n^iMii LiiiLiuiiiMiNiniin(w»wiJMniM luinn 1 1 II I UMiiuiniil M :^M:^.M^:^.m^^mm^m-m.^.^^^ . ^ tut lhcir%i^^| ^ PRINCETOlSr, N. J. BV 3265 .G7 1886 Gordon, Andrew, d. 1887. Our India missions ShelJ \X^ m v:^ww^w:^'^w^-'''^^w^imfxFm^^^^'WW'^^^WWf'?^^^ '#;»£^:<^#) ^_r«:.j<^fe^)' --■t«' /xtK' l^JN^I^ri-' .V ^'^ 7A< 1855--1885, Our India Mission A THIRTY YEARS' HISTORY OF THE INDIA MISSION OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA, TOGETHER WITH PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. BY THE REV. ANDREW GORDON, D. D. THE OLDEST MISSIONARY. WITH IPORTY IlL.lL.TJSTRATIO:srS. ANDREW GORDON : 914 Filbert Street, Philadelphia. 1886. Copyright, 1886, By ANDREW GORDON. INQUIRER PRINTING CO., STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS, LANCASTER, PA. TO MY FELLOW WORKERS m INDIS THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY AND SFFECTIONHTELY DEDICATED. PREFATORY NOTE. BY THE REVS. \V. W. BARR, D. D., AND J. B. DALES, D. D. (PRESIDENT AND COR- RESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA.) SOME years ago we made the suggestion to the Rev. Andrew Gordon, D. D., that he should write a history of the India Mission. The suggestion was made because we knew from conversations with him, and from his famiharity with the field and the work from the beginning, that he was in possession of the material necessary, and was in a position to produce an intensely interesting volume. For the reason indicated, and to promote the interests of the mission, the work was undertaken. We have had the privilege of hearing portions of the manuscript read, and of perusing most of the proof-sheets as the pages have been pass- ing through the press ; and we do not hesitate to say that our most sanguine expectations have been far more than realized. Dr. Gordon has produced a volume of surpassing interest. We have not been so fascinated by any other book on the sub- ject of Missions that has fallen into our hands. We were asked to read some parts of the work for the purpose of correcting the proof Invariably we would forget the errors in type be- cause enchanted with the story. We might refer to the chap- ter descriptive of the field, the chapters on the Sepoy rebellion, those relating to certain native laborers, as of the greatest dramatic interest; but we could hardly make a selection, and say that one chapter is more charming than another. We feel sure the reader will agree with us when we say that there is not a dull page in the book. Even the statistics are so intro- duced as to greatly increase the pleasure of perusal. The style is delightful for its simplicity and artlessness, and (v) VI PREFATORY NOTE. yet on many a page it is highly dramatic and truly eloquent. We recommend the work without any qualification or hesita- tion, and we feel assured that the reader will agree with us in the judgment of it which we have here so freely and cordially expressed. We only add that it is our conviction that the ex- tensive circulation of this volume will greatly conduce to the advancement of the cause of Missions in general, and thereby to the glory of God in the promotion of his cause among the nations. W. W. Barr, Philadelphia, March, 1886. J. B. Dales. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. THAT the story of a Christian mission, estabhshed in a dark portion of benighted heathen India as recently as the year 1855, feebly sustained from the first, and at times ready to perish, but now having its eight organized churches, its scores of Christian schools, its theological and literary institutions, and its Christian community of more than three thousand souls, should be given to the public, will not be called in ques- tion. That the thirtieth anniversary of the mission, whilst some of the early laborers yet live, is a suitable time to pub- lish the story, will hardly be disputed ; and the deep and in- creasing interest awakened among the friends of foreign mis- sions by the astonishing success which is even now burdening and overwhelming the inadequate mission band with work, seems to demand a history of the mission. That the writer is the most suitable person to record this history may not be quite so clear. Should the critic judge that it would have been more proper for me to leave the writ- ing to others, instead of placing myself in the unpleasant situation of one who is compelled to make frequent mention of himself and his personal labors, I shall not protest, but hum- bly offer my apology : As in commencing the mission thirty years ago, I acted in 6bedience to others — not on my own motion — so now, in undertaking to write its history, I have obeyed the wishes of the worthy President and venerable Cor- responding Secretary of our Board of Foreign Missions, and of other esteemed friends, whose judgment I could not pre- sume to set aside in deference to my own. At the same time, moved by an enthusiasm in that which has been and is my Sfreat life-work, and having the main facts of the mission's his- tory from the beginning treasured up in memory and ready at (vii) via AUTHORS PREFACE. hand, I have thought it fitting that I should devote a portion of the leisure afforded by a visit to my native land, to the agreeable task of writing that which may awaken the interest of others in the cause of foreign missions, as well as keep my own interest alive while temporarily absent from the field. My first idea was to write only an account of the extraor- dinary religious movements among the Meg and Chuh'rd tribes, without any reference to the earliest years of our mis- sion. But my trusted counsellors desired a connected history of the mission from its beginning ; and in yielding to their wishes I have been obliged to introduce the personal pronoun I, especially in narrating the events of those lonely days in which the mission consisted but of myself and family ; if, there- fore, the considerate reader will skip over the embarrassing introductory chapters, he may rest assured that I shall not take offence at the seeming slight, as I might do in case I were addressing him orally, and he should stop his ears or attempt to close my mouth. But why wnte at such length ? A nervous dread of wearying my friends with many words has accompanied me through every page of the book ; and yet I have felt it proper to yield some deference to the just de- mands of my subject. Could