THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES (Continued from Page 10) starlit summer night. Half a mile away we could see the glow of numerous fires, and could hear the natives calling to each other in the local dialect. About a score of delightful aboriginal children, without a sign o f clothing, came to guide us from camp to camp, showing no embarrassment or fear. Several little ones clung to our hands, while they jab bered in their own lingo, and laughed uproariously when a big boy tripped and fell over backwards. I picked up a little girl who had a thorn in her foot. As I carried her, she stroked my face affec tionately, saying “ Yamagee, Yamagee,” (the native word for friend). The coastal tribes of Northern Aus tralia are more or less contaminated by their contact with degraded whites and Asiatics, but in some o f the arid inland areas the Stone Age natives roam at will, untainted by immoral interference by other races. It is noteworthy that in these great open spaces a half-caste has never been seen. It is the purpose of this article to state the plain facts con cerning these nomads of the lonely heart, and to emphasize the urgency of the need that they should be evangelized without further delay. As an outcome of the recent world war, the conditions have greatly changed. The vanguard of our boasted white civilization is press ing farther into the interior. New meth ods o f agriculture and horticulture are being devised, applicable to the lesser rainfall areas. Colossal irrigation plans to divert rivers o f water from the tropi cal coastal ranges into the dead center o f the continent are mooted. If this should eventuate, it would bring a rush o f immigration and closer settlement that would oust many aboriginal tribes from their hunting grounds. The new ex perimental Rocket Range reaches across the great inland areas for fourteen hun dred miles from near Spencer’s Gulf to the Indian Ocean, intersecting the cen tral reserve for aborigines. This is likely to bring some undesirable whites into contact with the natives: the first step in the disintegration of the tribe and the demoralization o f the individual. The introduction of four-wheel-drive mo tor transport, and the development of the airplane as a safe and swift means of travel invite the grazier, the shep herd, and the prospector into hitherto unoccupied areas of the inland. While all these things are good for the develop ment of Australia, they are a dark menace to the security of thousands of nomadic natives whose tribal territory is being invaded. All of these developments and modern methods of travel and settlement con stitute a mighty challenge to the Church of Jesus Christ to get busy without a moment’s delay to utilize these inven tions and modern modes of transport in daring, drastic deeds of missionary en terprise. There must be daring and drastic action without delay, if we would T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
LET
SUPPLY YOUR
CHURCH APPOINTMENTS
DIETZ PULPIT LAMP No.3120. Fluores cent, statuary bronze finish 18rx llM * . Price $ 19.50, Bulb 85c. N o. 3880 120-volt Mazda bulb type. Price $12.50. CUP HOLDER and ENVELOPE RACK illustrated at right; made o f cast metal, finished in oxidized copper. T op surface covered with felt. Each_pnly 50c. Your dealer will supplyyou! Complete catalog free on request. WM . H. D IETZ , IN C . 10 S. Wabash, Dept. 103, Chicago 3, Hi.
Please Patronize Our Advertisers tractstoM ¡Nations
fathis Qemration
Millions are now in desperate need o f food. Not only food for the body but also food for the soul. For more than 120 years the American Tract Society has spread the food o f God’s Word to all nations by tracts and Gospel litera ture. Today’s calls for spiritual literature come from South America, Africa, Europe and many nations. You can help us meet this need and reach all nations in this generation.
ATS S o w s S e e d s o f S a l v a t i o n Back in 1825 the American Tract Society wrote into its charter that its reason for existence was "To promote the interests o f vital godliness and sound morality by
the circulation of religious tracts calculated to receive the approbation of all evangelical Christians.” This program has never changed. As early as 1900, the Society had already published and distributed more than 15 million books and many more million booklets and tracts.
YOUR PART IN WORLD EVANGELISM Reaching all nations with tracts and Gospel literature in this generation is our goal. But much of its success depends on you. Your gifts make possible the more rapid advance of the Gospel message. Gifts of $1, $10, or $100—all are urgently needed to spread the Word of God. This is your part. Write in this very day and mail your contribution.
TRACTS TO ALL NATIONS Our regularly commissioned colporteurs have since 1825, visited 21,456,510 families, conducted 631,412 religious services and sold 18,420,389 volumes of Christian litera ture. The Society has made free grants of $3,527,523.91 worth of tracts. These tracts, of various sizes and lengths, were equivalent to 6,142,190,986 pages—enough to girdle the globe.
M ail a postcard for:
ATS 1948 General Catalogue of
books and other religious supplies » •ATS booklet ” Investments Unlimited." We will gladly send you free of charge the material in which you are interested. AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 21 WEST 46th STREET Dept. K-2 NEW YORK 19, N. Y. 120 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON, MASS. Latest ATS Tract Catalogue • Catalogue of sacred recordings
SI NCE 1 8 2 5
Page Eight«
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker