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 Copyright N°- 
 
 COPYPJGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
E. R. BECKMAN AND THYRA. 
 Picture taken at Stockholm, Sweden, in April 1911. 
 
The Massacre at Sianfu 
 
 AND 
 
 Other Experiences in Connection With the 
 
 Scandinavian Alliance Mission 
 
 of North America 
 
 BY 
 
 E. R. Beckman 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 1913 
 

 r 
 
 Copyrighted, 1913, by E. R. Beekman 
 
 ©CI.A343663 
 )U)I 
 
Preface. 
 
 The terrible incident which took place at Si- 
 anfu, China, ivhen the revolution broke out there 
 in October 1911, has greatly stirred up the feel- 
 ings of a large number of friends of the Mission 
 in the homelands. 
 
 I have repeatedly been asked to relate the story 
 of this outrage by which some of my fellow work- 
 ers and I were cruelly bereaved our dear ones, 
 whose blood ivas shed, so to speak, to saturate the 
 gospel seed which had been sown during the pre- 
 ceeding years; and how I succeeded to rescue my 
 youngest child, a four year old girl, by running 
 through the raging mob, which pursued and hunt- 
 ed me throughout the night. 
 
 In order to satisfy the many friends who 
 wished to knotv the details of this incident and 
 still avoid the hard task of continually repeating 
 this heartrending story, a book was published in 
 the Swedish language soon after I arrived in 
 Sweden on my way from China relating this sor- 
 rowful event. The first edition of this book was 
 soon exhausted and ivas folloived by a second 
 edition, 
 
On my arrival in the United States I met ivith 
 a number of friends who expressed their desire to 
 have this little book published in the English lan- 
 guage. To comply with these their wishes, it is 
 herewith sent forth among the wide circle of 
 English speaking friends. Owing to my inferior 
 knowledge of the language it has been involved 
 with much difficulty to accomplish this. Hoping 
 that my readers will have forbearance ivith my 
 shortcomings, it is my sincere desire that this 
 story may serve to increase your interest in the 
 noble ivork which all Christians have been com- 
 missioned to accomplish for our blessed Master 
 in this world. 
 
 As there are many of our English speaking 
 friends to whom the existence of the Scandinav- 
 ian Alliance Mission is not known I have briefly 
 mentioned how this Mission was founded and 
 some of its work. 
 
 Chicago, Feb. 1913. 
 
 E. R. BECKMAN. 
 
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 The Scandinavian Alliance Mission. 
 
 In the end of the year 1889 Dr. J. Hudson 
 Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, 
 published a paper, entitled, To Every Creature, 
 in which he pleaded for one thousand men and 
 women to be sent to China in addition to the 
 missionaries already at work there, to make it 
 possible for every one in that dark land to hear 
 the Gospel preached to them. 
 
 A few months later, the Missionary Con- 
 ference, assembled in Shanghai, also made an 
 appeal to the home churches, earnestly pleading 
 for one thousand men for the work of Christian 
 evangelization in China. The Rev. Fredrick 
 Franson who for many years had been exten- 
 sively engaged in evangelistic work in American 
 and European countries, was at this time con- 
 ducting an evangelistic campaign in Germany. 
 The plea for one thousand missionaries appealed 
 so powerfully to him, that he immediately started 
 
8 
 
 to interest Christians in the mission cause. 
 The result was, that the German Alliance Mission 
 was founded, and a party of missionaries soon 
 started for China in connection with this mission. 
 No sooner were these missionaries on their way 
 to the mission field than Mr. Franson returned 
 to the United States with the aim of arousing 
 interest in the spiritual welfare of China. His 
 undertaking was crowned with success. It resul- 
 ted in the founding of the Scandinavian Alliance 
 Mission in connection with which a number of 
 missionaries have gone to mission fields in dif- 
 ferent lands. In the beginning of the year 1891 
 no less than fifty misionaries set sail for China, 
 to work in association with the China Inland 
 Mission. 
 
 It is quite evident that Mr. Franson was led 
 by the Spirit of God in sending forth these new 
 workers, many of them being previously prepared 
 for this step. 
 
 As for myself, long before ever hearing of the 
 mentioned appeal from China, or of Mr. Fran- 
 son's plans, I distinctly had felt a call to devote 
 myself to the Lord's work. I had heard the 
 voice of God pleading with me to be ready for His 
 service, and not to entangle myself in any affairs 
 that would hinder me from going at His bidding. 
 Early in the summer of 1889 I attended a 
 meeting where the minister spoke of China and 
 its need of the Gospel. As he said that there 
 

 
 REV. F. FRANSON. 
 
10 
 
 might be someone in this very audience whom 
 the Lord would have go there to preach the Glad 
 Tidings, I realized a voice saying to my heart that 
 I should go. At first I strongly opposed the idea, 
 saying to myself that it is not possible that God 
 would have me to go to China. I am not capable 
 of filling such a great calling. The Sunday School 
 work which I had started seemed more suitable 
 to me, and surely it would be serving the Lord 
 to keep at that. By the time the speaker had 
 finished his sermon, I had pretty well cleared my 
 mind from the sudden impulse of going to China. 
 One of the ministers present, with whom I was 
 well acquainted, came directly to me saying: 
 "Richard, you should go to China !" I felt in- 
 clined to oppose him, and replied in a manner of 
 reproach, "When God says so!" These words 
 had no sooner passed my lips than I realized the 
 same voice saying, "I have already said so!" 
 
 I hurried away from the meeting and when I 
 reached home I felt very restless. I felt the need of 
 someone with whom I could converse regarding 
 these perplexing thoughts that had entered my 
 mind, thinking thereby I could derive some help. 
 It then occurred to me to spend the afternoon at 
 the home of a Christian neighbor with whom I had 
 frequently spent leisure hours, conversing upon 
 spiritual things. As I was approaching his house 
 he noticed me and came to meet me, saying: "I 
 am glad to see you, Richard. I want to tell you 
 
11 
 
 of a thought that came to my mind at the meet- 
 ing this forenoon : I think the Lord would have 
 you to go to the heathen — I believe He wants 
 you to go to China." 
 
 As these words were spoken I felt as though 
 I was standing in the presence of God, and I said, 
 "What is the clay in the hands of the potter — if 
 the Lord wants me to go to China He is able to 
 open the way for me." 
 
 Although I was obstinate and slow-hearted in 
 believing and following the guidance of the Spirit, 
 and was constantly troubled by the cunning de- 
 lusions of the Evil One, yet the Lord gradually 
 led me out to proclaim the Gospel in the neigh- 
 boring districts. I was kept in a waiting attitude 
 for Him to open the way for me to go to China. 
 
 In this way my heart was prepared to respond 
 to the call for candidates to the Mission field, 
 which was published in various religious papers 
 when Mr. Franson came to America. I attended 
 some of the preparatory courses given by him. 
 After this I was accepted and sent out together 
 with a party of fourteen others. We sailed from 
 San Francisco on February 5th, 1891. A party 
 of thirty-five had sailed two weeks before. 
 
 The arrival of these new workers is given a 
 place in "Story of the China Inland Mission," 
 from which book the following description is 
 taken : 
 
12 
 
 "A few weeks after Mr. Taylor's return to 
 Shanghai with the first reinforcements from Aus- 
 tralia, the largest missionary party ever known 
 to arrive in China was given to the China Inland 
 Mission in one day, and that without our having 
 done anything in the matter, either written a 
 word, or spent a penny, or made one single effort 
 to bring them; just given of God in answer to 
 prayer, part of the coming thousand ! They were 
 the first thirty-five members of the Scandinavian 
 Alliance Mission, before alluded to, and were im- 
 mediately followed by fifteen others, making a 
 total of fifty within a fortnight. 
 
 "Sent out and supported by the Scandinavian 
 churches of North America, these earnest evan- 
 gelists had come in direct response to the appeal 
 for the Thousand. It was no small tax upon the 
 resources of the Mission to undertake the recep- 
 tion of so large a party without much warning. 
 But within a few days of their arrival all were 
 in Chinese dress, hard at work studying the 
 language, and before many weeks had elapsed, 
 suitable accommodation had been provided for 
 them in the interior. 
 
 "As typical of no unusual experience in the 
 spacious compound of our Shanghai headquar- 
 ters, the following notes are added: 
 
 March 12th, 1891. 
 
 'Thirteen of the Scandinavian brethren leave 
 to-night for the Interior. How we shall miss 
 
13 
 
 them! Strangers only a few days ago, they are 
 now dear to us in the Lord. Forth they step into 
 the darkness, their faces bright with Heaven's 
 own radiance, songs on their lips, and music of 
 love divine filling their hearts. ■ No fears for 
 them, and their lives for the perishing.' 
 
 "An hour ago, silence fell over the crowded 
 room as the last words of our hymn died away, 
 and Mr. Taylor, rising, came into the midst, and 
 opened the word of God. Eagerly all turned to- 
 wards him, with the bright look upon each face 
 that told of heart-expectancy. Quietly fell the 
 precious words of the 146th Psalm, as he read, 
 verse by verse, unto the triumphant end. And 
 then he talked to us in his own way, each sen- 
 tence the very essence of deep and blessed ex- 
 perience of what God is and can be to the soul 
 that leans on Him alone. It was all about "the 
 Lord." 
 
 "First — He 'keepeth truth for ever.' To the 
 dear brethren who are leaving us He says, "Lo 
 I am with you always." Yes, and He "keepeth 
 truth for ever." This has been the first home 
 God has given you in China, but you will find that 
 He has many homes here, and He will bring you 
 to them as you go on. Wherever He is, is home. 
 Is not home always where the Father is? Well, 
 
14 
 
 He is with you everywhere, and always. So we 
 are never away from home. 
 
 You may be oppressed sometimes in China, 
 and unfriendly treated. But the Lord "executeth 
 judgment for the oppressed." You may some- 
 times be without money; your friends may for- 
 get you, or you may lose your all, and be in want. 
 The Lord "giveth food to the hungry." You may 
 be put in prison perhaps, for the Gosepl's sake, as 
 many good men have been before. The Lord 
 "looseth the prisoners." And sometimes we are 
 blind indeed, not seeing any way out of our dif- 
 ficulty, or how to find the right path. But it says, 
 "the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind." How 
 much better to the blind if He is leading us, and 
 is going to open our eyes at the right time, than 
 to be very sharp-sighted on our own account, and 
 spy out a way for ourselves, that is sure to lead 
 into difficulty and danger. 
 
 "And then sometimes we are "bowed down." 
 Who is there here that has never been discour- 
 aged? Although we ought not to be, for it is a 
 sin to be discouraged. Let us remember that 
 "He shall not fail nor be discouraged" ; and while 
 He does not, how dare we? If the General is 
 going to win the battle the soldiers cannot lose 
 it! Our Jesus has never lost a battle yet; so we 
 are on the winning side. But sometimes we are 
 "bowed down". Well, "the Lord raiseth up them 
 that are bowed down." 
 
15 
 
 'And finally, whoever may hate or despise us, 
 "the Lord loveth the righteous." 
 
 "And now let us remember it, "the Lord shall 
 reign forever." There will never be a day in 
 your life or mine when the Lord is not reigning." 
 
 "Upon our knees, with full hearts, we com- 
 mended one another to God in prayer. 
 
 'Remember always, dear Lord, that they are 
 not very strong, and let Thy strength be made per- 
 fect in their weakness. Remember always that 
 they are not very wise, and may Thy wisdom be 
 their sufficiency/ 
 
 "His voice ceased. But, ere we could rise 
 from our knees, dear brother Guldbrandson fol- 
 lowed in impassioned pleading, his whole heart 
 overflowing in broken words, and forceful quaint 
 expressions, carrying blessing with each sentence. 
 And Hagquist followed, amid the fervently ex- 
 pressed sympathy of all the rest. Touching, 
 manly, brave, and tender prayers, all for Jesus 
 stamped on each petition. 
 
 "As we stood together then, a moment, brother 
 Pilquist's voice was heard saying that he wished 
 to try and express the feeling of all their hearts 
 towards those from whom they are parting to- 
 night, the love, the gratitude. They felt as they 
 had done when leaving their old homes in Scan- 
 dinavia, leaving their father's roof. And he 
 turned to Mr. Taylor standing there and said, 'I 
 have found a father here in China and a home!' 
 
16 
 
 And many an earnest voice responded, 'Yes.' 
 'Amen/ He thanked the Mission, on behalf of 
 the Scandinavian churches in America, and on 
 behalf of the whole party, — all the first Fifty, of 
 whom nineteen will be left with us now. 
 
 "When he had finished speaking, and Mr. Tay- 
 lor's reply was done, before anything further 
 could be said, they burst again into song, and the 
 room rang, through and through, with their soul- 
 filled music. It was very touching to watch their 
 faces then. So bright, so moved, so purposeful! 
 The whole band seemed to gather to the chorus 
 of their special hymn — "It's best to go singing, 
 singing all the way. 9 ' And to me they seemed, 
 indeed, Heralds of Coming Footsteps! Thrust- 
 forth laborers are these if ever there were any. 
 The plentiful harvest is waiting. At the eleventh 
 hour He sends in His last reapers, simple, earnest, 
 loyal-hearted lovers of the Lord; sends them in 
 to garner the precious sheaves, and join the Har- 
 vest Home. 
 
 "A little later, in the darkness, they gather 
 to say good-bye. The lamplight falls on the group 
 at the foot of the veranda steps, upon which the 
 singers stand to lead their last united song of 
 praise. 
 
 "A solemn feeling of wonder is upon many 
 hearts, what is this the Lord is doing in our 
 midst? Heralds of Coming Footsteps! Ye go 
 forth surely, in response to the midnight cry. Yes, 
 
17 
 
 let it ring round China, and back again across 
 the ocean foam, to the homelands sleeping far 
 over the seas, 'Behold the Bridegroom cometh! 
 We go to meet Him' !" 
 
 I may be in place here to mention that the 
 object of the Scandinavian Alliance Mission is to 
 encourage Churches, Societies or individuals to 
 send out and support Missionaries of the Gospel 
 in different foreign fields. These Missionaries 
 are in the first instance controlled by and account- 
 able to those supporting them and are, conse- 
 quently, to report of their work directly to their 
 supporters. Thus each church or group of Chris- 
 tians who support one or more missionaries prac- 
 tically constitutes a small Mission Society in this 
 Alliance. 
 
 This arrangement has brought about an inti- 
 mate relation between the supporters and their 
 own missionary, and created greater interest 
 for Mission work, than could have been accom- 
 plished in any other way. 
 
 Besides the work in China this Mission carries 
 on work in Japan, Mongolia, India, Africa and 
 South America. It also maintains a Scandinav- 
 ian Sailor's Mission in Sidney, Australia. 
 
18 
 
 EarlygExperiences in the Work, 
 
 As has been stated, the China Inland Mission 
 provided suitable accommodations at different 
 places in the interior for all of us to study the 
 language. A number of the brethren were sent to 
 the station at Kuh-wu in the province of Shansi. 
 The lady missionaries were all sent to Ta-ku-t'ang 
 in the province of Kiangsi. Seven of us, under 
 the guidance of Mr. Bagnall, were sent to study 
 at Kiu-cheo-fu in the province of Chehkiang. 
 
 After a period of about five months Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bagnall went home, leaving the housekeep- 
 ing affairs with me. A month later I began con- 
 ducting meetings among the Chinese. Little by 
 little, our party had to break up, some to one sta- 
 tion and some to another. Finally I was alone 
 at this place. A Chinese pastor had charge of the 
 church, so, in company with my native helper, I 
 was at liberty to do extensive itinerating work. 
 
 At a place called Ta-cheo we had the joy of 
 seeing some fruit of our efforts. There was a 
 man who believed our message the first time he 
 heard it preached. Soon he put forth much con- 
 cern regarding the salvation of his fellow-men. 
 Occasionally his old friends would beat him when 
 he talked to them of the God he had now learned 
 to know, still he did not become discouraged. He 
 
19 
 
 sometimes prayed for the sick, and his petitions 
 were answered. Through this he won several for 
 the Lord. 
 
 When a little group of four families had be- 
 come Believers, there arose persecution. One of 
 these families was assailed by five men who 
 seized their property and maltreated them. When 
 this became known to us, and having through 
 prayer sought the guidance of the Lord, we came 
 to the conclusion of reporting it to the mandarin. 
 The culprits were soon taken to task for this, and 
 were threatened to be put in prison. Then they 
 became frightened, and to my native helper they 
 brought their complaints, saying, "Now, see, in 
 what a plight the foreigner has put us : we shall 
 be put in prison, and as it is so near the New 
 Year, our trial will not be heard before this, and 
 what a calamity to be in prison during that great 
 festival !" 
 
 My helper then replied, "It is not the foreigner 
 who is the cause of this, but you are to blame 
 yourselves for transgressing the law. The for- 
 eigner loves you and would intercede for you if 
 you only would return the stolen property, and 
 promise to mend your ways." 
 
 Upon hearing this they wanted to hire a sedan 
 chair, in which the native helper should proceed 
 (in a respectable manner) to the Mission station 
 in order to beseech me to intercede for them. In 
 order to give a deeper impression of the Christian 
 
20 
 
 spirit, my helper explained to them that he would 
 not burden them with the expense of hiring a 
 chair, but that he would go afoot; he told the 
 mandarin's messengers that they might return. 
 But they were opposed to this, saying they dared 
 not return to their master without bringing with 
 them the ones they were to fetch. Then he sug- 
 gested that they should accompany him to the 
 Mission station and linger there till mercy for the 
 culprits could be obtained. This was done, and 
 mercy took the place of justice. This did more 
 towards opening this place for the Gospel than 
 what several years' preaching could have accom- 
 plished. Hitherto the children at this place had 
 been afraid of me, as they believed that I would 
 devour them! But now, whenever coming here, 
 the children gathered about me and followed me 
 back and forth on the streets. I asked them why 
 they were not afraid of me now as they had been 
 before. They replied, "We were formerly told 
 that you would eat children, but now people say 
 you are the kindest man there is!" Soon after 
 this an outstation was opened here, and the work 
 advanced steadily. 
 
 A certain man who had smoked opium for 
 thirty years once heard me state that one could 
 break the opium habit by relying on God for 
 strength to do it; he came to the station, believ- 
 ing if he remained there a few days God would 
 deliver him from this bondage. During the three 
 
21 
 
 days he stayed there he did not feel compelled to 
 use the drug in any form, nor did he take to 
 using it after he got home. This man, however, 
 did not come out as a follower of Christ. 
 
 After Mr. and Mrs. Thompson returned to 
 this station, I was requested to take up work at 
 Kin-hua-fu, thus leaving the place where I had 
 seen several embrace Christianity during my first 
 years in China. 
 
 At a later period, upon request by the China 
 Inland Mission, I opened a station in the city of 
 Lan-ki. At this place a fellow-worker, Mr. Wit- 
 zell once took breakfast with me at the inn where 
 I was staying. After this I went to a chapel to" 
 preach. Mr. Witzell was to come later, but he did 
 not appear. While preaching I realized a burning 
 pain and was obliged abruptly to close the dis- 
 course. The messenger that I sent to the inn re- 
 turned with information that Mr. Witzell was in 
 a similar state. It now seemed clear that there 
 must have been poison in our food. I prayed the 
 Lord to now deliver us according to His word: 
 "If they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no 
 wise hurt them." Satan, of course, was present 
 to claim that prominent Bible students agree that 
 this portion is not found in the most ancient man- 
 uscripts of the New Testament. I resisted him 
 by maintaining that it made no difference to me, 
 as long as it was given a place in His Word, — 
 that was the main thing. If God had allowed it 
 
22 
 
 to be inserted, He surely was able to comply with 
 it. I was immediately delivered from the danger, 
 and was soon able to return to the inn. Prayer 
 was offered for Brother Witzell, and he also re- 
 covered. 
 