the suggester of brevity but see what masses of interesting material I have left out, and what seas I have skimmed, taking only the cream, he would surely hold his peace, or complain that I have not given him two volumes instead of one. Why devote two whole chapters to the Sepoy mutiny ? One chapter might have sufficed for all that can be strictly styled the history of our mission during the five dreadful months of that reign of terror ; but had I coldly and selfishly traced only our own record through those scenes of blood and fire, unaccompanied by any suitable memorial of our less favored neighbors and dear friends who fell at the hands of the remorseless Sepoy, who would have forgiven me the un- pardonable omission? AUTHORS PREFACE. IX The reader will find comparatively little concerning the for- eign missionaries, and much about the natives. This is inten- tional. It were an easy matter to have written a volume con- cerning the foreign missionary, his movements, his methods, his institutions, his labors and his sufferings; but, avoiding this superficial treatment of the subject — too much resorted to — I have given prominence to the natives, by narrating at some length their conversions, labors, sufferings and achievements in connection with the great religious movements, believing that the development of the work among the people to whom we are sent is the very essence of foreign missionary enterprise. Yet the missionaries are by no means overlooked, being sev- erally introduced to the reader's acquaintance as they arrive in India, and afterwards becomingly recognized on all suitable occasions. The forty costly illustrations, consisting of mission schools, maps, groups of native workers prominent in the history, and portraits of the native ordained ministers, and of the American missionaries, have all been engraved especially for this work, by a process which justly claims to reproduce a more perfect likeness from the photograph than is possible by any other. The fact that good photographs of some few of the missionaries were not procurable, will account for a diversity in the appear- ance of the engravings. If the style of composition should in some instances appear cramped, it must be borne in mind that my aim often is to give a literal rather than an elegant rendering of the sayings of illit- erate natives; I should not, therefore, be judged in this respect as though free, like a writer of fiction, to create and combine incidents at pleasure, and then, in their narration, to soar un- fettered upon the wings of imagination. If it be asked why I have so largely adopted the dramatic: form of composition, I answer: Because this could not be avoided, the exciting religious movements being in themselves, really dramas. When a crowd of heathen hear the gospel, they are divided, some hearkening, whilst others stop their ears:. X AUTHORS PREFACE. some joyfully exclaim, " It is the truth," and cleave afiection- ately to him who brings the glad tidings : others contradict and revile, or walk angrily away, muttering curses and threats. When a native confesses the name of Jesus, his father and mo- ther, brother and sister, father-in-law and mother-in-law, turn bitterly against him; his wife and children are separated from him; his distressed friends and relatives gather about him to weep and mourn, falling prostrate before him with abject en- treaties, and moving him with their pathetic appeals. The rulers and scribes approach him with learned arguments, place him upon the witness stand to answer difficult questions, and when he has given his testimony, pronounce him a pervert and a blasphemer, and pass sentence upon him. His neighbors, chagrined by the burning disgrace and fired with pious zeal for their ancestral gods, hold indignation meetings, strip him of his worldly goods, beat him, excommunicate him, and cast him out. The Christians persecuted in one village flee to another, and are ofteri without any certain dwelling-place: being reviled, they bless ; being persecuted, they meekly submit ; defamed, they entreat. They suffer hunger, thirst, nakedness and buffet- ing, and are counted as the filth of the world — the off-scouring of all things. By the fire of these persecutions the wood, hay and stubble are consumed; out of it come forth the gold and silver, tried and purified for the Master's building. Enemies beholding the faith and patience of the suffering disciples, are converted, and give glory to God ; and in the midst of these scenes the Lord is building up a glorious Church, as enduring and indestructible as the eternal Rock upon which it rests. The narration of such scenes as these — a prominent feature of the book — must naturally fall into the dramatic form of com- position, which, I trust, may interest and profit the reader none the less for being not fiction, but fact. I cannot conclude without expressing my grateful acknowl- edgments to my numerous friends who have assisted me in the preparation of this work. CONTENTS. CHAFTER PAGE I. "Go" 17 II. The Voyage 31 III. From Calcutta to SiaKkot 39 IV. Beginning under Pecuniary Embarrassments 52 V. Bird's-eye View of the Field 60 VI. Building our First Mission Home S9 VII. The Revs. George W. Scott and Elisha P. Swift .... 102 VIII. Reinforcement — Beginnings of Mission Work 113 IX. The Sepoy Mutiny 128 X. Mutiny Continued — Tragedies of the 9th of July, 1857 . 143 XL Our First Church Edifice 165 XII. Our First Converts — 1857-64 173 XIII. The Mission Orphanage, 1857-64 183 XIV. Thomas Stinson— A Noted Brahmin 188 XV. Religious Awakening among the Megs 191 XVI. Fourteen Noteworthy Events 207 XVII. Religious Awakening among the Megs, Continued . . 211 XVIII. Among Wolves 231 XIX. The Unsuccessful Suitors 249 XX. Reinforcements — Colonizing Native Christians .... 259 XXI. The Missing Family 267 XXII. Visit to the Tiger's Den 282 XXIII. Kana'ya's Second Trip to the Kashmir^ Capital .... 305 XXIV. The Hu^kam 310 XXV. Found at Last— Joy at Scott Garh 357 XXVI. The Outcome 365 XXVII. Boys' and Girls' Orphanai^es, 1865-75 379 XXVIII. Conclusion of the Second Decade of Our Mission . . . 393 XXIX. Conversion of Muhammad Alim — Work Begun in Jh'i^lam 402 XXX. Reinforcements 416 XXXI. Religious Movements Amoni;' the Chuh^ras 421 XXXII. The Work in Gurdas'pur, a New Field 433 XXXIII. Sowing and Reaping 449 XXXIV. Our Institutions 464 XXXV. Our Institutions, Continued 482 XXXVI. Visit of the Commissioners — -Then and Now — Conclusion. 