CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 
 
 BH 
 
 SEP 1 8 1972 
 IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92664
 
 A. < f ~
 
 THE FOREIGN DOCTOR
 
 By Robert E. Speer 
 
 Some Great Leaders in the World Movement 
 
 The Cole Lectures for IQII. 12mo, cloth, net $1.25 
 
 The Foreign Doctor : " The Hakim Sahib" 
 
 A Biography of Joseph Plumb Cochran, M.D., 
 of Persia. Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.50 
 
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 'The Hakim Sahib." 
 
 THE FOREIGN DOCTOR; 
 
 A BIOGRAPHY OF 
 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN, M.D. 
 
 OF PERSIA 
 
 By 
 
 ROBERT E. SPEER 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO 
 
 Fleming H. Revell Company 
 
 LONDON AND EDINBURGH
 
 Copyright, 1911, by 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 
 WE 
 
 (I 
 
 New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
 Chicago: 123 N. Wabash Ave. 
 Toronto: 25 Richmond St., W. 
 London : 21 Paternoster Square 
 Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE extensive use of medical missions in the foreign 
 missionary enterprise is so familiar to us that we are 
 apt to forget that it is a modern development. There 
 were, of course, many physicians among the pioneers, 
 Parker, Livingstone, Hepburn, McCartee, Chamber- 
 lain, and many others, but mutitudinous responsibili- 
 ties fell upon these men. They had to do sometimes 
 the work of exploration, translation, education, as 
 well as evangelization, and with many of them the 
 medical work became subordinate, and by some of 
 them was given up altogether. In the biographies of 
 these pioneers, accordingly, medical missionary work 
 occupied a secondary place. And of the modern school 
 of medical missionaries who, in the broader develop- 
 ment and the more definite specialization of the work, 
 have been able to devote themselves primarily, if not 
 entirely, to the maintenance and extension of medical 
 missions, there are few whose lives have been recorded 
 in any biographical story. There are such biographies, 
 but all who are interested in medical missions have 
 felt the need of more, especially of such as can show 
 the medical missionary at his work, with the prob- 
 lems he meets, the policies he adopts, and the influence 
 he exerts. Dr. Cochran's life furnished rare material 
 for just such a biography. 
 
 But he was far more than a doctor. He was a man 
 of the broadest interests, a rare and delightful per- 
 sonality, with a flavour of distinction which added 
 
 7
 
 6 PREFACE 
 
 charm to all that he said and did. He was not only 
 a physician, but also a diplomatist, a counseller, a 
 great public character, a missionary leader, and with 
 it all a man so modest, so reserved, so incapable of 
 self-advertisement, so unwilling to exploit himself even 
 for the good of his work, that only a small circle knew 
 what a unique character there was in Urumia, doing 
 quietly in a far-off corner of the world a piece of work 
 as true, as difficult, as representative of the central 
 problems of modern life, and especially of the contact 
 of Christian civilization with Asia, as any work that 
 was doing anywhere on the earth. 
 
 I desire to thank the friends who have spared no 
 pains to supply information for this biography. The 
 love and regard which all of us who knew Dr. Cochran 
 felt for him make us eager to do everything we can 
 to honour his memory, and to perpetuate the influence 
 of his character and career. And to this end I have 
 sought in this sketch to preserve, as much as possible, 
 the spirit of the man and the contemporary and local 
 colouring as these are embodied in his reports and in 
 his own and his wife's correspondence. 
 
 " Hakim Sahib " was the title by which Dr. Cochran 
 was known in Persia. Hakim is the Persian word for 
 doctor, and Sahib, meaning master or sir, is the 
 respectful term of address applied to foreigners in 
 Persia and India. 
 
 I hope that those who read this sketch may feel 
 something of the simplicity and strength, the honour 
 and truth of a life which coupled simple faith and 
 ceaseless toil. 
 
 B. E. S. 
 NEW YORK CITY.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. ANCESTEY 11 
 
 II. THE MISSION TO THE NESTOEIANS . . 16 
 
 III. His MISSIONARY PAEENTAGE .... 25 
 
 IV. BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION .... 39 
 V. BEGINNING WOEK IN PEBSIA . . . . 51 
 
 VI. FAMINE AND RELIEF 67 
 
 VII. THE KUEDISH INVASION 74 
 
 VIII. OLD FOES AND NEW FEIENDS . . . 102 
 
 IX. THE REMAINDEE OF His FIBST TEEM OF 
 
 SEEVICE AND His FIEST FUELOUGH . 121 
 
 X. "IN JOUENEYINGS OFTEN" .... 149 
 
 XI. "!N MUCH STEADFASTNESS" .... 180 
 
 XII. His LAST VISIT TO AMEEICA AND RETUEN 
 
 TO PEBSIA . 221 
 
 XIII. THE CLOSING YEABS OF WOEK . . . 229 
 
 XIV. " To FAITHFUL WAEEIOBS COMES THE 
 
 REST" 259 
 
 XV. As A PEACE-MAKEE AND DIPLOMATIST . 295 
 
 XVI. As A MEDICAL MISSIONAEY . . . .318 
 
 XVII. As A CHEISTIAN MAN 365
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 DB. JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN . . Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 DR. COCHRAN AND A KURDISH SHEIKH ... 76 
 DR. COCHRAN AND KURDISH PATIENTS . . .150 
 
 DB. COCHRAN, MR. WRATISLAW, THE BRITISH 
 CONSUL, AND MR. WRATISLAW'S INDIAN 
 SOWARS 260 
 
 DR. COCHRAN, DR. NORTON, THE AMERICAN CON- 
 SUL, AND PERSIAN GUARDS .... 290 
 
 DISPENSARY DAY (OUTDOORS) .... 322 
 DR. COCHRAN IN THE WARDS .... 340 
 DISPENSARY DAY (INDOORS) 360
 
 I 
 
 ANCESTRY 
 
 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN was born in the little 
 village of Seir in Persia, overlooking the plain of 
 Urumia, on January 14th, 1855. His parents, 
 Joseph Gallup Cochran and Deborah Plumb Cochran, 
 were missionaries to the Nestorians. By natural in- 
 heritance he entered into the missionary character and 
 the missionary service. And this inheritance, which 
 came to him pure and re-enforced through his parents, 
 ran far back of them. Joseph Gallup Cochran was the 
 fourth of the ten children of Samuel Cochran and 
 Catherine Gallup, and a descendant of a Scotch refu- 
 gee to Londonderry, who fled thither from the persecu- 
 tion in Scotland under James. Samuel came to Amer- 
 ica early in the nineteenth century, meeting his wife, 
 a descendant of a Frenchman named Ammon who 
 escaped from the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, on 
 shipboard. Her aunt, Mercy Franklin, was first cousin 
 of Benjamin Franklin. Samuel and his wife settled 
 first in Vermont and later removed to Springville, 
 Erie County, New York, then known as the Holland 
 Purchase, where Mr. Cochran took up a tract of land, 
 now enclosed in the corporate bounds of Springville, 
 becoming one of its first inhabitants and in after time 
 one of its foremost citizens. He died October 19th, 
 1845, five years after a visit with his wife to his old 
 home in Colrain, County Derry, Ireland. 
 
 11
 
 12 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Joseph Gallup Cochran, the second son of Samuel, 
 early decided to enter upon commercial life, and leav- 
 ing school took a clerkship in a store in the village 
 of Lodi, now Gowanda. Here his views of life and its 
 obligations changed. He resolved to devote himself 
 to the ministry and went to Amherst College. After 
 graduation he taught three years in the Nunda Acad- 
 emy, where his work is well remembered, and he con- 
 tinued to teach as a tutor in a private family in New 
 York while he pursued his studies in Union Theologi- 
 cal Seminary. " My parents always considered his 
 presence in the house a benediction to the household," 
 says one of those whom he taught, Mrs. Martha H. 
 Beers, " and he was a power for good among the young 
 people of the church with which we were connected." 
 
 Joseph G. Cochran's bride was Deborah Plumb, 
 daughter of Joseph Plumb of Gowanda. This Joseph 
 Plumb was one of the strong and outstanding charac- 
 ters of western New York. He was born in Paris, 
 Oneida County, in 1792, and coming to western New 
 York in 1816, settled in Fredonia. He was an active 
 and energetic business man who neither in business 
 nor in any other sphere of life floated with the tide. 
 He moved to Gowanda in 1827, and finding no religious 
 life or observances whatever, organized at once the 
 first Sunday school, and was its superintendent as 
 long as he lived in the village. Through his influence 
 the same year the Presbyterian Church was organized 
 and he was its first ruling elder. " He had a natural 
 cheerfulness and pleasantness of disposition which 
 made his presence agreeable," said his pastor, Mr. 
 Cowles, in his funeral sermon in 1870. " This cheerful, 
 natural amiability greatly augmented his usefulness. 
 ... In family worship, each of his children and
 
 ANCESTRY 13 
 
 domestics and guests must have a Bible, and read in 
 their turn, at devotion, thus teaching his whole house- 
 hold to reverence the Scriptures, consult them daily, 
 and serve the God who gave them." Joseph Plumb's 
 grandson was to be as careful and conscientious in 
 these things as his grandfather. 
 
 Mr. Plumb was also and naturally an ardent tem- 
 perance advocate and an earnest abolitionist. He was 
 previously a Whig and had received from Governor 
 Seward a nomination as judge of Erie County which 
 he declined. He became one of the founders of 
 the Liberty Party, and was ever ready to facilitate 
 the escape of slaves to Canada and to advance the abo- 
 lition cause. " His house was a station on the under- 
 ground railway. Anti-slavery meetings which he con- 
 ducted in the Presbyterian church again and again 
 were broken up by turbulent mobs. A candidate for 
 State Senator in the Liberty Party's first appeal, he 
 received," says his son, the Rev. Albert H. Plumb, D.D., 
 " in his own town, eleven votes, and it was remarked 
 at his supper table that evening that the little eleven 
 would leaven the whole lump, a prophecy that he said 
 was fulfilled when Lincoln's proclamation answered his 
 daily prayer at the family altar that God would break 
 every yoke." 
 
 Deborah Plumb was Joseph's third child, and was 
 born at Fredonia in 1820. She was educated in the 
 village of Lodi and in the Utica Female Seminary. 
 She was of a timid nature as a girl, " prone to hear 
 strange noises in the night when her father was from 
 home," says her brother, Dr. Plumb, " and to steal into 
 her brothers' room and waken them with the whispered 
 words, ' There is somebody in the house, what shall 
 we do ? ' Who could imagine her coolly directing the
 
 14 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 repulse of a midnight attack of the Kurds on the 
 Mission premises at Mt. Seir, stationing the native 
 men of the household on the walls, and keeping them 
 supplied with powder and ball? Or who could have 
 thought her capable of arousing her camp one night 
 when on a missionary tour, and driving off the mur- 
 derous marauders, who had awakened her by their 
 stealthy attempt to draw out from under the tent her 
 little daughter sleeping on the ground at her side? " 
 She never needed to acquire the missionary spirit. 
 That was born in her. And as a girl she was actively 
 interested in the work on the Cataraugus Reservation, 
 two or three miles away, where she taught the Indian 
 children, walking to and fro except when the snow 
 was deep and her brothers took her with horse and 
 sleigh. For several seasons she stayed at the Mission 
 station eight miles distant, living in the families of 
 the Eev. Asher Bliss and the Rev. Asher Wright and 
 their saintly wives, missionaries of the American 
 Board. 
 
 Such love of the needy made her ready to respond 
 to any appeal, and it was no unnatural thing for her 
 to answer the call from the far-off Mission to the 
 Nestorians. On June 9th, 1847, she and Mr. Cochran 
 were married and left the same month for Boston to 
 sail for Persia. Twenty-six years later she recalled 
 her wedding day in a letter to a daughter, written as 
 she sat alone in her home at Mt. Seir two years after 
 her husband's death: 
 
 This month is always a hard one to me. Twenty-six 
 years ago now I was making the last preparations for my 
 marriage, and to leave my native land. It seems as yes- 
 terday. Dear father was so tenderly attentive to me. Albert 
 was my right hand man, packing, and oh, few brothers know
 
 ANCESTRY 15 
 
 how to do and to say all the kind things he did ! Then there 
 were dear brothers Charlie and Carlie, all alive to do 
 everything to make the last days we were ever to spend 
 together in the dear old home as pleasant as possible. There 
 was brother Edward, who came home from Buffalo in the 
 village stage the night before the wedding. He wanted me 
 to dress sweetly and simply, but daintily, and with his own 
 hands he arranged the scarf on my head as we seated our- 
 selves in the carriage to go to the church that Wednesday, 
 June 9th. On my white dress I wore a white rose from our 
 yard. I looked up just now, and there was the face which 
 was most of all to me on that day, looking down from the 
 frame on the wall. I'll have a cry and feel better before 
 Mr. and Mrs. Whipple arrive, as I am expecting them. 
 
 Her son, who was to take her husband's place, was 
 to be a reserved and even reticent man, but he was 
 to have his mother's tender and poetical sensitiveness. 
 Out of such an ancestry of high-minded and fearless 
 devotion to principle, of simplest and truest refinement, 
 of energy and unselfishness, of geniality and good feel- 
 ing, of self-respect and the respect of men, of modesty 
 and purity, came the future medical missionary who 
 was to be the friend of princes, the defender of the 
 poor, the counsellor of Moslem governors and of an 
 ancient Christian Church, the deliverer of a city, and 
 the father of a people.
 
 II 
 
 THE MISSION TO THE NESTORIANS 
 
 SAVE in the spring, when the snows and rains of 
 winter have watered the ground and carpeted it 
 with green, Persia is a brown and dreary land. 
 Along the water courses, however, and where here and 
 there the few rivers provide constant irrigation, ver- 
 dant oases will stand out from the barrenness of the 
 treeless hills and the grassless plains. Of all these 
 Persian oases none is more beautiful than Urumia, the 
 home of Zoroaster. In the centre is the city of Urumia, 
 and round about, the country is green and fruitful. 1 
 
 1 An account of the border country between Urumia and the Tur- 
 kish frontier will enable the reader to understand many later allusions: 
 
 " West of the foothills lie the uplands. They too are watered as the 
 plain and support such flocks on their rich pastures and supply 
 such wheat as the marauding Kurds allow. Opposite the lake are 
 three such upland plains : Mergawar, Tergawar, and Baradost, each 
 with easy descents to Urumia plain, and each shut in from the west 
 by the great range of mountains that runs from Karabagh to Ushnuk. 
 
 "Three Kurdish tribes occupy these plains. The Begzade, a 
 family which emigrated from Mesopotamia 80 years ago, now num- 
 bering with servants about 3000, of whom some 500 are armed, occupy 
 the small district called Dasht plain in Mergawar and Tergawar. 
 
 " In all the villages there are Nestorian Christians who are ' hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water' to the hated Kurds, for the Kurds are 
 innocent of any tendency to manual labour, living both by the labour 
 of the Christians and by the pillage they carry off from the great 
 plain of Urumia, which the Persian government has little will and 
 less power to protect. The Christians of Tergawar are a brave, war- 
 like race, not improbably of Kurdish origin to a large extent, just 
 ns the Shekoiks are said to have been Christians a century ago. 
 Three villages in Tergawar are exclusively Christian, employing in 
 
 16
 
 THE MISSION TO THE NESTORIANS 17 
 
 The description written by Dr. Grant, the first medical 
 missionary to the Nestorians sixty years ago, is true 
 to-day : 
 
 A plain of exuberant fertility is enclosed between the 
 mountains and the lake, comprising an area of about five 
 hundred square miles, and bearing upon its bosom no less 
 than three hundred hamlets and villages. The landscape is 
 one of the most lovely in the East, and the effect is not a 
 little heightened by the contrast of such surprising fertility 
 with the stern aspect of the surrounding heights, on which not 
 a solitary tree is to be seen; while in the plain, the willows, 
 poplars, and sycamores by the water-courses, the peach, apri- 
 cot, pear, plum, cherry, quince, apple, and vine, impart to 
 large sections the appearance of a rich, variegated forest. 
 (The Nestorians, p. 19.) 
 
 This is the centre of the work of the Mission to the 
 Nestorians. The Nestorians claim a traditional lineage 
 running back to St. Thomas. After the death of 
 Christ, it is said, Thomas went east to India. He 
 stopped by the lake of Urumia and converted the 
 people there, and then stepped across the lake, using 
 certain islands, still pointed out, as his stepping-stones. 
 The way was prepared for him by the Three Wise Men, 
 who after their return to their own land of Persia, 
 had of course spoken of Christ. Other traditions credit 
 the introduction of Christianity to Thaddeus, one of 
 the seventy, and St. Mari, his disciple. As Christian- 
 ity gradually spread eastward from Antioch, the Chris- 
 tians on the borders of Persia began to be known 
 as the " Church of the East." Their national name is 
 " Syrians." After the Council of Ephesus in 431, when 
 
 a few cases Kurdish servants, and some 200 of them carry arms, 
 which they are made to employ as an advance guard for the timid 
 Persian troops which occasionally visit the district. Mergawar and 
 Baradost are far less cultivated and inhabited, and the Christians 
 there are the abject subjects of the Kurds."
 
 18 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, was de- 
 posed and excommunicated for his heretical opinion 
 regarding the nature of Christ, namely, that He had 
 two distinct personalities, the Church of the East held 
 another meeting where Nestorius was pronounced or- 
 thodox. Since then, these Christians have been cut off 
 from western Christianity. They still flourished, how- 
 ever, sending missionaries far into China. The Church 
 reached the height of its vigour in the seventh to thir- 
 teenth centuries. It prospered externally under the 
 great Caliphs of Bagdad, and during the decadence 
 of the Caliphate, continued to count great numbers 
 in its communion, some of them Persian Tartars and 
 Mongols, but gradually lost its vigour. Under the 
 careless toleration given by Genghis Khan and his 
 successors it came for a time to greater prominence, 
 but finally was decimated by the massacres of Tamer- 
 lane which left of it only shattered fragments. In 
 the sixteenth century, these eastern Christians were 
 divided by a controversy over the Patriarchate. The 
 section in the plain of Mosul in Turkey went over to 
 the Roman Catholic Church. The rest, about two- 
 thirds of the whole body, in Turkish Kurdistan and 
 the Persian province of Azerbaijan, remained inde- 
 pendent, subject to the Patriarch, who resided at 
 Kochanis, in the mountains of Turkish Kurdistan. 
 The character of this venerable Church is well described 
 by the Rev. W. A. Shedd of Urumia: 
 
 The theology of the ancient Church of the East is, of 
 course, Nicene, with the addition of the Nestorian definition 
 of the relation between the human and Divine natures in 
 the incarnate Son of God. Definite and logical develop- 
 ment has not gone much farther, due partly to the character 
 of the Syriac mind, impulsive in initiative, and often 
 vigorous in execution, but not constructive of either theo-
 
 THE MISSION TO THE NESTORIANS 19 
 
 logical or ecclesiastical system. Another reason, perhaps 
 the principal one, is that the vital conflict of this Church has 
 not been with heresy or variations of Christian doctrine, 
 but with heathenism and Islam. On most theological ques- 
 tions, except the person of Christ, the Trinity, and the 
 authority of apostolic and Old Testament Scriptures, a 
 diversity of opinion is found in their literature. For ex- 
 ample, transubstantiation is both affirmed and denied. There 
 is, however, a practical tendency to replace simple faith in 
 the crucified and risen Saviour with some sort of sacerdotal 
 mediatorship. Still stronger is the tendency to trust to 
 legal works instead of living faith. The fast is the greatest 
 Christian institution; votal offerings, and pilgrimages to 
 shrines are most important auxiliaries. The priesthood of 
 the clergy in succession to the Levitical priesthood is recog- 
 nized, but the name commonly used to designate the clergy 
 is not priest, but elder (kasha or kashisha), the New Testa- 
 ment presbyter. The sacrament holds a high place in pop- 
 ular regard, and yet the fact that there is no confessional 
 deprives the priest of inquisitorial power. Vows to famous 
 saints are trusted means of curing disease and procuring 
 blessings. Religion is largely divorced from morals, and 
 has little power of moral restraint. The clergy are no 
 better than the common people in general morality, are more 
 given to idleness, and possibly more generally demoralized 
 by begging in Eussia. The higher clergy (there being at 
 present, i.e., 1895, the patriarch, one metropolitan, and eight 
 diocesan bishops) are, with a few exceptions, shamelessly 
 venal, and in some instances of notoriously evil life. Two 
 favourable points may be emphasized. 
 
 The authority of the Scriptures has never been impugned, 
 and is a holy tradition of universal acceptance; nor is there 
 any objection raised to the Scriptures in the vernacular. 
 
 The true catholicity of the Nestorians is the second point. 
 Protestant missionaries have been recognized as true minis- 
 ters administering valid ordinances. (Missionary Review of 
 the World, October, 1895, Article: "Relation of the Protes- 
 tant Missionary Effort to the Nestorian Church," p. 741 f.) 
 
 Dr. Grant maintained that the Nestorians were the 
 descendants of the " lost Ten Tribes," basing his argu-
 
 20 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 ment on traditions, physiological affinities, customs, 
 and institutions. His argument was not conclusive, 
 but probably nowhere else in the world is there such 
 a preservation of the atmosphere of the Old Testament 
 and the institutions and customs of Bible life as among 
 this small people whose Christianity runs back to the 
 dawn of the Christian era, and who, with the Arme- 
 nians, for twelve centuries have held their faith against 
 Moslem tyranny and persecution. 
 
 The Nestorians are a warm-hearted, childlike people, 
 patient, dignified, too disposed to dependence, but 
 attractive and lovable. The entire nation does not 
 number more than 100,000. Perhaps a third of these 
 now reside in Persia, the remainder across the borders 
 in the Turkish mountains. These mountain Nestorians 
 are a wild people, living among the Kurds and often 
 at war with them, bold, hardy, rough, and vigorous, 
 and yet in some of the valleys broken by oppression 
 and so wretched as to be ready to accept any help or 
 resort to any plan of profit. 
 
 The beginnings and development of the mission work 
 among the Nestorians were traced by Dr. J. P. Cochran 
 himself in a paper which he read in Urumia in 1898 
 on the thirtieth anniversary of the entrance of Miss 
 Cyrene Van Duzee upon her missionary life : 
 
 The American Board, in the spring of 1831, commissioned 
 Messrs. Dwight and Smith, of Constantinople, to visit the 
 Nestorians, and to learn what they could of them. When 
 these gentlemen reached Urumia, the plague was raging, 
 most of the population was panic-stricken, and it was not 
 deemed advisable for them to tarry long. They visited the 
 Tillages of Gavelan, Kosi, Geogtapa, Ada, Ardeshai, and 
 Teka. This plague had followed in the wake of the Russo- 
 Persian War of 1828-9. The Shah had lost the larger 
 part of his Armenian subjects, and with the returning 
 Russians not a few Nestorians with their families, had
 
 THE MISSION TO THE NESTOBIANS 21 
 
 made good their escape. The visit of these two holy men, 
 and especially at such a time, was like that of angels 
 to these people, to whom never before had any one come 
 with a message of peace and love and sympathy from 
 the Christians of the new world. The report to the Pru- 
 dential Committee was such that steps were immediately 
 taken to procure competent men to establish " A Mission 
 to the Nestorians." It was not until 1833 that a suitable 
 man was found to fill a post which required so much 
 of privation, exposure, prudence, wisdom, and above all, 
 of unwavering faith and deep piety. Of Mr. Justin Per- 
 kins, then a tutor at Amherst, who was appointed with 
 his wife, and embarked in the little sailing ship bound from 
 Boston to Smyrna, in September, 1833, you know; and 
 how they spent that first winter in Constantinople, coming on 
 the following spring by Trebizond and Erzroom. The 
 Kurdish disturbances among the districts where you have 
 toured and done so much work in the first of your mis- 
 sionary life, made it necessary for them to strike across 
 into Russian territory, where they met a foe not much less 
 dangerous, and if anything, more annoying. What with 
 quarantine and suspicious officials, and an unsettled country, 
 recently acquired and with scarce any organization, they 
 only barely escaped into Persia. Here again the serious 
 sickness of Mrs. Perkins wellnigh broke up the Mission. . . . 
 Accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Haas of the Basle Missionary 
 Society, working in the Caucasus, Mr. Perkins visited 
 Unimia in November, 1834. He soon returned to Tabriz, 
 accompanied by Mar Yohannan and Kasha Oraham. The 
 winter was spent in study. In 1835 Mr. Merrick was sent 
 out to work among the Moslems, and Dr. and Mrs. Grant 
 for the Nestorians. In November, 1835, this little party, 
 Dr. and Mrs. Perkins, and Dr. and Mrs. Grant, entered 
 Urumia. It was raining drearily, and the plaster was peel- 
 ing off the walls and littering up the streets and yards very 
 much as it does now, and the water-spouts were pouring 
 off the muddy water. They came right to these premises, 
 and very shortly after, opened the first school in the front 
 basement of one of the present mission houses. We, 
 to-day, may well praise God that the establishment of our 
 Mission was committed to such as they. So, too, the pioneers
 
 22 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 that followed were worthy men. Shall we look for a moment 
 at the condition in which our first missionaries found the 
 people? . . . For ages they had but barely held their own, 
 nearly crushed by Moslem and Papal enemies. There were 
 no merchants among them, and but few common artisans; 
 all were peasants. They had no books in the spoken lan- 
 guage, and only those read the ancient language who were 
 priests or deacons. But one woman in the whole nation 
 could read, and she but poorly the Patriarch's sister. This 
 then was the condition of the great Syrian Church that 
 once numbered its twenty-five Metropolitans and sent mis- 
 sionaries all over Asia. The welcome which was given to 
 the Russian priests a few months ago was a mere circum- 
 stance to that which was extended to our missionaries. 
 To-day the scholars in our own schools number nearly 
 3,000, but the example and influence of our educational 
 work has not been limited to our own community, for in 
 all the villages of Urumia schools are the common thing 
 now. Many adults have learned to read, chiefly in the 
 Sabbath schools. 
 
 The Press, which began its mission in 1844, has ever since 
 that time been active in the dissemination of helpful litera- 
 ture: the Old and New Testaments in the spoken language, 
 text-books, commentaries, periodicals, and pamphlets. A 
 glance at the results of the evangelistic labours speaks for 
 itself. Probably about 5,000 souls have joined our Church 
 since the first communicants were recorded, twenty years 
 after the establishment of the Mission. 
 
 Dr. Dwight, who revisited TJrumia in 1861, just thirty 
 years after he and Mr. Smith had first seen TJrumia, after 
 attending the first Knushya which was held by the Mission 
 and people, remarked : " I liked the appearance of the 
 preachers; I admired the spirit of many of them, and was 
 moved by the fire of their eloquence, though I understood 
 them only through an interpreter." From that time to this 
 many strong men, and eloquent, have been added to their 
 number. I remember very well the impressive and eloquent 
 sermon preached by Deacon Yonan upon the death of Dr. 
 Perkins, as well as the thrilling speeches which others made. 
 Nor are the rich fruits of this work confined to the edu- 
 cated. Many and many an obscure man and woman have
 
 THE MISSION TO THE NESTORIANS 23 
 
 been regenerated, and after living a life of faith and simple 
 trust, have triumphantly joined the redeemed above. Aside 
 from our own field the work was opened in other stations. 
 In '72, Teheran; in '73, Tabriz; in '82, Hamadan, and 
 in 1884, Salmas. In 1880 the first hospital of any kind 
 in Persia was opened. 
 
 The changed position of the educated natives in their 
 relation to government officials and to the land proprietors, 
 is one of the most striking and, perhaps, remarkable of all 
 the great changes that have taken place. This is especially 
 true of the medical men who have attained a standing among 
 the local officials which could never have been dreamed of by 
 the most enthusiastic native friend of the Mission at its 
 establishment. 
 
 All of the changes, as we know too well, have come after 
 hard, unceasing work, and after battling against the powers 
 of darkness that have been arrayed against our Mission. 
 In the winter of '45-6 clouds of persecution arose, shutting 
 in the whole sky. Mar Shimon, driven to Urumia by the 
 terrible massacres of Badir Khan Beg and Nurullah Beg, 
 left no stone unturned to have our Mission banished. Many 
 of the Khans of the place joined him in petitioning the 
 government against us. Orders were secured to close our 
 schools. The Governor came in person to our premises, 
 and closed the press. In many a village and hamlet fervent 
 prayers were being offered for the integrity of the work. 
 The malicious reports reached the ears of the Shah. The 
 British and Russian ambassadors expressed a doubt as to 
 our being able to remain where so many had sealed the 
 petition against us. 
 
 At this crisis, and after everything that human ingenuity 
 could think of had been done, the dauntless pioneers who 
 had never for a moment lost faith in their cause, assembled 
 for special prayer. The footman, who used to bring the 
 mail from Tabriz, was overdue. Fears were entertained that 
 this mail, of all others, was robbed, but even while they 
 were yet speaking, a knock was heard on the gate, and the 
 letters from Teheran and Tabriz, so anxiously looked for, 
 were received. God had answered the prayers of his serv- 
 ants. The tables were turned. The Governor was ordered 
 to send Mar Shimon to Tabriz, and to give the spiritual
 
 24 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 teachers from a distant land full right to continue the work 
 of their schools and press. As a further seal of God's 
 approval of and blessing upon the work some of the richest 
 revivals followed, revivals which produced the profoundest 
 impression upon outsiders as well as upon our own com- 
 munity. Once more, some years later, this same Askar 
 Khan closed the press. Not many days later, when com- 
 manding an expedition against a powerful, rebellious chief 
 in Mergawar, he was assassinated in his tent. Moslems 
 and Christians looked upon this as direct judgment for his 
 enmity to the "People of God." His brother, the Ikbal e 
 Dowleh, and all his immediate relations, have ever since been 
 among the Mission's fast friends. 
 
 . . . And yet again, we see the mercy of God shown 
 to the missionaries in the fact that thousands upon thou- 
 sands of miles have been travelled by them through deserts, 
 oter the roughest mountains, amid perils of robbers, and 
 perils of avalanches, and perils of rivers, yes, and even perils 
 of wild Nestorians, and yet in no such journey has any one 
 lost his life by accident or violence. 
 
 On the last Sabbath which Dr. Perkins spent in Persia, 
 in June, 1869, he was asked : " Looking back over these 
 thirty-six years, have you seen as great results as you ex- 
 pected ? " He replied : " Far more. I expected to see a 
 congregation or two gathered, but God has given revivals, 
 and has raised up preachers, and gathered in harvests of 
 souls. He has been better than my faith." 
 
 The writer of this account did not live to fill out his 
 full thirty years of service in Persia, but he fell only 
 a little short, and in power and fruitfulness the life 
 that he did live was rich and was complete.
 
 Ill 
 
 ON June 21st, 1847, Joseph G. Cochran and his 
 wife sailed from Boston on the little sailing ves- 
 sel, "Bark Catalpa," bound for Malta. In 
 sixty-two days after leaving Boston they reached 
 Smyrna. Two weeks more brought them to Constanti- 
 nople. From Smyrna to Malta is now a journey of 
 fourteen hours. The Atlantic passage had been hard 
 for Mrs. Cochran, and when they reached Erzroom, 
 where the cholera was bad, she was taken sick with 
 it, and as winter had set in, they decided to spend 
 the winter here instead of going on to Urumia. The 
 mission house overlooked the cemetery, and Mrs. 
 Cochran used to say that the fighting of the dogs and 
 wolves at night over the dead bodies which they easily 
 dug out of the shallow graves did more than anything 
 else to make her determined to live to get to Urumia. 
 Mr. Cochran spent the winter studying Syriac with a 
 Nestorian preacher who had been sent over to meet 
 him. In March their first child was born, and late in 
 the summer of 1848 they reached Urumia. 
 
 Mr. Cochran worked among the Nestorians for 
 twenty-three years. His special work was the train- 
 ing of the native preachers, and into this he threw all 
 his ardent nature, sending out men bearing his impress 
 far and wide over Persia and Kurdistan. On Sundays 
 and in vacations and when the Seminary was not in 
 
 25
 
 26 JOSEPH PLUMB GOCHBAN 
 
 session, he was off in the villages or among the moun- 
 tains in Turkey, while at home, in addition to the work 
 of teaching, he prepared the text-books for printing 
 and saw them through the press, rising early to do 
 this before the other work of the day had begun. He 
 was one who never spared himself, and who indulged 
 in no self-praise and sought no praise from others for 
 hard work and faithfulness to duty. 
 
 Some recollections of one of the daughters will 
 illustrate his spirit and methods of work and show 
 something of the character of the home life in which 
 Joseph, his son, grew up: 
 
 The memories of my father always vividly recall the 
 Sabbath days of my childhood. He was strenuous in his 
 observance of the holy day. Each hour had its religious 
 exercise or appointment. During the term time of the 
 college many of the Sabbaths were devoted to class and in- 
 dividual conferences and talks. But often he visited one or 
 more of the villages in his care. We children took our turns 
 in going with him. It was never hard for me to rise, 
 however early it might be necessary to start. Father would 
 ride on horseback, and for a time I had my place on the 
 saddle-cloth behind him. Our tried and true Pera would 
 accompany us on another horse. I remember one Sabbath 
 we started before light, and as we watched the day dawn 
 and the sun brighten, then blaze over the beautiful lake, 
 father compared the splendour of the scene to the work of 
 the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in his wings. 
 I was so impressed with such words of his that once when 
 I heard a native speak of a journey he took before the 
 missionaries arrived, I impetuously asked how he could see 
 to travel. I couldn't realize that there was any light at 
 all before the gospel was preached. 
 
 Sometimes it took us hours to reach our destination; but 
 they were happy hours to me. I enjoyed father's talk. 
 On these trips I learned much of his early life. But he 
 never forgot the day, and would only speak of the Sabbaths
 
 HIS MISSIONARY PARENTAGE 27 
 
 in his boyhood, and his religious experiences then and at 
 Amherst College and Union Theological Seminary, and how 
 he came to decide to be a missionary. 
 
 Sometimes we met others on the way, and after the usual 
 formal Oriental salutations, the conversation would lead to 
 a religious topic. Often the effects of Christianity in the 
 United States would be the theme, and my imagination 
 pictured a land where "every prospect pleases," and every 
 man was good. 
 
 Arriving at the village, if there was a church, and the 
 native pastor had been one of father's pupils, we received 
 a most hearty welcome. The services would often be in the 
 one living-room of the mud and stone parsonage, and later 
 we sat around a wooden tray, and had dinner on the floor, 
 and father, faithfully using every minute, would ask ques- 
 tions about the pastoral work; often a case of discipline 
 would be discussed. Sometimes individuals would be sent 
 for, and before mounting his horse and saying good-bye, 
 he would bring about a reconciliation between disaffected 
 members. 
 
 If the distance permitted, we went to a second village 
 for afternoon service. 
 
 When I was not the one to go with father, I, with the 
 other children left behind, would eagerly watch for his 
 return. Toward night we would often go upon the roof to 
 scan the road, and when we saw the well-known horsemen, 
 mother would allow us to run out a little way to meet them. 
 Father would often be very tired, and as he rested on the 
 lounge, we children gathered around him and heard his 
 story of the day's work. There were always incidents of 
 interest, often pathetic, sometimes tragic. 
 
 After our simple Sunday night supper, we always had 
 our family service. We had questions in the old Catechism 
 to answer, and each of us children had to recite a hymn 
 and some passages of Scripture, and then we sang, each in 
 turn making a selection. Among father's favourites were, 
 " Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah," " O Thou in whose 
 presence my soul takes delight," and " There is a fountain 
 filled with blood." In 1862, the Sabbath after sister Mary 
 had started for the United States, father chose "I'm a 
 pilgrim and I'm a stranger," and as he sang it his voice
 
 28 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 trembled and his eyes filled with tears. We knew he felt 
 that the expected breaking up of the family had begun. 
 
 One of my father's habits was having at regular intervals 
 a personal private talk with each child, in which he ques- 
 tioned their spiritual condition. When I had been naughty 
 I dreaded these interviews, but some of them were happy 
 even then, and they are precious memories now. 
 
 I think of mother as the most generous person I ever saw. 
 She gave of her sympathies, her strength, her self, her 
 possessions. Her life was one of loving service to others. 
 
 During a terrible famine that I can remember, mother 
 gave and gave until she suffered from the lack of what she 
 had given. One day, a poor woman came to the door. In 
 her arms was a baby which she tried in vain to cover by 
 the miserable rags that but partly concealed the skin and 
 bones of her own thin skeleton of a body. Mother looked 
 around. She dared not spare another garment. I had just 
 finished a little patchwork quilt for my doll's bed. Mother 
 asked if I would give that. The quilt was my pride. I 
 hesitated, but gave it. Mother sewed some bits of tape on 
 one side, and tied it around the shivering little form. 
 
 Mother was the soul of hospitality. The visits of her 
 brother and sister missionaries gave her great joy. She 
 tried to make our mountain home at Seir, six miles from 
 the city, a resting place to the weary workers. I was very 
 young when Miss Fidelia Fiske came up from TJrumia one 
 day, and said to mother, "Your home is the best place for 
 a little vacation, and so I had to come." I remember many 
 such tributes from the early missionaries, now saints above. 
 She was a true mother to the native pastors and their wives. 
 A loving greeting and a seat at the table were always ready 
 for them. She warmly welcomed the schoolboys, her native 
 neighbours, and the distant villagers. Few there were who 
 came to her door and left unbidden to enter. 
 
 Mother held regular mothers' meetings with the women 
 of the village, and often I have sat on the floor and heard 
 her pleasant, helpful talks in which her own early home 
 training came in for its share in illustrations. 
 
 The sick in the village received her tender ministrations. 
 We children often went with her as she took needed nourish- 
 ment, or something to make a patient more comfortable.
 
 HIS MISSIONARY PARENTAGE 29 
 
 She would give directions for baths and clean garments, 
 and often would sit by the sufferer and, gently soothing, 
 give cheer and courage. 
 
 Of mother it might always have been said, 
 
 " She doeth little kindnesses, 
 Which most leave undone, or despise; 
 For naught that sets one heart at ease, 
 And giveth happiness or peace, 
 Is low-esteemed in her eyes." 
 
 Mr. Cochran's only furlough in America during his 
 twenty-three years of missionary service was in 1865-7. 
 In July, 1865, he and Mrs. Cochran and five of their 
 children, the oldest having preceded them to America, 
 returned to the old homestead at Springville, after 
 eighteen years' absence. The winter was spent in 
 Buffalo. While at home Mr. Cochran temporarily filled 
 the pulpit of the church at Glenwood, N. Y. He did 
 this with such satisfaction to the people that he was 
 called to the pastorate. His friends brought all their 
 powers of persuasion to bear upon him to induce him 
 to accept. They urged that after his long service in 
 the mission field, he should remain at home and look 
 after the education of his children. He was deaf to 
 all such persuasion. It was his duty to return to Per- 
 sia, and nothing could turn him aside. On July 17th, 
 1867, he and Mrs. Cochran and four of the children 
 including the two boys, Joseph and Theodore, sailed 
 from Boston. Mr. Cochran never returned to Amer- 
 ica again. 
 
 He threw himself at once on his return into his 
 work in Urumia and over the border in Turkey. 
 
 Besides being an indefatigable evangelist and an 
 enthusiastic teacher, Mr. Cochran had earnest convic- 
 tions on mission policy. The missionaries had come
 
 30 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 out to the Nestorians under instructions to work within 
 this ancient Church with a view to its reformation. 
 It was hoped that the Old Church could be kept intact, 
 with its organization and forms undisturbed save so 
 far as they would inevitably be modified by a new 
 spirit of life within. For years the missionaries 
 sought to follow out this policy. But it was hard to 
 put new wine into old bottles, and the new cloth sewed 
 on the old garment made the rent worse. The evan- 
 gelical element in the Old Church was not content 
 under the old forms, and the element in the Church 
 which had rejected the evangelical spirit and the true 
 life resisted the new influence. In consequence, Mr. 
 Cochran and some others, natives as well as mission- 
 aries, believed that the only right course was to make 
 a complete severance. The missionaries differed in 
 opinion on the subject. Dr. Perkins was conservative. 
 Mr. Cochran was the radical. His desire was, as Dr. 
 Labaree said, " to see a more complete and formal 
 separation of the evangelical Nestorians from the Old 
 Church a more thorough sundering of every tie which 
 united the Reformed Church to the corrupt and effete 
 system out of which it had gradually emerged. To 
 build up a Church untrammelled with dry remnants 
 of a hierarchy or of superstition, organized for self- 
 direction and self-support, was the aim of his mis- 
 sionary life, to which he gave himself with peculiar 
 earnestness in his later years." With the aim of self- 
 direction and self-support his son after him entirely 
 sympathized and believed also that on the whole the 
 missionaries had pursued the only possible course in 
 promoting the separation of the evangelical body from 
 the Old Church, which indeed they could not have 
 prevented. The absorption of the Old Church in 1899
 
 HIS MISSIONARY PARENTAGE 31 
 
 by the Greek Church priests from Russia seems to have 
 shown how wise it had been to draw out a strong, 
 earnest evangelical body established upon its own 
 foundations. But Dr. Cochran always regretted keenly 
 the consequences of this separation, the constriction 
 of influence in the Old Church which it involved and 
 its other inevitable and unfortunate effects, and would 
 have welcomed any way of escape from them. 
 
 In all her husband's work Mrs. Cochran was a tire- 
 less and devoted helper. She went with him occa- 
 sionally on his journeys, and her warm, affectionate 
 nature was a powerful influence among the Nestorians, 
 who are peculiarly sensitive to friendship. As the 
 children came into her home, more of her time was 
 required there, but no home cares ever prevented her 
 from taking a most active part in the work of the 
 Mission, and her home life was itself a centre of great 
 missionary influence. There was always a place at the 
 table for any visitor, and in times of need she shared 
 all that she had with the needy. As some of the chil- 
 dren passed on to be with the Shepherd of the little 
 children in His heavenly home, and their little bodies 
 were laid away in the quiet burial place on Mt. Seir, 
 and as other children went away for education in 
 America, and the home and its hearts felt the deep 
 tragedies of missionary sacrifice, the ministry of un- 
 selfish sympathy and love only increased. 
 
 Extracts from her letters to her children and to 
 friends at home will best reveal the character of Dr. 
 Cochran's mother and of the home life wherein his 
 own character was shaped : 
 
 MT. SEIR, February 14th, 1868. It is one of those wild 
 mornings with which the dwellers of Mount Seir are so 
 familiar. It blew and snowed all night. We can't see
 
 32 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 many rods from the walls of our snow-capped house. The 
 boys, well wrapped, started off with the messenger for 
 Mary's school at the city. I trembled to let them go such 
 a morning. I watched Pera at the gate making them snug 
 and firm on the colt. Our boys have become good horsemen, 
 and the animal loves them, laying his head on their shoulders 
 to be petted. Mary went down in the bright sunshine yes- 
 terday morning. Could we now look down upon the plain, 
 we should probably see a warm spring shower falling re- 
 freshingly upon it. However, we too shall have warm 
 weather by and by. I feel the dampness in the winter. 
 Our rooms leak more or less, the kitchen incessantly, and 
 the plastering keeps coming down. I often think of the 
 beautiful, neat, and convenient kitchens in America, and 
 think if my friends could see mine here, they would prize 
 theirs more than ever. . . . 
 
 We take tea at Mr. Shedd's to-night. It is the only 
 evening your father is free from his Seminary duties. We 
 hoped we would have a mail to talk over. Our monthly mail 
 was due a week ago, but has not yet come. 
 
 MT. SEIR, May 31st, 1868. It is a lovely morning. All 
 nature has on her most attractive dress, and the very birds 
 seem effervescing with happiness. The doors and windows 
 are wide open, and such a view as stretches out before the 
 two great windows in my room, it seems to me, cannot be 
 surpassed by any in the world. The descent from our moun- 
 tain home, the plain so green and beautiful, with here and 
 there a high, pointed mountain, looking strange and alone, 
 as though it had wandered away from its fellows. The blue 
 lake beyond, bounded by the lofty ridge of snow-capped 
 mountains on the other wise. I am never weary feasting my 
 eyes on this sight. The peculiarly clear atmosphere of Per- 
 sia makes objects quite distant stand out with wonderful 
 exactness. Above, in the blue vault, is the moon, apparently 
 a neighbouring planet, somewhat veiled in a white fleecy 
 cloud; on the whole, the Queen of night seems like a near 
 neighbour, and heaven seems nearer. A hush is upon every- 
 thing, and you almost fancy that you hear wafted upon the 
 breeze the music of that Home which invites all of earth's 
 wanderers. The house is still. Your dear father has gone
 
 HIS MISSIONARY PARENTAGE 33 
 
 to the mountains to meet the native pastors in a large meet- 
 ing. Mary is on her bed, for she has become quite an 
 invalid since receiving an injury from being thrown from 
 her horse. Josie and Theodore are in their room. Josie 
 is reading aloud to Theodore, and Emma sits by listening. 
 I am alone in my room. Half of my children are gone; 
 two in America, and two in the better land, " Sweet Carrie, 
 ' Suffer little children to come unto me ' " ; " Darling Martha, 
 ' For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven/ " cut deep in the 
 stones in the precious graveyard, on the hill near by, look 
 fresh as though my dear children had recently left me, and 
 seem indicative of the sorrow which will never be effaced. 
 
 In 1869 Mary was compelled to return to America for 
 treatment for the injury of the spine due to the fall 
 from a horse mentioned by her mother, and when it was 
 believed that she was dying, Mrs. Cochran was called 
 back in 1870 to be with her. She brought Joseph and 
 the other sister, Theodore having died in Persia in 1869. 
 The mother and Joseph and two sisters spent the win- 
 ter of 1870-1 in Buffalo, and the injured daughter 
 having recovered, Mrs. Cochran and two daughters, 
 her second and her yougest, left for Persia in August, 
 1871, reaching Constantinople September 4th. Joseph 
 remained in America for his education. Mr. Cochran 
 arrived in Constantinople to meet them the same 
 afternoon, having come from Urumia in ten days. The 
 ordinary travelling time from Urumia to Trebizond 
 was over three weeks. Mr. Cochran rode the distance 
 on fast horses in six days, sometimes galloping most 
 of the hours of the day. The year of Mrs. Cochran's 
 absence had been a very hard one for him. Deeply 
 attached to his home, and needing its checks and diver- 
 sions, he had only saved himself from utter loneliness 
 and sickness by unsparing toil. He carried all the 
 work of the Seminary, teaching and lecturing. Every
 
 34 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Saturday he went off for Sunday in the villages, work- 
 ing ceaselessly, and Monday was back at the Seminary 
 again. He could not be idle or permit himself to 
 escape from the preoccupation of work. The year's 
 activity and the absence of all his loved ones wore 
 heavily upon him, and he reached Constantinople thin 
 and worn and grey, after his exhausting ride, which 
 had been rendered necessary by the late closing of the 
 Seminary, leaving him only ten days for his journey. 
 As soon as possible they started back for Urumia, 
 but Mr. Cochran found time to repair a deficiency of 
 the past which his love lamented. There had been no 
 wedding ring when he was married. The ideal of mis- 
 sionary iife which prevailed then in many places 
 deemed such expenditure wrong. When a part of the 
 family silver was given to Deborah Plumb, the silver 
 sugar bowl and tongs were unanimously omitted from 
 the tea set with the words, " Of course missionaries 
 won't have sugar, so Deborah won't need these." In 
 more than one time of destitution later, Deborah went 
 without more than sugar, but Mr. Cochran was de- 
 termined to repair the lack of the wedding ring. How 
 he did it one of the daughters who was with him 
 relates : 
 
 We went to an Italian hotel in Pera for the night, and 
 my father came into my room and asked me for a piece of 
 cloth, and needle and thread. He would not say what for, 
 when I offered to sew what he wanted. The next morning 
 he was off a little while, and then came back, and together 
 we went to the house of Dr. Isaac Bliss. After three days, 
 we took the steamer for Trebizond, and then on horseback 
 the 700 miles. October 16th, my father was taken very 
 ill, and had to get off from his horse and lie down often. 
 Our guards had to hurry us along. That night we spent 
 at a village where Judith Perkins died of cholera in 1852.
 
 HIS MISSIONARY PARENTAGE 35 
 
 Toward morning my father asked my mother to light the 
 candle, and tell him the time. She did so, and he said, 
 "It is now October 17th, so it is your birthday." He 
 asked her for her scissors and his vest; then he ripped out 
 from the lining a white patch, the cloth I had given him, 
 and under it was a gold wedding ring. He said, " When I 
 married you it was thought a sin for a missionary to spend 
 anything for jewelry, and a ring was called that; now I 
 want to give you a wedding ring. I measured your finger 
 in your sleep the first night in Constantinople, and I meant 
 to give this to you on our wedding anniversary next June, 
 but I shall not live even until Christmas, so I give this to 
 you on your birthday." 
 
 The party reached Urumia October 19th, 1871, and 
 that evening Mr. Cochran conducted the station prayer 
 meeting of welcome. The next day he cleared up his 
 accounts of the journey, settled with the native 
 preachers with whom there were any financial rela- 
 tions, made his will, and then went to bed with typhoid 
 fever, from which he died on November 2nd, at the age 
 of fifty-four, the same disease and almost the same 
 age as in the case of his son thirty years later. His 
 mind in the last days was full of thoughts of the work, 
 and in his delirium he imagined he was talking with 
 the native preachers whom he loved and for whose 
 annual conference he was preparing. His last intelli- 
 gible words as he addressed this imaginary gathering 
 were, " Go forward," and " The subjects are exhausted. 
 In the morning we may disperse." In the morning his 
 work was done, and he passed forward to begin anew. 
 There was no telegraph in Persia then, and the children 
 did not hear of their father's death until the end of 
 January. 
 
 A few days after the event, writing to the children 
 of their great loss and of her future plans, Mrs. 
 Cochran said:
 
 36 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 When talking with him of the possibility of his removal, 
 I asked him what he wished me to do. He replied, " Don't 
 go home, stay here as long as you feel happy in doing so. 
 So much to be done." His wish to die here has been 
 granted, and he "fell with the harness on, in the height 
 of his usefulness," as Mr. Labaree remarked at his funeral. 
 After a short service at the house, we went to the chapel. 
 Mr. Coan conducted the services. Many of the native 
 preachers spoke. From the plain of TJrumia to Teheran, 
 and through the Kurdish mountains, down to the plain of 
 Mesopotamia are scattered preachers whom he had prepared 
 for the work. They told of his visits to their villages. 
 Days when cold storms of winter blew, he would arrive 
 towards night and, after resting a little, call the people 
 together and talk with them until near midnight. One 
 said, " No matter how early we rose there was a light in 
 Sahib's room, and when we looked in there he sat reading 
 the Bible, and then we knew from whence his strength 
 came." Several spoke of his son Joseph, saying, " He must 
 come to us, and take the place of his father." 
 
 NOVEMBER 10th, 1871. It is evening, and I am seated at 
 the table in the old familiar dining-room. I have worked 
 very hard all day, every little while I would be obliged to 
 sit down and give way to my feelings. I have spent almost 
 a quarter of a century in this dear old home with the only 
 man I ever loved; here, child after child has been born; 
 here three have taken their flight to the better land; here 
 has been all that to me has been embraced in the word 
 Home since I left my father's house. Everything in and 
 about the house seems sacred. 
 
 Mar Yohannan called the other day and wept like a child 
 as he talked of your father. 
 
 One of the preachers said, " We are all left orphans." 
 
 In the meeting of the Presbytery, which occurred last 
 week, many rose and stated that Mr. Cochran had been the 
 means under God of bringing them to Christ. 
 
 The natives are intensely interested to have Joseph come 
 back when his studies are ended, saying, " Tell him to come 
 and seize the standard which has fallen from the hand of 
 his father."
 
 HIS MISSIONARY PARENTAGE 37 
 
 Oh, my son, may you be baptized with the Spirit of the 
 Lord for this holy work. It is more to be desired than the 
 most honourable position among men. Could my children 
 be about me here, nothing would make my last days happier 
 than to labour on here as I have strength, and finally seek 
 my lasting resting place beside your dear father and the 
 three dear children who sleep their last sleep in our cemetery 
 close beside the only home I have ever known in Persia. 
 
 Further conference with missionary associates and 
 Nestorian friends confirmed her purpose to spend in 
 Persia the life which had been given to the work a 
 quarter of a century before, and deepened the desire 
 that her son should return to take his father's place. 
 To her children she wrote: 
 
 URUMIA, December 22nd, 1871. Deacon T. and Priest H. 
 were here to breakfast. We always have prayers in Syriac 
 in the morning, and in English at night. Deacon T. prayed 
 that you, Joseph, might return to fill, and more than fill, 
 your father's place, even as Solomon did David's. I said 
 Amen from a full heart. The eyes of all are on you as 
 much as ever were a people's on the son of their deceased 
 King. May they not be disappointed. 
 
 How different this Christmas from last! It seems as if, 
 if I did not press my hand upon my heart, it would burst. 
 I am looking over your father's letters. 
 
 JANUARY 1st, 1872. Those who revere the memory of 
 your father, Joseph, look forward to your filling his place. 
 Their enthusiasm is truly wonderful to me, and often it 
 seems to me a bow of promise that you will eventually be 
 welcomed back to this locality. But I am willing to leave 
 it to the Lord to direct, believing that you have committed 
 your ways to Him. 
 
 Mrs. Cochran went on with her work in Persia for 
 twenty-two years after her husband's death, and in 
 due time her hopes of her son's return were fulfilled. 
 On March llth, 1876, she wrote to a friend :
 
 38 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 It is Saturday afternoon. Everything is quietly settled 
 for the Sabbath. After looking after my work, sending 
 
 some comforts to B 's widow who is ill, I changed my 
 
 dress, and sat down to write. I am in what we call the 
 little sitting-room. It is what was the winter bedroom. 
 My "heart tightened," and I felt I must get into one of 
 the front rooms to sit. Now I sit by the window writing, 
 alternately looking off on to the plain, fresh from the spring 
 rain, and back on the cheerful fire. It seems so like the 
 fireplace in the dear old room at father's in Gowanda. It 
 is more than a quarter of a century since I left that father's 
 home, and my testimony now is that were I to begin life 
 over again, I would choose this missionary work. I would 
 only ask the Lord for a greater spirit of consecration. 
 Here I hope to welcome back my only son, and at last to 
 rest beside my dear husband in the sacred inclosure on 
 Mount Seir.
 
 IV 
 BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION 
 
 FROM his birth in 1855 until his father's return 
 on furlough in 1865, Joseph spent his life in the 
 family home on Mt. Seir, about six miles from 
 the city of Urumia. From the top of the mountain 
 there is a magnificent view westward to the passes 
 into the valleys running up into the Turkish mountains 
 and northeastward over the plain of Urumia and the 
 city and the blue lake. In the winter the mountains 
 were white with snow, and wood fires must be kept up 
 in the little stoves which the missionaries introduced 
 and taught the people to use. In the spring, hillside 
 and plain were covered with flowers, or green grass and 
 grain, and even in the hot summer and fall, when the 
 unirrigated country was barren and brown, the well- 
 watered plain of Urumia, with the gardens and vine- 
 yards and long rows of stately poplar trees, lay out 
 under the boy's eyes like a great Persian carpet. 
 
 As a child, Joseph Cochran was what he was also 
 as a man, unselfish, faithful, modest, capable, con- 
 scientious, and entirely dependable. "Josie and 
 Thedie," writes his mother of the two little boys one 
 October, " are getting in and piling the winter's supply 
 of wood." To a sick Kurd, she writes, he had just 
 brought in a great bunch of flowers which he had 
 gathered on the hillside. In a loving picture of the 
 family circle on a winter evening, she speaks of him 
 as working industriously over music. He was full of 
 
 39
 
 40 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 life and play, and in the childish games of the chil- 
 dren his favourite role was that of physician. Recol- 
 lections of his sisters reproduce the spirit and ways 
 pf his boyhood. 
 
 My earliest recollection of him is as a quiet, gentle boy. 
 He was always sweet-tempered. 
 
 When we assumed different characters in our plays, Josie 
 was invariably "Doctor Lyon." I remember the dignity 
 with which he would appear, wearing one of father's hats, 
 tipped back on his head, to prevent its covering his face, 
 and a long coat dragging on the floor. He would examine 
 the patient's pulse and tongue, and gravely administer bread 
 pills or salted water. The prescriptions were taken as a 
 matter of course. 
 
 Sometimes we played that the Kurds had attacked and 
 wounded us, and the doctor would be called to bandage the 
 cuts. He was skilful, sympathetic, serious, as he bound the 
 supposed gashes in our heads or on our hands. 
 
 It was always difficult for Josie to take a rough or boister- 
 ous part in a game. The character that was most natural 
 to him as a boy in his play was one in which he could serve 
 others with calmness and bravery in the midst of supposed 
 danger or suffering. Sometimes we built a small stone fort 
 under the apricot trees in our front yard at Seir. One or 
 more would be inside the low wall, with Joe as chief guard. 
 When the enemy appeared he would be master of the situa- 
 tion; but his fun was always within bounds; and there 
 were a self-control and a diplomacy in his manner which were 
 more effective than our stick swords and guns. 
 
 In 1861, while on a journey to Bitlis, our family were 
 attacked and robbed by a band of heavily armed and masked 
 Kurds. Sister Mary, unselfishly forgetting possible per- 
 sonal danger, pulled off her hat, and struck at the Kurd 
 who had cut our faithful Pera; I was sobbing and, thinking 
 death was near, begged forgiveness from one and another 
 for all my faults; true to himself, Joe calmly witnessed the 
 robbery, even to the carrying off of his favourite horse, 
 and when the Kurds were out of sight, he remained silent, 
 though visibly indignant at the outrage.
 
 BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION 41 
 
 I remember once, after he had escorted mother to Dr. 
 Perkins's house, his chivalrous manner attracted the notice 
 of that fine old-school gentleman, and he spoke of Josie as 
 a "young nobleman." 
 
 For the little store he kept, I remember also, that he 
 paid postage for virus that was furnished by the British 
 consul, and vaccinated many with my mother's pen-knife, 
 though he was a little boy. Every memory of him is pecu- 
 liarly sweet; he was full of fun and mischief, but always 
 anxious not to hurt any one's feelings, and would make it 
 right, if he thought he had. I remember how heartbroken 
 he was when the Rev. Henry N. Cobb pretended to be 
 jealous because Joe, a very little fellow, five years old, 
 snuggled in Mrs. Cobb's lap, and kissed her, most enthusi- 
 astically, every chance he had. He went off by himself and 
 cried, and when I found him, he said, " Katie, do you think 
 Mr. Cobb and God will forgive me. I didn't think he would 
 care if I kissed her, she is such a sweet lady. What do you 
 think I can do to make it right ? " 
 
 In 1865, Joseph went to America with the family, 
 and in 1867 returned with his father and mother and 
 two of his sisters and his brother to Urumia. On 
 returning he broke up the store which he had con- 
 ducted, called the " Diamond Store," and writes in 
 December, 1868, to an older sister in America that 
 he " had hens instead." At the time of writing this 
 letter he was setting out on a village trip with his 
 father, and he says : " I try very hard to do what is 
 right in everything," and " every " is underscored once 
 and " very " four times. 
 
 The great event of the year in those early days of 
 missionary life in such a remote field as Persia was 
 the annual arrival of the boxes from home. The Eev. 
 W. K. Stocking of Williamstown, Mass., who was a 
 boy in Urumia a few years before Dr. Cochran's boy- 
 hood, writes;
 
 42 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 Aside from annual gatherings of the Mission circle, at 
 Thanksgiving and Fourth of July, the event which furnished 
 us children the greatest pleasure was the arrival once a year 
 of boxes from America. How we would rush to the windows, 
 or down into the courtyard when we got the word, " the boxes 
 have come," to see the pack-horses, following one another 
 through the big gate from the street, each carrying two 
 boxes, covered with waterproof cloth, slung with ropes on 
 either side of the big pack-saddle, having come in that 
 fashion all the more than six hundred miles from Trebizond 
 on the Black Sea. We could hardly wait to have the water- 
 proof covering removed, and the boxes brought into the 
 house. Then the entire family, including the native domes- 
 tics, would gather about to see the packages taken out, one 
 by one. Many of the articles were those that had been 
 ordered, but there were also surprises from some of the loved 
 friends and kindred. My ! how our eyes danced at the new 
 clothing, or books, or toys. I can even now remember the 
 peculiar odour of the new things from America. America! 
 Why, to us children born in those eastern lands, whose idea 
 of America was that embodied in the new missionaries with 
 their new styles of clothing and bright pictures and books, 
 and some new articles of furniture, America was a veritable 
 heaven, containing everything beautiful, and good, and pure. 
 
 One of the earliest of Dr. Gochran's letters which has 
 been preserved is to Mrs. Henry H. Hale, of Buffalo, and 
 tells of the children's joy in the annual box : 
 
 MT. SEIR, URUMIA, April 5th, 1870. 
 
 DEAR MRS. HALE, We received your box last month, but 
 as papa was in a village, we had to wait till he came back. 
 He came about noon next day, and we went right to work 
 opening it; we were opening it all the afternoon, and towards 
 night we called the ladies and gentlemen of the Mission to 
 see all our things. 
 
 Emma sat down on the rocking chair with the little shawl 
 on her, which Mrs. Bristol sent her, with the doll in her 
 arms, and reading a book from her little library, which you 
 sent her. She lends her books, one by one, to the little
 
 BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION 43 
 
 children of the Mission. She wants me to thank you very 
 much for the beautiful little library. And I thank you very 
 much for the nailbrush you sent me. 
 
 Eddie, Mr. Coan's little son, who is about my age, is 
 going home next June with the Shedd family. I will feel 
 quite lonesome, as he is the only one about my age here. 
 As we hear so bad news from Mary, papa would be glad 
 to go right to her, and I would like to get into a school 
 there, but as so many are leaving, or about to leave, papa 
 thinks it would be wrong to go now, and leave the work here. 
 Good-bye. Your affectionate friend, JOSIE. 
 
 Joe's pleasures were not numerous, but the life was 
 wholesome and noble, and the boy learned self-control, 
 dignity, and courage. He knew how to handle horses 
 and to meet men. And in the Urumia Mission he was 
 taught to carry himself with self-respect and the re- 
 spect of his fellows, young and old. He knew what 
 danger and peril were, and he saw men and women 
 daily exalting duty and the fear of God above self- 
 interest and the fear of men. He saw no other ideal 
 of life in the mission circle, and dreamed of none other 
 for himself than a life of simple, self-sacrificing, joy- 
 ful obedience to the will of God. There were many 
 hardships but there was no murmuring, and the school 
 of character in the Urumia station was as good a 
 school as could be found anywhere. 
 
