Mr Moorlan, and two other priests of the Austrian
Mission, were here on a visit from their station at
Kich, to see
the old place again before they left for Khartum; for the
Austrian Government, discouraged by the failure of so many years,
had ordered the recall of the whole of the establishment for
these regions. It was no wonder these men were recalled; for, out
of twenty missionaries who, during the last thirteen years, had
ascended the White river for the purpose of propagating the
Gospel, thirteen had died of fever, two of dysentary, and two had
retired broken in health, yet not one convert had been made by
them.
The fact is, there was no government to control the population or
to protect property; boys came to them, looked at their pictures,
and even showed a disposition to be instructed, but there it
ended; they had no heart to study when no visible returns were to
be gained. One day the people would examine the books, at
another throw them aside, say their stomachs were empty, and run
away to look for food. The Bari people at Gondokoro were
described as being more tractable than those of Kich, being of a
braver and more noble nature; but they were all half-starved - not
because the country was too poor to produce, but because they
were too lazy to cultivate. What little corn they grew they
consumed before it was fully ripe, and then either sought for
fish in the river or fed on tortoises in the interior, as they
feared they might never reap what they sowed.
The missionaries never had occasion to complain of these blacks,
and to this day they would doubtless have been kindly inclined to
Europeans, had the White Nile traders not brought the devil
amongst them. Mr Moorlan remembers the time when they brought
food for sale; but now, instead, they turn their backs upon all
foreigners, and even abuse the missionaries for having been the
precursors of such dire calamities. The shell of the brick
church at Gondokoro, and the cross on the top of a native-built
hut in Kich, are all that will remain to bear testimony of these
Christian exertions to improve the condition of these heathens.
Want of employment, I heard was the chief operative cause in
killing the poor missionaries; for, with no other resource left
them to kill time, they spent their days eating, drinking,
smoking, and sleeping, till they broke down their constitutions
by living too fast.
Mr Moorlan became very friendly, and said he was sorry he could
not do more for us. His headquarters were at Kich, some way down
the river, where, as we passed, he hoped at least he might be
able to show us as much attention and hospitality as lay in his
power. Mosquitoes were said to be extremely troublesome on the
river, and my men begged for some clothes, as Petherick, they
said, had a store for me under the charge of his Vakil.
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