492 (xi) MRS. REBECCA C. GORDON. OUR INDIA MISSION. CHAPTER I. " GO." THE PRIMARY MEETING IN ALLEGHENY CITY — MONEY PLEDGED TO START THE MISSION — MISSIONARIES NOMINATED AND ELECTED — MANY REFUSE TO GO — OUR APPOINTMENT — DIFFICULTIES — A STRUG- GLE— "I CANNOT go" — "WHAT A WONDER YOU WERE NOT KILLED!" DIFFICULTIES VANISH — MISS GORDON'S APPOINTMENT — PREPARATIONS — FAREWELL, SWEET HOME — FAREWELL, DEAR NATIVE LAND. ON the invitation of the venerable Dr. James Rodgers, the pastor of a large congregation in Allegheny City, five earnest Christians met in his church one night to consider the subject of Foreign Missions. Those five persons were Messrs. John Alexander and James Mc Candless, Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Lockhart and Dr. Rodgers. The night was a very stormy one, and Mrs. Gordon, having left her children in her house alone, became very anxious to return to them; but Dr. Rodgers mildly exhorted her to confide them to the care of her Heavenly Father, and so persuaded her to remain. At this little primary meeting, India was selected as the field in which they would seek to found a Mission. When telling his people from his pulpit the next Sabbath what they had done, Dr. Rodgers said with a great deal of feeling that their meeting was a prayer meeting, and a glorious one, and he believed that good would come out of it. This was followed by larger meetings at which Dr. Rodgers endeavored, by means of maps and lectures, to acquaint his congregation with India, and to cherish the interest which they already felt in its evangeliza- tion. When the Associate Presbyterian Synod of North 2 (17) 1 8 OUR INDIA MISSION. America met in Pittsburgh, in May 1853, this congregation, together with a sister congregation in Pittsburgh, urged that body to establish a mission in India, and pledged ;^6oo a year for its support. The Synod at once resolved to enter upon this work. After prayer for guidance, they put the names of ten ministers in nomination, in the hope that some of them would be willing to accept appointments as missionaries, and they designated a committee to address the churches on the subject of the proposed mission ; but no one of the ten professed himself unreservedly and unconditionally willing to accept such an appointment. The year 1853, therefore, passed away without a beginning being made. At the time when this narrative begins I was licensed to preach the gospel, and was under appointment to preach for a few weeks to a vacant congregation in the suburbs of New York ; I had a similar appointment in Philadelphia, and was next to labor in some of the western States. It was a matter of course that I should be looking forward and thinking more or less about a settlement, weighing the comparative claims and advantages of the widely different fields that lay before me. I thought of old wealthy congregations which were vacant in eastern New York, of missionary ground in and around our large Atlantic cities, and of the new and sparsely populated fields of the far west ; but felt no strong and decided preference for any of them. It may be said that I was in a state of ■ equilibrium, with just a perceptible tendency towards some region midway between the East and the West, in the United .States. Foreign fields were not taken into account. In the latter part of May and first of June 1854, the Asso- ciate Presbyterian Synod held its annual meeting in the Rev. S. F. Morrow's church at Albany, N. Y. Being within a few hours' distance, I went in one day to witness their proceedings, not as a member of that body — for I was not ordained — but as a spectator, looking on intently from a pew in the farthest corner of the church. As already stated, the Synod, at their .meeting in Pittsburgh in 1853, had definitely determined to GO YE THEREFORE. 1 9 establish a mission in India ; but having failed to secure mis- sionaries, and being in doubt as to whether they had taken the right way of selecting them, they were now earnestly discuss- ing the proper mode of choosing and appointing their first missionaries to that heathen country. Some of the members said, " Call for volunteers as we have been doing, and do not appoint men until we know they are willing to go; one vol- unteer is worth two of such as go out because it is required of them." Others said in reply: "Not so; but let us choose men whom we judge to be qualified, and, should they refuse to go, leave upon them the whole responsibility of their refusal." The advocates of this latter course spoke eloquently and earnestly, and quoted the example of our Scottish fore- fathers who, in former and better days, suspended young preachers for refusing to go where they were sent. This prin- ciple met with general favor, and on it, as a new basis of action, an election was held in the afternoon of that day, when two of the same young men who had so very forcibly advocated this principle in the morning were chosen. When they were called on, and arose to announce their decision, their subdued tone and downcast looks were in marked contrast with what had been displayed in the morning, and the breathless atten- tion of the Synod seemed greatly to embarrass them, whilst one of them declined the appointment, and the other urged such difficulties in the way of accepting it that he was re- leased. When this business came up again the next morning as the order of the day, the members seemed anxious for an early adjournment. But an aged minister — the Rev. Alexander Murray — obtaining the floor with difficulty, opened the Bible at Acts. xiii. i, and read as follows: "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas 20 OUR INDIA MISSION. and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." After reading this passage, Mr. Murray sat down without making any comment, and the voting commenced. The tellers gathered up the ballots, and walking up to the Clerk's desk began to read them aloud. After the reading out of the first one it was deemed better not to read the ballots one by one aloud, and the counting proceeded in silence. The one which had been read out contained the name of Andrew Gordon. This balloting did not result in the election of any one. The subject of Foreign Missions then gave place to other urgent business; and, taking