 In 1870 the hardest of all the hardships of missionary 
 life fell upon the Cochran household. The wife and 
 younger children came home to be with the older 
 children in America. As Joseph wrote, his father 
 thought that it would be wrong for him to leave with 
 them. So he remained. " The house is fearfully lone- 
 some," wrote the father in July, 1870. " All our rooms 
 wear a desolate look, but they remind me of dear 
 absent ones, and I love to be here. My bedroom is
 
 44 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 the most attractive. On the wall opposite the bed are 
 the pictures of all our family. As I wake in the morn- 
 ing, I fancy I greet their smiles and benedictions, and 
 I love to pray for each by name." The results of the 
 separation have already been told. 
 
 On returning to America this second time and again 
 taking up his home in Buffalo, Joseph united by letter 
 from the Mission church in Urumia with the West- 
 minster Church of Buffalo, and continued his mem- 
 bership there until in later years he took a letter of 
 dismissal to the Mission church in Urumia. 
 
 When Mrs. Cochran returned to Persia in 1871, she 
 left Joseph behind for his education, and it was his 
 good fortune to be taken into the home of Mr. S. M. 
 Clement, Sr., where he was regarded and treated as a 
 son and grew up as a brother with Mr. S. M. Clement, 
 Jr., now president of the Marine National Bank of 
 Buffalo, who was Dr. Cochran's nearest and dearest 
 friend. Mr. Clement, Sr., was one of the elders of the 
 Westminster Church, a quiet man, reticent and un- 
 assuming, of absolute probity and honour. Upon Mr. 
 Cochran's death Mr. Clement renewed his offer to care 
 for the son, and continued to deal with him as though 
 he were his own son throughout the seven years of his 
 preparation for his missionary work. Mrs. Clement 
 also was as a mother to him. When Mrs. Cochran 
 returned to Persia she took the lad to her heart, and 
 was to him ever, as much as might be, as his own 
 mother. While Mrs. Cochran was still in America 
 Joseph had begun his studies in the Buffalo Central 
 High School. He had started in within a week after 
 reaching Buffalo, and wrote in November, 1870, to his 
 father, giving an account of his work, and describing 
 to him the Regents' examination system and the state-
 
 BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION 45 
 
 ment required at the end of each paper : " I conscien- 
 tiously declare that I had no information of these 
 lessons by any one," etc. Any trust in honour always 
 appealed to his upright soul. He closed his letter, 
 " Give my love to all the natives and the Mission and 
 to the dear old horses and Dash. I hope you will keep 
 all these a long time yet." He spent four years in the 
 High School. And a classmate writes: 
 
 In the four years of our school life together, I never knew 
 a word of unkind criticism either of him or from him. 
 Perhaps the one explains the other. The slight foreign 
 accent and tinge of eastern "manner" of courtesy distin- 
 guished him from others, but never unpleasantly. While 
 one would not have called him brilliant as a student, he was 
 always thorough, lessons well prepared, no duty shirked. 
 His unusual experiences often made him see things in a 
 different light from his fellow-students, and with his keen 
 sense of humour, he added interest and life to recitations. 
 I am sure all his teachers liked him. With our dear old 
 Miss Eipley, he was a prime favourite. She explained to 
 him one day in her whimsical way, that she " liked him 
 because his shoes were always so well blacked." And she 
 was so amused when he returned from some mission she 
 had sent him on, to receive the penny she had promised as 
 reward. In the sciences he was particularly good, and 
 Professor Linden took pleasure in his evident, interest in 
 this work. Physiology was naturally a favourite study, and 
 our old " French lady " (the skeleton) and the little papier- 
 mache mannikin were factors in the beginning of our young 
 physician's education. 
 
 Being a " good " boy, Joseph was made monitor, and his 
 desk was in the hall outside Mr. Spencer's office, where he was 
 not under supervision, and the ringing of the bells for reci- 
 tations was his care. 
 
 Always fond of fun, at the proper times, he was a welcome 
 member of our picnic parties " down the river," and in the 
 many social gatherings among the young people. To me 
 his most striking characteristic was loyalty, not only to
 
 46 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 friends, but to principle, above all his own high sense of 
 honour. 
 
 When he had completed the High School course, he 
 was nineteen, and under the pressure of various cir- 
 cumstances and the need in Urumia, he decided to go 
 on as quickly as possible to a medical course. He had 
 always been fond of medicine. It had been his favour- 
 ite amusement to play doctor, and for years the idea 
 of studying medicine and of returning to Persia as a 
 medical missionary had been growing in him. His 
 mother wrote to a daughter from Urumia in 1868, when 
 he was thirteen, " Dr. Van Norden had your brother 
 Josie present to assist him a little in an operation he 
 performed on a native. Doctor thinks Josie a good 
 candidate for physician and surgeon, and Josie often 
 expresses the hope that he may in time return to this 
 country in that capacity." And when his father died 
 in 1871, nothing was more natural in his view or in 
 the view of all who knew him than that he should 
 prepare to take his place. This had been his father's 
 desire. After his death an unfinished letter to a friend 
 in Buffalo was found, in the last sentence of which 
 Mr. Cochran expressed the wish that his son should 
 " ever be brought under all the missionary influence 
 possible," and stated that he hoped and prayed that 
 he might yet see Joseph on missionary ground. He 
 saw it, but from above. After the father's death also 
 the native preachers of the Baranduz district, so called 
 from the river which waters this section of the plain 
 of Urumia, wrote to Joseph in Buffalo : 
 
 URUMIA, February 20th, 1872. 
 
 OUR DEAR BROTHER, Thou hast certainly not been for- 
 gotten at all by us, although we have not visited you by 
 the sending of our letters. But, still you are placed before
 
 BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION 47 
 
 our mind's eye as it were, and also, we ask ever and receive 
 answer about your health and work. 
 
 But since the death of your dear father, you even more, 
 as one would say, have been quite in our hearts. That 
 dear and pleasant father was beloved of us all. As we dwell 
 on the thought that he has been torn from us, our tears 
 mingle with the tears of your eyes. 
 
 And now, our beloved, know that our eyes are on you, 
 our wishes and our hopes are to hear that you have the desire 
 to prepare yourself to fill your father's place here. And 
 our prayer to God is that the mantle of your father should 
 fall on your shoulders, and turn, if it be His will, every 
 obstacle from your path, and prepare you for the work 
 unfinished that is left after the labours of your father in 
 the soil of Persia. 
 
 Jesus, with His hand so soft, wipe every tear from your 
 eyes, and comfort you in the midst of all your heavy sorrow 
 and anguish so heartrending. 
 
 From your brothers, the preachers of the Baranduz river. 
 And peace very great, and Godlike, I am pouring upon you, 
 I, Priest Hormizd of Aliawa, the composer of this letter. 
 
 Reach for Joseph to America. 
 
 Joseph demanded no miraculous revelation of duty. 
 He was not waiting for a " missionary call," mean- 
 while intending to use his life selfishly. He was quietly 
 going forward, as the character he had inherited, 
 strengthened under the influence of his home and boy- 
 hood, impelled him, in the path of self-sacrifice, use- 
 fulness, and courageous service. To some men the 
 heroic life is a matter of course, to be followed if 
 allowed. To others it is a painful cross not to be taken 
 up if it can be avoided. All his life Dr. Cochran did 
 the hard and heroic thing, sometimes the life-imperil- 
 ling thing, without ostentation or parade, with no con- 
 sciousness that he was doing anything out of the 
 ordinary. He simply saw duty clearly, and did it 
 quietly.
 
 48 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 In the fall of 1874, he went to Yale as a special 
 student, taking both scientific and medical courses, 
 but the urgent call from Urumia seemed to make it 
 necessary for him to omit everything but the necessary 
 medical training. On October 25th he writes to his 
 mother : 
 
 It is some time since I last wrote you, yet I have you 
 in my thoughts and prayers daily. 
 
 I am very busy indeed, giving all my time to medicine. 
 We have good opportunities here, there being the State 
 Hospital and Dispensary here. I presume I have seen 
 seventy or eighty surgical operations here so soon. I enjoy 
 very much being here with so many students 1,031. Wed- 
 nesday and Saturday mornings we have no recitations, and 
 usually go out to the park for some games. Then we come 
 home in a body, singing and carrying on generally. We have 
 class prayer meeting, too, Sunday and Tuesday evenings, 
 which are well attended and interesting. Then of course 
 there is the regular hazing going on. I being a Medic and 
 special scientific have not the fate of a common Freshman! 
 Still the hazing, though unpleasant, is not serious. I pre- 
 sume before this reaches you the Seir winter will be upon 
 you. Some January evening, when you and Emma are sit- 
 ting around the table in the old dining-room near to the 
 large stove, you may hear a knock at the gate, and find 
 that it is Mashadie with the mail. In this mail you will 
 find this letter and one for "your youngest." If it is not 
 interesting, it is full of love, and the writer wishes most 
 sincerely that he could be the knocker at the gate. I sup- 
 pose you will not be alone at Seir this winter. 
 
 The second year of the course he took in the Buffalo 
 Medical College, and the last year with his degree he 
 took at the Bellevue Medical College in New York 
 City. After the last examination he wrote to his 
 closest friend, Mr. Clement's son: 
 
 I am safely through all my examinations, and feel pretty 
 jolly over it. Last night I had my last Chemistry. Minges,
 
 BOYHOOD AND EDUCATION 49 
 
 one of the "Dubuque Twins," who was in Buffalo College 
 last year, went in to Prof. Doremus' slaughter house, as 
 he calls it, with me. This twin was in the same fix I was 
 in, and we two have happened together in Anatomy and 
 Chemistry, where two go in together. 
 
 Last night, as a topping off of my lucky career, Prof. 
 Doremus gave us quite a puff. He said that he did not 
 know that he cared to ask us any more questions (after he 
 had examined us a while), for we seemed perfectly familiar 
 with the theme. He said it gave him great pleasure to 
 examine us, which was more than he could say of the ex- 
 aminations in Chemistry of most medical students. 
 
 I, however, made one mistake in my four examinations, 
 and that was in Materia Medica. Prof. Polk wanted to 
 know the dose of Majendie's Solution. I told him; then 
 he wanted the strength. I answered, and as soon as it was 
 out I saw I was wrong, and said so. He laughed, and said, 
 " Guess again." 
 
 Well, this rather confused me, and I felt as if I could 
 not remember anything about it, so I said, "Professor, I 
 can't think of the strength, but I know the dose, so I can 
 calculate how much opium there is to the ounce, if you 
 will give me time." He said, " Yes, you could do this at 
 the bedside if you forgot it. I won't call it a mistake, 
 doctor; that will do." 
 
 Excuse this splurge of self-conceit, but I feel rather 
 elated, so some must go out else I burst. 
 
 I feel fully repaid for this steady, hard studying. 
 
 When he had his degree in the spring of 1877, he 
 went back to Buffalo and stayed until October, study- 
 ing with Dr. Miner, and working in his office and in 
 the hospitals. He studied pharmacy also, and later 
 dentistry, in order to be able to help missionaries and 
 others in as many ways as possible. He did special 
 work, too, on the eye, and spent a year in the Kings 
 County Hospital as house physician. He had no 
 money to waste. He says in one letter, " When you 
 asked for papers giving accounts of the (Downs) case,
 
 50 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 I had no money to buy them." He had walked from 
 his lodgings to and from the Medical College while 
 studying there, having worked out on a city map 
 the shortest route, three miles each way. He kept 
 up his attendance at church, and was a member of 
 a Bible class, and in his hospital work he had 
 all that he could attend to, especially with crazy 
 patients; but all his preparations were made by the 
 summer of 1878, and on June 10th, 1878, he was ap- 
 pointed a missionary to Persia by the Board of Foreign 
 Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
 States of America, the American Board having trans- 
 ferred the Mission to the Nestorians to the Presbyterian 
 Board at the time of reunion of the Old and New 
 School Presbyterian Churches in 1871. 
 
 He did not go out alone. On August 21st, 1878, 
 he was married to Miss Katharine Hale of Minneapolis, 
 whom he met first in the summer of 1876, just after 
 her graduation from Vassar, while she was visiting 
 her uncle in Buffalo. After the wedding he remarked 
 quietly to one of her sisters, " I thank you very much 
 for not opposing her going with me. For if she could 
 not have gone, I should have had to go alone." They 
 sailed from New York on September 19th, 1878, on the 
 " Parthia," for Liverpool.
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 
 
 DR. AND MRS. COCHRAN spent a week or more 
 in England, visiting Chester, Stratford, and Ox- 
 ford on their way from Liverpool to London. 
 From England they went via Rotterdam and Cologne 
 to Berlin, where they stayed several days. They had 
 hoped to have plenty of time in Cologne to see the 
 Cathedral, but did not arrive till ten in the evening, 
 and their train left at seven the next morning. But 
 see the Cathedral they would, so they rose at five, and 
 had a view never to be forgotten of the glorious in- 
 terior in the dimness of dawn as it heightened to the 
 first rays of sunlight. After several days at Dresden, 
 they went on to Odessa. From Odessa they sailed to 
 Poti at the eastern end of the Black Sea, having the 
 pleasant experience of a calm voyage, and then from 
 Poti went up to Tiflis by the railroad which then ended 
 at Tiflis, and there spent a few days in getting equip- 
 ment for the journey, lodging with a Nestorian mer- 
 chant, one of the prosperous members of the increasing 
 colony of successful Nestorian business men and la- 
 bourers in Tiflis. 
 
 They left Tiflis November 3rd for Urumia, going by 
 way of Tabriz, and reaching Urumia City on December 
 2nd. The journey was full of interest to them both. 
 Its hardships were a little more novel to Mrs. Cochran 
 than to her husband who had spent his boyhood in just 
 
 51
 
 52 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 such villages as those through which their road passed. 
 But they both saw the humorous side of all situations, 
 or if there was no humorous side, they bore with light- 
 hearted Christian stoicism what had to be endured. 
 The insects of Asia of course awaited them at each 
 Russian post house. " It is disgusting," wrote Mrs. 
 Cochran, in her home letters, " but we reflected that it 
 could not be helped and resolved with Epictetus not 
 to allow such low animals to disturb the equanimity 
 of our souls by tormenting our bodies. I put the 
 cologne bottle under my pillow; Joseph perfumed his 
 with kerosene, and we slept as peacefully as babies." 
 To Erivan they travelled on the Russian post road 
 with the post horses: 
 
 RUSSIAN POST ROAD, November 3rd, 1878. Here we are 
 spending the Sabbath at this little Post station. It was 
 nearly five when we left Tiflis. People stared as we drove 
 through the streets with our horses four abreast. Our 
 driver was a fiery little Russian who wanted to whip every 
 man, woman, child, or beast who interfered with our progress. 
 I never had even imagined streets so utterly wretched and 
 filthy as those through which we passed. Loaded donkeys 
 would block our way, and the driver laid his whip on them 
 to right and left. So we rattled along, Lazar blowing his 
 whistle, and the driver yelling until we met a whole caravan 
 of camels. One of the camels was kneeling to be loaded. 
 It did not suit our Russian to wait for that process, so 
 after a yell at its driver, he jumped down, and flew at the 
 man with doubled fists. The camel got up, and we passed 
 on. Whenever there was a chance, this maniac gave a crack 
 of his whip on some one. 
 
 I wish you could see Lazar as he has arrayed himself for 
 the journey. The tops of bis boots are turned down nearly 
 to his ankles, showing the red linings. His trousers are 
 grey, partly of leather for riding, the ends of them tied 
 down just below the knees with some white rags. He has 
 several shirts, as I call them (Persian coats, Joe says they
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 53 
 
 are), hanging below his black vest, which cause his coat 
 of European cut to stand out as if he had a short hoop 
 skirt. He wears a sword, which he uses for cutting our 
 sugar. I think it is too dull to injure a Kurd. Then his 
 red hair and his red and yellow turban crown all. He is 
 not over neat, but he does very well, makes good tea, and 
 I let him manage the culinary department pretty much, as 
 it is too much trouble to make him do my way. 
 
 It is perfectly appalling in going through this country to 
 realize how dark are still most portions of our globe! I can 
 hardly realize that the people here have souls, they seem so 
 nearly like animals. 
 
 From Julfa, on the Persian frontier, they rode on 
 horseback to Tabriz. From Tabriz Mrs. Cochran trav- 
 elled to Urumia in a takhtirawan, a box on poles car- 
 ried between two mules. 
 
 Of all the methods of travel I have tried in the course 
 of my existence that in a takhtirawan is a trifle the most 
 insecure. But it is stylish, no doubt. I am considered a 
 person of considerable importance by all whom we meet, 
 for only great people travel in this way. 
 
 I have a white mule in front and a black mule behind. A 
 mounted chavadar leads the procession, and another follows 
 on foot to keep the back mule in motion by continual beat- 
 ings and yellings. I'm sorry for that back mule! Poor 
 beast, he has to walk by faith and not by sight. All he can 
 see in front is blank boards, and when he comes to a muddy 
 ditch his imagination leads him to think it is an endless 
 sea of mire, and I don't blame him for now and then 
 refusing to set his foot in it, though it does make it rather 
 unpleasant for the other mule and me." 
 
 At Gavelan, a village a day's journey from Urumia, 
 at the northern entrance to the Urumia plain, Dr. 
 Cochran's mother and sister Emma met them. The 
 native pastor there had vowed a vow that Joseph should 
 eat his first meal in his house, and the vow was fulfilled.
 
 54 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 After a quiet Sunday in Gavelan, the party went on to 
 Urumia, where they were welcomed home before reach- 
 ing the city by native pastors and preachers and mis- 
 sionaries who had ridden out to meet them, and when 
 they reached the city, by the pupils of the boys' and 
 girls' schools and throngs of Nestorians. The people 
 greeted him as a son returning home, bringing him 
 presents of all kinds. Nearly all the pastors had been 
 taught by his father. They had known him as a boy, 
 and followed his studies in America with the deepest 
 interest, and now they welcomed him back with eager- 
 ness as one who belonged to them and to whom they 
 belonged. 
 
 His work began at once. At Gavelan the sick 
 thronged him on Sunday, neighbouring villagers carry- 
 ing their paralytics on donkeys as if a word of his 
 would heal, and the day after his arrival at Urumia 
 he began his medical practice with the patients who 
 had been already brought from far and near to await 
 his coming. His sister wrote a fortnight after his 
 arrival, " Poor Joe does not have time to breathe in the 
 city. His dispensary is thronged. It seems as if all 
 Urumia had become sick just as he came." 
 
 He knew, the Syriac, the language of the Nestorians, 
 and the Turkish, the language of the Mohammedans, 
 as well as the native scholars knew them and was able 
 at once to resume intercourse with the people after his 
 ten years' absence. Within a month of his arrival, 
 his mother wrote : 
 
 Joe has retained his knowledge of Syriac and Turkish, 
 so he needs only to study the Persian, the Court language. 
 It seems "easy for his tongue to lie down" to all of these 
 languages, the natives say; and they claim he speaks more 
 correctly and more naturally than we of the first generation
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 55 
 
 of missionaries. And although his return is that of a mis- 
 sionary's child, there is such a quiet dignity about him that 
 it seems all right, as if it were a thing which had always 
 been, that he preside in Mission Meeting and discuss the 
 questions that arise. All the Mission respect him, and the 
 children enjoy both Joe and Kate. 
 
 Yesterday some Kurdish chiefs and their escorts were at 
 our house to consult Joe. One had been here last week 
 with his sick son, and yesterday he returned filled with joy, 
 and expressing heartfelt thanks for his son's recovery. He 
 remarked, " Now I shall not throw my hand from off you," 
 and wanted Joe to visit him in his castle. He said, " The 
 doctor can walk in safety in Kurdistan." No one can do 
 this unless under the protection of this powerful chief. 
 
 The young doctor, not yet twenty-five years old, 
 stepped at once into such intimate and influential 
 relations as these with the most powerful men of the 
 land. His charm of character, his dignity, his tact, 
 and friendliness established him in the admiration and 
 confidence of the people of all classes. In a home let- 
 ter, after referring to their determination to live within 
 their modest missionary income, his young wife wrote : 
 
 Joe is not extravagant in his wants. He does like a good 
 horse, though, and is very particular about the way they are 
 kept. I really think it is remarkable with what dignity Joe 
 conducts himself here. People knew him as a boy; Pera 
 carried him when a baby, but never does he or any one else 
 treat him with the slightest disrespect. He is such a proper 
 youth, Joe is. I have to laugh at him sometimes, while I 
 secretly admire him for it. I know I worry him sometimes 
 with my democratic ways, but it is very trying at times to 
 conform to the code of etiquette of this country. 
 
 He was extremely careful himself from the outset 
 to conform to all the proper social ideas of the people. 
 He was recognized accordingly as a Persian gentleman, 
 and he had access as a welcome visitor to the highest
 
 56 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 homes, while he came, in time, to be almost idolized 
 by the poor, to whom he was as courteous and attentive 
 as to the Governor or the Crown Prince. 
 
 The trust immediately reposed in him by the great 
 men of the community was something of an embarrass- 
 ment and complicated his plans. His mother and sis- 
 ter had prepared a home for him and his wife with them 
 at Seir, and to this house they went, but it seemed 
 probable for a time that they would have to move down 
 to the city to care for a needy case among the nobles 
 of the province. Mrs. Cochran wrote, December 18th, 
 1878: 
 
 We are as undecided as ever where to locate this winter. 
 
 It seems that Khan, the biggest man in this region, 
 
 has always been very kind to the missionaries, granting 
 prompt redress for injuries, inviting them to his house, and 
 in many ways showing great favour. But he is a very 
 wicked man, has led a wicked life, has no control over his 
 passions, and drinks to excess. His hard drinking has 
 greatly affected his health and made him half insane. He 
 sent for Joe to come and see him soon after our arrival. 
 He feels dreadfully over his insane condition, and wants 
 Joe to cure him. The other day we were somewhat startled 
 by a message from him pleading that Joe would take him 
 up to Seir, promising to put himself entirely under his 
 control, and obey all orders (he knows that he will be for- 
 bidden strong drink). He says he will bring only two 
 servants, his wife, and a maid. It is a question what to 
 do with him. Joe thinks he can make him much better 
 at any rate by keeping drink from him, even if he cannot 
 cure him. It is a great thing for a rich Mohammedan of 
 high rank actually to plead to put himself in the hands of 
 Christians. If he could be cured, if he could be made a better 
 man, think what an opening for the Mohammedan work 
 here. It is a very, very puzzling question. 
 
 It is quite a show for these people to see me and my 
 mother-in-law together. According to their customs, when 
 the son brings home a bride, her mouth is covered, and she
 
 BEGINNING WOEK IN PERSIA 57 
 
 must not speak to her mother-in-law for years. She can 
 speak to her husband's young brothers and sisters, and all 
 communication with her mother-in-law must be through 
 them. The day we arrived, Mrs. Oldfather said her servant 
 came rushing up to her, and said, " The doctor's wife is 
 talking with her mother-in-law ! " You see, I am the first 
 instance of anything of the kind. 
 
 FEBRUARY 1, 1879. We have had quite exciting times of 
 
 late. About a week ago, Khan sent for Joe again, 
 
 and fairly plead with him to undertake his case. He held 
 his hand, and cried, and begged him to take him and try 
 him, if only for a few days. This Khan has been so kind 
 to the Mission that it seemed as though this despairing cry 
 could hardly be refused. 
 
 On Monday, Joe met the Governor of the city and several 
 
 of Khan's friends. He told them that he did not 
 
 think he could do much for him, but would try if they 
 wished. He stipulated that the Khan and his servants 
 should be placed entirely under his control, and power be 
 given him to use force if necessary. He said he wished to 
 take the Khan to his summer palace with only four servants 
 and soldiers to guard the gate. It seems that the Khan and 
 his friends thought they would not be safe out in the summer 
 palace, so it was decided to remain in the city. They gave 
 Joe a room, and he took over his travelling bedstead and 
 bedding. He caught a bad cold, as the room has windows 
 across one whole side and is heated only with a fireplace. 
 
 The Khan could not sleep, and had him up and down 
 several times in the night. Joe has three Nestorians there 
 to assist him and take turns in watching the Khan to see 
 that he gets no drink except what he allows him. He has 
 been accustomed to drink about two or three quarts of 
 arrack daily, and towards night he began to call for it again. 
 Joe went over after tea and played to him on an organ that 
 has been carried over from the Mission. Joe sang some 
 Moody and Sankey songs, and the Khan joined him. About 
 midnight he began to grow very wild, got up and dressed, 
 and went running about the yard, howling like a wild 
 animal. 
 
 Joe tried to persuade him to come in, but he would not,
 
 68 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 and told the servants to open the gates or he would kill 
 them. He told Joe he would kill him if he did not let him 
 go. At last he got out, and went tearing down the street, 
 Joe and his servants after him, through the mud and dark- 
 ness. The servants were all afraid to touch him, and so 
 were the Nestorians. At last Joe caught him, and the 
 bravest of the servants came to help him, and they got him 
 back home. Joe could not manage him alone, for he is 
 a very powerful man. He was quiet after that, being rather 
 exhausted from his ravings. Joe had concluded that there 
 is very little prospect of doing him any good, and certainly 
 will not consent to remain there unless he can have some 
 one to help him. 
 
 In the end Khan was taken to Europe for treat- 
 ment. Among the official class in Persia there is too 
 little regard for the prohibition of the Koran against 
 the use of intoxicating drink. These prohibitions have 
 been of great benefit, as most of the people are obedient 
 at least in this regard to their sacred book. But where 
 the influence of Europe is felt, as among the higher 
 classes, and in some places among the common people 
 where the nominal Christians of the old Oriental 
 Churches have set a bad example and fostered the trade 
 in wine and arrack, there has been a wide departure 
 from the total abstinence enjoined by the Koran. 
 
 For nearly a year Dr. Cochran lived at Seir, riding 
 down to the city for his work. Sometimes when de- 
 tained late, he would spend the night in the city, the 
 road to Seir having its perils from Kurds and wolves. 
 The Kurds were always the terror of the country and 
 of the missionary children. One of the Cochran chil- 
 dren when five years old had just repeated to her 
 mother one of the verses of " Hush, my dear, lie still 
 and slumber," when her mother asked her what " brutal 
 creatures " were. The little one replied, " People who 
 have no hearts, like the Kurds." No one came closer
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 59 
 
 to the Kurds than Dr. Cochran or acquired so great 
 an influence over them, but they were the tragic back- 
 ground of his life and the cause of its early ending. 
 
 In spite of the disadvantage of distance, however, 
 he vigorously developed his work. On March 28th his 
 wife wrote: 
 
 This afternoon I attended Mission Meeting, which is always 
 held in Mr. Labaree's parlour when at Seir. This afternoon 
 each of the gentlemen made the quarterly report of his de- 
 partment of the work. Joe reported that since his arrival 
 in Urumia, four months ago to-day, he had seen sixteen 
 hundred patients, the majority of them Mussulmans. He 
 has had but two in the hospital, there not being accommoda- 
 tions for more. He has collected in the way of fees about 
 nine tomans, each patient being charged a few cents for 
 medicine. His five medical students assist him in some 
 things. For instance, they helped vaccinate a whole room full 
 of babies brought in last time. Counting them, Joseph 
 had over a hundred patients yesterday. 
 
 At Seir, in July, his first child, a son, was born. 
 Seir was too far away from his work, however, and 
 in the fall of 1879 he moved down into the city, where 
 he and Mrs. Cochran kept house, and where, in addi- 
 tion to his medical work, he had charge for a time of 
 the High School and the Guest Department. " The 
 High School," wrote Mrs. Cochran, " is really an in- 
 termediate department, a little higher than the village 
 schools and not as high as the Seminary. Only boys 
 attend, about twenty-seven in all, all Nestorians. They 
 come in from the villages on Monday and return on 
 Friday, bringing with them most of the food on which 
 they subsist. By the Guest Department I mean this. 
 When the different helpers, pastors, and others, come 
 to the city on Mission business, they have a room and
 
 60 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 food provided for them from Mission funds. Our 
 Mooshe has the care of these rooms and provides the 
 food, bringing in the bills to Joe." This Guest De- 
 partment was an enterprise of great importance and 
 value in a land where so much is made of hospitality, 
 and where kindness or coldness toward an acquaint- 
 ance or a stranger may gravely affect the opportunities 
 for the spread of Christianity. 
 
 What weighed most on his mind, however, was the 
 need of more adequate provision for the treatment of 
 surgical cases and cases of serious illness requiring 
 careful nursing. He had in the city only a small dis- 
 pensary with two beds, but no good bedding, for an 
 in-patient or so, and he realized that in the conditions 
 under which his work must be done, it was indispensa- 
 ble that he should be able to treat more. He did his 
 best in the circumstances, as his wife's letters show, 
 but he felt the limitation : 
 
 JUNE 16th, 1880. Baby was quite sick yesterday. Joe 
 came up last night to see him, though it was quite difficult 
 for him to get away. He has just performed an operation 
 on a little girl. This little girl fell and broke her foot some 
 time ago. A native doctor set it so badly that it mortified, 
 and Joe had to amputate it, just below the knee. If she 
 lives, the poor little thing will have to go on crutches, an 
 unusual sight in this country, for people are generally 
 allowed to die here if any such accident happens to them. 
 
 JULY 22nd, 1880. Joe was perfectly successful in that 
 operation on that little girl. It was an operation in which 
 over one-third of the patients always die. She is perfectly 
 well again. I think that is doing pretty well for a young man 
 all alone, with no one to consult, not even an experienced 
 person to administer chloroform. He has performed several 
 difficult operations here and been perfectly successful, and I 
 presume he will have more when he has his hospital.
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 61 
 
 In the summer of 1879 accordingly he sent home to 
 the Board the following appeal: 
 
 A HOSPITAL FOR PERSIA 
 
 Since arriving here last December I hare seen and treated 
 over 3,000 patients in the dispensary and at my house. 
 Persians, Kurds, Jews, Nestorians, and Armenians all come 
 together, listen to the religious service, and receive treatment. 
 Some come a distance of three or four days' journey, a few 
 even further. There is no skilled physician within 120 miles 
 in any direction; the native surgery is terribly rough or 
 barbarous, and the medical practice is little better. A Chris- 
 tian physician and surgeon has a vast field and a remarkable 
 influence. 
 
 But here arises a difficulty. Many cases I see but once. 
 Many do not follow directions. In some cases powders have 
 been given to be taken, one daily. The patients, instead, 
 have bolted them all at a swallow, saying the medicine 
 might as well cure at once as to take several days. One 
 man received a powder for an eye wash. He poured the 
 powder all into his eye at once, and came back, saying it 
 had burned out his eye. Still worse are the surgical cases. 
 Knowing it to be folly to perform an operation, and then 
 send the patient home for after-treatment, I am obliged 
 to decline nearly all cases. Sons and daughters of noble- 
 men and chiefs, as well as the poor, have thus been turned 
 away. There are several common diseases here that require 
 a surgical operation, and with this the greatest subsequent 
 care. It is injustice to them and to myself and to the cause 
 of Missions to treat serious cases in the way I have hitherto 
 done. 
 
 The present accommodations consist of two rooms in con- 
 nection with the dispensary. In these I have treated and 
 nursed patients on whom operations have been performed. 
 They are better than nothing, but are open to very great 
 objections. First, the accommodations are insufficient; sec- 
 ond, the place is not suitable for the sick. No sunshine 
 enters the rooms, and they are so situated that the necessary 
 arrangements for sewerage cannot be effected; third, it is 
 in our own yard, where the children of the Mission families
 
 62 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 ought to play. If the patients take an airing it must be 
 in this yard. These objections it is impossible to remove 
 without a new place. 
 
 A proposal. We have purchased a site for our college, 
 and the buildings are going up. The plot contains fifteen 
 acres of land, part orchard, part field, with five acres now 
 enclosed by a strong wall. It is over a mile from the city 
 gate on a slope facing the river, and in full view of the 
 mountains. Here are the best conditions as to air, water, 
 and retirement for a good school, and the same conditions 
 for a hospital. There is ample room, and the Mission 
 Station has set apart the necessary ground. The idea of 
 a hospital has greatly pleased all classes, and probably has 
 saved us from governmental interference thus far. If we 
 could assure all inquirers that a hospital will surely be built 
 it would be a better safeguard than a firman from the Shah. 
 The Prince Governor says that the Mussulman Khans and 
 merchants ought to help us build it. In favour of the pro- 
 posal are: (1) The need of a merciful and Christlike pro- 
 vision for the sick. (2) The salutary influence upon the 
 Mission work, especially in disarming the prejudice of the 
 Mussulmans, and showing to all the spirit of Christ. (3) 
 The benefit to medical students in connection with our col- 
 lege. I now have a small class. (4) A new dwelling for the 
 physician must be provided, and the Station thinks it is 
 better here than in the city. (5) The Station believes it 
 absolutely necessary, for the work's sake and for safety, to 
 have a second family beside that of the Superintendent of 
 the Seminary on the ground. It is an economy of mission- 
 ary force that the second man be the physician. 
 
 In case we have a hospital in connection with the Sem- 
 inary I would still have certain hours for labour in the 
 city, and continue the dispensary there as at present. 
 
 The cost of a hospital building need not be large, $1,500 
 or $2,000 would answer the present need. The running ex- 
 pense will be comparatively small. Some will be charity 
 patients, but the majority who come to us can either provide 
 for themselves or get their friends to defray their actual 
 expenses. So far we have received enough from the patients 
 treated to pay their board and nursing. I now have under 
 treatment at the dispensary a poor woman whose husband
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 63 
 
 works out by the day and earns enough to pay her expenses. 
 I have also a second patient whose friends contribute enough 
 to enable us to treat him. 
 
 The good women who have done so well for the Seminary 
 we hope can help us in this effort to do good to both the 
 bodies and the souls of men one highly approved certainly 
 by our Lord's example in His earthly life. 
 
 The Station heartily supported his plan : " Believing 
 it to be for the best interests of the missionary cause 
 in Persia, especially among Mohammedans, to estab- 
 lish a hospital, we heartily approve and recommend 
 the establishment of such a hospital as Dr. Cochran 
 proposes on the college grounds, and we earnestly hope 
 the funds may be granted at once for this, the first 
 charity of the kind, so far as we know, ever proposed 
 in Persia." These facts Dr. Cochran embodied in an 
 appeal to friends. Mr. Clement, Sr., gave $1,000 for 
 the hospital. The balance was raised in due time. 
 The hospital was begun in 1880 and finished in the fall 
 of 1882, and named after the church in Buffalo, " The 
 Westminster Hospital." Dr. Cochran described it as 
 " a good-looking building which will comfortably hold 
 thirty or forty patients aside from drug room, operat- 
 ing room, storeroom, etc." Medical work had gone on 
 steadily while it was building. " During the last win- 
 ter," he wrote in 1882, " we treated quite a number of 
 patients in the two wards then ready for use. I have 
 continued the treatment of patients in the dispensary 
 at the city once a week with an average attendance 
 of sixty, and have daily seen a number here. My two 
 medical students, who are doing very nicely, attend to 
 a large majority of the sick who come to see me, thus 
 enabling me to give nearly half my time to other work. 
 It is very noticeable how rapidly a change is coming
 
 64 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 over that portion of this community which sees more 
 of our methods of treatment, and the greater apprecia- 
 tion and confidence shown are marked. When the 
 hospital is opened in the fall much more of my time 
 will have to be given to the strictly professional work. 
 Every endeavour will be made to make this institution 
 a blessing to the land and to the cause." He included 
 in his work from the outset the training of some native 
 doctors to aid him in his practice among their people. 
 In his own letters Dr. Cochran alluded only modestly 
 and with restraint, as was his way, to the difficulties 
 which he had to overcome in beginning his work and 
 building the hospital, but his sister Emma who was 
 in Urumia during these years recalls them: 
 
 That winter's work, treating those who came to the dis- 
 pensary, and constantly going to the villages, convinced him 
 of the small results to be obtained by the hardest working 
 physician, without a hospital. The people were mostly too 
 ignorant to be trusted with strong drugs, arguing with more 
 logic than common sense that if a bottle of medicine, ad- 
 ministered a few drops at a dose, would effect a cure in a 
 week's time, the whole bottle taken at once would cure in 
 one day. Then again, in cases of very simple bandaging, 
 poulticing, or eye lotions, the dirty rags used at home would 
 quite undo all the good of the ointments or lotions given. 
 
 During the building of this hospital, Joe worked early 
 and late. Not only was be his own architect, but as he had 
 not men wbo could intelligently carry out his desires he 
 had to be over them continually. One can literally say that 
 not a yard of those walls went up without his supervision. 
 Often I have known of his returning from a visit in a distant 
 village to find that all tbat had been built in his absence 
 had to be torn down. Aside from the building and dis- 
 pensary work he was constantly called to the villages to 
 patients. In all weathers he never refused, going on horse- 
 back with a servant. On arriving at the bouse where the 
 patient lay he invariably found the yard and tbe flat roofs
 
 BEGINNING WORK IN PERSIA 65 
 
 crowded with people who had patiently been waiting to see 
 him, and he would go from house to house and listen with his 
 never failing patience and kindness to the long stories told 
 in the rambling way those people have. 
 
 I have often been with him on these days, and though 
 the sun might be getting ominously near its setting, and 
 we had many miles to go, perhaps in deep snow or slush, or 
 rain, as the case might be, I never remember his being im- 
 patient or refusing his aid. At this time, too, he began to 
 lay the foundation for those medical classes that were after- 
 wards to give so many native doctors to Persia, doctors whose 
 work has been little heard of perhaps, but who have brought 
 relief to thousands who otherwise could get no intelligent 
 medical aid. 
 
 I want to lay particular stress on what is to me the most 
 wonderful point in Joe's work. And that is his courage in 
 undertaking a hospital at all under existing circumstances. 
 Just think of the facts. There was no drug shop in the 
 country, that is, he must prepare all his own medicines. He 
 had absolutely no assistant, no one who had the slightest 
 training as druggist, or hospital orderly! There were no 
 nurses of any kind. One at all familiar with hospital work 
 with the conveniences, assistants, nurses, etc., that the mod- 
 ern physician, and particularly surgeon, considers essential 
 to the success of his work cannot but feel admiration for 
 the courage and strength, physical as well as moral, pos- 
 sessed by that young man. I know so often in the begin- 
 ning, before the hospital was really ready but when he had 
 one or two rooms, he would operate while a servant or school- 
 boy would administer chloroform. He would have to drop 
 his knife continually to feel the patient's pulse, and instead 
 of giving his undivided attention to the delicate work in 
 hand, he had to be listening to the breathing, watch the 
 pulse, and himself turn and select instruments as they were 
 needed, instead of having them silently passed to him by a 
 trained assistant! When the operation was over, he himself 
 would help carry the patient to his bed, as even for that 
 work he could not yet trust his kind but rough helpers, and 
 if it was a serious case, he would sit up all night, or at least 
 come in several times during the night. The prejudice to 
 all surgical operations, that and the fanaticism an unsuc-
 
 66 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 cessful one would arouse, made his cares and responsibilities 
 even greater than usual in such cases. I remember his 
 saying that he felt it would be wiser to refuse to operate 
 on any case the success of which was at all doubtful until 
 the confidence of the people in his hospital was won, for 
 at that early stage the death of a patient on the operating 
 table might have meant ruin to his work. There were sev- 
 eral cases that tried his resolve greatly, cases that he felt he 
 might help, but did not dare risk, and the refusal of which 
 gave him great pain. No one who had not been with him 
 in those days can understand the constant strain laid upon 
 him. What physician in Europe, however experienced, will 
 undertake a very complicated case without consulting spe- 
 cialists, or other colleagues? Here was a young man of less 
 than twenty-five, with little experience, and absolutely alone, 
 the only medical man for hundreds of miles, without a person 
 with whom he could discuss his cases. The other mission- 
 aries could turn at any time to others for intelligent counsel 
 in any question touching their work, be it theological or 
 educational, but he was alone. I remember so well his face 
 sometimes after a very hard and long operation as he would 
 straighten his back after long stooping, and with such a 
 tired smile say half seriously, " Be what you wish, but never 
 be a doctor in Persia." He always seemed plder after these 
 cases. He was not one of those who have the happy faculty 
 possessed by Napoleon of doing his work the best he could 
 and then throwing all care off. He carried each case on his 
 heart, and after a hard day's work, when he was so tired he 
 could hardly sit up, the light in his study could be seen 
 from our house opposite until late he was reading up on 
 some case that puzzled him. At the table, if a dish pleased 
 him, one often heard him say, " I shouldn't wonder if 
 Abdullah, or Nergis, as the case might be, could eat some 
 of this," and at once some would be sent up to the hospital 
 to tempt an invalid whose loss of appetite was worrying him. 
 
 During the building of the hospital Dr. Cochran 
 moved from the city to some rooms in the new college 
 building, and then to his own house, which was com- 
 pleted before the hospital and in which he spent all 
 his remaining years in Persia.
 
 VI 
 FAMINE AND BELIEF 
 
 THE margin of supply over want in Asia is always 
 narrow. The prevailing poverty of the people, 
 the want of exchangeable wealth, the rapacity 
 of land owners, the low average of food supply to the 
 individual, the inequality of opportunity and power, 
 the absence of means of communication, rendering it 
 impossible to carry the over-supply of one region to 
 the want of another, and the prohibitive cost of trans- 
 portation where it is possible, these are a few of the 
 many reasons for the repeated famines of Asiatic 
 countries. Even the fertile plain of Urumia has re- 
 peatedly suffered from such times of destitution. The 
 beginning of Dr. Cochran's missionary career was over- 
 shadowed by one of the most terrible of these disasters. 
 For two successive years there was a failure of the 
 crops, due to lack of rain. The scarcity and distress 
 which ensued were aggravated by the export of grain 
 for army supplies during the Russo-Turkish war. The 
 suffering began in Urumia in the fall of 1879. Mrs. 
 Cochran's home letters show what it was and what part 
 Dr. Cochran took in its relief. 
 
 NOVEMBER 2, 1879. We are going to hare fearful times 
 with the famine this winter, I am afraid. Already it is be- 
 ginning. Monday a mob of starving people rushed into the 
 bazaars, carrying off anything they could lay their hands 
 on. They also broke into the storehouses of wheat belong- 
 
 67
 
 68 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 ing to some wealthy Khans. The Prince is absent, and there 
 is no one to exercise any authority. I hardly think they 
 would molest us our past record is good in times of famine, 
 still an excited mob will do most anything, and our gates 
 at the city are kept locked, and barred. Beggars come to 
 us every day, but how can we feed and clothe all Urumia? 
 The native pastors are sending out a petition to the churches 
 of America for aid, and their petition will be endorsed by 
 all our gentlemen. Wheat is now $10 a load (about 340 
 pounds). Bread is the chief food of all the poorer families, 
 so they have provided for nothing else, and have nothing 
 now that wheat is so dear. Besides, owing to the dry weather, 
 other things that might take the place of bread are not to 
 be found. How can we see these people starving all around 
 us? One woman in this very village has sold her daughter 
 for a load of wheat. 
 
 JANUARY 21st. You will not become very well acquainted 
 with Joseph, I fear. I wish he could write more frequently. 
 He often speaks of it, and wishes he could, but still one 
 does not become much acquainted with him by letters. One 
 needs to live with him day by day to know how gentle and 
 patient he is, not only with his own family, but with all 
 about him. 
 
 The famine grows daily worse. We cannot see people 
 dying about us, so the Mission has voted to expend about 
 two hundred dollars weekly, hoping to return the money to 
 the treasury when we receive aid from England and Amer- 
 ica. Joseph has the whole matter in charge, but I hope he 
 will now be somewhat relieved from the constant run upon 
 him, for the money will be apportioned among the different 
 villages, and given to the pastor and committee under him 
 for distribution. We think aid ought to be given first to 
 the church members who are suffering, then to members 
 of the congregations, and afterwards to the Mussulmans, 
 who have not so much claim upon us. We try as far as possi- 
 ble to make the people work for the money. We buy cotton 
 and wool, and let them work it into thread and cloth, and then 
 buy it from them. Joe and I have a little plan to help some. 
 We propose to buy with the hospital fund some of this cotton 
 cloth and thread, then I will cut sheets, bed-ticks, towels,
 
 FAMINE AND RELIEF 69 
 
 shirts, etc., needed for the hospital, and give the work to 
 some poor women, paying for the making out of the poor 
 fund. Then carpets will be needed. We can set the moun- 
 tain Nestorians, who have come down upon us, at work upon 
 them. The money now promised for the hospital, however, 
 is not enough to furnish it, only build it, so we must raise 
 more. 
 
 JANUARY 31st. Christmas has again come and gone. On 
 that day our thoughts wander to the home land, and how 
 vivid becomes the contrast between Christianity and Moham- 
 medanism when, instead of the bright picture which memory 
 brings of gay shop windows, happy looking people with 
 mysterious bundles under their arms, merry children who 
 can hardly wait until the Christmas tree is ready, when 
 instead of family gatherings and church gatherings, instead 
 of the joyous quickening which comes to old and young 
 hearts on this anniversary of our Saviour's birth, one sees 
 black flags flying from the housetops and mosques, hears 
 loud wailing from all quarters, and the muffled drumbeats as 
 a large procession passes along the street, a procession com- 
 posed of men who are cutting and slashing their heads and 
 bodies with swords until the blood streams down, and many 
 fall from faintness. For our Christmas Day was the great 
 day of the Moslem month of mourning, Muharram, and 
 whoever dies on this day of the death of their great prophets, 
 is sure of going straight to Paradise. Thus they mourned 
 for the death of the earthly, while we rejoiced at the birth 
 of the heavenly. 
 
 There is enough wheat in Urumia to feed all until the 
 next harvest, but it is held by noblemen, who dole it out 
 little by little for an enormous price. 
 
 This wretched Persian government, even if it cared to save 
 the people, has no power to make these Khans give up their 
 stores. With very, very few exceptions, the rich in the city 
 are doing absolutely nothing for the starving around them. 
 If they go to the Governor for help, he tells them to go and 
 eat their children. 
 
 Yesterday, as my husband and myself rode along the street, 
 a Mussulman woman set down her water-jar, and pointing 
 to us, said to those around her, " I am a sacrifice to the
 
 70 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 religion of these people. If it were not for the missionaries 
 we would all be dead. Our religion cares nothing for the 
 poor." 
 
 Nothing more recommends the religion of Jesus to these 
 people than the fact that we foreigners pity the poor and 
 do what we can for them, while their own countrymen turn 
 a deaf ear to all appeals. 
 
 APRIL 1st. Oh dear, when will this dreadful famine end? 
 Flour is fourteen tomans a load to-day! About every even- 
 ing we hear men crying in the streets, "I'm hungry! I'm 
 hungry ! " Many die in the streets every day, and fathers go 
 around begging, carrying their dead children in their arms. 
 Yesterday a poor woman came to the house. She is a pretty 
 young woman, and belongs to a high family, the Nestor i an 
 Patriarch's. Her father was a highly esteemed helper. Her 
 home has been in the mountains. She said there was nothing 
 in the house, and there was nothing in the village, so she 
 and a number of others started to come down through the 
 deep snow for help. It was a desperate journey through the 
 snow; nine women died on the way. She left three children, 
 one a baby in the cradle. She caught my baby up in her 
 arms, and cried as though her heart would break. She is 
 starting back with some provisions, but I fear she will find 
 her children dead. 
 
 In June, 1880, Dr. Cochran reported carefully to 
 the Board. In his moderate and self-contained style 
 he wrote: 
 
 Since the last Station letter was written, nothing of 
 especial note has occurred in the general mission work. 
 We, however, could report progress frightful and rapid in 
 the ravages of the famine, were it not that you probably 
 are tired of hearing this old and distressing story. You 
 will pardon us, however, if we dwell a moment on this sub- 
 ject, since it is one that we cannot shut our eyes to, nor 
 forget. We can assure you that we are tired and worn out 
 with this long, constant strain on our sympathies. On the 
 other hand, it does us a great good to receive and distribute 
 the aid that is so generously extended to us from abroad 
 for the starving about us, and to see that this money is
 
 FAMINE AND RELIEF 71 
 
 saving the lives of many hundreds. Words cannot express 
 our gratitude to the kind friends of Persia, in America and 
 England, for the unexpectedly liberal offering to this object. 
 Is it a wonder that those nations are blessed above all others ? 
 
 But notwithstanding all that is done hundreds are dying 
 about us daily, many are left in the city and villages and on 
 the roads, where they fall, unburied. Their friends say, " We 
 are not strong enough to dig their graves; we, too, are 
 dying ! " It has even c<jme to this, in one or two instances, 
 that parents have eaten their children ! The desperate look 
 with which we are met by the famishing, the earnest pleas 
 and cries for bread are heartrending in the extreme. 
 
 The methods adopted for distributing alms and relieving 
 the distress, in a measure, are these: First. The Native 
 Charity Board is systematically engaged in ascertaining the 
 wants of the poor in the Christian villages, and carrying to 
 them the aid set apart for them. The funds placed in their 
 hands have, up to the present time, saved the Nestorians on 
 the plain from actual starvation, but now many are dying. 
 
 Second. Money is sent to the outlying districts. 
 
 Third. We endeavour to find work for those who can 
 help themselves in this way. On the College and Hospital 
 grounds a large number are kept at work. The amount of 
 work done by these half-starved men and boys is not very 
 great, but they are paid good wages and get their dinner. 
 At Seir this is also done for that village and those about it. 
 In a number of other villages a plan was just put into 
 operation whereby the poor are employed in building and 
 repairing chapels, schools, etc. It is also hoped that we can 
 begin soon to build a bridge across the Urumia. River which 
 will enable us to employ many poor who are daily begging 
 us to give them work. Toward this last object we believe 
 we can get some help from the nobility. 
 
 Fourth. At the city we have kept the soup house in 
 operation all winter, giving a dinner to about sixty daily. 
 The capacity of this is now increased, and in addition a 
 bakery is established. 
 
 Fifth. We also have begun to canvass parts of the city, 
 with a view of giving tickets to as many as possible for 
 bread. As we feared, however, in beginning this under- 
 taking we went beyond our depth, for immediately on making
 
 72 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 known the errand, the visitor was nearly overwhelmed by the 
 rush of the hungry on him, and crowds besieged our gates. 
 
 Sixth. Several hundred have been helped off to Tiflis to 
 find work. 
 
 Seventh. Over a thousand dollars' worth of seed grain 
 has been distributed. 
 
 Although we have every prospect of good crops this year 
 where seed has been sown, still there are thousands of 
 families who, being reduced to absolute want, have nothing 
 with which to buy food, if it be sold at a pittance even. 
 
 Many of these also are too weak to earn anything if they 
 find work. There is a dark cloud overhanging this land 
 and all its people, which God alone can remove, by putting 
 into the hearts of good people abroad to continue to do what 
 they can for them, not only until harvest, but until they 
 are again able to stand alone. 
 
 A fortnight later Dr. Shedd, one of the senior associates 
 and father of the present Dr. Shedd of TJrumia, reported 
 in detail : 
 
 The total received to date is 17,781 tomans. 
 
 The total expended to date is 12,696 tomans. 
 
 The toman is now worth $1.80 or 7s. 4d. sterling. 
 
 The rules of distribution have been (1) To save our church 
 members. (2) To save all Christians, if possible, Protestants, 
 Kestorians, Armenians, or Catholic, without distinction. 
 (3) To do all we can for Jews or Mussulmans. 
 
 The results. The first two points have thus far been 
 attained in TJrumia. Very few Christians of the 5,000 fam- 
 ilies in this district have died. The Jews have been aided 
 and thousands of the Moslems. Five hundred and seventy- 
 five tomans have been spent in Tabriz and Teheran, and 
 nearly 2,000 tomans have been sent to the mountain Nes- 
 torians and other districts at a distance. 
 
 The difficulties the last few weeks have been great to 
 obtain money or grain. The drafts could not be sold, nor 
 could money be borrowed. The money is not in the country, 
 and the grain supply is limited by the importations from the 
 East on camels and other animals. We should not have a 
 cent in hand if it had been possible to turn our money orders 
 into food. It has been impossible to increase the relief
 
 FAMINE AND RELIEF 73 
 
 given, and we have feared at times that many Christians 
 must die because no food could be had. 
 
 The harvest is still three or four weeks in the future. It 
 promises abundance. The prices are no lower. The mor- 
 tality is very great. It is supposed that on Monday 1,000 
 persons died of hunger in places within sight of our Mission 
 station. 
 
 The harvests of 1880 were good, but for years to 
 come the effects of the famine were felt. They were 
 felt most of all in social morality. A large pauper 
 population had been produced, and multitudes had 
 learned to beg, while the relief funds, so vast in Orien- 
 tal peasant eyes, had led the people to depend upon 
 the great beneficence of the Christians of the West and 
 on the possibility of further help through the mission- 
 aries in any time of need. Even with the greatest care 
 famine relief is likely to lead to enduring and harm- 
 ful consequences. It is impossible to resist the impulse, 
 and it would be wicked to avoid the duty of such re- 
 lief, but Missions which have been the agencies of the 
 distribution have had to accept the evil consequences of 
 such charity as well as the good. 
 
 The young missionary, who had already acquired 
 a unique influence by his character and his medical 
 work, by his missionary heredity and personal dignity, 
 now added to this by his prominence in the work of 
 saving life and relieving suffering. It was only natu- 
 ral that the people should come to think of him as 
 their protector and friend. His romantic relation to 
 the great Sheikh Obeidullah, who led the Kurdish in- 
 vasion of Persia in 1880, and his part in saving the 
 city of Urumia from capture by the invaders could 
 have but the one effect of exalting still further his 
 position in the minds of the people and of enlarging 
 his influence for good,
 
 VII 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 
 
 DR. GOCHRAN'S connection as a young medical 
 missionary of twenty-five with the great Kurd- 
 ish chief, Sheikh Obeidullah, and with the in- 
 vasion which he led into Persia is more like fiction 
 than sober missionary history. Next to the Sultan 
 and the Sheriff of Mecca the Sheikh was the holiest 
 person among the Sunni Mohammedans. Thousands 
 were ready to follow him as the vicar of God. He was 
 a descendant of Mohammed, and claimed to be of the 
 line of the caliphs of Bagdad. He was a man of some 
 real virtues of character, vigorous, just, and courage- 
 ous. He had conceived the ambition of establishing 
 an independent Kurdistan, uniting all the Kurds under 
 his rule, and governing them justly, after his rough 
 Kurdish notions, as a free state. He was, for a Kurd, 
 a man of wide and tolerant sympathy. He wished to 
 be on good terms with foreigners, and he was very 
 fair to the Christians. Two years later when the 
 Sheikh's dream had vanished and he was a prisoner 
 in Constantinople, the Sultan asked him to write a 
 paper describing the condition of the people in Kurdi- 
 stan. The Sheikh wrote in his paper a great deal 
 about the Nestorian Christians there, praising them 
 as the best subjects of the Sultan. The Sultan ob- 
 jected to such language, and three times returned the 
 letter for correction. Finally the Sheikh said, " I 
 don't know much about politics, but I do know some- 
 
 74
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 75 
 
 thing about truth telling, and this is the truth." In 
 this spirit he was ruling the people of Kurdistan with 
 a firm hand when he invited Dr. Cochran to come up 
 to visit him and prescribe for him in the spring of 1880. 
 Dr. Cochran went up in April, and in June wrote, 
 reporting his visit to the Board : 
 
 Two weeks ago I returned from a trip to Nochea, a dis- 
 trict in Kurdistan, two and a half days distant. I went 
 to pay a visit to Sheikh Obeidullah, who considers himself 
 the third man in ecclesiastical rank in Islam. He is also 
 the civil monarch of the Kurds. He has seemed disposed 
 for some years past to get into closer relations with us and 
 the civilized world. He regards the Turks and Persians 
 as deceptive people, not living up to their religion, and alto- 
 gether too depraved to hope that they will ever again hold 
 the position they once commanded among the other nations. 
 Regarding them in the light that he does, and situated as 
 he is between them, he wishes to have the moral, if not 
 material, support of a better people and government. To 
 this end, he has several times sent to us, asking that we put 
 him in a way of getting such help from the British 
 government. Last year before entering on a campaign 
 against the Turks, to whom he had up to that time paid 
 tribute, he sent confidential agents to us repeating this 
 request. Not desiring to be complicated in such affairs at 
 such a time, we referred them to the English consul at 
 Tabriz. After inflicting considerable damage on the Turkish 
 frontier, an understanding was come to by which the Sheikh 
 and his people were made practically independent of that 
 government. 
 
 We hope and believe that our visit to this great man's 
 country has done good, both for now and for the future. 
 We had opportunity given us to speak very freely on re- 
 ligious subjects. 
 
 Dr. Cochran wrote a fuller and more general letter 
 to his friend Mr. Clement, describing in detail his 
 journey and reception. It is worth while to quote it
 
 76 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 in full as it sets forth the conditions amid which he 
 had constantly to work. The letter was printed in 
 the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser of July 26th, 1880. 
 
 For a number of years this Sheikh has appeared very 
 friendly to us, often sending kind messages and invitations 
 to have us visit him. A few weeks ago he was taken 
 severely ill, and therefore sent, asking me to make him a 
 visit. It was thought best by our Station that I go up and 
 see him, both as an expression of our regard for him and to 
 see him professionally. Taking with me three of our native 
 helpers and one of my medical students, I set out upon the 
 journey, escorted by the Kurdish officer and fifteen armed 
 men who had come for me. 
 
 The first day's journey took us out of the plain of Urumia 
 up a fertile valley, past an ancient castle hewn out in solid 
 rock. After a ride of five hours, we came out on the plain 
 of Mergawar, a fine grazing district dotted here and there 
 with large flocks of sheep and beautiful fields of grain. We 
 rode across this plain, stopping for the night at Bayrospie. 
 Here, as we rode up to the Kurdish mosque, we were met 
 by a large number of the villagers who welcomed us among 
 them. I was guided into the quarters set apart for us. To 
 get to this apartment I followed my leader through numer- 
 ous dark passages. Arriving at this door darkness again, 
 with the addition of a most stifling, highly-perfumed moist 
 air, greeted us. Groping my way in the darkness, I found 
 myself a seat in a corner. Into this room were brought 
 some of our horses, baggage, and saddles, and soon after 
 supper was served. A sheepskin was brought in for the 
 table, and in it was the bread. Spreading the skin on the 
 floor, roasted lamb, cheese, honey, and milk were placed on 
 it. After supper we sat around a flickering light, and enter- 
 tained ourselves by viewing the landscape o'er. I described 
 to my companions the conveniences and luxuriance of some 
 of the American hotels, and we all strove to imagine our- 
 selves quartered in one of those palaces. But the bleating 
 of two lambs imprisoned under a basket, the neighing of 
 our hungry horses, the dreadful air which we had to breathe, 
 and the fleas now busily engaged in welcoming us, all served 
 effectually to banish from our thoughts any possibility of
 
 Dr. Cochran and a Kurdish Sheikh
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 77 
 
 being in one of the hotels described. To add to my discom- 
 fort, I was informed that my bedstead and bedding, and the 
 barley for our horses would not reach us that night. About 
 10 o'clock, however, they arrived, and I was soon occupying 
 a Kurdish bed on the floor. 
 
 Tired as we were, we could not sleep much. Samuel, the 
 medical student, having dozed off, had something from the 
 ceiling drop on his upturned face which made him jump out 
 of his sleep and bed, with a cry that awoke all who had 
 fallen off to sleep. A lamb or cat came to my bed and 
 licked my hand, which startled me so that I jumped, dream- 
 ing it was something more serious, and shook my travelling 
 bedstead so that it fell partly. At midnight, a rooster 
 which I had not discovered in the evening, true to his nature, 
 began to crow, and kept it up at intervals for the rest of the 
 night. Thus we passed the night, rising at four, to seek 
 the outdoor air. Owing to the bad roads ahead we were 
 compelled to stop over that day and wait for mules to be 
 sent down to us. We therefore refused to go back in the 
 house where we spent the night, but were admitted to their 
 church, which was a far superior place. After breakfast 
 we took a walk up a valley, at the head of which is a famous 
 strong castle. In the afternoon we divided our party into 
 three sets, and visited nearly all the villages on this plain 
 in which there are Christians. We found them exceedingly 
 poor, ignorant, and downtrodden. 
 
 Next morning starting out at sunrise, with our baggage 
 on men's backs, escorted again by armed men, we began to 
 ascend the high range of mountains which start from near 
 the Persian Gulf, extending to Ararat, N. E. Immediately 
 on leaving the plain and entering the mountain pass we 
 found ourselves in deep snow in which our horses found it 
 very difficult to travel with us on their backs, so that we 
 dismounted. We continued to ascend in this way, rising 
 very abruptly for three hours, when we reached the highest 
 point in the pass, and the boundary line between Persia and 
 Turkey also the watershed. 
 
 Here the road must be at least 9,000 feet above the level 
 of the sea, but the mountains on either side tower up to a 
 much greater height, covered perpetually with snow. Be- 
 ginning to descend, we find the roads as bad as ever, deep
 
 78 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 snow often covering the road for a long distance. These 
 melting snows make the grass and flowers beautifully fresh 
 and fragrant. 
 
 Until noon we pursued this course on foot, now stopping 
 to help up a fallen horse, and now to hold onto our horses, 
 which are not accustomed to the narrow roads, as we go 
 along precipices looking down thousands of feet, or along 
 great beds of snow. From every dale and valley flow waters 
 to swell the stream which is now a rushing, roaring, foaming 
 river, dashing down this large valley. As we continue our 
 journey we find the slopes of the mountains covered with 
 oak, pear, and apple, and walnut trees. Here and there we 
 find the broad valley and river completely bridged across 
 by the snow that has slidden down from above, making a 
 depth of snow in one place of at least 100 feet. These 
 avalanches, as described, are exceedingly fearful coming 
 down from great distances with terrific speed and thundering 
 noise, which echoes and re-echoes up and down the valleys, 
 carrying everything in its course, uprooting immense rocks 
 and trees, and finally bringing up at the bottom with a crash 
 that shakes the earth like an earthquake. 
 
 We passed these mountains of snow, either by coming 
 over them or by carefully picking our way down and around 
 them. At noon we met the mules the Sheikh had sent for 
 us. The mule he rides over such roads was sent for me. 
 Our ride in the afternoon was even more pleasant. At 3, 
 crossing a spur of the mountain, we came out upon a most 
 charming valley. Here two or three villages with their two- 
 story houses and fields of tobacco were seen. Two hours 
 more brought us to our stopping place for the night. On 
 approaching this village, by climbing up a steep hill to it, 
 the village lost its beauty. 
 
 Its streets and inhabitants are dirty. The second stories 
 of the houses are made of a sort of basket-work and used 
 to dry tobacco in. We passed that night in one of these. 
 Next morning we continued on through this pretty valley 
 for two hours, then climbed a mountain which shuts Nayris 
 out on the east from the rest of the world. Reaching the top 
 with difficulty, Nayris, our destination, was in view beneath 
 us. We rested here a little, and looked about us. On every 
 side were mountains and valleys. The narrow, dangerous
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 79 
 
 path over which we had been travelling for the last two 
 hours is wholly impassable for an army. The descent from 
 this point to the town is so steep that I did not care to 
 trust myself even on a mule. 
 