 After procuring a house in this city, and hav- 
 ing made other necessary arrangements, I fre- 
 quently made tours to various places, hoping to 
 gain a footing in a new district. During one of 
 these journeys, together with another missionary, 
 we happened to meet a Buddhist priest who had 
 lost his forefingers. We learned to know that he 
 had lost them in a peculiar way: he had used 
 them as candles before the idols. By bandaging 
 tallow around the fingers he had succeded in 
 getting them to burn, while he, in worshiping 
 attitude, kneeled before the image. 
 
 On another tour I passed a. grotto where a man 
 was sitting on a stone, meditating. He was "re- 
 pairing his heart," as the Chinese say. They 
 believe they can grow better by resorting to some 
 lonely place, and there devote themselves to paci- 
 fying meditations. 
 
 In this connection I heard of others who, while 
 thus "repairing their hearts," partock of less food 
 day by day, till gradually they were famished 
 with hunger. They believe in this way to gain 
 eternal bliss and become deified in another world. 
 What a craving for something better must they 
 not realize in their hearts when they submit them- 
 
23 
 
 selves to such extremes! What a strong appeal 
 this is to us to bring them the Light! 
 
 During these early years our brethren who 
 had gone to the province of Shansi to study the 
 language, had also carried on extensive itiner- 
 ating work, reaching into the province of Shensi. 
 They had also succeeded in opening some new sta- 
 tions in this province. When the Director of the 
 China Inland Mission, Dr. Hudson Taylor, heard 
 of this, he undertook the long journey from 
 Shanghai to this distant province to inspect their 
 work. When he saw that the Lord had been with 
 them and graciously guided their steps to open 
 up centers for Mission work, he rejoiced over 
 their progress, and made an agreement with them 
 to remain there and make this their sphere of 
 labor. 
 
 Field of Work in China of the Scandinavian 
 Alliance Mission of North America. 
 
 When our director, Rev. F. Franson, came to 
 China (1895) he held a conference with those of 
 us who were in the central part of the country, 
 where it was decided that we, together with our 
 fellow-workers in North China, should take up 
 our field of work on the Sian Plain in the province 
 of Shensi, and also to work in the eastern part 
 of the province of Kansu, 
 
25 
 
 The Sian Plain is a very fertile region and 
 densely populated. Cities and Villages are here 
 numerous. The villages are generally surrounded 
 by a wall of hard packed clay, containing gates 
 which are closed at night, similar to those of the 
 larger cities. It is estimated that Sianfu, the 
 capital of the province, has a population of half 
 a million. Long ago it was the capital city of the 
 empire. About seven miles west of the city are 
 to be seen the ruins of an ancient imperial palace ; 
 and inside the city there is also an old palace. The 
 surroundings contain many huge mounds which 
 mark the graves of emperors and eminent states- 
 men. There are also other antiquities which bear 
 witness that in this part of the country has stood 
 the cradle of the Chinese Empire. 
 
 When the Manchus conquered China, more 
 than 260 years ago, they placed a large garrison 
 in this city. A fourth part of Sianfu has since 
 then consisted of the Manchu quarter, which was 
 separated from the rest of the city by a wall. 
 
 It was to this city the Imperial Court fled for 
 refuge when the allied troops entered Peking to 
 rescue the foreign ministers, merchants and mis- 
 sionaries who were there besieged during the 
 Boxer trouble in 1900. 
 
 In this region, so rich in memories of the past, 
 Christian doctrine has been known through the 
 Nestorians from the seventh to the fourteenth 
 century. The ruing of the Nestorian temple lie 
 

 The Nestorian Tablet. 
 
27 
 
 less than a mile from the west suburb of Sianfu. 
 Not many years ago the Nestorian tablet of 
 world-wide fame (which was unearthed in 1625) 
 stood there also, but has since then been moved 
 into the city for safe keeping together with other 
 relics. 
 
 It is in this region the Scandinavian Alliance 
 Mission of North America has its field of work. 
 It was no easy matter for missionaries to gain 
 a footing in these regions. Workers of the China 
 Inland Mission had twice been driven out from 
 Sianfu. One of their missionaries was driven out 
 from one place to another on the Sian Plain, but 
 he lingered about in that region several years 
 without gaining a foothold anywhere. He fol- 
 lowed literally the words of Christ: "But when 
 they persecute you in this city, flee into the next." 
 After some time he usually returned to the places 
 from which he had been driven out, until at last 
 he was able to open a station in Fengsiangfu lo- 
 cated in the western part of the Sian Plain, about 
 120 miles west of the city of Sianfu. 
 
 One of the first of our missionaries who came 
 to Sianfu has related how he, inside the city, was 
 followed by a man who carried a sword and 
 threatened to kill "the foreign devil", by which 
 term the missionary was called. 
 
 When Mr. Holmen succeeded in hiring a house 
 to open a mission station in Sianfu, there gather- 
 ed a mob to drive him away. He was aware that 
 
28 
 
 they had come with evil intentions, but he went 
 to meet them with his guitar in hand, bidding 
 them welcome, and asked for permission to sing 
 and play for them ; he also invited them to drink 
 some tea. They became abased at his courage 
 and friendliness, and after listening to the sing- 
 ing a while they withdrew. They said, "This 
 foreigner does us no harm ; let him alone." Some 
 time later another mob gathered to drive him out, 
 but this time their plan was frustrated by the 
 occurrence of a heavy rain storm. After this day 
 he dwelt among them unmolested. 
 
 In Ch'ien-cheo, about 56 miles from Sianfu, 
 serious trouble began to arise after the missionar- 
 ies had secured a place there. Mr. Nordlund, who 
 was alone there went to the mandarin to ask for 
 protection in case of trouble; but the mandarin 
 did not grant him admittance. On the contrary, 
 he was attacked by the mandarin's employees. He 
 managed to get away from them and hurried back 
 to the mission station. They followed, throwing 
 stones, so that, bleeding, he barely managed to 
 close the gate at the station before they could 
 plunge in upon him. When he realized that they 
 would soon force their way in, he scaled the wall 
 and came into the neighbor's yard where he found 
 a hiding place, while the mob broke in and de- 
 stroyed the mission station. The mandarin or- 
 dered the city gates to be closed to hinder the 
 foreigner from getting away without being 
 
29 
 
 caught. Not being aware of this, our brother 
 proceeded at dusk along some back street towards 
 the east city gates. The gate tender opened the 
 gate and let him escape. The trouble at this 
 place was reported to the governor, and he ar- 
 ranged for Mr. Nordlund and others of our mis- 
 sionaries to be carried in mandarin chairs back to 
 Ch'ien-cheo. He also gave order to the mandarin 
 to rebuild the mission station and reconcile his 
 breach against the missionaries. 
 
 In the city of Pincheo a missionary, Mr. Mad- 
 sen, had settled down. The mandarin at that 
 place tried to hinder his work, and he got up a 
 riot to drive him out. When Brother Franson 
 came to Sianf u and heard of this, he prayed God 
 that this mandarin might either be converted or 
 else taken out of the way. Shortly after, the 
 mandarin became ill and died. The new official 
 favored Mission work and let the missionary stay 
 in the city. 
 
 At the city of Pingliang in the province of 
 Kansu, the officials had forbidden the people to 
 rent a house to the missionaries. The highest 
 official (Tao-t'ai) had invited the other officials 
 to his place for the purpose of planning how to 
 hinder the missionaries from starting work in 
 their city. The missionaries, therefore, went to 
 see the governor of the province and obtained per- 
 mission to settle in Pingliang. Furthermore, he 
 issued an order to the mandarins at the place to 
 
30 
 
 procure a house for the missionaries and let them 
 stay there. Now, that they were obliged to obey 
 this command, their next plot was to procure a 
 house in which evil spirits raged, where they 
 thought no person could dwell. It was at this 
 time that I, together with others, came to this 
 field from central China. After a conference 
 which our director held with us at Sianf u, it fell 
 to my lot to continue the journey with other 
 brethren the long way to Pingliang, where we 
 were to live in the mentioned house. The officials' 
 calculation that the evil spirits would out-do us, 
 failed completely. The house became habitable 
 even for Chinese, so that after a few years when 
 it was turned over to the owner, anybody could 
 live there without being annoyed by evil spirits. 
 Similar opposition from the officials was met 
 with at most places, but the Mission has, nev- 
 ertheless, gained footing and advanced steadily. 
 
 The following incident shows something of 
 the Lord's immediate help in the work : 
 
 At the time Mission work was begun at a 
 place called Meihsien, a certain vegetarian from 
 this place started out for a distant cave among 
 the mountains in order there to try to improve 
 the condition of his restless heart. As he trav- 
 eled along he heard a voice saying, "Turn about 
 and go to Fuh-in-t'ang (the mission station) and 
 you shall find what you seek." Feeling assured 
 that a supernatural voice had spoken to him, he 
 
31 
 
 turned about and went to the mission station, 
 where he learned to know his Saviour, and became 
 a witness for Jesus the rest of his life. 
 
 At spring time in the year 1896 I took up tent 
 mission together with two other brethren. We 
 went about to various places on the field with a 
 big tent in which we preached the Gospel. Thou- 
 sands of people in this way were given oppor- 
 tunity to hear the Glad Tidings. 
 
 As the Mission work developed, it was found 
 necessary, not only to scatter the Gospel seed, but 
 also to shepherd those who had accepted the 
 Truth. Therefore more stress was placed on sta- 
 tion work. Missionaries have been stationed at 
 twenty-two different places. A few of these have 
 later either been given up or become outstations 
 to larger centres. A number of the stations have 
 several outstations connected with them, where 
 Sunday services are regularly conducted. Some 
 of the churches that have been founded have in 
 recent years attained a membership of more than 
 a hundred. The "Christian Herald" (an Amer- 
 ican weekly) has supported a number of orphans 
 in connection with this Mission. These have been 
 cared for and educated at orphanages connected 
 with various Mission stations. Besides this, the 
 missionaries themselves have cared for and sup- 
 ported, wholly or in part, a number of children 
 
32 
 
 from poor homes. The Mission also maintains a 
 Seminary at Sianfu, where not a few young men 
 have received training as school teachers and 
 evangelists. Thus, the natives, through whom the 
 masses must be reached, are being led into Gospel 
 work. 
 
 Our Work in Sang-kia-chuang. 
 
 Towards the latter 
 
 part of the year 1896 
 
 the Lord gave me a 
 
 good helpmeet in the 
 
 Mission work. I was 
 
 then wedded to Miss 
 
 Ida Lovisa Klint, who 
 
 was a worker in the 
 
 Scandinavian Alliance 
 
 Mission. A few traits 
 
 from her life should 
 
 here be mentioned. She 
 
 became converted in 
 
 miss ida l. klint. the early years of her 
 
 life. She joined the Salvation Army, and in the 
 
 city of Stockholm took active part in the work 
 
 done for saving souls. 
 
 In 1888 she emigrated to America, the city of 
 Brooklyn being her destination. At this place 
 she also took part in the work of the Salvation 
 Army, and it was her intention here to enter the 
 cadet school with view of becoming an officer. 
 
33 
 
 About this time the Rev. P. Franson began 
 holding Bible courses for missionaries to foreign 
 fields. She attended one of these courses and felt 
 strongly called to go to China as a missionary. 
 After finishing this course, she, as well as others, 
 was sent out to work among the Scandinavian 
 people. 
 
 Mr. Fransons method of testing the ability 
 of those who were to be sent out to foreign fields 
 was quite practical. Those who in their travels 
 succeeded in arousing souls from the lethargy of 
 sin, and in other ways showed capability in the 
 work, were chosen as missionaries. If, on ac- 
 count of the short time for work of this kind, no 
 proof of their ability could be obtained in this 
 way, then a written endorsement from the church 
 to which they belonged was accepted. This me- 
 thod of testing is no doubt the reason why he, 
 comparatively, made no great mistakes. 
 
 At many of the places to which Miss Klint 
 went, the Lord added His blessings, and souls 
 were saved. Two of the churches she visited 
 wrote to Mr. Franson that they were willing to 
 support her as a missionary. One of these was a 
 church in Christine, North Dakota, where there 
 were some Christians who were opposed to wom- 
 en's work in the spiritual sphere, but they soon 
 changed their minds when they saw souls brought 
 to Jesus through her plain testimony. At this 
 place they requested, to be permitted to support 
 
34 
 
 her; and they declined accepting any one else as 
 their representative in China. Since then they 
 faithfully supported her, and often sent her extra 
 gifts. 
 
 When those who had been sent out had finished 
 the period of work appointed, and had gathered 
 at Omaha according to specified time, she was 
 accepted as a missionary. The result of the doc- 
 tor's health examination was not altogether fa- 
 vorable. He would not sanction sending her to 
 China, and yet he would not dissuade her from 
 going. She had to decide the matter herself be- 
 fore God. This was not an easy thing. Finally 
 she decided for China, because she realized that 
 the Lord had called her to this field. During her 
 first years in China she worked in the province of 
 Kiangsi. 
 
 At one time she and a few others were near to 
 being killed by an outrageous mob. They were, 
 however, rescued, though in different ways. Miss 
 Klint found herself amidst the crowd in the street 
 and couldn't get away. Some Chinese women 
 then suddenly opened a door and pulled her in- 
 side to get her away from the bloodthirsty mob. 
 The other missionaries had run away, but were 
 afterwards, by friendly Chinese, conducted into 
 the house where Miss Klint was, where the mob 
 could not find them. 
 
 She was sent to another field when Mr. Fran- 
 son came to China. She went to Ch'ien-cheo in 
 
35 
 
 the province of Shensi, where she worked nearly 
 two years. On Christmas Eve 1896 our wedding 
 was held. It then became our lot to go to the 
 station at Sang-kia-chuang (Shensi). 
 
 A certain Chinese evangelist, whom the mis- 
 sionary ladies at that station had employed, was, 
 upon request from the China Inland Mission's 
 superintendent in that province, discharged be- 
 cause of wrong doing of which the superintendent 
 had found him guilty. He thought I was the 
 cause of his dismissal and his friends at this place 
 became opposed to me. The first year, because of 
 their mistrust, I met with hinderance in whatever 
 I undertook in the line of missionary work, so 
 that some of the branches of the work became 
 entirely frustrated, specially so in regard to school 
 work and opium refuge work. 
 
 The means which I received for support were 
 insufficient. I began therefore to wonder whether 
 God found me useless for His work; I turned to 
 Him in prayer to get light in this matter. If He 
 could not use me, I would not continue. Would 
 He, on the other hand, make use of me, I prayed 
 that He would show it to me by sending me more 
 means with which to carry on the work. Some 
 time after this, I received a letter from a friend 
 who wrote in this way: "You may sometimes 
 think that God has no use for you in China, but 
 we feel assured that you should continue to work 
 there. One among the friends here bought hard- 
 
36 
 
 ware from a firm that, for cash sales, gave tickets 
 for drawing lots on a bicycle. He prayed to God 
 and promised that if he won the bicycle, he would 
 sell it and send the money to you. He won it and 
 herewith we send you the money." 
 
 As I had not written to my friends concerning 
 the needs and distress into which I had come, I 
 could so much easier take both the letter and the 
 money as an answer to my prayer. After this, 
 the resources steadily increased, so that when 
 later it became necessary for us to go home, we 
 had sufficient means for the journey, and did 
 not need to make any request for this purpose. 
 
 Blessing in the work was not missing, either. 
 There were many who attempted suicide by tak- 
 ing opium. I succeeded in rescuing them from 
 death, and thereby gained the peoples' confidence. 
 The meetings became well attended. School work 
 and opium refuge work could be resumed. Quite 
 a number signed their names as inquirers, and 
 two were baptized. On account of sickness, we 
 were, finally, by the committee on the field, ad- 
 vised to take a furlough. With tears in their eyes 
 our friends in Sang-kia-chuang accompanied us 
 on our way when w T e left. 
 
 Arriving at Shanghai after the long and tire- 
 some journey from Sianfu, we were so fatigued 
 that it was feared we should not be able to endure 
 the voyage across the Pacific. After staying some 
 time in Shanghai, however, we regained strength 
 
37 
 
 considerably. Our home voyage took place on 
 board a Japanese steamer, Hongkong Maru, which 
 was about to make its first trip across the Paci- 
 fic. It was a stormy voyage. The passengers, as 
 well as the part ol the crew who were not yet 
 accustomed to the mighty waves of the Pacific 
 Ocean, became seasick. Even the doctor was for 
 several days unable to keep his head raised. 
 
 A still greater danger threatened in this that 
 fire broke out in one of the coal rooms. During 
 two whole days the steamer was in danger of 
 becoming food for the flames. By means of a 
 powerful stream of steam, the fire w T as confined 
 to this room while haste was made to use up what 
 coal was not consumed by this fire. 
 
 At Honolulu, on the Hawaiian Islands, we 
 were permitted to remain a day. A milder cli- 
 mate than that of these islands is doubtless not to 
 be found anywhere on earth. The year round, the 
 climate is neither too cold nor too warm. Large 
 blooming trees here spread their fragrant scent 
 at all seasons. 
 
 During Our Sojourn in the Homelands. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1899 we came back to 
 America. It was indeed a pleasure to again meet 
 with parents, brothers, sisters and a host of 
 friends. They showed us many favors. 
 
38 
 
 In the month of August same year we went to 
 Sweden, because my wife wished to see her aged 
 father, who resided in Stockholm. After visiting 
 him, we went out into the country region, where 
 we had our home during the winter. Meantime, 
 I traveled in the interest of the Mission; at first 
 in company witn Mr. Franson, and later alone. 
 The Swedish branch of the Scandinavian Alli- 
 ance Mission had been launched by Mr. Franson 
 some time ago. The aim in these travels was to 
 arouse interest for the Mission, and gather means 
 to support missionaries and native helpers in con- 
 nection with this branch. The undertaking was 
 crowned with success. 
 
 Towards spring we returned to Stockholm. My 
 wife having been taken ill, we here consulted a 
 physician. Hie discovered that she suffered with 
 kidney trouble, and he advised taking her to the 
 hospital, but she asked to be permitted to remain 
 at home. I went to visit the well known man of 
 faith, Boltzius. There we prayed for her, and 
 when I returned she said that she had realized a 
 change, and felt better. The doctor expected us 
 to adhere to his instructions; but I believed that 
 she was recovering, and I wished to obtain fur- 
 ther proof that it was so. I could not request of 
 him to again examine her, but there was a Chris- 
 tian doctor who, considering that we were mis- 
 sionaries, kindly examined her and pronounced 
 her free from the mentioned disease. He advised 
 
 M 
 
39 
 
 me to request the former doctor to examine her 
 again. This he did, and to his surprise found no 
 trace of the disease. I then told him that Bolt- 
 zius, together with us, had prayed God to take 
 away the disease. He would not believe that the 
 spirit had any power over nature, and therefore 
 gave another explanation. He said, "As to one 
 kind of this disease, proof of its existence can, 
 on account of closure of the affected kidney, at 
 certain times only be obtained." After some time 
 the disease would again appear, he thought. But, 
 to the glory of God, I can here testify that this 
 disease did not trouble her again ; she was healed 
 from it. 
 
