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A GROUP OF BillLDINGS, STILLMAN INSTITUTE, TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
From Tuscaloosa to Luebo on the Kassai River is a far cry,
but God has in a wonderful way permitted us to bridge these
thousands of miles and the two places are now closely connected.
The story may be told in a few words.
Wm. H. Shepherd, a Negro lad, came to the school in 1885.
He had been just a poor barefoot boy, not unlike thousands
who pass unnoticed on our streets. A Virginia lady invited him
to a Sunday-school and discovered his aptness to learn, prayed
with him and said, " William, I hope you will study hard and
some day go to Africa as a missi~nary."
A Mission in Mrica
In 1889, Dr. Stillman and the members of his faculty at the
institute memorialized the General A embly to establish a
mission in the Congo l~ree State. They tated that a recent
graduate of the Institute had dedicated his life to this project
and that a plendid younO' white man wa ready to go to Mrica.
The Assembly took favorable action.
In 1890, William H. Shepherd and Samuel H. Lapsley penetrated
the heart of Africa. bent on establi hing a mission station
at Luebo, in the Congo Free State. Before either had learned
the language. Lap ley returned to the coast 1,500 miles away,
to arrange for a grant of land from the state, but fell a victim
to fever. Shepherd waited in vain for his return, but, undaunted,
he held the outpost, learned the language, won the hearts of the
people. and began a most remarkable missionary work, which
now numbers 7,000 converts, and organized the center of a
Chri lian community of 20,000 peaceful and hopeful natives.
Four other graduates have joined him there, and others are
preparing to carry li"ht to the Dark Continent.
230
.
Practical Work at Stillman Institute
Rev. James G. Snedecor, LL.D.
Superintendent Stillman Institute. Tuscaloosa. Ala. At the Clifton
Conference. Auiust 19. 1908
STILLMAN INSTITUTE is primarily a theological seminary.
It was born in the heart of a Presbyterian pastor,
Rev. Charles A. Stillman, who felt that the real need of his
colored neighbors was to hear the gospel intelligently preached.
We did not organize it especially to make Presbyterian preachers,
but good Bible preachers. It was organized on very simple
lines. The English Bible was the principal text-book, and after
thirty years we still keep it to the front.
Our academic department was an after-thought, forced on us
by the lack of preparation of many of the ordained ministers
who came to us for instruction. Many of them were middleaged
men who could scarcely read. In later years our students
are generally younger and better prepared, and we are raising
our standards as fast as we can.
'Ve never have introduced Greek or Hebrew. vVe believe
they playa very minor part in the practical work of our country
preachers. There are so many more useful things to be learned,
and the smattering of a dead language is often the little learning
that makes a fool instead of a wise man.
The building in the center of our grounds is an old "antebellum"
mansion. Our campus was the front yard. Some
people around Tuscaloosa say it was a sad fate for such premises.
We call it a kind Providence.
This conference has so filled my heart that I find myself
scarcely able to speak coherently. I would like to mention one
c
