Chap. IX. PROCEED TO soche's. 247 



you ? — Where did you come from ? " Two of the women 

 had been shot the day before for attempting to untie the 

 thongs. This, the rest were told, was to prevent them 

 from attempting to escape. One woman had her infant's 

 brains knocked out, because she could not carry her load 

 and it. And a man was dispatched with an axe, because 

 he had broken down with fatigue. Self-interest would 

 have set a watch over the whole rather than commit 

 murder ; but in this traffic we invariably find self- 

 interest overcome by contempt of human life and by 

 bloodthirstiness. 



The Bishop was not present at this scene, having gone 

 to bathe in a little stream below the village ; but on his 

 return he warmly approved of what had been done ; he at 

 first had doubts, but now felt that, had he been present, 

 he would have joined us in the good work. Logic is out 

 of place when the question with a true-hearted man is, 

 whether his brother man is to be saved or not. Eighty- 

 four, chiefly women and children, were liberated ; and on 

 being told that they were now free, and might go where 

 they pleased, or remain with us, they all chose to stay ; 

 and the Bishop wisely attached them to his Mission, to be 

 educated as members of a Christian family. In this way 

 a great difficulty in the commencement of a Mission was 

 overcome. Years are usually required before confidence 

 is so far instilled into the natives' mind as to induce them, 

 young or old, to submit to the guidance of strangers pro- 

 fessing to be actuated by motives the reverse of worldly 

 wisdom, and inculcating customs strange and unknown to 

 them and their fathers. 



We proceeded next morning to Soche's with our liberated 

 party, the men cheerfully carrying the Bishop's goods. As 

 we had begun, it was of no use to do things by halves, so 

 eight others were freed in a hamlet on our j^ath ; but a 

 party of traders, with nearly a hundred slaves, fled from 



