leave the ship Tamate decided to go ashore, thinking that this would induce them to leave. Tomkins, fearing danger, would not allow him to go alone, and insisted on accompanying him in the whale-boat. About half of the natives followed and the rest remained on board. No further signs of the Mission party were seen, and the schooner, after waiting in vain for their return, left for Daru to report the matter. The natives who had remained on the schooner had looted it of everything they could carry away. As soon as possible after this the Governor, on board the Merrie England, went with a large force to the spot, accom¬ panied by another steamer, the Parua, on which were some officers and men from the Garrison at Thursday Island. The Rev. H. M. Dauncey of the London Missionary Society was also on board the Parua , and has given an account of what happened. The party landed at Dopima, and here captured a prisoner who, through an interpreter, explained that as soon as the arrival of the schooner was known a plot was got up to loot it and massacre the missionaries, and that no fewer than ten villages were implicated. As soon as Chalmers and Tomkins 15 went on shore they and their followers were enticed to enter the large dubu at Dopima on pretense of getting something to eat, and Chalmers and his colleague were treacherously knocked from behind on the head with stone clubs and rendered senseless. This was the signal for a general massacre; and Chalmers was then stabbed in the right side with a cassowary dagger, and his head cut off with a bamboo knife. The same treatment was given to Mr. Tomkins, and their bodies were immediately cut up and handed over to the women to cook, and subsequently eaten, the flesh being mixed with sago. In order to punish the criminals all the dubus of the ten villages were destroyed by fire. There were twenty dub us in all, and ten thousand human skulls were discovered in them. In process of carrying this out the landing party was attacked by the natives, but it only required a few rounds of rifle firing, to disperse the crowd. The other houses in the villages were spared, as the intention was to let the punishment fall only upon the fighting men. The splendid whale-boat which Mrs. Chalmers’s legacy had provided had been smashed up by the murderers, and its broken pieces divided among the various villages. It is supposed that the real reason of the massacre was that human sacrifices were wanted to celebrate the opening of a new dubu. 16 SERIES OF TWELVE PROGRAMS Course Number One (Now available) JAMES CHALMERS, Martyr of New Guinea JAMES GILMOUR, Pioneer in Mongolia A\ ILFRED T. GRENFELL, Knight-Errant of the North ADONIRAM JUDSON, Herald of the Cross in Burma ION KEITH-FALCONER, Defender of the Faith in Arabia DAVID LIVINGSTONE, Africa’s Pathfinder and Emancipator ALEXANDER M. MACKAY, Uganda’s White Man of Work HENRY MARTYN, Persia’s Man of God ROBERT MORRISON, Protestant Pioneer in China JOHN G. PATON, King of the Cannibals MARY SLESSOR, The White Queen of Calabar MARCUS WHITMAN, Hero of the Oregon Country Course Number Two (In preparation) CAPTAIN LUKE BICKEL, Master Mariner of the Inland Sea WILLIAM CAREY, Founder of Modern Missions ALEXANDER DUFF, India’s Educational Pioneer MARY PORTER GAMEWELL, Heroine of the Boxer Rebellion FRANK HIGGINS, Sky Pilot of the Lumbermen ROBERT LAWS, Founder of Livingstonia RAYMOND LULL, First Missionary to the Moslems JOHN K. MACKENZIE, The Beloved Physician of Tientsin JAMES COLERIDGE PATTESON, Martyr Bishop of the South Seas ALBERT L. SHELTON, Pioneer in Tibet J. HUDSON TAYLOR, Organizer of the China Inland Mission JOHN WILLIAMS. Shipbuilder in the South Seas No. 228-M.E.-I-iM-June, 1925 i&k& *> Booklets 25 Cents Each A reduction of 50 cents allozved if set of 12 Booklets is purchased