 After a needful rest at a certain summer 
 resort, we returned to America. The Boxer 
 Trouble going on in China hindered us from re- 
 turning to that country. Therefore I accepted a 
 position as pastor. 
 
 We met another trial in this that my wife 
 became quite ill with catarrh of the stomach. 
 Those who saw her thought surely she would suc- 
 cumb to this disease. We prayed to God about 
 her recovery, but received no direct answer such 
 as we did the former time ; yet in an indirect way 
 the Lord answered our petitions. Through the 
 skill of a physician she was this time healed; but 
 it took quite a long time before she regained her 
 strength. 
 
 After five years' sojourn in the homelands we 
 
E. R. BECKMAN AND FAMILY 1904. 
 
41 
 
 made ready to return to China. During a trip 
 when we visited the friends who supported us in 
 China, one of our girls took ill and died. This 
 sorrow was hard for my wife to bear ; so we were 
 obliged to remain at home another year, during 
 which time I continued my pastoral work. 
 
 Before we left America in March 1905 we 
 had the joy of seeing several of our relatives and 
 friends at Rosehill, Nebraska, yield themselves to 
 the Lord. 
 
 We crossed the Pacific by the steamer Em- 
 press of India. This voyage was also quite stormy, 
 but a rather fast one, so that in nineteen days we 
 reached Shanghai from Vancouver, B. C. 
 
 During our stay at home, the missionaries in 
 China underwent a time of unusual trials. 
 
 On account of serious complications, resulting 
 from a long continued agitation by certain polit- 
 ical parties (opposed to reform) the turmoil gen- 
 erally known as the Boxer trouble swept over 
 China. A great deal concerning this has been 
 written, so it will not here be dwelt upon, save 
 to mention how the missionaries on our field were 
 delivered from a bloody death, in this time of 
 peril. 
 
 Rumors of the terrible slaughter of mission- 
 aries in the neighboring province, Shansi, spread 
 rapidly into this part of the country, and a threat- 
 ening attitude towards the foreigners was as- 
 sumed by the people. 
 
42 
 
 Knowing that the governor, Tuan Fang, at 
 Sianfu (the capital) had shown a friendly feeling 
 towards foreigners, it was deemed advisable for 
 them to accept his invitation to come to this city 
 for protection. The command from the Empress 
 Dowager to kill all the foreigners had been re- 
 ceived by Taun Fang, as well as by the other 
 Governors and officials, but he resolved to act 
 contrary to it, saying, "I am going to protect the 
 missionaries even at the risk of my own life." 
 Having given this promise of protection, he ad- 
 vised the missionaries to remain in Sianfu. But 
 as he was realizing that the attitude against 
 the foreigners was growing stronger among the 
 people and other officials, he determined to send 
 the missionaries to the coast. The Governor of 
 Hupeh co-operated with him in this undertaking. 
 As missionaries would be obliged to travel through 
 a portion of the more hostile province of Honan, 
 a military escort w T as provided to accompany them 
 to the coast. Those of our missionaries residing 
 in the province of Kansu traveled by another 
 route, avoiding the province of Honan. Though 
 the suspense was often overwhelming, they were 
 finally delivered from the hands of their enemies, 
 and safely reached the coast. 
 
 Of the six of our workers in Mongolia, how- 
 ever, five had to lay down their lives at the hands 
 of the Boxers. 
 
43 
 
 "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give 
 thee the crown of life." 
 
 During this time of turmoil in China, several 
 of our missionaries who had been on the field 
 about nine years, came to the homelands for fur- 
 lough. The question regarding the education of 
 the missionaries' children had been discussed to 
 some extent, and it appeared to be a problem hard 
 to solve. It was not advisable to leave them or 
 send them home, as it seemed impossible that nec- 
 essary arrangements for this could be obtained. 
 To send them to some existing English school at 
 the coast (of China) had too large an expense con- 
 nected with it. While several of the missionaries 
 now were home, this question was taken up in 
 conference with the Board of Directors at Chi- 
 cago (1901). The only solution to the problem 
 seemed to be to start a preparatory school on the 
 Mission field, and it was decided to take steps 
 toward seeing it realized. 
 
 For a while it seemed doubtful whether a 
 teacher could be found who was willing, under 
 same conditions as the other missionaries, to go 
 to China to take up this work. This difficulty 
 was soon removed by the Lord, who had, in no 
 mistakable way, prepared a young man, Mr. E. 
 M. Paulson (at Barron, Wis.) to be willing to 
 devote himself to a foreign field, even before he 
 knew anything about our need in this regard. The 
 Board of Directors learned to know of him 
 
44 
 
 through one of the missionaries, Mr. Philip Nel- 
 son, who had traveled in the vicinity where he 
 lived. When they extended him a call to this 
 work, he felt ready to accept it. He started for 
 China in 1903, and began this school work as soon 
 as he arrived at his destination. Beginning with 
 eight pupils, the number, in course of time, in- 
 creased to eighteen. In the latter years, however, 
 there were not so many, as some of the pupils had 
 left for the homelands with their parents. 
 
 No one could have filled this place in the Mis- 
 sion any better than Mr. Paulson did, which is 
 shown best by the progress made by the pupils, 
 in spite of the unfavorable environments in the 
 interior of China. He faithfully taught this school 
 for a period of seven years, until the next teacher 
 was on his way to take up this work. 
 
 Back to the Field, 
 
 Having come back to China, it became our lot 
 to take charge of the school for the missionaries' 
 children. Many things of interest from that time 
 could be mentioned, but this does not correspond 
 to the aim of these pages. 
 
 Personally, I had wished to enter into di- 
 rect mission work more fully than what the cir- 
 cumstances here permitted. When we left the 
 school we helped in the mission work at Li-tsuen, 
 
45 
 
 where the Palmberg brothers were stationed. At 
 this time we all realized that there was great need 
 of a more powerful movement among the Christ- 
 ians. It is true there were many who had ac- 
 cepted Christianity and had put aside the most 
 offensive habits and vices of heathendom, but 
 in life so much was lacking. It w T as with great 
 anticipations we watched the revival tide that 
 made its way into China from Korea and Man- 
 churia. 
 
 Our field had been promised a visit by some 
 who had taken part in the revival meetings. They 
 came in the spring of 1909, and these workers 
 were Mr. A. Lutely and his native helper, Mr. 
 Wang. A powerful revival took place among the 
 Christians. The reality of sin became revealed 
 to them. Formerly, a Chinese was seldom to be 
 seen to weep over his sins, but now nearly all 
 who attended wept and groaned exceedingly. It 
 was indeed wonderful to behold. Confessions of 
 sin, which severe torture could not have brought 
 forth, were now openly spoken, regardless of who- 
 ever heard it. "I cannot stand it to keep silent 
 about my sins," was an often repeated expression. 
 When beholding this awakening, one could easier 
 imagine how it will appear before the judgement 
 seat of the Holy God. How blessed, though, 
 when sinners awaken while it is yet the day 
 of Grace! Occasionally, one could see people 
 fall to the ground, overburdened with sorrow 
 
46 
 
 of sin, and after a time of inward battle, they 
 would confess their sins. For anything they had 
 procured dishonestly, restitution was made, and 
 they were heard asking one another's forgiveness. 
 Even after these evangelists had left the place, 
 the revival kept spreading. 
 
 As I had been requested to superintend the 
 building of the school for the missionaries' child- 
 ren, we moved to Sianfu about the time the revi- 
 
 School for Missionaries' children seen from the wall 
 of the South Suburb, Sianfu. 
 
 val began. The school was erected outside the 
 south suburb, as this was considered a more 
 healthy place than inside the city wall. When 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nordlund and their children went 
 home to America, I took charge of the work at 
 their station in Sianfu, together with the out 
 stations connected therewith. Soon our commit- 
 tee on the field asked us to take charge of the 
 school for the missionaries' children. It became 
 
4? 
 
 possible for us to do this by means of an arrange- 
 ment in which one of the lady missionaries came 
 to assume charge over the native schools con- 
 nected with the station. 
 
 On Sundays meetings were held at the head 
 station and at five out stations. I succeeded also 
 in opening a street chapel in the south suburb. 
 Some time after I had rented this place for chapel, 
 thieves broke in there and dug their way to a 
 
 Starting" for a cart journey from the Mis* 
 sion Station in the West Suburb, Sianfu. 
 
 store in the same building. I was informed that 
 thieves had come in from my chapel and had stolen 
 goods from the merchant. This I immediately re- 
 ported to the police, but he took the matter as cool 
 as possible. From the chief of police, who was a 
 Manchu, and a friend to me, I learned to know 
 that this theft had taken place because of pre- 
 judice against this merchant who had rented this 
 room to me for a chapel. 
 
48 
 
 I considered it necessary to report this to the 
 mandarin. He called the chief of police, but I 
 don't know what was said between the two. The 
 result was that judgment was rendered against 
 the police corporal to refund in money the value 
 of the stolen goods. From this time I noticed a 
 perverseness about this man. Some time later 
 when a few articles had been stolen from us, and 
 I reported it to him, he briefly explained that he 
 took no concern of what happened outside the 
 walls of the suburb. I did not then understand 
 that he was a member of the Ko-lao-huei. This 
 secret society cherished hatred towards for- 
 eigners, and they had a great many members 
 around there, of which we were not aware. 
 
 Another secret society started a branch for 
 Christians. Through my evangelists I learned to 
 know that the aim of even this society was to 
 overthrow the dynasty and establish a republic. 
 In its outward form it appeared merely as a polit- 
 ical party wanting to bring about, as soon as 
 possible, a limited monarchy in the country. Since 
 no foreigners were to be permitted to dwell in 
 the country, it was said to be necessary for the 
 Christians to join it, otherwise they could not 
 exist. As I learned to know of this, I tried to 
 convince our church members of the harm in 
 joining such a society, and succeeded in dis- 
 suading them from doing so. 
 
I 
 
 ._ . . 
 
50 
 
 Forebodings of the Revolution. 
 
 There appeared to be considerable unrest dur- 
 ing these times. There was no little exasperation 
 on account of the decree forbidding the growing 
 of poppy, from which opium is made. At certain 
 places crowds of people had gathered to fight 
 against those who had been sent out by the gov- 
 ernment to destroy fields of growing poppy. Sol- 
 diers were ordered out against such gatherings, 
 but they moved against them so slowly that the 
 opium growers found ample time to garner their 
 crop. 
 
 When time for again planting poppy drew 
 nigh, the Revolutionary party gave out procla- 
 mations (with no signatures) encouraging the 
 people to plant as much of the poison as they 
 wished, advising them to take no heed of the gov- 
 ernment's prohibition proclamation, promising 
 that it would be seen to whether the government 
 could do them any harm. For this reason the 
 drug was cultivated in places where it had been 
 entirely prohibited the year before. A great deal 
 of dissaf sfaction was expressed on account of 
 duty and taxes being constantly raised. The Rev- 
 olutionary paity then proclaimed that this was 
 so en account of the foreign loan which the gov- 
 ernment had made, stating that the government 
 had sold the country to the powers, so that it 
 
51 
 
 might be divided as one divides a melon. Only 
 the provinces of Shensi and Kansu could be still 
 considered free. This anonymous proclamation 
 was soon laid hold of by the government, but it 
 had sown its seed of bitterness in the minds of 
 the people, not only against the government, but 
 also against foreigners. 
 
 • Manchu sons were allowed a pension even from 
 the time of their birth, and this had, during the 
 whole Manchu reign (about 267 years) been a 
 heavy burden for the Chinese. It now was one 
 of the chief causes of the bitter hatred which the 
 Chinese had, not only for the Manchu govern- 
 ment, but against the whole race. The promises 
 of the government that both races (Chinese and 
 Manchus) should be treated alike, proved to be 
 merely empty words. All profitable govern mrnt 
 offices were given to Manchus, and such mai nge- 
 ment could be endured no longer. 
 
 The constant increase of military maneuvers, 
 modern artillery, military academies, etc. were 
 perhaps the chief reasons for the increase of du- 
 ties and taxes, though one heard nothing about 
 this neither before nor after the Revolution. The 
 revolutionists understood the value of keeping 
 silent on this point. It was chiefly at the mil- 
 itary academies and among the army officers that 
 the members of the Revolutionary party were to 
 be found. The majority of the soldiers were also 
 members of the Ko-lao-huei. 
 
52 
 
 We heard of all these causes of dissatisfaction 
 and understood that these matters would spur 
 the Chinese to make an attempt to get rid of the 
 oppression, but we could not understand that the 
 time for such an attempt was so near. We did 
 not pay much attention to what we heard re- 
 garding Revolution, for we were accustomed to 
 the slow manner in which the Chinese took things 
 concerning politics. I had, however, long had a 
 feeling that China was threatened by some severe 
 disaster such as pestilence, famine or revolution, 
 and I spoke of it occasionally. I remember how 
 Brother Vatne showed anxiety when I talked 
 about this, and our daughter Selma almost began 
 weeping and said, "Let us go home." It felt 
 painful to see my child's anxiety, and since my 
 suspicion was realized in such a heartrending 
 fulfillment it has pained me all the more. But 
 in general we did not feel any special anxiety 
 concerning our own lives; for as missionaries 
 we had consecrated ourselves to live or to die in 
 the Lord's service. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1911 I had ex- 
 panded the work by opening four schools at the 
 out-stations. No aid had been received for this 
 new work, so we had to use what could be spared 
 from our own support. One of the missionary 
 ladies, Miss Lindvall, rendered some help in this 
 work. Two of these schools closed before or 
 during the Revolution. The other two I have 
 
53 
 
 managed to maintain despite the losses I sus- 
 tained and the suffering I endured during the 
 Revolution. 
 
 Some of the larger meetings that we held 
 during the latter years became revival meetings. 
 The revival occurred chiefly among the Chris- 
 tians, the enquirers and the school children. It 
 very seldom touched those who had not for some 
 time been under the influence of the Gospel. 
 Among the Christians were some who did not 
 heed the Lord's admonition to walk in the light. 
 For them these meetings were unendurable, so 
 they withdrew. It was a time of cleansing ; 
 consequently, no large numbers were added unto 
 us. We baptized only 28 persons during the 
 latter two years. 
 
 In October 1911 we had another visit by Mr. 
 Lutley and Mr. Wang. This time they held 
 meetings simultaneously at our Mission in the 
 West suburb and at the English Baptist Mission 
 in the East suburb. From other mission stations 
 came several missionaries and a number of Chris- 
 tians to our meetings which lasted from the 7th 
 to the 15 of October. Also this time we had the 
 joy of seeing a good many awakened to new life. 
 Mr. Lutley 's sermons dwelt upon how the Spirit 
 makes itself manifest, and upon the conditions 
 in which the Spirit is received more fully. He 
 spoke of the Spiritual gifts as they are described 
 by St. Paul in first Corinthians, twelfth to four- 
 
54 
 
 teenth chapters. All these gifts are available for 
 God's people as well in our times as in the days 
 of the Apostle. But no gift that appears is in 
 itself evidence that the Spirit of God has brought 
 it forth, unless the fruits of the Spirit also ap- 
 pear. More powerful meetings than these I had 
 never before attended. Such manifestation of 
 the Spirit as speaking in tongues also occurred. 
 On Thursday evening during the series of 
 meetings, a message in the nature of a prophecy 
 was given one of the young evangelists, saying: 
 'There are many evil men in this city, and some- 
 thing terrible will happen: pray, therefore, 
 earnestly to the Lord/' The Spirit of God this 
 evening wrought a deep work among school 
 children and students at the seminary. Also 
 upon the hearts of the missionaries' own children 
 the Spirit worked mightily, and some of them 
 confessed their sins. 
 
 The Revolutionary Outbreak. 
 
 On Sunday, the 15th of October, we received 
 a telegram from Hankow, giving information 
 that the three cities of Wuchang, Hanyang and 
 Hankow had fallen in the hands of the Revolu- 
 tionists, but stating further that the Revolution- 
 ists promised to protect the foreigners in China, 
 
55 
 
 Traveling was considered dangerous, so we were 
 advised to remain where we were. By means of 
 this information we knew for a certainty that a 
 Revolution was at hand. 
 
 The Revolutionary leaders consisted of men 
 who had been educated abroad. They had their 
 representatives in all parts of China, and they 
 worked together in harmony. Their plans were 
 well laid. They had not aimed to begin the 
 Revolution so soon. Through the occurrence of 
 an explosion in the Russian settlement at Han- 
 kow, w T here bombs etc. were manufactured for 
 the Revolutionists, it became known what was 
 being done. One of the headmen was arrested 
 and taken to court. He became impatient with 
 the many questions put to him, and said, "You 
 Manchu officials are not qualified to ask me any 
 questions." When this man was executed, and 
 it was the intention that several others should 
 share the same fate, the storm broke lose at once. 
 The viceroy had to flee, and almost without re- 
 sistance the three neighboring cities of Hankow, 
 Hanyang and Wuchang fell to the control of the 
 Revolutionists. The report of this spread rapidly 
 into the different provinces, of which the ma- 
 jority stood ready to follow the example. 
 
 We heard that a meeting of a riotous nature 
 had been held in our city. The clamor was that 
 the new governor had mortgaged the oil wells of 
 the province for a foreign loan, and the populace 
 
56 
 
 had determined to cut him to pieces when he 
 would arrive at Sianfu. 
 
 I felt restless and questioned the advisability 
 of continuing the 
 school work, but as 
 none of the others 
 paid much atten- 
 tion to it I also 
 tried to feel calm. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ahl- 
 strand staid with 
 us a few days be- 
 fore they returned 
 to their station. 
 These were the last 
 days they spent to- 
 gether with their 
 only child, George. 
 
 Mr. P. Nelson and 
 family had recently 
 arrived from their 
 station to Pincheo. 
 They were on the 
 home journey to 
 America, but found 
 it rieccessary to stay 
 a while in Sianfu 
 to watch the development of circumstances. Mean- 
 time, their only daughter, Hilda, followed us home 
 from our usual Saturday afternoon prayer meet- 
 
 MR. 
 
 AND MRS. AHLSTRAND AND 
 THEIR SON GEORGE. 
 
57 
 
 ing. She wished to spend some time with her 
 
 schoolmates. 
 
 That which contributed most towards making 
 
 us feel reassured was a proclamation from the 
 
 Revolutionary 
 leader at Wu- 
 chang, promising 
 protection to for- 
 eigners, which 
 w r as received by 
 the Imperial Post 
 Office, where it 
 was translated, 
 and a copy of it 
 sent to each one 
 of us. The Eng- 
 lish Baptist mis- 
 sionaries received 
 a telegram from 
 Hankow advising 
 them not to leave, 
 as it was more 
 hilda xilsox. sa f e to remain. 
 
 The outbreak in Sianfu had secretly been 
 planned to take place on the 30th of October. 
 Nearly the whole Chinese soldiery at this place 
 stood ready to turn against the Manchu author- 
 ities. As disturbances had already begun in the 
 
58 
 
 provinces of Szechwan and Hupeh, orders were 
 given for soldiers to be sent out to various places 
 to guard the borders, so that no rebels might 
 enter from places where trouble had begun. It 
 became necessary to change the appointed time 
 for the outbreak in Sianf u. Only a few days in 
 advance, the time was fixed to the 22nd of Octo- 
 ber. It was planned that towards evening of 
 this day, just before the usual time of closing 
 the city gates, the city should be stormed. This 
 had likely in some way been brought to the 
 knowledge of the Manchus, because on this day 
 the city gates were ordered to be closed before 
 noon. Consequently the outbreak took place this 
 time of day. 
 