the train, I went up to spend a few days with my friends in Johnstown, N. Y., fully believing that the commencement of our India Mission would not take place that year. A day or two later the Rev. James McArthur, who followed us to Johnstown on a visit to his friends, began gently to break the news to us by asking my wife how she would like to go to India. We then learned that, before adjourning, the Synod had once more taken up the subject of Foreign Mis- sions, discussed their men, and elected two, of whom the Rev. J. T. Tate was one, and the writer the other. I do not think I ever would have offered of my own accord to go on a foreign mission ; as far as I can remember, no thought of do- ing this had ever been seriously entertained. But the whole circumstances of my appointment, unsought and unexpected, gave it to my mind the force and authority of a clear call from the Master. As soon also as the announcement was made there sprung up a positive desire to " go," which did very much to make obedience easy. Had I volunteered my ser- vices and on this ground received the appointment, I believe I should have experienced misgivings from the very first. But Moses, Jeremiah, Paul and Barnabas, the prophets and apostles in general, were sent. Some of them were very unwilling at first, although they were made willing afterwards ; "go ye therefore." 21 and I have always felt reassured and strengthened by reflect- ing on the fact that the appointment came to me without being suggested by myself With the path of duty so plain, and a willingness to enter on it, still it was not found a very easy matter to come promptly forward and say, " Here am I." I believe it may be set down as a rule, that whenever a campaign against the Powers of Darkness, and in the interest of the Kingdom of God, is definitely projected, adverse considerations and diffi- culties will spring up like an armed legion to stop the way. A few of these will now be stated. First of all, the Rev. J. T. Tate, who was appointed with me, and who was my senior by several years, declined the appoint- ment. It therefore became a serious question, both with my- self and the Board of Foreign Missions, whether I should pro- ceed without a colleague, or suffer the mission to be post- poned a year. Then, the remarks of some of my brethren, who had thought much on the subject of the proposed mission, tended to dis- courage me from accepting the appointment. One thought there was no suitable man in our church for this work; another said he could not blame me if I should decide not to go ; and a third one earnestly opposed my going by the use of many logical arguments. These opinions of my elder brethren came with much force to my mind ; for I was young and inexperienced, whilst the magnitude, difficulties, and re- sponsibilities of the undertaking were great ; and not having uniformly enjoyed vigorous health, I feared I might not be able to perform hard work in the trying climate of India. But the marching order, " Go," more than counterbalanced these considerations. Then again, my wife, naturally an ardent lover of home and quiet retirement, felt it exceedingly difficult to yield her con- sent, whilst it was no less difficult for the little home circle to give her up. The outlook required resolute courage. Our route to India lay around the southern coast of Africa, through 22 OUR INDIA MISSION. the boisterous Southern Ocean, crossing and recrossing the Equator under a scorching sun, requiring a tedious voyage of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty days on the fathom- less deep, without the rehef of a landing, and with scarcely a sight of land. The merchant sailing vessels, in one of which our voyage was to be made, were designed for profitable trade, but not at all for the comfort of passengers. Compared with such a voyage as this, the short, speedy and varied trip in comfortable passenger steamers via England, the Continent and Egypt, which was then too expensive for a missionary party, has been fitly called " a pleasure excursion." The ideal, too, of a true-hearted missionary in those days was very like that of an exile for life, with little more than a vague, dream- like hope of ever returning ; for the custom of revisiting home once in ten years, which has become practicable in these days of swift and cheap travel by " short cuts," was not then estab- lished— at least it was not definitely set down in our programme. To one of a retiring disposition, therefore, the prospect of thus leaving fifteen or sixteen thousand miles of ocean to roll for an indefinite term of years between her and the home of her child- hood, of meeting only strangers in a strange land, of enduring the heat of a tropical climate, and of rearing a family exposed to heathen influences, was formidable indeed. The struggle in her mind between duty and inclination was intense, and it was almost equally so in the minds of her parents. Her father was a man remarkable for calm temperament, correct judg- ment, and few words. In this case his judgment approved of our going, but I labored in vain to obtain his consent. " I would be very glad," said he to me, " if you could see it your duty not to go." He would say to himself with deep emotion as he went about his work, uttering the words slowly in an earnest and emphatic whisper, " / never can give my consejtt." Her mother, too, often retired to weep and pray by herself alone. Thus the weeks moved slowly and sadly. Deep and intense as were parental affection on the one side, and filial on the other, there was another current, stronger and GO YE THEREFORE. 