by Rachel Stuart Watt covering the years 1885-1914
The first edition of Rachel Stuart Watt’s missionary biography entitled “In the Heart of Savagedom” was originally published by Pickering & Inglis in the early 1900’s. The third edition from which this reprint is taken, was in the pre World War 1 Period and is now in the public domain. Chapter 27 was the author’s update that supplements the narrative with later events of sorrow and triumph. The below printing has been lightly edited, mostly to update small portions of the vocabulary to more modern & readable forms. The original title of the book has been retained though the terms “savage” and “heathen” have been largely replaced with expressions less offensive to modern taste and propriety. The truth and substance of the account have not been changed, nor the real substance of any portion herein altered. With respect to the encounters with lion, rhino, giraffe, hippo, (and other majestic African animals), and their regrettable destruction, the reader is asked to remember that foresight back then could not anticipate the decimation of certain species which inevitably followed the introduction of the gun into the balance of nature in the continent of Africa. The author mentions the care with which her husband hunted which was invariably for self defense or in hunger. The earlier ministry of the Watt’s took place in modern Tanzania, while the bulk of their later efforts and fruit for the gospel took place in today’s Kenya. Savagedom is a wonder-filled chronicle of the meeting of the Missionary from Europe and the Native African. This account does not emphasize the slaver, ivory seeker, nor the big game hunter (though these are present herein) but rather, the introduction of the glad tidings of God, through great suffering, into tribes which hitherto were without gospel witness. With joy we commend it to the reader from a historical, anthropological, and most importantly, a spiritual perspective.