 On this Sunday morning I went alone to the 
 West suburb to conduct the services. On the way 
 I met Mr. Gustafson and his little boy (who had 
 a few days previous arrived from Kansu) and 
 their intention was to come to our place for a 
 visit, but I persuaded them to go with me to 
 attend the services, and then come home with me 
 in the evening and remain till the next day. In 
 this way they were prevented from being exposed 
 to the attack made upon the school; for when 
 the outbreak took place they remained at the 
 station in the West suburb. There was this day 
 an eclipse of the sun, and previous to the meeting 
 we made some comments upon this, knowing that 
 such phenomena are by the Chinese considered 
 
59 
 
 a portent of some serious event. Besides Mr. 
 and Mrs. Christensen and Miss K. Anderson who 
 were living at the Mission station, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bengtsson had come from the Seminary, and 
 Miss Lindvall had come from her station in the 
 city to attend the meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, 
 as well as Mr. Ph. Nelson and family, were at the 
 place inside the city walls. 
 
 The morning service had closed, and we were 
 engaged in prayer during the Communion Service. 
 Suddenly we heard a loud command, followed by 
 the tramp of soldiers running towards the city. 
 Mr. Gustafson called me outside to see what was 
 going on. It was no mistake, — the Revolution 
 had begun. I returned and continued the service 
 undisturbed. We held no further services that 
 day. 
 
 I was warned by the missionaries and by a 
 veterinary surgeon (a Christian) from the cav- 
 alry camp not to venture out to go home. I then 
 sent one of the evangelists to observe whether 
 it seemed possible to return. He brought back 
 a note from Mrs. Beckman, urging me to come 
 home soon as possible. 
 
 Without further delay this evangelist and I 
 mounted our horses and started for home. On 
 nearing the cavalry camp outside the West suburb, 
 we saw armed soldiers on the surrounding wall. 
 My companion was afraid, and began to return, 
 but I asked him to follow me. One of the soldiers 
 
60 
 
 who recognized me called me by name, and asked 
 me to proceed. I then told them that my Chinese 
 companion was my helper, and that he was riding 
 my horse. I asked them to permit him to proceed 
 with me. He was then told to come along. Upon 
 nearing the 
 camp some 
 soldiers ap- 
 proached 
 and seized 
 
 his horse, 
 
 whereupon 
 he dismount- 
 ed, but held 
 fast to the 
 reins. They 
 
 threatened 
 to cut him 
 down with 
 the sword, 
 and one of 
 them called 
 out, "Shoot 
 him!" He 
 
 then 
 dropped the 
 
 reins and retreated. I pleaded with them to let him 
 keep the horse and follow me. The friendly soldier 
 understood the situation and asked me to make 
 haste to get away, but I could not leave my com- 
 panion in this plight. Some soldiers came and 
 
 MRS. IDA L. BECKMAN. 
 
61 
 
 demanded my horse, rudely ordering me to dis- 
 mount. I answered them politely, saying that if 
 they needed my horse, I would let it go. This 
 caused some of them to protest against the actions 
 of their comrades, and in' order to add force to 
 their arguments, those who knew me held forth 
 what good I had done among the Chinese people. 
 However they gave no heed to it, but led the two 
 horses away. I stopped to speak to the friendly 
 ones, and they invited me inside the camp. The 
 officer was told of my presence, and he came 
 riding up to inquire if I had encountered trouble. 
 "Nothing serious," I replied, "only that the sol- 
 diers have taken my horses." The officer ordered 
 the horses to be fetched back, but the messenger 
 returned saying they had already been taken into 
 the city. The officer himself rode out to fetch 
 them, and just as we were starting for home he 
 returned and handed them over to us. 
 
 Upon reaching home we found everything 
 peaceful in the immediate neighborhood. Inside 
 the city rose pillars of fire from official residences 
 and tanks. The tumult of war could be distinctly 
 heard. From the veranda of the second story 
 of our house, the inmates had observed how a 
 division of cavalry had attempted to enter the 
 South gate, but finding it closed had been obliged 
 to return. It had been planned that the attack 
 should be made simultaneously from three sides: 
 the cavalry to enter through the South gate, the 
 
o 
 
 CD 
 
 bo 
 
 2 
 
 B 
 
 "3 
 
 a 
 
 CD 
 
63 
 
 infantry through the West, and the train of 
 artillery through the North gate. But as the 
 North and South gates were already closed, two 
 of the divfsions had to turn about and make their 
 entrance where the others had got in. This 
 tumult made the children feel depressed, but they 
 were glad that they were not in the city. The 
 South gate had been opened in the afternoon, and 
 country folks returning from the city told of 
 terrible murdering that had taken place there. 
 
 I sent a letter* to the friends in the West 
 suburb to inform them of our experience on the 
 way home. Furthermore, I wrote letters to other 
 stations, but could find no messenger to take them 
 that day. I held a prayer meeting with the evan- 
 gelists and other Chinese that evening, and felt 
 refreshed in spirit, but they were excited and 
 fearful of the worst. Mrs. Beckman also felt 
 uneasy and apprehended impending danger. She 
 suggested we should escape to some other place, 
 and I agreed with the advisability of this, but 
 asked, "Where should we go?" She replied, "To 
 Ing-kia-uei or the mountains to the South." I 
 reminded her of the unfriendly people we had 
 there encountered in time of peace; so we aban- 
 doned that idea. Upon my mentioning the West 
 suburb station, located near the military camp, 
 she feared the soldiers, saying it was they who 
 rebelled, and so it was probably as safe to remain 
 as to go. As I had realized that the soldiers were 
 
64 
 
 not to be trusted, we concluded to remain. Fear- 
 ing thieves might take advantage of the situation, 
 we decided to keep watch through the night. Mr. 
 Vatne kindly volunteered to keep watch with one 
 of the evangelists during the first part of the 
 night. I thankfully accepted this, as I felt very 
 tired. 
 
 The Attack. 
 
 At midnight Mr. Vatne called us, telling that 
 we were being surrounded by a mob. As I looked 
 from the upstairs window, I saw how our gate- 
 way was being fired with straw. This mob, I 
 afterwards learned, was led by the afore men- 
 tioned police corporal. It was said that two days 
 prior to the outbreak he had ordered the village 
 people, under penalty of death, to send a man 
 from each family to exterminate the foreigners. 
 He intended to destroy the Missions in the South, 
 East and West suburbs. 
 
 We made haste to get the children ready, and 
 Mr. Vatne came to say we must hurry, or we 
 should all be killed. We descended and made for 
 the South wall of our compound. On the way 
 there, we heard gun reports at the South-east 
 corner, which indicated that we were surrounded. 
 We had a ladder in the yard, intending to put 
 this to the fourteen foot boundary wall and climb 
 
65 
 
 over, but it had been used by the Chinese on our 
 compound when they made their escape, and I 
 could not discover where they had placed it. 
 While Mrs. Beckman and Mr. Vatne returned to 
 the house for something, I -found a wheelbarrow, 
 
 a log and a rope 
 to aid us in climb- 
 ing the wall. I 
 had just got these 
 things in place 
 when they re- 
 turned. I first 
 helped my eldest 
 girl, Selma, up, 
 while Mr. Vatne 
 got up to help 
 her get down on 
 the other side. He 
 remained on top 
 to help others. I 
 had just put Os- 
 car Bergstrom up, 
 and stooped down 
 to take my sec- 
 
 SELMA BECKMA: Qnd g}rl> when 
 
 Selma was attacked and gave a scream. Mr. Vatne 
 at once jumped down to help her, and Oscar jump- 
 ed back inside the compound. I was lifting up Ruth 
 when I heard two shots fired. For the moment 
 I felt paralyzed with dread as to what had hap- 
 
66 
 
 pened, and nearly dropped the girl, but realizing 
 the necessity for immediate action, I lifted her 
 to the top of the wall, and we called to Mr. Vatne, 
 but received no reply. As Ruth started to cry, 
 I had to take her back, not knowing whether Mr. 
 Vatne and Selma were dead or alive. I dared 
 not venture handing other children over the wall, 
 
 The ruins of the outhouse in which we hid, showing- where we 
 
 tried to dig 1 a hole in the wall. The graves are seen to the left. 
 
 Mr. Long", leader of the rescue party, in the foreground. 
 
 so the rest of us hid in a small shelter close at 
 hand. Having a pickaxe, I began to dig a hole in 
 the wall, but owing to the darkness and shortness 
 of time I did not succeed, ere the mob had burnt 
 down the gateway and burst in, smashing the 
 glass windows and looting and firing the build- 
 ings. Fearing that we should be detected, I had 
 
67 
 
 to stop my work. I sat down and took our small- 
 est girl in my arms. We began praying, and asked 
 God to prevent the mob discovering where we 
 were, if it was His will to deliver us. At the 
 same time we committed ourselves into His hand, 
 to live or to die. My wife took our youngest girl 
 from me for a moment, pressed her to her bosom, 
 and kissing her tenderly said, "I must say good- 
 bye to you, my darling.'' After she handed her 
 back to me, we continued praying, and the chil- 
 dren gathered close to me, feeling comforted by 
 prayer. After all the buildings were fired, a man 
 entered the adjoining shelter, but finding no one, 
 he went away. My wife remarked, "When they 
 are through with all the rest, they will surely 
 come here." I replied, "The Lord is able to 
 protect us, let us put our trust in Him." Thinking 
 of the fellow who had discovered nothing on the 
 other side, and then gone away, I remarked, "If 
 they should knock down the door, let us keep close 
 to the sides, that, perchance, they may not see 
 us." My wife answered, "If they break down 
 the door, we must run." 
 
 When the buildings were in flames the mob 
 retreated outside, but left a few to hunt for us. 
 Finally, there came one who knocked down the 
 door where we were hiding, and Mrs. Beckman 
 ran out, followed by the rest of us. We saw none 
 of our pursuers as we ran past the blazing houses, 
 but heard a man call out, "Now they run !" When 
 
68 
 
 we reached the burnt gate, I was leading the way, 
 but seeing a huge mob outside, bearing torches 
 and weapons of every description, I hesitated a 
 moment to look for some other way of escape. 
 It appeared impossible to press through the ter- 
 rible crowd. Mrs. 
 Beckman and the 
 children did not 
 stop, so I under- 
 stood they would 
 try to force their 
 way through, and 
 then I exerted 
 myself to get into 
 the crowd at the 
 same time they 
 did. The hideous 
 noise of yelling, 
 and the blinding 
 glare of the tor- 
 ches made it im- 
 possible to dis- 
 cern what hap- 
 pened to the 
 ruth and thyra beckman. others. With my 
 little girl, Thyra, in my arms I jumped over a ditch 
 in order to get to the West side, and then I received 
 a heavy blow on my shoulder. Had this struck my 
 head, I surely should have fallen. Putting forth 
 all my strength I ran towards the West, but was 
 
69 
 
 hit several times on the legs by -my pursuers. 
 I gained speed over them and got out of their 
 reach. As I ran along I looked for a place of 
 refuge on either side, for I realized I should soon 
 drop with exhaustion, if a moment's rest could 
 not be had. Having run about a third of a mile, 
 I resorted to an old excavation pit, where trees 
 were planted, and a pond had been formed by 
 the heavy rainfalls. I jumped into the water, and 
 noticing that it was darker near the high bank 
 on the East side, I crept over there, where I could 
 not be seen. My pursuers immediately came up 
 to the place, one of them declaring he had seen 
 me jump down there, but they could not detect me 
 in the dark. They walked on the edge just above 
 me, but could not see me. They cursed my ability 
 to run. They talked of having hindered all the 
 others from escaping, and when I heard this, I 
 would rather have made haste to go back to them, 
 if even to die with them ; but for my child's sake 
 I remained quiet. 
 
 They called to their comrades to hurry along 
 with torches, but I felt too exhausted to move, 
 and not knowing which way to turn, I sat still 
 and thanked God for breathing space. As I sat 
 there I pondered upon the advisability of ven- 
 turing out into the water. I knew the water was 
 not deep, but if I should be knocked down there, 
 I would be drowned, and this mode of dying had 
 always been a dread to me. Now they had come 
 
70 
 
 with their torches. At the shout, "There he sits," a 
 carrying pole was thrown which struck both me 
 and the child. At once I arose and walked out 
 into the water, for there was no other way of 
 doing. Hard lumps of earth hailed about me, 
 some striking my head. Soon I heard them 
 asking one another, "Where did he go?" By this 
 I understood that the light from their own torches 
 blinded them, so I entertained hopes of being 
 able to get away from them. When I reached 
 the middle of the pond, I sat down in the water 
 and leaned my head against a small tree, while 
 trying to hold the child above the water. From 
 this position I could follow all their movements 
 and their conversation without being seen. Those 
 who had gone to the North side declared that it 
 was impossible for me to climb the high, steep 
 bank there. I thought the Lord is able to help me 
 climb that bank, and hoped they would leave that 
 side unguarded. Big fires were lighted at the 
 passages leading up on the East, South and West 
 sides. At the South side one man came to the 
 water's edge to seek for me, but another discour- 
 aged him, saying the water was too deep ; but as 
 he had a rifle, he would soon settle me if I were 
 discovered. He fired into the dark, but missed me. 
 I sat there for an hour or more until my arms 
 were numb with exhaustion, and the little girl's 
 legs dropped into the water, still she did not cry 
 or make a noise. Soon the morning star appeared, 
 
71 
 
 and a comet was also seen in the East. Then I 
 heard remarks to the effect that it would soon 
 be daylight, and then surely they would find me. 
 This reminded me of the fact that there was no 
 time to lose. I waded towards the North bank, 
 but was evidently heard, as two men came around 
 with torches. As they searched very closely, I 
 had to seek shelter by another tree nearer the 
 North embankment, and stay there until they had 
 come round to their starting point. Once more 
 I arose, allowing the water to trickle carefully 
 off my clothes, lest the slightest noise might be- 
 tray me. With great caution I waded towards 
 the North bank and ascended a pile of earth that 
 had slid down ; on top of this I discovered a heap 
 of cabbage leaves, and when I stepped upon this 
 I was able to place my little girl on top of the 
 embankment. At this incident, fearing that she 
 would be left alone, she began to cry for the 
 first time during the night. I took her down 
 immediately so that her crying would not make 
 known where we were. I hunted for a better 
 place, but could not find one. I sat down and 
 again I prayed for deliverance. I returned to the 
 heap again, and before lifting up the girl I told 
 her not to cry, lest those ugly fellows come and 
 hit us again ; if she would be quiet I should soon 
 be with her again. She kept very still. I tried 
 to scale the bank, but slipped and tore down some 
 mud. Luckily, the noise was not noticed. I 
 
72 
 
 thought upon how wonderfully the Lord had 
 helped His servants in times past, and again I 
 prayed Him help me now. I reached my arms 
 to the top again and put my knee against the 
 bank. This time I marvelously succeeded in get- 
 ting up. I picked up my child and walked off 
 
 Ruins of the main building-. 
 
 toward the North, evidently unnoticed by my 
 pursuers. 
 
 Words cannot describe the feelings that 
 penetrated my heart at the thought of the dread- 
 ful happenings during this fateful night. Before 
 me was seen the blaze of burning houses in the 
 city, and there, too, was heard the awful tumult 
 
73 
 
 of war, and the pitiful cry of people from all 
 parts of the city. Behind me lay our own place 
 a prey to the dying flames, and there lay my wife 
 and little Ruth, as well as the other dear children, 
 slain! How the hearts of the parents of these 
 children would bleed, as well as mine, when they 
 should learn to know what had happened, — the 
 thought of this called forth deep pain. With the 
 addition of the uncertainty concerning Mr. Vatne 
 and Selma, I was nearly overcome. 
 
 As soon as I reached the road leading west 
 frcm the South suburb, I followed it, hoping to 
 reach the cavalry camp where I had been the day 
 before. On the way I met two men who were 
 Revolutionists from the province of Hupeh. After 
 a brief conversation with them I found out that 
 the camp was empty, as all the soldiers were 
 engaged in the strife going on in the city. I 
 decided to go around the camp and reach the gate 
 which I passed through the previous day. For- 
 tunately this was open, and the watch on top of 
 the wall were absorbed in conversation and did 
 not notice me. Had I been seen and been unable 
 to give the password, I should most likely have 
 been shot. After advancing a few steps, I passed 
 another guard. Here two dogs flew at me, but 
 they fell into a fight with each other; and the 
 guard, who were out of sight, took no concern; 
 so even here I succeeded in passing. Soon I 
 reached the back door of our station in the West 
 
74 
 
 suburb. One of my evangelists had fled to this 
 place when the mob gathered, so our friends here 
 were in touch with the course of events. They 
 were afraid the mob would also come here, so they 
 were keeping watch. As soon as I rapped at the 
 gateway and gave my name, I was admitted. 
 This was about four o'clock in the morning. They 
 inquired for the others and I could only reply, 
 "As far as I know, this is all I have left." A flow 
 of tears burst forth from those who were present, 
 Chinese as well as missionaries. 
 
 They provided us with a change of clothing, 
 and Mr. Gustafson looked after the wounds I had 
 sustained. One of the ladies kindly took charge 
 of Thyra. A place to rest was provided for me, 
 but I could not rest. X went out to the Brethren 
 who were keeping watch. 
 
 Hitherto I had been self-possessed and tran- 
 quil, but now there came over me a reactionary 
 feeling of remorse, which, together with dread 
 of further terrible experiences, crushed me to 
 despair. All possible ways of escape now came 
 to my mind, but too late! Why had I not at- 
 tempted this or that method by which I could 
 probably have rescued them all? Oh, that I had 
 taken them with me and fled the evening before, 
 or had dug a hole in the wall instead of going 
 to rest! Mr. Bengtsson tried to comfort me by 
 saying that if we had got out, I surely would have 
 accompanied the others toward the south, as they 
 
75 
 
 were afraid of fleeing toward the west; then we 
 all should have been killed. As it was I had, at 
 least, saved one child. There was, indeed, some- 
 thing in this to calm my painful distress, but as 
 yet I entertained a faint hope that Mr. Vatne 
 and Selma had been able to escape. If so, why 
 could we not all have made our escape, if we had 
 got over the wall ? 
 
 During the forenoon little Thyra cried bit- 
 terly. No words could comfort her, save when I 
 prayed. As soon as I ceased praying she wept 
 again. This continued until the afternoon. 
 
 I continually called on the Lord, paying no 
 attention to whoever came or went. I resigned 
 myself wholly to the Will of God, to live or to die. 
 Thus I regained peace and calmness of mind. 
 I realized that much grace was needed to feel 
 ready to lay down my life, yet more grace was 
 needed to remain and live according to His will. 
 Meantime, the friends had gathered round me 
 where I sat with the child in my arms, and they 
 continued praying. From this time my little girl 
 felt appeased. 
 
 Early in the morning of this day (Oct. 23) 
 some of the students at the Seminary had been 
 over to view the bodies of the murdered ones. No 
 one ventured to tell me of it until the conclusion 
 of the mentioned season of prayer. Upon hearing 
 that they had been there, I called one of them 
 and inquired as to what they had observed. He 
 
76 
 
 told me that Mrs. Beckman was lying immediately 
 outside the gate, clasping our girl Ruth with one 
 arm, while on the other side Hulda Bergstrom 
 had sought refuge. The other children had 
 pressed through the gateway, but had not come 
 far before they were slain. Hilda Nelson had run 
 a short distance towards the south, seeking 
 refuge among some graves. Oscar Bergstrom had 
 reached half way to the place where I leaped into 
 the water. George Ahlstrand had fallen in the 
 road a short distance from the gate, and at his 
 side lay his pet, the big dog, keeping watch. One 
 of the boys had been shot. Judging by their 
 appearance they must have had a quick death. 
 There were also three Chinese who had been 
 shot. Later information revealed that these were 
 shot by one who aimed to shoot some of the 
 children. 
 