 Nayris, this town of about 400 houses, the capital of 
 Kurdistan, is situated in a deep, crater-like depression. 
 Every road leading to it is as difficult as the ones we took. 
 Making our way down the mountain we stopped at a spring 
 in order to give opportunity for announcing our arrival. 
 Soon three chiefs, with their men, came out to receive us. 
 One of them was at the head of a band of robbers who 
 attacked and robbed my father some twenty years ago, and 
 attempted to take his life. Arriving in the village, we were 
 shown into a large, fine room, richly carpeted. After being 
 seated the Sheikh's purser entered, bearing a bowl of rose 
 water and a towel, and delivered a message of welcome from 
 the Sheikh. I washed my face, and then was shown a place 
 to rest till dinner time, which was served half an hour later. 
 Then waiters were brought in. One rather more tastefully 
 arranged and with extra side-dishes was placed on the floor 
 beside me, the others for my men. This dinner consisted of 
 coloured rices, roasted partridge, cheese, honey, and sweetened 
 water. After dinner coffee was passed, and then news came 
 that the Sheikh would like me to come to him if I were suffi- 
 ciently rested. Taking with me four of my men, I went to his 
 room. On entering the room he came nearly across it, feeble 
 as he was, to meet me, and showed me to a chair by his side. 
 My men were invited to sit down on my side of the room, 
 nearer the door. On his other side, at a distance and on 
 the floor, sat his son and heir apparent. 
 
 The Sheikh is fifty-three years old, rather prepossessing 
 in his appearance and manners. He dresses in flowing robes 
 of broadcloth, and wears a white turban. He is a man well 
 read in Persian and Arabic literature. He has also read 
 most of the Bible, a copy of which we sent him last year. 
 He is a man who is ambitious to have the civilized world 
 know that even here in wild Kurdistan there is a little king- 
 dom whose laws are superior to those of her neighbours, 
 Persia and Turkey, and that she has the power to carry 
 them out. He is a very pious man, constantly speaking of 
 God, and trying, he says, to do His will, according to his
 
 80 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 religion. He is a just judge over his people, a kind lord 
 to his citizens, if they do his will otherwise very cruel. 
 There are a few tribes of Kurds in Persia who are not his 
 subjects, and they are the men who make their living by 
 robbing and killing. He seemed to enjoy conversing on all 
 subjects with me. During the week that I stayed at his 
 house, I had many very pleasant talks with him. He was 
 very much interetsed in hearing about the new inventions 
 and other wonders of the Western world. His son is also 
 a pleasant, intelligent man, who seems to be following in his 
 father's footsteps. I spent the week at Nayris in talking 
 with the Sheikh at least two hours a day, and receiving 
 calls from his son and many Kurdish chiefs from different 
 parts of the country, who had come to pay their respects 
 to the Sheikh. Except in the winter, when the roads are 
 blocked up, from 500 to 1,000 persons are entertained daily at 
 this great man's personal expense. There are men of differ- 
 ent ranks who are his guests. During the famine he has fed 
 sixty persons daily, of the poor. The majority of the people 
 whom I saw came to me, as well to be treated, as to see me 
 for curiosity or other reasons, so that I saw and treated a 
 very large number of Kurds in my absence from home. On 
 leaving, the Sheikh presented me with his war-horse as a 
 token, he said, of his gratitude to me for visiting him in 
 his illness, and of his firm friendship toward us. Returning 
 we came over the same road, reaching home after an absence 
 of about two weeks. He sent his servants down with us, and 
 commanded that all respect should be paid to me everywhere, 
 and that I be entertained, with my party, on the best that 
 the land could afford. In this way I, with my party, was his 
 guest from the time I left home until I returned to it, 
 he paying all expenses. 
 
 There are a number of Christian villages in these moun- 
 tains where our road led us. Some of them I visited, and 
 the rest were visited by some of the helpers. Finding them 
 in great distress, we distributed to them some help which 
 we had brought, knowing that many of them were dying. 
 They besought us to send them a man to preach to them and 
 to teach their children. All of us who took this journey will 
 remember it with pleasure, and will hope that some good 
 was done to those we visited.
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 81 
 
 Some further interesting incidents of the visit are 
 recalled by Dr. Cochran's youngest sister who was with 
 her mother, but who left Urumia in September of the 
 same year on account of illness, not returning until 
 October, 1885. 
 
 I remember how struck Joe was by the combination of 
 shrewdness, natural common sense, and utter ignorance of 
 that great Sheikh. He knew nothing whatever of geography, 
 and one day in the course of conversation he put down a 
 quince, and said, " Now, doctor, this is Nochea (his district). 
 Show me where Moscow, and London, and Teheran are." 
 And with apples and pears Joe made for this overgrown 
 child a map of the countries. 
 
 This visit to Sheikh Obeidullah and the friendship 
 which it established between him and Dr. Cochran had 
 significant results. The old Sheikh had some griev- 
 ances against Persia, and his ambition included the 
 absorption in his proposed kingdom of the Kurdish 
 district in northwestern Persia. He sent his son 
 down to Urumia in the summer to negotiate with the 
 local Persian government, and the son, of course, 
 sought out Dr. Cochran and was entertained by him. 
 Mrs. Cochran writes home on August 2nd, 1880, from 
 Seir: 
 
 I must tell you about our Kurdish dinner party. The 
 Sheikh's son sent word that he would come Saturday at 
 sundown. So we sent for the Mussulman cooks; they only 
 can prepare pillau; then we had about ninety pounds of 
 rice picked over, two lambs killed, ice brought, etc. We set 
 the table in the parlour. About seven the party arrived, 
 about thirty horsemen only. We had been told that there 
 would be at least sixty servants. Eleven only sat at the 
 table with us, the others were servants or inferior in rank. 
 They were first taken to Mrs. Labaree's parlour and treated 
 to sherbet, and soon after to ice-cream and cake. I think it 
 was nearly 8:30 before we sat down to the table. It was a
 
 82 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 strange sight, at least it would have been to you, these wild 
 Kurds, very richly dressed, and all armed with swords and 
 pistols, sitting down to a table daintily arranged with 
 flowers and silver, and with ladies, for the first time, I 
 presume. Those near the Sheikh's son behaved well, and 
 did well with knives and forks, and napkins, but those at 
 the opposite end played and mussed like little children. 
 After dinner they adjourned to the roof. It was a glorious 
 night. They departed about eleven o'clock. I think they 
 would have remained over night if we had urged the matter 
 at all, but we were careful not to mention it. They made a 
 pretty show as they loaded their guns, and galloped away 
 in the moonlight ! Thus we entertained Joe's robber friends. 
 Just as they were leaving, one of them asked Emma to open 
 the door of our bedroom for him. He said he had put his 
 sword in there. And sure enough he drew it out from 
 under the cradle, where the baby was sleeping peacefully. 
 It is fortunate he did not throw it into the cradle. Emma 
 said he stopped and stared in astonishment at the fair little 
 boy. 
 
 The political result of the son's visit was unsatis- 
 factory, and in the fall the Sheikh came down with 
 his army in an invasion of Persia, and laid siege to 
 Urumia. Mrs. Cochran's letters give a vivid, contem- 
 poraneous account of the siege : 
 
 COLLEGE, October 6th, 1880. It seems that war is to fol- 
 low famine. Our friend, the Sheikh, is at war with Persia. 
 When Joe was with him, he told him that he wished to 
 gather in all the Kurdish districts lying around Urumia, 
 and form a consolidated Kurdish nation. On this mission, 
 his son came last summer, when we entertained him at Seir. 
 What the result of this interview with the government was, 
 we do not know, but probably unfavourable to the Sheikh's 
 project, for a large Kurdish army has long been mustering, 
 and within the last few days, with the Sheikh's son at its 
 head, has come down and taken some of these Kurdish dis- 
 tricts. He has carried all before him so far, and is now 
 around the southern end of the Lake. The Kurds friendly to 
 the Persian government, which were sent to fight the Sheikh,
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 83 
 
 all went over to his side, so that now he has a perfect horde 
 with him of these wild, lawless men. At one place the 
 Sheikh halted at a little distance from a city, and sent a 
 number of men to ask for food for his army. These men 
 were all surrounded and killed by the Persians. In revenge, 
 the Sheikh, on taking the city, told the men to slaughter 
 men, women, and children, and it was done. It is reported 
 that he means to take Tabriz. We think he would do it 
 only to frighten the Persians into making terms with him. 
 Don't be alarmed; they won't touch us even if they do 
 come to Urumia. The Sheikh is our friend. But do you 
 know, they say that Joe got up this war. They say that was 
 his mission to the Sheikh last spring, also that Captain 
 Clayton of Van has been instigating the Sheikh to this, that 
 Joe went to Van to consult with Captain Clayton, and now 
 that the English consul from Tabriz is here, it is still more 
 suspicious. I don't suppose the Governor believes this or 
 any of the higher people. If they did it might be unpleasant 
 for us, but it is only the talk among the people. We appre- 
 hend no danger to ourselves personally nor must you, though 
 you should not receive letters regularly. Probably the 
 Sheikh will be repulsed soon and go home to his mountains, 
 or if he should even come here we are assured of his friend- 
 ship. 
 
 OCTOBER llth. There is not much new about the war. The 
 Sheikh's son is still around the southern end of the Lake, 
 another son has a large army a short distance back of Seir 
 Mountain, and still another army is gathering in another 
 direction, which, it is said, the Sheikh will command in 
 person. The Persian troops are gathering. There is quite 
 an encampment not far from us here. A regiment came in 
 from Khoi on Sunday, their baggage brought by camels. 
 These Persian soldiers are a poor defence, they look as if 
 they would run away if you pointed a finger at them. Why 
 should they fight, poor fellows? They are starved on four 
 cents a day, have no clothes, no proper guns or ammuni- 
 tion, are forced into the service, have no pride in or love 
 for their country, no leader to inspire them with enthusiasm. 
 Why should they not desert, or run, or surrender at first 
 sight of the enemy? The Governor of the city was here to
 
 84 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 call this afternoon. He says the Persians are determined to 
 fight it out with the Sheikh. We are placed in a rather 
 difficult position. Of course we ought to maintain a neutral 
 position, being friends of both parties, but the Sheikh keeps 
 sending Joe letters, which makes the Persians think that 
 we are in league with him, and of course if we betray any- 
 thing to the Governor, the Sheikh would be displeased. The 
 Governor seems very friendly of late, perhaps because the 
 English consul is here. The report is now that 150 villages 
 were sacked by the Sheikh's son at the time the city of 
 Mianduab was taken, and the inhabitants massacred, and 
 over 4,000 people must have perished in all. And to think 
 that the man who ordered all this cruelty sat at our table 
 at Seir a few months ago ! 
 
 OCTOBER 18th. These are stirring times for Urumia. On 
 Saturday the soldiers stationed near us moved towards Gav- 
 alan, about fifteen or sixteen miles, and all day yesterday 
 were fighting with the Kurdish army. This evening news 
 has come that the Persian army is defeated, and the Kurds 
 are advancing upon the city. It is hardly expected, how- 
 ever, that they will reach it to-night. Yesterday a letter came 
 from the Sheikh's brother-in-law, who is in command of 
 the army now advancing, saying that he was responsible that 
 no non-combatants, Nestorian or Mussulman, should be hurt, 
 that it was not his design to harm the people of the country. 
 This was in reply to a letter Joe sent him, asking him to 
 abstain from any violence to the people. He also asked that 
 we send him a little tea, but I fear the Persians would 
 consider this giving aid to the enemy. Joe is not here 
 to-night. He is in the city. He amputated a man's foot 
 this morning, and felt that he ought to be within call 
 to-night. Well, we can only wait and see what the night 
 or the morning will bring forth. Our trust is in God, and 
 He will not suffer us to be moved. When I started to come 
 to this far off land, I committed myself entirely to His 
 keeping, and I have never felt any fear. This morning I 
 went into the city with Joe, and took up all my plants in the 
 yard. To-morrow, if the Kurds do not hold possession, I 
 think I shall go in, and move out all our remaining 
 goods.
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 85 
 
 OCTOBER 21st. Nothing took place the night when I wrote 
 last, but now the aspect is very warlike. The army, which 
 we thought advancing upon the city, is still some distance 
 away, but holds the Governor of the city surrounded. Yes- 
 terday afternoon a cry was raised, " The Kurds are coming." 
 We looked from the roof, and an army was pouring down the 
 Seir Mountain. A few moments later, Mr. Labaree, Sr., 
 rode into the yard, looking very pale, and without his coat. 
 He had started to go from the city to Seir, and was robbed 
 by a party of Kurds out for plunder. They took away his 
 horse twice, but gave it back. He remained down all night. 
 There was no gentleman in Seir. Last evening we could 
 see the campfires on the Seir Mountain. The great Sheikh 
 himself encamped about a mile from Seir, and his son, 
 with another army, just below Seir. On the top of the 
 mountain was a signal fire, I suppose for the other army to 
 know that they had arrived. All the people from the neigh- 
 bouring Nestorian village of Hussar came rushing over with 
 beds on their backs, driving cows, buffaloes, and sheep into 
 our premises. Last night the village was plundered and 
 nearly destroyed by a marauding band of Kurds. The city 
 was in a panic. They tried to mend the old broken gates, 
 and brought out all the cannon. The Sheikh sent word to 
 Seir that the ladies should not be alarmed, that no harm 
 should come to them, and sent them a guard. He also de- 
 sired that Joe should come up and see him this morning. 
 The acting Governor of the city also wished that Joe should 
 go and see what terms could be made. So he went up this 
 morning with Mr. Labaree with a Kurdish escort of 150 
 horsemen, all splendidly armed and mounted. Joe came down 
 to dinner. The Sheikh was bent upon attacking the city 
 unless the people came to terms, but they dally strangely, 
 when it seems so useless to resist and have blood shed. 
 There are no soldiers here in Urumia, no one to fight but 
 the city rabble, and there sits that immense wild Kurdish 
 army not six miles distant from them. Joe and the British 
 consul then went into the city to try to induce the Persians to 
 surrender, but they desired Joe to go again to the Sheikh 
 and ask for one more day to consider the matter. He has 
 gone, but has not returned yet. If the Persians do not come 
 to terms soon, it will be a wild sight to see that Kurdish
 
 86 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 horde, impatient for plunder, rush down from the mountain 
 on to the city. It would not take them many moments, 
 for they are surprisingly swift in their movements. The 
 Sheikh requests that none of us stay in the city; he cannot 
 be responsible for what his men may do. He says if we 
 raise our flag over our place, our goods shall be safe, or he 
 will return every shahie's worth. As the consul is with us 
 we have have made a British flag to raise over the college. 
 Thus we stand between two powers, trying to avoid blood- 
 shed. Mussulman and Nestorians alike appeal to us for pro- 
 tection. The Catholics, too, wish to take refuge with us. 
 If war is the decision, we are going to bring out the girls' 
 school, and put them in the large room used as a chapel. 
 I hardly know what we are going to eat. Of course, the 
 bazaars in the city are closed. Almost all my flour is still 
 in our cellar in the city. I don't know as this letter will 
 ever reach you; the incoming mail was robbed. Do not be 
 alarmed if you do not hear regularly, for the Sheikh is our 
 firm friend, and will not see us harmed. 
 
 SUNDAY, October 24th. As I wrote on the 21st, Joe went 
 up at the request of the Persians, and asked the Sheikh to 
 delay his attack, and he said that for Joseph's sake he would 
 not come to the city until three the next afternoon. Friday, 
 the 22nd, about noon, we all went on the roof of our house 
 at the college, and watched the Kurdish army pouring down 
 the mountain and across the plain. They do not march in 
 solid ranks, or in any kind of order, but the infantry came 
 straggling along, and Ihe cavalry dash about here and there 
 on a full run. The whole army came to the garden where we 
 had our Fourth of July picnic, a little above us. At 3 p. M., 
 the Kurds broke up camp, and marched by us toward the city. 
 It is a fearful sight to see an army marching on to battle. 
 
 It was a great question whether or not any of our gentle- 
 men should remain in the city premises. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Whipple were there in the city. The Labarees and Mrs. 
 Cochran, Sr., were at Seir. The rest of us are at the college 
 and hospital property, two miles out from the city. 
 
 Our yard in the city was full of native Christians, and it 
 seemed cruel to leave them alone ; besides, if the missionaries 
 there left, they would be sure to follow, and perhaps thus
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 87 
 
 enrage the Mussulmans against themselves and us. Mr. 
 Whipple said he would stay, and had sent out his wife and 
 child in the morning, but he did not wish to stay alone. 
 Joe would have gone, only Mrs. Oldfather was expecting to 
 be confined any day. A little after noon it was decided that 
 Joe should go in and make a last effort for peace with the 
 authorities, come out if he could, and then Mr. Shedd go in 
 and spend the night. I said good-bye to Joe with a tremb- 
 ling heart, for I thought perhaps he might have to stay for 
 days in a beleaguered city. Joe went in, and just before 
 three o'clock saw some of the principal Khans sitting around 
 the gate. They all gathered about him, and besought him 
 to carry one more message to the Sheikh, begging that he 
 would wait until morning. I forgot to say that that day the 
 Governor arrived with about two thousand men, having es- 
 caped from the Kurds who were surrounding him under the 
 Khalifa. Joe told them it was too late, but went out to meet 
 the Sheikh. He met the whole Kurdish army advancing, 
 yelling, toward the city. They told him the Sheikh would 
 not listen, so he turned and ran his horse back to the city, 
 and told the Khans that the Kurds were coming. They 
 were sitting, coolly smoking their pipes, but this put them 
 in a panic, and they said, "What shall we do? What shall 
 we do ? " " Surrender," said Joe, " if you cannot keep the 
 city. If you can, then fight; that is your duty." Then he 
 returned here to the gardens, but before Mr. Shedd was 
 ready to go, the fighting had begun, and it was folly to try 
 to enter the city. So Mr. Whipple was left alone. All that 
 night cannon were roaring, and we fully expected that the 
 city would fall before morning. After breakfast on Satur- 
 day, the English consul and Joe thought they would try 
 to get through the lines, so they started at a time when 
 there was very little firing, taking with them the consul's 
 servants and two or three of the natives. As you approach 
 the Seir gate of the city, the one nearest us, you have to 
 pass through a wide avenue, about a quarter of a mile 
 long, shut in on both sides by walls. They approached the 
 gate, then sent one of the consul's servants ahead to speak 
 to the captain of the cannon, and tell him that they wished 
 to pass in to see the Governor. This servant says he gave 
 his message, and that one of the Khans who stood by said,
 
 88 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 " Fire first on the consul's servant, then on the gentlemen." 
 The servant turned his horse and ran, motioned to the gen- 
 tlemen to do the same, and away they all ran down that 
 long avenue, lying flat to their horses, followed by showers 
 of bullets which whizzed by them. For once Lollard's fast 
 running was of service. Even after they turned and left 
 the avenue, bullets followed them, but not one of them was 
 injured. It was a narrow escape. 
 
 OCTOBER 26th. We have at last heard from Mr. Whipple. 
 On Sunday he was seen walking on the roof by the Seir 
 people, who were scanning our city premises with the tele- 
 scope. Yesterday a little Nestorian boy, not more than 
 thirteen years old, offered to go into the city. To-day the 
 brave little fellow returned with a letter from Mr. Whipple. 
 The Kurds had taken the boy's trousers and his hat, and 
 he had been shot at. A little girl who spoke Kurdish, went 
 with him through the lines, he says. Mr. Whipple is alive 
 and well, but tired from so much anxiety. The yard there 
 is full of native Christians. Water is cut off from the city, 
 and the people cannot hold out much longer with their few 
 wells. Yesterday and to-day the Kurds have been on the 
 move, no fighting. The Sheikh finds he cannot take the city 
 in an hour; the Persians have made a brave defence. Every 
 night hundreds of the Kurds leave the fight and go out 
 into the villages for plunder. Several villages they have 
 stripped entirely and burned the houses. This country will 
 be utterly ruined. The poor people will have no homes, no 
 food; another famine is certain, and a much more fearful 
 one than that of last winter. We petition the Sheikh to keep 
 his men from despoiling the country, but they must eat, 
 and I suppose he cannot control them all very well. He has 
 taken away some of the plunder from them, and sent it 
 to our yards for safekeeping. We don't know what he is 
 going to do; he is evidently discouraged, and his men are 
 getting rebellious. We hear this morning that he had given 
 them leave to strip every village between here and the Lake. 
 Now we hear that he has reinforcements coming, and now 
 that 12,000 Persian troops are on the way to drive him out. 
 If they come too, they will completely finish the country. 
 I don't believe that we ourselves could find enough to eat
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 89 
 
 next winter. The prospect is a very dark one. Mr. Whipple 
 writes also that Mussulmans in the city are talking hard 
 against us, saying that we are inciting the Sheikh to all 
 this, that they will kill us all, and sack this garden and Seir. 
 The Governor, however, we are sure has no such feeling 
 toward us. He was very angry when he heard the consul 
 and Joe had been fired upon. Such threats from the Mus- 
 sulmans make our breath come more quickly; it is not 
 pleasant to think what might happen, but we know that the 
 Lord is on our side, therefore will we not fear. 
 
 OCTOBER 27th. Last night the Kurdish army withdrew 
 from about the city and camped quite near us. Some men 
 from the camp this morning say the Sheikh has issued a 
 proclamation that his army must enter the city to-day, or 
 every man die in the attempt. If he does enter, I fear there 
 will be a fearful massacre, for the Kurds are so enraged 
 that the city has withstood them so long, that I do not 
 believe the Sheikh could control them, even if he wished to. 
 Turkish troops are said to have arrived on the borders, with 
 orders from the Sultan for the Sheikh to retire and not 
 invade Persia. The Sheikh, you know, is nominally a sub- 
 ject of Turkey; that is, he pays tribute to the Sultan. 
 
 If Turkey comes upon the scenes, and Russia thinks it 
 necessary to put in a finger also, I really think we will be 
 obliged to leave; we cannot live in the midst of such a 
 commotion. 
 
 EVENING, October 27th. Nothing of note has taken place 
 to-day. A conference of Kurdish and Persian chiefs was 
 arranged for this afternoon; the consul and the gentlemen 
 were invited to be present, but the Persians failed to appear. 
 
 OCTOBER 28th. The consul starts now in a few moments. 
 Nothing was done last night, though the Persians did an 
 immense amount of yelling. We think the Kurds know that 
 they cannot take the city, and will simply sit here until they 
 starve it out and spoil the whole surrounding country. It 
 may be some time before you hear from me again, but I beg 
 of you not to be troubled; the Lord will take care of us, and 
 even should He call on us to suffer, what better could you 
 ask for us than that we be doing His will.
 
 90 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 OCTOBER 29th. I will continue my journal letter, though 
 it may be some time before I hare a chance to send it. 
 Miss Van Duzee and I have just been walking on the roof. 
 We saw many Kurds going by with loaded horses, plunder 
 from the villages. Many villages have been entirely de- 
 stroyed, the people stripped of clothing, all bedding and 
 eatables taken, even the doors and window frames and rafters 
 for firewood. No new attack has been made on the city. 
 
 OCTOBER 31st. Our beautful weather still continues. We 
 are daily expecting cold fall rains, which would be very 
 hard for all the people in this yard. Those in our new house 
 have neither doors nor windows, and the schoolboys would 
 be cold and damp in the hospital cellars. The boys take 
 turns in guarding the castle at night. Two or three are in 
 the corner towers, some over the gate, and two walk con- 
 stantly round and round the walls. Most of the people 
 brought no food with them, and have to be fed from the 
 school stores. An old woman died in the yards yesterday, 
 and this morning a baby. 
 
 The Kurds still sit in the camp near us. They occa- 
 sionally fire on the city at night, and plunder the villages. 
 The Kurdish army is composed of many tribes which have 
 blood feuds between them, and now that the Sheikh is not suc- 
 cessful, there is anarchy in the camp. The city has received 
 some reinforcements, and can hold out. The city authori- 
 ties seem very friendly. The Governor expressed himself as 
 very angry that the gentlemen had been fired on. We have 
 been placed in a difficult position. We have had to negotiate 
 with the Sheikh for our own safety, and besides we had no 
 quarrel with him, but of course the Persians could easily 
 construe it into meaning that we were in league with him 
 against them. 
 
 NOVEMBER 1st. Good news! This morning as we sat 
 down to breakfast we saw the whole Kurdish army going 
 away. Large companies of Kurds are going directly home 
 over the mountains, and it is thought the Sheikh is with 
 them. A letter came from Mr. Whipple this morning. He 
 comes out to dine with us to-day. Light is breaking in all 
 directions, and we hope our day of trouble is nearly over.
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 91 
 
 Last erening our little circle had such a good meeting. We 
 looked up all the " Fear nots " in the Bible. It was aston- 
 ishing how many of the verses fitted our situation. Never 
 before could I appreciate David's prayers against his enemies. 
 When once surrounded by hordes of wild, wicked, dangerous 
 men as we have been, you would lose all scruples at praying 
 to have them " cut off." After reading all these overwhelm- 
 ing assurances of God's care for His people, we all felt 
 greatly strengthened, and wondered that we had been fearful. 
 I believe it takes a lifetime of varied experiences to make 
 the different promises of the Bible seem real and of value to 
 us. The Psalms seem like a new book to me. 
 
 NOVEMBER 4th. The Kurds have left us. They are now 
 some fifteen miles distant. Persian reinforcements have 
 arrived at the city and will now go out against the Kurds. 
 Ill feeling against us in the city is subsiding. The authori- 
 ties are all exceedingly friendly. Thus the Lord gives us 
 favour both with Kurds and Persians, and we have been safe 
 in the midst of all this tumult. Some of our number have 
 returned to the city. People in the yard are leaving, and we 
 are not so crowded. 
 
 NOVEMBER 5th. Taimur Pasha, " the coming man," as Mr. 
 Abbott used to call him, arrived a few days ago, and will 
 probably go against the Kurds in a day or so. We sincerely 
 hope so, for his soldiers are worse than the Kurds; they are 
 plundering villages and doing dreadful things. We hear on 
 pretty good authority that the Turks have advanced into the 
 Sheikh's country and taken possession of his capital, Nayris. 
 If this is so the poor Sheikh will be hard pressed. The 
 people from this yard are gradually departing, and we 
 breathe more freely. Men have resumed work on our house, 
 and a month from now we hope to be in it. 
 
 The coming of Taimur Pasha, or Agha, head of the 
 powerful Khans of the Maku district near Mt. Ararat, 
 with the Persian troops was no blessing. On Novem- 
 ber 8th, Dr. Cochran wrote briefly :
 
 92 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Just by chance, on a two minutes' notice, we can send a 
 line. The sky is still very dark, but the Lord, who has cared 
 for us so far, will continue to, I have no doubt. The Kurds 
 are still within three hours of us, daily and nightly plunder- 
 ing villages and killing people. The Persian forces, now 
 8,000 to 10,000 strong, are doing the country more damage 
 than the Kurds. We ourselves will be safe from any violence, 
 I have no doubt, but the poor Christians about us are suffer- 
 ing terribly. 
 
 The political situation was becoming very confused 
 and embarrassing. The missionaries, of course, de- 
 sired to be left entirely free and unentangled, but that 
 was no easy matter. They properly wished to hold 
 the friendship of the Sheikh, and as properly to be 
 loyal to the best interests of the government. Above 
 all, they wished to see the gospel spread unhindered 
 among the people and to prevent injustice to the inno- 
 cent. The letters show how delicate their situation 
 was and how their enemies took advantage of the con- 
 ditions to increase their difficulties. Mr. Labaree, 
 Sr., wrote: 
 
 NOVEMBER 4th, 1880. You have been informed of the 
 English consul's attempt to visit the city to bring about 
 terms of peace, urging Dr. Cochran to go with him, and 
 how the Persians outrageously fired on them. It is wonder- 
 ful, all but miraculous, that they escaped with their lives 
 from the terrible volley of rifle and musket shots showered 
 upon them. God alone preserved them. Most surprising 
 has been His protection all through the perils that have 
 befallen us. To-day I was at the city for the first time, 
 and with Dr. Cochran received a call from the man who has 
 talked most violently against us, one whom we considered as 
 good a friend as we had in the city until a few months ago. 
 He is much alarmed to find himself known as held respon- 
 sible for firing on the consul's party, and is very humble. 
 We called on "the Governor, who is also the general of the
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 93 
 
 army, congratulating him on his able and successful defence 
 amid most discouraging circumstances. He is not an in- 
 triguer like his brother-in-law referred to above, and has 
 acted, we think, a straightforward course towards us at this 
 time. They now affirm that Dr. Cochran was the means of 
 saving the city since, at the urgent request of the deputy 
 governor and the consul, Dr. Cochran made a visit to the 
 Sheikh and obtained delay of twenty-four hours before the 
 attack on the city. During that time the general brought 
 his army into the city, and got it into a defensible condition. 
 Had the Sheikh attacked beforehand, it is probable he would 
 have captured the town at a stroke. And yet when we saw 
 the Sheikh afterwards, he did not seem to hold the doctor 
 responsible, but charged the Persians with duplicity. We 
 have been thrown into a very embarrassing position. As we 
 look back upon the various steps in the progress of events 
 we do not see how we could have done much different from 
 what we did. Our friendship with the Sheikh has been the 
 means of saving the Christian population from the terrible 
 pillaging perpetrated on the Mussulmans; and yet two or 
 three Christian villages have been most thoroughly despoiled 
 and a few of their inhabitants killed. The condition of those 
 populations is pitiable, and their sufferings the coming 
 winter will be great. One of our porters has lost nearly 
 everything of his effects. Another was robbed and mur- 
 dered. These exceptions are not strange. Only the Sheikh's 
 stern command to his generals to treat us and the Christians 
 as his own family prevented the exceptions becoming the 
 rule. 
 
 The Sheikh is, we hear, still on the plain of Urumia, 
 strongly entrenched, but greatly crippled by deserters and 
 the loss of his men at the hands of the recently arrived 
 Persian force. His son, who was making such a successful 
 campaign at the South, has been driven back. It is re- 
 ported to-day that the Turkish and Persian governments 
 have made a new alliance for the entire destruction of this 
 troublesome chief. If while about it they would make 
 thorough work with the various Kurdish tribes that infest 
 the border both kingdoms would be rid of some terrible 
 pests. 
 
 Whatever anxiety you may have felt for us from previous
 
 94 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 letters, I think you may feel at ease now. The men who 
 have imagined mischief against us will be overthrown of 
 the Lord. We have not at any time doubted that He will 
 overrule all for good. And now that we have seen such 
 marked deliverances we are encouraged to trust Him still 
 more. We are, however, sorely troubled at the prospects 
 of continued famine. The cost of provisions is much higher 
 now than it was a year ago at this time, and the invaders 
 have removed an immense quantity of grain. We ask your 
 prayers and sympathies in these peculiarly trying circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Mrs. Cochran wrote: 
 
 NOVEMBER 8th. Joe and I spent the Sabbath at Seir. 
 It seemed so pleasant to go outside these walls and ride a 
 little. As we came down this morning the country was 
 full of the smoke of burning villages. The Kurds are 
 burning and plundering on the plain beyond us, and in the 
 villages about the city the Persian soldiers are doing more 
 mischief than the Kurds did. The Governor of the city 
 and the General, who has come to reinforce him, are jealous 
 of each other, and are quarrelling. The country is in a 
 dreadful state of confusion and terror. The city is being 
 fortified daily, and it is difficult to pass back and forth. 
 The gates are closed and cannon in the way. There was a 
 report a few days ago that the chief men of the city were 
 going to send a petition to the Shah to have us removed 
 from the country as we have been the means of inducing 
 the Sheikh to come down upon TJrumia. But almost at 
 the same time the Governor requests a letter from us to the 
 Shah, stating that he had defended the city valiantly, and 
 was worthy of all praise, etc., etc. Also when Joe was in 
 Taimur Pasha's camp the other day, those who stood by told 
 the General that Joseph had saved the city by inducing 
 the Sheikh to wait one day instead of coming down when 
 he intended. May the Lord deliver us alike from their 
 flattery and their slander. 
 
 NOVEMBER 10th. These wicked, wicked men are making a 
 desert of this beautiful plain. Persian soldiers are plunder-
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 95 
 
 ing some of the Christian villages and behaving so badly that 
 the inhabitants are fleeing to the city. To-day bands of 
 Kurds have burned three villages near us. Last night there 
 was fighting, and the Kurds were driven back. Such a 
 strange war! The armies sit and look at each other, and 
 plunder and burn all the villages about them. 
 
 NOVEMBER 12th. It's worse than trying to serve both 
 God and Mammon, this endeavouring to keep on good terms 
 with both Persians and Kurds. To-day the Governor sent to 
 the gentlemen, asking if they would give something towards 
 repairing the city walls. Now, if the Sheikh should learn 
 that we gave 25 tomans to protect the city against him he 
 might come down in anger and destroy us. The story would, 
 of course, reach him much enlarged. It would be 250 
 tomans at least. On the other hand, this request seems to 
 be put upon us by the Governor as a sort of test whether 
 we are friendly to him or not. Should we refuse it might 
 enrage the Persians against us. But for my part I don't 
 believe so much in considering consequences. The question 
 is, what ought we to do as neutral parties? That decided us 
 to go ahead trusting in God to protect us. 
 
 NOVEMBER 28th. Things go on about as usual. The Seir 
 gate of the city is open, and people come and go, only we 
 have no bazaar yet, for Taimur Pasha's men stole and plun- 
 dered so that the shopkeepers removed all their goods to their 
 homes. This army is composed of bad, lawless men from 
 many countries, outlaws many of them, and deserters. They 
 have gone away at last after the Kurds. 
 
 NOVEMBER 29th. The war may be fairly considered as 
 over. Taimur Pasha has gone up into the districts behind 
 the Seir Mountains, and found that the Kurds have fled, 
 taking everything with them, and burning their villages. 
 The Sipeh Salar, or Prime Minister, is to arrive to-morrow. 
 He is said to have an army with him composed of men 
 compared with whom Taimur Pasha's men, who have been 
 pillaging and burning all about here, are angels. 
 
 The share of care and responsibility which fell upon 
 Dr. Cochran in these troublesome times was a heavy
 
 96 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 burden for a young man to bear. The strain was made 
 far heavier for all by the illness and death of little 
 Harry Shedd in the midst of the siege, and in the 
 war there were enough sights of horror for a lifetime. 
 His sister, whom he took to Van on her way to America 
 just before the Sheikh came down, writes: 
 
 Poor Joe, he saw enough horrors to turn his hair grey 
 at this time. I remember his telling how once he went to 
 the Sheikh, whose army was encamped outside the city on 
 the mountain slopes, and complained to him that in spite of 
 the promise given in one village, some Christians had been 
 robbed. Unfortunately, as Joe afterwards felt, he was able 
 to indicate the persons who had committed the deed. We 
 were riding over the place when Joe told me the story, and 
 he showed me where the camp was, and where, a few days 
 later, the Sheikh sent for him, and to his horror, he saw 
 crucified those men, as the Sheikh said, " as an example 
 to his men of what would happen to any one who touched 
 the doctor's people." The poor men were quite dead, but Joe 
 said he was so sick he could hardly sit his horse as the 
 Sheikh proudly showed him the ghastly proof of his friend- 
 ship. When the war broke out, Joe was in the plain and 
 mother was up at Seir, with the Kurds between them. 
 Mother was in the old " Castle," and when the troubles 
 began all the villagers near by came with their cattle and 
 goods and little ones, and she took them in till literally every 
 spot, yards, rooms, and roofs was filled. One night a band 
 of horsemen came to the gate, and thundering on it, shouted 
 out to know if the Hakim Sahib's mother was there. The 
 poor Nestorians inside thought their last day had come, 
 but when they heard those two words, words that have 
 brought comfort, relief, and hope to how many ! " Hakim 
 Sahib ! " It seems to me now as I write it that I could never 
 bear to hear the name given to any one else, so much a part 
 of the man was it, and so much it meant when it meant 
 that man. Well, the Kurds went on to say, " Tell the great 
 lady that the Sheikh says she is to sleep peacefully, and 
 that nothing shall happen to her or to her people for her 
 son's sake." A few days after, as I remember, the Sheikh
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 97 
 
 sent an escort to take mother through his lines to the col- 
 lege where Joe was. 
 
 Dr. Cochran's own letters and later references to the 
 invasion and his part in diminishing the horrors are 
 characteristically restrained and modest. 
 
 When the Kurds were gone many of the people but 
 not all soon forgot Dr. Cochran's services. There came, 
 as already indicated, rumours of hostile influences at 
 work against the missionaries. For a time they hardly 
 knew what the coming of the Sipeh Salar, the Sadr 
 Azam or Prime Minister, with his army might involve. 
 Under date of January 3rd, 1881, Dr. Shedd wrote : 
 
 The moon just past was the Moslem month of Muharram. 
 The first ten days of this month are devoted to the Persian 
 Passion Play, the tragedy of Hussein. It is the fanatical 
 season of the Shiahs. It was inevitable in such a war of 
 religious sects that the worst passions should be roused. 
 Shiahs were killing Sunnees, and Sunnees, Shiahs, as if 
 either party were wild beasts. The Sunnees were all driven 
 out of the country or killed, except a few who changed their 
 form of faith. Then the fear was that the Shiahs would 
 turn upon the Christians. There were sullen, ugly looks, and 
 muttered threats and suspicions that our Mission . and the 
 Christians generally, favoured the Kurds. These rumours, 
 when traced to their sources, so far as we could learn, 
 invariably started from the Papal monks and their Persian 
 Mirza, or from certain other enemies. Quite a panic arose 
 among the Christians. I do not think there was at any time 
 real danger. But the fickle populace of an Oriental city 
 of old cried " Hosanna " one week and " Crucify " the next. 
 And so here, a small occasion, a bold man to lead, might 
 have been the spark to ignite the inflammable passions into 
 an explosion of bloody fanaticism. Among the stories that 
 reached us was this : A company of the more zealous 
 Moslems proposed to the Sheikh ul Islam that they celebrate 
 the Muharram by a massacre of the missionaries and Chris- 
 tians. The Sheikh ul Islam replied that he had three things
 
 98 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 to say before they went further. "(1) The missionaries have 
 been the means of saving thousands of Moslems from death 
 by famine. (2) They have saved the city from pillage and 
 massacre by Dr. Cochran's intercession with the Sheikh to 
 grant one day of grace. That day's delay saved us. (3) If 
 you kill such men you must consider the result. I, for my 
 part, would fear that it betokened the end of Islam or of 
 Persian rule, or of both in this region." The Muharram 
 passed, and the Moslems showed less zeal than usual, owing 
 in part to the fact that the popular leaders who stir up the 
 populace to enthusiam can only be had for large sums of 
 money, and this article was very scarce. So many have died 
 or are sick, or impoverished, that it is not strange if little 
 interest was felt. But all breathed more freely when it was 
 over. The day following, the Sipeh Salar, or Commander- 
 in-Chief, and his army arrived. The army numbers about 
 20,000. It has four specially good regiments, equipped in 
 the best style of improved arms, with very fine artillery, and 
 officered by Austrians. One of these officers, the Captain 
 of Artillery, is a Hungarian Protestant who has shown him- 
 self very kind and friendly to the missionaries. The Sipeh 
 Salar is the foremost man in Persia in talent and executive 
 ability. He was ambassador for many years in Constanti- 
 nople, and has visited the European capital, speaks French, 
 and is a civilized gentleman. He was the vizier in office 
 last winter when the intolerant regulations were executed 
 at the capital. The Papal monks had written so many 
 slanders about us to the French consul in Tabriz, and had 
 circulated so many rumours here that we feared the Sipeh 
 Salar might be prejudiced, and use coercive measures against 
 our work. 
 
 Dr. Cochran, in his paper at the 30th anniversary 
 of Miss Cyrene Van Duzee's entrance on missionary 
 work, told of the happy issue which came out of these 
 troubles : 
 
 After the invasion of the city, with its terror by night and 
 its destruction which wasted by noonday, was over, and the 
 Kurds had withdrawn, a large Persian army had come from
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 99 
 
 Teheran, commanded in part by the Prime Minister. Great 
 as the daily danger was from the lawless Kurds, the bitter 
 enmity of the Persians, who were only too ready to lay the 
 blame of their misfortunes on the Christians, was even more 
 to be dreaded. The wildest stories were circulated involving 
 us, and making us out to be responsible for the coming of 
 the Kurds, especially since none of the Christians suffered, 
 and not even we, who had been for the most part within 
 the invaders' lines. Many of our best friends among the 
 Moslems believed these reports. The ears of the Sadr 
 Azam had been filled with these reports. At this juncture, 
 Clement (Dr. Cochran's oldest child) was the means of dis- 
 covering a friend in need, and none too soon. While our 
 hostler was taking the child out to ride, General Wagner, 
 now known to us all, came across him, and asked if he were 
 not a European child, and told the servant that he wished 
 to meet us if we were foreigners. He was the only Protes- 
 tant officer among the European drill masters with the army, 
 and as soon as we met him he used all his influence in setting 
 aright the wrong impressions which were being made upon 
 the officers connected with this new army. He also arranged 
 for a call upon the Prime Minister, and when the latter, 
 with several hundred horsemen as his escort, marched around 
 our college walls to examine the fort ( !) erected by us, where 
 we had given such efficient aid to the attacking army, 
 General Wagner was along, and did all he could to correct 
 the erroneous impression which had been received. 
 
 The day that the Prime Minister was to take his depart- 
 ure, we called upon him in a body. Nearly every one of 
 note in town was in attendance upon him. We expected a 
 very cool reception. Instead, he arose before all those who 
 were condemning us, and who daily were insulting us, and 
 shook hands. Soon he produced a telegram from the Shah, 
 which he said had just been received, which read about as 
 follows : " His Imperial Majesty, Center of the Universe, 
 to which all men make obeisance, the Shah in Shah, may his 
 soul ever live, commands me to instruct you to look after 
 the welfare of the American missionaries in Urumia, and to 
 put them in charge of the Governor, with special directions 
 that he sees that they enjoy every privilege and protection. 
 Signed, Minister for Foreign Affairs." As the Sadr Azam
 
 100 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 read this telegram in a loud voice and with the solemnity 
 and deference due to a command from his sovereign, every 
 one gave closest attention. Then, turning to the Ikbale 
 Dowleh, who alone of all those present but ourselves, was 
 given a seat, and he at some distance from the Sadr Azam, 
 said, "You hear this command of the Shah. If anything 
 befalls these gentlemen, I shall require every hair of their 
 heads of you." God in His wisdom and mercy had sent 
 this message at exactly the right moment. Had this tele- 
 gram arrived an hour later, when the Sadr Azam had left, 
 the effect would have been very different. It seems that 
 Dr. and Mrs. Shedd's letters, giving an account of the pre- 
 carious condition in which our Mission stood at the begin- 
 ning of hostilities, had reached Mrs. Shedd's brother, General 
 Rufus Dawes, who then was a member of Congress. Through 
 his interest and instrumentality, the Secretary of State 
 telegraphed the United States Minister in London, directing 
 him to lay the facts before the British government, and 
 request that they instruct their ambassador at Teheran to 
 see the Shah about the matter. 
 
 The troubles of a Christian Mission in a Mohamme- 
 dan land do not end in such a summary way, however. 
 New trouble was already brewing, and at the end of 
 Dr. Cochran's life, twenty-five years later, the condi- 
 tions were as painful and disturbing as in 1880. These 
 lead us away, however, from the picturesque old Sheikh 
 whose ambitions were collapsing. He had withdrawn 
 from Urumia, but it was feared that he would renew 
 his raids in the spring. Negotiations were entered into 
 between Persia and Turkey, and the latter disavowed 
 all responsibility for the Sheikh's movements, ex- 
 pressed regret to the Shah for what had happened, and 
 summoned the Sheikh to Constantinople. He declined 
 to go at first, but when shut in on both sides by Turk- 
 ish and Persian troops he decided to accept the Sultan's 
 invitation, and went off to Constantinople under a 
 large escort, which was really a guard to prevent his
 
 THE KURDISH INVASION 101 
 
 escape. Many supposed that he would be sent back as 
 Governor-General of Kurdistan. On reaching Constan- 
 tinople he was received in great state and nobly treated. 
 But he soon discovered that his palace was a prison. 
 He escaped from Constantinople and returned home, 
 but dissension among the Kurds showed him the hope- 
 lessness of further struggle, and he surrendered to the 
 Turks, was sent to Mecca, and died there in October, 
 1883. He never lost his friendship for Dr. Cochran. 
 Mrs. Cochran wrote on September 14, 1882: 
 
 I wrote you, did I not, that the Sheikh has run away from 
 Constantinople. He has now surrendered to Turkey on the 
 condition made by the Sultan that he and his family be sent 
 to Medina. Poor old Sheikh! I'm sorry for him and for 
 this end to his ambitious dreams. I have a great respect 
 for the man, and yet I am rather glad that he is not to be 
 here to stir up any more wars. Soon after his escape and 
 return to Kurdistan, he sent a letter to Joe, asking what the 
 attitude of both Turkey and Persia was towards him, and 
 for news of the world in general. He seems to consider 
 Joe his firm friend. Now it is rather a dangerous thing 
 to be receiving letters from Persia's enemy and more so to 
 be giving him information, so Joe simply told the messen- 
 ger to look about and inquire among the people of the 
 country; they knew as much as he on the subject. 
 
 It is a great testimony to the sincerity and tact of 
 the young physician that he won and held until the 
 end the confidence and regard alike of the Kurd who 
 would be king and of the Persian officials who were 
 arrayed against him. 
 
 It was as a result of this episode and through the 
 efforts of Mr. Dawes that the American legation was 
 established in Teheran.
 
 VIII 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 
 
 TEE end of the year 1880 saw the difficulties origi- 
 nating in misunderstanding and malice in Uru- 
 mia for the time at least suppressed. But with 
 the beginning of the year 1881 new difficulties arose 
 from a different quarter. A minister of foreign affairs 
 had come into office in Teheran who, a quarter of a 
 century before, while holding the same office, had en- 
 deavoured to suppress the Christian movement. The 
 British Consul-General in Tabriz had always had 
 charge of the interests of American missionaries in 
 northwestern Persia, and had cared for them with 
 notable fidelity and friendliness. The Consul-General 
 at this time was Mr. William G. Abbott. In January 
 he wrote to the missionaries at Tabriz and Urumia : 
 
 I have received an official communication from the For- 
 eign Office Agent, informing me that complaints have been 
 made to the Vali Ahd that you are actively engaged in 
 preaching and teaching amongst Mussulmans and endeavour- 
 ing to induce them to renounce Islamism; and that such 
 proceedings are calculated to produce serious disturbances 
 in this country. His Royal Highness has therefore in- 
 structed the Agent to request me to give you a friendly warn- 
 ing on this subject, and to advise you to desist altogether 
 from teaching or preaching to Mussulmans amongst the 
 Persians, either at your private houses, in places of worship 
 built by you, or elsewhere. The Agent adds that if you 
 disregard this warning, the Persian government will be 
 obliged to adopt further measures to insure their regulations 
 
 102
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 103 
 
 being carried out. I trust you will see the necessity of com- 
 plying with the orders of the Persian government in this 
 respect, for if you neglect to do so, your position in the 
 country will be no longer tenable and your work amongst 
 the Nestorians will greatly suffer in consequence. 
 
 The missionaries, however, were not greatly dis- 
 turbed by this. Mr. Labaree, Sr., wrote: 
 
 In a private note Mr. Abbott writes that he is sorry to 
 have to discharge this unpleasant duty, but he has no choice, 
 and hopes we will submit to the orders. On the other hand, 
 he announces with pleasure that in consequence of our 
 representations His Excellency, Mr. Thompson, British Min- 
 ister at Teheran, has obtained orders from the Persian gov- 
 ernment in favour of the Jews who have been much perse- 
 cuted in certain places on account of having embraced 
 Christianity. The orders are enclosed to us " containing 
 strict injunctions that no interference whatever is to be 
 allowed with persons other than Mussulmans, who may wish 
 to change their creed." 
 
 We certainly are very grateful to the Master for this 
 favourable concession of religious liberty which He has put 
 it into the hearts of the Persian rulers to make for all non- 
 Moslems. We take it as an earnest that liberty for Moslems 
 also to embrace Christianity will follow in the Lord's own 
 time. Meanwhile, you can see how circumspect we must 
 needs be in our intercourse with Mohammedans. 
 
 Under date of March 7th, 1881., Mr. Labaree wrote 
 to the Board: 
 
 To this communication our Station replied in a few reso- 
 lutions, the point of which is to reserve to ourselves the right 
 of freely explaining the Scriptures to all who may visit us, 
 and to deny any responsibility on our part if Mohammedans 
 frequent places of Christian worship. These and the larger 
 questions of privilege to preach and teach the Old and New 
 Testaments to all classes are argued at length in a paper 
 drawn up in Persian and sent through Mr. Abbott. 
 
 The increasing number of Mussulman pupils in Christian
 
 104 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 schools in Syria and Egypt, the concession of our right to 
 explain the doctrines of our religion by high ecclesiastics in 
 this and other lands, as well as statements of the Koran 
 itself to the importance of a right understanding of the 
 Jewish and Christian Scriptures, are certainly weighty 
 arguments, if candidly considered by the Persians. It is a 
 question if any further notice of the subject will be taken by 
 the government. We deem it best, however, to proceed 
 cautiously. In one direction, religious liberty in Persia 
 has obtained an important advantage. The same letter 
 which brought the warning against preaching to Moslems 
 brought also two documents from the Persian Foreign Office 
 addressed to the Governors of TJrumia and Senneh, based on 
 the state of affairs in Hamadan, and conceding the right of 
 the Jews in all parts of the country to change their religion 
 without molestation. A Christian also may become a Jew 
 if so disposed. Thus perfect religious liberty is accorded 
 to all non-Moslem sects to change their creed at pleasure. 
 This is certainly an important step forward. It is in striking 
 contrast with the situation twenty-five years ago when Nes- 
 torians were beaten and imprisoned for adhering to the 
 evangelical teachings of the missionaries, and many restric- 
 tions were put upon our work. And what a change in the 
 aspects of the missionary work in every way since that day. 
 How enlarged the field, how increased the results of Gospel 
 labour. At that time there were no missionaries in Persia 
 outside of TJrumia. Now Tabriz and Teheran are flourish- 
 ing stations, and Hamadan is more than ripe for resident 
 missionaries, and the large cities of Maragha, Senneh, 
 Ardebil, and Khoi are occupied by native helpers. Then 
 only to Nestorians was the Gospel preached; now Armenians, 
 Jews, and Mussulmans not only hear the glad tidings, but 
 "believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable." The outlook 
 is altogether encouraging in spite of the recent " warning," 
 and in spite of the rumours that the new Foreign Minister 
 has reissued the old orders of twenty-five years ago against 
 our schools, etc. The former action itself indicates the 
 headway of the work among the Mussulmans. The latter, 
 if true, is only amusing. It is a curious muddle which 
 allows a Christian to become a Jew and disallows his accept- 
 ing a different shade of Christian belief.
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 105 
 
 We suspect the new Minister, scarcely yet waked from his 
 seven years' official sleep in distant Meshed, has simply 
 happened on some of his old orders of the last quarter of 
 the century, and sent them on to establish his identity. 
 Many things have happened in Urumia since his former 
 fruitless efforts to arrest the new tide of intelligence and 
 spirituality among the Nestorians. There is less hope than 
 ever of such hostile schemes succeeding. The evangelistic 
 and educational work is now too much in the hands of the 
 people themselves to be affected by orders of this kind. 
 
 The village schools were never more popular than this 
 winter. More than 1,600 pupils are in attendance. The 
 students from the college engaged in teaching have in many 
 places infused new life into this department. 
 
 The resolutions of the Station referred to by Mr., 
 later Dr. Labaree, were as follows : 
 
 In regard to the warning of the Persian government to 
 desist from labours among Moslems, communicated by Mr. 
 Abbott, English Consul-General, the Urumia missionaries 
 resolve as follows: 
 
 1. That while we regret the disposition of the Persian 
 government to restrict our liberty, we do appreciate the 
 kindly spirit in which the warning is given, and we assure 
 the government that we desire to avoid all proceedings that 
 are calculated to create disturbance in this country. 
 
 2. We do not understand that the warning commands us 
 inhospitably to shut our doors against those who visit us in 
 a friendly way. But we assure the government that it is 
 not our habit to speak against the religion of Islam. We 
 simply explain, when desired, the doctrine of the Books of 
 the Old and New Testaments which Moslems admit to be 
 the Word of God. 
 
 3. We do not understand that we are to turn away orphans 
 who are now supported by charity from Christian lands, 
 until at least the government make some provision that 
 they do not perish. 
 
 4. We respectfully represent that the responsibility of 
 individuals attending any Christian services is not ours but 
 theirs.
 
 106 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 5. We respectfully ask attention to the following statement 
 of our work and its relations to the government, and the 
 welfare of Persia, hoping that the degree of liberty asked 
 for may be conceded by the Shah's government. 
 
 The statement was forwarded, and the end of this 
 particular agitation was a decree from the Shah, 
 secured especially through the personal interest of 
 Queen Victoria, which enlarged and confirmed the 
 rights of his Christian subjects and thus put the Mis- 
 sion work on a better basis. 
 
 Meanwhile, the presence in Urumia from time to 
 time of prominent officials in connection with the 
 operations against Sheikh Obeidullah brought the Mis- 
 sion, largely through Dr. Cochran's influence, new and 
 powerful friends. One of the warmest and most faith- 
 ful and one of the most immediately helpful was Cap- 
 tain, afterward General, Wagner, then in charge of 
 the Persian artillery and in after years drill master of 
 the army. He was an Austrian Protestant of enthu- 
 siastic nature and loyal friendship. It was his dis- 
 covery of Clement Cochran when he was in Urumia 
 after the Kurdish invasion that brought the mission- 
 aries at once to the attention of the Prime Minister, 
 and he never lost his friendly interest in them. His 
 love and his quaint English were always a delight to 
 Dr. Cochran and his associates and to the missionaries 
 in Teheran, where he had his headquarters, and whither 
 he returned after the campaign against the Kurds. The 
 letters for the next few years are full of references 
 to the new friends and supporters. In February Dr. 
 Cochran wrote to the Board : 
 
 I have spent my forenoons, as far as it has been possible, 
 in studying Persian and giving several hours to the instruc- 
 tion of the Medical Class. Afternoons I am generally in
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 107 
 
 the city or in the villages. I see patients in the dispensary 
 one afternoon in each week. None of the rooms in the hos- 
 pital as yet are ready for occupation, so I ana not able to 
 receive many patients. I have, however, a few in the now 
 vacant dormitory of the college. 
 
 This fall has been an unusually sickly one. At present 
 typhus is raging at its usual rate of mortality 18 per cent. 
 
 There are over 800 families of Christians left destitute by 
 the ravages of war on this plain, and many more Mussulmans. 
 
 The prospects for the future are as yet veiled in obscurity. 
 On the whole, I think, the outlook is brighter than it was a 
 few weeks ago. The King is now said to be coming to 
 Azerbaijan. A large army is also reported to be advancing 
 from the interior, to be stationed along the frontier, or 
 Turkish boundary. The brother of the Sipeh Salar, or 
 Prime Minister, made us a call last week, visiting the Female 
 Seminary. He expressed himself as much pleased with . all 
 he saw. He, as well as his brother, who has recently re- 
 turned to Teheran, has appeared very friendly to us, and 
 thus we believe has done much towards quieting and putting 
 a stop to the evil reports and threats which at one time were 
 quite common and open. 
 
 We have indeed much to be exceedingly grateful for. 
 While wars, massacres, famines, and pestilence have been 
 walking abroad, we have enjoyed a measure of health and 
 freedom from the deadly effects of all, which is far beyond 
 our deserts or even expectation. 
 
 He laments in this letter that he had been unable 
 before leaving for Persia to complete his course in the 
 Dental College at home " so as to be competent to make 
 a set of false teeth when needed." Several of the mis- 
 sionaries had had troubles with their teeth for which 
 it was beyond his skill to care. 
 
 Mrs. Cochran's home letters show how faithfully the 
 opportunities of the year were improved and how dili- 
 gently her husband went about his business. 
 
 JANUARY 5th, 1881. At last we are in our own house. 
 We took our first meal here on the last evening of the old
 
 108 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 year. The carpenters are still in the house, and will be all 
 winter, I guess. This being the week of prayer of course 
 we let the settling go for a little. In the morning all the 
 people of the yard come to our house and Joe has a short 
 service with them. Then after dinner there is an English 
 service in the city which I try to attend, and in the evening 
 another Syriac service at the Shedds'. 
 
 JANUARY 12th. On Monday, Captain Wagner, the Aus- 
 trian, and Dr. Lucas, the Armenian, appeared for a call. 
 It was so near night and so cold that we invited them to 
 spend the night, an invitation which they were not reluctant 
 to accept. When shown to his room the Captain said, "I 
 shall sleep like an angel." He does not much admire Per- 
 sians and Persian ways. He says that when his pay and 
 that of the soldiers under him is due, he asks the Prime 
 Minister for it, and he says, " Certainly, pay them." " But 
 money is necessary," states the Captain. " Then to-morrow 
 I will give it to you." So he asks and asks, and perhaps 
 after a month it is given to him. The Prime Minister 
 goes through the same process to get money from the King. 
 
 JANUARY 26th. (She sends a plan of their new house.) 
 Quite a house, is it not, seeing we planned it entirely our- 
 selves? I am more than satisfied with it. It is far beyond 
 anything I ever dreamed of having on missionary ground. 
 I only hope we can use it for the good of those about us, 
 that it may be a home where our circle and the natives will 
 always feel at home. I suppose Joe has nearly reached 
 Tabriz. He had fifteen guards from the government, and 
 a little way out part of them fell behind and robbed a party 
 of teachers on their way to the city ! Robbers are the safest 
 guard one can have in this country. 
 
 MAY llth. This has been a busy day. In the afternoon a 
 recently arrived great man called, together with the Nasir- 
 ul-Mulk and the Captain. The army expects to leave in a 
 few days, and the Nasir-ul-Mulk told Joe he wanted to say 
 good-bye to me, so he came out into the sitting-room and 
 had a glimpse of our family life. It is refreshing to be 
 treated with courtesy by a Persian gentleman. He is very 
 fond of Joe. He walks around holding his hand like that
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 109 
 
 crazy Khan. The Captain was quite sick, had a high 
 
 fever, and we persuaded him to spend the night. He seems 
 better this morning, and has gone to the camp, but has 
 promised to return for the Sabbath. He is a very enter- 
 taining man, but his English is something remarkable. He 
 said last night, " I shall be an angel in die morning if I 
 sleep in such a soft bed ! " 
 
 SEIR, May 24th. I think I wrote you that Captain Wag- 
 ner came to our house sick a week ago Saturday. We 
 thought perhaps he was going to hare typhus fever, but he 
 began to improve after a few days. We made him a bed up 
 in the study. On Sunday he was able to be around and 
 was even able to go into the Sunday School. He was very 
 much astonished to see Joe taking charge of it, especially 
 as two ministers, Messrs. Oldfather and Whipple, were pres- 
 ent. When all came home and sat down in the parlour 
 around the organ, he said to Joe in his funny English, 
 " Now I have found out von new ting, you is very good 
 doctor, very good father, and now you is very good arch- 
 bishop." In the evening, as the other families were out, 
 we had a sing and a little Bible class together, which the 
 Captain attended. He seems to be a man of principles, 
 but of no religious principle. He has very dim ideas of 
 religion. He said to Miss Ottaway, " Der is von ting dat I 
 no understand about dese missionaries, every day dey reads 
 die Bible and dey prays so many times. What now have 
 you and Mrs. Cochran done dat is so bad dat you must pray 
 tree, four times dis day ? " Somehow it seems very strange 
 here that all civilized people, Europeans, are not Christians. 
 On Wednesday he went back to the camp, but a storm came 
 up towards night, and we sent for him to come. I wrote 
 him a note in German with which he appeared greatly 
 pleased. On Thursday he said good-bye to us, for the camp 
 moved on toward Mergawar. He will be there several 
 months, I presume. Joe will go up to visit him some time, 
 and mother and I will send him some bread and butter and 
 cake. You don't know how pleasant it seems to see some 
 one outside our own circle. We have come up to Seir to 
 spend a few days. Joe does not seem to be feeling well, 
 is tired, and has headache. He said he wished he could
 
 110 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 come and just roam about freely on the mountain, so I 
 immediately persuaded him to leave the college and lessons 
 and all his cares, and come up for a few days. 
 
 JUNE 4th. Joe does not seem very well. I don't know 
 what to do with him. He has too much care and responsi- 
 bility put upon him for so young a man. Only twenty-six, 
 and yet he is head doctor for a whole province, besides 
 temporary president of a college, general overseer of all 
 these fifteen acres, besides taking a prominent part in all 
 affairs with the government. Captain Wagner has returned 
 from Mergawar, and pitched his tent on the road from here 
 to the city, and has called once. Yesterday a new army of 
 6,000 came in, and with them another Austrian captain. 
 The gentlemen will call on him on Monday. 
 
 JUNE 22nd. On Sunday there were extra services. The 
 Captain came out and told Joe that the Nasir-ul-Mulk in- 
 tended to come in to service and surprise us, so we were 
 prepared. We had a Turkish service, one of the teachers 
 preached, and our Mirza, a Mussulman convert, prayed. I 
 think he had never come out openly before. The big man 
 remarked that he went away with a light in his heart, and 
 requested that he might be remembered in the prayers during 
 the remainder of the day. 
 
