ame to ask advice from the
priests and to worship. When the people came here, the Aros clan had
captured them. Then they were either sold as slaves, sacrificed to juju, or
eaten by the tribe."

"How terrible!"

"The Aros are tricky. One of their tricks, was to throw some of the people
they captured into the water. The water at once turned red. The priests
would tell the people that juju had eaten the men. The people believed it,
but really the red was only coloring the priests had thrown into the
river."

"Is the juju still there?" asked Miss Wright.

"No. The British soldiers went over the Cross River. They had a battle with
the natives and beat them. They captured Arochuku. Then they chopped down
the Long Juju. But of course the natives still have their village
jujus. They still do many wicked things."

"And you want to work among those terrible people?"

"Yes, don't you think they have a great need for the Gospel?"

"Oh, they do! But I would not have the courage to work among them."

"I have no courage," said Mary, "except what God gives me."

"Tell me, Mary, have you gone into that country at all?"

"I have made some short exploration trips. I told the traders to tell the
chiefs that some day I would come to their country to live, but their only
answer was, 'It is not safe.' That is what the people told me when I wanted
to go to Okoyong. I trust in my heavenly Father and I am not afraid of the
cannibals no matter how fierce and cruel they may be."

"But Mary, did you know that when a chief died recently, fifty or more
people were eaten at the funeral ceremonies, and twenty-five others had
their heads cut off and were buried with the chief?"

"Yes, I heard that. But things were almost as bad when I came to
Okoyong. God blessed my work, and He can protect me in this strange new
land of the cannibals. I do hope the Mission Board will let me go and work
among the Aros and Ibos."

The missionaries in Calabar wanted Mary to work at Ikorofiong and at
Unwana, which were two towns farther up the Cross River from Akpap. But
Mary did not think these were good places for her work. She wanted to be
where she could reach the most people. She wanted to work at Arochuku, the
chief city of Aros which was also near the Efik, Ibo and Ibibio tribes. She
wanted to open her first station at Itu, which was on the mouth of Enyong
creek, her second station at Arochuku and a third at Bende. The
missionaries at Calabar did n