 During the day an unfriendly crowd of people 
 gathered about our place, and some of them were 
 daring enough to disarm one of the men who had 
 been appointed to guard the place. Rumors 
 reached us that a mob of several thousand would 
 come to kill us and destroy the premises the fol- 
 lowing night. The faculty of the military aca- 
 demy then invited us to come to stay with them, 
 where we remained four weeks. 
 
 Early Monday morning the instigator of the 
 riot rode to the East suburb to lead an attack on 
 the English Baptist Mission, He could not get 
 
77 
 
 through the gate, and there were soldiers on the 
 wall who warned him that it had been prohibited 
 to molest the foreigners. Other soldiers had 
 sent word to the mission station that they 
 would come and destroy it. As these mis- 
 sionaries had learned to know what had hap- 
 pened to us, they attempted to escape; but 
 in so doing they were captured, and some of 
 them illtreated. Mr. Smith got both arms broken, 
 and Mrs. Smith was also severely hurt. Another 
 party of them was robbed and driven to the city 
 wall, in order to obtain instructions as to how 
 they should be killed. The culprits were told 
 it was forbidden to attack foreigners, so they were 
 obliged to bring them back to their home. 
 
 On the day before, Mr. Henne (the post- 
 master) had been maltreated on the streets of the 
 city. He was nearly killed, having received eleven 
 gashes from a sword about his head. Some sol- 
 diers had rescued him in the last moment. 
 
 At Ing-kia-uei, about eighteen miles from 
 Sianfu, Miss Mary Anderson was the only mis- 
 sionary at this station. She managed to flee to 
 the home of a friendly family. The inhabitants 
 of this home fled to the mountains, but she re- 
 mained hidden there two days and two nights, 
 during which time she had neither food nor water. 
 In the meantime her station was looted. The 
 mob sought to kill her, but she was not discovered, 
 although some of the mob came quite near to her. 
 When it was proclaimed by the leaders in Sianfu 
 
78 
 
 that the foreigners should be protected, an escort 
 was sent to her rescue. 
 
 On Tuesday we heard rumors to the effect that 
 Mr. Vatne was bound to a tree fourteen miles 
 south of the city. We pleaded with the instructors 
 of the Academy to send out soldiers to investigate 
 this matter. But they were not in a position to 
 render help, as they had of their own accord put 
 themselves about to help us, and they had no sol- 
 diers at their disposal. The only thing they could 
 do was to report it to the leaders inside the city 
 wall. The written message had to be passed 
 through a crevice in the gate. No reply was 
 received to the first letter. Another letter was 
 dispatched to which a reply came that soldiers 
 had been sent. 
 
 Next day (October 25) one of the Christians 
 volunteered to go to find out whether Mr. Vatne 
 and Selma were yet alive. Upon seeing him 
 arrive and hearing his inquiries, knowing by that 
 time that foreigners were to be protected, the 
 people ran away. At last he pointed his rifle at 
 a man and demanded information as to what had 
 happened. In this way he learned to know they 
 had taken shelter with a certain family early 
 Monday morning (October 23). One of the mob 
 from the South suburb had followed them at a 
 distance, and knew where they went. A new 
 mob gathered, demanding the refugees to be given 
 up. Selma was recognized and she had said that 
 
79 
 
 they intended going to the mountains not far 
 away. As the people had heard that all foreigners 
 in the city had been killed, they dared not let 
 these alive. They constantly pelted them with 
 broken bricks and hard lumps of earth. Mr. 
 Vatne, holding Selma's hand, was occasionally 
 knocked to the ground, but sprung to his feet 
 again, still holding her fast. About noon they 
 were separated. Mr. Vatne was killed first, and 
 shortly after, darling Selma, my eldest child, 
 breathed her last. They passed through severe 
 suffering. Their pierced bodies were found buried 
 in a field. 
 
 No soldiers had been sent to seek for them, 
 despite the promise to this effort. Possibly the 
 authorities had gained knowledge of them being 
 already murdered. 
 
 The Martyrs and their ages : 
 
 Mrs. Beckman 46 years. 
 
 Mr. Vatne 21 
 
 Hilda Nelson 15 
 
 Selma Beckman 13 
 
 Oscar Bergstrom 13 
 
 Hulda Bergstrom 12 
 
 George Ahlstrand 10 
 
 Ruth Beckman 8 
 
80 
 
 Mr. W. T. Vatne. 
 
 Mr. W. T. Vatne was born of Norwegian 
 parents in America. He was converted while 
 young. Having good capacity for study, he fin- 
 ished his school work in 
 shorter time than usual. 
 At the age of 18 he had 
 taught school. 
 
 When the traveling re- 
 presentative of our Mis- 
 sion made a visit to his 
 home, and saw the pho- 
 tograph of this young 
 man, he said, "There is 
 the man I've been look- 
 ing for to take the place 
 as teacher for the mis- 
 mr. w. t. vatne. sionaries' children in 
 China." The Lord had also prepared our young 
 Brother's heart for this calling, so that without 
 any doubts he could reply in the affirmative. 
 
 He arrived en Chinese soil in September 1910 
 and came to the school on the 11th of November 
 same year. Under his guidance and instruction 
 the scholars made good advancement, and the 
 result of his work seemed highly promising at 
 the time when it pleased the Lord, in the manner 
 told, to take Home both him and his pupils. 
 
81 
 
 His parents are located at Cooperstown, North 
 Dakota, where they, together with his several 
 sisters and a brother as well as number of rela- 
 tives and friends, deeply mourn his untimely loss, 
 while they await to see him in a better land. 
 
 Mr. Vatne with the children on the play ground outside the 
 School house. Oscar and Hulda Bergstrom are standing- 
 together in centre of this picture. 
 
 Some time after Mr. Vatne's parents had been 
 informed of the sorrowful death which met their 
 son in China, they received a letter which he had 
 written to them shortly before the outbreak in 
 Sianfu. He related that the Revolution was soon 
 
82 
 
 at hand, and admonished his dear ones at home 
 not to mourn over him if he should have to lay 
 down his life. Even before leaving home he had 
 felt prepared to offer his life for the work to which 
 the Lord had called him. This shows that death 
 did not come upon him as a surprise, but rather 
 that he had taken it into solemn consideration. 
 So his death was that of a self-sacrificing, heroic 
 martyr. 
 
 In a certain religious paper (Evangelisten) 
 there appeared a letter telling about the outrages 
 at Sianfu, in which the writer, Mr. E. M. Paulson, 
 the predecessor of Mr. Vatne, tells of their meet- 
 ing at Shanghai, etc. As a further tribute to the 
 memory of the beloved young martyr, the fol- 
 lowing extract from the mentioned letter is here 
 inserted : 
 
 "My dear friend, Wilhelm T. Vatne, had been 
 in China a little over a year when this sorrowful 
 tragedy took place. It seems so sad that he should 
 be taken away from the Lord's vineyard so soon, 
 in the blossoming age of 21 years; but the Lord's 
 way is not our way: 'Call the laborers, and pay 
 them their hire, beginning from the last unto the 
 first. 9 
 
 "I was at Shanghai when Mr. Vatne arrived 
 there from America, and I had the pleasure of be- 
 ing with him about a week. Then I entered upon 
 the voyage to America, and he would soon con- 
 tinue his journey into the interior to his destina- 
 
83 
 
 tion, Sianfu. By his quiet conduct and sensible 
 talk he always left a good impression. Before 
 coming to China he had taught two terms of 
 school with 
 good success. 
 
 He destin- 
 guished him- 
 self as a vi- 
 olinist, and 
 his elegant 
 tenor voice 
 was a source 
 of inspira- 
 tion in the 
 song service. 
 
 u Before we 
 parted we 
 knelt toge- 
 ther in our 
 
 room to 
 pray. Bro- 
 the V atn e 
 prayed that 
 he might be 
 given grace 
 to walk in E - M - paulson and w. t. vatne. 
 the fear of the Lord, and that in a loving faithful 
 tvay he might be useful in the school work that 
 he ivas to take over. 
 
84 
 
 "After he had begun his work, the mission- 
 aries having children at school wrote that they 
 coidd not be thankful enough to God for having 
 sent them such a devoted teacher: God had sent 
 the right man. 
 
 "Those who have been bereaved of their dear 
 ones have our deepest sympathy. Besides the loss 
 that they sustain, the Mission has lost good work- 
 ers, and we feel disappointed in the hopes we had 
 of these children growing up to devote themselves 
 to Gospel work among the Chinese people, whom 
 they had learned to love. It became their lot to 
 glorify God through a Martyr's death, and roe 
 believe that though they are dead they yet 
 speaketh. 'The righteous shall be had in everlast- 
 ing remembrance. 1 
 
 "It is with great emotion I read what Mr. 
 Vatne's aged father wrote to me concerning the 
 tragic death of his sen. He says, 'You can hardly 
 believe how we feel these days. It was a hard 
 stroke ivhen we heard that our beloved Wilhelm, 
 has already been taken away from us. Hotv 
 strange that his day of ivork should be so short! 
 Oh, Wilhelm ivas a dear son to us! He is missed, 
 by the whole neighborhood. In all this we do not 
 sorrow as those who have no hope; we believe our 
 dear one has gone to the Home of peace. What 
 a day it must have been when so many from one 
 place entered the gates of the City! I feel that 
 I am iveak and iveary, and this heavy sorroiv is 
 
85 
 
 tveighing me down, but sweeter will be the rest 
 when I reach Home. It is not ahvays equally hard 
 to bear, but to-day I feel very much down-hearted. 
 I could have written this letter with my tears! 
 Yet, the Lord had the greatest claim to him: He 
 gave him to as, and He took him. Blessed be the 
 name of the Lord!' " 
 
 Our Stay at the Military Academy. 
 
 When Mr. C. T. Wang, who was instructor in 
 chemistry and physics at the military academy, 
 learned to know from one of the Christians that 
 the school for the foreign children had been 
 destroyed, and so many murdered, he became 
 greatly vexed. According to his own statement, 
 it was not merely for our sakes he became vexed, 
 but rather on account of patriotism for his own 
 country and its people. If the missionaries are 
 murdered, he thought, then the foreign powers 
 will invade China. To the teachers and students 
 who had not yet gone out into battle he made 
 haste to point out the necessity of protecting us. 
 His statements won their approval. 
 
 He came to see us and gave us instructions as 
 to how and where to flee in case of attack. Some 
 of the Chinese who stayed with us, he placed as 
 sentinels and furnished them weapons; he also 
 gave order to the guard at the military academy 
 
86 
 
 (opposite our place) to assist them if it should 
 be necessary to do so.* 
 
 When we were invited to make our dwelling 
 place at the mentioned academy, some of the Chris- 
 tians feared that the 
 aim therein might be 
 to slay us. The Chris- 
 tians who went with 
 us there were deter- 
 mined to die with us. 
 Their joy was great 
 when they saw we 
 were protected. 
 
 The Chinese Chris- 
 tians were permitted 
 to visit us at this 
 place, but only in case 
 we knew them person- 
 ally. It was encourag- 
 ing to see them and 
 hear how they fared; 
 for they, too, had been severely threatened, 
 and many of them had to flee from their homes. 
 Several of them wrote to us, because it was not 
 possible for all of them to come to see us as soon 
 as they should have liked to come. The following 
 is a translation of one of their letters, which 
 shows their thoughts and feelings better than I 
 could describe them: 
 
 MR. C. T. WANG. 
 
87 
 
 "From the Church members in Tsi-kuh, — 
 Greeting. 
 
 God, the heavenly Father, the beloved Son 
 Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit's beloved and 
 faithful servant, Pastor Beckman. Grace and 
 Peace be unto you! 
 
 "We have all heard of the unendurable suffer- 
 ing that has befallen you, through which the Holy 
 God called Home your helpmeet and two of your 
 children. The hearts of us all mourn and weep 
 over this parting, but, we hope that we all may 
 meet in heaven to never, in all eternity, part any 
 more. This is the great aim of our hope. There- 
 fore, do not mourn; for the Lord will surely, with 
 increased measure of grace and love, care for you, 
 who have come here only for the reason that we 
 Chinese may be saved: and you have been re- 
 ivarded with all this! Before the face of the Lord 
 we truly are ashamed of our fellow-creatures, and 
 we wish from our hearts that our pastor would 
 pray the Lord forgive our people their sins." 
 
 This letter is signed by fourteen persons who 
 belonged to the church. Several letters of this 
 kind were received during this time. On the 
 street there appeared speakers who in striking 
 colors pictured the brutal and wrong doing in 
 attacking and murdering innocent children in this 
 way. These speakers were heathens, and were 
 likely hired by the officials for this purpose, but 
 I could not refrain from mentioning this, because 
 
88 
 
 it shows some 'of the good traits of the Chinese 
 people, and gives us the hope that this bloodshed 
 will not be in vain. 
 
 Occasionally it has been said to me, "Surely 
 you don't intend to return to China ?" Should I, 
 as a servant of the Lord, refrain from attempting 
 to garner some of the harvest for eternity which 
 this seed will bring? No, not till the Lord says 
 that it is enough: go rest yourself now! 
 
 During the first few days after this sad hap- 
 pening, my little Thyra kept silent. When, finally, 
 she began talking. she made known that she was 
 aware of all that had happened. At last she 
 asked where they were, those who were dead. 
 Upon being told that they were with Jesus, she 
 asked with keen interest, "Are they with our 
 Jesus ?" My affirmative reply filled her heart 
 with joy, and she added, "Then I may see them 
 there !" Since this she has often spoken of them 
 being with Jesus, and has rejoiced over the 
 thought of again seeing them. When one sees 
 and hears the straightforward faith of a child, 
 he can clearly understand the reason why Jesus 
 said to His disciples, "Unless ye turn, and become 
 as children, " etc. It has not been so easy for me 
 to become reconciled to this painful parting as it 
 has for her. The feelings pertaining to the carnal 
 mind now and then recur. It is only through 
 looking at it from the standpoint of the Will of 
 God, that the pain subsides. My fellow workers, 
 
89 
 
 who shared this sacrifice with me, also found 
 their only source of consolation in the Will of 
 God. For not even a sparrow falls on the ground 
 without His Will. 
 
 I heard Mr. and Mrs. Nelson take comfort in 
 the assurance that they would again see their 
 
 Weeping- over the coffins which contained our clear ones. 
 
 child. Mrs. Ahlstrand expressed herself in this 
 way concerning the time she kneeled before God 
 beside the coffin that contained the remains of her 
 darling : 
 
 "This moment, when the sharp reality would 
 be so vivid to me, instead of being the most bitter 
 moment of my life, became a moment when the 
 
90 
 
 Lord drew very near to my soul. I could only 
 thank our heavenly Father for the ten years in 
 which we were permitted to have this precious 
 loan to brighten our lives, and also give thanks 
 that our darling was carried by the Good Shep- 
 herd unto the Father's House." 
 
 Mr. Bergstrom, when I wrote to him con- 
 cerning the murder of his two children, replied 
 in this manner : "When so many have been obliged 
 to sacrifice the lives of their dear ones for the 
 testimony of Jesus, shall we then not be willing 
 to let go what He has seen well to take from our 
 hand!" 
 
 If we look at the more human side of this 
 tragedy, then comes the question, "Why should 
 it happen ?" 
 
 However, let us take notice of an answer 
 which I consider suitable to apply. It seemed 
 clear to us that by the sacrifice of these our dear 
 ones the others of us were rescued; because 
 through their death the responsibility of the of- 
 ficials were aroused, so that it was forbidden to 
 molest foreigners. Otherwise, the trend was 
 such,— specially among the Ko-lao-huei, to which 
 the majority in Shensi belonged, — that, if these 
 proclamations about protection for missionaries 
 and native Christians had not appeared as early 
 as they did, the greater part of them, if not all, 
 would have been murdered. Later, when it was 
 made known that the instigator of the attack had 
 
91 
 
 been executed, then the courage of our foes sunk, 
 and they withdrew. The effects of this stretched 
 even into the province of Kansu. I received 
 letters from missionaries there, saying they be- 
 lieved the death of our beloved ones had been 
 the means of their rescue. They, too, had been 
 in great danger, but when the fate of the in- 
 stigator at Sianfu was reported, the trend took 
 a sudden change, and they were let alone . A 
 member of the secret society Ko-lao-huei tried to 
 take revenge on the General who had ordered the 
 instigator to be executed. He entered the Gen- 
 eral's dwelling place with a sword, intending to 
 assassinate him, but the attempt failed. The 
 mentioned society, which constituted the military 
 power in Sianfu, were at first opposed to our 
 protection, but slowly they changed their minds, 
 and finally became anxious to protect us. 
 
 Some of our neighbors, who were not Chris- 
 tians, called on me at the military academy and 
 related what they knew about the attack made 
 against us. When I obtained knowledge as to 
 whom it was who struck me when I fled with the 
 child in my arms, I wrote to the General asking 
 him to show this man mercy, saying, "Since God 
 rescued me from his hands, I wish that, if pos- 
 sible, he might be spared from death." It had 
 been said that all who had taken part in the at- 
 tack were to be captured and beheaded. But I 
 was not able to intercede in behalf of those who 
 
92 
 
 had killed my wife and the children and Mr. 
 Vatne. Neither did it become necessary to do so, 
 because the culprits hid themselves for a while, 
 and after that the matter was not further ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 As none of us was permitted to go out, we 
 made a request to the principal of the academy 
 that the bodies of the murdered ones be placed 
 in coffins. He did not wish to undertake this 
 matter, but as he dared not let us go out, he 
 promised to attend to it. The result was that the 
 General commanded the people in the South 
 suburb to do this, and they did it. At first some 
 of the friendly neighbors had covered the corpses 
 with straw and earth. 
 
 On the 27th of October we were permitted, 
 under escort by the principal of the military 
 academy and twenty-five cadets, to go out to dress 
 the bodies of the dead and provide better coffins. 
 The missionaries, as well as the Chinese, strongly 
 advised me not to go along, saying it was better 
 for me to keep, as a last impression of my dear 
 ones, their appearance while living, rather than 
 to see them in an abused state. The brethren 
 Bengtson and Gustafson superintended the fun- 
 eral preparations of those murdered at the school, 
 while the principal of the academy and one of 
 the Christians took charge of the two who were 
 murdered after fleeing some distance. The coffins 
 were set aside in a temple just outside the South 
 suburb until the funeral could be held. 
 