 JULY 21st. Last Friday the Persian general, who is at 
 Mergawar, sent down for Joe, asking him to come up and 
 see his chief officer who is sick with typhus fever. Captain 
 Wagner went with him. They started after dinner, and 
 reached the camp about 8 P. M. This Persian general, the 
 Nasir-ul-Dowleh, not the one we gave the dinner for, is 
 quite an enterprising man, keeps up his camp and military 
 drill in real European style. He, with Captain Standiski, 
 came to one of the outposts to meet the travellers, and 
 escorted them in. He has employed his soldiers during 
 leisure hours in decorating the camp. In front of the tents 
 quite a park is laid out, beds bordered with stones and con- 
 taining all the wild flowers of the Mergawar valley. There 
 is also a long row of poles at intervals of a couple of yards 
 or so, all surmounted by oil cans, and Joe says the illumina- 
 tion in his honour was quite brilliant.
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 111 
 Dr. Cochran himself writes in the summer and fall : 
 
 AUGUST 8th, 1881. It is my turn to notify you of the 
 most interesting events of the past month. On the first 
 Sabbath, the Nasir-ul-Mulk, brother of the Prime Minister, 
 signified his desire to attend our service at the college. He 
 came, accompanied by Captain Wagner, the Austrian officer 
 in command of the artillery. We had a short sermon in 
 Turkish. Prayer was offered by one of our Mohammedan 
 converts. At the close, the general expressed his great 
 pleasure, and said, in the presence of his Moslem attendants, 
 " This is the true religion." He also asked that we remember 
 him in our prayers in the remaining services of the day. 
 We have had several opportunities for religious conversation 
 with this man, and while we do not dare to hope that he is a 
 changed man, it has still been pleasant to see him so ready 
 to listen to the truth. The college examinations took place 
 the first of the month. We had a number of visitors, among 
 whom were the Governor, his two sons, and several other 
 prominent men of the city. Our distinguished guests ap- 
 peared interested in the exercises and pleased with the recita- 
 tions, especially in Persian and English. The theological 
 students are working in the villages during this short vaca- 
 tion. One of them is teaching a school of forty pupils 
 among the Jews of the city, which we pray is the beginning 
 of a great work soon to open in their midst. The coming 
 of the Governor-General of Azerbaijan created considerable 
 excitement. Extensive preparations were made to receive 
 him. He asked me to go to Mergawar to see a sick general. 
 Accompanied by Captain Wagner, I made the visit. The 
 commander of the troops there was a young Prince who is 
 very ambitious to have his men excel in military drill 
 and manoeuvre. The discipline and equipment of this divi- 
 sion of the army would do credit to a more warlike nation 
 than Persia. After my return from Mergawar we had an- 
 other interview with the Governor-General, also with his 
 father-in-law, in which we found opportunity for religious 
 as well as general conversation. After the return of the 
 army from Mergawar we invited this Prince, with the two 
 Austrian officers, to dine with us. The Prince took pains 
 to make my stay with him in Mergawar a pleasant one, and
 
 112 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 it was a pleasure to us to show him in return some attention, 
 and to give him a glimpse of life in a Christian home. 
 Our relations with the officers of the army for the last six 
 months have been remarkably pleasant, and we trust equally 
 beneficial. 
 
 Sine June 1st the hospital has been opened to patients. 
 The upper floor is not built yet, owing to our losses occa- 
 sioned by the war. Lumber and unburnt bricks on hand 
 were used or destroyed by those who took shelter here. 
 Stone, lime, and burnt bricks paid for in advance never 
 reached us as the contractors were made bankrupt by the war. 
 
 AUGUST 16th, 1881. Yesterday I spent the forenoon in 
 performing an operation at the hospital, in going to visit a 
 sick officer, a field marshal, and in calling at the Governor- 
 General's, who had sent for me to come and extract two 
 teeth for him. When I got there he was afraid to have me 
 touch him. So he asked me to leave the forceps, and he 
 would do it himself if he could, and if not, he would send 
 for me sometime again. I heard this morning that he had 
 broken his tooth, and failed to extract it, although it was 
 quite loose. I had a long visit with him, and was able to 
 converse with him on many subjects in regard to the expedi- 
 tion sent against the Kurds, etc. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 10th. The last three weeks have been strange 
 ones to me. I have been feeling rather poorly and have 
 had on my hands bad cases at the hospital: Mildred 
 Whipple with scarlet fever, quarantine for our little baby, 
 death of Mildred, the birth of the little Whipple boy, and 
 other sickness in the Mission. We are all expecting to go 
 to Tabriz in a few days. I think the change will do mother 
 and Katharine good. I shall leave the family in Tabriz 
 and go on by post to Teheran. 
 
 This trip to Teheran was the longest absence from 
 his work Dr. Cochran had taken. There were no sum- 
 mer vacations or other escapes from responsibility. 
 All the year around, whether at Seir or at the college 
 or in the mountains, the sick and oppressed came to 
 him and he healed and helped whom he could. He
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 113 
 
 had gone to Tabriz to a meeting in 1879 and had made 
 one or two other visits there. Tabriz was the capital 
 of the Province, the seat of the Vali Ahd, or Crown 
 Prince, and it was the only other Mission station in 
 northwestern Persia. He had gone also to Van, Tur- 
 key, in the autumn of 1880, with his sister Emma, who 
 was on her way to America. But this trip to Teheran 
 was the only long journey and absence from his work, 
 and of it and its value to him and the work he wrote 
 to the Board : 
 
 For one from so secluded a place as Urumia, it is a great 
 advantage to get out as far in the world as the capital of 
 Persia is even. I especially enjoyed meeting European 
 physicians and profited thereby. I had the opportunity of 
 calling on one of the sons of the Shah, the Minister of War. 
 I also was called to attend the Minister of Finance. 
 
 In a personal letter to home friends he wrote a more 
 detailed and general account of his trip : 
 
 On the 28th of September, at 6 A. M., I left chapar for 
 Teheran to attend Annual Meeting. Deacon Joseph of Seir 
 went as my servant, and a third horse was ridden by the 
 chapar shargird, who always goes from the post where 
 horses are obtained to the next one to return them. The 
 horses on the road are all quite poor, some every stiff, lame, 
 and bony. After obtaining an order from the chief of the 
 Post Department, for which forty or fifty cents are paid, you 
 have a right to as many horses along the route as the order 
 demands, by the payment of twenty cents for each horse 
 every four miles. Europeans have made it a custom to fee 
 the shargird of each stage twenty cents, in return for which 
 this individual is supposed to give you the best horse in the 
 stable, and to drive you, or allow you to drive as fast as 
 you please. On starting out from a post, the driver (so- 
 called) taking the lead, trots the first half hour, then breaks 
 into the regulation gallop, which is kept up if the road
 
 114 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 allows for an hour, perhaps then resting the horse by trotting 
 or walking a while, the gallop is continued; the average 
 time we made being a little less than eight miles an hour. 
 The distance between the post stations is sixteen to twenty- 
 four miles. On reaching the station the driver walks the 
 horses about, until they are cooled off, then if you intend to 
 go on, the horses have their saddles taken off, and others 
 are saddled. . . . 
 
 We were quite a large circle for Annual Meeting. I re- 
 mained two weeks in Teheran. Gas was formally lighted 
 for the first time by the Crown Prince, the day after I 
 arrived. I witnessed this. Captain Wagner called soon 
 after I reached the city, and was as affectionate and kind 
 as ever. I called with him on the King's first chamberlain, 
 who had the finest house in Teheran. Around a beautiful 
 court are twenty rooms, all of which are superbly furnished, 
 some in Persian, but most in rich and tasteful European 
 style carpets, sofas, chairs, tables, mirrors, clocks, vases, 
 etc., all of the richest European make, and tastefully ar- 
 ranged. One large room, carpeted with a large size Persian 
 carpet, called the crystal room, had its ceilings inlaid with 
 large and small mirrors, and had beautiful glass chandeliers 
 and windows. One room was wholly devoted to paintings 
 and other pictures, many of which were of nude figures. 
 This man's wife is the King's sister. I also called on the 
 Nasir-ul-Mulk, the brother of the chamberlain and of the 
 ex-Prime Minister, and the man who was at Urumia last 
 winter and summer in command of a division of the army. 
 As I entered the yard of this officer with Dr. Torrence and 
 Mr. Hawkes, he ran to meet me, and said, " You must let me 
 kiss you." He did all he could to show his friendship and 
 respect for us ; said he never would forget our kindness toward 
 him in Urumia, etc., etc. He returned the call before I left. 
 We also called on the Hesam-ul-Mulk, the Hamadan general, 
 who was with the former in Urumia. He also seemed very 
 glad to see me again, and promised to do all he could to 
 make it agreeable for Mr. Hawkes when he lived in Hamadan. 
 
 I called on the King's second son, the Minister of War, 
 with Captain Standiski, who thanked me for attending his 
 sick officers and soldiers in Urumia since the war, and said 
 he would obtain a decoration from the King for me.
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 115 
 
 One day Mr. Potter and I, attended by a servant, were 
 riding in from the English Embassy's summer quarters, and 
 we met two carriages with eighteen outriders in front and 
 as many on each side and behind. The head riders called 
 out, " The Shah's harem ! " and were driving every native 
 off the avenue. We were not invited to leave, nor even to 
 close our eyes, so when I came by the carriages I ventured, 
 politely, to cast a glance upon the royal ladies out of the 
 corners of my eyes, and I beheld eight ladies dressed just 
 as every other Persian woman is on the street covered with 
 a blue cotton sheet, except the face, over which was a white 
 openwork veil. 
 
 Quite a party of us visited the ruins of ancient Rhei or 
 Rhages, about ten miles out of the city. History tells us 
 this was the largest city east of Babylon, 500,000 inhabitants 
 lived in it a thousand years ago. Part of the walls of the 
 city stand, and two or three towers, on one of which are 
 Cufic inscriptions. 
 
 The King's College has 200 students who are taught 
 English, French, Russian, Persian, and Arabic languages, 
 music, drawing, painting, and some mathematics. The dis- 
 cipline and general management is quite good. There is a 
 small, pretty theatre in connection with the college buildings 
 into which we went and heard the college brass band per- 
 form. They did exceedingly well their master being an 
 Austrian. The Shah has never been allowed by his religious 
 advisors to have a company perform in this theatre, as these 
 parties are afraid any such performance might injure the 
 morals of the people. 
 
 The part of Teheran in which Europeans reside is laid 
 out very like an European city. The rest of the city is 
 like any Persian town, except that the main avenues are 
 broader and straighter. The walls surrounding the city are 
 twelve miles long, they and the gates, with the moat, being 
 kept in perfect repair. The gate leading to the Shah's 
 private palace is quite a high and handsome one, with con- 
 siderable tiling and some sham marble pillars. We would 
 have been allowed, through the courtesy of Dr. Tolozon, the 
 Shah's French physician, to visit this palace, had it not been 
 undergoing repairs. The Shah himself was in a country 
 palace. We went into the throne room. The throne is
 
 116 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 Delhi alabaster, and the only other valuable pieces of furni- 
 ture in the room are two inlaid or mosaic old doors. I 
 also saw all the King's horses. He has some most beautiful 
 Arabs. Three miles out of the city are the King's Zoological 
 Gardens in which he has a number of wild animals, one of 
 which recently escaped and took to the mountains a leopard. 
 They were only insecurely caged. I believe one or two keepers 
 were eaten up rather recently. I decided not to venture 
 near. I was invited with Dr. Torrence to treat the Minister 
 of the Treasury the first man in favour with the King. 
 
 One of the pleasantest features in my visit to Teheran was 
 the opportunity I had of seeing and visiting with other physi- 
 cians, European, Dr. Tolozon (French), Baker (English), 
 and Torrence (TJ. S.). The missionary work in the Teheran 
 field is progressing slowly there are many obstacles in the 
 way of its rapid and healthy growth. There is a small church 
 there, of Moslems and Armenians, a girls' boarding school, 
 a few young Armenians in a training class, colportage, and 
 out-station work. Returning, Miss Jewett, Mr. Wilson, and I 
 came together in a tarantass, or Russian carriage, as far as 
 Kazvin. We left Teheran at 6:30 in the morning, and had 
 many detentions all day in the way of harness breaking, 
 wagon getting out of order, etc. The climax came at 7 p. M., 
 when halfway between two of the posts and about twenty 
 miles from Kazvin, one of the wheels went to pieces en- 
 tirely. It was dark, and we had to stay there for over three 
 hours, until another conveyance, a much smaller one, into 
 which we could barely stow ourselves and luggage away, was 
 brought. Mr. Wilson and Miss Jewett then had a chill to 
 add to the entertainment of the day. At the next post- 
 house we stopped and did what was possible for the sick 
 they rested a while, and then we went on, reaching the hotel 
 in Kazvin at 3 A. M. After a little rest and breakfast, I 
 left them feeling quite well again, to come on by caravan. 
 To the next station, wagons can be used, so I took one to 
 make my day's work a little easier, since I had had but half 
 an hour's rest since leaving Teheran, but misfortunes fol- 
 lowed me the horses, immediately on starting, ran away 
 with us, but the road being tolerably good, no accident came 
 of it. After they had been quieted down, and had gone 
 nicely for a while, they started off again at breakneck speed.
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 117 
 
 This time they ran us up and down little hills or embank- 
 ments, against the vineyard walls, stones, and other obstacles, 
 until they were finally brought up against a wall. We then 
 got out, sent back these horses, and got more manageable 
 ones. This took one and three-quarter hours, during which 
 time I went over into one of the vineyards, and spreading 
 my blanket, lay down for a nap, and ate grapes. Nothing 
 else happened that day of any note. The following day we 
 reached Sultania at noon, where we were detained two hours, 
 all the horses in the station having just come in. . . .We 
 spent that night in Zenjan and started next morning, which 
 was Saturday, at 3 o'clock so as to reach Meyaneh for 
 the Sabbath. At 7 P. M. we arrived in Meyaneh, having 
 passed a horse which had fallen into one of the open water 
 wells, and which a number of men were trying to get out. 
 On the Koflan Kuh Pass a chapar horse had succumbed 
 to his hard work, and the riders had but just taken off his 
 hide, and moved on when a band of forty or more vultures 
 had come to the spot and were discussing the subject as we 
 came upon them. 
 
 We had travelled eighty-four miles that day and were 
 pretty tired. A letter was handed me from mother and 
 Katharine, saying that Clement was very sick, and asking 
 me to travel on to them Sunday as well as other days. 
 I was one hundred miles from Tabriz. I immediately asked 
 for horses to go on, but they told me that they dared not 
 let their horses go, at least in the fore part of the night, 
 because there are always spies about evenings who in- 
 formed the highwaymen of any expected departures, etc. 
 By much urging they promised to start me at midnight . . . 
 but we managed to get off at ten instead of twelve, being 
 pretty well armed. There was no moon and it was cloudy. 
 The road, after leaving Meyaneh, for some ten miles is up 
 a lonely valley, then for the rest of the way to Turkmen, 
 fourteen miles, it is up a steep mountain, then over a plateau. 
 Up this valley our companions quite confidently looked for 
 an attack. We rode in the river bed, there being but little 
 water in the meandering stream, at a little distance from each 
 other, in order first, not to be too near the rocky dark sides 
 of the valley and thus be in more danger if there were any 
 men on the lookout, of having our horses suddenly caught,
 
 118 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 and, secondly, being at a distance from each other, we might 
 be taken for a large number, and some of us at least have 
 more warning in case of any disturbance. We rode on in 
 this way, our hands on our revolvers or guns until we were 
 just emerging from the valley when, under the shadow of a 
 rock, we saw four persons seated. We spurred up our 
 horses and went on up the mountain. When we reached 
 the top we thought we heard horsemen pursuing, and so 
 we pressed on as rapidly as the darkness allowed. At 4 A. M. 
 we reached Turkmen, chilled with the night air. . . . We 
 only stopped long enough at the stations to change horses 
 until 5 P.M., when we came to the first station out of Tabriz. 
 Here the horses had to be fed, and we were delayed two 
 hours. This night proved darker than the last, and the roads 
 much worse. We went stumbling on till we came within six 
 or eight miles of the city, where the wells which produce and 
 carry the water to the city began to be numerous, open, and 
 many of them in the road; I was overcome with sleep, and 
 even the terror which one of these wells with its rushing 
 water deep down in it produced, when I found my horse was 
 on the very edge of it, did not keep me awake long. I would 
 sleep and wake according as my horse walked steadily or 
 stumbled. We finally entered the darker streets of the city 
 with their holes and uneven places. Only in the bazars 
 were we occasionally stopped by a sleepy watchman who came 
 out of his little room, lamp in hand, to ask who we were. 
 We dismounted at the house at midnight, having suffered 
 much more that night from the danger of the wells than we 
 did the previous one from the possibility of highwaymen 
 attacking us. I found Clement very low, but ever since 
 then he has been picking up. 
 
 Mrs. Cochran's letters add a touch: 
 
 TABRIZ, October 27th. Joe reached here Sunday at mid- 
 night in a pouring rain. We telegraphed him on Wednes- 
 day to start, as Clement was poorly, but not to rush. It 
 seems he had started early that morning, and did not receive 
 the telegram. On the road, however, he received letters from 
 us, and decided to come through in a hurry. The journey
 
 OLD FOES AND NEW FRIENDS 119 
 
 is sixteen ordinary caravan days. He came " chapar " in 
 five. The last 174 miles he rode with a rest of only an hour 
 or so. He is not stiff, however, and does not seem at all 
 used up. I think we may start for home next week. Joe 
 is waiting for some official papers from Teheran, without 
 which he does not like to go to Urumia, for some of the 
 Khans are acting very badly, demanding unjust taxes on the 
 college property, etc. 
 
 They returned home to Urumia from Tabriz with the 
 two children the latter part of November, and in spite 
 of the sickness and hard journey both declared that 
 they felt better for the trip. Dr. Cochran wrote : 
 
 Since my return I have tried to arrange my work so that 
 I can attend more to my professional duties. In the last 
 three years, while at the dispensary and at other places, I 
 have prescribed for a large number of patients. I have, 
 nevertheless, given a comparatively limited time to it. It has 
 seemed almost impossible with the force we have had to 
 shirk any of the work which I have done for my own 
 peculiar work. I have, however, come to the conclusion that 
 in the future I must be free to do more for my medical 
 students and for patients which we can now receive in our 
 partially built hospital. I must take more time, too, for 
 study and research than I have been able to do heretofore. 
 In fact, I have had next to no time to study up even the 
 cases under treatment outside of those in our circle. A con- 
 siderable time is expended in the necessary intercourse with 
 the officials of the place. 
 
 The Cochran family ended the year with loving 
 thought of the good cheer of others. Mrs. Cochran 
 writes from Urumia, December 25th: 
 
 HOME, Christmas morning. I am thinking how beautiful 
 the Christmas anthems are in all the churches of the home- 
 land this morning, how many happy family gatherings were 
 held last evening, how gay the shops were last week. It
 
 120 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 almost makes me homesick. But away off in Persia, while 
 the snow lies deep in the quiet yard around us, you would 
 find a very happy little family. We have just been playing 
 on our organ all the Christmas hymns we could find, and I 
 have told Clement, for the first time, the story of the shep- 
 herds. I couldn't bear to let Christmas go without some 
 kind of a celebration, especially on account of the children 
 of the Mission. Poor little Persians! They don't know 
 anything about a real American Christmas. So Joe and I 
 thought we would contrive something. We asked people to 
 please send their presents to our house, and to come about 
 5 Friday evening to remain over night, as it is hardly 
 safe to return to the city in the evening. We asked the 
 English ladies, who are at Seir, and as there was no other 
 way, Joe brought them down in a sleigh. We also invited 
 the German lady.
 
 IX 
 
 THE REMAINDER OF HIS FIRST TERM OF 
 SERVICE AND HIS FIRST FURLOUGH 
 
 DR. COCHRAN had reached Persia in 1878. He 
 returned to America for his first furlough in 
 1888, after ten years of crowded and uninter- 
 rupted service. Six of these were yet before him on the 
 Christmas day to which reference has just been made. 
 No Kurdish Invasion touched these six years with 
 spectacular romance, but they were full of stirring in- 
 cident, of living contact with men, of difficult problems, 
 of heavy responsibility, increased by the uncertainty 
 of health, arising from the strains and burdens of the 
 work. Mrs. Cochran's letters from 1882 give a picture 
 of his activity and home life: 
 
 JANUARY 22nd. Just now the Persian government, at least 
 those in power, do not seem very favourable to us. The City 
 Governor does not attend to cases of injustice, and is evi- 
 dently not our friend. 
 
 Did I tell you that a while ago, Joe shaved his beard and 
 went with bare face for a while ? He heard lately that it was 
 the talk in the city that the Shah had ordered it to disgrace 
 him! To shave the beard is the only punishment that can 
 be inflicted upon an ecclesiastic in this country. 
 
 FEBRUARY 22nd. Yesterday some Kurds came down here, 
 Hassan's Beg's son with his sick wife, whom he wished 
 Joe to cure. These Kurds are Persian subjects, at enmity 
 with the Sheikh. The woman is left in the hospital. It 
 
 121
 
 122 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 shows that they have considerable confidence in us to leare 
 one of their women here alone. 
 
 MARCH 28th. We had just put the children to bed, and 
 were ready for our Sunday evening sermon from Phillips 
 Brooks when some one came for Joe to go and see Ardashir 
 Khan, saying that he had not been able to speak since morn- 
 ing and was very low. His cousin, the Adjutant, sent the 
 servants for Joe. The Adjutant, you will perhaps remember, 
 is the one to whom Joe gave the dentophone a short time ago. 
 He is very deaf, but this helps him considerably, and he was 
 very much delighted with it. 
 
 APRIL 6th. Yesterday the Governor called here. We had 
 been expecting him for several days, so were ready. The 
 parlour was real pretty. We had several plants in full 
 bloom in the windows, besides vases of cut flowers. For 
 refreshments we had only tea and cake. From our house 
 he went to the college and heard several classes recite, then 
 to the hospital, with which he was much pleased. He wanted 
 to see the stones which Joe extracted, and examined all the 
 instruments, which were laid out on tables in the drug room. 
 We hear, on pretty good authority, that this Governor has 
 complained of us at Teheran, asking that we be removed, 
 saying that we were very troublesome, turning the people 
 from Islam, etc. He is quite under the influence of the 
 Papists. They, you perhaps know, make no attempt to 
 convert Mussulmans, only Nestorians. This Governor sent 
 the other day to know whether we had an order from the 
 government for our printing press. We have none, only it 
 has been allowed to run forty-seven years undisturbed. 
 
 APRIL 27th. Poor Joe is so beset with people that he has 
 had to lock his doors to-day while he prepared for the mail. 
 He has considerable correspondence these days with the 
 British minister and consul over government affairs and 
 oppressions here. 
 
 MAY llth. In order to teach the Sabbath School lesson 
 I have to prepare a good deal. I enjoy the study of Mark. 
 Somehow I never realized before how the sick thronged and
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 123 
 
 crowded upon Christ during His whole life wherever He 
 went. People do just so in this country. You can hardly 
 realize it in America. A few Sabbaths ago Joe went to a 
 village some distance from here. He had not taken off his 
 boots before the sick began to come to the house where he 
 was. Before and after service it was just so. The next 
 morning he went to another village, and as they had heard 
 of his coming, by the time he arrived, the sick were all out 
 in the street, on beds, on donkeys, and on people's backs. 
 Was it not like the times of CErist? 
 
 MAY 16th. I wanted to attend Joseph's chemistry lecture 
 this evening, but baby was not at all sleepy. It is the best 
 substitute I have here for evening concerts and lectures to 
 go with Joe to the nicely lighted chapel, and sit in the corner 
 of a room full of boys. 
 
 His medical work was increasing, and the skill and 
 success of it were yearly extending his reputation. His 
 personal qualities as well as his medical services were 
 giving him a steadily enlarging influence with Persian 
 officials, which enabled him to be of real service to 
 men of honest purpose, and a check upon bad men, 
 while it made it possible for him to aid many oppressed 
 village people. One of the most powerful of the new 
 friends gained was Amir-i-Nizam, the Governor-General 
 of the Province. He was a man of great vigour of 
 character, who put down disorders with a. firm hand. 
 His personal morals were detestable, and Dr. Cochran 
 and Dr. Holmes both had plain dealings with him, but 
 whether in Tabriz, Teheran, or Kermanshah, he had 
 always a kindly feeling toward the missionaries. Dr. 
 Cochran writes on September 2nd, 1882, of his visit to 
 Urumia : 
 
 The comparative peace which we have enjoyed for the last 
 year was brought to an end about a month ago by the re- 
 appearance of Sheikh Obeidullah. You have probably
 
 124 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 noticed in the Associated Press reports of his escape from 
 Constantinople, where he has been detained by the Sultan 
 since his invasion of these borders. This circumstance quite 
 naturally threw these border districts into quite a panic. 
 TJrumia people thought his return to his home seventy miles 
 from here necessarily meant that he was to re-attack the city. 
 The Governor-General of Azerbaijan, with about three regi- 
 ments, had just arrived here on a visit to this and other 
 districts along the border. He ordered four more regiments 
 to come to the front, and sent several companies of infantry 
 with artillery and cavalry to the boundary. Prices imme- 
 diately rose, and many began to make preparations for flight 
 at the first report of a gun. A month has now passed, and 
 the Governor-General, with a number of other men of high 
 rank, is still here, awaiting the movements of the Turks 
 and Kurds. The Persians were disposed to look upon the 
 reappearance of the Sheikh as casus belli against the Turks. 
 Now, however, it seems quite evident that the Sheikh 
 escaped from Constantinople and was not honourably dis- 
 missed, as the Persians feared. Moreover, the Turks on dis- 
 covering his escape, ordered troops to intercept him, and have 
 since ordered that he go to Mecca, and there receive a pension 
 from the government, or else be brought by force to Con- 
 stantinople. 
 
 Yesterday he sent a letter to the Governor-General, the 
 contents of which I have not as yet learned. 
 
 In asking about our work, especially the educational de- 
 partment, the Governor asked if we would admit all appli- 
 cants to our schools. In replying that we would if the gov- 
 ernment did not object, referring to the Mussulman scholars, 
 he could not contain himself, and poured forth a volley of 
 abuses on their religious and political leaders. He said let 
 the donkeys remain in their donkeyhood if they choose, but 
 they cannot forever gag all their subjects. As if education 
 could make a man any the worse citizen. He often has ex- 
 pressed himself in the highest terms of praise referring to 
 our educating the people. While there are many objections 
 to having an army here, it raises the prices of everything, 
 levies on the poor people, robs and plunders on all the high- 
 ways, there are advantages. It gives us a rare opportunity 
 to meet the best society in the land, to have an influence for
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 125 
 
 good, I trust, over them; and many opportunities for openly 
 conversing on religious subjects with them. 
 
 Our hospital building was wholly completed last month 
 after the many delays and losses. We hope, before long, as 
 soon as I am likely to remain home, to open it, and put 
 more strength on this than on any other department of 
 my medical work. 
 
 A few weeks later Dr. Shedd writes: 
 
 Dr. Cochran's professional services have opened a very 
 friendly intercourse with the Amir, and especially with his 
 Vizier. Our college and hospital grounds were unjustly 
 taxed last spring and arrears exacted, costing us in all over 
 one hundred dollars. This tax the Amir has cancelled for 
 the future, so long as he is in authority. His note on the 
 subject gives our work a high recommendation, and may 
 open the way for the Shah to confirm the favour granted in 
 perpetuo. 
 
 In the fall of 1882 Mrs. Cochran's mother, Mrs. 
 Hale, and her sister, Miss Hale, who subsequently 
 married Dr. Holmes, came from Minneapolis to Persia 
 on a visit, and remained for a year in Urumia. They 
 were accompanied by Mr. S. M. Clement, Jr. Mr. 
 Clement stayed a month, and was profoundly impressed 
 with what he saw of the magnitude of Dr. Cochran's 
 influence and the benevolence and power of his work. 
 To Dr. Cochran it was a great joy to have this visit 
 from his dearest friend who was as a brother to him. 
 He showed Mr. Clement all he could of the life and 
 needs of the people, not omitting to set up with some 
 mountain people a realistic and sensational attack 
 upon Mr. Clement which had all the appearances of 
 genuineness, and in which Mr. Clement was disarmed 
 and shown just how it feels to be robbed. The joke 
 soon came out, of course. He played the same prank
 
 126 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 some years later on a Secretary of the Board who 
 visited the field. Dr. Cochran took a quiet delight in 
 teasing people, but he kept his jokes firmly in hand, 
 even when he was operating with riotous mountaineers 
 as his agents. Mrs. Hale was greatly interested and 
 pleased with the character and influence of her son. 
 " I think Joseph has developed into a very beautiful 
 character," she wrote the first day out from Erivan, 
 where Dr. Cochran came to meet them on October 8th. 
 " Our family worship last evening and this morning 
 I enjoyed very much." The party arrived in Urumia 
 about October 20th. Just after their arrival Dr. 
 Cochran had to attend a very bad case of smallpox, a 
 German woman whom they all knew and loved. She 
 died from the disease and there was a day of great 
 anxiety when it seemed that Dr. Cochran had con- 
 tracted it. Happily it was not so. Mrs. Hale found Dr. 
 Cochran speaking the native languages more fluently 
 even than English and firmly settled in the confidence 
 of all classes. " Yesterday," she wrote, December 18th, 
 1882, " Joseph received a call from the Governor and 
 a messenger of the Shah, who came to bring a present 
 to the Amir. He was taken sick after his arrival, and 
 Joe was called to attend him. These gentlemen sent 
 word that they would call three hours before sunset, 
 but the carriage drove up just before we finished din- 
 ner. I believe only six servants came with them. 
 These remained in the hall during the call which, I 
 should say, lasted an hour. After the call here, Joseph 
 showed them over the hospital. The Governor had 
 been over it before, but the other man seemed much 
 pleased." And again on May 10th, 1883, " Joseph has 
 a case in the hospital upon whom he performed quite 
 a critical operation yesterday. He felt so anxious
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 127 
 
 about him that he stayed at the hospital last night. 
 He has been remarkably successful in his surgical 
 operations, and receives blessings without number 
 from the sufferers who have been benefited." Mrs. 
 Hale found that wherever he went or the people knew 
 he was coming there was always some one waiting to 
 see him. Often there would be many. At home " there 
 would always be people waiting for him the first thing 
 in the morning so that he did not dare show himself 
 before breakfast or there was no knowing when he 
 could get back." Mrs. Hale and her daughter left Uru- 
 mia in October, 1883, and Dr. and Mrs. Cochran and 
 their two children accompanied them to Tabriz, and 
 Dr. Cochran went with them to Tiflis. He had an old 
 wagon fitted up for the trip. It was a remarkable 
 vehicle, but it made the journey quite comfortable for 
 them. Mrs. Hale found Dr. Cochran a remarkable 
 driver. She never expected to travel over such horrors 
 as these Persian roads in such a " prairie schooner," 
 but Tiflis was safely reached. Dr. Cochran had to re- 
 turn at once on a hurried trip, such as he often re- 
 peated, because of the illness of his oldest child. 
 
 Among the hospital patients of 1883 was an official 
 in the Persian army brought to the hospital with his 
 arm dreadfully shattered from a gunshot .wound re- 
 ceived from the Kurds. It had been badly neglected 
 and gangrene had set in. Dr. Cochran thought at first 
 that it would be impossible to save the arm, and feared 
 that the man must lose his life. He hesitated very 
 much about taking him into the hospital, fearing that 
 he could not live and that the hospital would be blamed 
 for his death. But the man plead so hard to have 
 him do the best he could that he consented to take 
 him. He was able to save not only his life but his
 
 128 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 arm also. The man's gratitude knew no bounds. He 
 said that he had one son, and that after him the thing 
 he valued most was his horse, and he should give that 
 to Dr. Cochran. When he left, the horse was brought 
 out and presented. It was a very beautiful animal, 
 and Dr. Cochran rode him for many years. This same 
 man objected to having any of the hospital assistants 
 touch him. To his thought, they were not as gentle 
 as the doctor. He said the doctor's hand was " like 
 velvet." 
 
 Hard work and heavy responsibility and the im- 
 possibility of any escape from either in Urumia, were 
 telling on Dr. Cochran's health. He suffered from 
 sciatica and malaria, and after fighting off any idea 
 of rest as long as possible he at last wrote to the 
 Board on June llth, 1884 : 
 
 I am just home from a short trip to the mountains with 
 Mr. Rogers. We had been appointed to visit the Patriarch 
 in Kochanis, but we were unable to get beyond Gawar, as 
 we did not have the necessary Turkish vise on our passports. 
 We were unaware of the new regulations. 
 
 Our educational work in Turkey depends now almost 
 entirely on the friendship of the Nestorian Patriarch. The 
 Porte has notified him that he can establish as many schools 
 as he likes, and call on the government for aid, but not to 
 allow foreigners to open schools among bis people. Mar 
 Shimon is favourable now to our party, and it was believed 
 that a friendly visit would result in his permission to open 
 several schools in the most central places. 
 
 We passed a Sabbath in Gawar, having a good time there 
 in one of the villages and with our helpers. 
 
 Up to within eighteen months my health has been very 
 good, and although my work has been trying because I cannot 
 limit it to any hours, and feel that I have any time which 
 I can call my own, I have been able to keep well. Fearing 
 tbat I would soon see signs of wearing out, I have made 
 several futile attempts to shut down on my work. For a
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 129 
 
 year and a half now, I have, however, been losing strength 
 and nervous power till I have become a prey to malaria, the 
 one thing I had always hoped that I was proof against. At 
 times I have been very well, and at others I felt prostrated 
 and unfit for anything, and have suffered with sciatica, 
 neuralgia, and a few attacks of intermittent fever. The 
 sciatica followed a very hasty and hard journey from Tiflis 
 last fall, where I had escorted Miss Carey, having been called 
 back to our sick boy. About two months ago, at the advice 
 of our Station, I closed the hospital for a few weeks and 
 then tried Seir for a while, but I am convinced that it is 
 too much to expect to get rest here in Persia, for, from the 
 highest officials to the herdsman, my movements are known. 
 If at home, unless I stay in my bed, I have to see, or else 
 refuse, which is often harder, a great many sick and op- 
 pressed, while if I go to a village, the press is, if possible, 
 greater, and sick are brought out along the roadsides which 
 they know I must pass. All our circle here in the spring 
 advised my going off with my family, but I could not make 
 up my mind that I was not to rally, nor did I wish to leave 
 my work, and incur such great expense. It has been my 
 hope and prayer that I would have strength given me to 
 continue at this post at least for ten years without an 
 absence, but I am now obliged to admit that unless I can 
 soon get away from all places where I would be beset by 
 Persians, I must before very long give up my work in toto. 
 And if I take such a rest, I am persuaded that my family 
 must be with me. My wife has been very well these six 
 years in Persia, and a change now would probably do much 
 to keep her from getting in the condition of so many of 
 our ladies, while leaving her with the children would be a 
 cause of great anxiety to herself and me. It is now too 
 late to go any distance and return before winter, so my 
 proposition is this : Pass the balance of the summer as 
 quietly as possible here, then in the fall, or at the latest, 
 in the spring, go to some place in Germany where, in addi- 
 tion to getting the rest and change from my work, I could 
 avail myself of the opportunities there afforded for study 
 and observation in the medical colleges and hospitals, re- 
 maining there from two to five months as might seem 
 best.
 
 130 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 He was always opposed, however, to any unnecessary 
 expenditure of Mission funds. He would never author- 
 ize any one to leave the field for health reasons except 
 as a last resort, and he was very stern and ultra- 
 conscientious with himself. In the end he did not 
 leave Persia. He tried Seir and also resting at a 
 simple little place on the shore of the lake, submitting 
 to any inconveniences in the way of living or separa- 
 tion from his family. His mother wrote from the 
 lake : 
 
 Your brother really seems much better, but just as soon as 
 we get home they will come for him. When he went home last 
 Saturday night people seemed to have divined it, for Sabbath 
 a Khan in the city sent for him and the " Chief of the 
 Merchants." He returned here between one and two Mon- 
 day afternoon. He said he was very tired, for he had been 
 trying since 5 o'clock to get started. Twenty sick persons 
 came to him, and others came on business. Two or three 
 more weeks here would do us good, but Joseph feels he will 
 not be allowed to stay. 
 
 I dread to go back. It has been a source of great anxiety 
 to me to have Joseph work so hard. You have little idea how 
 he is pressed with the sick and the poor. 
 
 Accordingly, in September he went off with his fam- 
 ily to Tabriz to escape the press. The Mission ap- 
 proved of his going to Germany, but, writes Mrs. 
 Cochran, " we decided it was not best. Joseph seems 
 so much better the past few weeks that he thinks a 
 little longer rest now until cool weather and then 
 work on a different plan after returning will enable 
 him to remain for some time longer." On September 
 6th, she writes from Tabriz : " Joe seems about as he 
 did the last few weeks at home. It is hardly time to 
 tell yet whether this will prove a good change for him. 
 He can certainly rest here, and it is not considered
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 131 
 
 malarious, the air seems very different from that at 
 home. Yes, I do know we are being led in the way 
 we should go. At one time we did not get any light 
 on our plans, and I felt very anxious and unsettled. 
 Suddenly, while thus waiting to be guided, it occurred 
 to me, ' Why, the Lord is leading you at this very 
 moment ; why worry ? ' Sol have not worried since. 
 I did not want to come here, but things seemed to lead 
 that way, and so I came." The real rest needed was 
 found in the Persian mountains. Mrs. Cochran 
 writes : 
 
 ZENJANAB, September 23rd, 1884. We have at last found 
 a paradise in Persia. Perhaps it would not seem so to you, 
 but to us who are accustomed to such a dry and thirsty land 
 this place is a continual feast to the eyes. I am seated flat 
 on the ground in a large grassy place with plenty of trees 
 about, though one prefers to sit in the sun, this mountain air 
 is so fresh. Among the trees is a stream of pure water 
 running over the stones. On one side is a stone wall, such 
 a pleasant change from mud ones, and in front rises a high 
 mountain. Snow mountains are not far away. 
 
 You have no idea how such a place rests me and renews 
 my youth. It is doing Joe good, too. He seems about the 
 strongest one of the party. Yesterday we rode to the top of 
 a high peak near the village, and in the evening Joe and 
 I took a ramble down the valley. On either side of the 
 stream were trees, almost forests to our eyes, and catches of 
 new mown clover, and such a nice, damp, woodsy smell, yet 
 without malaria, we were sure. If we could have only come 
 a month earlier and camped, that would have been perfection. 
 
 Joe has improved very much up here, and I hope after a 
 few weeks he will be ready for home and work. He thinks he 
 can systematize his work so that he can do it more easily and 
 not be pulled so, this way and that. 
 
 He was detained in Tabriz, caring for the health of 
 Dr. Holmes's daughter who had typhoid fever, until
 
 132 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 November, and then got back to Urumia in time for 
 the Annual Meeting, which was the semi-centennial 
 celebration of the founding of the Mission. The Rev. 
 Henry A. Nelson, D.D., had come out from America 
 to be present. Mrs. Cochran writes: 
 
 HOME, November llth. These days since reaching home 
 last week have been so crowded full with Annual Meeting 
 and company that I could not find time to write last week. 
 They have been busy days but ones full of enjoyment. It 
 is so pleasant to see new faces and hear new voices among 
 us. Dr. Nelson's visit has been such a treat to us all. He 
 is so fatherly, so genial ; he comes into each family, and takes 
 the children on his knee, and talks with us each on our 
 peculiar work and trials. Then his preaching and public 
 talks are like a breath of the Christian life from the home 
 land. I hardly know why, but he brings the tears into most 
 of our eyes whenever he speaks, perhaps it makes us all 
 a little homesick. It does us all good to have one among 
 us to whom we can look up and feel reverence for. If the 
 Board would send out some such man every few years it 
 would do a world of good. ... A great many went out 
 to meet Dr. Nelson, most of the helpers on horseback, the 
 schoolboys, and many footmen. The Governor sent out led 
 horses to do him honour. 
 
 After this rest in Zenjanab and Tabriz and the 
 Annual Meeting, Dr. Cochran went on with his work, 
 endeavouring to hold it a little more in hand. On 
 January 2nd, 1885, he writes : " My hands are pretty 
 full in the hospital, but I make an effort to get out more 
 than I used to. Dr. Israel has gone to Salmas. Dr. 
 Oshanna is in the hospital. Two medical students 
 were admitted last winter. We have a ' Medical 
 Congress ' every Wednesday evening." 
 
 As a result of the work of the hospital and the
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 133 
 
 earnest efforts of the Mission in all its branches, a 
 little band of converts from Mohammedanism had been 
 gathered, and it was hoped that with wise zeal a larger 
 work might be done among these men. But this year 
 trouble broke on the little band. It was turned aside, 
 however, by the friendly influence of the Governor. 
 Mrs. Cochran's letters picture the situation with the 
 liveliness of contemporary interest: 
 
 JUNE 8th, 1885. The little band of Mussulman converts 
 have been thrown into quite a state of excitement by the 
 
 persecution of Mirza , the one who taught in the girls' 
 
 seminary. A man whom we dismissed some time ago be- 
 cause he did not seem to be necessary has been troubling 
 him, thinking we would give money to keep him quiet. 
 Lately he has been threatening to kill him. About a week 
 ago he insisted that he must go with him before the Sheikh- 
 ul-Islam and revile Christ and us. Mirza got away, and 
 came out here to ask advice. Of course, we could not bribe 
 that wicked man to keep quiet. Mirza professed his willing- 
 ness to go before the Governor and declare himself a Chris- 
 tian, and take the consequences, and I believe he was truly 
 ready for it. But, of course, this would involve all the rest 
 of the little band, as they would be sure to ask if there 
 were others who had been baptized. Had he confessed him- 
 self a Christian, the very least the defenders of Islam could 
 have done would have been to have him terribly beaten and 
 thrown into prison, and demand a large fine for his release. 
 Then, if released, the same process would be repeated or, 
 more likely, they would have him murdered secretly. 
 Under the circumstances the best thing seemed to be to run 
 away. His wife came out and said good-bye to him that 
 afternoon. Poor thing! Being a Christian costs her some- 
 thing. Mirza sat up most of the night with one or two 
 of the converts who had come out to see him and some 
 of the college teachers. They all said they felt they had 
 been near heaven hearing this man talk. Very early in the 
 morning, as soon as the moon rose, he left on our horses, 
 Meshedie volunteering to escort him.
 
 134 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 JUNE 27th. It seems that enough is happening these days 
 to suit any one with a taste for excitement, though the ex- 
 citement may seem of a mild kind to you. In the first place 
 we had an operation here in the house. . . . While we were 
 taking our breakfast in a very irregular way, all the way 
 from seven to nine, Meshedie appeared, and said the servants 
 of the chief ecclesiastic of the city had sent for all of the 
 servants to appear before him. They were very persistent, 
 but finally Joe got them away by telling them that the four 
 here had work to do, we could not let them all go off in this 
 way, the others were not in his power to send. Besides, we 
 had no dealing with the religious heads of the city; we had 
 to do with the civil authorities, and if they wanted these 
 men they must get the Governor to send for them. I do not 
 know what they will do further; probably these converts 
 will go away as quickly as they can now to Russia or else- 
 where. It looks as though a crisis had come in our Mussul- 
 man work. How much strength these poor converts need! 
 Would we be able to stand up and face death by confessing 
 Christ? I hope so, but if these poor half -taught people 
 quail, we ought not to think too hardly of them. I think 
 that Joe will write to the Salar (now Amir) this week, but 
 I suppose he could not openly defend the lives of converts 
 from Islam. 
 
 JULY 25th. I was going to tell you more about Mirza. 
 The day of the Jubilee he appeared on the scenes, although 
 he had been specially warned not to return to Urumia at 
 present. He said as there were obstacles constantly rising 
 to prevent his going further on, and as he could not take his 
 family, he concluded perhaps God wanted him to return. 
 Besides he said he could not feel right about it. He felt 
 like a coward to be running away. So he concluded to 
 return and go about his business. If the Governor sent for 
 him he would go and tell him he was a Christian, perhaps 
 the Lord wanted him to be the first martyr in Urumia. 
 Towards night, just as the Jubilee people were departing, 
 the Governor did send for the whole company to appear 
 before him next morning. We each in our own homes were 
 praying for them. No one ran away during the night. 
 They all went to the Governor about nine in the morning.
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 135 
 
 They appeared before the Governor, the Sheikh-ul-Islam, and 
 several of the ecclesiastics. The Governor first asked them 
 if they were " Giaour " (infidels). " No," replied Mirza, " we 
 are no infidels, we believe in God." " Do you eat the bread 
 of Christians ? " asked the Governor. " We do," they replied. 
 "Do you drink their water?" "We do," they said. "Do 
 you wash your mouths afterwards ? " " We do not." The 
 Governor, for some reason, seemed to be very anxious not 
 to have any test question put; whenever the others seemed 
 to be getting too near the point, he would turn them off on 
 another track, so that really no questions were asked them 
 of any importance. At length the Governor said, " You 
 have told the truth. You are excused." The Governor 
 seems to be very anxious to avoid any tumult in the city, 
 and I presume is not unmindful of the friendship the Mis- 
 sion has always had with him and his father before him. 
 Thus ended that excitement. 
 
 In July the evangelical Church among the Nestorians 
 celebrated the Jubilee which the Mission had celebrated 
 the preceding fall. Between 1,600 and 1,700 people 
 were present, 850 of them women, and the whole occa- 
 sion was a demonstration to the people themselves, as 
 well as to the missionaries and the Moslem rulers, of 
 the beneficent influence of the Mission. Mrs. Cochran's 
 home letters described the celebration: 
 
 URUMIA, July 17th, 1885. A great booth was erected be- 
 tween the college and the bake house, the east side of the 
 college, extending the whole length of the building and 
 beyond. The platform was by the college, and on it sat our 
 gentlemen, the Kashas, and some guests. The ground was 
 covered with hay, and carpets spread over it. On these sat 
 the people, the men on one side, and the women on the 
 other. The booth was in charge of Mr. Labaree, and the 
 seating was quietly managed by young men ushers with 
 silver stars in their hats as a badge of office. The sight of 
 such an audience was very affecting to most of us, when 
 we thought what they were fifty years ago, and now to see
 
 136 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 them sitting so quietly, listening so attentively for hours, 
 their clothes so clean, their faces so intelligent. It really 
 was a grand sight; it showed the results of missionary work 
 more than anything we have seen before. The women's side 
 was a pretty sight, the white, blue, and pink head dresses, 
 and every one so clean and fresh, and when they rose to sing 
 it was such a wave of colour. Very few children were pres- 
 ent, and they were kept at one side, so that they did not 
 disturb the meeting. The yards were in Dr. Cochran's 
 charge, and he had his police force of twelve schoolboys 
 and twelve village people, a gilt star on the lapel being their 
 badge. The government sent out five soldiers to guard the 
 premises, and they came very soon, requesting stars, too, 
 so that they might be as fine as the rest. 
 
 The evening meeting was quite impressive. The great 
 booth was lighted with candles, and it was a pretty sight 
 as we looked upon the gathering from behind the audience. 
 There was some earnest speaking. At ten the meeting broke 
 up, and from that time till twelve, Dr. Cochran was very busy 
 getting people in their places for the night. The women 
 were all put in the college enclosure ; some slept in the college 
 rooms, some in the tent, two elderly men being put to 
 guard the two entrances. Some of the older and more feeble 
 men were lodged in the empty rooms of Mr. Rogers's house. 
 There were some in the vacant hospital rooms, some in tents, 
 and a great number on the lawns, without other shelter than 
 the tent. We did not attempt to furnish bedding. They 
 brought some themselves, though the majority had nothing, 
 and so rather avoided the roofs on account of the cold winds. 
 
 However, they all had on plenty of clothes, for of course 
 all that they bought new for this occasion was put on over the 
 old clothes. Some women I knew had on three dresses. 
 Some of them, I think, did not go to bed at all, but patron- 
 ized the tea stand all night. . . . One accident occurred 
 in the night. One woman in the college fainted. Her 
 friends began to scream, and immediately the whole crowd 
 of men in the yards rushed into the avenue, talking, shout- 
 ing, a perfect babel of sounds. My husband and I awoke 
 very much startled, and he was down in the yard in about 
 half a minute. We thought the Mussulmans had brought 
 a mob upon us at first, but when the true cause of the com-
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 137 
 
 motion was ascertained, the noise soon subsided. At sunrise, 
 there was a prayer meeting for the women on Dr. Shedd's 
 lawn, and the graduates of the female seminary gathered 
 in the college chapel. I attended a part of the latter meet- 
 ing. About seventy were present. I was especially inter- 
 ested in hearing Selby of Marbeshu speak. She was the 
 first scholar in the seminary, the one whom Mar Yohannan 
 took by the hand and brought to Miss Fiske, his niece, I 
 believe. She is now quite old and grey-haired. She made 
 an earnest plea for more help for the women of the moun- 
 tains. Just before the evening meeting in the booth Mrs. 
 Shedd and I gathered the collectors of the mite society in 
 my parlour, and tried to encourage them to increase the 
 number of givers in their different villages this Jubilee 
 year. There are now 210 members. We also had a talk with 
 the five leaders of the women's meetings to be held next week 
 on the different rivers. 
 
 The City Governor was invited to be present, but could 
 not on account of its being the Mussulman feast, but the 
 Sarparast, or governor appointed to look after the interests 
 of the Christians, drove out, and sat in our parlour as they 
 all went by to tea in the lower garden. He was very much 
 astonished to learn that the majority of the women even 
 could read. He said, " I know the Mussulmans ; I know 
 the Jews; I know the Catholics; I know the Old Church 
 people, but your people are very much better, very different 
 from all the rest." 
 
 Mar Shimon, the Patriarch, sent a man down to bear his 
 good wishes, but he arrived a day too late. We had him here 
 to breakfast this morning, gorgeous in his blue loose trousers, 
 finely embroidered with all the colours of the rainbow. A 
 committee has been appointed to put into a book all the 
 historical papers of this occasion, and then as many as 
 choose will write their names in this book, and give as 
 many shahies as they have lived years as a Jubilee offering. 
 
 In the autumn Dr. Cochran started for a trip in 
 the Kurdish mountains, but was called back after a few 
 days by sickness. The following spring, however, he 
 made up for this disappointment by a visit with his
 
 138 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 wife to Van to attend the Annual Meeting of the 
 Eastern Turkey Mission of the American Congrega- 
 tionalists, to consider the establishment of a joint sta- 
 tion in the mountains from which the Congregational 
 missionaries could reach the Armenian population, and 
 the Presbyterian missionaries the Nestorians and 
 Kurds. The plan did not seem feasible at the time, 
 not, however, because of any lack of harmony of feeling 
 and unity of mind between the missionaries and the 
 Boards which they represented. Dr. and Mrs. Cochran 
 greatly enjoyed the social side of this visit. Mrs. 
 Cochran writes: 
 
 VAN, TURKEY, May 27th, 1886. Just imagine how good 
 it seems to see so many people. We are having such a 
 good time. I enjoy the meetings and the prayer meetings, 
 and comparing notes on work and the laughing we do at 
 table does us perhaps as much good as any one thing. Yes- 
 terday was a very full day. I cannot begin to tell you of 
 all the feasts, spiritual, mental, and physical that we are 
 having. In the morning we had communion in English. At 
 12 :30 there was a meeting in the chapel, and all the gentlemen 
 made short addresses, Joe in Turkish. The people came in 
 such crowds that the chapel was filled with men before a 
 single woman found a place there. Finally, Miss Ely took 
 the women into the girls' school, and had a meeting there, 
 but they say that nearly 500 went away for lack of room. 
 One night the English consul invited us all to dinner. The 
 company was a high mix. There were present English and 
 Americans, Canadians, two French monks, a Greek, the 
 Turkish Pasha, the Persian consul, who seemed very glad to 
 see us, besides Armenians. The dinner was a prolonged 
 affair, but the chief enjoyment was the music. The Turkish 
 Pasha brought his military band, and it played most of the 
 evening, much to our delight. It is the only good band 
 music I have heard since leaving Germany. 
 
 The remaining letters before the departure of the 
 family for America, in the spring of 1888, show the
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 139 
 
 steady development of Dr. Cochran's influence, the 
 place he was helping to win for the work in the regard 
 of the people, high and low, and the Christian hospital- 
 ity and large-mindedness which he displayed toward 
 certain new factors in the missionary situation which 
 entered the field in the summer of 1886 : 
 
 HOME, June 16th, 1886. We are safely home again from 
 Van. We did have such a good time. The meeting was 
 very pleasant and harmonious. The natives are complaining 
 of Dr. Reynolds because he does not practice, but of course 
 he has not had time, being the only man of the Station. 
 He gave out that a doctor was coming from Persia who 
 would treat all, and you should have seen the crowds! We 
 had Dr. Oshanna with us, and he did most of the work, 
 though Joe saw a good many. One of the schoolgirls said to 
 Joe in English, " You are like Jesus, and the people are all 
 coming to you." At last the Turks put a stop to it, saying 
 they could not practice unless they showed their diplomas, 
 which, of course, were not at hand. 
 
 I have been home just a week, but I seem to be in business, 
 and have given a dinner for General Wagner and the whole 
 Mission. General Wagner arrived on Wednesday. Not long 
 after the general appeared in our yards, he and Joe met 
 in the avenue, and he kissed Joe on both cheeks. We had 
 lunch for him yesterday noon, dinner at night, and he re- 
 mained until this morning. The general leaves on Monday. 
 The Shah has sent him on a tour of inspection of all troops 
 and defences, military stores, etc. 
 
 JULY 9th. Somehow we seem to manage to live in about 
 as much of a rush as you do in America. We return, and 
 before I am fairly unpacked, we give dinners, etc. Next we 
 rush off to the lake, after a week we return, breakfast at 
 sunrise, and reach here at nine to find College Commence- 
 ment, Alumni Meeting, women's meetings, etc., in full blast, 
 a sort of second Jubilee. 
 
 Tbe graduates have organized a regular Alumni Associa- 
 tion, with Malek Yonan, of Geogtapa, president. They had 
 divided themselves into three divisions, one to discuss the
 
 140 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 spiritual condition of the people, one the educational, and 
 the last the industrial. Thursday afternoon those divisions 
 submitted their reports. Not much was said on the first 
 two heads; they had been pretty fully discussed before, but 
 I never saw this Nestorian people so waked up as on that last 
 head. Joe read the report of that committee or rather 
 opened the discussion on the subject. The plan is to intro- 
 duce more trades here for Nestorian boys to learn, to teach 
 the people to be busy, not idle all winter, so as to have 
 more thrift and not to be so ground down by poverty and 
 debt. 
 
 There were many schemes proposed; the committee will 
 work them up. Some were quite wild. Most were more 
 moderate and content with a small beginning. For one 
 thing, I think they will introduce silk worms we have 
 plenty of mulberry trees, you know and go into silk manu- 
 facture. Another plan will be to send some one to Tiflis 
 to learn to make good leather and shoes, and return as 
 teacher. Another is to learn improvements in iron work. 
 Nearly 100 tomans were subscribed to aid in this work. I 
 never saw our people so waked up before. 
 
 AUGUST 13th. There have been two arrivals this week 
 which I must tell you about. Joe came down from Seir very 
 early Monday morning to meet the Prince, who was to 
 arrive two hours after sunrise. He is a son of Fath-ali 
 Shah, or great uncle of the present Shah. He comes to 
 inspect things here and appoint a Governor for TJrumia. 
 Most of the Khans of the city went out to Issi Su, beyond 
 Gavalan, to meet him. All the villages were ordered out 
 with sheep for sacrifice, and the roads would have run with 
 blood, but when he came in he gave orders that no slaughter- 
 ing should be done. Joe met him at Gerdabad, the first 
 village out. The Prince stopped his carriage and the whole 
 procession, and talked with him about half an hour. He 
 said that General Wagner had recommended the Americans 
 and their work to his love and care. He then excused Joe, 
 and told him not to follow in the dust, but to leave him, 
 and go home a shorter way. Now, just as a specimen of 
 the way things go in this country, I must tell you one 
 outcome of this honourable reception. The people of
 
 FIRST TEKM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 141 
 
 Haiderlu, the village below Seir on the mountain, have 
 been oppressing Khubyar of Seir, taking his clover, etc. 
 Now when the Haiderlu people saw that the " Hakim Sahib " 
 was in favour with the Prince, they no longer dared to 
 oppress one of our men, and sent to fix up the business 
 quickly. The Prince has his quarters in a garden near us. 
 When our gentlemen sent to ask when they might call, the 
 Prince replied, " Come now, come this afternoon, or any 
 time during the night, or to-morrow; my door is always 
 open to you." He does not receive the presents which people 
 always send such great people. The first tray of sweetmeats 
 and fruit which came, he threw out the window, dishes and 
 all. A princely way of signifying, I suppose, that such 
 things were not required. He has about a thousand people 
 with him, and large numbers of camels and horses, etc. As 
 I write I can hear the cannon booming away, which means 
 that the Prince is entering the city. 
 
 Now I must tell you about the other arrival. The same 
 day the long-expected Englishmen (of the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury's Mission to the Nestorians) arrived. We did 
 not know what day they would come in or Joe would have 
 met them. I think I wrote you that they declined our 
 invitation to come directly here. The next day Dr. Shedd 
 and Joe called. They were dressed in robes. They were 
 very pleasant and seemed very cordial and gentlemanly. In 
 a social way I presume they will be an addition to society 
 here. In the evening quite a number of Old Church people 
 gathered in their yard, and they treated them all to wine. 
 They went into the old church in Mart-Mariam, kissed the 
 crucifix, and worshipped in High Church style. They were 
 to have called to-day. I mean to invite them soon to dinner. 
 
 NOVEMBER 14th. Thursday evening we had the English 
 gentlemen here to dinner. They are very pleasant socially, 
 and it does us good to meet those outside our own circle. 
 
 The children have earned enough money to buy a Testa- 
 ment for little Michael, the boy whose leg Joe amputated. 
 Joe saw him on his mountain trip, and said he was very 
 well and ran about on the rocks with his crutches. Joe 
 met many of his old patients in the dark places among the 
 mountains, and the helpers say that returned patients are
 
 142 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 always their firm supporters. Those who never thought of 
 attending service before were always present. The Van 
 patients hare returned home. We could not tell whether 
 that little boy could see or not; there was still some inflam- 
 mation, and he kept his eyes tightly closed all the time. We 
 shall hear soon, no doubt. 
 
 JANUARY 4th, 1887. Several days ago a little boy died in 
 the hospital of diphtheria. He was brought for a bad sore, 
 and this disease suddenly developed. We learned that his 
 brother died of it the week before, but his mother did not 
 tell, as she feared he would not be admitted. So you can 
 imagine our anxiety when, last Friday, our children began 
 to complain of sore throat. The Mission is still in a rather 
 sorry condition as to health. Joe is kept busy going from 
 one of his patients to another. He feels the responsibility 
 very much, and it is wearing on him. I wish that Dr. 
 Holmes might come over so that Joe might consult with 
 some one, but he cannot leave yet. 
 
 JANUARY 22nd. Dr. Holmes has arrived, and it is such a 
 comfort to Joe to have him here. Emma still continues 
 very ill and suffers terribly. Joe has been with her for the 
 last ten nights, and is getting quite worn out. H we only 
 had a trained nurse! 
 
 SEIR, July 29th. I am enjoying this rest ever so much, 
 but it is not complete without Joe. He has remained but 
 two days in succession so far. He made many plans about 
 it, was going to play with his children, and walk with 
 them, and read to them, but nothing has been realized in 
 that line so far. Joe had a letter from General Wagner. 
 He is still trying to get him a decoration from the Shah, 
 although Joe has plainly told him he does not wish one. 
 He says, " Dear doctor, you have more Persian merits as 
 any other man, and so have I explicated to Mr. Pratt " (the 
 American minister). 
 
 With all his cares he found time for the love of home 
 and children, and across the years his eldest son
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 143 
 
 recalls the simplicity and strength of the father's train- 
 ing and influence in the household: 
 
 Among the earliest recollections of my father is that of 
 his telling stories to us children. When a very small child 
 I used to delight in having him sit beside me after I had gone 
 to bed, and tell me "just one story." These would usually 
 be in connection with his day's work, some incident at the 
 hospital, or on the way to and from the city, or some 
 village. My favourite was the " fox story," which I believe 
 I heard a dozen times. This is about a fox which father 
 had seen on one of his rides. I never tired of hearing about 
 its " soft fur and its little shining white teeth," and, child- 
 like, was not satisfied if the description was altered in any 
 way. When I was older we children used to listen with great 
 interest to the famous stories of the Kurdish War. Even 
 though rushed and tired father often took time of an 
 evening for a story or a game with us. No father could 
 have been more devoted and sympathetic. Never did he 
 speak a cross or unkind word to his children; a rebuke 
 was always given in a gentle but dignified way. As far 
 back as I can remember it was a custom in our family to 
 take a walk Sunday afternoon. Father was often called 
 away, but as far as possible he planned his work so as to 
 have that time free with his family. If it was spring the 
 garden was visited, and we children each chose a little plot 
 of our own, and discussed what was to be planted, and 
 watched the growth with great interest from week to week. 
 Often we took longer walks, going up the river valley in 
 the direction of the snow-capped Tergawars, arid if it was a 
 very clear day we could see the tops of the Sahends, near 
 Tabriz. My father is so closely associated in my mind with 
 every walk and ride that I never recall one without thinking 
 of him. He was such a necessary member of any expedi- 
 tion, none was complete without 'his presence. I always had 
 a sense of perfect security and happiness when with him. 
 
 In 1887 the Shah bestowed upon Dr. Cochran and 
 Dr. Holmes decorations of the Second Class of the 
 Order of the Lion and the Sun of Persia. On Novem-
 
 144 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 ber 19th, 1887, the American Minister in Teheran, the 
 Hon. E. Spencer Pratt, wrote to Dr. Cochran : 
 
 I take pleasure in informing you that you have been 
 decorated by His Imperial Majesty, the Shah, with the 
 Second Class of the Order of the Lion and the Sun of 
 Persia. 
 
 The Imperial Firman announcing your appointment in 
 the Order, as well as the two Stars, insignia thereof, have 
 been sent me to-day, and these I shall transmit to you as 
 soon as I can find a safe and reliable means of so doing. 
 
 You were not previously advised of any efforts in this 
 direction because it was thought best, until these had suc- 
 ceeded, to keep the matter secret. 
 
 The Imperial Firman of the Shah, granting the deco- 
 ration, was as follows: 
 
 God is He Whose Dignity is Most High. 
 
 The Universe belongs to the Most High God. 
 
 Since the hand of Nasr ed Din took the signet, justice 
 and equity have extended from the moon to the fish (filled 
 the earth). 
 
 The Domain is the Most High God's. 
 
 The Royal Command is Issued. 
 
 Because of the happy relations existing between the dis- 
 tinguished Powers of Persia and America, and because of 
 the desire to extend Royal Favours to the exalted and 
 sagacious Dr. Cochran, in this, the swine year, we confer 
 glory and honour upon him by bestowing the decoration 
 of the Stars of the second degree of the " Grand Order of 
 the Lion and the Sun," wherewith, having ornamented his 
 esteemed bosom, he shall be glorious and exalted. 
 
 Written in the Month of Saffar, and in the year of the 1305. 
 
