Missionary Heroes in North and South America

The sub-title of this book tells you all you need to know! My thanks to Redcliffe College for providing a copy for scanning. This title is in the Public Domain.

John C. Lambert [1857-1917], Missionary Heroes in North & South America. True Stories of the Intrepid Bravery and Stirring Adventures of Missionaries With Uncivilised Man, Wild Beasts and the Forces of Nature in Two Continents of America. London: Seeley, Service & Co., Ltd., 1913. Hbk. pp.170. [Click to download complete book in PDF]

Contents

1. Among the Indians and Eskimo of Hudson Bay
2. The ‘Praying-Master’ of the Redskins
3. In the Land of the Dakotas
4. In the Forest of Guiana
5. The Sailor Missionary of Tierra Del Fuego
6. The Schooner of Keppel Island

Prefatory Note

In a “foreword” which he contributes to Dr. Jacob Chamberlain’s attractive missionary book, In the Tiger Jungle, Dr. Francis E. Clark expresses the opinion that one need not patronize sensational and unhealthy fiction to find stirring adventure and thrilling narrative, and then goes on to say:-

“There is one source which furnishes stories of intense and dramatic interest, abounding in novel situations and spiced with abundant adventure; and this source is at the same time the purest and most invigorating fountain at which our youth can drink. To change the figure: this is a mine hitherto largely unworked; it contains rich nuggets of ore, which will well repay the prospector in this new field.”

The field to which Dr. Clark refers is the history of modern Christian missions. His meaning is that the adventurous and stirring side of missionary experience needs to be brought out, and emphasis laid upon the fact that the romantic days of missions are by no means past.

There are stories which are among the classics of missionary romance. Such are the expedition of Hans Egede to Greenland, the lonely journeys of David Brainerd among the Indian tribes of the North American forests, the voyage of John Williams from one coral island of the Pacific to another in the little ship which his own hands had built, the exploration of the Dark Continent by David Livingstone in the hope of emancipating the black man’s soul. [Continue reading]