93 
 
 The first Sunday that we were at the military 
 academy we were permitted to hold a meeti-;~ 
 with the Christians in the compartment which 
 we occupied. The following Sundays we held 
 services in the chapel at the Mission, while sol- 
 diers kept guard outside. All my belongings were 
 either stolen or burned, so for a while I had to 
 live entirely on the mercy of others. After a few 
 days, however, my horse was brought back to me. 
 One of the officers had found it in the South 
 suburb. Two calves were also returned to me, 
 since those who had taken them dared not keep 
 them for fear of being identified as partakers in 
 the attack ; so the calves were turned to the fields. 
 Besides this I received some flour, for which I had 
 bargained and paid before the outbreak. Since 
 the miller was under obligation to deliver flour 
 to me, he was allowed to keep his grain ; otherwise 
 it would have been saized by the authorities. This 
 flour came well to place in the housekeeping, 
 which was now managed by Mr. and Mrs. Chris- 
 tensen. They had, indeed, no small amount of 
 trouble, as it was very difficult to procure food 
 stuffs, and the cooking had to be done at the 
 Mission station by a servant, and then carried to 
 the place we were. My wants, though, were all 
 supplied. The missionaries and Mr. Henne (the 
 postmaster) supplied me with garments to wear. 
 From the General I received a Chinese gown, and 
 at the military academy I got a soldier costume, 
 
94 
 
 some silver, and other articles. Some time after 
 leaving Sianfu, my horse was sold by the re- 
 maining missionary, Mr. Jensen, who sent me 
 the money it brought. 
 
 Mr. C. T. Wang succeeded in persuading the 
 General to send out soldiers to other Mission 
 stations in the province, to bring the missionaries 
 to Sianfu, where they might be protected. At 
 one time I went with him to plead for the rescue 
 of those at various stations in the province of 
 Kansu. The General promised help in this regard, 
 but as he could not immediately send a detach- 
 ment, he proposed sending armies to conquer these 
 various places. But this we wished to avoid: we 
 wished to get them away before any battle took 
 place. When the General explained that he had 
 no soldiers to spare, Mr. Wang said to me, "Let 
 us then sit down and wait." Later he presented 
 to the General what the consequences would be if 
 these missionaries also would be murdered. 
 Finally, he won his aim in this that some soldiers 
 were put at our disposal, and were sent away 
 under leadership of a Christian, as was done in 
 other similar cases. This escort was sent none 
 too soon ; for matters had become so complicated 
 that they were not allowed to cross the border 
 into Kansu, so they sent word to the missionaries 
 to make haste to come to the border, where they 
 would await their arrival. The missionaries at 
 Pingliang, Chen-iien, Chong-sin and King-cheo 
 
95 
 
 were, by the mandarin at King-cheo, given an 
 escort to the border, where the escort from Sianf u 
 awaited them. 
 
 Vast numbers of soldiers had already been 
 mobilized to battle against the Shensi troops, but 
 the missionaries got away before any battle took 
 place. This party consisted of the following 
 named persons: Dr. and Mrs. Laycock and child, 
 Miss Wallenberg, Miss Lundvall, Miss Wedicson, 
 Miss E. Peterson, Mrs. Gustafson and child, Mr. 
 Gjelseth, Mr. and Mrs! Petersen and child. They 
 arrived shortly before we started for the coast. 
 
 Some time before this an escort has rescued 
 Miss Mary Anderson, who had been in great 
 danger at her station in Ing-kia-wei. Another 
 detachment brought Mr. and Mrs. Ahlstrand to 
 Sianfu. They had for many days been hiding in 
 a cave outside the city of Ch'ien-cheo. Still an- 
 other company went to assist the missionary 
 ladies at Wu-kong, Misses Swanson and Baxter, 
 ihat they might come to Sianfu. To Feng-siang, 
 also, some soldiers were sent, under leadership 
 of one of the Christians. These came too late to 
 be of help, because the missionaries had managed 
 to flee from the city before it was captured and 
 plundered by a gang of robbers, several thousand 
 strong. Mr. Plymeyer (of the C. & M. A.) also 
 arrived in Sianfu from Kansu during these days. 
 
 We were glad to get the missionaries together 
 into one place for protection, although there was 
 
96 
 
 reason to often question whether we really should 
 be protected during these perilous times. We 
 were all the time kept in strong suspense, for one 
 danger followed closely upon another. One of 
 the instructors, Mr. Yang, while intoxicated one 
 evening, said to one of our evangelists that those 
 who had gathered the missionaries to this place 
 did so with aim to murder them all, in order to 
 win fame thereby. It was the hope in the pro- 
 tecting hand of God that gave us strength to 
 endure. 
 
 The Funeral. 
 
 After receiving information from Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bergstrom, that it was impossible for them 
 to come to the funeral, but that they wished to 
 have us perform this last service that could be 
 rendered their children, then we undertook to 
 bury the dead. The funeral took place on the 
 10th of November. 
 
 The General had planned on being present at 
 the funeral, but had to go off to Tong-kuan, at 
 the Yellow River, in order to negotiate with a 
 band of robbers who had invaded that place. He 
 was represented by the vice military Governor, 
 accompanied by divisions of cavalry and infantry. 
 The Department of Foreign Affairs was repre- 
 sented by the English speaking member of that 
 
97 
 
 department, who was followed by a large number 
 of armed men clad in civil array. The chief of- 
 ficers of the military academy, together with the 
 instructors and cadets took part also in the pro- 
 cession that proceeded from the West suburb to 
 the school grounds in the South suburb, where 
 
 Rev. O. Bengtson is performing- the funeral ceremony, only a few 
 of those present are seen on this picture. 
 
 we buried the dead ones. . The coffins had been 
 removed from the nearby temple and placed at 
 the graves before the people arrived. A profusion 
 of flowers was lavished upon the coffins contain- 
 ing the remains of the departed dear ones. The 
 funeral service was conducted by Rev. 0. Bengt- 
 son. In the first grave (from the east) rests Mrs. 
 
99 
 
 Beckman with her two children, Selma and Ruth ; 
 in the next, Oscar and Hulda Bergstrom; in the 
 third, Hilma Nelson; in the last, Mr. Vatne and 
 George Ahlstrand. 
 
 The vice Governor held a speech after the 
 close of the funeral ceremony. He expressed 
 regret for what had happened, and for their un- 
 ability to have prevented it. He promised pro- 
 tection for those remaining, if their cause would 
 gain the day. But it seemed yet uncertain 
 whether the revolutionary cause really would meet 
 with success. 
 
 Confusing Conditions in General. 
 
 Dense clouds gathered about the Revolutionary 
 leaders. Civil strife between the military Gov- 
 ernor and the Ko-lao-huei leader threatened to 
 call forth fresh bloodshed any time. The con- 
 tention between them was so serious that cannons 
 were fired to add force to the threatenings. 
 
 The viceroy, Shen-iiin, who had paid a ransom 
 of half a million taels (about $350,000) for his 
 life at the outbreak in Sianfu, was approaching 
 from Kansu with his troops, who were chiefly 
 Mohammedans. From the east approached the 
 troops of Yuan-shi-kai, combating for the dynasty. 
 Merchants and inhabitants of the city in general 
 were vexed with the robbery and suffering they 
 
100 
 
 had to endure. In regard to the distress might 
 be mentioned that the massacre of Manchus in 
 the city lasted five days. Even though they fell 
 on their knees and begged for mercy, they were 
 slain, excepting some of the women and children 
 that were permitted to live, in case anyone took 
 concern about them. Others roamed about till 
 they died of hunger. 
 
 Not reckoning those who jumped into wells 
 or were buried alive in underground passages, 
 there w T as, if their official statistics were reliable, 
 a funeral expense for 21,000 corpses, many of 
 these being Chinese. Even at the lowest estimate, 
 15,000 Manchus lost their lives during these five 
 days. The suffering of the people, in general, can 
 better be understood when it is known that they 
 could procure nothing to eat during this time. 
 The poor suffered most on account of hunger, and 
 the rich were robbed without mercy. The highest 
 Chinese official in the city had to pay a million 
 taels (about $700,000) to be permitted to live. 
 The soldiers, according to their pleasure, took 
 goods and money from the merchants, and they 
 were afterward compelled by the authorities to 
 carry on trade. Some merchants were beheaded 
 because they refused to open their doors for trade. 
 This description is limited to the city of Sianfu. 
 Certain it is that this Revolution in China has not 
 been a bloodless one, as some have tried to main- 
 tain. It brought little or no satisfaction to the 
 
101 
 
 merchants and city folks m general. It was said 
 among the people in Sianfu, that if they only 
 could procure weapons, they would attack the 
 Revolutionary leaders and their soldiers. 
 
 In order that the country people could defend 
 themselves against the robber gangs that roamed 
 about, it was proclaimed that they might, without 
 trial, execute such beings. This seemed beneficial 
 to a certain extent, because a great many robbers 
 were done away with; but on the other hand it 
 created a condition of anarchy. People having 
 old feuds between them, took advantage of the 
 situation to slay one another. 
 
 Later there was created a system of guards 
 called "Min tuan," whose duty it should be to 
 maintain order. They squeezed money from the 
 rich, and frequently killed them in order to get 
 at their money. Their only excuse for this 
 procedure was that the rich would not sacrifice 
 their money to the general welfare. Bands 
 of robbers in connection with the secret society 
 seized for themselves enormous treasures, and 
 often they plundered whole cities. Many rich 
 became poor, and many poor became rich during 
 this time, but it was not the needy and suffering 
 ones who derived any benefit from it; for if any 
 of them procured anything belonging to some- 
 body else, they were soon considered illegal rob- 
 bers, and were captured and beheaded. Once when 
 we called on the military Governor General we 
 
102 
 
 saw a great number of such people who had been 
 chained together, and were led away to be ex- 
 ecuted. 
 
 The Revolutionary soldiers took horses wher- 
 ever they could find them, sometimes paying a 
 little for them, and sometimes not. On one occa- 
 sion a few hundred soldiers were sent to guard 
 the border between Shensi and Kansu, but they 
 committed such base deeds among the people, that 
 it could not be endured. Then the people obtained 
 help from the Mohammedan troops in Kansu, and 
 made an attack upon the Revolutionists by night, 
 killing all of them, excepting about twenty who 
 managed to make their escape. 
 
 Our friend, Mr. C. T. Wang, remarked con- 
 cerning this Revolution : "Che puh sh'i K'eh-ming ; 
 che sh'i hai min" — "This is not a release from 
 oppressive government, but an oppression upon 
 the people." 
 
 The guard at the military academy were but 
 very few, and the students who were to constitute 
 the defense of the place had, most of them, been 
 called out to action to bring other cities under 
 the sway of the republic. 
 
 Great dissatisfaction arose far and wide 
 against the military academy, as it was believed 
 that this institution was the cause of the Revolu- 
 tion and the suffering that followed in its wake. 
 Mr. Bergstrom, who at this time remained at his 
 station in Hsing-ping, heard a good deal about this 
 
103 
 
 agitation, and he wrote to me, advising us to leave 
 the academy as soon as possible/and return to our 
 stations to be out of the danger, in case an attack 
 would be made upon the place. The principal 
 wanted us to remain, for at this time it was a 
 current opinion among the people that no one 
 dared molest us, for fear of foreign powers in- 
 terfering in the affairs of China. 
 
 In this way we constituted a protection to the 
 place that had at first protected us, but how soon 
 could not the tide of public opinion turn ! Under 
 the dangers that threatened on all sides, we could 
 soon have become the prey of an outrageous mob. 
 
 Vast hordes of riffraff, partly armed, wan- 
 dered about to rob and plunder. Night and day 
 we were dressed and ready for flight. When I 
 undressed my little girl, I wrapped up her cloth- 
 ing in such a way that I could easily take them 
 along, if it should become necessary to flee at 
 night. 
 
 One night when the West suburb was sur- 
 rounded by a mob of about 1,500 men, the 
 military officers of the academy furnished 
 even us with arms so that we might take 
 part in the defence. Under such circum- 
 stances we could not depend much upon the 
 promises of protection. Little by little we there- 
 fore invoked permission to venture out on the 
 journey toward the coast. An escort was promised 
 us by the Governor General but the opposition 
 against him from the Ko-lao-huei made him 
 
104 
 
 powerless. All the soldiers had joined that secret 
 society and they obeyed their leader who was 
 gradually taking the power into his own hands. 
 
 When we had appointed a day for our depar- 
 ture, a Ko-lao-huei officer visited us who endeav- 
 ored to persuade us to remain at Sianfu until an 
 agreement could be made with the foreign powers. 
 Our departure was evidently considered an omen 
 of attack upon China by the foreign powers. When 
 this officer heard that a number of the mission- 
 aries would remain, he was satisfied if we only 
 postponed our departure a few days. The fol- 
 lowing night, however, I was awakened by a 
 messenger, sent by the same officer, to bring us 
 a letter telling us to be ready to start for the 
 coast early next morning. This messenger had 
 climbed the city wall by means of a rope, as the 
 gates were not allowed to be opened in the night. 
 The next morning we were informed that the 
 Department of Foreign Affairs had sent a mes- 
 senger, that same evening, to those of our mis- 
 sionaries who were in the city, that we were to 
 leave the following Sunday, December the third. 
 
 On the day of our departure we also received 
 the order from the Ko-lao-huei that we must wait 
 another day because our escort was not ready, 
 and from the Department of Foreign Affairs to 
 leave at once because our escort was waiting for 
 us outside the City. 
 
105 
 
 We were granted permission to keep the weap- 
 ons that had been given us till we reached Han- 
 kow. This we regarded as a sign that our escort 
 did not mean to attack us on the journey. We 
 had previously been told, by our friends, that the 
 escort would very likely kill us on the road. 
 
 Those of our missionaries who remained at 
 Sianfu were Mr. and Mrs. Ahlstrand, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Jensen and child, Miss A. Swanson, Miss J. 
 Wedickson, and Miss D. Lmdvall. 
 
 Miss Mary Anderson returned to her station 
 in Ing-kia-uei for a short stay, even though she 
 had lost all she had there. Mr. and Mrs. Berg- 
 strom with two children still remained at Hsing- 
 ping some time. This place had been the most 
 peaceable place on the Sian Plain. A man who 
 was interested in Christianity had here been ap- 
 pointed headman of the city. He frequently sought 
 Mr. Bergstrom's advice. After the former man- 
 darin had been deposed, even he came to get ad- 
 vice from the missionary, and wished to be in- 
 structed in the Christian doctrine. The people 
 wished to have the missionary remain with them, 
 but the threatening dangers from the outer 
 sphere were so great that the missionary family 
 considered it advisable to get away; so for this 
 reason they left the place shortly after we had 
 left Sianfu. When they reached Sianfu they 
 stayed there some time. There were then ten of 
 our workers and three of their children and the 
 
106 
 
 Baptist missionaries remaining at that place till 
 the rescue expedition under the leadership of 
 Mr. Long from Peking arrived. Even then 
 it seemed necessary to let a few remain, 
 especially the doctors of the English Baptist Mis- 
 sion, as the leaders of the Revolution by all means 
 wished to have them stay on account of the great 
 need of their skill. Their strength was taxed to 
 the utmost in all the work that devolved upon 
 them during the battles that followed. Telegraph- 
 ic connections were broken. Between Sianfu and 
 Long-chu-tsai the poles as well as the wire had 
 been taken away. 
 
 The postal service, which for a long time had 
 been broken, was again started, but it was exceed- 
 ingly unsatisfactory. Shortly before our depar- 
 ture from Sianfu, we went to the post office, and 
 found it in a chaotic condition. We found great 
 heaps of letters and newspapers in many lan- 
 guages from all parts of the globe. There was no 
 one to sort the mail and to forward it to its des- 
 tination. The postmaster, Mr. Henne, who was so 
 badly wounded, had not been able to attend to his 
 work for a long time. After improving in health, 
 he had rendered aid and advice to the others who 
 were at the office, but he was fully determined to 
 leave Sianfu. A certain Englishman and an Eng- 
 lish speaking Chinese had fled from the post 
 office. Letters were torn to pieces. Sometimes 
 the envelope was in one place and its contents in 
 another. A good deal was found that belonged 
 
107 
 
 to us, but we could not search through this vast 
 quantity of torn mail. 
 
 The postmaster and some Japanese in the city 
 were anxious to go in company with us to the 
 coast. Another certain foreigner, an agent for a 
 cigarette firm, also wished to join our party. Such 
 dealers coming to the regions where we work, 
 create a menace to the Mission cause; therefore 
 some of the missionaries questioned whether to 
 include this agent in our company. It was not 
 now a matter of work, but of rescue ; so some of 
 us urged that he be allowed to come with us. His 
 conduct was good. 
 
 By prolonged negotiations we managed to loan 
 silver from the Department of Foreign Affairs. 
 The silver belonging to the missionaries was stolen 
 when the city banks were looted and burned. 
 
 Several things in the church work required 
 my attention before leaving. Persons were ap- 
 pointed to look after the work at the head station 
 and the out stations. The chapel at the out sta- 
 tion of Teo-fu had been destroyed, but, through 
 the kindness of a friend among the Revolutionists, 
 I managed to get it rebuilt. Some were baptized, 
 and a wedding was also held before we left. 
 Through the kind aid of the principal of the 
 military academy the gateway at the ruined school 
 was rebuilt, in order that the graves might be 
 undisturbed. A watchman was also appointed to 
 look after this place* 
 
108 
 
 One of the church members at the out station 
 of Kang-kia-tsai, being frightened at the rumors 
 of threatenings against the Christians, burnt his 
 Bible and hymn book, thinking in this way to pass 
 as a non-Christian. In spite of the threatenings, 
 none of the native Christians lost their lives, ex- 
 cept just this one. He was strong and well when 
 he burnt the books in the evening, but in the 
 morning he was found dead in his bed. In my 
 farewell speech to the Christians this singular 
 happening gave occasion, in a special way, to 
 exhort the Christians to be faithful to the Lord, 
 This left a deep impression upon them all, as they 
 saw herein a punishment from God upon one who 
 denied Christ. 
 
 The Journey to the Coast. 
 
 The Department of Foreign Affairs decided 
 our departure to take place Sunday, December 
 third. Those of our party coming from the inner 
 part of the city were to meet us at the south gate. 
 The watch hindered them such a long time from 
 getting through, that we only reached the East 
 suburb that day, excepting a few who had gone 
 out through the east gate together with the 
 Japanese and proceeded to the intended destina- 
 tion for the first day. The rest of us staid at the 
 English Baptist Mission over night. Our escort 
 
109 
 
 had followed those who went through the east 
 gate; the others of us saw none of them till the 
 next day. 
 
 The leader of our escort was an elderly man, 
 Mr. Ch'en, who had formerly been a servant to 
 one of the missionaries. He was a man of low 
 character, and proved to be the oldest Ko-lao-huei 
 member in the northwest part of China. He 
 flattered himself by saying he was viceroy of 
 three provinces. He spoke of the leaders in Si- 
 anfu as his younger brother. He was ambitious 
 to "be somebody/ 5 and, as he acted like a lunatic, 
 he was styled "Crazy Ch'en". Upon reaching 
 Lan-tien the leading men of that city came to meet 
 him and made obeisance to him. To his honor 
 there were several hundred armed men stationed 
 at either side of the road. A similar respect was 
 shown him at the city of Shang-cheo. At this 
 place the mandarin came to see us. He belonged 
 to the Revolutionaries, and had therefore been 
 allowed to keep his position. He gave us good 
 advice, and sent word by us to Mr. Watsaas and 
 family at Long-chii-tsai not to remain at that 
 place but to accompany us to the coast. And this 
 they did. 
 
 At some of the stopping places Ch'en demand- 
 ed that we should have lodging, fuel and other 
 articles free of charge. If anyone then dared 
 accept payment from us it would cost him his life, 
 in some instances where we had already paid, the 
 
110 
 
 money was refunded. To us he gave fruit and 
 sweetmeats, while others he robbed of their costly 
 fur garments and other valuable things, often 
 threatening to kill them. At Long-chu-tsai we 
 had to intercede in behalf of some travellers 
 whom he had roboed and aimed to kill. 
 
