FOES WHO BECAME FRIENDS. 79 
quite friendly — if not out-and-out Christians. The 
first town we entered in the Oron Country was 
Jamestown. All the opposition there came from the 
Egbo society. At first, when its members engaged 
in their queer play, they shut the people up in their 
houses, and refused to allow the children tO' come 
to the Mission School, or the people to the even- 
ing services at the Church. If anyone disobeyed 
they pounced upon them in the street and flogged 
them with the horrid Egbo whip. Later, when this 
ban had been removed, a number of Egbo members 
did their best to spoil our Sunday services by pass- 
ing and re-passing the church, in a half-drunken 
condition, and by loud noises, etc., sought to drown 
the preacher's voice and make the congregation 
nervous and afraid. But the bitterest foe of all was 
Asuquo, second in the local leadership of Egbo. 
So' angry was he with the Mission and all its ways 
that he tried to murder our native schoolmaster, 
Mr. Peter Davis, with a sword. He pulled down 
our church fences, alleging they were on his land, 
and built very much higher ones to block out the 
light from the church. When he was ordered by 
the King to take it down again, he cursed the mis- 
sionary with great gusto, and vowed eternal hatred 
against the Mission. A great change came over 
Asuquo, however, after his favourite wife fell very 
sick. All kinds of native medicines were tried, but 
in vain. She grew rapidly worse. For some days 
he was torn between his love for his wife and his 
hatred of the Mission. Finally love conquered, 
and very humbly he sought the help of the mis- 
sionary's wife, begging her to give his sick wife 
medicine to make her strong again. His request 