 On April 7th, 1888, the family started for America 
 on furlough. His last letter before leaving referred to 
 the arrangements made for his work and to the con- 
 ditions in the mountains and Urumia :
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 145 
 
 It is not by any means with unmixed pleasure that we 
 now break up our home and quit the work for a time. We 
 anticipate a pleasant and profitable visit to America, espe- 
 cially for me professionally, but both Mrs. Cochran and I 
 would like still better to stay right on and labour here con- 
 tinuously, were it advisable. I have for some time cherished 
 the hope of stopping two or three months in England and 
 Scotland, for the sake of looking into their hospital and 
 medical colleges, on my way to America. It is a great 
 advantage for a physician resident in the East to 
 have some knowledge of English or European men and 
 teaching. . . . 
 
 Messrs. Coan and McDowell got off for their mountain 
 trip three days ago, going via Mosul, the only way open 
 at this season. We sent a messenger yesterday to over- 
 take them and carry the news just received that $3,000 
 more had been sent for the famine, authorizing them to 
 draw $1,000 if they found an urgent need in the districts 
 visited. 
 
 All eyes are on the lookout to see if the locust eggs, 
 deposited on the hills two days' journey to the south of us, 
 will hatch or not. There is a hope entertained that they 
 are destroyed by the light fall of snow this winter, which 
 has exposed them to the changes of the temperature. In 
 case the locusts do not appear, this district will be very well 
 off for grain, both in old and new; and the price will fall 
 to half or a third what it is now. 
 
 They travelled via Batoum and Constantinople, stop- 
 ping a few days at the latter place, and then going on 
 through Athens, Corfu, Naples, Rome, Milan, and 
 Lucerne to London, where he was present at the mar- 
 riage of Miss Emma Cochran to Mr. Ponafidine of the 
 Imperial Russian consular service. They spent some 
 weeks in London, where Dr. Cochran attended the 
 World Missionary Conference and spent some time in 
 English schools and hospitals, in accordance with a 
 plan of which he had written from Urumia before 
 starting :
 
 146 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 SEIR, August 24th, 1887. I am very anxious to carry 
 out a plan long cherished of stopping from two to four 
 months in England or Scotland, either going or coming, 
 to get what I can in that time of knowledge of medical and 
 surgical practice as taught in the English and Scotch schools 
 and hospitals. I am anticipating rare practical benefit from 
 my visit to America, but a few months in English schools 
 and hospitals will do what America cannot for me in my 
 work. My education so far and all my medical journals 
 are American. What contact I have now with educated 
 physicians, Dr. Holmes excepted, is with English or Euro- 
 peans. American authorities are for the most part unknown 
 by my colleagues. 
 
 They reached New York in July, and after brief 
 visits in the East, including some days with Mr. 
 Clement in the Adirondacks, went to Minneapolis, 
 where Mrs. Cochran and the children remained, and 
 where, during the furlough, the third child, Harry, was 
 born. The first three months of 1889 he spent in 
 Buffalo and New York studying new methods in med- 
 ical and surgical practice, and in the spring made a 
 trip to California with his mother, by the Canadian 
 Pacific, to visit his sister, Mrs. Scott. He was a born 
 traveller and keenly enjoyed the sights of America 
 after his ten years' absence. " He often used to re- 
 mark," wrote one of his sisters-in-law, " that such and 
 such things that he had seen would be so interesting 
 to tell of to his Persian friends. All that he stored 
 up of pleasure and interest was given out again to those 
 less favoured when he went back again to Persia. Most 
 of the summer he and his family spent at Lake Minne- 
 tonka. It was the special delight of my nieces to get 
 their Uncle Joseph to tell exciting tales of adventures 
 in Persia as they sat on the piazza summer evenings. 
 He was always able to interest and fascinate children
 
 FIRST TERM ENDED AND FURLOUGH 147 
 
 and young people by the ' true stories ' he could tell. 
 Towards the last of the summer he told them he sup- 
 posed he should have to go back to Persia and have 
 some hairbreadth escapes in order to satisfy their de- 
 mands for stories." 
 
 He spent a good deal of time while at home hunting 
 for a medical man to work in the Kurdish mountains 
 among the mountain Nestorians in whom, as has al- 
 ready appeared and we shall see later, he had the deep- 
 est interest. On the various trips which he made for 
 the Board on this errand, interviewing men, he charged 
 the Board only the bare railroad expenses, not even 
 including meals or sleeping cars. He had an extreme 
 sense of honour in these things, and chose deliberately 
 to incur loss himself in order to save Mission funds 
 at every point. And his course was not due to his 
 having any money of his own. In submitting an 
 account to the Board he asked that if it was right it 
 might be covered at once as he had had to borrow the 
 money for the journey. The fact that he was acting 
 as a trustee made him rigidly scrupulous. He was 
 not the kind of man who indulges in extravagance 
 because some one else pays for it. He worked for a 
 time in Buffalo on a plan for securing an endowment 
 of $30,000 for the hospital, but when he found that it 
 would absorb some of the Board's regular revenues 
 he at once dropped it. " I feel sure that I have not 
 so far lessened the Board's receipts materially, for I 
 have spoken some twenty-three times here and else- 
 where, and got $4.00 ! In nearly all the places I have 
 simply reported to persons, societies, and churches the 
 work to which they had contributed, asking nothing 
 for the future or for new work." He was entirely too 
 modest and self -repressive, too reticent about anything
 
 148 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 that he had done or that God had done through him, 
 to be a success as a solicitor of funds, directly or in- 
 directly. He lacked entirely the faculty of advertise- 
 ment of himself or his work, or of appeal for himself, 
 or his own interest, and he was too conscientious to 
 gain by another's loss or to promote his own concerns 
 at the possible expense of the concerns of others. He 
 was specially anxious, however, to get the money for 
 an annex to the hospital, to be used as a women's ward. 
 A few months before sailing he received from Mrs. 
 George Howard, of Buffalo, a gift of $2,000 for this pur- 
 pose, and the Howard Annex was built on his return to 
 Urumia. 
 
 People became profoundly interested in him and his 
 work wherever he went, in spite of his quietness and 
 unobtrusiveness. The quality of the man and the dis- 
 tinction that hung about him were too obvious to be 
 hidden entirely, and those who came to know him dis- 
 covered that the missionary work commanded the high- 
 est type of manhood and devotion.
 
 IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 
 
 ON October 1st, 1889, Dr. Cochran, with his fam- 
 ily, sailed for Persia, going by way of London, 
 Vienna, and Constantinople. He reached home 
 in Urumia on November 16th. The hospital was 
 opened immediately, and work with his three young 
 medical students was resumed. All classes greeted his 
 return with joy, and the new Governor, who had come 
 during his furlough, was greatly interested in him. 
 Dr. Labaree wrote a fortnight after his arrival : 
 
 I would mention first the welcome arrival of Dr. Cochran 
 with his mother and his family. They have had a hard 
 journey and were much fatigued on arriving. Their greet- 
 ing was a most hearty one, not from the missionary circle 
 only, but from great numbers of native friends within and 
 without our evangelical churches, and even outside of the 
 Christian community, many Mohammedans, both of the 
 highest and lowest classes, joined in rejoicing over the 
 doctor's return. We have a new Governor, recently arrived, 
 quite a stranger in this province. He is reported to be of 
 the old school of Persian officials, austere and haughty in 
 his bearing, especially towards foreigners. And so we found 
 him, on calling upon him a few days after his coming to 
 town. But when he heard of Dr. Cochran's arrival, and 
 was told by prominent persons of his benevolent and most 
 successful professional services, and of the long residence 
 of the American missionaries in the country, with their 
 varied beneficent operations, he was quite impressed, and 
 sent at once one of his more prominent servants to enquire 
 for the doctor's health after his journey, and with him sent 
 
 149
 
 150 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 a huge tray of sweetmeats, borne on men's heads, as is the 
 Persian style in honouring a newcomer. And when Dr. 
 Cochran called to pay his respects upon His Excellency, 
 he was received with much cordiality. 
 
 The Governor soon sought Dr. Cochran's aid for 
 himself for acute rheumatism. " All winter and 
 spring," wrote the doctor, " I had under my care the 
 Governor of this district, a Persian of the old style, 
 and one who did not hesitate to demand much of my 
 time a man who, when well enough to ride, sits in 
 his open carriage accompanied by a large escort. First 
 in the procession come ten to twenty horsemen, well 
 armed, riding two by two; next come two of his exe- 
 cutioners, in scarlet uniform, carrying long whips, and 
 crying out, ' Clear the way, stand up. Out of the way,' 
 etc. Then come about twenty constables with long 
 canes, held up. After these some more horsemen 
 his personal servants with one or two finely saddled 
 led horses, with rich embroidered spreads over the 
 saddles, followed by the Governor in his carriage, while 
 in his rear come a few more horsemen, among them his 
 pipebearer, who is called upon every fifteen minutes or 
 so to give him the water pipe for which coals are 
 carried in iron vessels hanging from the saddle. As 
 he gets to the city gate the footmen draw up in line, 
 salute, and are dismissed, when they await his return." 
 
 In calling on the Governor, all the doctor's diplo- 
 macy and social skill were necessary. " Such a pa- 
 tient," he wrote on June 15th, 1890, " takes much time, 
 trouble, and care over and above other patients. I 
 have to have two men if I go on horseback, one to hold 
 the horse. No one there would do it (all bring their 
 servants), and no place to fasten him. One must go 
 with me through the several outer courtyards, where
 
 o 
 U
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 151 
 
 the different officials attached to the Governor's court 
 are seeing and hearing petitions. Then on entering 
 his room I must take time not only to see him, but 
 also to drink two glasses of tea, which are served with 
 quite an interval between them. Then the native 
 physicians who have worked to get the case, and the 
 friends have to be satisfied, etc. He is now convales- 
 cent, and rides out in the carriage, and yesterday on 
 horseback for the first time." 
 
 His care of the Governor was not the only affair 
 calling for tact and judgment. In this same letter of 
 June 15th he writes: 
 
 We had a visit from the British consul at Tabriz a short 
 time ago. There was quite a time made at his arrival. He 
 telegraphed the hour when he would arrive to the Governor, 
 and the night before his entrance sent him the instructions 
 of his superior, the Governor of the Province, as to how he 
 was to receive the consul. 
 
 We missionaries went out about four miles. The English 
 missionaries had gone out further. We found him encamped 
 in a shady place, waiting for the arrival of the government 
 officials. He became very impatient at their tardiness, and 
 sent one man and then another to report that he was waiting 
 their arrival, and would stay there all night if they did not 
 come. Finally, the agent of tbe Foreign Office came, but 
 the consul told him he had insulted him in keeping him 
 waiting so long, that he should have come out at least twelve 
 miles. Tbe Persian said the consul had no cause for com- 
 plaint; be had come with some ten military officers, five 
 noblemen, and two led horses, and a detachment of fifty 
 cavalry. These were all near, but had not been presented. 
 His reply, not being worded carefully, provoked the consul, 
 and he stormed away, Jobn Bull getting away with him. 
 He called for his horses, and said he was going back to 
 Tabriz. The Khan mounted and started after him, as well 
 as some others. I also accompanied, but did not say any- 
 thing while he was in that state. The Khan provoked him 
 more and more by telling him, in Oriental style of bos-
 
 152 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 pitality, " I won't let you go. You shall come on to 
 Urumia with me," and caught hold of the bridle. He 
 naturally added fuel to the fire, and I got the Khan to leave 
 him and fall behind. Ye rode on toward Tabriz. I soon 
 rentured to remark that the Governor, I knew, had given 
 orders to have him received with every mark of respect, 
 and to do him every possible honour, and that I hoped that 
 any mistake on the part of his agent would not be con- 
 sidered as disrespectful on the part of the Governor. He 
 said, " I am going back." I then bethought myself to send 
 back word to the Khan, asking if he would come after him 
 on foot. So he dismounted and began walking after us. 
 I told Colonel Stewart that the Khan was on foot following. 
 He slowed up, and after the Khan had again asked pardon, 
 catching hold of the consul's feet, the latter turned about. 
 
 The rest of the escort was present, and we rode in. At 
 the city gate he was met by about twenty constables on foot, 
 with long canes, who immediately proceeded, two by two, 
 the led horses and cavalry ahead of them, and all the officers 
 and the other horsemen beside and behind him. All but the 
 foot escort came out to our place with him. The officials 
 dismounted and took tea with us. 
 
 The Khans of the city did what they could to atone for 
 their seeming want of attention all the time he was here, 
 by sending tray after tray of candy, sugar, and tea, and 
 lambs, and calling on him. We enjoyed his visit. He is a 
 rery pleasant man, sociable and well-read, and has travelled 
 a great deal in the East. The day he left, a large escort 
 again accompanied him, and about an hour's ride out a tent 
 had been prepared, where we dismounted, and coffee, and 
 tea, and pipes were served, when all took leave but an escort 
 of five horsemen. Katharine was ill most of the time he was 
 here, so it made it hard for me to do for him. We gave 
 one dinner, to which we invited the English missionaries. 
 
 Tell the girls I am loading up my barrel for some future 
 day when I shall be called upon to tell stories of blood and 
 thunder. 
 
 All the time his ordinary work, full of extraordinary 
 experiences, went on as usual. Soon after the reopen- 
 ing of the hospital his wife wrote :
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 153 
 
 We had a great scare in the hospital the other night. Joe 
 had retired early, as he was tired, when one of the patients 
 came running over to say that a mistake had been made 
 in giving a medicine, and a patient was dying. It was an 
 old man whose leg was amputated the other day, and he was 
 doing well after nearly dying several times, when his nurse 
 gave him a spoonful of carbolic acid by mistake. Joe and 
 all the young doctors worked over him until midnight, and 
 thought surely he would go, but he has rallied again, and 
 may yet recover. He is a mountain man; his wife and sons 
 had come to visit him that day. She was quite furious, 
 and kept inciting her sons to draw their daggers and kill 
 that nurse on the spot, and had the man died, I don't know 
 what might have happened, these mountain people are so wild. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1890, work on the " Howard 
 Annex," the building for the women's medical work, 
 was begun. It was a well built structure, with rooms 
 in it for Dr. Cochran's mother. In May another little 
 daughter was born in his home. In July the medical 
 class was graduated. One graduate went off to Mosul, 
 and another to Teheran to help the medical mission- 
 aries there. 
 
 In the fall Dr. Cochran made another visit to Te- 
 heran to escort Miss Green, who had been transferred 
 from the station there to Urumia. On this visit he 
 had an interview with the Shah. Of this and of his 
 impressions of the work, he wrote: 
 
 I was in Teheran nine years ago, but since that time our 
 station has moved into its new buildings, and is now very 
 conveniently situated for its work. A fine chapel stands in 
 the centre of the grounds, surrounded by the boys' school, 
 the girls' school, with the home for the ladies in charge, 
 and two missionary residences. Two or more cities are 
 represented, as well as nearly all the nationalities of Persia, 
 in this school for boys and young men, which is fitting a 
 large number of young men to become the native mission-
 
 154 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 aries to their people. The girls' school is a model of neat- 
 ness, having everything in its teachers and buildings to 
 make it a first-class home and training school for its pupils. 
 In the chapel both Persian and English services are held 
 regularly the latter for the English-speaking Europeans. 
 A short distance from these premises is the dispensary, 
 while a mile away in the eastern end of the city, stands 
 the beautiful hospital, just erected, and ready to receive 
 patients. On the grounds is the residence of Dr. Torrence, 
 the physician in charge, whose kind and genial character has 
 won the hearts of the Teheran people, from the King to the 
 poorest subjects. 
 
 Having but a week to spend in the capital, I lost no 
 time in visiting the Mission work, and in making calls 
 at the legations and on Persians whose acquaintance is 
 important to us on account of the official positions they 
 hold. Through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tor- 
 rence, who has seen the Shah a number of times, was able 
 to obtain an audience with His Majesty for us. At the 
 hour appointed we presented ourselves at the palace, arrayed 
 in the costume prescribed for men in our positions, viz., 
 full-dress suits, with silk hats and overshoes to be left off 
 at the door, or as we approached him. We both wore the 
 decorations conferred upon us some years ago by His 
 Majesty (the Order of the Lion and the Sun). The King 
 was seated at a table in the garden of one of his most 
 beautiful palaces. Beside the table, on the ground, was a 
 handsome Persian rug, on which lay his portfolio and 
 papers. He was dressed in a cashmere shawl coat, buttoned 
 to the throat, black trousers, and low patent leather boots, 
 with the common Persian Astrakhan fur hat. Two or three 
 of his ministers were standing about him at a respectful 
 distance. We were ushered into the garden by the son of 
 the Minister for Foreign Affairs. As we approached to 
 within one hundred feet of where the King sat, we stopped, 
 partially hidden by the trees and shrubbery, while the officer 
 went ahead to announce us. The minister beckoning to us, 
 we slowly walked forward, with our gloved hands clasped 
 in front of us, and as soon as we got to where His Majesty 
 could see us, we made a very low bow together. Then 
 taking some ten steps more, we again made a bow. This
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 155 
 
 time His Majesty noticed us, and he called out, " Come." 
 Advancing a few yards we made another bow, when he 
 invited us still nearer, and said, " Torrence, who is this ? " 
 We walked up to within twelve feet or so of where he sat, 
 and then making a final bow, stood before His Imperial 
 Majesty the Shah in Shah. Addressing me, he asked after 
 our welfare in Urumia: as to whether our missionaries were 
 pleased with the way his officials treated them: as to the 
 number of our schools and adherents. He asked if his 
 Christian subjects fared as well as his Mohammedan sub- 
 jects, etc. Then taking up a paper which he had laid 
 down on our approach, he turned to the Minister of In- 
 ternal Revenue, and we, bowing, backed away from the royal 
 presence. Stopping to make our bows every few yards, we 
 retraced our steps, keeping one eye on His Majesty and 
 one, so far as we could, behind us, to avoid stepping off the 
 walks or into the fountains. As we neared the gate, we 
 were aware of quite a retinue entering. To avoid a collision 
 with some other high persons, Dr. Torrence looked around 
 and discovered that it was the King's son the Minister 
 of War. Being now about out of sight of His Imperial 
 Majesty, we faced about and made obeisance to His Royal 
 Highness. He recognized me, and appointed an hour the 
 next day for us to call on him. 
 
 In the early winter, after Dr. Cochran's return to 
 Urumia, the Crown Prince, Muzaffar-i-din, who was 
 later Shah, with the Governor-General of the Province, 
 visited Urumia. Dr. Cochran writes : 
 
 In the few days that he was here, I saw a good deal 
 of him, as he was troubled with articular rheumatism. He 
 was especially gracious to us, in that he visited our college 
 and hospital, spending two hours here, and was evidently 
 much interested in the character of the instruction given in 
 the college and in the hospital, the surgical instruments, 
 etc., and in visiting the female seminary the next day. 
 He thanked the ladies for what they were doing for his 
 subjects, and encouraged them to keep on in this good work. 
 He made a donation of thirty tomans to the students of the
 
 156 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 college, and promised something to the Fiske Seminary. He 
 also visited the Roman Catholic and Anglican Missions. 
 This is the first time that His Royal Highness ever visited 
 a mission school. While here, he often asked for Dr. Holmes, 
 for whom he has a high regard. We have since heard of 
 the King's visiting our Mission in Teheran. What this 
 unprecedented action on the part of the King and Crown 
 Prince signifies, time alone can record. . . . He expressed 
 himself as much pleased with our schools and work among 
 his subjects, and bade us " do still more." He gave us ten 
 gold pieces " for the students." He is very anxious that 
 Dr. Holmes return to his service, and telegraphed him from 
 here. He is just about to leave, and it is remarkable how 
 much time he has spent in visiting Christian schools ours, 
 the Papists', and Anglicans' and so little or nothing among 
 his own people. Indeed, behind his back, it is slurringly 
 said, " The Prince has become Christian." 
 
 It was on the visit of the King to the schools and 
 chapels in Teheran, mentioned by Dr. Cochran, that 
 His Majesty, after going over the girls' school, paused 
 before a blackboard, and wrote on it, in Persian, the 
 word " clean." The royal comment is still preserved, 
 framed in glass. In her home letters, Mrs. Cochran 
 drew a fuller picture of the Crown Prince's visit in 
 Urumia : 
 
 We have had the pleasure of entertaining his Royal 
 Highness, the Crown Prince of Persia, to-day, and while 
 it is all fresh in mind I must write you about it. He came 
 to Urumia last Wednesday. All our gentlemen went out 
 to meet him, together with some twenty or twenty-five 
 thousand from the city and villages. He came from the 
 southern end of the Lake, so came in via Geogtapa and 
 the river. Several of the ladies went down to a palace near, 
 where they had a good view of the whole procession. 
 
 His Highness came in a beautiful carriage drawn by six 
 black horses, surrounded by a large number of outriders, 
 and preceded by a hundred Cossacks in white and red uni-
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 157 
 
 forms. Then followed the Amir in his carriage, you re- 
 member, he is our old friend the Salar. They occupied 
 the palace just outside the city gates. The Crown Prince 
 is troubled with rheumatism, and sent for Joe to come and 
 treat him the next day. The Amir told Joe that the Prince 
 would ride out here, and he got word last evening, Sunday, 
 that he was coming to-day at two o'clock. Such a busy 
 day as we have had! All the college boys were turned out 
 to sweep up the leaves from the grounds and avenues, and 
 put everything in fine order. We took the stove out of the 
 parlour, and arranged a large chair in the upper corner 
 for our guest, and decorated with chrysanthemums. We 
 made ready cake, besides some fancy tarts and candies, 
 which were arranged on our best dishes on a table in the 
 side window in the parlour. The sitting-room, too, had to 
 be in order for the Khans in attendance. Then we locked 
 the bedroom doors, and we ladies fled upstairs with the 
 children to the parlour chamber, where we could look out 
 and see. The gentlemen met the Prince at the gate, where 
 he dismounted, and the college boys were drawn up in line 
 and sang a song of welcome. 
 
 The Prince remained about half an hour in the parlour. 
 He did not sit at first, but walked about, examining pic- 
 tures, etc. At last he sat down. No one else could sit, of 
 course, until after a while the Amir asked him if he would 
 seat the gentlemen, and he nodded assent. Joe showed him 
 California pictures and curiosities in which he seemed in- 
 terested. Tea was passed to him in one of my new cups, 
 but as no one could drink in his presence, no more was 
 brought. But in the sitting-room and the yard plenty was 
 disposed of. Joe passed him the cake and candies, and he 
 tried several kinds, at the suggestion of the Amir, who 
 told him that he would not find such things anywhere else. 
 No one else partook except his small son of ten, who ate 
 a tart behind the back of one of the Khans. 
 
 He next went to the college, and was seated alone upon 
 the platform while all the boys stood. There was another 
 song, an original poem in Persian, reading in English, and 
 a short recitation in geography. 
 
 Next he went to the hospital. He went to the bedsides of 
 the patients who were not able to be up, and enquired
 
 158 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 particularly into their troubles. The instruments were dis- 
 played in the operating room, and the skeleton was ex- 
 amined with great curiosity. On leaving, he gave ten gold 
 pieces for the students, including the medical department. 
 The next day he went to the city and visited the girls' 
 school. He expressed himself as very much pleased with 
 the work we were doing in education. To-day he departed 
 for Tabriz. 
 
 After the Crown Prince's visit, the work went on 
 quietly for a while, but not long. It was just about this 
 time that the tragic imprisonment of Mirza Ibrahim 
 began. He was a convert from Mohammedanism who 
 had been baptized in 1890 at Khoi. Persecution began 
 at once. His wife and property were taken from him, 
 and he was forced to flee to Urumia. There he took 
 refuge in Dr. Cochran's hospital. After a time he was 
 sent, at his own request, to preach in the villages. He 
 was soon arrested, cruelly maltreated in Urumia, and 
 then taken off to prison in Tabriz, where he was choked 
 to death, passing on to his martyr's crown on May 14th, 
 1893. When the Crown Prince was informed of his 
 death he asked, "How did he die?" and the jailer 
 answered, " He died like a Christian." His unflinch- 
 ing martyrdom was alike a joy and an anguish to the 
 missionaries. Scarcely a year of Dr. Cochran's life 
 passed without some dramatic incidents, and in May, 
 1891, came one of the collisions with the Tergawar 
 Kurds, which were to end so disastrously. Mrs. 
 Cochran wrote, May 22nd: 
 
 This has been an exciting week for us in Urumia. A 
 strange thing happened last Saturday, which may have seri- 
 ous consequences. Perhaps you remember D , a Kurd, 
 
 about whom I wrote as having become a Christian. He 
 spent one or two winters in the hospital, and is, I think,
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 159 
 
 the first Kurdish convert. He has been gatekeeper this 
 last winter. Last Saturday he went for the mail, and 
 noticed some men in the city watching him. Late in the 
 afternoon he went in again, and just as he reached the bridge 
 by the college on his return, he met these men, who spoke 
 rudely, turned and followed him, one of them loading his 
 
 gun as he went. D ran for the gate, and just as the 
 
 man was about to fire, the college boys rushed out, caught 
 his gun, and stopped him. These men, the TJrumia Mussul- 
 man, and three Kurds went on towards the river. Joe was 
 in the city, and Dr. Shedd sent him word of the affair. 
 
 Joe thought that probably these Kurds were of D 's 
 
 tribe, so he sent word to B Khan, who has charge of 
 
 them. It so happened that this Khan was drilling and 
 paying his soldiers on that day, so he mounted, and reached 
 the college nearly as soon as Joe. He had about twenty-five 
 horsemen with him. 
 
 Joe had found out by that time that they were Tergawar 
 Kurds, and told the Khan that he knew the chiefs there, 
 and would write about the affair, and that would be the 
 better way. But the Khan and his men were mounted and 
 ready, and they would not be stopped, but galloped away 
 up the river. Before long we heard considerable firing, and 
 saw smoke rising from one of the villages above us. It 
 seems that they tracked these men into a village, and found 
 they were in a certain house. They would not come out, 
 so the soldiers brought bundles of hay, and set fire to the 
 door. At last the men rushed out. One was wounded, 
 two were caught, and two escaped. The most dangerous 
 Kurd escaped. He is a nephew of Hesso, the famous Kurd- 
 ish robber. His servant was wounded, and the soldiers let 
 him be carried off home. One is in prison in the city. 
 One of the soldiers was wounded and brought to the hos- 
 pital. As Joe was dressing his wound he said, " Now we 
 will send and have the wounded Kurd brought here too." 
 " If you do," said he, " I will get up in the night and kill 
 
 him." It is all a most unfortunate affair. D has been 
 
 sent off to Tiflis, because we could not keep men with such 
 enemies. 
 
 B Khan was reprimanded by the Governor for going 
 
 on such an errand without his command. The Kurds are
 
 160 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 in a very excited state because the wounded man will die, 
 they think. Joe sent a letter to the father of the Kurd 
 who escaped, whose servant was wounded, explaining the 
 affair, that the matter went out of our hands and beyond 
 what we desired, and asked to have the wounded man 
 brought to the hospital. The father was willing to send 
 him, but the son was very angry and would allow no answer 
 to be sent. He says the price of his servant's blood is 1,000 
 tomans, and he will have that or blood in return. They 
 say he is a perfect Satan. His uncles came down from 
 Tergawar last Thursday to call on Joe. They were friendly 
 enough, only they insisted that no harm was meant to 
 
 D and we had no right to take up the matter so. This 
 
 fierce Kurd is down here in the villages above us, they say, 
 and I fear he will do harm to Joe if he gets the chance. 
 I do not mean to let him go off to the city without several 
 men for a while. He is going in to see the Governor this 
 morning to see about getting the Kurd who is in prison 
 released. 
 
 On May 28th, Mrs. Cochran wrote: 
 
 I suppose you would like to hear the sequel to the Kurdish 
 affair. We kept hearing various rumours about the Kurd, 
 Mahmud Beg. At last the master of the village where the 
 fight took place called, and said we had better make peace, 
 
 that this Kurd declared he had meant no harm to D , 
 
 and wanted to know what right we had to follow the matter 
 up so. He advised that we send up a certain Kurdish 
 mullah who is a friend of the Kurd and also very friendly 
 to Joe, and ask the Beg to come down and talk over the 
 matter, and settle it peaceably. The messenger went, and 
 either the friends had influenced the warlike young man 
 or time had cooled him. At any rate, we suddenly heard 
 that he was on his way down to call on us. He appeared 
 in the rain late one afternoon, with about a dozen followers, 
 all armed to the teeth. Dr. Shedd and Mr. Coan with Joe 
 met him in our parlour, and after a friendly glass of tea 
 the chief began by saying that he had not come down 
 because he was afraid of us or of the government, that he 
 had killed many captains, had killed many majors and
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 161 
 
 several generals, and was afraid of no man. If the gentle- 
 men did not believe it, he would now go into the very heart 
 of the bazar, kill five men, and come back slowly. He had 
 come because he wished to show himself friendly to us. He 
 
 swore he had intended no harm to D , was only trying 
 
 to frighten him. All he wanted now was to have us repay 
 the losses he had sustained in the affair, and whether the 
 servant who was wounded died or not he would demand no 
 more, but always be our warmest friend. 
 
 It seemed best, on the whole, to settle on that basis, so 
 we had to pay for the three guns and cartridges lost in the 
 fight, which amounted in all to about ten tomans. So they 
 remained that night as our guests, and we cooked them a 
 good supper of rice, and they departed the next day in a very 
 friendly frame of mind. The medical students report that 
 several times during the supper he raised his hands and 
 thanked God for keeping him from doing the thing that 
 he had planned. He said that he and thirty followers came 
 down one night bent upon doing something to avenge them- 
 selves. They got as far as Benda, some three miles up the 
 river, and there so many different plans were proposed that 
 they could not agree, and so did nothing. Some wanted to 
 go and rob Seir of all the flocks and herds, some Mar 
 Sergis, others wanted to surround the college and fire into 
 all the windows they could see. 
 
 A number of patients from the Kurds came to the 
 hospital as a result of this affair. 
 
 The year 1892 was an eventful year in the Cochran 
 family. In January his mother was seriously ill. In 
 February another son was born, and was named for 
 his father, Joseph. In the spring Dr. Cochran took a 
 trip, at his own expense, to Mosul, Bagdad, and Baby- 
 lon, returning by way of Hamadan. He was gone 
 about two months. In the summer all the children 
 were sick with whooping cough., and little two-year-old 
 Suvie died in August. The cholera, also, made its 
 appearance this summer, and caused him much anxiety 
 and care. With all these burdens, he also took over
 
 162 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 the added labour of the Station treasury. The troubles 
 over the Tobacco Regie also began this year, and two 
 missionaries in other stations became involved. A 
 British syndicate had acquired from the Shah a con- 
 cession for a tobacco monopoly, and offered great in- 
 ducements to secure competent agents. The monopoly 
 was bitterly opposed by the people and the ecclesiastics, 
 and was overthrown. 
 Dr. Cochran wrote, on January 8th, 1892: 
 
 I will write you to-night while sitting with mother, who 
 is quite ill with bronchitis. It is very restful in the in- 
 cessant push and humdrum of my life here to look back 
 to my visit in America, where I was so entirely free from 
 care and responsibility. ... It looks as if Persia had all it 
 can stand for a while of foreign companies, concessions, 
 monopolies, etc. Small chance now for Mr. B. The Shah 
 favours them, and is anxious to introduce these new in- 
 dustries, but the clergy are dead set against it. The tobacco 
 had been farmed out to a British syndicate, but first one 
 district and then another rebelled till the King has had to 
 withdraw his concession and pay back the money and costs. 
 At least so he says. Perhaps it is a ruse to quiet the people. 
 
 It was proposed that Dr. Cochran should go to 
 Teheran to take the place of the medical missionary 
 there who had been drawn into the Regie, but he did 
 not go. His wife refers to this in her home letter 
 of February 20th, 1892: 
 
 We have had queer times this week. Joe had a bad cold, 
 but added to it in that cold Persian room in the city last 
 Wednesday. Thursday morning, as he was dressing, he was 
 taken with a sudden rheumatic pain about the heart, and 
 could hardly get his breath for an hour. All day he could 
 not move without great pain, so had to remain where he 
 was upstairs. Of course, I felt very anxious, and had the 
 women carry me up and stay by him most of the day. 
 Joe is much better, but it still troubles him to move much.
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN 163 
 
 We have heard nothing recently about the Teheran matter. 
 It is certain, however, that Joe will not go there permanently. 
 There is a possibility that he may be asked and urged to 
 go for a time in the spring. 
 
 The trip to Mosul and Bagdad was made in March, 
 April, and May. His sister Emma, who had married 
 Mr. Ponafidine of the Russian consular service, and 
 who was stationed with her husband in Bagdad, was 
 ill. The appropriations for the hospital were inade- 
 quate, so that it had to be closed, and competent med- 
 ical help was at hand for Urumia in his absence. He 
 left Urumia on March 8th with Mr. Whipple of Tabriz 
 and Mr. Lang of the Anglican Mission who was re- 
 turning to England. They crossed the mountains to 
 Mosul, ancient Nineveh, and from Mosul went down 
 the Euphrates by raft to Bagdad. The trip was full 
 of experiences. They were held up and shot at, but 
 escaped all perils, and got great rest and enjoyment 
 from the journey. 
 
 He returned to Urumia in May, and the story of the 
 rest of the year can be told in extracts from Mrs. 
 Cochran's home letters : 
 
 COLLEGE, May 20th, 1892. I did think we were to have a 
 little peace this afternoon, but the Governor has just sent 
 word that he will call, and there has been a great flying 
 about to collect chairs and tea glasses enough, for he will 
 bring a crowd with him. Our samovar has been on the 
 perpetual boil this week, for Joe got home last Saturday, 
 and there have been callers every day since, Mussulmans 
 and Nestorians, delegations from Seir, and delegations from 
 Geogtapa to " pour their peace " on the Hakim Sahib, and 
 " bless his journey." I don't know as it pays to be such 
 good friends with everybody. Joe got in about dark Satur- 
 day, having come from Sulduz in one day. He has been 
 very well during the whole journey, but is glad to get home.
 
 164 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 All had so many questions to ask that I thought that it 
 would be pleasant to get together for an evening, so Tuesday 
 all came in after tea, and Joe read his journal, and made 
 his comments as he read, and answered questions. He 
 took us only as far as Bagdad last evening, so I asked all 
 to come again Thursday after Station Meeting, take tea 
 with us, and hear the rest of the story. 
 
 COLLEGE, June 24th. We have had war and famine during 
 our life in Persia, and I suppose our experience would 
 not be complete without pestilence. I suppose you see re- 
 ports in the papers, so I might as well give a true statement 
 of affairs. Cholera is working eastward, was near Teheran 
 when we last heard. It is doubtless there by this time, and 
 Hamadan will not escape. We are a little off the travelled 
 route, and it is not probable that it will reach us before 
 fall, when the cool weather will cut it short. It is not a 
 cheerful prospect. I do not dread it for myself, but Joe 
 will have to be among the sick. 
 
 SEIR, July 2Yth. Joseph is up for the day, and is busy 
 writing an article on cholera for the Syriac paper. Monday 
 morning, just as Joe was preparing to go down, word came 
 that a Mussulman lady, wife of that Sertib in Sulduz, where 
 Joe visited once, was coming for treatment and to make 
 us a visit, and would arrive that noon. We had heard 
 rumours of this visit before, but did not suppose that she 
 would really come. Well, of course, there was nothing to 
 be done but entertain her. We took some of the remaining 
 carpets in our house, and furnished a room or two in the 
 Howard Annex, and made a place ready in the hospital 
 proper for the servants. They came on Monday at noon, 
 and remained till Friday, the lady, her brother, and son, 
 and twenty-four servants. She is of Circassian descent, 
 very pretty in face and manners, and more free than most 
 of the ladies here. They made very little trouble, were quiet 
 and orderly. Of course, we hired a cook for them, and 
 Agha Bazurk had general charge of the meals. The second 
 day the lady said we gave too much, and said, " My servants 
 need only so and so," naming a certain amount of bread, 
 meat, rice, etc. She evidently knows how to manage her 
 household.
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 165 
 
 SEIR, July 29th. Poor Joe is so driven. I feel really 
 worried about him. He is coughing, too. I believe he has 
 the whooping cough like the rest of them. This treasury 
 business is a burden, for he has so much to do that he 
 cannot attend to the accounts in time, and work accumu- 
 lates. I think that he feels worried for fear that he will 
 make a big muddle of it and not be able to get a balance. 
 He has been up here but three days, besides Sundays, and 
 those days he worked hard. The cholera has come to 
 Ardibil from the Caspian, but does not yet seem to come 
 further west. 
 
 SEIR, August 2nd. On Saturday came the news that the 
 cholera was in Tabriz. 
 
 SEIR, August 20th. I have very little idea that this letter 
 will go through, but I will write a few lines to keep you 
 informed, if possible, of the troublous times upon which we 
 have fallen. The outlook is indeed dark. This is worse 
 than the famine and the war, but the same Lord who brought 
 us through those is still guiding, and we must believe, al- 
 though we cannot see, that all is for the best. Sickness still 
 continues in our household. Joe and I both have the whoop- 
 ing cough, too. Poor little Suvie is still very ill. Joseph 
 thinks she will recover in time, but it will be very slow. 
 
 For a long time Joe has been at the Governor to have him 
 establish quarantine, but he was so slow about it, and kept 
 putting it off. At last, a few days ago, all got well fright- 
 ened because it was this side of Tabriz, and he gave orders 
 to have horsemen put into Joe's hands for the purpose. 
 He promised tents, but no horses were forthcoming to carry 
 the tents. Well, at last the tents, and the guards, and the 
 young doctors were sent out on the Gavelan road to the 
 Nose, but alas! too late. Cholera is already in the city and 
 many villages. Joe proposed to spend the whole day in 
 the city ready for calls, having a hot dinner sent from the 
 college. He must come up here nights for the present, while 
 Suvie is so ill, and after that we hoped to go down to the 
 college, as being easier for him, but yesterday we discovered 
 what is almost certainly cholera there, so our plans are 
 uncertain. It is so hard for him to break away and come
 
 166 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 up, and yet I feel sure it is not safe for him to stay down. 
 We hardly know what to do about help for Suvie nights. 
 Joe simply must not be up with her now, and Miss Mont- 
 gomery cannot be up night after night. 
 
 SEER, August 25th. You doubtless thought of me on my 
 wedding day, but you none of you knew what was taking 
 place in our home, and that now the day will commemorate 
 a marriage, a birth, and a death for us. Dear little Suvie 
 has gone. While Dr. Shedd was praying, very peacefully 
 her little spirit took its flight just before the clock struck 
 twelve. Joe and I went up and walked on the roof under 
 the quiet stars to be alone with this, our first great grief. 
 Poor Joe is nearly heartbroken. So far the Lord has won- 
 derfully sustained me. The next morning when I came 
 down, the room looked so cool and peaceful. Kind friends 
 had laid the little darling in her own bed, and she looked 
 so fair and sweet. All day it was a rest to think of her, 
 for my hands were very full with the other children. But 
 all day long, above the dismal sights and sounds, I seemed 
 to hear the patter of Suvie's little feet in the Heavenly 
 gardens, and she was dancing and laughing so, so well, and 
 so merry, so pure and beautiful, that I was content. She 
 at least was safe from the blast of fever and from the pesti- 
 lence raging below on the hot plain. 
 
 We had a short service about nine the next morning in 
 the parlour, where she was baptized, and where she died. 
 Dr. Shedd spoke very beautifully. I asked him to dwell on 
 the bright side. 
 
 We hear good news about the cholera. It seems to have 
 spent itself and is not very fatal, more than half recover. 
 At present it is in the Jewish and Mussulman quarters 
 of the city, and Joe has not been called, as in those places 
 they are very conservative and wish no European help. It 
 is in many of the villages. So many have fled here that it is 
 a small city of tents. The Khans here have established 
 quarantine, and it makes us some trouble about getting 
 provisions. 
 
 COLLEGE, HOME, September 30th. We had quite an ex- 
 citement here last Tuesday night. For some days there 
 has been an encampment of soldiers this side of the city.
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 167 
 
 They are from Marand, on the Julfa and Tabriz road, and 
 are on their way south to quell some Kurdish disturbances. 
 These soldiers are robbing all the orchards and vineyards 
 in the vicinity. Sunday one was caught in the vineyard 
 in the lower garden, but was let off. Tuesday night some 
 more came, and one of the men guarding down there fired 
 off his gun. The thieves ran, but pretty soon about forty 
 men appeared at the front gate and demanded two of their 
 number, who they said were missing; said we must give 
 them up dead or alive. Joe sent word that we had none 
 of their men, and if they had any complaint to make they 
 must come in the morning, not in the night, for it was now 
 about 9 :30. But they would not be pacified, so Joe went up 
 to the gate; the other gentlemen also gathered, and all the 
 men on the premises, and they talked and talked until after 
 eleven, the soldiers swearing and reviling, very angry indeed, 
 and declaring they would force their way in. At last they 
 departed, saying they were going after the rest of their 
 regiment, and would come and lay low the whole place. 
 Things really seemed pretty serious for a while. They tried 
 twice to let Meshedie down over the wall to bring help 
 from the near villages or the city, but as soon as he ap- 
 peared at the top, heads rose from among the trees, and it 
 was evident that we were well surrounded. We did not 
 really think they would carry out their threat, but I gathered 
 the children with me in the parlour, and Joe stayed below. 
 We retired about one, as we concluded the men were not 
 going to return. In the morning the affair was reported to 
 the chief officers and to the city authorities, and the men 
 were found out and punished. 
 
 NOVEMBER 30th. Just now the successor of Mar Shimon, 
 the Patriarch, is here in Urumia too, and he has been 
 invited to spend a few days at the college. He was our 
 guest both for dinner and tea. As a bishop we knew he 
 would eat no meat, but supposed he would eat anything 
 else. Imagine our consternation on sitting down to dinner 
 to find that he fasted on Wednesdays from butter, eggs, and 
 milk, so the poor man had to make his dinner on bread, 
 potatoes, and jelly, with tea for dessert, as the cake had 
 butter in it. The people he had with him had to fast from
 
 168 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 meat, but could eat other things, so altogether it was a 
 funny dinner. After sundown, however, they could eat, so 
 we had a hearty meal at night for them. The bishop has 
 come here for medical treatment. His disease will require 
 long treatment, and we are thinking of keeping him here 
 at the college, perhaps for the winter. 
 
 To these extracts should be added Dr. Cochran's own 
 modest account of the cholera relief work: 
 
 As the cholera approached us, we did what we could 
 to prevent its entrance into Urumia, or failing in this, 
 to give it as warm a reception as possible. As soon as it 
 reached Tiflis it was evident that it would be brought here 
 by the people of this part of the country who come and go 
 in such large numbers, unless measures were secured to 
 stop it. I urged the authorities repeatedly to be prepared 
 to establish a quarantine, being confident that our plain 
 could be protected by a guard at its three entrances. From 
 time to time this request was repeated, but I was always 
 met with what seemed to them very serious objections. In 
 the meantime, we published a pamphlet in Persian and Syriac 
 on cholera, its nature, the mode of its propagation, and the 
 means of prevention and treatment. This had quite a wide 
 circulation, and it resulted in the coming of very many to 
 provide themselves with the medicines which had been pre- 
 pared to put up in bottles with directions printed in Syriac 
 or Persian. Of the Moslems, especially the upper classes, 
 and of the Nestorians and Armenians, the more enlightened, 
 including our preachers and teachers, armed themselves with 
 the pamphlets and medicines, and began using boiled water 
 and refraining from vegetables and fruit, except from their 
 own gardens, and in not a few instances, the sanitary con- 
 dition of the house or village was much improved. "When 
 the disease was working havoc at Khoi, and had reached 
 Salmas, the Governor at last gave orders to institute the 
 quarantine. We printed passes, and Dr. Daniel was put 
 in charge, with a strong guard at his command, at the 
 Customs House at Anzal, with instructions to hold the 
 road and to keep all travellers coming this way three days. 
 In a day or two, however, it became evident that refugees
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 169 
 
 from Khoi and Salmas had already brought the disease into 
 the country. The city people now scattered so far as they 
 could. Nearly all the Khans left, some to Seir, and others 
 to others villages, while the middle classes fled to gardens 
 and vineyards and villages. When the cholera, fully de- 
 veloped, was at its height, there was very little communica- 
 tion between the villages and the city business was at a 
 standstill, and we doctors now had less to do for the cholera 
 than before it reached us. We distributed ourselves and 
 the students as far as possible, but there was very little 
 call for us in the city or from the villages. Drs. Miller, 
 Isaac, and Daniel, two students, and myself, have together 
 not treated more than two hundred cases at the utmost. 
 There have been about 1,500 deaths probably in the city, 
 while nearly every village has been visited the deaths 
 ranging from one to thirty. 
 
 At present there is a good deal on the Baranduz plain 
 with scattering cases in the city and the other rivers. But 
 the reports from the villages, from the medical students, and 
 the other natives who have distributed medicines, has been 
 most gratifying. I think we can safely say that ninety-five 
 per cent, of the cases treated have recovered. All unite to 
 speak of the wonderful effect of the medicines. While in 
 some villages the following of doctors' rules saved the people, 
 in others, as in Geogtapa, prayer, continuous and importu- 
 nate, by a united village, with all the denominations joining 
 in one accord, kept the scourge away. Large numbers of 
 Moslems from the surrounding villages joined the Chris- 
 tians in the services, breaking in often with their sincere 
 " Amens." 
 
 Early the following spring, on Thursday, March 9th, 
 1893, Dr. Cochran's mother, " Madame Cochran," as 
 she was called by the missionaries, " Khanem Gurta," 
 or great lady, by the people, passed away after a long 
 and useful life. For more than forty-five years she had 
 been identified with the work. For the last ten years 
 she had been the matron of the hospital, and no small 
 measure of its phenomenal success was due to her.
 
 170 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Few were able to resist her unselfish, thoughtful love, 
 and many Mohammedan patients who had come only 
 with reluctance, and who viewed Christians with con- 
 tempt and hate, went away with greatly softened 
 prejudices and a new interest in the Christians' 
 Saviour. All the " greybeards " of the two Moham- 
 medan villages near the hospital came in a body to 
 express their sorrow. The Governor called to show 
 his sympathy. The native pastors insisted on being 
 the bearers, at the funeral, displacing the medical 
 students who had been chosen for the service, saying, 
 " No, we will do it. She was our mother." The wind 
 blew a gale, and it was a wet and dreary day when 
 the funeral procession went up to Seir. As it neared 
 the village a number of the men came down to meet it, 
 barefooted, in the cold mud; the women stood in the 
 rain, weeping, and all gathered about the grave in spite 
 of the sleet and snow which succeeded the rain. The 
 doctor's mother's death was a great personal sorrow, 
 as well as a loss to the work. She had filled a large 
 place in it, and her love of it and of her son was in- 
 tense and absorbing. 
 
 In July and August he made a tour in the mountains 
 of Turkish Kurdistan, " The Mountains," as they are 
 always known in Urumia, where the larger part of the 
 Nestorian nation lived. " The Mountain Field, as it 
 was called," wrote Mr. W. A. Shedd, who accompanied 
 Dr. Cochran on this trip, " consists of four large in- 
 dependent tribes, living compactly together in four 
 of the most inaccessible valleys of Kurdistan, and of a 
 large number of Nestorians living scattered among the 
 Kurdish population, partly in other valleys, but mostly 
 on the skirts of the mountains. The four large tribes 
 are those of Jelu, Baz, Tkhoma, and Tiari,"
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 171 
 
 In his report for the year, Dr. Cochran gave some 
 account of this visit to the Mountains: 
 
 On the mountain tour Mr. W. A. Shedd and a Nestorian 
 helper accompanied me as far as Kochanis. At Gawar, 
 three days distant, we stopped long enough to receive and 
 return the calls of all the Turkish civil and military officers 
 of note, and to prescribe for a large number of sick. From 
 there we went to Kochanis, two days farther west, to visit 
 the Nestorian Patriarch, Mar Shimon. We found him 
 away in Bash Kalleh (two days to the north) where the 
 Governor-General of this province, the Vali of Van, had 
 come. We pitched our tent just below the village, and 
 watched for the return of the Patriarch. As soon as he knew 
 we had reached Kochanis, he sent us word that we must 
 be sure and wait until he returned, and that in a day or so 
 he would come. Thirteen days we waited for him, when a 
 messenger arrived, bringing word that he was detained by 
 the Government, and asking that we do not tell his house- 
 hold, but to use every means in our power to secure his 
 release. 
 
 During our stay at Kochanis, we had the opportunity of 
 seeing many people who had come on business to their 
 Patriarch. All who come, and they are many, are enter- 
 tained at the Patriarch's. We, too, had our meals sent to 
 us all the time we were there. At the same time, no one 
 goes to the patriarchate without taking some present. 
 
 We visited Julamerk, the chief Turkish garrison town in 
 this part of Kurdistan and the seat of the Mutasariflik. 
 This, too, is the market town for a number of tribes. 
 It was the seat of Norallah Beg, the Kurdish chief, who 
 joined his forces with Badir Khan Beg of Bohtan, and 
 massacred so many Christians in 1842. The town lies 
 above the valley of the Zab, nestled among the highest and 
 wildest mountains of the Zagros range. The cruel chief 
 had his castle on a large high rock which is in the centre 
 of the town. He is reported to have thrown with his own 
 hands, out of a window, his little child, whose cries could 
 not be quieted in the night, and who disturbed his father's 
 sleep, dashing him to pieces on the rocks far below. On 
 another occasion he had one of his wives dealt with in the
 
 172 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 same way, and finding she was not instantly killed, angrily 
 ordered her brought up and thrown down again. 
 
 The condition of the Christians in these wild regions is, 
 on the whole, better now .that the authority of the Kurds 
 is replaced by that of the Turks, but at best, life is at a 
 low ebb here. What is saved from the rapacity of the 
 Kurd is extorted by the Turkish tax collector. Bloody feuds 
 among themselves, superstition, and ignorance, go to make 
 the lives of these Nestorians most pitiable. Inhabiting, as 
 they do, the steep sides and the narrow, rocky valleys of 
 these mountains, so difficult of access from the outer world, 
 most of them can barely get their sustenance. Driven here 
 many years ago by the oppressive and rapacious Kurd, 
 they still cling to these mountains which have in a measure 
 shielded them from their enemies, and which yet enable 
 some valleys to live secure from tax collectors. But it is not 
 all dark in these mountains. Where the gospel has entered 
 the transformation of the individual, and even of the village, 
 is very striking. Indeed, the only hope of these people, 
 temporal as well as spiritual, seems to be the gospel. 
 
 We had intended going on to Baz, meeting there all the 
 mountain preachers, and holding a " Knushya," but after 
 having a conference with the Patriarch's brother, whom it 
 seemed best to consult regarding Mar Shimon's position, 
 also telling the state of affairs to Mr. Brown, the Anglican 
 missionary who is residing at Kochanis, we decided to sepa- 
 rate, Mr. Shedd going to Jelu and Baz, and thence to 
 Amadia to help the Mission Station there, and I to Bash 
 Kalleh to find out the true position of the Patriarch, and to 
 see what could be done. Two days' journey, crossing a pass 
 probably not less than 14,000 feet high, brought me to Bash 
 Kalleh. The Vali at first seemed greatly irritated by my 
 inquiries concerning Mar Shimon, but after a good deal 
 of very polite but earnest argument, he saw that our relation 
 to Mar Shimon was one that would not be erased by his 
 high tones and threatening language, and so he afterwards 
 listened to reason, and took an oath that Mar Shimon 
 would be dismissed just as soon as he himself left Bash 
 Kalleh. Later on it became evident that the Patriarch 
 was a prisoner, and he was expected to have been taken to 
 Van, and kept there or removed to Constantinople perhaps
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 173 
 
 as a hostage or as security for the payment of taxes by all 
 the independent tribes, or perhaps in the hope of preventing 
 his joining (with his people) the Armenians in their desire 
 to throw off the Turkish yoke. 
 
 On returning again to Gawar, and seeing the officials in a 
 social and professional way a second time, some of the 
 restrictions on our work were removed. We have not been 
 able to get books to our schools in that part of Turkey, 
 except as they were carried across the border by friendly 
 Kurds avoiding the censors, but now all that are required 
 can go through in the regular way without detention. 
 
 The work in our mountain field will be reported else- 
 where. Suffice it to say here that the Turkish government 
 continues to oppose and to obstruct our work in the schools 
 and villages as much as possible, especially from head- 
 quarters. 
 
 A recent letter from Constantinople brings us the dis- 
 appointing news that nothing can be obtained from the 
 central government in the way of orders or permits for our 
 preachers and teachers, nor even for a Millat Vakeel, if 
 he be a Protestant, so that for the present, at least, we must 
 worry along, making the best terms we can with the local 
 authorities. 
 
 His son Clement was with him on this trip, and his 
 recollections bring out some of his father's characteris- 
 tics : 
 
 A few scenes and incidents from tours to the Kurdish 
 Mountains in the summers of 1893 and 1894, set down as 
 they come to memory, throw a strong light upon his char- 
 acter. 
 
 These trips were, in fact, vacations to him, though he did 
 a vast amount of work, for they set him free from the 
 routine of hospital work and the importunities of the op- 
 pressed villagers, and gave him an opportunity to see new 
 sights and faces. 
 
 He was always a lover of nature and an enthusiastic 
 mountain climber, and as we travelled on our pack mules 
 along level stretches in sight of great snow-clad ranges, or
 
 174 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 toiled slowly up a valley pass, all the heat of the day to be 
 rewarded at the summit with a matchless outlook over snowy 
 ranges and deep canyons, his companions would feel his 
 exhilaration of spirit. His love of a wide outlook was 
 that of a mountaineer, as indeed he was by birth and boy- 
 hood, and I think he was seldom happier than when able 
 to look from some commanding position as far as his vision 
 could carry. He was naturally reticent of these feelings 
 to the natives, who indeed do not understand them, but 
 with me and other American companions, as I recall, his 
 whole talk as we travelled along was of these things. Once, 
 I remember, we took a day off just for mountain climbing 
 and from our camp which was already 11,000 feet above 
 sea level we started with a few natives to climb one of the 
 steep and rugged fingers which makes that hand-like cluster 
 of peaks called Tura Jelu. It was as stiff mountain climb- 
 ing as an Alpinist would have cared for, and we often had 
 to halt for breathing and resting spells some of the party 
 were in sore need of. 
 
 Finally, after hours of hard work and, towards the end, 
 of almost hand-over-hand climbing, we reached the summit. 
 Our aneroid had long since reached its limit of 15,000 feet, 
 and, from what we knew of surrounding altitudes, we be- 
 lieved we were fully 16,000 feet above sea-level. Father 
 had hoped particularly that we would be able to get a glimpse 
 of Lake Urumia, now four days' journey away, but the 
 intervening mountains proved too high. But the air was 
 wonderfully clear, and ninety miles or so north we could 
 dimly make out Ararat, while southward, over countless 
 ranges, we could see where the mountains at last came to 
 an end in the plains of Tigris. It was one of those sights 
 that cannot be forgotten, and I recall how anxious he was 
 to stay for the sunset, but that, of course, was impossible, as 
 our camp had to be reached before nightfall. 
 
 I suppose there are few places in the world where a 
 physician's skill and reputation will make greater impres- 
 sion than in Kurdistan, for the people are not so barbarous 
 as not to appreciate the blessing of surgery and medicine, 
 and yet such a visitation is only of the rarest occurrence. 
 So at every village where we stopped, every sick or ailing 
 being was brought to him in an incredibly short time.
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 175 
 
 The most chronic patients often came with as great a con- 
 fidence of speedy cure as those few who shammed their ail- 
 ments in order to receive the doctor's attention. His store 
 of medicines was limited to a couple of little chests in our 
 saddlebags, so he would prescribe, as far as possible, home 
 remedies. It was, accordingly, a great rest to him when 
 once in a while he would camp out away from the villages, 
 though this was somewhat dangerous. There, in the free- 
 dom of the mountainside, and away from the curious or 
 reverent gaze of the natives, he got his best rest. It meant 
 much to him to shake off the restrictions that Oriental 
 etiquette builds up around a man of prominence in a com- 
 munity for he was still a young man, and many intimate 
 friends would scarcely have reconciled his almost boyish 
 exuberance and irresponsibility with the decorum and dig- 
 nity of his manner when among Persians. 
 
 Yet even on these mountain tours he could not confine his 
 work to simply that of a doctor. He was inevitably drawn 
 into the position of mediator between the oppressed peasants 
 and their masters; the latter were in many cases the Turk- 
 ish officials, far harder men to deal with than their Persian 
 counterparts, for with the better knowledge of Western 
 ways, they at the same time were more insolent and cruel. 
 One pleasant instance, however, I recall when we were stop- 
 ping at the Turkish town and outpost of Dizza, in the plain 
 of Gawar. As our arrival in town caused considerable stir, 
 it was both politic and natural to call upon the Bin Bashi, 
 or Turkish commandant. We found him in the barracks 
 that from a little hill overlook the town and surrounding 
 country. He was a charming host, and before we left, in 
 order to do an honour to father, and probably also to make 
 a little display of his own power, he ordered the bugles to 
 sound an alarm, and in less than five minutes had his whole 
 battalion out under arms, and then proceeded to give an 
 exhibition drill of his white-uniformed and red-capped sol- 
 diers that would have done credit to any garrison. 
 
 The town of Bash Kalleh was the scene of a large en- 
 campment of Kurdish levies for the Turkish army, and 
 the Vali of Van, or Governor-General of all this district, 
 was there to inspect them in person. He had induced the 
 Patriarch to come also, and when once in his power had
 
 176 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 practically made him his prisoner, hoping thereby to force 
 Turkish authority among certain semi-independent Nes- 
 torian tribes. It was a high-handed proceeding which the 
 cool and unscrupulous veteran of many wars thought to 
 carry through without question. Believing the Vali's action 
 wrong, and seeing an opportunity to make a firm friend of 
 the Patriarch, father determined to obtain his release, and 
 with this in view promptly called on the Vali. I recollect 
 that we were received very coolly by the Turk, although with 
 formal politeness, but father, with all the assurance of a 
 chosen representative of a foreign power, firmly stated his 
 demand, and backed it up by arguments so convincing that 
 the Governor was finally beaten at his own game, and gave 
 his reluctant consent to Mar Shimon's return. 
 
 The incident has always impressed me, as I believe it has 
 others, with the fact that he was capable of making very 
 bold strokes with slim chances of success, quite contrary 
 to his usual patience and prudence in such matters. 
 
 The visible outcome of Dr. Cochran's visit [wrote Dr. 
 J. H. Shedd, the senior missionary] was a pleasant con- 
 firmation of the friendly relations begun last year with the 
 Turks in authority, and also with the Patriarch. It seems 
 more and more possible that this people, as a people, are 
 to be attached to Protestantism, and not to the Papacy, nor 
 to remain as they are. 
 
 He was not very well this summer, but had a little 
 rest on the treeless waste of the lakeside. He needed 
 all he could get for the cares and burdens of the fall. 
 Mrs. Cochran's journal letters will tell the story of the 
 rest of the year: 
 
 HOME, August 26th. Last week there was a dreadful 
 murder by a mob in the market, of an Armenian Christian. 
 Until to-day all the Armenians have closed their shops from 
 fear, and the city is in rather a disturbed state. Soldiers 
 are guarding the Christian quarters. Friendly Mussulmans 
 have sent word to our prominent Nestorians not to be out 
 in public much. Our Governor was away at the time, and
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 177 
 
 the acting Governor has no power. Now we hear that our 
 old Governor has been deposed and a new one is coming 
 from Tabriz. Yesterday the mullahs were all in the mosques, 
 making a great uproar, and declaring they would not re- 
 ceive this new man, would stone him out if he came. Such 
 things have been done; the ecclesiastics have the chief power 
 in this country. The roughs who committed the murder fear 
 punishment, and if they do not get it may make trouble. 
 Joe is sending a letter to the Crown Prince to-day, hoping 
 he will believe his word as to the occurrences here and not 
 all the stories that he has been told. The consuls, too, have 
 all been informed. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 5th. The new Governor is expected to-morrow 
 or next day. The Crown Prince sent for the acting Gov- 
 ernor and the mullahs to come to the telegraph office, and 
 there he told them that he had appointed the Governor now 
 on the way, and they must receive him, and keep peace in 
 the city. There is a general feeling of lawlessness all over 
 the plain. Mussulmans seem to feel free to abuse Chris- 
 tians, and there is no redress. Joe says that as he goes 
 about the city to see sick here and there, people, and even 
 children, revile him up and down, a thing which very seldom 
 happened in past years. These are hard times for our 
 people. They feel in danger and dare not resist any vio- 
 lence done them or their property. This mob, of course, 
 was a sudden thing, but for a long time there has been hard 
 talk against Christians by Mussulmans. They say, " Why 
 are you raising your heads so high, dressing so finely, and 
 living so well, riding your horses while we walk, and getting 
 so much education? You must be put down." The various 
 representatives of foreign powers have been informed of the 
 state of affairs, and we will see if there is any protest. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 28th. I think I wrote you that Joe went to 
 Salmas to see a sick Armenian lady. He returned Tuesday 
 evening. He rode all night on Saturday and came near 
 meeting with a serious accident. He had with him one of 
 the medical students, and the man who always goes with 
 the post horses to return them. About midnight they met 
 the mail coming. There were two horses loaded with money,
 
 178 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 several guards, besides the regular postman, a company of 
 about fifteen persons. As soon as they saw our company 
 of three approaching, they thought perhaps they were rob- 
 bers, and began shouting to them to stand aside or they 
 would fire. Joe said they went quite out of the road, 
 calling out who they were, but the answer was, " It makes 
 no difference, the Hakim Sahib or the King, stand back ! " 
 and they fired three shots. When they came near, one man 
 who had often called here with the postmaster recognized 
 Joe, and made profuse apologies, said his " face was black," 
 etc., etc. I suppose they were looking for robbers at every 
 turn, and were too excited to see how matters stood. 
 
 OCTOBER 6th. We had an interesting evening with the 
 medical students last Wednesday. We have them every 
 two weeks. This time I wrote some questions on politeness 
 and honour, and gave them to think over. There were 
 questions on politeness to ladies, and to the old, on defacing 
 walls and buildings with names and pencil marks. One 
 question which caused a lively debate was this : " Is it right 
 to read a letter addressed to another, or to overlook in 
 reading ? " I think we convinced them that the ways of 
 this country are wrong in this respect. 
 
 OCTOBER 14th. I'm sure I don't know what this country 
 is coming to. Every day we hear of fresh oppressions of 
 the Christians by the Mussulmans. I used to feel quite 
 secure in this country, although in the midst of people of 
 a hostile religion. I never felt afraid of them, for they 
 have always seemed so truly friendly to Joe, and he has had 
 so much influence with them. The other day an Armenian 
 made a private call, and told Joe that the Governor was 
 talking badly about him before some of the smaller Khans 
 and mullahs and roughs of the city. He was present, and 
 heard him say, " The doctor meddles too much in our 
 affairs. He has just run Laya Khanem off to Tabriz (the 
 wife of the murdered Armenian), and it is he who is backing 
 up Mr. Werner" (a German who was ill treated by the 
 custom house officials). Then some one else spoke up, and 
 said, "Yes, that is so. And at the time of the Kurdish 
 raid he rode at the head of the Kurds as they advanced on 
 the city."
 
 " IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN " 179 
 
 DECEMBER 7th. The other day Joe was called to see a 
 very poor Mussulman woman in the city. She and her 
 husband and three children lived in a wee bit of a room 
 about six feet by nine. The other doctors, even Dr. Oshanna, 
 had given her up, but Joe fortunately was able to relieve 
 her. The student who was with Joe asked him what they 
 should ask as pay, and Joe told him he thought they had 
 better give something instead, they looked so very poor. 
 What was his surprise when the husband put a toman into 
 his hand at the door. Joe told him no, he could not take 
 anything from him, but the man insisted, and would not 
 take the money back. He said, " We are taught not to eat 
 the bread of you Christians or we will be shut out of 
 Heaven, but the fact is you will reach Heaven long before 
 we hare reached even the outer vestibule."
 
 XI 
 IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 
 
 THE chief event of the following year was the Mis- 
 sionary Conference in Hamadan. The people of 
 northern Persia had been left to the missionaries 
 of the Presbyterian Church, with the exception of the 
 Nestorians in the Urumia region, to whom the Roman 
 Catholic and Anglican missionaries had also come 
 some years after the American missionaries, the former 
 in 1838 and the latter in 1886. For some time the 
 Presbyterian missionaries who had met annually in 
 two separate missions had felt that a joint conference 
 to discuss thoroughly all questions of missionary pol- 
 icy in Persia was desirable, and the long anticipated 
 meeting was held in Hamadan in September and Oc- 
 tober, 1894, with representatives present from the sta- 
 tions in Urumia, Tabriz, Salmas, Teheran, and Hama- 
 dan. Dr. Shedd, and Mrs. Shedd, and Dr. Cochran 
 were the representatives from Urumia. The year was 
 full of other interesting events and experiences also. 
 In January another son, his last child, named Andrew, 
 was born. There were constant cases of injustice in 
 which his influence was sought by the oppressed. The 
 very success of the work had brought added difficulties. 
 The wants and ideals of the people had been enlarged, 
 and native workers often became discontented, while 
 restless spirits who had discovered what kind of criti- 
 cism of missionaries pleased the American public, de- 
 
 180
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 181 
 
 claimed against the wealth of the missionaries, who 
 received a salary of $925 per annum for married men, 
 and pictured in American newspapers the little mud- 
 walled sanitarium on the lakeside as a castle. 
 
 Extracts from Mrs. Gochran's letters will suffice to 
 set forth the general course of his life and work : 
 
 FEBRUARY 9th, 1894. We daily hear stories of wrong and 
 oppression. The other day two Jews came to Joe with their 
 tale of woe. Their brother, they said, was in the market 
 standing with his back to the street looking into a shop. 
 A Khan came by and ordered his servant to strike this 
 man because his back was turned. The Jew apologized, 
 said he did not see the Khan, but several men seized and 
 began to beat him. The Khan cried out, " Away with him 
 to the Blue Mosque ! " That is the place where Agha 
 Jahn, the Armenian merchant, was killed, so the crowd 
 dragged him away. But a Sunni Mussulman interposed, 
 and persuaded them to let the Jew go. He has been in bed 
 since, severely ill of his wounds and fright. The brothers 
 begged Joe to do something to get justice done. In the case 
 of Agha Jahn this is the settlement the government pro- 
 pose: they will give the widow 150 tomans now, and twenty- 
 five tomans yearly to her boys or to the heirs of Agha Jahn 
 as long as there shall be any, and as long as the government 
 shall last. They wish Joe to get her to agree to this. 
 For this country it is as good a settlement as could be 
 expected. 
 
 JUNE 16th. Joe is treating the Governor for rheumatism. 
 He is the same one who was here several years ago. He is 
 better, but the servants beg to have Joe come often, for 
 they say the Governor's heart opens by his coming, and he 
 does not revile them so much. He is such a very big man 
 that he cannot even hold his tea glass or his water pipe, 
 but like a big baby has his servants to hold them for him. 
 He sent me a present of thirty tomans yesterday, said he 
 could not find a good piece of shawl goods, so sent this for 
 " handkerchief money." Persian equivalent for pin money, 
 I suppose. He said this had nothing to do with the medical
 
 182 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 work; he would settle his medical bills later. But of course 
 we shall not keep it. The rule is that all receipts in all 
 departments are turned back to the Board. But I should 
 like to use this for the hospital. For instance, there is 
 poor old Mena, the paralyzed woman; she must be cared 
 for this summer. She has no home, and she must be cared 
 for during her last days. 
 
 JUNE 27th. The Governor sent word that he would call, 
 so there was a great flying about to put the parlour in order 
 and have tea ready for him. On leaving he said to Joe, " I 
 wish always to be where you are." 
 
 SEIR, July 13th. Joe and Mr. Labaree have gone down 
 to be in the city to-night. It is the night before the great 
 day of Muharram, and to-morrow morning early the proces- 
 sion will be out, and people will be cutting and beating them- 
 selves. They seem to grow more zealous every year.. The 
 Christians are very much afraid, for all this past year the 
 Mussulmans have been acting so badly towards them. Joe 
 does not really appreheJd any trouble, but he thought he 
 would be in the city, so as to get help quickly from the 
 Governor should there be any outbreak against the Chris- 
 tians. I do not like to think of him as down in the midst 
 of that fanatical crowd, but still I want him to be where 
 duty lies. They have voted Joe off for another mountain 
 trip of three or four weeks with Mr. St. Pierre. Clement 
 is going, too. I am sorry to have Joe go, for he is tired 
 and such a trip is no rest, for all the people gather when 
 they hear that a doctor is coming. He is also voted as 
 second delegate to the Hamadan Conference. 
 
 SEIR, July 17th. Last Saturday evening a sad affair hap- 
 pened at Haidarlu, the Mussulman village below us on the 
 mountain. I think I wrote you some time ago about the 
 poor people from Eel in Turkey, how they came down here 
 to find a home, twenty-six families of them, because they 
 were so oppressed. The master of Haidarlu took them, but 
 they have had a very hard time. We gave them seed wheat 
 this spring, but the village people have not let them have 
 any water, and have continually turned their cattle loose
 
 "IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS" 183 
 
 in their fields. Saturday evening a number were sitting in 
 a yard, when a Mussulman came in and asked, " Why did 
 you harvest that grass to-day ? " One answered, " The Mas- 
 ter gave it." But he was struck down, and more Mussul- 
 mans came and beat and threw stones until they had 
 wounded ten men and six women, besides one or two chil- 
 dren. That evening, as we were sitting on the roof, a 
 number came up to see Joe, bringing some of their wounded, 
 and to ask what they should do for redress. Poor people! 
 they looked so disheartened with the rags and their wounds, 
 as though they thought there was no place for them in the 
 world. It was a pathetic group as they stood there in the 
 bright moonlight. On departing, the leader raised his hands 
 solemnly to heaven, saying, " We have only a God in 
 heaven, and you on earth." Joe is doing what he can to 
 represent the matter fairly to the Governor, and he seems 
 disposed to do justice. 
 
 Nothing serious happened on the great day of Muharram. 
 Joe and Mr. Labaree spent the night in the city, and they 
 said that the crowd seemed to yell with redoubled vigour 
 as they passed our doors, but there was no attack. 
 
 JULY 22nd. The mountain party started yesterday. We 
 went down the day before, and had hard work to get every- 
 thing ready. I never saw anything like the amount of 
 preparation such a trip involves. It seems very lonely, and 
 it does not add to my peace of mind to know that the Kurds 
 are fighting along the road they are to go. A friendly 
 Kurdish mullah escorts them, and declares he can take 
 them through safely. Joe seems to trust him, so I suppose 
 I must. 
 
 AUGUST llth. Joe and Clement are home again. They 
 came two days earlier than expected. I was down at the 
 college Wednesday, when they suddenly arrived. They are 
 very brown, and pretty tired. It was a hard journey, 
 extremes of heat and cold, and they were constantly 
 thronged by sick early and late. I am trying to keep Joe 
 up here to rest for a couple of weeks, but he has to go down 
 to-day to see some people from Sulduz, or else a lady and 
 about twenty servants would all come up here to be enter- 
 tained.
 
 184 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Early in September he left for Hamadan. The Con- 
 ference began September 28th, 1894, and closed October 
 10th. It was hoped that the Church Missionary So- 
 ciety's Missions in Bagdad and in Ispahan, and the 
 Dutch Reformed Mission in Arabia might be repre- 
 sented, but this was impossible. These Missions 
 showed a warm interest in the Conference, and it was 
 only the necessity of defending their position against 
 the machinations of bitter opponents which kept the 
 Ispahan missionaries away. Dr. Cochran served on 
 the Committee on Protestant Churches, was one of the 
 two secretaries, and presented the report of the Com- 
 mittee on Medical Work. In addition he presented a 
 paper on " What is the Appropriate Place of Medical 
 Work as a Missionary Agency, and how Can it Be 
 Made more Effectual ? " This paper set forth clearly 
 his convictions: 
 
 What is the appropriate place of medical work as 
 a missionary agency, and how can it be made more 
 effectual ? 
 
 I can perhaps do no better in getting at our object than 
 to look especially at our own work in Urumia at its 
 failures, and at what we may humbly point to as its suc- 
 cesses. There, as in many Missions, we have first, the 
 office, or dispensary work; second, the visits to the homes 
 of all classes and sects; third, the training of medical stu- 
 dents; fourth, the professional and social relations toward 
 the government officials, land proprietors, and other men in 
 high positions, which bring with it not a little civil work; 
 fifth, touring; sixth, hospital work. Each has its especial 
 and individual sphere, while collectively, they have their 
 influence on the masses and on the government. 
 
 In the dispensary when largely attended, the work, to my 
 mind, is the least satisfactory to the doctor and to our work 
 at large. It is our rule to hare some form of religious 
 service in the waiting-room, prior to treating the patient, 
 and every now and then some one will say, " Enough of
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 185 
 
 that; we have come here to get relief for our diseases and 
 not to be preached to." Still generally all classes and sects, 
 men and women, are willing to hear a story from the Gospel 
 a prayer for a blessing on the treatment to be given, or 
 to engage in religious conversation. People helped physi- 
 cally, of whatever nationality or creed, are likely to do our 
 work good in a small or large degree, and open the way to 
 others. Many, undoubtedly, are not helped by their single 
 visit and few doses of medicine. Some to whom a course 
 of treatment is prescribed, never take a dose of the medi- 
 cine, or will take one dose, and if not helped, give it up. 
 Other complicated cases, while ready and anxious to follow 
 the physician's directions, are not cured because the doctor, 
 in the rush of patients and hurried examination, has not dis- 
 covered the real trouble. With us, too, by far the majority 
 of dispensary cases come but once. The city is one and a 
 half miles away, and the villages are all the way from one 
 to thirty miles off, not to speak of a large number of 
 patients who come from much longer distances. The visits 
 in the homes, upon the sick, no matter what class or sect, 
 is to me a far more interesting work. There the physician 
 is brought in direct contact and sympathy, not only with 
 his patient, but with all the household and interested friends, 
 for we are all familiar with the crowds that push into a 
 house when the physician is attending a sick one. In such 
 visits, at least a single word of religious truth, or comfort, 
 or teaching, can always be given, and very often interesting, 
 and I trust helpful, conversations are held. 
 
 Training of natives to do medical work among their own 
 people is, I am sure, a legitimate and useful work of the 
 medical missionary. So far as I know, twenty-seven young 
 men, and one young woman have begun the study of medi- 
 cine with the physicians that have been in Urumia. Of 
 these, two were taught by Dr. Wright, two by Dr. Van 
 Norden, seven by Dr. Holmes, and the rest by myself and 
 Dr. Miller. Fourteen of the twenty-seven completed their 
 course with us, and are practising medicine now, or have 
 done so more or less. A class of seven enters this fall. 
 While these young men have not been all we could wish, 
 still I am sure four or five of them who have been in 
 practice some years, have been a great blessing to their
 
 186 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 people, and we have reason to hope that those who graduated 
 this summer will also be. 
 
 Touring has its strong advocates among medical mis- 
 sionaries, as well as some who do not consider it of much 
 yalue. 
 
 While accepting it as very true that many for whom we 
 prescribe on such tours are not cured of their diseases, it 
 is worth our while if we cure only a few, since I am sure 
 we can do good in other ways. It does good to get out 
 among the people of our congregations and among strangers. 
 We can show them our sympathy, which tells for as much 
 here as elsewhere. We can often help them in their oppres- 
 sions. Medical work, on tours as well as in its other de- 
 partments, recommends not only the doctor, but the word 
 that is preached. It is a form of charity which we can 
 give without harming the people or work. If we gave the 
 poor in the villages clothes or money, they would not feel 
 that we were sacrificing anything for their good, for they 
 believe we possess inexhaustible wealth. They would con- 
 sider that we wished to win their favour for some selfish 
 end. But here, too, just as with the itinerating preacher, 
 it must be largely a work of seed sowing. Others must 
 harvest the fruits. 
 
 The hospital work, other things being equal, is the ideal 
 form of doing medical missionary work. Our hospital in 
 Urumia was opened for patients in 1881. In a hospital, 
 the humanitarian aspect, as well as the religious, can have 
 its full sway. There the patients are placed entirely under 
 the control of the physicians. There is no interference by 
 the many would be advisers which he had in his own home, 
 nor by the native doctors. Especially in the line of surgery 
 does the hospital show its best results. Many hundreds are 
 relieved, many hundreds are saved from lifelong distress. 
 Nothing causes so much amazement, nothing calls forth more 
 grateful acknowledgment of ability, and benefit rendered 
 than the cure of the apparently hopelessly blind. The mis- 
 sionary hospital more than pays from a humanitarian view, 
 physically blessing hundreds of helpless ones for whom there 
 is no other provision made. Doing this work for His sake 
 and in His name makes it, it seems to me, a legitimate part 
 of Christian Missions. I fully believe that the hospital
 
 IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 187 
 
 conducted aright is " beneficent enough, persuasive enough, 
 Christlike enough, to stand on its own merits " on Mission- 
 fields but we can say much more of it than this. In no 
 form of medical work can we begin to do so much for the 
 spiritual good of our patients. Aside from the sick brought 
 under our daily influence, many of their friends are also 
 reached. Administering to their daily wants, assuring them 
 that we are constantly in need of, and constantly are seek- 
 ing God's help on every means used in their treatment 
 telling them of His readiness and ability to help, and add 
 to it spiritual blessings these, I say, have their influence 
 upon the coldest hearts, upon the most prejudiced minds. 
 Many for the first time hear the Gospel read to them in the 
 hospital, and very many are utterly amazed at the religion 
 which moves its adherents to do what is done by medical 
 Missions for the needy of all classes and faiths. Every 
 physician must have many illustrations of these truths in 
 his practice. Many so touched, do much good to our cause 
 at large when they return to their homes. It is embarrassing 
 and unpleasant for a physician to have to say so much of 
 his own work as is necessary in giving such an account of 
 it as this, and yet, if we bear in mind that all the triumphs 
 of medical science owe their very existence to Christianity, 
 the Christian physician can be pardoned when he points to 
 apparent successes, giving all the praise to his Master. In 
 going about the villages and districts from which our pa- 
 tients come, we often find that they have told their friends 
 of what they saw and learned in the hospital. Often these 
 patients are the first to greet the missionary and to bring 
 the people to his meetings, and to do anything to show their 
 appreciation of the kindness shown them in the hospital. 
 The religious value cannot be measured by the number of 
 professing Christians which the hospital and other medical 
 work has produced just as it would be unfair to measure 
 the value of preaching by the number of converts to a given 
 number of sermons. Here again we must patiently and 
 faithfully sow the seed and prayerfully look for the harvest. 
 Another acknowledged benefit of medical Missions which 
 I will simply mention is the friendship, toleration, and in- 
 fluence gained with the government, the ecclesiastics, and 
 the proprietors of the villages where we have, or wish to
 
 188 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 open work. Many illustrations could be cited here, showing 
 the advantage of such relations. This takes up much time 
 of the physician, but I am convinced that it is an important 
 part of our work, and the only question is, How can we 
 exert a more decided Christian influence on these men. 
 
 So much for a hurried survey of the different forms 
 of medical missionary work, their scope and character; but 
 the principal object before us to-day is to inquire and learn 
 if possible how we can make this arm of the missionary 
 service a greater power in extending the Gospel of Christ 
 in Persia. I have already touched on this question, and 
 to sum it up I would first say: The missionary physician 
 should endeavour to be, as he indeed must be to obtain 
 the highest success, a man consecrated to Christ's service, 
 ever bearing in mind that he, like his clerical brother, 
 represents his King in this land; and everything that he 
 does must conform to this high position, so that his every 
 act and word and bearing shall preach his Master's Gospel. 
 Second He should be a skilful physician. He should keep 
 abreast of the times in his profession. He will be visited 
 by every form of disease that man is heir to. How can he 
 lay too much emphasis on the necessity of hard and constant 
 study? Third These being given to a fair degree at least, 
 how can he make the different medical agencies more effec- 
 tually helpful? In my dispensary in Urumia, with our Nes- 
 torians and Kurds, our Jews and Moslems and Armenians, 
 I do not see that we can do more than we have been doing, 
 while there is so large an attendance of men and women 
 of these different sects and classes. Fourth In the visits 
 to the homes, let us take advantage of the good opportunities 
 afforded, and let us be more faithful in sharing with them 
 the sustaining and comforting promises which we enjoy while 
 sick. The peculiarly good chance to do good here brings 
 its corresponding obligation to do it. Fifth In the hos- 
 pital there should be regular systematic religious work. We 
 should endeavour to secure and constantly keep a high 
 Christian tone in the institution. This is much more easily 
 said than done, for it means that the physicians in charge 
 must constantly bear themselves in such a manner as shall 
 command, not only the respect of the patients and all con- 
 nected with the hospital, but they must also be examples
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 189 
 
 of a high Christian living. It means that the nurses must 
 be thoroughly good men and women. It means that all the 
 employees and the medical students must live before these 
 people who are gathered together from many different places, 
 representing different nationalities and creeds, such lives as 
 shall be not only above reproach, but such as shall draw 
 the patients to Christ. Here is one of the most discourag- 
 ing features of our work, and how to secure the desired 
 tone in our institution and the desired influence on our 
 patients is often one of the heaviest burdens we have to bear. 
 I have a sincere and strong conviction that the work of 
 the medical missionary, if conducted as it should be and 
 as it can be, is a very important branch of the missionary 
 service a very direct power in evangelistic work. Some 
 one has said, "It is the divinely appointed substitute for 
 miracles in its range of influence in the self-conscious 
 ability of the physician to give relief and in the marvellous 
 cure which is effected through medical or surgical skill." 
 It is a signal illustration of the beneficent work of the 
 Gospel. Happily, the Gospel message is not merely a mes- 
 sage of words, it is a message of deeds as well. I am sure 
 I express the thoughts and desires of all our medical mis- 
 sionaries in Persia when I say that realizing the importance 
 of this arm of the missionary service if conducted aright, 
 and after the example of the Great Physician, and appre- 
 ciating the responsibility and duty devolving upon us, we 
 do desire to make our department more effectual in hastening 
 the coming of the Kingdom of Christ among the peoples 
 for whom we work, and to this end we earnestly ask the 
 counsel and the prayers of this Conference. 
 
 Immediately after the Conference he returned to 
 Urumia by the slow horseback travel which has been 
 until recently the only means of transportation in 
 Persia, and which consumes nearly three weeks in the 
 journey of 309 miles from Hamadan to Urumia. 
 
 The year 1895 was to change all the world to Dr. 
 Cochran through his wife's death. The year began 
 with the death of a brother of the Patriarch. Mrs. 
 Cochran wrote:
 
 190 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 FEBRUARY 3rd. Such a day as we had yesterday! I 
 think that I wrote you last week that we had sent and 
 brought the Patriarch's brother, who was sick in Dizzatika. 
 He grew worse rapidly, had typhoid fever. He died early 
 yesterday morning. It seemed very sad, a stranger here, 
 only servants with him. His wife and seven children are 
 with the Patriarch in Kochanis. The servants thought it 
 would be impossible to take the body to Kochanis over the 
 mountains at this season, and wished him buried in the 
 Old Church cemetery in Mart Mariana in the city. 
 
 Joe went out before breakfast, and told Agha Bazurk to 
 go right to work and engage cooks, and prepare dinner for 
 a hundred or more. I believe they had four sheep and 125 
 pounds of rice. We knew there would be various callers, 
 and so hastily put the parlour to rights. The news spread 
 rapidly. Soon the Englishmen came, and the Old Church 
 Bishop, Mar Gabriel, and the Turkish vice-consul, and 
 others, our Kashas, and those of the Old Church. While 
 Joe was engaged with them, word came that about sixty 
 people had gathered in the college, and coffee was needed. 
 It is always passed to those who call at such times. By 
 the time that it was ready and Mrs. Coan had sent me more 
 cups, word came that there were one hundred gathered, then 
 two hundred, and I presume it was furnished to about 300 
 in all. It kept Surra busy making it, and the medical 
 students served it. A number of the boys' rooms in the 
 college were cleared and guests seated there. 
 
 Mr. Allen made the coffin; there was not time to make a 
 nicely polished exterior, so it was covered with dark blue 
 velvet, and lined with white silk. Soon a difficulty arose. 
 It seems that no dead body is ever allowed to enter the 
 city gates. Joe sent to the Governor for permission, but 
 it was not granted. So Charbash was then selected as the 
 burial place. Some of the friends wanted the band lately 
 brought here by the Governor, so that was asked for and 
 obtained, and the Governor and Sarparast both sent led 
 horses. After dinner for about 300, as many as could 
 assembled in the chapel, and there was a short service 
 conducted by Mr. Coan. Such a grand mix you never 
 saw High Church (Anglican), Old Church (Nestorian), 
 and New Church (Evangelical), but in one way it was
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 191 
 
 pleasant; all seemed to have a national feeling aroused and 
 forgot for the moment the differences of sect. Some of our 
 Kashas read and prayed, and Mr. Coan spoke, also the 
 Old Church Bishop, and all through the service the Old 
 Church priests were swinging incense, and sang one of 
 their funeral dirges as the coffin was removed from the 
 chapel. It was placed in the sleigh, the band just ahead, and 
 really the music thrilled one who had not heard a band for 
 five years. A procession of over two hundred on foot and 
 on horseback followed to Charbash. Joe said the long 
 avenue leading to the city was black with people as they 
 approached, Nestorians and Mussulmans. It was about dark 
 when they reached Charbash, and the whole village, men, 
 women, and children, came out with torches to meet them. 
 The body was placed in the Old Church, and will be buried 
 to-morrow. 
 
 You will perhaps wonder why so much was done, but he 
 was one of the heads of the nation, and so in that way it 
 was fitting, and it will prove to Mar Shimon, the Patriarch, 
 and to all Old Church Nestorians that we are friends, and 
 are not teaching our people to despise those in authority. 
 Without the friendship of the Patriarch we could do nothing 
 in the mountains. It seems a strange providence that 
 brought that man here to die; at first it seemed as if it 
 were very unfortunate, but I think that after all good will 
 come of it. 
 
 These were Mrs. Cochran's last letters. She had an 
 attack of grippe in January, from which she seems 
 never to have recovered her strength. All the children 
 were sick, so that she had no chance to get the rest 
 she so greatly needed. In March she was suddenly 
 taken ill with pneumonia. At first it was not regarded 
 as a serious attack, but complications set in, and she 
 died March 21st, 1895, after only one week's illness. 
 The sister in America, who has preserved the corre- 
 spondence from Urumia, writes: 
 
 That last day, when she saw, by the expression of those 
 about her, that they thought her very ill, she asked if they
 
 192 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 thought she would not live. When they told her that they 
 feared she was dying, she dictated a note to her mother, 
 signing it with her own hand. Then she sent for the chil- 
 dren, and said a few words to each. Dr. Shedd, who was 
 very low at the time, had himself carried over to see her 
 once more. He followed her three weeks later. All that 
 the love of the Mission circle could do for her was done. 
 Mrs. Labaree and Mrs. Coan nursed her most tenderly. 
 
 We can imagine Dr. Cochran's agony as he saw her dying 
 and realized that he was powerless to help her, and had no 
 one with whom to consult. Even Dr. Miller was away in 
 Mosul that winter. 
 
 It was a sorrowful group of the Mission circle that 
 gathered in the parlour, where she had so often made them 
 welcome, for the last services. They sang some of her 
 favourite hymns, " Jerusalem the Golden," and " The Sands 
 of Time are Sinking," and Mr. Coan said a few words. 
 The college chapel was decorated with pussy willows, the 
 Nestorian emblem of the resurrection. Many of the native 
 friends gathered for the services there, although the day 
 was cold and stormy. There was a wild storm of wind and 
 rain as they rode up to Seir, such a day as when, two years 
 before, Dr. Cochran laid away his mother to rest. All 
 through those first days of sorrow Dr. Cochran had to 
 receive many calls of condolence. His letters for the months 
 following are filled with a sacred sorrow or else are in 
 regard to the children. 
 
 The whole community mourned with Dr. Cochran in 
 his sorrow. The Rev. Benjamin W. Labaree, Dr. 
 Labaree's oldest son, wrote from Urumia, March 22nd, 
 1895: 
 
 We are all very sad. Mrs. Cochran was such a bright, 
 cheery person, and she had such a very strong character. 
 Her family was a model family in every respect, and she 
 will be missed terribly. Our hearts ache for poor doctor 
 and the children. They are all wonderfully calm to-day. 
 Clement and Lily are helping in all the arrangements, and 
 doctor is receiving many calls. The mourning is not con-
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 193 
 
 fined to our circle. Dr. Cochran has won his way into the 
 hearts of everybody, Moslem as well as Christian. His sor- 
 row is their sorrow. A Moslem said to me to-day, " Dr. 
 Cochran is a friend to the rich and a father to the poor." 
 Another said, " Dr. Cochran will be distressed to know what 
 his duty will be, to the people here, or to his children," 
 referring to the possibility of his having to take his children 
 to America. For the present, I presume, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Coan will move into the doctor's house, and Mrs. Coan will 
 take charge of the two families. What the future will 
 bring we do not know. 
 
 During this short sickness we have been stopped in the 
 streets very often by Moslems and Christians, many of 
 them entire strangers, and asked how Mrs. Cochran was. 
 There is no one in Persia who is so generally loved by the 
 people, rich and poor, and who has done so much for them 
 as Dr. Cochran. 
 
 The death of Mrs. Cochran and of Dr. Shedd, which 
 followed soon after, left him, in a double sense, alone. 
 Dr. Shedd had been the senior member of the Station 
 and its leader in the noblest sense. He was a man of 
 great strength and weight of judgment, profoundly 
 trusted by the Nestorians, full of wisdom and justice, 
 a tower of reliance to all. At his death Dr. Cochran 
 became the senior, Dr. Labaree having had to leave the 
 field in 1891 and not returning until 1898, and many 
 of the burdens which Dr. Shedd had borne fell upon 
 him, in addition to his own. He was never a narrow 
 specialist. He never considered the medical work as 
 a professional work, to be carried on by a medical man 
 apart from the general evangelistic and educational 
 responsibilities of the Mission. He studied and en- 
 tered into every part of the work, and was prepared to 
 counsel about it, and to form a wise policy for it, and 
 upon Dr. Shedd's death he was naturally looked to as 
 the adviser and general leader, at the same time that
 
 194 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 he had to bear burdens which fell to him alone by 
 reason of his medical ability, coupled with his personal 
 character and the remarkable influence which he had 
 acquired as a moral force and a teacher of righteous- 
 ness. Mrs. Cochran's death deprived him of his great- 
 est human solace and sympathy. She was a woman of 
 great delicacy and refinement of nature, sensitive and 
 sympathetic, but calm and sensible, who understood 
 his problems, and fortified him in his quiet confidence 
 and strength. Mrs. W. A. Shedd wrote of her: 
 
 Mrs. Cochran's life was not eventful in any striking way; 
 it was spent mostly with and for her husband and her 
 children, serving them most devotedly. She had both high 
 culture and intellectual power to an unusual degree, and 
 also the ability to form clear, independent opinions. Her 
 influence on the work was felt directly through the women's 
 meetings and alumnae associations, but more powerfully 
 still through her husband, whom she helped and sustained 
 to an extent not understood by many, by her home, by her 
 calm, wise counsel, and earnest sympathy. Others of us 
 can also testify to her helpfulness in perplexing matters, 
 personal, and connected with the work. Sincerity, truth- 
 fulness, patience, and quiet devotion were marked traits of 
 her character. 
 
 Upon Dr. Shedd's death, instead of welcoming the 
 opportunity to become the head of the Station, Dr. 
 Cochran at once wrote to Dr. Labaree in America, 
 urging him to come back and take the place of leader- 
 ship : 
 
 DR. COCHRAN TO DR. LABAREE, URUMIA, April 18th, 1895. 
 Before this letter reaches you, you will have heard of all 
 that has happened to us. The last four weeks have been 
 by far the most trying ones of our life. Indeed, ever since 
 last fall so much has happened that has been hard. During 
 the sessions of Annual Meeting, Sister Katherine Mildred
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 195 
 
 died. Then we lost a case in the hospital, Andreas of Baz. 
 Later on Shamasha Eshai, the Patriarch's brother, died in 
 the hospital of typhoid fever. A little later Pastor Kozle, 
 and then another hospital case, and then Mrs. Cochran; 
 after her, two more cases in the hospital, and then Dr. Shedd. 
 So, too, I lost a schoolgirl of diphtheria. Dr. Shedd, as you 
 know, has had trouble ever since the day before we left 
 Hamadan. For at least a month before he died I had but 
 little hope of his recovery, so that his death was not so 
 unexpected, but Mrs. Cochran's came suddenly, like a terrible 
 storm out of a clear sky. She was sick, as you have heard, 
 only one full week. To the last I had the hope that in some 
 way God would surely raise her up again, although I had no 
 reason for hoping so from any physical signs, but it seemed 
 almost impossible that I should be thus left without my 
 wife, and our five children without their mother. It every 
 now and then seems all but unendurable, and yet I can see 
 very clearly God's loving hand, even in the midst of the 
 blow, and the blessings are many. The memories of the past 
 sixteen and a half years, the home, the children, are rich 
 blessings. It is such a pleasure to think of the many con- 
 versations we had during her sickness, of the perfect con- 
 fidence and trust she had that her Saviour, since He was 
 calling her, would also care for me and the children. She 
 said she had not the slightest anxiety on our behalf; and 
 then her words to each of the three older children are a 
 precious memory and a rich legacy to them. But the home 
 is all the more desolate because we have lost so precious 
 and necessary a member. I did not sit down to burden 
 you, however, with my personal grief. Each has enough 
 to bear without sharing others' burdens. It was more of 
 the general loss or the loss common to all the departments 
 of our work, and to all the labourers that I wished to write. 
 In Dr. Shedd's death you can understand what a blow our 
 work has sustained. The question before us now is, how 
 can we, in some measure at least, remedy this? I think 
 you who know the needs of the work and the men on the 
 field will understand our wants. Our corps of clerical men 
 is a strong one, but each individual is more of a specialist 
 in his department. Good and faithful work is done and will 
 be done in the department under the care of each of our
 
 196 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 men, but what we lack, it seems to me, is some one who 
 would take as nearly as possible the position which Dr. 
 Shedd held, that of a general superintendent with the 
 ability to look out over the entire field, to lay out the 
 whole of the campaign, bringing every arm of the service 
 to work in harmony with every other branch, and uniting 
 all to the one end in view, and then keeping all the machinery 
 at work. Aside from this it seems, now at least, since we 
 have been used to leaning so much on an older man, that 
 we absolutely need such a guide and superintendent. This, 
 however, we cannot get unless you can see your way clear 
 to coming out. As a station, we would rejoice to have you 
 do this, even if you could do so only for two or three years. 
 I am sure it will pay the Board to do this, to send you 
 out so as to get here early in the fall, even if you could 
 remain but two years. . . . 
 
 Of course, you know all the circumstances, and I may 
 be entirely mistaken, and I do not mean to presume that 
 I can advise you. One thing I do feel sure would not be 
 wise, and that is for you to come out without Mrs. Labaree ; 
 that would only add to the anxiety, and throw an extra 
 burden on you and Mrs. Labaree. You could fall most 
 naturally into the press work, the preparation of material 
 and oversight, into the Inner Mission work, the superintend- 
 ence of what we have in the Jewish and Moslem departments, 
 and then with this you could take the lead in the Knushyas, 
 and with your experience and knowledge of the work and its 
 needs, you could assume the general direction in the plan- 
 ning for the work as a whole. If you felt you could stay 
 but two or three years, we would in the meantime be looking 
 for a man to take up the work when you left. 
 
 We are in a critical period of the history of our Mission, 
 and it will not pay the Board to deal carelessly with the 
 work. We need the very best man America can give us. 
 There is no one too good for this position in America, 
 some opinions to the contrary notwithstanding. We need a 
 man who will be looked up to and felt, one who not only 
 in a single department will be head and shoulders above 
 all whom he has to deal with, but an all-around man who 
 will be able to command in more than one position, and 
 whose weight and character will tell on the whole work.
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 197 
 
 Though self-contained and reserved, Dr. Cochran was 
 very sociable and full of play and home-love, and the 
 loss of his wife cut deep, and thickened the veil which 
 always hung across his inner life. The whole station 
 loved and admired him. Indeed, the station was a 
 family group whose members were bound together by 
 the ties of two or three generations, but no other love 
 could take the place of the gentle love and under- 
 standing of his wife, and all who knew him were aware 
 of the unexpressed lonesomeness of his heart as he 
 went quietly on with his work. 
 
 He was further saddened by the horrors which had 
 already begun in Turkey. The constant persecution 
 of the Armenians had burst out in the terrible mas- 
 sacres which began in 1894, and were in 1895 and 1896 
 to fill all eastern Turkey with the smoke of pillaged 
 villages, the wrecks of ruined homes, the sobs of little 
 children, and the desperate wrath of outraged men who 
 had appealed to the Christian Powers in vain to stop 
 the most dastardly crime of the nineteenth century. 
 There were no massacres of the Nestorians in Turkey, 
 but threats and oppression filled them with terror, and 
 they had reason to fear that they were included in 
 this Turkish policy of annihilation of the. Christian 
 subjects. All this shame and cruelty and suffering 
 went far to age one who saw and knew it all, who did 
 what he could to give relief, and whose heart consumed 
 itself in anguish at the careless indifference of Christen- 
 dom to the pillage and massacre which were making 
 eastern Turkey a hell. 
 
 In the summer of 1895 he visited the Mountain Nes- 
 torians. Of this tour he reported : 
 
 JUNE 27th. Mr. Labaree, Kasha Graham, and I started 
 off for a tour in our mountain field. We had planned going
 
 198 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 directly to Kochanis to pay a visit of condolence to the 
 Patriarch, and then go to the districts of Diz, Jelu, Baz, and 
 Ishtazin. Our road led us through the districts of Tergawar 
 and the valley of Mar-Beshu. In the latter we spent two 
 days, one a Sabbath with large audiences at services. This 
 village is the first one in our field in Turkey, and is inter- 
 esting in having a church said to be 1,500 years old. There 
 are three Nestorian villages in this pretty valley on the 
 head waters of the Nazlu River, but the majority of the 
 people barely exist. We have a preacher here always, and 
 two or three schools, if the government does not close them. 
 The Kurds from our side of the border, with others, are 
 constantly robbing these people. 
 
 Another day brings us to the plain of Gawar with its 
 nineteen Christian villages, and half as many Kurdish 
 shut in on the west by the high range of Jelu, whose highest 
 peaks tower up fifteen to seventeen thousand feet. On the 
 other three sides, the plain is also hemmed in by mountains. 
 The soil is rich and fertile, but now for five years the locusts 
 and caterpillars, in addition to the ravages of the Kurds 
 and the relentless tax collector, have reduced an already 
 poverty-stricken people to a most deplorable condition. I 
 know of no large number of Nestorians reduced to such 
 destitution as are these. It is perhaps safe to say that 
 every one is in debt, unless it be the beggar who exists by 
 picking up his bread from door to door. All property is 
 mortgaged, and those who borrow must do so at the rate of 
 100 per cent, or 150 per cent, interest. The spiritual con- 
 dition of the majority of these people is about as low as the 
 physical, perhaps we can hardly look for it to be otherwise. 
 Last winter we had ten schools in these villages, with regular 
 preaching services in six of them. Instead of spending only 
 one day, as we intended doing, the authorities forbade our 
 proceeding until they should communicate with the Vali 
 of Van. The detention was exceedingly annoying, as our 
 time was limited, but we did not get permission to go on 
 until the tenth day after our arrival. Even then we had 
 reason to believe that the local authorities, who are friendly, 
 gave the permission without waiting for the reply from 
 Van. We passed our time in acquainting ourselves more 
 thoroughly with the condition and needs of this portion
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 199 
 
 of our field, in having several conferences with our helpers, 
 in receiving and making calls, and in seeing the sick and 
 in visiting several of the villages. Leaving Gawar, we spent 
 a night in the village of Deriss, about halfway to Kochanis. 
 Deriss and five other Nestorian villages are picturesquely 
 situated on the northern slope of the Zab Valley. This 
 slope is well watered and wooded, and the terraced fields dot 
 nearly all the steep surface from the top of the range to 
 the Zab, 4,000 feet below. We had nearly all the men of 
 the place to the evening and morning meetings, and we were 
 begged to send them a teacher, as we had done some years. 
 They promised to get pupils from the two nearest villages 
 and keep them during the winter, so that they, too, could 
 reap the benefit of the school. Nine hours walking and 
 riding down the very steep mountainside, across the Zab 
 on a natural bridge, over immense rocks which have fallen 
 and bridged the great river down along the Zab, and up 
 another valley with its difficult paths, and across snow drifts, 
 brought down by the avalanche, brought us to Kochanis. 
 Here we remained four days, having two interviews daily 
 with Mar Shimon, usually one in his room, and one in 
 our tent. Kochanis is a good place to meet representatives 
 of all the Nestorian tribes, for it is here that they must 
 come to rent the valuable lands belonging to the many 
 churches, to secure appointments as Maliks and Raises, 
 to be ordained priests and deacons, and to get their blood 
 feuds and other quarrels settled. We had also sent for 
 some of our preachers from the districts beyond, since our 
 detention in Gawar would make it impossible to visit them, 
 and from them we had full reports. Baz, Jelu, and 
 Ishtazin, with all their villages (24), are as open to our 
 preachers and teachers as are the villages of Urumia. The 
 schools that we had in these villages were well attended, 
 and on the Sabbaths good congregations attended the serv- 
 ices, but there has been but very little advance made in the 
 number of communicants. 
 
 The needs of the field are, first, government permission 
 for us and our preachers and teachers to work in it without 
 restriction; second, this being obtained, to have more time 
 spent by one of our missionaries on the field; third, two or 
 three more faithful native helpers. With the doors as
 
 200 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 open to us as they are, no trouble or means should be spared 
 to secure these wants. 
 
 We should have a definite policy, and persevere in it 
 untiringly, both from TJrumia and Mosul. In touring, and 
 in general evangelistic work, we should not be confined too 
 closely to the line which divides our fields. Every year, at 
 least, the missionaries from the two stations should meet in 
 conference, preferably on the field. There are many signs 
 of encouragement, though there be such obstacles in our 
 way. Let us be ready to enter every open door, and let us 
 make no misstep. 
 
 In August he went to Tabriz on a little trip with 
 his two oldest children, where he was kept busy calling 
 on his many friends, and where, at the invitation of the 
 late Governor of Urumia he went out to General Wag- 
 ner's camp to see the Vali Ahd review the troops. He 
 was back in Urumia in September, and for the next 
 ten months was at his work without intermission or 
 relief. The disturbances in Turkey cut down the num- 
 ber of his hospital patients from the mountains, as 
 travel was almost impossible. He had his hands full, 
 however, and the pressure of his work in reconciling 
 enemies and adjusting difficulties and relieving the 
 oppressed was greater than ever. In his report for 
 the year ending October 1st, 1896, he says : 
 
 There were, of course, fewer cases of special interest in 
 the hospital than usual this year. One Kurdish chief from 
 Turkey after going back did much to protect the Christians, 
 both Armenian and Syrian, from being plundered and killed 
 in his district. His gratitude for what was done for him 
 here, and his praise of the work which Christians from a 
 far land were enabling us to do here, were so often expressed 
 that his friends would accuse him of having become a 
 Christian. He and his brother are now helping the Chris- 
 tians to escape across the border into Persia. 
 
 Gillee was a mountain Nestorian boy of twelve. While
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 201 
 
 on a trip in the mountains, his widowed mother brought 
 him a long and perilous three days' journey to where she 
 had heard we were stopping. The boy was suffering acute 
 pain all the time. He was thinly clad, and being on foot, 
 they could not, of course, take any bedding along. In 
 crossing a high range of mountains, they had to pass one 
 night in the shelter of some rocks beside a bank of eternal 
 snows. They had to take circuitous paths to avoid meeting 
 with enemies of their tribe. They were in constant danger 
 of being robbed, but the mother's joy knew no bounds when 
 she learned that she had overtaken us in time to go across 
 the still more dangerous border with us, and that her son 
 could hope to be cured. The boy is now well and working 
 at a trade. 
 
 Rassul was a young Moslem from a little Tillage near Sain 
 Kullah. Two years ago while passing through that village, 
 a man came running out, leading a boy ten years old. 
 Before I knew what they were about both were on their 
 knees and hands, kissing the earth over which my horse 
 had trodden. As they arose, I recognized the boy as one 
 upon whom I had operated a few years before. The father 
 told me that the boy's mother had gone off with another 
 man who could support her better than he could, and that 
 he had married another wife who had, however, brought 
 with her an invalid son who was only a burden to him, 
 and whom I must cure. Last winter the man appeared 
 one day with his step-son, whom he left in the hospital, and 
 returned to his distant home. When he left he confidentially 
 remarked that since the boy was not likely to be of much 
 use if he lived, he would find him dead and buried when 
 next he came. He also remarked that in losing his step-son 
 he was likely to lose his second wife as well, for if she 
 did not have him to care for, she could get a wealthier man 
 to marry her. But " I don't care," he added, " she has a 
 bad tongue, and often reviles me, and once she beat me. 
 Let her go if she likes." The boy Rassul was very seriously 
 sick and did die in a couple of weeks, and we got some of 
 our Moslem neighbours to bury him; but before he became 
 unconscious, he heard a good deal about One whose name 
 even, he declared, he had not heard before. The last day 
 that he was able to speak he said, " I am glad to die
 
 202 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 here. It is a beautiful place, and I have heard wonderful 
 things.'* 
 
 There has been a medical class, as usual, consisting 
 for the past year of five Nestorians who have now completed 
 half of their course. This fall we will have, in addition, 
 a Moslem. I am inclined to receive more promising Moslem 
 students in the future than has been done in the past. 
 
 Diwan Work. There have been the usual calls for such 
 help as I could render in attempting to bring to compara- 
 tively just issues cases between our people and the authori- 
 ties. This, as all know, is one of the most trying and oft- 
 times hopeless of the varied tasks which we are called upon 
 to perform. Trying and hopeless because, on the one hand, 
 we must witness the grossest injustice done to our people 
 without much chance of a remedy, and because the govern- 
 ment ignores so utterly -any attempt to do justice unless it 
 is to its pecuniary advantage to do so. But the very fact 
 that these difficulties exist makes it imperative that we show 
 sympathy at least with our oppressed brethren, and when 
 there is some hope of being able to help more or less, it 
 seems equally imperative that aid be rendered. Among 
 the different classes of cases that call for such assistance 
 none are more trying and unjust than those of " Jadid 
 ul Islam," or suits arising from converts to Islam from 
 among the Christians. The ecclesiastical law which in the 
 past few years, in this as well as in other parts of the 
 country, is stronger than the civil law, prescribes that 
 converts to Islam from the Christian faith shall inherit 
 all the property of the seven nearest relatives of the new 
 convert. Every year there are eight or ten such cases in 
 the converts among our people, mostly old cases that are 
 trumped up every time that a new governor is appointed. 
 Let me give a brief description of one of these cases to 
 illustrate to those not familiar with Persian lawsuits the 
 course such a case pursues. 
 
 Kasha Shimon, one of our eldest and best pastors, died 
 leaving a wife but no children. He had adopted a nephew, 
 however, and had also two married sisters, one of whom has 
 a daughter who has become a Moslem. Some time before 
 his death the Kasha had made all his property over to his 
 wife and nephew, and had made their title to this property
 
 IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 203 
 
 as secure as possible in this country. His will was made 
 out by the chief mujtahid, and endorsed by many others. 
 The deed bore the seals of all the chief Moslem ecclesiastics 
 of the place. He thought he had secured his heirs against 
 the niece who had become a Moslem by having obtained 
 from her mother a document, properly made out and sealed 
 by Mohammedan ecclesiastics, stating that she had no inter- 
 est whatever in her brother's property. Soon after Kasha 
 Shimon's death, however, this convert to Islam entered 
 suit against his wife and nephew. The civil authorities, 
 after examining the claims of this woman and the papers 
 of the defendants, dismissed the case, taking a fee equiva- 
 lent to a tenth of the value of the estate, on the ground 
 that the property was now secured to the rightful heirs. 
 Large fees were extorted as well by the retainers of the 
 Governor and Sarparast. The convert to Islam thus baffled, 
 made appeal to a mujtahid here, who gave her an order 
 on the civil authorities showing that every shahie that the 
 Kasha left should, by the holy law of Jadid ul Islam, come 
 to her. Whereupon the Kasha's nephew was again arrested 
 and cast into prison. It was in the winter, and the room in 
 which this young man had to sit with his feet in stocks 
 was not heated, nor were there any windows to shut out 
 the cold which entered through the large openings in the wall. 
 After a day or two, on payment of a good sum to the Gov- 
 ernor, he was released, but had to pay to the Governor's 
 servant a certain fee daily, until the case should again 
 be dismissed. 
 
 It was the defendants' turn now to obtain help from 
 the ecclesiastics who, for a compensation, were made to 
 read the law in a way that should be favourable to them, 
 on the ground that the Moslem's mother was still living, and 
 that she had sold out all her interest, and in consequence 
 the daughter could not claim anything. For over two months 
 the different ecclesiastics in the city vied with each other 
 in issuing orders annulling each others' decisions. Both 
 plaintiff and defendant spent large sums of money on these 
 orders, and so long as the doctors of the law could make 
 it profitable to disagree, the civil authorities were content 
 to continue to levy fees on the defendant. 
 
 The case finally dropped out of the courts, only to be
 
 204 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 renewed when a new Governor came. This last spring the 
 Kasha's nephew and wife were again arrested, and the same 
 process was renewed. The property now consists of just 
 half what it did when the Kasha died, and the heirs fully 
 believe the niece will resume proceedings against them as 
 soon as the next Governor arrives. There is no end to these 
 law-suits. This is because of the law in Persia in which 
 the Kings of Persia take great pride, namely: that no 
 petitioner shall be turned away from the courts without 
 an investigation of his case, although it is very often true 
 in these old law-suits that the plaintiff gets nothing for 
 his trouble but the satisfaction that the defendant is made 
 to pay dearly. 
 
 After Mrs. Cochran's death one question which pressed 
 upon him as it presses upon all missionary parents, but 
 especially those situated as Dr. Cochran was, was the 
 question of the children. For years he and the younger 
 children found a home with Mrs. Coan, who was as a 
 mother to the little ones. The two oldest children, 
 however, were ready to go on with their advanced edu- 
 cation, and it was a problem to Dr. Cochran to know 
 what his duty was. His lifelong friend, who was as 
 his brother, Mr. S. M. Clement of Buffalo, suggested 
 his coming to America to place the older children in 
 school, and offered to meet all the expenses. He was a 
 man of the keenest and most sensitive conscientious- 
 ness, however, and he wrote home: 
 
 I have written Mr. Clement that it hardly seemed best, 
 for my regular furlough comes in the summer of 1898, and 
 I felt that I would hardly wish to go then and again in 
 two years. I don't think the churches like to see their 
 missionaries home too often, and to take this five or six 
 months instead of a year later would perhaps not be best 
 because I could not get time to look up in the line of my 
 profession.
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 205 
 
 His associates urged his need of some change and 
 rest, however, and he consented to leave for three 
 months, taking Clement and Lillie for a visit to his 
 sister, then in Russia, and then going on with them 
 to Stockholm and Copenhagen and London, where he 
 started them off alone for America, and returned to 
 Persia with one of the secretaries of the Presbyterian 
 Board of Foreign Missions who was to visit the field. 
 While he was waiting in London, after the departure 
 of the children, he was invited by Archbishop Benson to 
 visit him, Dr. Cochran's services to the Archbishop's 
 Mission in Urumia having been very useful. He spent 
 a night at the Archbishop's home at Addington Park, 
 borrowing some evening clothes for the occasion from 
 a newspaper man whom he knew. He met Miss Tait, 
 daughter of the late Archbishop, who was greatly in- 
 terested in the Nestorians, and who sought his un- 
 rivalled knowledge of the conditions in Persia and 
 eastern Turkey. Before going to bed at night he wrote 
 in his room at the Archbishop's a letter describing his 
 visit, to the children whom he had just sent home. 
 " The purpose of the visit," he wrote, " was to get my 
 opinion on the question of the murder of Mar Gabriel 
 and his party, 1 and to talk over the whole wretched 
 
 the morning of June 27th, 1896, the greatest excitement pre- 
 vailed in the native Christian community of Urumia. Mar Goriel 
 or Gabriel, the Nestorian Bishop of the city, had incurred the deep 
 anger of the Saparast and had fled to Mawana, near the Turkish 
 border, for fear of being murdered. Prom there he and a large 
 party started up to see the Mutran or Patriarch. It was supposed 
 that he went up to ask the Mutran to shut out the Englishmen from 
 the Nestorian churches and to drive them away, but this may have 
 been simply the talk of the people in the wild agitation of the day. 
 After visiting the Mutran he became the guest of Sheikh Sadik, son 
 of the great Sheikh Obeidullah. After the party had eaten at the 
 Sheikh's house the story goes that they were advised to return to 
 Urumia, but were suddenly seized and locked up in some outbuild-
 
 206 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 state of affairs along our border. The Archbishop 
 wishes me to see Lord Anderson, the chief man at the 
 Foreign Office after Lord Salisbury. I saw Mr. Roose- 
 velt at our Embassy, too, this morning in regard to 
 the same." 
 
 Dr. Cochran was back in Urumia in September, 1896, 
 and beside doing his varied work, he was thinking, as 
 ever, on the general problems of the enterprise. In 
 January, 1897, he wrote to the Board, at the request 
 of the station, giving the substance of a paper he had 
 read at a Station Meeting on the question, " Are we, 
 as a Station, doing all that we can and should to reach 
 the Nestorian people in Persia and Turkey ? " 
 
 In the villages about Urumia there were at this time 
 a great many people from the mountains, due to 
 outrages by the Kurds upon the Mountain Nes- 
 torians. Some thousands of refugees had poured down 
 from the mountains of Kurdistan, and crowded into 
 the homes of the Urumia Nestorians, already hard 
 pressed and needy. These added calls upon the mis- 
 sionaries came just at a time when diminished gifts 
 at home and accumulated deficits compelled the Board 
 to reduce its appropriations and resort to heroic meas- 
 ures to make ends meet. Special relief funds from 
 England, of which Dr. Cochran took charge, and for 
 
 ing of the property. The next day they were taken by Kurds to the 
 border of Turkey and Persia the Sheikh living on Turkish terri- 
 tory. Here they were tied together and brutally murdered and their 
 bodies dragged over on to Persian territory. All were stripped 
 naked and some terribly mutilated. Five ecclesiastics were among 
 the number, one of them being a nephew of the Bishop. Twelve 
 or fourteen bodies were found some days later by people passing by 
 and were brought down to Urumia Plain for burial. 
 
 Mar Goriel was a notoriously wicked man, and the nephew, who 
 was killed with him, would probably have been his successor. By 
 the double murder the Bishopric of the City River District was left 
 vacant.
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 207 
 
 which he accounted with painstaking care, made ex- 
 tensive relief possible. But the whole situation of the 
 Mission was radically altered, and its policy influenced 
 in every department by the coming of a Mission from 
 the Greek Church which stampeded the Nestorians so 
 that practically the whole constituency of the Anglican 
 Mission and many Roman Catholics went over to the 
 Greek Church, and only the evangelical element con- 
 nected with the Presbyterian Mission stood firm. The 
 hopes of political protection from Russia soon died 
 away, and the nation felt great shame at its apostacy, 
 but the Anglican and Roman Missions have not recov- 
 ered from the blow. The Evangelical Church has suf- 
 fered less from it, and is yearly winning over new ac- 
 cessions, but for a little time it looked as though even 
 the Evangelical body might in part be swept with the 
 avalanche into the Greek Church. Dr. Cochran's let- 
 ters and reports cover all these matters: 
 
 MARCH 18th, 1897. I wish I could also adequately de- 
 scribe the gratitude of the multitudes that have received 
 this help sent by you. As a Mission, too, we desire to 
 express our most sincere thanks for this response to our 
 appeals. It is hard enough to witness the distress of these 
 refugees. It would be unbearable did we not have the means 
 to relieve in some measure at least, their sufferings. 
 
 Over 8,000 persons have shared in the benefits of your 
 gifts; for the most part they are Nestorians, not more than 
 two hundred Armenians having come to Urumia. Most 
 made their escape into Persia at the risk of being arrested 
 and punished and turned back ; many at tbe risk of their lives. 
 Tbey came over penniless, shabbily dressed, some even bare- 
 footed, over the rocky, snowy mountains. They tell many 
 thrilling tales of their hardships and dangers. Many were 
 frostbitten, so that fingers and toes had to be amputated 
 many contracted serious illness mothers gave premature 
 birth to their infants, and were left, on the mountains, 
 to be buried by the driving snows.
 
 208 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Their present condition: Up to the present, the help 
 rendered has been sufficient to keep these people from starv- 
 ing, and has supplied many with some clothing and bedding, 
 and yet the suffering from want of sufficient food and cloth- 
 ing has been very great. In some of the villages where no 
 help whatever can be obtained in addition to that which 
 we give, the refugees are showing the signs of starvation. 
 In some places they are eating the roots of thistles. Prob- 
 ably over half do not get a full meal once a day, while 
 many pass many a mealtime without a morsel. For the 
 most part, these wretched people occupy the stables with 
 the cattle, and consider themselves fortunate if there is a 
 large number of the latter to make the place warmer. They 
 sit and lie on the wet earth floor, with only their scanty 
 clothing, or with a carpet, or matting, or quilt which we 
 have supplied them with. The stables are low mud buildings, 
 with one or two small holes in the roof or walls, to admit 
 a little air and light. Packed so closely as they are, you 
 will not wonder that they are afflicted, as well, with the itch 
 and many other diseases, in many of the villages. Nearly 
 everywhere special efforts are made to give these needy 
 people some spiritual comfort as well. 
 
 JULY 17th, 1897. There is something over $300 in the 
 cut of our appropriations not yet provided for, and where 
 we have shut up the departments and the schools, it still 
 seems as if it cannot and must not be. Perhaps one of 
 the most difficult institutions to close is the hospital. People 
 will get sick and will require hospital treatment; many will 
 come from a long distance, and cannot be refused help of 
 some kind; many, if not all, consequently, are entirely de- 
 pendent upon us. For Dr. Miller and me to be here and the 
 buildings standing, and everything to all outward appearance 
 in readiness for the treatment of patients, makes it no easy 
 task to prove that we are unable to receive the patients. 
 The last few days there have been several cases which will 
 show the difficulty involved. A man has been travelling 
 one month, and has come all the way from Jezirah on the 
 Tigris. He has spent everything he had, and is almost 
 naked. He is in need of an operation and a course of treat- 
 ment. Another man was struck in the leg, fracturing both
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 209 
 
 bones; the native bone-setters have done their best, and yet 
 it has resulted in a gangrenous foot and a foul wound teem- 
 ing with worms. That man will soon be buried unless we 
 take him into the hospital and amputate his leg. A few 
 days ago five Armenians made their way here from Van, 
 with a letter from the missionaries saying that these poor 
 patients had nothing for their road expenses nor for their 
 support when they got to Urumia. We have given these a 
 room in the hospital, and have operated on them, and can 
 fortunately charge their expenses to the Relief Funds, but 
 not so with the other cases mentioned. Dr. Isaac, our native 
 assistant, has resigned in order that his salary may be used 
 in receiving patients. I have accepted all professional calls 
 from a distance in order to increase the receipts of the 
 Medical Department. 
 
 Of the coming of the Russian priests you are already 
 aware. Of the result of their mission so far, I can add 
 something for your information. They have so far visited 
 ten villages on the lower Nazlu River. In all of these 
 places, they have called the people together, and have in- 
 vited them to enroll themselves as candidates for member- 
 ship in the Greek Church. They inform the people that they 
 have been sent in response to numerous invitations from 
 the Nestorians who are desirous of joining their Church. 
 They then read to them the Confession of their Faith, and 
 tell all those who desire to do so, freely and of their own 
 will, to give them their names. If this were all they would 
 do little harm and would get but few followers, but on the 
 one hand there is an inborn conviction on the part of the 
 Christians here that political salvation is to come to them 
 at the hands of the Russians, and that it is now at hand, 
 and on the other, the Nestorians who are with them, the 
 bishop and others, use all the influence at their command 
 to secure the signatures of all the people. They promise 
 the most delightful conditions of citizenship to those who 
 give their names, absolute freedom from all oppression and 
 from all fear, while at the same time they threaten with 
 all manner of evils those who do not come over to the 
 Russian side. In all of these villages some of our people, 
 church members, have been won over. In Ada, where we had 
 the largest church, they stayed a week, waging a very de-
 
 210 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 termined battle, and finally conquering about half of our 
 communicants. I was there last Sabbath, when our pastor 
 told me that those who had given their names were closely 
 watched and openly threatened should they dare to attend 
 our services again, but those who had withstood seemed very 
 happy in it, and were very warm and constant in prayer. 
 One of our church members, a woman, had been beaten 
 every day by her husband for the past three weeks, in order 
 to secure her promise to join the Russians, but she had 
 withstood all the pressure brought upon her by her husband 
 and others. In two other villages more than half have left 
 us. Just how all this is to end is the vital question. No 
 one can foretell positively, because no one knows what 
 attitude the Russian government is going to take towards 
 this country. Many have gone over because they honestly 
 believe that by so doing they will be the means of getting 
 the Russians to occupy this part of Persia, while if they 
 refuse to join the Russian Church they will prevent them 
 from so doing. We see no indications of the Russians de- 
 siring to occupy Azerbaijan, and we do not see any hope 
 that those who join their church will be any the better off 
 for it, so far as their relations to this government and some 
 of its oppressions are concerned. Should there not appear 
 any remarkable help in a political way for these people, 
 many would not only forsake them, but many would fall 
 into the hands of their Moslem neighbours whom they have 
 greatly provoked by making so much of the coming of the 
 Russians. There is a very strong movement on foot against 
 the Russians. It is headed by the land owners, who under- 
 stand that their relations to their subjects will be very 
 different if there is considerable Russian influence brought 
 to bear upon them. The Moslem ecclesiastics have joined 
 the attack upon them, because everything of this sort tends 
 to make the Christian influence the stronger and theirs the 
 weaker, and the masses are opposed to it, because they are 
 jealous of a Christian power and ardent in behalf of the 
 power of Islam. At the same time, there are not a few 
 Moslems of influence who are so disgusted vith the weak 
 and corrupt government which exists that they would very 
 willingly see the change. To the cause of self-support this 
 Russian Mission would seem to have dealt a heavy blow.
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 211 
 
 With the members of our various churches diminished in 
 numbers, with the congregations largely lessened, we cannot 
 hope to get as much as we have been doing. Our pastors, 
 who are having a very hard time to get along with their 
 whole salary, will find it impossible to live on the reduced 
 income. To withdraw our pastors from some of the villages 
 and have a fewer number do the work of preaching to the 
 diminished congregations is not as yet the wise thing to 
 do, till we shall know what is actually to be the outcome. 
 The Roman Catholic and the Anglican adherents have all 
 left to the last man where the Russians have visited. It is 
 our aim to be out among the people as much as possible 
 and to continue to do our duty along the lines that are 
 open to us, believing that at least this new Mission will 
 have the effect of sifting and purifying our Church. 
 
 SEIR, August 9th, 1897. Yesterday a letter came from 
 the Board suggesting a plan to have the Board's debts 
 paid off as a first step to bringing the treasury to a con- 
 dition to meet its duties and calls. They propose to begin 
 with all the members of the Board, its salaried and non- 
 salaried officers, and ask at the same time that all its mis- 
 sionaries join in giving what they can for this purpose, 
 making this the first object to be helped, putting it ahead 
 of any help which individuals plan to give, to keep up their 
 departments or to help in any general work in the field. 
 
 All of the members of our Station have contributed very 
 generously in this latter way, and it will seem very hard 
 to them to substitute this debt for the objects already selected 
 to be helped. At the same time I feel that it is a good move, 
 and we should all have a share in it, no matter how small 
 that share may be. 
 
 The needs of the future necessarily give rise now and 
 then to some anxiety. I am perplexed whenever I stop to 
 think of the future, but I presume it will all be made clear 
 in time. Next June it will be time for me to go to the 
 United States. In many respects, if the present arrange- 
 ments for the care of the children could continue indefinitely 
 it would be the most convenient and simple. The question 
 also arises whether or no I ought to resign on arriving in 
 America. It would probably be easier for me, with Eliza-
 
 212 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 beth's [his daughter] help to care for them [the children] 
 in America than here, if I were to resign and find employ- 
 ment there. If I am to go into professional work there, 
 the sooner the better, for the older I get the harder it will 
 be to adapt myself to the new conditions of practising in 
 America, which I have never done. But, as I said before, 
 I try not to allow these things to wear on me too much, 
 for the future can care for itself, and plan as we may, we 
 are not likely to carry out what we now lay out for ourselves. 
 
 We have just been having a Conference at the Lakeside. 
 I could not be there all the time. I have, however, given 
 them two lectures, one on " The Progress of Science," and 
 the other on " The Effects of Alcohol." I could do this by 
 going down one afternoon and giving one lecture in the 
 evening and the other in the morning, and then coming away. 
 
 The country is in as bad a state as it can well be. There 
 is no justice for the people; there is but little safety for 
 life or property. The Armenian Revolutionists, who have 
 been assembling in S almas for some time past, have gone 
 just over the border, and have secured themselves in the 
 Monastery of Albak, and from there are making raids upon 
 the Kurds. 
 
