43* AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



sciously and unconsciously exercised influence of the white 

 man, wherein there is much of evil, but much more of ulti- 

 mate good. In any region of wide-spread savagery, the 

 chances for the growth of each self-produced civilization are 

 necessarily small, because each little centre of effort toward 

 this end is always exposed to destruction from the neighbor- 

 ing masses of pure savagery; and therefore progress is often 

 immensely accelerated by outside invasion and control. In 

 Africa the control and guidance is needed as much in the 

 things of the spirit as in the things of the body. Those who 

 complain of or rail at missionary work in Africa, and who 

 confine themselves to pointing out the undoubtedly too 

 numerous errors of the missionaries and shortcomings of 

 their flocks, would do well to consider that even if the 

 light which has been let in is but feeble and gray it has at 

 least dispelled a worse than Stygian darkness. As soon as 

 native African religions practically none of which have 

 hitherto evolved any substantial ethical basis develop be- 

 yond the most primitive stage they tend, notably in middle 

 and western Africa, to grow into malign creeds of unspeak- 

 able cruelty and immorality, with a bestial and revolting 

 ritual and ceremonial. Even a poorly taught and imper- 

 fectly understood Christianity, with its underlying foun- 

 dation of justice and mercy, represents an immeasurable 

 advance on such a creed. 



Where, as in Uganda, the people are intelligent and 

 the missionaries unite disinterestedness and zeal with com- 

 mon-sense, the result is astounding. The majority of 

 the people of Uganda are now Christian, Protestant or 

 Catholic; and many thousands among them are sincerely 

 Christian and show their Christianity in practical fashion by 

 putting conduct above ceremonial and dogma. Most fortu- 

 nately, Protestant and Catholic seem now to be growing to 

 work in charity together, and to show rivalry only in healthy- 

 effort against the common foe; there is certainly enough 

 evil in the world to offer a target at which all good men can 

 direct their shafts, without expending them on one another. 