23 deeper still, running silently in the opposite direction. The Lord, who reigns supreme in the hearts of his children, was preparing them to make the sacrifice. It was observed that these pious parents, whatever they felt, and whatever they might say to others, never once spoke a word to their daughter against going. A single word from them might possibly have decided the whole matter, or rendered a difficult duty far more difficult; but they abstained from all interference, even when they knew that she was giving her consent, and that our acceptance of the appointment was being made public. What was still more significant — it came to be understood that they intended to drive to town some day and have their daguerreotypes taken for us. The important significance of this, and the preciousness of the relic, will be better understood from the fact that, in a lifetime of eighty-six years, this was the first and last time that Mr. Smith ever sat for his likeness. One evening a very influential and highly respected friend visited the family and remained over night. The question of our going to India was discussed until late that evening, and was reopened early next morning. Our friend was bent on stopping us if he could. Our acceptance of the appointment had been made public, and we had even procured our pass- port; yet he most earnestly opposed our going, urging many considerations to dissuade us if possible. After exhausting all other resources, he made a direct appeal to Mrs. Gordon her- self, who had hitherto sat only as a listener to the discussion, "Do you intend to take that little girl with you to India?" he said, pointing to the child nestled in her lap. " Most certainly," she answered, " Wherever / go, I will of course take my babe." " Will you indeed ?" he added, in a tone of fatherly concern., " Then you will certainly repent when you reach India and see what kind of society she will have, and understand the baneful influences to which she will be exposed — body and! soul." Mrs, Gordon, no longer able to refrain, burst into tears, and' 24 OUR INDIA MISSION. giving full vent for the first time to long-pent grief, exclaimed, "It is too much ! I cannot undertake it. I cannot go y Our friend said no more. Feeling no doubt that he had trespassed on delicate ground, he looked embarrassed and went away, leaving us all overwhelmed with fresh sorrow — perplexed and dumb. After a time Mr. Smith broke the silence by remarking in his grave deliberate manner, giving us time after every word to weigh it well before the next one came, " That — was — not — proper." There was a great deal of meaning in these four words — far more than if uttered by many another man ; for not one man perhaps in ten thousand knew as well how to bridle his tongue as Elder Smith; his remark was therefore justly regarded as strong language. But its greatest importance lay in the proof it gave that reaction in favor of our departure had decidedly set in at the head of the family. " I say," said Mr. Smith again, as he and I strolled through the orchard, "that was imprudent in Mr. . It was wrong ! You well know that my grief at the prospect of part- ing with Rebecca is very great, yet I have never uttered one word against it to her ; whatever I have said was to you and others, but never to her. Poor child ! I fear the effect of this great strain may be serious. Her soul was sufficiently vexed without all this." Mrs. Smith also expressed her disapprobation in strong terms. However much she grieved at the prospect of separation, she thought that intermeddling after such a manner was not just the right thing, especially after matters had gone so far, the time being almost at hand when we were expected to sail. "And now," said she to us, "we will drive to town according to previous arrangement, and have our pictures taken for you. You two will have the house all to yourselves. Talk the whole matter over by yourselves alone, with prayer, and see to what decision you can arrive by the time we return." This excellent counsel we endeavored to follow. Turning MISS ELIZABETH G. GOKDON. GO YE THEREFORE. 25 to the second Psalm, we pondered the words of God to his Eternal Son ; — " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession," Was not this to be brought about by agents like us, sent forth as we were? Turning next to the great commission in the 28th of Matthew, we read: " Go ye there- fore, and teach all nations, * * * and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Surely — we said — something of this great command and standing pledge of our risen Lord has come down to us ; and can we refuse obedience? Then we thought of the prophet Jonah who refused to go as he was bid ; and we imagined ourselves in Jonah's plight if we should follow his example in refusing to go. And finally, we endeavored to estimate the value of a soul, and the joy of winning such a prize and of rejoicing with a saved one forever — and we concluded that a life work of thirty years, should it be so long, would be richly rewarded by even one genuine conversion. Mr. and Mrs. Smith returned from town in the evening. As we met them at the door their excited countenances told us in a moment that something unusual had happened. " Do you know, Rebecca, what has happened tome!" exclaimed Mrs. Smith, as she rolled up her sleeve and displayed a bloody wound which she had received from the ball of a careless hunter's rifle, "Oh, mother!" said Rebecca, "what a marvelous escape! How very easily that ball might have struck your heart instead of your arm! What a mercy it is that neither of you was killed!" "Yes," said Mrs. Smith, "and little Euphemia, here, was sitting between us; the ball passed close by her head. Com- ing from our right, from a point a little forward of us, it crossed our way, and might have killed any one, or even all three of us." " Now, mother, this is without doubt intended to teach us that we are no safer at home than we would be on the ocean, or in a heathen land." 26 OUR INDIA MISSION. " Yes, daughter," said Mrs. Smith, " this is the very lesson which I have learned." And so the chief difficulty which lay in our way was re- moved. Some time during the summer I made another visit to my old home in Johnstown, N. Y. In earlier days the family circle there consisted of nine members. Some of these had been removed by death, others had married, and the two or three remaining members were not likely to continue much longer under the old roof My sister, Miss Elizabeth G. Gor- don, was practically the head of what remained of the family. Knowing that she had for some time been actively engaged in Sabbath-school work, I asked her whether she was willing to go with us to India as a teacher. " Yes," was her prompt reply, " I will go if the Board of Foreign Missions see fit to send me." The proposal was laid before the Board, who gave her the appointment; and so another rough place in our path- way was made smooth. I was not now to go out without a co-laborer, and my wife was to have a sister companion. Whilst dwelling upon the difficulties and discouragements, I must not forget to note also the encouragements. The Revs. Abraham Anderson, D. D., and Thomas Beveridge, D. D., Professors in the Theological Seminary at Canons- burg, Pa., under whom I had recently completed my course of training, encouraged me to go forward, expressing only some doubt as to my health. Words of approval and encour- agement from my own teachers, one of whom had known me from childhood, were quite assuring. The Rev. James Patterson met me as I was entering Pitts- burgh, and kindly persuaded me to turn back with him to Allegheny City, that he might introduce me to some of the prominent friends of our mission in the place where the mission itself was born. The Rev. Dr. Rodgers, the original mover in this enterprise, gave me a hearty shake of the hand, and said, "I hope you will go to India" — one of his reasons for approving of my appointment being the fact, as he said, " GO YE THEREFORE. 