Item #13099 Thompson in Africa, or an Account of the Missionary Labors, Sufferings, Travels, Observations, &c. of George Thompson in Western Africa at the Mendi Mission. George Thompson.

Thompson, George

Thompson in Africa, or an Account of the Missionary Labors, Sufferings, Travels, Observations, &c. of George Thompson in Western Africa at the Mendi Mission

Cleveland: D.M. Ide, 1852.

Hardcover. Very Good. ix, [10]-320 pp, with illustrations and a folding map showing the Little Boom and Big Boom Rivers and the location of the Mendi Mission. Original blind-stamped brown cloth. Corners rubbed, cloth starting to split along the front joint; binding sound, text clean. Thompson (not to be confused with the Scottish abolitionist of the same name) was one of the first American missionaries to work in Sierra Leone. His book is a primarily a compilation of excerpts from his journals from 1848-50, and his effort to provide an "inside view of the particular, every day duties and trials of the missionary life" makes for pretty interesting reading. Includes much description of native life and customs and local flora and fauna, as well as the first report of stone carvings that have since been recognized as artifacts of an ancient civilization.