 At a certain place called Ye-tsuen, situated 
 between Shang-cheo and Long-chli-tsai, our lives 
 
 Our escort. 
 
 were endangered. A vast number of people were 
 here gathered to market, and on account of the 
 dense crowds, it was very difficult for us to reach 
 the inn where we were to stop. The people had 
 determined to kill both us and our escort during 
 the night. Soon after our arrival two hundred 
 armed soldiers entered the place. They had come 
 at Ch'en's command to join him in an attack on 
 the city of King-tze-kwan in the province of 
 
Ill 
 
 Honan. When our enemies saw this, they lost 
 courage. 
 
 Upon reaching Long-chii-tsai we had to remain 
 there three days, while Ch'en gathered a large 
 army in order to press his way into the province 
 of Honan. Some of us had to make inscriptions 
 in foreign writing upon some of the banners that 
 were prepared for his campaign. Others had to 
 take photographs of him and his army. Hfe bought 
 horses which missionaries had brought with them, 
 paying for some and promising to pay for others 
 when he had looted King-tze-kwan. We pleaded 
 with him not to attack this place till we had passed 
 so that we should not be entangled in the strife 
 between two conflicting armies : for we had heard 
 that Imperial troops guarded the city he intended 
 to plunder. He would not listen to this appeal. 
 He ordered sheep and cattle to be seized and but- 
 chered to prepare food for us. He commanded 
 about a hundred men to escort us down the river 
 by boats, requesting that we travel only twenty 
 miles a day, so that he could arrive at King-tze- 
 kwan equally soon going overland with his army. 
 
 Seeing that Ch'en aimed to carry out his plans 
 in regard to plundering, we turned to God in 
 prayer that the plans of this wicked man might 
 be crushed. In a peculiar way our prayers were 
 answered. Ch'en had borrowed a pair of spec- 
 tacles from one of the soldiers. When they came 
 to Shang-nan-hsien this soldier asked to have his 
 
112 
 
 spectacles returned, but Ch'en refused to do so. 
 Then the soldier declared he would have either 
 the spectacles or his head! The soldier enlisted 
 the help of the whole infantry to try to accomplish 
 the threatening. They found Ch'en protected by 
 the cavalry division, who were not willing to give 
 him up. Then the whole division of infantry 
 
 Ch'en's Army, by which he intended to subdue 
 and rob King-tse-kwan. 
 
 abandoned the campaign, and returned to Long- 
 chii-tsai. Ch'en, feeling now unable to carry on 
 his raid against the Imperialists at King-tze- 
 kwan, sent word to our escort to proceed no far- 
 ther. 
 
 These people had already killed eight men, as 
 far as we had learned to know. They had seized 
 
113 
 
 money and other valuables on pretense that it 
 had to be used for our journey. We were truly 
 thankful to God when we heard that they had 
 received order to return. The leader finally grant- 
 ed us permission to proceed without escort. The 
 Japanese were also glad to continue the journey 
 together with us. 
 
 If I remember aright, we were 62 foreigners 
 in our party, of which 18 were Japanese. Being 
 now without escort, we were obliged to keep 
 watch at night ourselves. A number of Chinese, 
 too, preferred to keep company with us. 
 
 Mr. Parker of the China Inland Mission, sta- 
 tioned at King-tze-kwan, met us at the border of 
 Honan. We had kept in touch with him, so that 
 fte knew of our approach, and had kept the Im- 
 perialists informed of the same. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parker came along with us when we left King- 
 tze-kwan. Much space would be needed to de- 
 scribe this journey in full. The mandarin at S'i- 
 chuan-ting sent us presents, consisting of eat- 
 ables; he also provided us an escort some dis- 
 tance. 
 
 We spent Christmas at Lao-ho-keo. Little 
 Thyra and I were guests at Mr. Sama's over night. 
 At this city the Ko-lao-hue authorities wanted us 
 t o give up our weapons, but we would not do so, 
 as there were robbers along the river where we 
 were to pass. 
 
 At Siang-yang two gunboats were sent to es- 
 
114 
 
 cort us, but we saw no more than one of them, and 
 this one hindered our progress a great deal. Far- 
 ther down the river we obtained another gunboat, 
 and then the former one returned ; although they 
 had maintained that only one boat could not de- 
 fend us against the hordes of robbers round about. 
 
 Occasionally we heard of plots being made to 
 attack us. However, something always ocurred 
 to avert the danger. Even the hindrances we met 
 with worked together for our good ; for we arrived 
 at Hankow on the evening of the same day in 
 which the last remnant of Imperial troops left the 
 place in order to observe the armistice that had 
 been agreed upon. Therefore without hindrance 
 we could pass places which had recently been 
 battle grounds. We were able to proceed even to 
 the foreign settlements. Nearly the whole city of 
 Hankow was levelled to the ground. The ghost- 
 like ruins which remained were pierced with 
 countless bullets. Only a few houses near the 
 foreign settlements remained. 
 
 In Hankow we were invited to call on the vice 
 president of China, General Li Yuenhong. Mr. 
 Mason and our friend from Sianfu, Mr. C. T. 
 Wang, went with me to see him. The General 
 received us with great courtesy and expressed 
 regret for what had happened at Sianfu. He paid 
 the traveling expenses for Mr. Wang and one of 
 the Christians who had, by the Department of 
 Foreign Affairs at Sianfu, been appointed to fol- 
 
115 
 
 low us to the coast. Furthermore, he asked me to 
 call on president Suen when we should reach 
 Nanking, but this could not be realized, as the 
 
 steamer stopped at that 
 place only a few minutes, 
 however, the president's 
 secretary came aboard 
 to present the President's 
 sympathy and express 
 his regret for the loss we 
 had sustained in Sianfu. 
 He asked information re- 
 garding who had com- 
 mitted the deed. This con- 
 cern taken by the fore- 
 most leader of the revolu- 
 tion goes to show that 
 the guilty parties would 
 li tuen hong. undoubtedly be held ac- 
 
 countable; and the leaders in Sianfu must have 
 feared this when they reported that it was the 
 Manchus who had attacked us when they fled 
 from the city. In this way they also had hopes of 
 making relations between the Manchu Govern- 
 ment and the foreign Powers more complicated.- 
 Our defender, Mr. C. T. Wang, sent the President 
 a correct account of how it happened, which ac- 
 count is given in full on some of the following 
 pages. 
 
 A comprehensive account of the outrages was 
 
116 
 
 sent by me to the United States Consul-General 
 at Hankow. In this I pointed out several proofs 
 that the Revolutionary leaders in Sianfu were 
 responsible for the raid 
 against us, because they 
 had neglected taking any 
 measures to protect us, 
 even though, as before 
 mentioned, the highest 
 authorities had issued a 
 proclamation to the effect 
 that foreign life and 
 property should be pro- 
 tected. Stress was laid 
 upon the fact that noth- 
 ing was done to disperse 
 the mob after they had 
 begun to gather about 
 our place, and, further- 
 more, after the crime was committed no assistance 
 was offered us directly by the leaders. This docu- 
 ment was concluded in these words : "I have given 
 you as full and complete information as I can con- 
 cerning my personal losses; but, considering my 
 calling as a missionary and my consequent rela- 
 tions to the people, I do not ask for any rec- 
 ompense either for the property destroyed or be- 
 cause of the loss of my wife and children. I pre- 
 fer to leave this to my government and shall be 
 perfectly satisfied with any settlement it may 
 
 SUEN YAT SEN. 
 
117 
 
 deem advisable to insure the safety of its citizens 
 residing in China and the maintenance of friendly 
 relations between the two countries." 
 
 Foreigners Murdered and Illtreated in 
 Other Parts of the Country. 
 
 Sianfu was doubtless the bloodiest city in 
 China during the Revolution. More foreigners 
 were murdered there than at the other places com- 
 bined. 
 
 An Englishman, formerly a missionary, named 
 Fellgate, was murdered on the mountain of Moh- 
 kan-shan in the province of Chekiang. A German 
 doctor was murdered in the province of Chihli, 
 while attempting to rescue other foreigners who 
 were in danger. At the same place a Roman 
 Catholic priest was murdered. On the Yang-tze 
 River three Americans were slain near Ichang, 
 one of them being killed instantly, and the other 
 two soon died from the wounds they had sus- 
 tained. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blom, of the Swedish Mission in 
 China, were assailed by robbers in the province 
 of Honan, Mrs. Blom receiving serious wounds. 
 In the province of Sze-chwan quite a number of 
 missionaries were misused, but as far as I know 
 none were murdered. A Roman Catholic school in 
 
118 
 
 the neighborhood of Han-chong in Shensi was 
 destroyed, and it was reported that forty for- 
 eigners were here murdered. However, it was 
 later made known that these forty were Chinese 
 who had cut their hair short, and were therefore 
 termed "foreigners." 
 
 Several of our stations were assaulted. At 
 Li-chuan the doorkeeper was shot and the station 
 looted. In the vicinity of Sianfu a native Catholic 
 priest was murdered some time after the chief 
 troubles had ceased. When the foreign priest in 
 Sianfu wanted to report this by telegram to his 
 government's representative in Peking, he was 
 hindered from so doing by the governor, who 
 threatened to kill them all, if this was done. 
 
 Shortly after China began negotiating for a 
 loan from the world Powers, there sprung up at 
 many places Boxer practicing, with aim of event- 
 ually exterminating the foreigners in China. The 
 Powers would grant no loan unless they could 
 assume financial control of China, and this was 
 probably the reason for these exercises that were 
 held. Missionaries in certain parts of the country 
 have stated that they have during this crisis ob- 
 served a more bitter hatred for foreigners than 
 they observed at these same places during the 
 Boxer Trouble in 1900. 
 
 Foreigners, as a rule, have escaped the awful 
 devastation committed by the soldiers after the 
 Revolutionary strife subsided, yet no safety can 
 
119 
 
 be depended on anywhere. The suffering, which 
 waxed great during the war and the subsequent 
 robbery, has called forth among the people a real 
 desire for Salvation. A vast harvest for the King- 
 dom of God might be garnered in China in the 
 near future, though not without great difficulties 
 and danger. May the Lord grant His servants 
 strength and endurance, and may the Church of 
 God lift their hands in prayer for the heroes who 
 are in the conflict! 
 
 Sympathy Shown Me at Shanghai 
 and Other Places. 
 
 When we arrived at Shanghai we found nearly 
 all the Mission Homes and other lodging places 
 completely occupied. Many missionaries and 
 strangers from all parts of the country had taken 
 refuge at this place. 
 
 During the first few days I staid part of the 
 time at the China Inland Mission Home and partly 
 at the Sailors' Home which belonged to our Mis- 
 sion. Meantime an English family, Mac Gregor 
 by name, had learned to know of the losses I had 
 sustained, and they so kindly invited me with 
 my little girl to stay with them free of charge. 
 We were guests at their home during the two 
 months I was obliged to remain at Shanghai. By 
 
120 
 
 this noble trait of sympathy Mr. Mac Gregor 
 proved that he spoke in earnest when he said, "It 
 is more important to act as a Christian than to 
 talk as a Christian." 
 
 As soon as our arrival from Sianfu was by 
 Mr. C. T. Wang made known to the Chinese Red 
 Cross Society and to some merchants from Shensi 
 as well as to the provisional Foreign Office, they 
 combined to send us a deputation, saying they in- 
 tended to give a banquet to our honor who had 
 been exposed to such severe suffering and loss. 
 
 Being aware that it is a Chinese custom to 
 "make good" by means of a feast when they con- 
 sider themselves unable to repair similar losses, 
 I turned to the American Consul-General to ob- 
 tain his advice regarding what standpoint I ought 
 to assume in this matter. As he advised us, who 
 had lost any of our dear ones, not to attend the 
 entertainment, we refrained from doing so. The 
 thought of partaking in banquet after such trage- 
 dy was by all means disgusting. Information as 
 to our decision did not reach the concerned parties 
 until the preparations had been made and the invi- 
 tations sent out; so the entertainment took place 
 after all, attended by quite a number of mission- 
 aries from the provinces of Shensi and Hupeh. 
 At this time China's vice minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, Wen Tsong-yao, held a sympathetic 
 speech, stating that the murdered foreigners in 
 Sianfu would by China always be considered 
 
121 
 
 martyrs. But at the same time he tried to shift 
 all responsibility from the shoulders of the Rev- 
 olutionary leaders, placing all blame upon robbers 
 and bandits. As this speech appeared in one of 
 the daily papers of the city, I felt it my duty to 
 make the following reply, in the same paper, as 
 to who these really were that were called robbers 
 and bandits : 
 
 To the Editor of North-China' Daily News. 
 
 Sir, — In an article of to-day's issue the enter- 
 tainment given at Palace Hotel last night to ref- 
 ugees from Shensi is dealt tvith; and there is 
 quoted from a speech by Mr. Wen Tsung-yao, in 
 which he says that the outrages had been com- 
 mitted by robbers and bandits. 
 
 As I did not see my way clear to be present at 
 the entertainment, and having lost so much 
 through the outrages he has spoken of, I wish 
 to make known to the public who these were that 
 are called robbers and bandits. Two days previous 
 to the outbreak of the Revolution at Sianfu, the 
 Police Corporal at the South suburb ordered the 
 village people in that vicinity, on penalty of death, 
 that each family should send a man for the pur- 
 pose af exterminating the foreigners and to burn 
 their houses. The object was not only to exter- 
 minate us who were at the school for foreign 
 children which was located outside the South 
 suburb, but they intended to rid the East and 
 
122 
 
 West suburbs from foreigners as well, and had 
 fixed the time for each place to be destroyed. That 
 this Police Corporal was in touch with the Rev- 
 olutionaries is evident, or he could not have known 
 beforehand when the Revolution should begin. 
 
 It may also be in place to mention here that 
 about eighty or ninety per cent of the Revolu- 
 tionaries in Sianfu were members of the Ko-lao- 
 huei, and that the General, who ordered the execu- 
 tion of this Corporal, was later in danger of being 
 assassinated. Furthermore two others who had 
 taken special part in the attack upon us were re- 
 warded with rank of officer in the Revolutionary 
 army. It would have been an easy matter, to pro- 
 tect all the foreigners if two or three soldiers had 
 been stationed at each place where foreigners lived. 
 Even after the burning of the school, no soldiers 
 were appointed to protect us who were now in the 
 West suburb. 
 
 Had it not been for the kindness of the teach- 
 ers of a Military Academy, who all had come from 
 other provinces, we all should have shared the 
 fate of those who had been murdered. .1 do not 
 wish to blame the leaders of the Revolution un- 
 necessarily, still I cannot keep silence when the 
 truth is hidden away under the statement that 
 the crimes were committed by robbers and ban- 
 dits." I am, etc, 
 
 E. R. Beckman. 
 {Dated Shanghai, Jan, 20, 1912.) 
 
123 
 
 A short time after this the ministers of For- 
 eign Affairs, Wu Ting-fang and Wen Tsung-yao 
 invited me to pay them a visit, which I did, ac- 
 companied by Mr. Jenson and Mr. Wang. Serious 
 complications in some matters had occurred at 
 this time, so that Wu Ting-fang was hindered 
 from meeting with us. The vice minister, Wen 
 Tsung-yao, received us kindly. He merely ex- 
 pressed his sympathy and conversed with us on 
 the leading questions of the day. As to what the 
 real intent of this invitation was, we never learn- 
 ed to know. 
 
 The many missionaries and Christian people 
 in Shanghai show r ed me deep sympathy. At a 
 certain meeting I was asked to relate how this sad 
 event took place and how I managed to rescue my 
 little girl, Thyra. The heartiest sympathy was 
 extended to me by all who were present. 
 
 It has been precious to me to realize a tender 
 feeling of sympathy from friends to the Mission 
 cause, which has found expression in prayers and 
 in sympathetic letters from both known and un- 
 known friends in different parts of the world. It 
 is doubtless through the prayers of these many 
 friends that I have, with unfailing courage, been 
 able to bear this deep sorrow, though my feeling 
 at times have wanted to claim their right of way. 
 In my travels in Sweden it has many times been 
 touching to realize with what tenderness and 
 favor so many friends have treated me. Often 
 
124 
 
 have I seen proof of the truth of these words, 
 "And whether one member suffereth, all the mem- 
 bers suffer with it." Nothing could be more in- 
 tended to unite the members of Christ on earth 
 than suffering. The brotherly love that people 
 are prone to talk of gets its quality best tested 
 when suffering takes place. From places where I 
 least expected it, tender feeling of sympathy has 
 been shown me, while on the other hand, where I 
 expected to find it, it has sometimes been absent. 
 
 Some time ago I received a very sympathetic 
 letter from a little Catholic girl in Australia. 
 When she had heard of the massacre of mission- 
 aries at Sianfu, she at once sent five dollars to a 
 Catholic priest to hold mass services for these 
 "happy martyrs", as she expressed it. She be- 
 lieved in prayers for the dead, according to the 
 teachings of the Roman Catholic church. Disgust- 
 ing as it may seem to us that people believe they 
 can do any good for the dead with money, yet we 
 must admire the little girl's sympathy, which 
 found expression in this way. 
 
 At one time I experienced something in con- 
 trast to this, when being introduced to a prom- 
 inent Christian person, who seemed to have a 
 great deal to say about the love of God. When 
 he was told who I was, he immediately turned his 
 back after extending a cold-hearted hand shake. 
 
 "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my 
 brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me" — 
 
125 
 
 such wise will judgment once be spoken by the lips 
 of Christ. 
 
 China's vice minister of Foreign Affairs has 
 sent me the following letter of condolence: 
 
 Wai Chiao Pu, 
 
 PEKING. 
 
 Wai Chiao Pu, Peking, July 2nd, 1912. 
 Rev. E. R. Beckman, 
 
 20 N. Ashland Road, Chicago. 
 
 Sir. — Having been made acquainted with the 
 painful circumstances under which Mrs. Beckman 
 and two of her children met their deaths and un- 
 der which you ivere subjected to extreme suffer- 
 ings, I feel I must write to express to you my sin- 
 cere sympathy and condolence for the irreparable 
 losses you have sustained. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that protective meas- 
 ures were not adequately adopted at the outset of 
 the revolution in Sianfu, but no one, I imagine, 
 ever foresaw that such an attack upon the Mission 
 could have been perpetrated at the time. It tvas 
 an event which no doubt was originated by an 
 irresponsible mob and tvhich the whole nation as 
 represented by the press and public men of China 
 have mourned over and denounced and condemned 
 in no mistakeable terms. The treatment which 
 
126 
 
 you and yours have received at the hands of the 
 ignorant mob has drawn not only public sym- 
 pathy for you and your work but also the righ- 
 teous indignation of all right thinking men of 
 this country. 
 
 In offering you my deep condolence, I also 
 wish to express my appreciation of the services 
 of those who, even under the throes of revolution, 
 could have found time and courage to help to pro- 
 tect the lives and property of Missionaries, and 
 especially the services of Mr. Wang Chang-tsuen 
 through whose efforts many lives have been saved. 
 As a mark of appreciation of Mr. Wang's services 
 a purse has been sent to him. 
 
 In concluding may I hope that you are now en- 
 joying good health and have throughly recovered 
 from the severe shock you must have received, 
 and that you will, in the very near future, be able 
 to come out again to continue your work in the 
 mission with which you are associated. 
 