2/ that I could be relied on to conduct the missionary work " economically r I was there introduced by Mr. Patterson to some of the wealthy merchants of the city, who manifested a lively inter- est, and spoke cheering words. One of them assured me that I need have no fears whatever in regard to being well sup- ported. "I now give," said he, ";^ioo a year for the Foreign Mission cause, and if we only had a man on the field and at work, I could give three hundred dollars as easily as one hun- dred." Of three eminent physicians in New York and Philadelphia whom I consulted on the health question, one opposed my going to India, on the ground, as he said, that if I were not compelled to go he thought I would be more comfortable at home. Another believed that with proper attention to the necessary conditions of health, I would be as healthy, but not as strong, in India as in America. The third one, although he had lived in a tropical climate, declined to give any decided opinion. In the way of acquiring information, several volumes on India and India missions were procured and read, and a num- ber of returned missionaries were interviewed. The Rev. Dr, J. C. Lowrie, of New York, Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, having spent two years in North India as a pioneer missionary, was in a position to advise me intelligently, and from him I learned much that was practically useful. He gave me some idea of the expense which must be incurred for building and for living. He warned me against attempting to live in a small house in the climate of India, as false economy. The houses, he said, would seem at first to be unnecessarily large and expensive; but I would find, by experience, that large houses were absolutely neces- sary for health. He expressed grave fears lest we might suf- fer for want of funds, those who were sending us out having, as he believed, made entirely too low an estimate of the neces- sary expenses. He bade us God-speed, for he was glad to see 28 OUR INDIA MISSION. missionaries who were thoroughly evangehcal going in to labor beside those of the society which he represented. The Rev. J. Newton, of the Presbyterian Mission at Lud- hiana, was at that time in America for a rest. As he had come from our proposed field of labor, I sought and obtained an evening in his company at the residence of George H. Stu- art, Esq., of Philadelphia. Mr. Newton patiently listened to my numerous questions, and in his very deliberate and sys- tematic way, remarked on one point after another, setting my mind at rest in regard to many things. He believed that I had a reasonable prospect of enjoying good health in an In- dian climate, if I would only take advice. Some foreigners, he said, adhered to their cold climate ide^s, exposing themselve? to the heat, instead of employing native servants ; sweltering in small houses to avoid expense; and living without pank'hds, lest their use should be regarded as a luxury. In all such matters I must learn from those who had lived in India before me, and then I would have no special reason to fear in regard to health. In order to reach India in the most favorable season of the year, July was regarded as the best month for setting out, when persons were going by the Cape of Good Hope. But August was now passing, and we were beginning to inquire anxiously for a ship. It began even to be doubtful whether we should be able to find any more merchant vessels sailing that year. G. H. Stuart, Esq., suggested that we should cross over to England, where we would find lines of passenger ships, comfortably fitted up for the special accommodation of pas- sengers, running regularly between England and India via the Cape of Good Hope. This route would be very much cheaper than the one via Egypt, known as the overland route, and only a few hundred dollars more expensive than the route direct from America in a merchant vessel, by which we in- tended to go. " But what are a few hundred dollars," said Mr. Stuart, " compared with a year's delay in such a cause ? " I thought Mr. Stuart a wonderful man, when he could speak so " GO YE THEREFORE. 29 lightly of such large sums of money, and we waited for an opportunity of going in the cheapest way. Time has blotted from memory very much that took place during our last few weeks of waiting, but some things will not be forgotten ; prominent among these was the parting scene at the country home near St. Clairsville, O. In this, too, the young folks are not so vividly portrayed on memory's tablet, for they cry easily and find relief; but there is something very different in the sorrow of a mother, a father, and a grand- mother. If there is any one thing more potent than all others to make us hesitate — to make right appear wrong and a clear duty seem doubtful — it is the grief of those whose eyes are dim with age. Their weeping and sobbing and refusing to be comforted are hard to witness, and harder to resist, especially when we ourselves are the cause. Friends and neighbors who come to " see you off" cannot always enter fully into the situa- tion, and are very apt to think they " ought to say something." " Be brave now, and don't give up in this way." " Cheer up, you will soon forget all about it." " If you feel so badly now, what will you do away off there?" " Remember, you are not your own any more, you have given yourself to the Master:" these, and such like goodish exhortations, are apt to be thrown in for the purpose of lightening the burden. They do