 URUMIA, October 9th, 1897. Since my last report 764 
 persons have been helped in coming to Persia. On the other 
 hand, about 150 tomans have been expended in assisting 
 back to Turkey 255 souls who had decided that they could 
 support themselves better there than here. Although this 
 fund is not to help people back to Turkey, the main object 
 in all our effort is to do the best things possible for these 
 poor people, and if it is clear that they can do better there 
 than here, it seems our duty to assist them to do so. There 
 are at present here in Urumia, scattered in the different 
 villages, about 6,100 persons, or about 1,000 families of 
 these refugees. About 500 families have been assisted to 
 settle here. We have secured from the proprietors of the 
 villages houses for them and land for them to till. About 
 200 yoke of oxen had been divided among them, together 
 with ploughs and some other minor implements for farming. 
 To a few we have given help in the way of feed for the 
 oxen, cows, and sheep which we have given to them.
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 213 
 
 Others we have helped to self-support by giving the necessary 
 capital to start them in some trade, to some the rental of 
 vineyards or orchards, to some tools, to others donkeys 
 to enable them to peddle fruit or to carry loads for people, 
 to one, a photographer, a horse to go about from place to 
 place and make his living in this way. During the summer, 
 when work can be found more easily throughout the country, 
 we have given comparatively little work. We are now sup- 
 plying all those who have ploughs with as much seed as our 
 funds will admit. We still have to furnish some, especially 
 the newcomers, with bedding and clothing to some extent, 
 and food for the crippled and sick who can neither work 
 nor beg. There has been a great deal of sickness among 
 these people this summer, and quite a large number have 
 died. Our dispensaries have been full of the applicants for 
 medical aid. 
 
 Muharram this year was a time of more than usual 
 anxiety for the Christians. This Moslem festival is 
 always a season of fanaticism and danger, but this 
 year two Moslems had been shot and wounded on the 
 big avenue outside the Seir gate. The blame was laid 
 on the Nestorians, and they and the Armenians were 
 forbidden to go to the market during the rest of Muhar- 
 ram. One day Christians were forbidden to appear on 
 the streets and the windows of the Russian missionaries 
 were broken. The Nestorians turned at once to Dr. 
 Cochran, and he spent the night most dreaded in the 
 city with them. The season passed off without out- 
 break, though a spark would have caused a conflagra- 
 tion. 
 
 In the fall, Dr. Mathews of London, Secretary of 
 the Pan-Presbyterian Alliance, visited the field, and 
 was present at the meeting of the Evangelical Synod. 
 
 All winter and spring Dr. Cochran was busy getting 
 the work in condition to leave for his next furlough 
 in the summer of 1898, and there were new special
 
 214 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 anxieties. Of one of these, he wrote, in a letter to the 
 secretary of the Board who had visited Persia in 1896, 
 and who had argued in his report that the time had 
 come to lay more emphasis upon work for Moslems : 
 
 I would think that too much stress is laid upon the 
 necessity to make the Mission a mission to the Mohamme- 
 dans rather than to the Nestorians. I do not see any pros- 
 pect as yet for any change in that direction. I think we 
 must keep that aspect of the work more constantly before 
 us, and we must all do more than we are doing in work 
 which will have direct effect upon the Mohammedans, but 
 we cannot think for a moment of having our work under- 
 stood to be primarily for the Moslems. We have just been 
 saved from a mob law here in consequence of an accident 
 which occurred in Geogtapa a short time ago, when one of 
 three Moslems who had gone out there to collect a debt 
 died just as he reached the city gates. The excitement was 
 intense. The Governor had one of the Christians beheaded 
 without trial or any proof of guilt, and the people of the 
 city started out to loot the village. The chief ecclesiastic, 
 whom I was attending daily, exerted himself, staying up a 
 whole night, threatening some, advising others, and begging 
 others to desist from violence. It is only just now that the 
 city is getting quiet. The Moslems looked upon it as an 
 excuse to fight and kill and loot Christians, and worked them- 
 selves up into a great fury, so much so that for days the 
 Geogtapa people did not dare appear outside nor even to stay 
 in their village (the men I mean). So, too, for other Chris- 
 tians there were many threats. The Geogtapa people lost a 
 man and about 850 tomans, taken by tbe government officials 
 and by outside roughs who stole or openly robbed, aside from 
 outrages committted, which have never been done by govern- 
 ment officials here. There are many watching constantly for 
 excuses to commit all sorts of outrages on the Christians, 
 and nothing would give this class a better opportunity nor 
 a better lever to the majority of the Moslems than this 
 knowledge that there was a Mission here specially working 
 among the Moslems. I have not the least doubt but that it 
 would result in the loss of much life among the native
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 215 
 
 Christians and the expulsion of the missionaries. At the 
 same time, I agree with you that we must keep this object 
 before our eyes continually, and enter every door as it opens. 
 ... I hope the Board will do all it can to enable us to 
 do all that is possible for the mountains from this end. . . . 
 I feel sure that the way for us to get in is to sit and sit 
 and hold on tenaciously. At the same time, our minister 
 in Constantinople should be informed of the move so that 
 should he be appealed to he would understand the situation, 
 and insist that we had a right to sit there, just as well as 
 in many another place in Turkey ; that we had had a Station 
 there, and that for many years we had had work there, etc. 
 I have not discussed this with the Station as yet, but when 
 we do, and arrive at some definite conclusion, of course we 
 will write definitely and fully. 
 
 His last letters to home friends, before leaving for 
 America, were: 
 
 JANUARY 29th, 1898. From all I can see, it seems to me 
 I should plan to come back here and go on with my work 
 here, for which I am better fitted than for any other, and 
 which I can do better than any one else could for some 
 years, and where I can undoubtedly do more good than I 
 could in America, and then if the way does not open for 
 me to return, it will be clear enough that I am not needed 
 here. 
 
 MAY 21st. These last weeks before I leave are very busy 
 ones. There are many last things that have to be done in 
 connection with our general work, and many to close up 
 the medical work. Yesterday I gave the medical class their 
 last recitation, and on Monday their examinations will be 
 held, and those that are successful will take their diplomas 
 on the following Wednesday. Following this will be the 
 meeting of the college alumni. To complicate matters, a 
 general, with his whole family and a number of servants 
 has come from Sulduz, two days' journey to the south of 
 us, to be treated. The chief patient is the wife, who is a 
 sister of our best friend there, a man who appreciates our
 
 216 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 medical work, and for whom I have done much. Not a few 
 of the attendants are also sick. The general himself is 
 also under treatment. They have a couple of rooms given 
 to them, and they take care of themselves so far as cooking 
 is concerned. They have also brought all their carpets, 
 beds, and dishes. 
 
 Then an important Armenian has just arrived to-day 
 from Van, sent by Dr. Reynolds. He requires a big opera- 
 tion on his face. Aside from these, we have only two or 
 three patients left. Then there are a number of the chief 
 people of the city under treatment, and requiring a good 
 deal of time. These are the excuses for not writing oftener 
 of late, and also show how I am busying myself before 
 leaving. 
 
 We still expect to leave here the 14th of June, and to 
 sail from London the 14th of July. Just where I had 
 better make my headquarters I do not know. Of course, 
 I must be where I can do a good deal in the professional 
 way, so as to improve the opportunity as much as possible. 
 
 In his last letter to the Board before leaving, he 
 wrote : 
 
 Through the courtesy of the Amir Nizam in Tabriz, 
 the Governor-General of this Province, and the Crown 
 Prince, we have been able to secure two ragams (royal 
 decrees) which have been and will continue to be of great 
 service to the Christian community here. One of them 
 mitigates the great wrong that is constantly perpetrated on 
 those Christians who have lost from their family a member 
 by his or her having joined the Moslems. The Islamic law 
 commands that the property of all relatives to the seventh 
 degree of relationship shall come to the Moslems with this 
 new convert. This, you can see, makes no end of trouble, 
 and gives no end of excuses for annoying the relatives. 
 The present order grants only that portion which any 
 Moslem could command from his relatives. The other one 
 was secured in order to give our people more confidence, 
 and to help them in cases of litigation with other Christian 
 sects. You know that our Church has a Legal Board to
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 217 
 
 which are referred all cases pertaining to its members where 
 ecclesiastical decisions are required, as the validity of notes, 
 deeds, settlement of quarrels, inheritances, divorces, etc. 
 Up to the present time our Church has not had any formal 
 written recognition of its right and authority to act upon 
 these matters, but by our influence with the governors and 
 others in authority, we have also insisted upon recognition, 
 and have obtained it. As I am expecting to go away, it 
 seemed a good time to ask formally for such an order, and 
 this ragam has now been secured. 
 
 It is only just to add that the Civil Law in Persia 
 does not recognize the Ecclesiastical Law as binding, 
 and the Islamic provision has never been enforced in 
 Persia in its full stringency. Dr. Cochran's last re- 
 port before leaving for his furlough was characteris- 
 tically simple and straightforward: 
 
 The hospital has been open during this period with the 
 exception of the three months when it has always been our 
 custom to close it. During those months, also, a few who 
 had come from long distances had to be received. At one 
 time it looked as if we must not open this hospital again 
 this year, and indeed we could not have done so had not 
 the missionaries and others come to our rescue. The total 
 number of patients for the time under consideration was 
 577. The total seen by me in and out of the hospital 
 was 9,352. Quite a number were from the refugees from 
 Turkey, Nestorians and Armenians. The sufferings en- 
 dured by many of these people in making their way over 
 here was something terrible. Unable to come away openly, 
 a company would start out from their village in the night, 
 under escort of paid Kurds. Neither the Christians nor 
 the Kurds dared to be seen on the public roads in the val- 
 leys, and so steep and high mountains had to be crossed. 
 At night they could not venture into villages, and so would 
 pass the darkest hours in the best shelter they could find 
 among the rocks, surrounded by banks of the perpetual 
 snows; or those who came later in the season would make 
 the whole journey in snow. Some of them sick, owing to
 
 218 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 privations, to start with; most of them with bread enough 
 for a day or two at best; and all of them thinly clad and 
 from four to eight days on the road, would reach TJrumia 
 in a sad condition. It is not strange that from among these 
 people the hospital should get many applicants. The largest 
 number suffered from frozen toes and fingers, many of 
 which had to be amputated. Others had lung troubles and 
 low fevers. Three Armenians who were tracked and chased, 
 but finally escaped, and after ten days of hunger, bitter 
 cold, and fright reached us but one step removed from 
 raving maniacs. After a long pull they recovered fully. 
 Not a few came to us torn most cruelly by dog bites in 
 their rounds for food in the villages after getting here. 
 Severe dysentery and malaria have brought others to the 
 hospital. It has been a great satisfaction, with the money 
 so generously provided for this work, to be able to care for 
 these poor patients. With warm rooms and bedding and 
 good food in addition to the medicine, these poor people pick 
 up very quickly usually, although we have had several deaths 
 among them. 
 
 There have been Kurdish chiefs and Kurdish subjects in 
 the hospital. Among the latter class we have now a young 
 man who was sent here by his chief to steal another chief's 
 mules. He and his two companions stole up to the place 
 where the mules were feeding, and secured three, and started 
 off with them, but were surrounded by their owners who 
 recovered the animals, killed his companions, and shot him 
 through the lower jaw, fracturing it, and tearing open his 
 mouth almost to the ear. Now that he has nearly recov- 
 ered, his wild and belligerent nature is again asserting itself, 
 and he is picking quarrels with his fellow-patients. I have 
 had to take his dagger from him, and threaten to dismiss 
 him if he does not behave. 
 
 We have had several Nestorian patients from Saat, a vil- 
 lage situated far from any other Christian village, among 
 a powerful Kurdish tribe. This village lies, or hangs, on 
 the side of a very steep and high mountain, in one of 
 the wildest and most inaccessible parts of Kurdistan. 
 Through all these centuries the Christians have remained 
 here because of a church which tradition says was built 
 upon the death and over the grave of one of the seventy
 
 " IN MUCH STEADFASTNESS " 219 
 
 whom Christ sent out to preach. These churches in the 
 mountains usually have a little land connected with them 
 which is cultivated by the priest and those in charge. The 
 Kurds look with superstitious reverence and fear upon these 
 churches, and so do not utterly rob the people, but allow 
 them to remain in these places far away from other Chris- 
 tians. It is in this region that the Sheikh Kadir made his 
 last stand after the Kurdish invasion of west Persia in 
 1880 before being taken by the Turks to Constantinople. 
 The stories told of the swift punishment meted out to 
 offenders by the saints of these churches are many, and 
 believed alike by Christian and Kurd. We have had a 
 number of patients from another village in Turkey, but 
 nearer the frontier. The inhabitants, after being plundered 
 repeatedly by the Kurds, and fearing they might share the 
 same treatment which the Turks had been giving to the 
 Armenians, left their village and came to Persia to live. 
 This village, too, has an old church, said to be built over 
 1,200 years ago. Since the village was forsaken, the Kurds 
 have been taking away everything movable from the houses. 
 A few days ago a band undertook to take away the church 
 door. (The church doors are always very low in order 
 to secure them against desecration by having animals 
 driven in by their enemies.) It was loaded on a horse, and 
 he died almost immediately, when they put it on to a second, 
 and he met with an accident which disabled him. The third 
 horse got it to its destination, together with the robbers, 
 who at last accounts were still surviving. We have had 
 more than the usual number of Moslems this year, and 
 most of them have gone away most grateful and under a 
 deep impression of the spirit of the religion which would 
 impel its followers to provide such means for the welfare 
 of all nationalities. . . . 
 
 Among the outside patients have been many leading people 
 of the place, the governors, the chief Moslem ecclesiastics, 
 and many Khans, one of them the highest in rank in the 
 place, who died after a long siege, has been a lifelong friend 
 of the missionaries. He was one of a small class of Khans 
 who took a few lessons in English with Dr. Austin Wright. 
 One other old gentleman, also a member of that class and a 
 good friend, has been under my care the past year. I think,
 
 220 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 without exception, the members of that class, largely a result 
 of that intimacy forty-five years ago, have been most courte- 
 ous, kind, and helpful to our Mission. Both of these men 
 were sick in their summer home about fifteen and twenty 
 miles out of the city. The latter Khan gives twenty horse 
 loads of wheat to the hospital annually. 
 
 A man of peace and love in the midst of turmoil and 
 hate, he had ever walked as reconciler and friend. 
 Open to all, rich and poor, fearing no man, however 
 great, and firm for justice for each man, however lowly, 
 he had lived his life in Urumia, and no man in the city, 
 perhaps no man in the Province, was feared and loved 
 as he. But his only strength was the strength of his 
 Christian service and his Christian integrity.
 
 XII 
 
 HIS LAST VISIT TO AMERICA AND RETURN 
 TO PERSIA 
 
 IN the summer of 1898, with his son Harry, Dr. 
 Cochran came to America for the visit which was 
 to prove his last. After a short stop with friends 
 near New York and Buffalo, he went on to Minneapolis 
 to his wife's family, where Clement and Lillie were. 
 " We had rented a cottage at Lake Minnetonka that 
 summer," wrote his sister-in-law, " and there he spent 
 several weeks in August and September with the three 
 older children. His sister, Mrs. Scott, also came from 
 California, and met him there. Some of our other 
 young people were there, and altogether we had quite 
 a houseful of young folks. It was delightful to see 
 Dr. Cochran throw off the burdens he had borne so 
 long and enter into all the sports and interests of the 
 young people, rowing, sailing, swimming, etc. He 
 was always young at heart. At that time everybody 
 was riding a bicycle. Not to be behind the times, he 
 was ambitious to learn, and accomplished the feat 
 about as quickly as the average boy. In a few days 
 he had learned to ride, and came in town to select a 
 bicycle for himself, and rode it out, a distance of some 
 fifteen miles. His great regret was that it would not 
 be considered dignified for him to ride one in Persia. 
 " One of the vivid remembrances of that visit is an 
 address that he delivered in Plymouth Church one Sun- 
 
 221
 
 222 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 day morning. It was one of the noblest missionary 
 addresses I ever heard. He spoke very calmly, but 
 with a force drawn from his own experience that car- 
 ried conviction. Many spoke of it at the time, and 
 that talk is still remembered. 
 
 " We spent two delightful evenings in hearing him 
 read his journal of the trip to Nineveh and Babylon, 
 with comments and illustrations, to the family and 
 intimate friends. That journal was very interesting. 
 We always meant to have a copy of it, but failed to 
 do so. I hardly know how much of the charm of it 
 was in hearing him read it, with the comments he 
 added at the time." 
 
 He spent the winter with Mr. Clement in Buffalo, 
 visiting the hospitals and reading up on his profession, 
 and speaking upon missions in Persia, often with lan- 
 tern slides. He was utterly unpretentious in his style 
 of address, never departing from the tone of a calm and 
 completely unselfish restraint. At times when he 
 spoke in company with one who knew him and the 
 greatness of his service, his companion could not re- 
 frain from telling the people almost with indignation 
 of the inadequacy of the doctor's statements about 
 his own work. He made no parade of it, and the ordi- 
 nary hearer, anxious for something melodramatic or 
 sensational, would never have gathered from the calm 
 talk of the quiet little man, in his simple but always 
 faultless dress, which represented the most careful 
 and manly economy, that he was listening to one whose 
 life was full of the most dramatic experiences, and 
 whose name was a name to conjure with in a great 
 Persian province, and among all the valleys of Kurdi- 
 stan. He disliked prominence and all advertising, and 
 sought no great audiences, but went where he was
 
 LAST VISIT TO AMERICA 223 
 
 asked, and wherever he went, as on his previous fur- 
 lough, there were some who saw beyond the simple 
 unpretentiousness, the man's great power, and who felt 
 the distinction of his character. He was watchful .for 
 useful small services. He secured the introduction of 
 a proper list of books on Persia into the Minneapolis 
 Public Library, and he was earnest in presenting to 
 the Board the conditions and needs of the field and 
 of his associates there. He praised the work others 
 were doing, and sought to support it in every way. 
 He looked for a good man, to be appointed specially 
 for the mountain work, and he interviewed, with this 
 in view, a number of theological students. " I do not 
 know," he wrote, " of a more open field among any 
 Mohammedans than there is among the Kurds of this 
 mountain field." While he was at home Dr. Labaree, 
 who had been away from Persia from 1891 to 1898, 
 returned to give the remaining years of his life to the 
 work, and although in seniority he would supersede 
 Dr. Cochran, the doctor wrote, rejoicing unfeignedly 
 in the great accession of strength which he would 
 bring to the Station. He was very scrupulous as al- 
 ways in all money matters. He would not touch a 
 dollar for his own work which he could secure for 
 the general work of the Board. " I am called upon 
 to speak here and there a good deal," he wrote, " and 
 when I am asked on what terms I will do it, I tell 
 them that I make no charge, aside from the expenses 
 of getting to and from the place, and that if any 
 special contribution is taken up in connection with the 
 service I would wish it to go to the Board for Foreign 
 Mission Work." 
 
 His own work in Urumia was conducted in the most 
 careful and economical way, and he had hoped that
 
 224 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 while he was gone and the hospital was closed, the 
 small appropriation made for it might be used to 
 improve the equipment. The Station found it neces- 
 sary, however, to use the appropriation in other ways. 
 He generously concurred, and would have gone back to 
 work with the old equipment had not friends who in- 
 vited him to Florida for a few weeks in the winter 
 generously provided for the hospital's needs, including 
 a new operating room, surgical instruments, and hos- 
 pital furnishings. In the spring he came to New York 
 for special work in the Post-graduate Medical School. 
 While in New York he went with one of the secre- 
 taries of the Board to Washington to see Mr. Foster 
 and Mr. Hay. No one could foresee at that time what 
 might be the issue of the Russian Mission in Urumia. 
 It was not impossible that the Russian government 
 might follow up the priests of the Greek Church and 
 Azerbaijan pass in some sense under Russian control. 
 The Station thought it would be very desirable for 
 Mr. Foster, former Secretary of State, who had ever 
 been a firm friend of the Mission work, and for Mr. 
 Hay, who was then Secretary of State, to be informed 
 of the conditions in Persia, and especially that Mr. 
 Hay should know, as Mr. Foster already knew, the 
 extent of the Mission work and the breadth and the 
 long continued recognition of its rights. Mr. Hay was 
 very attentive to the statement made to him, and at 
 the close spoke with a positiveness which surprised his 
 visitors of the assurance which they might feel that 
 even if Russia should take possession of northern Per- 
 sia the missionaries should not be dispossessed of any 
 of the rights which they enjoyed. On returning to 
 New York, Dr. Cochran prepared a brief statement 
 to be included in a larger memorandum for which
 
 RETURN TO PERSIA 225 
 
 Mr. Hay had asked, embodying the facts laid before 
 him. 
 
 In the spring of 1899 he returned to Minneapolis 
 to the meeting of the General Assembly. " The im- 
 pression he made during that visit," wrote one who 
 saw a great deal of him, " was of a character rounded 
 and mellowed by all the work and all the suffering of 
 his life. He was at ease in any society, and enjoyed 
 to the full all the really good things of this world, but 
 no one could meet him without feeling the strong, 
 deep, steady purpose of a life consecrated to God and to 
 his fellowmen." 
 
 He sailed on the " S. S. Mesaba " in July. " And 
 now good-bye/' he wrote, in his last letter to his Board 
 correspondent. " My year has been full of blessings, 
 and I am deeply touched by the kindness and love of 
 all whom I have had much to do with. I only pray 
 to deserve it and to make return by more faithful and 
 fruitful work." 
 
 On Monday, September llth, he arrived in Urumia 
 to begin his twenty-first year of missionary service. 
 It is the Persian custom to honour the return home 
 of a friend by going out a considerable distance to 
 meet him, or by sending out some representative to 
 convey greetings of welcome, or in case the person is 
 held in very high esteem, and the party doing the 
 honour is of sufficient position, to send out a capari- 
 soned horse or two, to be led before the arriving friend. 
 Among the missionaries, it has been the practice to 
 welcome the friends from a distance by preparing a 
 picnic lunch for them near a bridge some three hours, 
 away from the city, and then riding in with them. 
 
 It was there [wrote Dr. Labaree] that we met our friends 
 last Monday, they reaching the place about noon. Fifty or
 
 226 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 sixty of the principal men in the Protestant Church from 
 different parts of the field had come on horseback to the 
 rendezvous, and with them the young Christian physician 
 of the Persian Governor of the Province, sent by him with 
 his special compliments for the new arrival. A few women, 
 too, members of a not distant church, had come on foot, 
 all joining in the hearty, joyous reception to the greatly 
 beloved friends from America. 
 
 It was after one o'clock when the large procession started 
 to do the last ten or twelve miles. Our missionary families 
 and the ladies were in three-wheeled vehicles, and following 
 them came the large cavalcade, Dr. Cochran at the head, 
 in social chat with preachers and laymen. As we moved on, 
 the number was increased by the arrival of other horsemen 
 from the city, each dismounting as he approached, for so 
 is the custom of the land, and taking the doctor's hand, and 
 fervently greeting him. This had also been done when the 
 missionary carriages with Miss Dean and Miss Van Duzee 
 were met, who returned with him, and whom pastors and 
 relatives of old pupils were delighted to greet. After per- 
 haps an hour's ride, we were met by a carriage and outriders 
 sent by one of the principal Mohammedan noblemen of the 
 city, in charge of a responsible secretary. It was something 
 of a relief for Dr. Cochran to get out of the tremendous 
 dust into this comfortable conveyance. Later on, three 
 other carriages from others of the nobility came up, in 
 which, in deference to the courtesies shown, different mem- 
 bers of the Mission took seats. A further striking feature 
 of the constantly growing procession were three handsomely 
 caparisoned horses from the stables of Persian military and 
 civil officials, led before the carriage in which Dr. Cochran 
 was seated. There was a halt from time to time to allow 
 the honoured friends to receive the salutations of freshly 
 arriving parties, either groups of Nestorians or representa- 
 tives of some Persian nobleman, or mullah of note, address- 
 ing the newcomers after Persian mode of elegant speech. 
 These falling in with the escort, its numbers must have 
 swollen ere we reached the city walls to nearly two hundred, 
 all mounted men, now crowded together as we passed between 
 the walled vineyards, and now in more scattered ranks, some- 
 times at a rapid canter, but always orderly and decorous,
 
 RETURN TO PERSIA 227 
 
 which cannot always be said of Persian receptions of this 
 kind. As we came near the city, there were groups here 
 and there of men and women on foot, desirous of showing 
 some attention to their returning missionary friends, com- 
 ing up to the carriages with their glad words of welcome, 
 and sometimes with offerings of fruit from their nearby 
 vineyards. 
 
 It was four o'clock in the afternoon when this remarkable 
 ovation came to its close on reaching our premises at the 
 city. 
 
 It is seldom that any one among the Persians themselves, 
 except it be an official of very high rank, is treated with 
 such distinguished consideration as was Dr. Cochran on 
 this occasion. As a mark of the high favour in which our 
 missionary physician is held throughout a proud Moslem 
 community, it is most gratifying. And it should be borne 
 in mind that it is the sterling character of the man, even 
 more than the skill of the successful physician, which 
 inspires them thus to honour this representative missionary. 
 The writer was told, as we were moving along on this occa- 
 sion, of a recent interview between a Moslem ecclesiastic 
 not so well informed about Dr. Cochran, and one of the 
 nobility represented in this ovation : " Who is this Dr. 
 Cochran ? " said the sayid. The nobleman replied, " I will 
 tell you about him. Let alone his eminence as a physician, 
 he is a man of such integrity of character that once when 
 I thought myself near to death, I made my will, and instead 
 of intrusting it to any of the heads of my own religion, I 
 placed it in the hands of Dr. Cochran for safekeeping and 
 honest execution." 
 
 In the few days following Dr. Cochran's arrival, all 
 the more prominent noblemen of Urumia City called 
 personally upon him, and some of the leading Moslem 
 ecclesiastics, a notable exception to their habitually 
 proud bearing toward Christian foreigners. 
 
 " The reception was immense," wrote Mr. Shedd, " no 
 foreigners ever had such a spontaneous welcome as he 
 got especially from the Persian nobility." All that
 
 228 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 he himself wrote was the characteristically modest 
 statement, " We had a comfortable and pleasant jour- 
 ney. I had planned to write to you by the first post 
 after our arrival, but my time has been very fully 
 occupied by the numerous calls from all classes and 
 creeds. We have had a very cordial and hearty wel- 
 come back."
 
 S 
 
 XIII 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 
 
 OON after his arrival he went to Tabriz to the 
 annual meeting of the Mission. On returning 
 he wrote : 
 
 So far as I was concerned, I was glad to go away again 
 almost as soon as I reached home, because our diminished 
 estimate for the medical department would not allow of 
 my opening the hospital as soon as that, and the people 
 were flocking in for treatment in it, from far and from 
 near, and it would be next to impossible to remain here and 
 not open the hospital. 
 
 The outlook in the Tabriz field is favourable, in some 
 parts of it at least; especially in Salmas and on the southern 
 shore of the Lake. The Armenians in Tabriz are far more 
 friendly than they were three or four years ago, but whether 
 that is a great advantage or not time will tell alone. It, 
 at least, makes them more accessible. Returning I came by 
 the southern end of the lake, and found that the Moslems 
 of Maragha and vicinity, and Mianduab and vicinity are 
 more open than ever to the Gospel. I was invited to go 
 to Sheikh Baba, but the Kurds and Persians of the neigh- 
 bourhood of Souj Bulak were at odds with each other to 
 such an extent that it was not wise for me at this time to 
 visit one of the chiefs. It would be sure to be misinter- 
 preted by both sides. This also debarred me from Souj 
 Bulak, where I wanted to go. In Sulduz, however, I was 
 able to stay and to see the condition of our work as well 
 as to be with some patients of mine in the home of the 
 chief man of the district, Nejef Kuly Khan. Here in 
 TJrumia the freshet or flood has passed, not without a good 
 deal of damage, however, in some places, but with no harm 
 
 229
 
 230 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 in others. Every one seems to think that we can look for 
 better results in our work on the plain here this winter 
 than ever before. Many of the people who joined the Rus- 
 sians willingly or by compulsion are now very sorry that 
 they allowed themselves to be caught in the trap. In a few 
 places there is still a great deal of opposition and persecu- 
 tion. I am going out to-morrow to Kosie, where our small 
 flock is in great distress and fear owing to the threats and 
 curses and false talk of a Russianized priest. He is, more- 
 over, able to do the people much damage in one way and 
 another by bribing the Moslem overseer, and backing up 
 the rough classes in the village in their oppression of those 
 who have withstood the invitations of this new Mission. I 
 hope 1 can comfort and encourage them a little. In a few 
 days the Knushya (Synod) convenes in Gulpashan. There 
 I will be able to pick up all the threads of the work again, 
 anoT feel in touch all along the line. 
 
 The next three years were years of slow progress 
 in the work with somewhat less unrest and violence 
 in the country than usual, and then the storm broke. 
 During this time of tranquillity he pressed forward his 
 own work with energy, and he entered as ever into 
 all the plans of the Station. Dr. Labaree's presence 
 was a great comfort to the doctor. His age, his patri- 
 archal appearance, his noble character, and his ripe 
 wisdom gave him an influence and enabled him to do 
 a work which lightened much the burden which, before 
 his coming, had rested on Dr. Cochran. " It is a great 
 blessing to our work," he wrote, " to have a man of 
 Dr. Labaree's calibre, and age, and experience here. 
 I hope that he may be spared to the work a long time." 
 New opportunities opened for work among Moslems. 
 " I am doing all I can," he wrote, " to increase the 
 interest among our workers in this work which is so 
 important." It fell to him to review the work of the 
 year for the Board, in the fall of 1900. He spoke of
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 231 
 
 the college, the meeting of the college alumni, who 
 constituted the leading young men of the Syrian na- 
 tion, the Fiske Seminary, and their alumnae meeting, 
 with 120 graduates present, attended by Mrs. Rhea 
 of Lake Forest, 111., who years before had had charge 
 of the Seminary, the vain effort of the Station to get 
 the Evangelistic Board of the Native Church to as- 
 sume responsibility for the use of the funds set apart 
 by the Station for native preachers and evangelists, and 
 then he added : 
 
 Along the whole line we are having a period of quiet 
 progress. Just at present there is nothing to disturb the 
 peace of our churches. The head of the Russian Mission 
 here has returned to Russia, and it is not fully known 
 what will be their next step. Mr. Coan has been absent, 
 touring the mountain field in Turkey. On his way from 
 Gawar to Bashkalla bis camp was attacked by Kurds one 
 night, and one- of the gendarmes furnished him by the Turk- 
 ish government was killed, and three horses belonging to 
 the gendarmes and Dr. Alexander were taken. Fortunately 
 none of our party were wounded, notwithstanding a number 
 of shots were exchanged. The movement threatened by the 
 Roman Catholics of occupying so many places among the 
 mountain Nestorians bas fallen through, so that the pros- 
 pects for work there are brighter than tbey were a few 
 months ago. The very great poverty, however, together with 
 the increasing oppressions of the Kurds and the tightening 
 grip of tbe Turk, makes missionary work there very difficult. 
 
 It is with regret that our appropriations are so limited 
 for the work of the press as well as in the other depart- 
 ments, while the outlook for the completion of the Syriac 
 Lexicon and the Concordance is not encouraging. For the 
 past month we have been trying very hard, in view of the 
 insufficiency of our appropriation, to close the hospital, which 
 has been no easy task, for the sick will not all get well at 
 one time, and while there are a few patients in the hos- 
 pital, it is very hard to convince others that they cannot 
 be received as well. Daily tbere are patients coming who
 
 232 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 offer to provide everything if they will only be admitted, 
 but even when they do board themselves, as a number are 
 doing at present, we are not entirely free from expense for 
 them, for they are sure to borrow more or less, and the fuel 
 and oil and food of one kind and another will never be 
 returned. So, too, when any one is in the hospital on any 
 conditions, we often have some come who are penniless, and 
 yet who are in such absolute need of what a hospital can 
 do for them that it is next to impossible to turn them away, 
 simply because they cannot pay, when we have this plant 
 here the buildings, the assistants, and some of the servants. 
 Yesterday five Kurds arrived from the region between 
 Amadia and Mosul. The long and perilous journey has 
 been made, they have been twenty-five days on the way, 
 and have reached here with about two dollars in cash. 
 Three of them are very seriously ill. Some of them old 
 chronic cases; but they had heard that this institution re- 
 ceived people of all nationalities and creeds, and that the 
 poor could find treatment as well as the rich. It requires 
 a very stony heart to close the doors to people from such 
 a distance. They say that their one aim has been to reach 
 here alive, thinking that if they only got here their troubles 
 would be at end, that they never dreamed of the possibility 
 of coming and not being received. I am keeping them a 
 few days while I see if I can get the Kurds in a neighbouring 
 village to take them into their mosque, as they often will 
 do for strangers, and then they can come to us for medicines, 
 and beg for their bread. 
 
 When one is discouraged, nothing is a better antidote to 
 such a condition than to go out to one of our larger churches 
 of a Sabbath day. Here the benefits of the Gospel in this 
 land are clearly and unmistakably seen. To me it is a 
 source of great encouragement and inspiration to look upon 
 one of these congregations the people dressed in their best 
 among the women white predominating as to colour. In 
 front of the pulpit platform, and usually upon the floors, are 
 the children of the church. The school teacher is often 
 seated with them to lead in the singing and to make these 
 pupils the choir for the church as well as to see that they 
 are behaving with propriety. The women, with their infants 
 in arms, on one side of the church, and on the other the
 
 233 
 
 men. Some of our churches are seated, but in most the 
 people sit upon the mats which carpet the floor. The atten- 
 tion given to the speaker is as close and good as you see 
 it anywhere. In the Sabbath school, a prominent place 
 is given to the recitation of verses from the Scriptures, and 
 the old as well as the young take very evident satisfaction 
 in studying and discussing the lessons. Then if you visit 
 the homes of many of these people you will again realize 
 what God hath wrought for this nation through His Gospel. 
 Cleanliness, quiet orderliness, piety, love, and happiness, 
 where formerly these homes were dirty, noisy, disorderly, 
 impious, quarrelsome, and more commonly than not, miser- 
 able and unhappy. Every one of this generation, and many 
 of the older people are readers now, so that you will see an 
 assortment of books in all these homes. 
 
 We have a power in our churches, even if it be lying 
 more or less latent at present. What we all desire is to so 
 direct this power as to make it felt outside, both to the 
 Christian and to the non-Christian population of this whole 
 land. I believe our people are waking up more and more 
 to the duty and privilege of proclaiming this Gospel to those 
 who have not heard it. I shall not be surprised if we soon 
 see the Church here take a concerted and forward step in 
 the direction of a more systematic effort to labour for 
 others after having so freely received these blessings them- 
 selves. 
 
 This winter he organized a little medical society 
 among the doctors, most of whom had received their 
 training from him, but some of whom had studied 
 in Europe or America. They met each fortnight in 
 the city in his office there. He was president, and 
 at the first meeting made an inaugural address on 
 " The progress of medicine during the past year." 
 There were twelve doctors present. At other meetings 
 he spoke on " Diphtheria Antitoxin," and on " Rontgen 
 Rays and other manipulations of electricity." He was 
 ever trying to spread knowledge, and at the homes of 
 his patients, the Khans and officials, he was constantly
 
 234 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 expected to tell what was going on in the world, and 
 what new discoveries and inventions had been made. 
 There were no newspapers, and he was not only a 
 doctor and a missionary, but also a public teacher. It 
 was all hard work, and the hospital and the general 
 wretchedness and want wore on his heart. " I should 
 like to have heard and seen Joe Jefferson," he wrote. 
 " Often nights when I am too tired to feel like doing 
 much, I wish there was something in the way of enter- 
 tainment and entirely apart from my work that I 
 could do. Friday night all of us were very tired, and 
 after the children had gone to bed, we sat down in the 
 parlour and heard some twenty new gramophone 
 pieces. They were very good indeed." 
 
 Some extracts from his letters and reports will show 
 his activities and amusements and experiences : 
 
 MAY 12th, 1901. Last week I did not get off a letter, as 
 I was in Salinas for five days attending the Sheikh ul Islam 
 and a merchant, an Armenian, in Kalasar. It was as usual 
 quite a tiresome trip, for it meant seeing people from 
 daybreak to midnight, and being company all of the time. 
 The only rest was the afternoon nap, which I prolonged 
 as much as possible, spending a part of this time in reading. 
 
 JUNE 8th. Thursday we had Professor and Mrs. Margo- 
 liouth, and the English Mission to dinner. They are very 
 interesting people and good company. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 14th. The city has been in a state of unrest, 
 to say the least, for the past few weeks. The ecclesiastics 
 have been opposed to the Governor and particularly to the 
 officer in charge of the local revenues and taxes. They have 
 been demanding that the latter be deposed, but the Prince 
 has upheld him, and has tried to force those who were 
 against him to withdraw their charges, and accept him. 
 There have been many large gatherings of all classes of 
 people for and against. Orders have been received by the 
 Governor to arrest some of these leading mullahs, and send
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 235 
 
 them to Tabriz, but they replied that they were not the 
 servants of the government, and that they would do as they 
 liked about accepting such an invitation. There were three 
 important mullahs on the side of the Governor, and they 
 sent around to the merchants to secure promises from them 
 that they would not close the bazars at the command of 
 the other mullahs, and did get many to so promise. The 
 other party being pressed to go to Tabriz gave out that 
 they were willing to do so at the command of their King. 
 They hired a lot of horses and mules, loaded them with 
 journey goods, and had their own horses saddled, with their 
 servants mounted, and had them paraded through the prin- 
 cipal streets and bazars. This created such an interest in 
 the abused mullahs that the town rallied to their side, ordered 
 the bazars closed, and challenged the government to turn 
 them out of town if they could. This now necessitated a 
 change of front, so the Tabriz authorities sent word that 
 they had forgiven and forgotten the offence of these mullahs, 
 and that they were not required in Tabriz; also their re- 
 quest that the officer of the revenues be dismissed was 
 granted. He has now been sent to Tabriz. To-day the 
 mullahs are still in arms, demanding that his whole house, 
 his brother, and his sons all leave the city and the country 
 never to return. They are threatening to loot his house 
 to-night unless a promise is given to leave. I presume the 
 Governor will have to leave too. He has been here but a 
 short time. There is quite a little disturbance along the 
 Turkish frontier. The Turks have occupied a number of 
 villages to the west of Ararat, belonging to Persia, also 
 some on the plain of Baradost. 
 
 We have had more cases than usual of leprosy under 
 treatment. They have been kept in the hospital for a few 
 days, and then have continued treatment at home. One 
 family, most of the members of which are leprous, came 
 from Turkey. This Memmad Beg is from the noted family 
 of the great chief, Nurallah Beg, who led the massacre 
 against the Christians in 1840. This man, however, has 
 been a friend of the Christians about him, and has fre- 
 quently rendered service to the missionaries when in his 
 district. His wife's brother eloped many years ago with a 
 Christian girl, who has never, however, become Moslem.
 
 236 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 She has taught many Kurds the Syriac language, and reads 
 the Scriptures to them frequently, and urges their accept- 
 ance of them. The faith exhibited by this chief in coming 
 to us touched us all, and made it even more difficult to tell 
 him the hopelessness of his condition. Some of the other 
 members of the family were in the early stages of the disease, 
 and may derive some benefit from treatment. Memmad 
 Beg cited the case of Naaman coming to God's prophet. 
 He quoted passage after passage of Scripture, showing how 
 Christ taught that unto him who had faith all things would 
 be given. He urged that he had come with unwavering 
 faith to the representatives of Christ, and all that remained 
 was for us to use the means which Christ had given us, 
 and he and his household would return rejoicing in complete 
 recovery. 
 
 Another Kurd came with very much the same faith, and 
 insisted that we could cure him, since we were working in 
 Christ's name, and doing all for His sake, and since he 
 came believing in Christ's power to heal. . . . He was very 
 much helped, and he gave all the honour and praise to 
 Christ. While here he enjoyed the Sabbath services as well 
 as all the religious exercises and conversations, and has 
 taken a Testament home with him. 
 
 Another Mohammedan patient who manifested a good deal 
 of interest in Christianity was a young Persian Khan from 
 Teheran, who was sent to the hospital this summer by the 
 Governor of Souj Bulak, and was under treatment about a 
 month. 
 
 The Crown Prince, who became Shah and was de- 
 posed in 1909, made a visit to Urumia in November, 
 1901, of which Dr. Cochran wrote an entertaining 
 account : 
 
 NOVEMBER 20th, 1901. Urumia has just been favoured 
 with a visit from His Royal Highness, Mohammed Ali 
 Mirza, Crown Prince of Persia. Tabriz is the residence of 
 the Crown Prince, and has been for many years back, but 
 this is the first time that His Royal Highness has come 
 here. This young man, who is about twenty-five years old, 
 is an active, wide-awake prince who is fond of the hunt
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 237 
 
 and of travel. His visit here was made probably for the 
 pleasure of the outing, for the sake of seeing this part of 
 the Province over which he is Governor, and for the sake 
 also of adding to his treasury. In the cities along the 
 line of his route it is expected that all the higher military 
 officers, all the wealthy land owners, and the merchants and 
 Moslem ecclesiastics will make a present to him, according 
 to their station and ability. If by chance any one of these 
 gives less than His Royal Highness deems necessary, he 
 will signify his displeasure by returning it, when more 
 will have to be added to the gift, free-will offering as it 
 is called. In this way his revenue is materially increased 
 as he travels about, while his expenses are paid by the state 
 or the private citizens along the way. He had with him 
 about 1,500 attendants. These included his secretaries, a 
 few of the higher office holders at his court, the retinues 
 which officers always have of their own, two or three com- 
 panies of cavalry, and as many more infantry. He brought, 
 too, his chief wife, a daughter of his uncle, together with 
 her two young sons, and five eunuchs, and many maids. 
 He himself, as well as his wife and children, and the ladies 
 in attendance upon her, and the chief officers, rode in car- 
 riages, having their horses along so that they could ride 
 them wherever the wheeling was not good. Carpets and 
 bedding, furniture, and many changes of raiment, together 
 with everything pertaining to the cooking department of the 
 Prince and his officers, as well as table service, was packed 
 on mules and horses and camels. Had it been warmer tents 
 would have been brought, and all would have occupied them 
 rather than finding quarters in the poor houses in the villages 
 and in the cities. Here in Urumia, as well as in two or 
 three other stopping places in the tour around the Lake he 
 found as good houses as he required. All of the leading 
 officers, military and civil, of this place, together with an 
 escort of cavalry and artillery, went out a day's journey 
 to meet him. About six miles out of town, tents had been 
 provided for the foreigners, and for the chief merchants. 
 Here the local Governor for the Christians and Jews pre- 
 sented all who had come out to His Royal Highness. Rep- 
 resentatives of our Mission, the English, French, and Rus- 
 sian Missions were ready to meet him before the cannon
 
 238 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 sounded his start from the lunching station a few miles 
 up the road. We had met the harem, the Princess in a 
 covered carriage drawn by six horses, and her attendants 
 in other carriages drawn by four, with a mounted escort, when 
 we first left the city. After being presented, Dr. Labaree 
 and I mounted our horses, and taking a shorter way into 
 town, reached our city premises before the Crown Prince 
 arrived at our gate of the city. This gate was gaily deco- 
 rated with expensive shawls, bunting, carpets, pictures, look- 
 ing-glasses, candelabra, etc. So, too, the buildings along 
 the street, including our city premises, were festooned and 
 decorated. The private residences where he and his imme- 
 diate attendants were to establish themselves were near ours. 
 The other noted men were divided around among the noble- 
 men of the city. For about a mile outside the city wall the 
 road was lined with men, women, and children to witness 
 the royal procession. Probably TJrumia was never so com- 
 pletely emptied before. Cannon stationed along the route 
 from his lunching place to the palace which he occupied 
 announced his progress. He himself rode in about the 
 middle of the long caravan. Not far ahead of him was an 
 escort of cavalry, then came a mounted band, playing better 
 than anything we are accustomed to hear here. Some dis- 
 tance ahead of him a band riding on camels had also passed. 
 The musical instruments used by these musicians were of 
 the old Persian style. After the mounted band came a large 
 escort of military officers in full-dress uniforms, then ten 
 mounted men in Cossack uniform, bearing spears with 
 banners streaming from the upper end. The Crown Prince's 
 carriage was drawn by six horses. Only royalty is allowed 
 the privilege of having six horses attached to its carriages. 
 Behind the carriage rode the Prince Governor of TJrumia 
 on horseback, and he was followed by all the remaining 
 carriages in the caravan with their escorts. As is customary 
 here every class of people coming out in a body to meet him 
 either offered him a present or offered a sheep which was 
 killed just as he approached the offering. The next morn- 
 ing after His Royal Highness's arrival he sent for Dr. 
 Miller and myself to call on his wife. With his chief 
 Moslem physician we went first into his presence, and then 
 he took us into the ladies' apartments. Both in his own
 
 239 
 
 room and in the ladies' he offered seats to Dr. Miller and 
 myself while every one else stood in his apartments, and 
 for a time in the inner apartments. After this general 
 consultation I was invited to see the Princess every day, 
 and almost always I had the opportunity of seeing the Prince 
 also. At our first visit he said that he wished to call the 
 next day on us and see the college and hospital. We put 
 everything in the best order possible, and were at the outside 
 gate of the compound ready to meet him as he drove up, 
 accompanied by one hundred horsemen and several noble- 
 men in carriages. We had lined up all the college students 
 on either side of the avenue that leads between the hospital 
 and college to our house. From either side the students 
 made a profound bow and threw a bouquet of flowers at his 
 feet as the Prince came opposite each couple. A few officers 
 led the way before him, and Dr. Labaree and I walked on 
 either side, as I had to explain things to him, and introduce 
 him to the students and teachers, etc. All of the gentlemen 
 of the Station were at the gate to meet him, and accompanied 
 him down to our house, where he alone sat in a chair at 
 the head of the room and drank a cup of tea, which his 
 taster had first sipped, while he asked many questions about 
 our work and about our country, etc. As soon as he had 
 taken his tea we went up to the college chapel, where again 
 every one but himself stood. Our Persian Mirza made a 
 statement of the course of studies, and a young man read 
 an address of welcome prepared by the Persian teacher; 
 another young man read a little English, and they all sang 
 in Syriac. Then we went up to the hospital. We passed 
 through some of the rooms, showing how the sick were 
 cared for, and then he went into the operating room, where 
 we had made a fine display of all of our instruments. He 
 stayed in this room about half an hour, examining everything 
 closely. Some of these instruments reminded him of some 
 of his own ailments, and so he asked all to go out but his 
 physician and myself, when he described his symptoms and 
 asked for treatment. After going up to the office and drug- 
 room we escorted him to the gate again, and he rode off. 
 He gave fifty dollars to the college, and a fine shawl to me 
 as he was leaving the city. He was very much pleased with 
 the address that the Persian teacher had written, and asked
 
 240 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 for a copy of it to incorporate it into his diary of the tour. 
 When our Mirza took it to him he told him he wished to 
 give him a title, which he did : " The Tongue of the Pres- 
 ence " literally, or the spokesman to His Majesty and to His 
 Royal Highness. This was a special favour because it came 
 without solicitation and purchase as most titles in this 
 country do, and because the Prince sealed it himself, and 
 delivered it to the Mirza with his own hand. The scribe 
 of the Prince wished to write out the order for the title in 
 an outer room, but His Royal Highness commanded that 
 he do it on his feet in his presence, and giving it himself, 
 even this scribe got nothing for his pains. A shawl was 
 given to each of the two doctors who went with us to see 
 the Princess, Drs. Isaac and Israel Khan. 
 
 DECEMBER 18th. Whatever the Russian Church does in 
 Persia, and it is likely to do more and not less than it has 
 already done, political Russia is tightening its hold upon 
 the country and the government. The railroad to Eriyan 
 is now completed, and the contracts for work on to Julfa 
 are being given. In eastern Persia, along the Afghan 
 border, there are railroads planned, and even on the Persian 
 Gulf the Russians are more or less active, but where their 
 influence and power is felt the most is through their repre- 
 sentatives at the court in Teheran and in the larger cities, 
 and in the loans which they make to them. 
 
 APRIL 6th, 1902. Haji Shaffee Khan, the Beglerbeg, died 
 yesterday at seven; Dr. Isaac was there with him. An hour 
 or more later, the Prince sent a man recommending that 
 they bleed him. It was done, and the report taken to the 
 Prince (the Governor) that the blood had spurted out, and 
 consequently that he must be alive. So I was sent for to 
 settle the question. I found the room where he lay packed 
 with women; his wife was especially boisterous, tearing her 
 hair and crying in a very loud voice. His sister, the chief 
 heir, was wild with joy that he had died. I was scarcely 
 safe in that bedlam, for they began to call out, " Why did 
 you not save him ? " " What kind of a doctor are you ? " etc. 
 He had been sick but two days with paralysis of the cord, 
 which finally affected his respiration and brought the end.
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 241 
 
 JUNE 3rd. I have been back from Tabriz a little over a 
 week. I was there ten days, being called to do an operation 
 on Mr. Wilson for appendicitis. I went, and returned as 
 fast as my horses could carry me, losing no time on the 
 road. We are all very grateful to see Mr. Wilson con- 
 valescent and once more out of danger. It was a great rush 
 while there, for, as usual in this country, the arrival of a 
 new doctor brings much in the way of medical work and 
 consultations with the Europeans and European practising 
 physicians. The Crown Prince and his chief wife took 
 some of my time too, so that that visit and the catching 
 up in the work here has been somewhat absorbing and press- 
 ing, but things will assume their usual routine soon. We 
 have a good deal that is interesting in the hospital just now. 
 
 JUNE 21st. It has been Commencement week here, and 
 after the graduation exercises came the Alumni meetings, 
 which lasted a day. I had one of the addresses, so that I 
 had to give a good deal of time to preparation. "Perfect 
 Manliness " was the subject given to me. 
 
 In July, 1902, he made his last visit to Russia, where 
 Mr. Clement and his family spent some happy weeks 
 with him at his sister's, Mrs. Ponafidine's, and then 
 returned to Urumia for the work in the fall. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 30th. After the medical work the one that has 
 occupied the most of my time the past year .has been diwan 
 work. This work becomes more and more of a burden, since 
 the civil and ecclesiastical courts are avowedly doing business, 
 more and more, for the money that can be procured from it 
 rather than to redress wrongs. It, nevertheless, seems neces- 
 sary to take the time to listen to the oppressions of our people, 
 whether any active effort to obtain redress is made or not. 
 Assistance can sometimes be given, but often all that we can 
 do is to show our sympathy, and let the cases go through the 
 usual process of the courts. As a member of the Legal 
 Board of our Church, the better part of one day every other 
 week is given to the arbitration of questions arising among 
 our constituency. The work of this Board is, on the whole,
 
 242 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 quite helpful to our Church, as it often settles in a just 
 and satisfactory manner cases that would otherwise go to 
 the corrupt courts for settlement. Some time every week 
 has been devoted to social calls among those in authority 
 here. 
 
 DECEMBER 28th. I think Russia is going to push into 
 Persia with its commerce, if nothing else, as rapidly as 
 possible. They have opened an agency here for express 
 packages, and are preparing to open a bank. They have 
 done so in Tabriz as a rival to the English Imperial Bank. 
 A new Belgian has come to Tabriz to be at the head of the 
 post-office department in Azerbaijan. We will see what he 
 will do. There is a new issue of stamps at last, after using 
 these provisional for more than half a year. 
 
 It is blowing hard and cold a good night for thieves. 
 This reminds me of the trouble that the Checklui people 
 are in. Last summer they caught a Moslem thief in their 
 vineyards, and took him to the master. Day before yester- 
 day he died. The friends immediately went to law, to re- 
 cover blood money, claiming that this man had died of the 
 effects of the fright he had when caught three or four 
 months ago. He is a man whom I have been treating off and 
 on this fall for other difficulties than those brought on by 
 fright. The Governor's men and the Sarparast's (governor 
 for the Christians) went out to the village, and it was re- 
 ported that they were laying waste the village, and that the 
 Moslems from neighbouring villages were present with bags 
 in hand to plunder. The head of the Russian Mission, with 
 two or three Nestorians, went out there late yesterday after- 
 noon. I have not learned what they saw and heard; I am 
 glad they went, though I should not do it. 
 
 PAYAJUK, SALMAS, January 20th, 1903. A week ago I was 
 called over here to see two brothers, Armenian merchants, 
 who have been shot by revolutionists that were set apart to 
 do it by their chief. One of them is shot through the abdo- 
 men on the right side. The ball penetrated the large intes- 
 tine, and has scratched the lower edge of the liver and the 
 surface of the kidney, coming out in the loin, in the region 
 of the kidney. The younger brother is shot through the
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 243 
 
 shoulder joint. Both are doing as well as can be expected. 
 The latter is sure to recover, and I hope with pretty good 
 use of the arm, but it is quite uncertain as to the former. 
 I reached here fifty hours after the accident, and it did not 
 seem wise to operate, with a view to closing the intestine, 
 because the man looked as if he could live but a few hours, 
 and gangrene of certain parts had set in. He is, however, 
 getting a little better every hour, and the inflammation is 
 becoming localized, so that now, although the contents of 
 the bowels are evacuated from the posterior wound, I think 
 I can remedy that difficulty after a month or so if he survives 
 the shock he has been through. These revolutionists have 
 been the means of the greatest losses to this plain. In the 
 past seven years it is estimated that they have killed openly 
 and secretly, and hidden or buried, not less than two hun- 
 dred Armenians. The miserable government is more than 
 glad to have them do these things, for it gives them the 
 chance to make a lot of money, always coming from the 
 innocent people in the villages. 
 
 PATAJUK, SALMAS, February 2nd. As you see, I am over 
 here again. I have operated on the man with the perfora- 
 tions of the intestines, and if he can only live through the 
 exhaustion that he has had, and which has increased since 
 the operation, the wounds will be all right, but he is very 
 low. The other brother, whose shoulder joint is affected, is 
 also a badly wounded man. Dr. Shlimun and I have been 
 very anxious. The operation was a most difficult one to 
 get the perforations in view sufficiently to enable us to see 
 them, and then to get at them to sew them. There were 
 such adhesions that we could not draw the intestines out 
 of the abdominal cavity, as is the rule, and operate outside. 
 I hope to go back in two or three days whether the patient 
 lives or dies. I am sorry not to be at home on Joseph's birth- 
 day. I begin to realize that I have not much longer with 
 Harry, and then the worst of it is that, after he goes, who 
 can tell when or how much I shall see him again. The 
 people at whose house I am staying have three or four very 
 good horses. They have also a lot of cows and buffalo-cows, 
 so that their milk and cream and mesta are plentiful. They 
 own about one-half of the land of this village, consequently
 
 244 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 they are wealthy farmers, as well as raisin and almond 
 merchants. They have just shipped 80,000 pounds of raisins 
 to London. The brothers are great hunters, too; they have 
 a lot of guns of all descriptions rifles mostly, but good shot- 
 guns and revolvers as well a regular arsenal. Two of them 
 will pass many a day before they go hunting again. One 
 of them will perhaps never leave his bed. It was a cold 
 journey coming over; I hope it will moderate before I return. 
 
 MARCH 1st. Yesterday I saw, for the last time, an old 
 Moslem doctor, who was a very intelligent and pleasant man, 
 and one who thought a great deal about the more weighty 
 matters in life, and often wished to talk about the future 
 life. He has been sick for some ten days, but only told 
 me yesterday, when I found him nearly gone with dysentery. 
 He was seventy years old. 
 
 MARCH 30th. I think that I wrote you that one of the 
 Armenians of S almas whom I treated died. The other, the 
 one with the wounded shoulder, has come over here now for 
 treatment. His joint is very stiff, but I think we can fix 
 him up in time. I performed another operation to-day on 
 the kidney of a man, opening it, and removing stones from 
 it, and a lot of accumulated pus. He is doing well. Did 
 I tell you that Kasha Oshana sees very well with the eye 
 that I last operated on? I am so glad for the old man. 
 
 APRIL 5th. This has been a hard day, for I rushed all I 
 could to see the hospital patients early, and get to Degala 
 with Kasha Isaac to see if we could settle their quarrel 
 at last. As you know, it has been going on for some weeks, 
 and a great deal of effort and pains have been expended in 
 righting the matter, but so far it has been to no real pur- 
 pose, or at least it has brought the case to no satisfactory 
 termination. 
 
 MAY 9th. Things are in a pretty stormy condition up 
 in Tergawar. I went up there last week. Two or three 
 days before five Nestorians from Balulan had gone up to a 
 sheepfold in the valley which lies between the villages of 
 Umbi and Balulan, which has been used by the Kurdish 
 Begs of the former village. The Nestorians tore it down,
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 245 
 
 claiming that the Begs had no right to it. The shepherd 
 told one of the chiefs, who went down with him to the spot, 
 but the Syrians fired on him. He returned the fire, and 
 soon, from both villages, there was quite a crowd that joined 
 the fray. At quite a distance from both these firing parties 
 was a company of Kurdish children watching the fight. 
 One of the Syrians fired at right angles from the direction 
 in which the opposing Kurds were, and his bullet entered the 
 knee of the late Hessu Beg's youngest son, a boy of thirteen 
 years. So far the fault was wholly on the Syrian side. 
 The sheepfold they had no right to, and they should not 
 have fired at this crowd of children who were merely looking 
 on. I removed the bullet, but the knee-joint is likely to be 
 more or less stiff always. The Kurds were very much en- 
 raged, both because it seemed so unnecessary, and because 
 this particular young chief is held in great love and rever- 
 ence. There were assembled there not less than 300 Kurds, 
 all ready to make an attack on Balulan, and avenge them- 
 selves. I argued with them, hoping they would refer the 
 matter to the authorities, and not go to war themselves, for 
 it would only result in bloodshed, and make it more difficult 
 to come to an understanding. The older chiefs promised to 
 scatter the Kurds and wait to see what the Salar would do, 
 but the young men vowed that fight and death were better 
 than serfdom! As soon as we were well off a couple of 
 hundred attacked Balulan, and fought till midnight. They 
 succeeded in entering three houses, which they looted and 
 burned, together with the stables. One of these happened 
 to be our Kasha's house. His house was on the edge of the 
 village ; but the Kurds lost four killed and fourteen wounded, 
 and were driven from the village when help arrived from 
 Mawana. This is the way matters stand. The Kurds were 
 beaten, and they have not attempted another attack. The 
 Salar has returned from Tabriz, and has sent a few soldiers 
 up to Balulan, and has told them to sit quietly and await 
 the action of the Crown Prince. 
 
 MAY 17th. The past week, including yesterday, Sunday, 
 has been a crazy one, made so by the arrival of the Crown 
 Prince, his chief wife, and her children last Wednesday. 
 Not only have I had to see him and them, but so many of
 
 246 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 the big guns that are with them have called upon me for 
 professional aid, or sent for me to go there, that I have 
 been unusually busy. Yesterday was the Coans' and Harry's 
 last Sunday here; we were together as much as we could be. 
 Before tea we had a walk together in the inner garden, and 
 we had our usual Sunday-school lesson on the roof. Later 
 several came over, and the Coans played for us all. They 
 now plan to leave next Saturday, but if the Vali Ahd goes 
 also on that day, it may necessitate a change. It is growing 
 on me, the loneliness which we will experience when they 
 are all gone. We have been having trouble over the servant 
 question, so that makes the situation embarrassing. Still, 
 we shall get on somehow. We could very easily get along 
 for months on native food, if it should have to come to that, 
 which it is not likely to do. 
 
 JUNE 1st. Here we are alone in this big house, we three. 
 Last Monday the Coans and Harry left. The little boys 
 and I went as far as Gavelan, and returned the next day. 
 The natives have expressed much sympathy with us in our 
 loneliness. It is very hard, the house seems so quiet and 
 lonely, and we miss so much the many dear ones. The 
 week has been full of work and anxiety for the Christians 
 of Tergawar. Shebani, Balulan, Hekki, and Dostullan have 
 been burned after the people fled from them. In Dostullan, 
 Selbi, Kasha Onar's mother (she graduated from Fiske 
 Seminary in the first class) was burned to death with three 
 other women. In Shebani twelve men were cut off from the 
 rest and were killed. At present all the Syrians of the vil- 
 lages of northern Tergawar are flocked together in Mawana, 
 surrounded by not less than 1,000 Kurds. There is not much 
 anxiety for them as they are able to hold the village as long 
 as their ammunition holds out. Some reached them yes- 
 terday from here. There is general panic. All the villages 
 along the frontier are running their property into the city. 
 No troops have stirred out of the city. The officials say that 
 until they receive orders from headquarters they are not able 
 to do so. We have been in conference with these authorities 
 and are keeping the consuls notified. More than likely the 
 Sheikh has a hand in it, and is anxious to wipe out Mawana. 
 Meanwhile the sheep and cattle of the villages are also being
 
 THE CLOSING YEAKS OF WORK 247 
 
 taken. Last night they came down to Anhar and took their 
 sheep; the night before those of a village further up were 
 taken. 
 
 JUNE 3rd. From the mountains you probably get direct 
 reports. The most encouraging thing this winter in this 
 field has been the work in Gawar, where Mr. McDowell 
 worked with the native helpers. There was an awakening 
 there such as we have not seen since the very earliest his- 
 tory of missionary effort on that plain. 
 
 Recently a new Patriarch has been consecrated in place 
 of the late Mar Shimon, and it has been voted that I join 
 Mr. McDowell in a visit to the new Patriarch early in July. 
 This young man is only sixteen years old, but he is a bright, 
 active fellow, and there seems to be a general acceptance 
 of him as a civil and ecclesiastical head of the Syrian tribes 
 in Kurdistan. Now that Mr. McDowell has established his 
 family in Van as headquarters, the question arises again 
 as to whether it is not the wisest plan to open the training 
 school for mountain helpers there. There have and always 
 will be strong arguments in favour of doing this work in 
 our college here, but there are advantages also in making 
 Van one at least of the places where a limited number of 
 students from the mountains can be prepared for our work 
 in their districts. The Mission will undoubtedly consider 
 this question shortly, and we pray that guidance shall be 
 given in this important matter. 
 
 It is reported that we are soon to have a Russian consul 
 here, probably a vice-consul. When this event takes place 
 it will materially augment the feeling on the part of all 
 classes of the ever-increasing influence the Russians are 
 obtaining in Persia. Already they have control of the ad- 
 ministration of the customs, with the Belgians as the nom- 
 inal agents, also of the postal service. The large loans which 
 the Persian government has secured in Russia and Belgium 
 give the Russians again a powerful hold upon this country. 
 For some reason or other the road that the Russians had 
 just begun to construct between the Russian boundary at 
 Julfa and Teheran is not being built at present, work on it 
 having been suspended. A strong feeling prevails among the 
 ruling classes as well as among the peasants that Persia is
 
 248 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 practically in the hands of the great Czar, to do as he pleases 
 with it. The missionary efforts on the part of the Russians 
 here at present are chiefly manifest along the line of estab- 
 lishing, on a large scale, a plant for printing, as well as in 
 war that is being waged with the representatives of the old 
 Nestorian party for the possession of the Nestorian churches 
 and property. 
 
