In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
able success. The history of the city of Abeo- 
kuta and the way in which this missionary 
work was begun, is quite wonderful. This town 
belongs to the Egbar tribe. Some refugees of the 
slave wars who belonged to this tribe sought 
shelter and safety under the large rock which I 
have already mentioned as standing in the centre 
of the city. Hence the city was named Abeokuta 
(under a rock). Other similar unfortunates con¬ 
tinued to be added until they represented the 
remnants of iio large towns of the Egbar tribe. 
The city continued to grow so rapidly that the 
outer walls at the time of my visit, were thirty 
miles in length and it had become the greatest 
political and military power in that part of Africa. 
Among those who had been captured and sold 
to the Portuguese by the slave-hunters was a cer¬ 
tain little boy. On the night that he was taken 
prisoner, his father was killed and he had seized 
his bow and quiver and fought in his place until 
overpowered. When taken on board a Portu¬ 
guese slave-ship with other captives of his peo¬ 
ple, they were told by the captain that the Eng¬ 
lish had ships out looking for black people to eat, 
and that whenever a ship was in sight, they 
must run below. The little fellow believed all 
this and one day when he and those of his com- 
38 