not help any one in the least ; and those departing will very probably remember them as well meant but awkward intru- sions. Woj'ds, unless well chosen, are not in place at all. Missionaries and their friends have natural affections like those of other people ; and the very best thing for all parties — those leaving and those remaining, young and old, men and women — is to cry to their hearts' content if they feel like it. Another important event took place on the 29th of August, in the Charles Street church, New York. The' Presbytery met, the congregation assembled. The Rev. James Thompson preached a sermon on the words, " Now then we are embassa- dors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God." 30 OUR INDIA MISSION. This was the first sermon I had heard preached in public for my individual benefit; after it was concluded, the Presbytery prayed, and laid their hands on me, and solemnly ordained me to preach the Gospel in North India. That was a solemn hour, in which I was clothed with a responsibile office and at the same time formally sent away to my great life work. The prospect of our getting off that season being somewhat doubtful, we went up to Johnstown, N. Y., and were waiting at the old home, when suddenly an urgent message informed us that our passage was being engaged in a ship which would sail from New York almost immediately ; and we were noti- fied to be in readiness as soon as possible. There was no public farewell meeting such as now frequently marks the departure of Foreign Missionaries; but a number of warm hearted friends, whose faces and names can still be recalled, were spontaneously drawn together on the occa- sion. Of our own relatives, Mr. A. K. Murray and Mrs. Murray came in, a distance of two hundred miles, from Florida, N. Y. George H. Stuart, Esq., came over from Philadelphia. The Rev. H. H. Blair and Mrs. Blair, of New York, were present. Our Board of Foreign Missions was represented by Rev. D. Donnan, the Secretary, and Mr. H. Harrison, the Treasurer, and his family. Besides these, Mr. Ramsey of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, Mr. Alexander Murray from the New York Bible House, and Rev. W. Calderwood of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, who expected to follow us to India the next year, completed the very select company of friends who honored the occasion by "accompanying us to the ship." Most of these joined us in religious exercises on board our ship whilst she was being towed down the bay. Then, affectionately committing us to the merciful care of him who commands the winds and the waves, they returned to land by the steam tug. CHAPTER II. THE VOYAGE, A STORM — CALMS — ICEBERGS — A COLLISION — LANDING IN CALCUTTA. IT was 12 o'clock on the 28th of September, 1854, when our little strong ship Sabine began to move out from her moor- ing in the New York harbor. As long as we could recognize faces, or even perceive the waving of a handkerchief landward, we felt disinclined to turn away and put our quarters in order. Sea-sickness was rapidly getting the better of us. Our two so-called state-rooms were six feet long by five wide, and about six feet high. The furniture consisted of three berths without bedding, and one small furnished wash-stand. With this much ready at hand, we, in dead earnest, set about com- pleting our arrangements for a long stay. But a large carpet- bag, which had been packed full of articles such as experi- enced voyagers had designated as necessary in sea-sickness, had gone astray, and was not to be found even after long searching. The next morning we had a stiff breeze, which gradually increased to a gale, and by the third night we were plunging before a tempest. It was all in the right direction, and was speeding us onward; but our captain, fearing lest the ship's stern should be dashed in, furled sails, hove the ship to, and presenting her strongest and sharpest point to the wind, let her " lie to " until the storm was spent. I will not attempt a description of the scene inside of our two "state-rooms" dur- ing those three stormy days and nights. It will perhaps sug- gest all that is necessary, to add that the carpet-bag full of sick-bed comforts and conveniences did not come out of the supercargo's room in search of its owners until both the storm (31) 32 OUR INDIA MISSION. and our time of greatest need were past. After this rough beginning, we had slow sailing and adverse winds and cur- rents, with much difficulty in keeping far enough eastward to pass the headlands of South America at Cape St. Roque; and we were no less than fifty days in reaching the equator. From the north and south temperate zones the tendency of the atmosphere is to move towards the equator, producing those gentle, uniform breezes called the trade-winds. But on approaching near the equator, the air, instead of moving hori- zontally, becomes heated and moves upward ; the consequence is that the sea is usually calm near the equator. Our experi- ence was the same when crossing the tropics both in the At- lantic and Indian Oceans — two or three weeks of calm weather and great heat. Working across these calm belts is a most tedious business; it is not sailing, but indolent floating. The restless ocean swells and falls like molten glass; the vessel rolls inertly, first to one side and then to the other; the loose canvas and noisy rigging are jerked violently, first this way and then that way; and the mariner, in spite of the living won- ders of the deep, and sunset scenes of unparalleled magnifi- cence, grows weary with waiting for a breeze. From the eastern extremity of South America, following the arc of a great circle towards a certain point in the Bay of Bengal, we touched the 46th degree of south latitude, fully 10 degrees south of Africa. On a map this appears to be a round- about course, but in reality it is shorter than the one close by the coast of South Africa. Besides, outward bound vessels would, in sailing near this coast, be greatly impeded by an ocean current which runs westward with a velocity of about four miles per hour; whilst 10 degrees farther south, the cur- rent runs eastward. In these southern waters we found it cold, gloomy and bois- terous. Snow fell on the deck in December (mid-summer), and icebergs appeared. The first of these we passed at mid- day, and as it was probably not a mile from our course, we enjoyed the sight intensely. It was thought to be a quarter THE VOYAGE. 