 Believe me, I am your obedient servant, 
 
 Vice minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 By this letter it will be clearly seen that this 
 crime against us missionaries has struck the heart 
 of many of the leading men in China. It has 
 among them awakened more sympathy for Mis- 
 sion work, and has brought them to recognize it 
 
127 
 
 more generally than they otherwise would likely 
 have done. Here the fact is again proved that the 
 blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, 
 which bears more fruit than any other. We hope 
 it may not stop only with a feeling of compassion, 
 but may it be a means of leading many to know 
 the power unto salvation which is found in the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
 It must be on account of insufficient informa- 
 tion that the Vice-Minister surmises the massacre 
 was committed by an irresponsible mob. He was 
 probably not aware of the manner in which the 
 Police Corporal gathered the mob, nor of the in- 
 tention of the secret societies to exterminate the 
 foreigners. Consequently, I consider his state- 
 ment concerning the sorrow of the whole nation 
 somewhat exaggerated. It might be possible, 
 though, that the impressions from the leaders 
 may have an influence for good upon the anti- 
 Christian societies. It must be admitted that the 
 Revolutionary party in China has not manifested 
 such anti-Christian tendencies as has been shown 
 by their adherents who advocate revolt in Euro- 
 pean countries. A reason for this may be found 
 in the fact that the oppressive government of 
 China has never enlisted the aid of Christianity 
 to maintain its power. 
 
128 
 
 Mr. C. T. Wang's Account to the 
 President. 
 
 Statement to His Excellency The President of the 
 United Provinces of China. 
 
 Sir: — / have the honor to state that I am an 
 instructor in Chemistry and Physics at the Mil- 
 itary Academy at Sianfu Shensi. 
 
 I have not taken part in the reform recently 
 accomplished in that province, and obtained no 
 information beforehand that it should come to 
 pass. 
 
 On the 1st day of the 9th Moon. the Reformers 
 began their successful struggle in the City and 
 the gates were shut. In the night following the 
 police corporal at the South suburb, tvho by force 
 haa gathered a mob, took advantage of the occa- 
 sion, amd set fire to the school for foreign children, 
 which was located outside that suburb. The teach- 
 er Mr. Vatne and one child escaped over the wall 
 out were followed 20 li by one of the mob. There, 
 another mob gathered and they were murdered. 
 When Mr. and Mrs. Beckman with 6 children tried 
 to escape from the burning place, they had to run 
 through the mob and all of them were killed ex- 
 cept Mr. Beckman and his smallest child ivhich he 
 carried in his arms. He was severely hurt by the 
 pursuing mob, but succeeded in getting away and 
 
129 
 
 after he had been sitting in a water pond an hour, 
 escaped to the mission station in the West, suburb. 
 
 The next morning a Christian, named Kiai- 
 
 ping-kwei ( ), reported to me that the 
 
 school for foreign children had been burned, and 
 a number of foreigners killed at the South suburb 
 and that the mob were gathering in the West 
 suburb to destroy his house, the Mission Seminary 
 and the Mission Station where a number of Mis- 
 sionaries iv ere assembled. It ivas therefore a very 
 dangerous moment and immediate relief tvas re- 
 quired. I tvas greatly excited by this report and 
 tvas of the opinion that it tvas necessary to pro- 
 tect the foreigners. If all the Missionaries were 
 murdered, it woidd be a hard question to settle. I 
 was not able to protect them alone, so I explained 
 the importance of this matter to some of the staff 
 and students of m.y Academy and requested their 
 assistance. 
 
 We armed some of the Christians and appoint- 
 ed them to guard the Mission Station that day. 
 During the day the mob increased in number and 
 courage. They took the rifle from one of the 
 Christians and the rumor tvas spread that 2,000 
 or more were coming in that night to destroy the 
 Missionaries and their houses. We therefore in- 
 vited the Missionaries to come to the Military 
 Academy and brought them safely there. There 
 were 11 foreigners and some Chinese orphans. 
 The mob being still in great assembly I kept the 
 
130 
 
 Missionaries to live at the Military Academy as 
 that was the only place of safety. 
 
 Soon after the news was reported to the Gen- 
 eral of Shensi and he appointed an Official to call 
 at the Academy and present his consolation to the 
 Missionaries, h. e also ordered the execution of the 
 Police Corporal, for this act he was nearly assas- 
 sinated by a member of the Ko-lao-huei. Later 
 some officials and soldiers were appointed to be 
 present at the place where the Missionaries and 
 children were murdered, to see that their bodies 
 were properly put into coffins and buried. Those 
 murdered were Mrs. Beckman and two children, 
 Mr. Vatne and Hilda Nilson, Americans and 3 
 Swedish children. 
 
 I was again informed that Missionaries in 
 many other places were in great danger, so I re- 
 quested the General of Shensi to send soldiers to 
 those places to rescue them. Thus 18 foreigners 
 were brought from different places to the Military 
 Academy. At Ingkiawei the Mission house had been 
 looted and the lady Missionary had been hiding 
 several days ivithout food. At Fengsiangfu the 
 Mission house had been destroyed but the Mis- 
 sionaries had escaped to Kansuh. At Kienyangh- 
 sien the Mission house had been destroyed but 
 there were no foreigners at that place. Miss Lind- 
 v all's house in the city of Sianfu had also partly 
 been looted. 
 
 On the 13th day of the 10th moon the Mis- 
 
131 
 
 sionaries started for Shanghai. The foreign affairs 
 department of Shensi appointed me and Mr. Kiai- 
 pingkwei to escort them. The idea ivas that as I 
 had protected them from the beginning I should 
 look after them to the end (of their journey). A 
 head man of the Kolaohwei named Chen (gener- 
 ally called Chen Feng-tsi ) with some of 
 
 his men also escorted the foreigners to a place 
 near the border of the province. He treated them 
 well, but behaved violently towards others. He 
 robbed some travelers and wanted to kill them 
 so the Missionaries had to intercede for them, thus 
 they were not killed but left in prison in Long- 
 kiltsai. These travelers ivere Hupeh men tuho 
 came from Sinkiang, where they had been teach- 
 ers at some College. The Imperial official and 
 soldiers in Honan protected us and showed much 
 kindness. Likewise did the reformers in Hupeh. 
 At Wuchang the Vice President of the Republic, 
 General Li Yuen-hong kindly acknoiuledged our 
 effort to protect the foreigners, and paid traveling 
 expenses for me and Mr. Kiai. We delivered all 
 our arms, 10 rifles- and some cartridges to him. At 
 Kiukiang I made a brief report by wire to the 
 Diplomatic Board of Nanking. At Nanking Mr. 
 Ma, a secretary to His Excellency the President 
 came to see us on board of the steamer. He ex- 
 pressed the President' } s deepest sympathy to Mr. 
 Beckman and others who had been so violently 
 bereaved though the outrage at Sianfu. 
 
132 
 
 Your Excellency will notice that all this trouble 
 
 has come from the Ko4ao-huei ( ) who 
 
 also robbed and destroyed other places in the prov- 
 ince of Shensi. We have now safely arrived at 
 Shanghai where the Missionaries are living in the 
 Settlement, having lost all their money and had 
 to leave behind nearly all their belongings they 
 are still in a pitiful condition. 
 
 Their traveling expenses from Sianfu to this 
 place ivas lent to them by the Foreign Office at 
 Sianfu. 
 
 It is to my great convenience that my friends 
 Mr. Yang Tsze Fei and Sing Wei Ching kindly 
 rendered their assistance, who are experienced 
 in foreign affairs and understand English. 
 
 Trusting that your Excellency will take notice 
 of the foregoing statement I have the honor to be 
 
 Sir, Your obedient Servant, 
 
 Wang Chang-Tsuen, (- ) . 
 
 From Shanghai to Stockholm by the 
 Siberian Route. 
 
 On the 24th of March Thyra and I left Shang- 
 hai in company with the missionaries Mr. and 
 Mrs. Christensen and their children and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Jones. At Dalney (Ta-lien-wan) Manchuria, 
 we were obliged to remain a whole day; because 
 the Japanese, wno control the communications 
 
133 
 
 there, understand the art of deriving benefit from 
 travelers by charging high prices for hotel ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Southern Manchuria is like a sandy desert. If 
 I had not seen the vast amount of beans which 
 was brought to Dalney to be exported, I should 
 have thought this region barren. The northern 
 part of Manchuria is more productive. The ap- 
 pearance of the houses bore witness to the fact 
 that the Russians were well represented. 
 
 Upon reaching Chang-chuen we exchanged 
 cars, for here begins the Russian control of the 
 railway. At Kharbin, where we reached the main 
 line leading to Vladivostock, we had to have our 
 tickets changed and our baggage rechecked. Here 
 we realized, to an extent that surpassed pleasure, 
 how slow the Russian people are. We had to wait 
 several hours to get transacted what could have 
 been done in five minutes in America. Tips, how- 
 ever, were not forgotten! 
 
 Having hitherto journeyed in a north-easterly 
 direction, the train now sped away toward the 
 west. Only two hindrances occurred, — the one at 
 the Siberian border where our baggage had to be 
 examined by custom officers ; the other was caused 
 by sparks of fire from the locomotive setting afire 
 the wood that we carried along for fuel. Coal 
 was not used here. In order to prevent the train 
 from becoming a prey to the flames it was neces- 
 sary to halt till the fire could be extinguished. 
 
134 
 
 After circling around the southern shore of 
 Baikal Lake we arrived at Irkutsk where we again 
 changed cars. This change was not a pleasant 
 one, as we now got such small room for our hand 
 baggage. From here the journey took us through 
 vast forests and over far-reaching steppes. Si- 
 beria seemed to me a very interesting country. 
 The newly built houses along the railway seemed 
 homelike and comfortable. A considerable com- 
 munity at various railway stations and some im- 
 portant cities were to be seen here and there. On 
 our way we met long trains containing prisoners 
 and emigrants, which had a lamentable appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Upon entering European Russia, oil took the 
 place of wood to furnish motive power. The speed 
 was then increased considerably, over which we 
 felt pleased ; for it was well to make haste through 
 this dreary part of Russia. 
 
 At Moscow our party had to separate, because 
 the Christensen children were taken ill with meas- 
 les, so their parents had to stop with them there. 
 In order to secure a sleeping place on the train 
 from here to St. Petersburg, I had to engage a 
 messenger to stand waiting at the railway station 
 during the day ; the fact that I had a sleeping car 
 ticket would not guarantee that a berth would be 
 reserved for me. This was on Good Friday, and 
 the time would surely have seemed long if I had 
 not had the pleasure of visiting with some of the 
 
135 
 
 missionaries of the International Russian Mis- 
 sion, where I met Mr. Swenson and also Mrs. Ver- 
 bitsky (Mr. Verbitsky was not at home). Their 
 friendliness and willingness to help me made the 
 time pass very quickly. 
 
 In the evening, having no more than gained a 
 foothold on the car, the train sped away, and next 
 morning we arrived at St. Petersburg. In the 
 space of an hour I had to get out my baggage and 
 have it transported through the city to the Fin- 
 nish railway station. Being hampered by not 
 knowing the language and by the slowness of the 
 Russian people, this transportation was sooner 
 said than done ! It was a relief when I finally got 
 aboard the train headed for Abo. On the following 
 night we boarded the steamer Bore to cross the 
 Baltic Sea. 
 
 It was Easter morning (April 7) when the 
 steamer glided forward among the picturesque 
 isles leading up to the place where "Queen of 
 Malar" (capital of Sweden) towers beautiful and 
 majestic, — the most charming among the cities 
 on earth! How clean and alluring and magnifi- 
 cent all objects here appear! Sweden is truly a 
 picturesque country, adorned by a people who 
 love order and cleanliness. But, pilgrim, do not 
 let thyself be deluded : you are a stranger on earth 
 on the way to a more beautiful city! 
 
136 
 
 New Trials. 
 
 After reaching Stockholm a new trial befell 
 me in this that my darling Thyra became ill and 
 had to be taken to a hospital, where she had to 
 remain six weeks. Measles, croup, diphtheria and 
 inflammation of both lungs were the maladies that 
 threatened to put an end to her life. For several 
 days she was able to breathe only through a tube. 
 The doctor could not give me any hope of her 
 recovery. But the Lord heard the many prayers 
 that were offered in her behalf by many Christian 
 people in this city and He bestowed upon her full 
 vigor again, despite these serious maladies. 
 
 My heart is filled with praise to the Lord for 
 the grace He has thus shown me, and my soul 
 longs in a more devoted manner to serve Him 
 and fill my calling during the remaining days 
 of my life, — much more so as I apprehend that the 
 present dispensation of Grace draws to its close. 
 I feel convinced that the Lord did not spare my 
 life without a purpose, and my desire is that His 
 purpose may be realized; for the prince of the 
 world comes, and darkness presses forth. 
 
 Shortly after I came to Stockholm a certain 
 newspaper published something of my experience 
 during the Revolution in China. Some- one who 
 had read it found thereby an opportunity to send 
 me a letter, in which he, under oaths and curses, 
 
137 
 
 expresses his great satisfaction over the fact that 
 may wife and children and the others were mur- 
 dered in China. He but wishes that a similar 
 late would be meted out to all the missionaries 
 in that land, as he thought they had nothing there 
 to do with their superstitious beliefs. Instead of 
 his name he signed, "A hater of humbug/' 
 
 This letter brought me to look about in various 
 papers to see if I could detect from what source 
 such crude writing could have come. Soon I found 
 papers in which people exposed their crude in- 
 fidelity and advocated abolishment of Christiani- 
 ty. According to their theory Christianity is the 
 greatest hindrance to progress and enlighten- 
 ment. Besides this I noticed how they despised 
 the government and their fatherland. 
 
 Through this I was reminded of how I had 
 heard revolutionists in China say that they had 
 allies in all countries (though most numerous in 
 Germany) and their aim was to recognize only 
 one rider over the ivhole world! 
 
 Upon visiting the reading room of the parlia- 
 ment building in Stockholm I found that these 
 papers, which are so antagonistic toward Christ- 
 ianity and government, had been given a place 
 among the other papers. So it must be that they 
 are read and sanctioned or tolerated by a majority 
 of the country's law makers. A clearer proof that 
 we are approaching the revolt spoken of in the 
 Word of Prophecy, is not needed. Hereby I seem 
 
138 
 
 to find that the time is near at hand when the 
 "Beast" shall have the power, and no one can sell 
 or buy, save he that has the mark of the beast. 
 
 While this revolting power will be followed by 
 delusions of anti-Christ and by suffering and 
 oppression, which, according to the Word of God, 
 will precede the establishment of the Kingdom 
 of God on earth, it is at the same time doubtless 
 a punishment from God upon those who have mis- 
 used their authority on earth. 
 
 Well, my friends, it may be that a martyr's 
 crown will be soon extended to those who truly 
 want to follow Jesus, even in the "Christian" 
 countries. A greater honor could neither be our 
 lot than to lay down our lives for Him who gave 
 His life for us. Flesh and blood would seem to 
 fail us when our dear ones through bloody death 
 are taken from us, but from experience I can say 
 that the Lord giveth strength in all things, ac- 
 cording to our need — and whether we live or die, 
 we belong to Him, and we shall "rejoice with joy 
 unspeakable and full glory: receiving the end of 
 your faith, even the salvation of your souls." 
 
 May the Lord grant us strength to endure unto 
 the end! 
 
The Scandinavian Alliance Mission 
 
 of North America. 
 
 Incorporated 1897 
 
 This foreign missionary organization was 
 founded February 17, 1891, by Eev. Frederick 
 Franson, whose apostolical simplicity of life, burn- 
 ing enthusiasm for the extension of the gospel to 
 non-Christian nations, and untiring faithfulness 
 in the work until the day of his death has been 
 an inspiration to all who have known him. 
 
 The organization has been the foreign mis- 
 sionary agency of free evangelical churches and 
 people of the Scandinavian races in America. 
 
 God has richly blessed the work from the be- 
 ginning, converts being made and gathered into 
 churches, schools and homes being established and 
 considerable property acquired. The crown of 
 martyrdom has also been given to a number of 
 missionary heroes of this mission. 
 
 The S. A. M. of N. A. has missions with various 
 stations and native helpers in China, Mongolia, 
 Japan, India, Africa, and South America. 
 
 In 1913 there were 97 missionaries enrolled 
 in the work. 
 
 The Board of Directors has its headquarters 
 at 20 N. Ashland Boulevard, Chicago. It is com- 
 posed of the following members: 
 
 HONORARY MEMBER: Rev. A. Pohl. 
 
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Prof. O. C. Grauer, 
 Chairman, 20 N. Ashland Boul.; Mr. J. A. Karlson, Vice- 
 Chairman; Rev. C. T. Dyrness, Secretary, 2814 McLean 
 Ave.; Prof. M. E, Peterson, Vice-Secretary; Prof. F. Ris- 
 berg, Treasurer, 20 N. Ashland Boul.; Rev. J. G. Nelson; 
 Mr. J. SkogTund. 
 
List of Missionaries 
 
 belonging to the CHINA MISSION of the Scan- 
 dinavian Alliance Mission of North America, with 
 the year in which they first went out to the field. 
 
 Miss Petra M. Aaroe.. 1911 Miss Alma Swanson.. 1891 
 
 Mr. G. Ahlstrand 1891 Mr. H. Swenson 1912 
 
 Mrs. G. Ahlstrand . 1898 Miss Johanna Thor 1912 
 
 Miss Christine Anderson '91 Mr. D. Tornvall 1891 
 
 Mr. C. J. Anderson.. ..1891 Mrs. D. Tornvall 1891 
 
 Mrs. C. J. Anderson.. 1891 Miss Charlotte Wallen- 
 
 Miss Gina S. Anderson 1902 berg 1894 
 
 Miss Mary Anderson.. 1891 Miss Jennie Wedicson 1899 
 
 Mr. E. R. Beckman... 1891 Mr. W. Hagquist 1891 
 
 Mr. O. Bengtsson 1894 Mrs. W. Hagquist 1892 
 
 Mrs. O. Bengtsson. . . . 1905 Miss Ingeborg M. Hane- 
 
 Mr. S. Bergstrom 1894 berg 1911 
 
 Mrs. S, Bergstrom 1891 Mr. N. C. Jakobsen... 1911 
 
 Miss Elvida Edlund... 1911 Miss Anna Jensen.... 1903 
 
 Mr. W. Englund 1903 Mr. C. J. Jensen 1899 
 
 Mrs. W. Englund 1894 Mrs. C. J. Jensen..... 1891 
 
 Mr. A. B. Gjelseth 1907 Miss Kristine Johnson 1912 
 
 Mr. F. A. Gustafson... 1892 Miss Thilda Johnson.. 1891 
 
 Mrs. F. A. Gustafson.. 1893 Miss Dorothy Lindvall 1891 
 
 Mr. E. Palmberg 1902 Miss Hannah Lundvail 1894 
 
 Mrs. E. Palmberg 1903 Miss Katarine Moll... 1912 
 
 Mr. G. Palmberg 1902 Mr. J. G. Nelson 1891 
 
 Mrs. G. Palmberg 1902 Mrs. J. G. Nelson 1891 
 
 Mr. E. M. Paulson 1903 Mr. P. Nelson 1891 
 
 Mr. T. Pedersen 1910 Mrs. P. Nelson... 1891 
 
 Mrs. T. Pedersen 1910 Miss Lotten Norden. . . 1892 
 
 Miss E. Peterson 1892 Miss Annie Olsen 1892 
 
 Mrs. A. E. Rydberg... 1891 Miss Othelie Olsen 1891 
 
 Miss Alma Strand 1891 Mr. H. Olson 1911 
 
MARi9 1913 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 016 062 475 9 #