McKinnon, Arch C.; McKinnon, Fannie W. Kapitene of the Congo Steamship Lapsley & Treasures of Darkness. Boston: The Christopher Publishing House, 1968. First Edition. [11422]
Blue cloth, gilt titles, spine faded, small white library label bottom of front board, 8 x 5 3/4 inches, tight, no dust jacket - probably as issued. Ex historical society library with name and "withdrawn" stamps on the title page, incidental markings elsewhere, never had a card pocket. Two books bound as one with separate title pages yet continuous pagination. 295 pages total and 4 pp. of unnumbered b/w plates. Texts are clean. Good. Hardcover.
Experiences of this Presbyterian missionary couple in the Belgian Congo, vividly recalled.
In 1912 Arch C. McKinnon, and his wife, were sent to the Congo as the new captain of the missionary steamship Lapsley, whose captain had to return home on sick leave. The steamer operated on the 900 miles of river between Luebo and Leopoldville, and was indispensable to the mission work there. McKinnon relates the Presbyterian missionary work, much of the culture and interactions with the people of the Congo, and has interesting chapters such as Christmas in Kinshasa, The Dead Elephant and the Meat Market, Tribal Warfare and Missionary Intervention, Arrival of the Methodist Party, and relates his own experience as a missionary in the Congo from 1912 to 1950.
McKinnon's first wife, Eva, died in 1924. He married Fannie Walton Reeves of Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1928.
The second book is written by his second wife, and it gives her own experiences. "For twenty-two years, the writer lived, worked, played, moved and had her being in the Congo with the Kasai people. The became, indeed and truth, 'Treasures of Darkness' to her as she observed, noted and watched them become 'New Creatures in Christ Jesus.' They were able to discard many of their old heathen customs, to come out of darkness into the glorious light of the Gospel of Christ." - Foreword.
Written in a charming and captivating style, with such chapters as Around the Campfire, A Day in School, Hippo Hunting, The Strange Tshiluba Language, A New Doctor Pays a Visit, The Girls' Circle Meets, New Life for an African Chief, Who Are the Cannibals?, Courting, Wedding Bells , Christian Converts, &c.