33 of a mile in length, and the same in breadth at its water line, spreading out much wider under the surface, and making it dangerous for a ship to approach very near. The portion above water was roughly estimated to be one hundred and fifty feet high. The sea rolled in upon its shelving shore, curl- ing, breaking, and wildly dashing high up the icy cliffs. The top appeared to be covered with a fresh fall of snow, but below this all was a solid mass, clear as crystal, and of dazzling brightness. As it melted water flowed down, cutting its way in sharp ravines, and preparing the mass to fall in pieces. This beautiful and strange sight was a pleasant relief to the monotony of a tedious voyage. A few days later we came upon another iceberg, consider- ably larger than the first. I believe I was the first to observe it through the gray mist of the early morning, and it lay right ahead in our course. Not knowing at first sight what it was, I hurried to the captain, and asked if we were not running upon an island. " Why, no ! — what — why — where ? What d* you mean ? " he stammered out hurriedly, under great excitement; then, shouting orders to change the ship's course, he exclaimed im- patiently— "Another of those dreadful icebergs!" A few other smaller ones were seen in the distance. The best running of the whole voyage was made during three weeks when we were in this southern region, where an ocean current helped us forward. The wind, uniformly from the west, generally brisk and often rising to a gale, always blew harder in the night ; and the officers were disposed to carry sail and make speed to the utmost capacity of our little ship. One stormy night she "broached to," causing great alarm. The captain had accused the first mate of cowardice in not keeping up enough sail ; the mate determined to show his courage, and this dangerous accident was the result. Those floating mountains of ice were not down on the chart, and no one knew how many might be in our path; the thought, therefore, of being driven upon one of them in a dark 3 34 OUR INDIA MISSION, stormy night gave no little anxiety to our whole company, and we felt special need to " abide under the shadow of the Al- mighty," who has said, " Thou shalt not be afraid for the ter- ror by night," The voyage was tedious. The distance traversed — indirect sailing against head winds included — was about seventeen thousand miles. The only land sighted was two barren rocks called Amsterdam and St. Paul's. The only visitors who called to see us were the captain of an English ship and his wife, who were invited over to dinner one day whilst both ships lay becalmed in the Indian Ocean. No papers told us the news. No letters reminded us that we were thought of by friends far away. No fruit or vegetables came aboard to flavor and freshen our stale fare. Our child outgrew her clothes. New garments became old and were worn out. The events of the voyage faded from memory in the monotonous past, until one would ask another whether such and such a thing had happened in October or November, this year, or last. As we moved towards the sun-rising, our timepieces ran wild. The very heavens tilted up from the south, the pole star sank out of sight, the sun swept up to the north at mid- day, and everything combined to deepen the impression upon our minds that we were far, far away from our dear native land. Our company, as I remember it, numbered twenty-seven ;.souls. Fourteen of these were sailors, to whom it was unlaw- fM for us to speak. With the steward and first and second ;nia£es also it was not proper, according to ship regulations, ;ifQr ius to be sociable. There remained, then, besides our own .family, six others who were our constant companions — the ..captain and his wife, the supercargo, and his three clerks "On the second Sabbath out the young men asked us to sing some songs, as they were fond of music and none of them were singers.; and they were told that we did not think it proper to .. engage in mere amusements on the Sabbath. From that time V forward .tkey hated us. By long continued familiarity the THE VOYAGE. 35 peculiarities of these five men became indelibly impressed on our memory. One of them had no definite religious faith, and was studying Doctor Channing — Unitarian — to " form correct opinions." Another " had been sent to Sab- bath-school until he was sick of it," and now scoffed at the Bible and religion. A third one was a " philosopher." The fourth seemed a teachable lad at first, and joined with us at worship ; but the others laughed at him until he became thoroughly ashamed, and to regain his standing among them, he soon excelled them all in shameless wickedness. The last on the list, a genial, affable young man, who believed himself to be a Christian of the highest order, was a Theologian, fresh from the school of Theodore Parker, the great Boston light ! I made it a point never to begin a controversy with them ; but my affable friend, Mr. E , could not help forcing me in- to debate on the Divinity of Christ — man's inability to save himself by good works — and many other fundamental doc- trines; and the rest of the company always joined him eagerly in the discussion. Unfortunately for their cause, they did not know their Bible ; and as they could not stand before it, they became angry, and for a few days would not speak. They would then meet together and read ; and when they thought they were well loaded, they would open fire agai-n, But after receiving a few thrusts from that which is " sharper than any two-edged sword," they would all again retreat into sullen silence. I was not conscious of exerting any good influence over these men. I persevered in speaking first, on meeting them every morning, and in treating them courteously ; but the enmity was deep rooted, and beyond expressions of sur- prise which one of them made at my forbearance, no per- ceptible impression was noticed. It had been agreed before setting out that religious services should be regularly con- ducted, and for a time I had the sailors gathered on Sabbath mornings, for Bible instruction ; but so many difficulties were placed in the way that it became necessary to discontinue everything of the kind, except in our own rooms and some- 36 OUR INDIA MISSION. times in the