A Thousand Miles in a Machilla 



''calico machilla" which held me up. We reached 

 the bottom without accident, but by this time it was 

 quite dark, and as the air was hot and oppressive, 

 we were not sorry to get into our machillas again. 



After going about a mile along a fairly level 

 road with dense forest on either side, we found John, 

 who had come to meet us with a lantern; and soon 

 afterwards we entered the gates of the Mission 

 Station, and were most kindly welcomed by the 

 Father in charge, who was on the balcony waiting to 

 receive us. A large airy room on the first floor was 

 put at our disposal, and we were given the pleasing in- 

 telligence that dinner would be ready in half an hour. 



The White Fathers are especially trained for 

 African Mission work at their headquarters in 

 Algeria, where they study agriculture and medicine, 

 in addition to theology. They may be of any 

 nationality, are easily distinguished by their large 

 white felt hats and white washing robes, while 

 beards are de rigueur. Only twenty pounds a year 

 apiece are allowed them for personal expenses. 



The community, which was established by the 

 late Cardinal Lavigerie, is essentially an agricultural 

 one. A Mission, once in working order, is expected 

 to be self-supporting, so the first thing the Fathers 

 have to do is to lay out plantations and gardens 

 and get the natives to work in them. At first these 

 gardens produce only sufficient to supply the needs 

 of the Mission, but by degrees, as they increase in 

 extent, they become also a source of profit. 



The result therefore of the establishment of a 

 White Fathers' Mission in a neighbourhood is the 



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