 At the present writing we all, and by we I mean all the 
 Christian population of Urumia, are in deep anxiety over 
 the fate of the Christians of Tergawar, as well as to the 
 outcome of the disturbances there, upon the fanatical Mos- 
 lems of the city and villages on the plain. 
 
 JUNE 14th. A few words will inform you of all that has 
 occurred in the way of the affair which I have reported rather 
 fully the last two weeks. The Vali Ahd's special " mamur " 
 succeeded in getting Kudu Beg, the brother of the boy 
 whom I went to see, who was shot in the knee, to come down, 
 also a number of the Mawana men. He told them that he 
 wished them to make up and let bygones be bygones. They 
 did this, and then the three Kashas of Mawana and Dostullan 
 had a present of a shawl each, Beijan was given a horse, 
 and two Kurds had presents. After this they were all sent 
 home. Nothing has been done or said in regard to a recom- 
 pense for the Christians. Indeed, they have no reason to 
 think that they will ever get back anything that they have 
 lost. The Salar has told them that he will give them joists 
 for the roofs that were burned down, but judging from past 
 promises they don't expect much from this. I presume 
 some will stay and others quit the country. Two days ago 
 the Shekoik Kurds came down on Salmas, and plundered 
 two villages. We have no particulars, but the Fath-i-Sultan 
 was ordered by the Crown Prince to go there with two 
 hundred horsemen, and then return to Tabriz, which con- 
 tinues disturbed. Here in the city there have been 
 rumours and troubles of one kind or another. In the chief 
 caravansarai, where we have our book-room, there were a 
 number of our people sitting, talking together, when a large 
 company of the young mullah students marched through, 
 accompanied by the rabble, shouting, " Drive the foreigners 
 out, kill the Christians ! " Soon another company, subjects
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 249 
 
 of the village Karagoz, which is owned by a Moslem, who 
 is a Russian subject, and who is oppressing them greatly, 
 followed, crying, "Drive the Russians out." The Syrians 
 and Armenians from the shops closed up their quarters, and 
 lost no time in getting away, naturally thoroughly fright- 
 ened. 
 
 JUNE 25th. The chicks are asleep, and I am alone up 
 here in my study. It has been a very busy day, and indeed 
 all these days are very full, and I am rery much rushed and 
 very tired by night. Still, when I awake in the morning, 
 I am as well off as ever, so that I think I can stand the 
 work all right. The dreariness of the home grows rather 
 than diminishes as time goes on. It is a month since the 
 Coans and Harry left. It seems much more, or less, as 
 you look at it. Joseph and Andrew and I went out after 
 our late supper, and weeded in the flowerbeds, then the boys 
 went over to practise their songs together for to-morrow 
 night when we have a Mission supper, and the children have 
 an exhibition as their school year is about to close. I have 
 been doing accounts and seeing the teachers, for I have all 
 the work that exists as to the superintendence of the college 
 affairs, the accounts, looking after the grounds, the repairs, 
 the teachers and servants, during vacation, until Mr. Shedd 
 returns. The whole main college building is being whitened, 
 the first time since it was built. Now it is late and I must 
 only begin this letter and get to bed to prepare for to- 
 morrow which is very full of engagements. 
 
 He wrote careful reports of the trouble in Tergawar 
 to the Board and to the British consul-general in 
 Tabriz. The British representatives in Tabriz for years 
 had charge of American interests in northwestern Per- 
 sia, where there was, until 1907, no American consul, 
 and had cared for them with characteristic faithful- 
 ness and generosity. 
 
 In the autumn, to the doctor's great joy, his daugh- 
 ter Lillie returned to Urumia from America. On Sep- 
 tember 12th, 1903, he wrote to the secretary of the 
 Board, who had visited him in 1896 :
 
 250 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 History of a certain sort and not altogether desirable is 
 forming rapidly. We seldom have had a summer of such 
 utter lawlessness. The notorious thieves and robbers have 
 been reaping freely, and as usual at such times, when noted 
 outlaws are out in the field, many inclined in the same way 
 are doing what they can under the name of these chiefs 
 in this pastime. Our late Governor was utterly incapable 
 of keeping any kind of order, and made criminal mistakes 
 in dealing with the troubles in Tergawar. It is only within 
 the last few days that those inhabitants of the five villages 
 which have been crowded into one village have been able 
 to scatter somewhat, under escort of soldiers, and reap what 
 they find left of their wheat fields. Whenever, up to this 
 time, they attempted it a large escort of armed neighbours 
 would watch while they harvested, and one day the escort 
 was surprised, and two men were shot, one dying on the spot, 
 and the other made a cripple for life. The late Governor 
 was a man whom you called on, I think, and who showed 
 you his room with canary birds nesting in it. About a 
 month ago a new Governor arrived who, with the Majdi 
 Seltaneh (the bravest and most active of our young officers 
 of TJrumia), has secured the governorship of Urumia, in- 
 cluding as usual TJshnuk to the south of us, S almas, and 
 Khoi. The Majdi Seltaneh has sublet Salmas and Khoi, 
 and he himself, at the head of 1,000 cavalry, consisting of 
 Shekoik Kurds, rough riders, and sitters from Maku, and 
 a regiment of cavalry from near Tabriz, as well as two 
 regiments of infantry with three Krupp guns and their 
 artillery men are skirting the border to the west of us. Just 
 at present they are camped near a fort that the noted Kurd- 
 ish chief (the son of Obeidullah who invaded Persia in 
 1880) has just built in a village which the Persians claim is 
 theirs, and which the Turks are trying to get hold of. It 
 is on the main way to Gawar and clearly Persian from a 
 geographical viewpoint. This young man has been sent 
 with secret orders to attack and destroy that fort. Before 
 he approached it some Shekoik Kurds, without orders, at- 
 tacked it, and in a skirmish that followed lost a few killed 
 and wounded, and inflicted like damages upon the Sheikh's 
 men occupying it. It was reported that a number of Turk- 
 ish soldiers had been killed, and that the Turkish troops
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 251 
 
 all along the border were assembling to take revenge, and 
 that the Sheikh was about to attack Urumia, and the Majdi 
 Seltaneh and the Governor here nearly lost their positions, 
 as the Crown Prince was ready to prove to the Turks that 
 they had not acted under orders, and would be punished for 
 their mistake. The Governor here sent for one of the chief 
 Kurds nearby, and sent a very sweet letter to the Sheikh, 
 telling him what a terrible mistake had been committed by 
 Persian Kurds, and that they always admired him, and de- 
 sired closer relations with him, etc., etc. One of our oldest 
 officers here by the title of Vali has now gone up to visit 
 the Sheikh and to see if he can patch the thing up somehow. 
 This chief is very powerful, and the Turkish government, 
 whose subject he is, is always in trouble with him, and never 
 or seldom takes any measures to displease him. 
 
 The next few days will decide this question for us, I think. 
 They will probably come to some agreement by which the 
 Sheikh will have his way and the Persian officials will have 
 their bribes. Or there may be some real danger of a serious 
 conflict. Mr. Sterrett and Mr. McDowell have been down 
 here for a conference the past two weeks, and cannot find 
 any one willing to take them over the border. This fort is 
 a day's march from here, perhaps thirty miles. 
 
 The arrival of a Russian vice-consul, to reside in Urumia, 
 marks a new era for this part of Persia. A few nights ago, 
 at a banquet given by the Governor on the occasion of the 
 Shah's birthday, where a representative from each foreign 
 mission was invited and this consul, the consul in response 
 to a toast and address of welcome given by a Persian official 
 who was so drunk that he could not stop the flow of flatter- 
 ing words, remarked that his position and action would de- 
 pend largely upon the attitude of the Persian government to 
 him, that he was ready to aid the Persians if they would 
 do as they should, or that he would have to act without their 
 aid if they failed to support him. It was a long course- 
 dinner, served in our style, with a boisterous and inhar- 
 monious band to play a snatch of a tune after each toast 
 had been given. After the dinner we had the finest dis- 
 play of fireworks that I have seen in Persia. Adjoining 
 the Governor's yard lives one of our wealthiest Khans, who 
 was having a ten-day wedding for his grandson. ^e were
 
 252 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 all asked to go in there and watch the ceremony of receiving 
 the sweets sent by the bride's household to the bridegroom. 
 At the banquet, with us, aside from the Governor, and the 
 Governor for the Christians, there were three Persians, the 
 highest officials in the town. These, with us, sat at the win- 
 dows of an elegant saloon looking out upon the courtyard. 
 A large space was spread with rich rugs, and on these sat 
 several hundred of the merchant class and lower Khans who 
 were invited. Thirty immense wooden trays, each about 
 ten and a half feet wide and six feet long were brought in 
 and arranged between these guests. Each tray was lighted 
 with four candles in shades that prevent their being blown 
 out, and with a costly oil lamp in the centre, and spread with 
 flowers and fruit and candies. There were two trays bear- 
 ing a costly Persian shawl suit for the bridegroom from the 
 bride, and quite a little of her needlework for him. The 
 sum that he had to pay her was about 20,000 tomans; and 
 two villages representing not less than this sum. In case this 
 young man at any time chooses to divorce her he can do so 
 on relinquishing all right to this money and property. So 
 long as they live together they can both live on it, but this 
 much is made over to her in her name. As a matter of fact, 
 no one divorces a lady who has such a dowry. The men 
 can marry other wives, of course, if they choose, and concu- 
 bines without limit. Here we had a repetition of the fire- 
 works, and the same band played for us. The sweets were 
 distributed to the assembled multitudes in the yard, while 
 we were refreshed with tea and sherbets. We also had a taste 
 of the sweets. That day we had been invited to dinner at 
 this house where the wedding was going on. Dr. Labaree 
 and Mr. Sterrett and I went, and on the following day the 
 ladies were invited. It was the day when all the Khan's 
 wives were invited, and so they had a very spectacular 
 scene as they looked upon some two hundred ladies dressed 
 in costliest silks and satins and velvets, who wore every 
 colour of the rainbow. 
 
 I am treating an interesting German, a Dr. Mann, who 
 has spent the last two years in Kurdistan and other parts 
 of Persia, learning the dialects of the Persian and Kurdish 
 languages. He was a good scholar in both before he left 
 Germany, and now has taken them up on the ground. He
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 253 
 
 is down with typhoid fever, but is getting along quite well. 
 The two chief men in the Russian Mission, the Archiman- 
 drite and the Yarmanakh, have also had a siege, but I have 
 now stopped calling regularly on them as they are con- 
 valescent. 
 
 The troubles with the Kurds of Tergawar and Dasht 
 were not the only occasion of anxiety. The employ- 
 ment by the government of Belgians in the customs 
 and post led to bitter feeling on the part of the eccle- 
 siastics and of the displaced Persian officials. In Oc- 
 tober, Dr. Cochran sent to the Board a comprehensive 
 report of the whole situation and of his unavoidable 
 relation to it, in which he reviewed also the actions of 
 the Kurds of Dasht, whose resentment at his resistance 
 to their crimes and outrages was to have such fatal 
 result : 
 
 The position of the missionary to the Christian community 
 about us is still unchanged in respect of his being, in a sense, 
 the "father," and the one to whom it can look for aid and 
 counsel in the time of oppression and danger. Perhaps the 
 time will come when foreign consuls take up their residence 
 here, that all such relations will be assumed by them, but 
 for the present we are bound to do what we can. At the 
 same time we ever keep in mind the fact that we desire to 
 present every case to the proper officials in a way that will 
 not offend them, nor make them feel that we are too officious, 
 but in a polite and kind way bring our influence to bear 
 upon them in such a manner as to secure some degree of 
 redress for the oppressed. 
 
 It is the relation that the doctor sustains to those in 
 authority, because of his professional work among them, that 
 brings to him in this station, at least, a large, responsible, 
 and anxious labour. 
 
 The last summer has been full of anxiety and trouble, 
 due largely to the lawless condition of the country. The 
 weakness and supineness of the government, always very 
 evident, becomes painfully so whenever there is any unusual
 
 254 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 uprising among the Kurds or the rougher elements in the 
 towns and cities. For some time back there has been a 
 great deal of grumbling against the government for giving 
 away in concessions so much to the foreigners. The Custom 
 and Postal systems are in the hands of the Belgians. There 
 is a rumour that the internal revenues will also be given 
 over to the care of the foreigners, and in consequence much 
 hard feeling is stirred up among two classes of people in the 
 land. 
 
 The Mohammedan ecclesiastics, who have such power and 
 influence in criminal and civil cases, and who, when un- 
 able to make the authorities submit to their wishes, will 
 proclaim the bazars closed, and stir up all the people of 
 the baser sort to make a demonstration against the man or 
 men, or action which they oppose, see in the coming of the 
 foreigners into power here an element of danger to their 
 position and religious influence. The second class that is 
 affected by having the administration of these departments 
 committed to the foreigner is the vast number of munshis, 
 or secretaries, who will be thrown out of employment. Much 
 of the revenue in the country never passes out of the hands 
 of these men, and they will always be an army of malcontents, 
 ready to do what they can to prevent the change that means 
 such a loss to them. In many cities of the land there have 
 been open demonstrations against the King and his ad- 
 ministration, demanding that the Europeans who have charge 
 of this work be expelled, and that the country be permitted 
 to live along in the good old way of their fathers. In 
 Tabriz there was a demonstration which compelled the 
 Crown Prince to move to a neighbouring town the European 
 chief of the Customs with his family, and keep careful 
 watch over him. In this case, however, the government was 
 equal to the occasion, and by making the opposers believe 
 that Russian Cossacks were ready to enter Persia all along 
 the frontier if they did not desist, the disturbances were 
 quelled, and the ringleaders were banished. 
 
 At the same time Urumia City and country are dwelling 
 in fear and actual danger of a general uprising, against the 
 Christians first, and secondly against the government. A 
 comparatively small affair had been exaggerated, and had 
 become the starting-point for a most serious attack upon
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 255 
 
 the Christians of Tergawar, a little district of six Christian 
 and three or four Kurdish villages lying over the foothills, 
 some twenty miles from the city. The southern end of thia 
 valley or plateau is called Dasht, where there are more than 
 twice as many Kurdish villages, with several hundred Chris- 
 tian families living in them with the Kurds. The Kurds 
 of Dasht united to crush or drive out the Christians of 
 Tergawar. These Christians are brave and warlike, and not 
 unlike their Kurdish neighbours in dress, manners, and 
 morals. But as the government did not come to their aid, 
 as it usually has done in the past when they have been 
 attacked, they were badly beaten. They took refuge together 
 in the largest village, and there they have been huddled 
 together since June. Three villages were burned, twenty- 
 one men, and four women have been killed; others have been 
 wounded; sixteen hundred sheep have been taken; their hay- 
 stacks have been burned, and they have been practically be- 
 sieged day and night; they have been unable to feed their 
 flocks at any distance from their village, and so have had to 
 feed the winter clover and the grain fields nearby; they have 
 had to go armed and in large numbers to harvest their grain. 
 The Kurds at the head of this trouble were making every 
 effort to excite Mohammedan ecclesiastics of this city against 
 the Christians by reporting that they had desecrated their 
 mosques, and burned their holy books and their dead. These 
 stories were disseminated, and aroused not a little bitter 
 feeling, and talk, and some action against Christians gen- 
 erally. The Mohammedans of the city were preparing to 
 do something serious when the failure of the mullahs in 
 Tabriz to accomplish their purpose, together with the arrest 
 and expulsion of the leading mullahs, made the revolution- 
 ists desist from their purpose. At the same time the Kurds 
 and thieves, and robbers generally, vied with each other in 
 doing all the harm they could. Everywhere the roads were 
 dangerous. Large and small bodies of men, and caravans 
 would be robbed, flocks and herds were carried away daily, 
 and nightly thieves broke through and stole. The Kurds 
 all along the border emboldened, threatened to overrun the 
 country in a general raid, and now both Christian and 
 Moslem, thoroughly frightened, began to desert their villages 
 and move their goods within the city walls. It was only
 
 256 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 after a new Governor had arrived, and an army had been sent 
 to the border that comparative quiet was restored. 
 
 It is very difficult to look upon the condition of the 
 people about us and be able to do so little to relieve their 
 distress. When it is not the attacks of outlaws, it is the 
 government officials that oppress, or the cruel hands of the 
 land proprietors, or the wickedness of each other that bring 
 down upon them the losses and suffering which they are 
 bearing so constantly. 
 
 Recently I was waited on by a large delegation of Chris- 
 tians from Degala. Their plea was that they be protected, 
 in the first place from the ravages of officers who had been 
 sent to the village to arrest a large number of them, in 
 order to fine them for the loss of 150 sheep, and for the 
 murder of two men that had occurred some time ago, and 
 secondly, that they be helped to clear themselves of this 
 charge of murder. Last spring some Kurds from the south, 
 who had brought sheep for sale, came for the night to 
 Degala. They were attacked in the night by enemies who 
 had tracked and followed them, and two of their men, who 
 were watching their sheep in the streets of the place, were 
 killed, and their sheep were carried off. The next day 
 the affair was reported to the Governor, and he had sent 
 horsemen with the surviving owners of the sheep, who over- 
 took the robbers, but were not strong enough to recover their 
 sheep. I wrote our present Governor, telling him the facts 
 in the case, and he replied that although he had orders from 
 the Crown Prince to take the blood money and the price 
 of the sheep from Degala village, he would, for my sake, 
 bring his policemen away from the village. He inclosed 
 an order to his chief officer in that village, commanding 
 him to come away with his men. While the village was thus 
 relieved from the unjust burden, and of the anxiety of caring 
 for and feeding these wolf-like officers of the government, 
 and were even spared paying this very heavy fine, they had 
 to pay a good sum to the officials who had been charged with 
 the duty of exacting this fine from them. It is not exaggera- 
 tion to say that the chief end of most of the officials here is to 
 make all the money they can out of each case, irrespective of 
 the merits of the case. Here was a good excuse: An order 
 from the Crown Prince to take the blood money for two men,
 
 THE CLOSING YEARS OF WORK 257 
 
 and the price of 150 sheep, from a well-to-do Christian vil- 
 lage. The price of a Christian killed by a Moslem is $32. 
 That of a Moslem killed by a Christian $1,000. In such a 
 case the natural course pursued by the government would 
 be to take this fine from the village, together with a good 
 deal more for the trouble of the officers, and the benefit 
 of all hands. They would then reserve at least one-tenth of 
 this price of the blood and the sheep for themselves, send 
 a large portion to the Crown Prince, and give something 
 to the friends of the deceased, and the owners of the sheep. 
 The past week has witnessed the murder, in cold blood, 
 of one of the best educated and most respected of the 
 Syrians of the country, Mr. M. G. Daniel of this place. 
 After graduating from the Mission schools this man had been 
 our High School teacher, and later college teacher. He 
 then spent eleven years in the United States and Canada, 
 chiefly in the study of theology. He returned to his family 
 this summer. On the day of this tragedy, he was overseeing 
 workmen in his vineyard when a notorious outlaw, Sayid 
 Ghafar, who has been terrorizing the community without 
 let or hindrance, shot him down because he would not give 
 up his watch. 
 
 It will be best to add here a paragraph written by Dr. 
 Cochran in the following spring, indicating the grave 
 consequences of this tragedy: 
 
 This Mr. Daniel was blameless in character, and of a peace- 
 able disposition. The outrages of this sayid for so long 
 a time now culminated in this deed against a naturalized 
 British subject. The cries to local authorities to be pro- 
 tected against this man for the past three years were now 
 repeated, and we were asked to send strong representations 
 to the consuls, and to urge the local authorities to arrest 
 the assassin. I joined with a member of the English Mis- 
 sion here in bringing the case to the immediate notice of 
 the authorities, and in reporting it to Tabriz and Teheran. 
 Being a lineal descendant of the prophet Mohammed, this 
 sayid enjoyed the privilege of all sayids of exemption from 
 the more common punishments, or for any offence against
 
 258 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 his fellowmen unless of the very gravest nature, and then, 
 too, he would not expect to receive any severe punishment. 
 So this Ghafar was not arrested, although he was every now 
 and then seen about the village where he committed this 
 murder, and boldly challenged the government officers to 
 catch him, breathing out threats all the while against all for- 
 eigners who should dare have him punished. For five months 
 this man was allowed to wander about, sometimes seen by 
 the officers of the law, but never arrested until he inflamed 
 the minds of many people against Christians. He was, of 
 course, strongly encouraged by fanatical Mohammedans, and 
 finally was sent by the ecclesiastics to the Dasht Kurds for 
 safekeeping. While there he increased their dissatisfaction 
 with all and any persons who should in any way oppose 
 them in their deeds of wickedness. There is no doubt but 
 that he had a strong influence upon these Kurds, and when 
 word was sent to them that there was a good opportunity 
 to attack me as I was about to start for Khoi, where the 
 distance from this place would make it unlikely that it 
 would be known who the murderers were, a band of men 
 started on their errand of revenge for having had their 
 wicked deeds brought to the notice of the authorities. The 
 Dasht Kurds have enlisted him in their warfare against the 
 Christians, whom they wish to persecute, and so far as we can 
 understand his motives, they are one with those that have 
 been cherished by the Dasht Kurds for the past year. They 
 have both wished to rid the country of one who knows them 
 well, and now has been more or less active in endeavouring to 
 get the authorities to protect those whom they have been 
 robbing and killing, and whom they wish to destroy utterly. 
 
 This last paragraph, with its quiet recognition of the 
 enmity which he had aroused, was written in May, 
 1904, after the tragedy in which, at the hands of this 
 band, another died in Dr. Cochran's stead.
 
 xrv; 
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES THE REST " 
 
 THE journey from Urumia to Julfa on the Aras 
 River, which divides Russia from Persia, even 
 when not dangerous, is rough and uncomfort- 
 able, and the Station, of course, always arranged that 
 some one of the men should accompany, at least to 
 Julfa, any of the women missionaries leaving for 
 Europe or for home. On March 4th, 1904, Miss Mar- 
 garet Dean, who had been the teacher of the children 
 of the Mission circle, and Miss Paulat, of the German 
 Orphanage, which had been established in 1896, and 
 Pastor Wolff, a Swedish missionary, started for Rus- 
 sia, and Mr. B. W. Labaree, who was born in Urumia 
 and who had come back as a missionary in 1893, after 
 a college course at Marietta, Ohio, and a Seminary 
 course at Hartford, Conn., went with them. It appears 
 quite certain, as Dr. Cochran stated in the report 
 quoted in the last chapter, that enemies of his under- 
 stood that he and not Mr. Labaree was going out with 
 the party, and sent word to Sayid Ghafar and to the 
 Kurds of Dasht that they could, without risk of de- 
 tection, follow them and attack them outside of the 
 Urumia district, and kill the doctor. When the party 
 left Urumia, unconscious of any special danger, the 
 Sayid and thirteen of the Dasht Kurds followed, but 
 failed to overtake them. They inquired in Salmas of 
 the movements of the missionaries, and learning that 
 
 259
 
 260 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 some were to come back soon on the return to Urumia, 
 they waited for them. In his report to the Board, Dr. 
 Cochran relates what ensued : 
 
 The party of Kurds divided up into three companies, which 
 held the three different roads, and on the 9th, the Say id and 
 three Kurds attacked Mr. Labaree and his servant as they 
 were approaching Salinas, before they were out of the moun- 
 tain pass. Israel was shot down, some of his clothing 
 stripped off, and his horse, with Mr. Labaree's journey outfit, 
 taken, and Mr. Labaree was carried off toward the other 
 passes, and finally murdered in a most cruel manner, with 
 daggers and sword blows (thirteen in all), about five miles 
 distant from where his servant's body lay. Travellers who 
 had seen them on the other side of the pass, and came after 
 them, now recognized Israel's body as they came upon it, 
 and reported the murder to our preacher in Salmas. This 
 preacher, with a physician who is a graduate of our schools, 
 obtained government horsemen, and recovered the body of 
 the servant, and finding the fresh tracks of the horsemen 
 in the snow and muddy grounds across the hills, came upon 
 the body of Mr. Labaree in a wild and sheltered valley. 
 The bodies were carefully prepared to be sent to Urumia, 
 while Mr. Shedd went out as far as Gavelan and met them, 
 and on Sunday, the 13th, amid a large throng, the bodies 
 were brought to the college, from whence the next day, after 
 impressive funeral services had been held, they were escorted 
 to Seir, and laid side by side in the Mission cemetery. The 
 Christian population of the city and villages along the route 
 turned out in very large numbers, while on the day of the 
 funeral, a very much larger number than the college chapel 
 could accommodate stood outside to show their sympathy 
 and horror at the cruel and violent death. Immediately upon 
 returning from the burial, news reached us that the fourteen 
 persons that had been known to have left Tergawar some 
 days before had been seen returning, and with them were 
 two extra horses, which were described as Mr. Labaree's. 
 From that time to this, as I have already said, evidence has 
 been accumulating. The horses have been seen by many. 
 Ten days ago they were taken up to Jurma in hope of 
 getting them off across the border into Turkey, but owing
 
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 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 261 
 
 to the snow-bound roads, they did not succeed in crossing 
 the high pass, so they were kept in a sheepfold for a few 
 days, and finally, lest they be seen there by Christians in a 
 Tillage near by, they were killed and buried. . . . We have 
 very good evidence that the Sayid returned with these Kurds 
 and that about the 25th of March he came to Urumia. He 
 remained down here for a few days, and was then returned 
 to the Kurdish chiefs with the instructions that he should 
 be escorted across the border into Turkey if they could 
 not give him shelter. There is constant communication be- 
 tween the Sayid and Kurds on the one hand and the enemies 
 here on the other, the latter keeping them informed of all 
 that is going on here. Even the telegrams which we are 
 obliged to send to the consulate and the embassy are, we 
 have reason to believe, reported to enemies here and in turn 
 given by them to the criminals. These Kurdish chiefs of 
 Tergawar are not a large force, but they have repeatedly been 
 in open rebellion against the government. Their mountain 
 fastnesses have been destroyed, and they have received severe 
 punishment for their outlawry, only to repeat their deeds 
 of oppression and violence after a time. Up to last year 
 we have been able to keep on good terms with them, and I 
 went up to the home of the lad who had been shot, and 
 removed the bullet from his knee, and begged the large 
 force of warriors that had assembled to take revenge to 
 commit the case to the government, but immediately on leav- 
 ing them, they attacked the village of the men who had shot 
 their young chief. Representations had to be made to the 
 authorities here and in Tabriz in behalf of the poor Chris- 
 tians, and this with the constant active opposition of the 
 enemies, has created much bitter feeling against me in par- 
 ticular, and against foreigners and Christians generally. 
 
 In a more personal letter to the secretary of the 
 Board, he wrote: 
 
 The government, as well as ourselves, are convinced that 
 this act has been committed with malice and premeditation, 
 and not for the sake of plunder. When travellers resist with 
 arms, the robbers may, if driven to it, shoot them down,
 
 262 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 but that is all ; they would not inflict needless wounds. This 
 of itself nearly proves that the Sayid Ghafar has done it. 
 This was done on Wednesday. On the previous Sunday, he 
 was seen in a tea-house in Salmas, reviling all the foreign 
 powers, and threatening to kill every foreigner he could. 
 Mr. Labaree was told the next day when he was going to 
 Khoi that the Sayid has been seen there, but he did not 
 think it was so, as he had heard just before leaving here that 
 he was up in Tergawar. . . . 
 
 These Kurds of Tergawar have repeatedly rebelled against 
 the government, and they have been severely punished, but 
 never have they been allowed to do as much as they have 
 this last year without restraint and opposition from the 
 government. It is very difficult to understand why these 
 young men should have been allowed to be assassinated in 
 this cruel manner, unless God means to accept them as an 
 offering without blemish in behalf of and for the sake of this 
 distressed and oppressed borderland. 
 
 The heaviness of his personal sorrow, and the peril 
 in which he himself lived did not turn his mind from 
 the wrongs and sufferings of the poor Christians, whose 
 strong defence he had been. On April 4th, 1904, he 
 closed a careful report to the American minister in 
 Teheran with the words: 
 
 Within the last week a company of these Dasht Kurds 
 carried off 210 sheep belonging to the Tergawar Christians, 
 and on the following day an attack was said to have been 
 made upon a sheepfold in the night, during a heavy rain, 
 and in tearing it down the roof came down and killed eighty- 
 five more sheep, and crushed two men, but not mortally. 
 Then an attack was made on Mawana on two consecutive 
 nights, and finally a message was sent to the Christians 
 that they must either come out and settle the quarrels of 
 past months, or that the Kurds, who were assembling in 
 force, would attack and exterminate them. The poor Chris- 
 tions, once so brave, were terrified, and came to the three 
 Missions here in the hope of {jetting redress. The Fath-i- 
 Sultan . . . has recently sent to one of these Kurdish
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 263 
 
 chiefs a most flattering letter, telling him of the confidence 
 of the government in them, and thanking them for the serv- 
 ices rendered the government, and has sent him a title, etc. 
 It was the actions of this man . . . that have made the 
 
 Kurds so overbearing and bold. . . . This and the 's 
 
 driving the Christians out of Balulan last summer was the 
 starting-point for the bold behaviour of the Kurds ever since. 
 And on the other hand the government has not aided the 
 Christians in the least, leaving them for now a year nearly 
 crowded in two villages, without crops and without redress 
 for their losses and wrongs. 
 
 On April 23rd, 1904, he wrote to the British consul- 
 general in Tabriz: 
 
 The six villages in Tergawar are in constant danger still. 
 Since our last telegram to you on this subject, the Christians 
 have been attacked twice, and now a number of families have 
 been carried off, so the report goes, by the Kurds to force 
 them to live in their villages, and the few houses which the 
 Christians had fixed up for themselves in Shebani have 
 been burned down. Whenever they come to the city they 
 do so in large bands, and when they went up yesterday 
 they expected to be met by fifty or more Kurds who were 
 holding the valley and watching for their return. They came 
 down to beg the Governor to give them permission to pack 
 up and leave the country, but he ordered them back, re- 
 peating the promises which have filled their ears for the past 
 nine months. In this condition of affairs they cannot 
 plough and sow; most of their cattle and sheep have been 
 carried away, or have been sold, or have died for lack of 
 food, and their condition for the ensuing year will be that 
 of absolute famine if the country is not quickly restored 
 to order, as the time for sowing is the present. 
 
 On June 20th, he wrote to the American Legation 
 to the charge d'affaires: 
 
 Recently, as I reported, a large number of Kurds attacked 
 Mawana, and killed three men, and wounded five. The Gov-
 
 264 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 ernor, when reporting this to the Crown Prince, made out 
 that the whole blame was on the Christians, that they had 
 gone up against the Kurds, etc. This was a falsehood. He 
 asked a number of Khans to go up to Tergawar and see 
 whether the battle had taken place near the Christian village 
 or near the Kurds. He selected a number of men who own 
 villages between the city and the Kurds, and some of whom 
 sent word that if they went up and found the Kurds to 
 blame they would not be able to say so publicly. ... It 
 was for this reason and to find the exact truth that Mr. 
 Wratislaw (the British consul-general from Tabriz, who had 
 come to TJrumia) went to the spot, and found out for him- 
 self that the Christians had been attacked almost in their 
 doors, and one of the three that was killed had a halter tied 
 to his neck, and fastened to the saddle girth of one of the 
 Kurds who was of the party that killed Mr. Labaree, and 
 dragged for miles, scattering the blood and the contents 
 of his abdomen along the way. ... A week ago to-day 
 two Mawana men, who between them had lost four brothers, 
 met one of the murderers, and shot him in the leg before 
 he was rescued by the caravan with which he was travelling. 
 That was the first and only case of aggression on the part 
 of the Mawana people since the trouble began a year ago. 
 This man is said to have been shot through the flesh of the 
 thigh. Four days ago, three miles out of town on the road 
 to Tergawar, these Kurds met three Christians from a vil- 
 lage at that point, and robbed them, and held them till a 
 fourth came along on a horse. He was told to dismount and 
 give up his horse, and as he did not do it immediately he 
 was struck senseless with the butt of the gun, and then 
 badly stabbed in four places about the head and neck, his 
 horse and clothes, and all of any value that he had taken 
 from him. The Governor has not attempted to do a thing 
 to punish or reprove these Kurds. On the contrary, last 
 Wednesday, as he was entering the city from a ride, he met 
 some Christians from Mawana, and stopped them, and asked 
 what news they had from Tergawar. They replied that the 
 roads were held, and they could not get back home, that 
 although they were a large party, they dared not return 
 because they had heard that the Kurds were out in large 
 numbers, waiting to attack them. He was very gracious
 
 to them, and told them that he would immediately see that 
 the roads were cleared. He did send right away to the Salar, 
 and demanded that he prevent the Christians of Mawana 
 from holding the roads against the Kurds, and to see that 
 they discontinued to trouble the Kurds. . . . 
 
 I have mentioned these very recent occurrences in reply 
 to your request in to-day's letter. In regard to your ques- 
 tion as to the future, I can only say that you will remember 
 I have frequently said in my correspondence with the Lega- 
 tion that the only thing that seems at the same time prac- 
 ticable and possible, and also effectual, would be to have 
 several of the chiefs of Dasht kept in Tabriz or Teheran 
 as hostages, as the government has often done in the past, 
 and allowed to return to their homes, only as they are re- 
 placed by others of the same rank. But this must be a per- 
 manent arrangement; that is, for a term of years, at least. 
 
 So, too, the Legations must demand the expulsion of 
 
 for a long time, or things will be worse than ever if he 
 return after a few months, as they so often do, with great 
 pomp and show of triumph. I do not believe that the Kurds 
 can be disarmed. They would as soon part with their heads, 
 and then if they were disarmed, it would not last long. 
 
 The sorrows of these villagers, and the grief which 
 he felt at Mr. Labaree's death in his stead, weighed 
 on his heart by day and by night. Those who watched 
 him saw his hair whitening and the lines of his face 
 deepening, and perceived that the burden he was bear- 
 ing was pressing with perilous weight. ." How can I 
 eat of your bread," he said to the Governor with whom, 
 under constraint, he was dining, " when it is your fault 
 that my brother has been killed ? " " His intense feel- 
 ing all through those awful months is, as I feel," writes 
 Mrs. Labaree, " what hastened his end more than any- 
 thing else. He never voluntarily spoke to me of the 
 fact that Mr. Labaree died for him, and when he would 
 take my little fatherless children into his arms, such 
 a look of suffering and grief came into his face as I
 
 266 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 never want to see again. The more I think of it, the 
 more convinced I am that death was absolutely the 
 only way out of the maze of suffering, danger, and 
 anxiety in which the doctor found himself. And God 
 in His love and mercy did not try His servant beyond 
 his strength, but gently released him. I love to think 
 that Dr. Cochran and Mr. Labaree look at the whole 
 awful tragedy from God's side now and together, in 
 the light, they are convinced that they were led safely 
 through the awful darkness that surrounded their 
 deaths. And I also love to think that we, too, shall 
 know and understand some day, and in that hope we 
 may even now rest satisfied that l all is right that seems 
 most wrong, if it be His dear will.' " 
 
 In the general report which he wrote of the work 
 of the Urumia Station for the year ending October, 
 1904, he spoke with earnest feeling of the loss which 
 came home with keenest sorrow to him: 
 
 In such a review of the year's history of our Station, the 
 mere mention of the death of our beloved co-labourer, the 
 Rev. B. W. Labaree, is not sufficient. Others have left us 
 during the year to recuperate and to return, but Mr. Labaree, 
 while pursuing one of the very common duties in our life 
 here, met bis death by the hands of bloodthirsty assassins, and 
 has reached the bourn from which no traveller returns. 
 God's mysterious dealings with His faithful servant and 
 with His work, in this field, we cannot fathom. We thought 
 we beheld in this cruel murder a sacrifice in behalf of the 
 people, a sacrifice by which an oppressed and misruled com- 
 munity might find peace and security. But weary and 
 anxious months have passed, and all the murderers are not 
 apprehended, nor has the condition of the Christians in 
 Tergawar improved. To relate all that has been done by 
 members of our Station in connection with this terrible 
 tragedy would take many hours of time. The grief and 
 agony of the full realization of our loss, and of the cruel
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 267 
 
 death which ended our brother's life, with the anxiety and 
 danger and suspense of the subsequent weeks and months, 
 my pen cannot picture. The gathering of testimony, frag- 
 ment by fragment, day after day, the fitting of these frag- 
 ments and the elimination of proven false testimony, until 
 a mass of circumstantial evidence has accumulated that is 
 an overpowering and convicting charge of guilt against the 
 Sayid, Mir Ghafar and thirteen Dasht Kurds, has taken 
 much time and hard work. Nor is this task completed, 
 for new corroborative evidence is still coming in. One of 
 the greatest causes of deep anxiety in this whole effort to 
 get at the exact truth has been the fact that, with the 
 exception of the confession of Mir Ghafar that he had 
 killed Mr. Labaree, and the positive evidence that this man 
 had been with the Dasht Kurds up to within a few days of 
 Mr. Labaree's murder, and that he returned to them imme- 
 diately after, and was finally captured from among them, our 
 evidence as to who his accomplices were rests on circum- 
 stantial evidence, very abundant in the aggregate, but frag- 
 mentary, as I have said, and obtained for the most part 
 from the lower classes of Tergawar and Dasht Christians; 
 from Kurds of these districts and Tergawar; and from 
 shepherds and travellers in the neighbourhood of the tragedy. 
 We regret most keenly to be forced to arrive at the convic- 
 tion that our neighbours, the Dasht Kurds, are the criminals 
 with the Sayid. We have friendly relations with all the 
 chiefs. They have often visited me, and have been in the 
 hospital, and I and others of our Station have been in their 
 homes. To have the murderers from a district immediately 
 contiguous to us, and the road to the city passing our gate, 
 increases very greatly the element of danger, not only for 
 the present, but also for the future, whatever punishment 
 or lack of punishment this tribe may receive. Another 
 ause for the deepest concern is the condition of the Tergawar 
 Christians. For weeks at a time, since the murder as well 
 as previous to it, for nearly a year these people among whom 
 we have laboured for so many years have daily visited our 
 doors, recounted the suffering they were passing through 
 in loss of life and property, in crowding into two villages, 
 and in their attempt for mere existence. Their pleas to 
 us for redress and aid have been wellnigh unendurable.
 
 268 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 Their wretched condition has been wretchedly linked with 
 our own case. The unpunished attack upon them led up 
 to our own loss; and the punishment or non-punishment 
 of our common foe must equally affect us both. . . . 
 
 From whatever standpoint we look at it, the situation is 
 a critical one. Whether or no the criminals are ever arrested 
 still remains to be seen; and whether if arrested, and exe- 
 cuted, quiet and security are to be gained, or whether the 
 revengeful Kurds will make life insecure and difficult we 
 cannot foretell, but we can trust in Him who knoweth all, 
 for " They that wait on the Lord shall not be ashamed." 
 
 In the midst of many anxieties on account of the 
 work and the oppressed Christians, he yet rejoiced this 
 spring in the re-establishment of his home. On Wed- 
 nesday, June 15th, he was married to Miss Bertha 
 McConaughy, who had come out to the station in 1900. 
 The British consul from Tabriz was in Ururnia at the 
 time, and his four Indian sowars formed the guard 
 which escorted Dr. and Mrs. Cochran from the city 
 out to the college. This constituted the wedding jour- 
 ney. The Indian cavalrymen were not merely orna- 
 mental. The peril in which he lived was well known 
 to him, and it was ever present to his mind. Writing 
 to Mr. Coan, who was in America on furlough, with 
 regard to the long years during which he and his chil- 
 dren had lived with. Mr. and Mrs. Coan and their 
 children, while Mrs. Coan was a mother to all, and 
 referring to his new home life, he added : 
 
 One thing that makes it seem uncanny in a way (and 
 this is confidential) is the constant danger I suppose I am 
 living in. The threats are constant and sharp. Every one 
 seems to think that if I were out of the way, the guilty 
 would go free, and therefore I should be put out of the way. 
 I know that God can prevent it if He wishes, and I do 
 not feel a real fear, simply an uneasiness and real dis-
 
 TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST 269 
 
 appointment that I should have such enemies. Yet, as 
 the Syrians from Dasht say, people who are ready to mob 
 arid kill all the time, are not going to have the feeling to 
 think whether they have sometimes been kindly treated, 
 if that means that they must give up their wicked purposes. 
 There is no way of shirking the responsibility of the situa- 
 tion, and even if I were not to do anything, and perhaps if 
 I had not done anything to bring the people to justice, I 
 would, from the very nature of the case, have the credit 
 of it. 
 
 In the fall he wrote to Mr. Clement: 
 
 URUMIA, Sunday evening, September 25th. The last few 
 weeks there have been a few suspicious-looking Kurds prowl- 
 ing about between here and the city, on the road or over 
 the walls, in the orchards along the way. They have stopped 
 a good many people, and have made enquiries regarding 
 our servants. Once they stopped our steward, and then let 
 him go, and again a mountain man in our employ. Four 
 days ago I was told by one of our helpers that a friendly 
 Kurd had told him that they were men who had undertaken 
 to kill me, and that I must be told to be on my guard. 
 I do not know whether it is true or not. This Kurd said 
 they were the Sheikh's men, but I do not much believe that, 
 as there would be no advantage for him to get rid of me, 
 and I am rather useful to him. There is hardly a week but 
 that he writes me, asking for professional advice for him- 
 self and for friends of his, and often to get him this and 
 that thing, which I am able to do. 
 
 So if any one is after me, it is said that it is he, I think, 
 simply as a cover to the men that are about. I reported 
 to the Governor that there were men on the road between 
 here and the city, stopping our men and others, and he 
 replied that he had no horsemen to send out to care for 
 the road, and if it was the Dasht Kurds that are sending 
 their men here, nothing could be done to them but to send 
 an army against them, and that he was not provided with. 
 And so it goes; every little while there is some special 
 scare, and then there is the main trouble all the time without 
 redress. Apart from our case, one that is worse is the con-
 
 270 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 dition of all the Christians of Tergawar. Their lot is just 
 unbearable. 
 
 Meanwhile, he went quietly on with his work. The 
 cholera came again in the fall, and kept him busy. 
 " There is a regular stampede for the cholera anti- 
 toxine," wrote Mrs. Labaree. " The Governor went 
 out twice to the college before he could get up his 
 courage for the ordeal, and finally, at the doctor's 
 house, he called to his servant in the hall, ' Come in, 
 you donkey, and try it first.' The servant protested, 
 * I would rather die,' but the Governor insisted, ' I 
 shall not let you die.' " 
 
 In his report for the year 1904, he wrote : 
 
 The medical work of Urumia Station for the year 1904 
 has been heavier than usual. The following are the statistics 
 for the year: 
 
 Attendance at the dispensaries . . 7727 
 
 Outside office patients .... 3235 
 
 Visits in city and villages . . . 1218 
 
 Hospital patients 574 
 
 12,754 
 
 There have been 574 patients treated during the year in 
 the hospital. These, as in former years, have been from 
 among all classes and conditions of men; from this plain, 
 from the mountains, and from the surrounding countries. 
 One set of men in whose treatment we took a considerable 
 satisfaction, was a company of Kurds. Their home is in 
 one of the wildest gorges of Kurdistan, and the chief of 
 that place, Sutu Beg, holds undisputed sway for a long 
 distance about it. He sent his nephew to me with a letter 
 resembling very closely that which Naaman bore to the 
 King of Israel. It read somewhat as follows: "Now when 
 this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent 
 Kazim, my nephew, to thee, that thou mayest recover him 
 of his troubles. Thou wilt return him soon to me that we
 
 may all rejoice in his recovery, and praise God and thee." 
 Kazim had with him a number of other men of rank and 
 position, all of whom were under treatment. When they 
 were dismissed, they went away in a very happy and grateful 
 frame of mind. A wealthy Kurd and his son, from a dis- 
 trict four days' journey to the south of us, was here for a 
 time last spring, and as he and his men all received speedy 
 cures, they have spread the news of healing in our hospital, 
 and a number have come to us from their district since 
 they returned. One old merchant has just been sent up to 
 us from this Ismail Beg's village, who is over eighty, and 
 has several chronic troubles, and yet he comes, thinking 
 that youth will be restored, in a measure, to him again. From 
 a medical and surgical standpoint, the year has been a very 
 satisfactory one, as so large a proportion of our patients have 
 been greatly helped. 
 
 At the College Commencement we graduated four medical 
 students who had completed their course of four years. This 
 class ranks well with others that have graduated here. All 
 four of the young men, one a Moslem, and the other three 
 Syrians, began practice for themselves as soon as they took 
 diplomas, which I got the Crown Prince to indorse, as well 
 as his chief native doctor, who boasts the title of Loghman-ul- 
 Mamalik, or the Loghman of Kingdoms. One of these young 
 men went to Souj Bulak, a city in the southern part of this 
 Province. While there the cholera epidemic visited the dis- 
 trict, and he was able to be of much service to the inhabi- 
 tants because of his having been invited by the Governor 
 to be his family physician, and having gained his confidence, 
 he was permitted to order such reforms in the sanitary 
 condition of the town as to make it better prepared to resist 
 the disease. The Governor secured for this young man 
 from the Crown Prince the title of " The Illustrious among 
 the Physicians." As I have pointed out at other times, 
 the mission of teaching the medical science to the young 
 men of this nation here, and right here in their homes, is 
 doing a great deal to remove the prejudice that existed on 
 the part of the Mohammedan nobility towards this despised 
 and ignorant class. They find that they are capable of 
 high attainments, and as soon as they acquire this profes- 
 sion they are quick to remunerate them in elevating their
 
 272 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 social position, and taking them as their own confidential 
 medical advisers. 
 
 In the outside medical work we hare had many inter- 
 esting patients. One was a gentleman of high rank from 
 Teheran, who has been governor of two districts in this 
 Province the last three years. He was in need of an opera- 
 tion for cancer, and was advised by the Tabriz physician to 
 come here. He arrived with his wife and large retinue 
 carriage and takhtirawans (litters). He had over one hun- 
 dred horses to move his household. He engaged rooms in 
 the city, where he kept house, and put himself under my 
 care. The operation was successful, and he gave a very 
 handsome feee for my services, according to the estimate 
 of this country. I spent the first night with him, and after 
 that saw him once or twice daily until he recovered com- 
 pletely and was dismissed. All through the first night, and 
 many subsequent ones, he had four or five men sit around 
 his bed that was spread on the floor, as usual, and knead his 
 muscles so that he should sleep. This custom is very com- 
 mon among those who can afford many attendants. I have 
 received almost weekly letters from him since his departure, 
 and he is very grateful. His wife was a very pleasant, re- 
 fined lady, and under treatment also. There have been many 
 cases under my care among the nobility this year, rather 
 more than common, and more than I could well attend, but 
 it has perhaps well paid me for the trouble, because of the 
 influence which I could exert in these homes. . . . An 
 illustration of the other extreme of life was a woman who 
 also came from a distance, leaving her husband and three 
 small children in a pitiable condition with only God above 
 and none below to care for them. The morning she left she 
 covered the children in the stable with the dried manure 
 used to bed the animals, and came away, as she expressed it, 
 with " only Heaven above them, and hell under them, and 
 their stomachs empty." The suffering of the poor sick 
 in this country is most pitiful, and the deaths from these 
 conditions is very heavy, especially among the children. 
 At best the common people have only a charcoal dish under 
 a low table with a spread over the latter, around which they 
 gather, drawing the spread over them as far as it will cover 
 them.
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 273 
 
 Heavy as was his medical work, however, what 
 caused him most care was the responsibility which he 
 was obliged to bear in connection with the efforts of 
 the British and American governments to punish the 
 murderers of Mr. Daniel and Mr. Labaree, and to es- 
 tablish justice. Two British consuls, Mr. Wratislaw 
 of Tabriz, and Captain Gough of Kermanshah, and one 
 American consul, Dr. Norton of Smyrna, were sent to 
 Urumia, and did all that men could do, but after all, 
 the chief burden, of necessity, rested upon Dr. Cochran. 
 He had to sift evidence, and deal with officials, and 
 prepare statements for the consuls and the Legations, 
 and move about freely, in constant exposure to reckless 
 and merciless men. And he could not take it lightly, 
 for the interests that were involved were the interests 
 for which he had given his life, the establishment of 
 righteousness and the protection of the oppressed. The 
 burden was too heavy for him, and it was the heavier 
 because the Dasht Kurds were men for whom he had 
 long worked, and whom he counted among those that 
 he was sent to help. 
 
 His fiftieth birthday came on January 14th, 1905. 
 The peril that lurks at night was near to him. A few 
 days before Dr. Norton reported : 
 
 As but one of numerous warnings communicated during 
 the past few months to the resident Americans, of designs 
 against their lives on the part of the Kurds from adjacent 
 districts, I might adduce the following message brought to 
 me to-day from friendly Syrian Christians of the village 
 of Hashimawa, Mergawar (about nineteen miles from here). 
 These men state that they overheard members of a band of 
 Kurds and Persian outlaws of their district, reporting that 
 they had been watching on the road between the city of 
 Urumia and the American Mission compound (i.e., college 
 and hospital grounds) in order to kill, if they had the
 
 274 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 opportunity, Dr. J. P. Cochran, the resident physician, but 
 that they failed to meet him. They then attempted to enter 
 the college compound. One of the number secured an 
 entrance by night through an aqueduct, and spent some time 
 within the walls, hunting for Dr. Cochran. He successfully 
 dodged the watchman a while, but finally withdrew without 
 accomplishing his purpose, on account of the growing severity 
 of the cold. 
 
 In spite of shadows it was felt that the occasion of 
 his fiftieth birthday ought to be specially noticed, " so 
 all the Station," writes Mrs. Labaree, " the English 
 missionaries, and Dr. Norton, and Captain Gough, 
 gathered quietly in his parlour, and when he came down 
 to a family dinner he found a circle of loving friends 
 who had brought in a bountiful meal and many loving 
 greetings. It was a day of particular trials, when a 
 series of diplomatic complications made our lookout 
 very dark, but according to our custom, the fear and 
 anxieties were set aside for the time being, and we all 
 entered into the pleasure of the occasion. It was the 
 last time that company gathered in the doctor's hos- 
 pitable parlour." 
 
 A week after this, and later in March, Mrs. Labaree 
 wrote in her journal : 
 
 Father Labaree made some calls at the college this 
 P. M., and found that Dr. Cochran has had more informa- 
 tion about the threats of the Kurds against him. Doctor 
 always has the shades drawn at night in whatever room he 
 may be sitting ; one or two of Captain Gough's lancers escort 
 him to and from the city, the entrance to the water courses 
 at the college have been barred, and various precautions 
 have been taken. 
 
 MARCH 21st, 1905. A Tergawar woman, who lives among 
 the Kurds, tells of two bands of them who have come at 
 different times to attack the college and to shed blood.
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST 275 
 
 One band secured a ladder, but found it too short for the 
 high wall, and finally abandoned the attempt, saying the 
 wall was so high that if they got in they could not get 
 out again, 
 
 MARCH 25th. New threats and warnings keep coming 
 down from the Kurds. Dr. Cochran was very strongly 
 warned not to allow a single Kurd to come into the college 
 compound on any pretext whatever, as they might secrete 
 themselves in order to murder some one. He and Dr. Coan 
 called on the Governor to-day, and doctor told him the whole 
 state of affairs, and the Governor said he was listening, and 
 would put all these facts in the " tub of his mind." 
 
 " The pages of my diary," writes Mrs. Labaree, " are 
 full of the dangers and harassing perplexities of those 
 awful months, and of the doctor's wonderful wisdom, 
 courage, and tact. His utter weariness and heart- 
 sickness used to make us who watched him feel fairly 
 faint with fear as to the outcome. One day, some 
 six or eight months after Mr. Labaree's death, doctor 
 went to see a prominent patient, who had come from 
 Tabriz for an operation for cancer, and, on entering the 
 
 room, saw, to his dismay , the man who had plotted 
 
 his death. It was a situation to try the greatest 
 diplomat or the most Christlike character. Dr. 
 Cochran was both, but he suffered intensely during that 
 
 interview when spent his time in Oriental 
 
 flattery, and assured his host that if ever he (the host) 
 had need of any medical aid he would surely find 
 Dr. Cochran the finest and most skilful of physicians. 
 The doctor told his wife that never to his dying day 
 should he get over the thought that his life had been 
 so plotted against, and that another had died in his 
 stead." 
 
 In God's providence, Dr. Cochran was not to die
 
 276 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 at the hands of the Kurds of Dasht. But neither was 
 he to live to see the end of the troubles which had 
 darkened the last two years. The strain of the work 
 and of its burdens was too much for him, and the end 
 came in the midsummer, when the vineyards were rich 
 in fruitage and the wheat fields of the Urumia plain 
 were waving green, and the long rows of poplars along 
 the water courses made a pleasant shade for such men 
 as could think of pleasure where there was only out- 
 rage and oppression. Neither he nor any one else 
 apprehended that the end was near. His letters during 
 the spring deal with the local conditions and the 
 troubles which he longed to see settled, and there is 
 not one reference to any personal danger or to himself. 
 In April he escorted Mrs. Labaree and her two children 
 and his daughter, Lillie, to Tabriz, and on into Russia, 
 on their way home, and then returned to Tabriz on 
 business connected with his unceasing endeavour to 
 have quietness and re-establish order. From Tabriz 
 he wrote: 
 
 TABRIZ, April 26th, 1904. Mrs. Labaree made the journey 
 from Urumia to Tabriz very comfortably on the whole. A 
 week before our party crossed the Aras, a boat load full of 
 Persians were drowned. About fifty of them got into the 
 little boat, and failing to make the island, owing to the 
 swiftness of the current and the weight of the load, the boat 
 was swept out into the channel of the main river. This 
 frightened the passengers, and one of the boatmen had just 
 thrown himself into the river at the lower point of the 
 island with a rope, hoping to make the shore, and to fasten 
 the boat, so all the passengers did the same thing, but the 
 rapid stream bore them down, drowning all that went over- 
 board. Only three were saved. Two of them had remained 
 in the boat, and one of them had made the island. When 
 our party crossed there was a strong wind blowing down 
 the river, and I was very anxious for them because they
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 277 
 
 insisted in putting a number of passengers in the boat, 
 aside from the baggage, and also because they would not 
 accept my suggestion to lay the trunks on the bottom of 
 the boat instead of piling them on top of each other as 
 they did, and then having one man sit on the top one. 
 They almost made the lower point of the island, and had 
 the sailor had his outside clothes off so that he should not 
 be delayed in throwing himself in to carry the painter to the 
 shore they would have made the island easily, but the wind 
 and the current took them past it, out into the open river. 
 It was a moment of the deepest anxiety, but fortunately 
 every one sat perfectly still, and although the boatsides 
 were within six inches of the water the boat was safely 
 driven by the current to the Persian shore again, but far 
 down below the point of departure. After towing it up, 
 we sent the loads over alone, and then only our party, both 
 of which got across safely. Returning, I came in two days, 
 and so was here for Easter. We do not yet know how our 
 travellers fared in Russia, for the trains are irregular, and 
 everything more or less upset. They may be able to take 
 a construction train from a point two stations beyond 
 Nakhchivan, and thus shorten the journey by post. Affairs 
 here are in a bad state. Bread is up to famine prices, and 
 the new Governor is making the effort to procure wheat, 
 purchasing it himself, and selling it to the breadmakers 
 at a much lower rate, so that they can give it to the people 
 at terms that are fairly reasonable. This may make others 
 sell their storehouses of wheat at lower rates. This Gov- 
 ernor is a strong man, and we hope for more peace and 
 quiet on the border, once he gets in full command. The 
 Crown Prince is to be regent in the absence of his father. 
 There is some doubt, however, about the departure to Europe 
 of the Shah. 
 
 is still here. He is hoping to be allowed to return 
 
 to Urumia, but the British government has secured his re- 
 moval from there, and they are not likely to let go until he 
 is banished to Meshed. . . . 
 
 There are two of the implicated chiefs with the Sayid, 
 and a number of the servants of the former in Teheran still. 
 Meanwhile, the Kurds in Urumia are desperate because these 
 are held in the capital, and they are threatening all sorts
 
 278 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 of terrible things. The condition there is quite intolerable, 
 and if they are not to be crushed there is nothing to do but 
 to come to some terms with them. There is almost no hope 
 that a punitive expedition can be undertaken against them, 
 with the present attitude of the government. 
 
 We are planning to return to Urumia by way of the Lake 
 to avoid the necessity of a large and expensive escort. We 
 have asked that a boat be ready on this side two full day's 
 journey from here, on the 5th. We may, by good chance, 
 be on the water only a day or two, or we may be as many 
 as ten. We hope not to be so long on the Lake, for we would 
 starve and perish for want of water. (Urumia Lake is in- 
 tensely salt.) 
 
 I have been kept busy here with calls on the sick and 
 receiving the sick, aside from the time given to other social 
 duties with the consuls and some of the other Euro- 
 peans. . . . 
 
 On arriving here I find Mr. Wratislaw has come to the 
 same conclusion that we had arrived at, independently of 
 him, namely, that since there is every reason to believe 
 that the Kurds are not going to be thoroughly punished, 
 we had better come to some terms with them, for the present 
 condition of affairs in Urumia is intolerable and fraught 
 with danger to all of us and to our people. . . . 
 
 The British government, as you know, have from the first 
 
 insisted upon the removal of . They have succeeded, 
 
 after a year's effort, in getting him driven out of Urumia. 
 He is here in Tabriz, and thoroughly humbled. The two 
 leading mujtahids of this place have sent a telegram to the 
 King and the Crown Prince, begging that he be released 
 
 and be allowed to return to his home. does not hope 
 
 for much from this. He is at a large expense daily, and 
 is commanded by the Governor-General to go on to Teheran. 
 Mr. Wratislaw now tells me that he has reason to believe 
 that the Legations will not succeed in keeping him away 
 from Urumia long, and asks if we had not better intercede 
 in his behalf, and let him go back from here. We proposed 
 this at one time when we feared that he would be taken to 
 the capital and then allowed to return in a spirit to do 
 much worse for us than if he had not gone, but Mr. Wratis- 
 law would not listen to it. We in Urumia feel that we
 
 TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 279 
 
 had much better appear to be the ones to get him pardoned 
 and returned from here than to have him secure his return 
 in any other way. I have been asked, therefore, to stay on 
 here another week until we shall get instructions from the 
 British Legation, and if it seems best still to do so, to give 
 him the opportunity to come to the British consulate, and 
 in the presence of other Persians, make his apologies and 
 promises, and I will intercede in his behalf in a formal way, 
 and we will let him return to Urumia. At first glance this 
 all may appear like receiving much less than the original 
 demands. It is less, but it is better than to get nothing 
 more, and to leave matters in a very unsatisfactory con- 
 dition. At the same time, much has been done. The Sayid 
 is in prison, two noted chiefs who have had much to do 
 with the murder or the affairs connected with it ever since 
 that event are also under arrest in Teheran; this very in- 
 fluential man has been removed from Urumia, notwithstand- 
 ing the fact that every effort has been put forth to save 
 him by his people and by the Crown Prince, and a large 
 indemnity has been paid over, and the late Governor has 
 been dismissed, and is now an exile. . . . 
 
 Unless the Legations are going to undertake to keep 
 
 away for a long time, it is better for us to step in and act 
 as mediators. He is well aware now that there is another 
 power beside Russia and Turkey and Persia that he must 
 consider when he acts too independently. He is here with 
 about fifty men, and their daily expense is heavy, and they 
 are out of funds, while he is not making anything, of course. 
 I have, at the consul's suggestion, let Majd-i-Sultaneh in- 
 form him that I am trying to get the consul to pardon his 
 offence and to let him return from here, at the same time 
 that the British Legation must be consulted, and that it 
 will take some time, and it will also depend, of course, on 
 the assurances of being friendly, and of his making apologies 
 at the consulate, etc. . . . 
 
 URUMIA, July 17th. To the American Minister. I have 
 the great pleasure to be able to report that the condition of 
 things in and about Urumia has changed very materially 
 the past two months since the arrival of this Governor. 
 He has his cavalry out on the different roads day and night,
 
 280 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 and wherever a robbery is committed he follows it right up, 
 and punishes the culprits, returning the stolen goods, or 
 herds, or cattle. He has given written orders to many vil- 
 lages along the Kurdish border to kill without hesitation 
 any Kurds who enter the villages as thieves or robbers, and 
 that he will give those doing this a large reward. He has 
 repeatedly sent threats to the Dasht Kurdish chiefs, and has 
 several times punished their servants. Since we returned 
 from Tabriz, none of these chiefs have dared to come near 
 the city, and it is seldom that their servants are seen. The 
 recent execution of Jaffar Agha, the noted highway robber 
 and plunderer of Salmas, one of the Shekoik chiefs, although 
 done in a most bungling manner, has had a good effect 
 upon the Kurds of the whole border. The quiet we are en- 
 joying now is another proof that any strong Governor, if 
 he be allowed to do so, can with very little outside help keep 
 the Kurds under control if he chooses to do so. The only 
 force at the Governor's command, outside his own servants, 
 are seventy-five horsemen. 
 
 At this time he wrote his last hospital report, not 
 summarizing the year's work for the year was not 
 completed but drawing pictures of a few of the cases 
 which he had under his care: 
 
 JULY 10th, 1905. Just now we have in the hospital one of 
 the noted cavalry officers of the Province of Azerbaijan. He, 
 with his retinue of companions and servants, occupy three 
 rooms devoted to them, while a little kitchen is given up 
 to the use of his cooks. He is the chief of a tribe of brave 
 people, Mohammedans, liring five days' journey to the south 
 of us. His people are taxed by requiring of them 350 
 horsemen to be ready at the command of the government 
 for any service demanded of them in the Province or outside 
 of it. The people of his tribe can easily call 1,000 good 
 horsemen, well armed, to war at any time. He is suffering 
 from articular rheumatism. His mullah, or ecclesiastical 
 adviser, is also under treatment, as is his brother-in-law. 
 So, too, most of his seven servants, who are always with 
 him, are taking medicine for slight troubles. His horses we 
 could not accommodate, so the hostlers keep them in town,
 
 TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 281 
 
 and they are brought out every day or two for this general 
 to take a slow ride about the country. He, with most of 
 his retinue, came into church last Sunday, and we have 
 the chance to talk to him and his people a great deal about 
 our religion and Christ as the Saviour of the world. 
 
 Another case, from a very different class of society, is a 
 Kurd and his son three years old. The father requires an 
 operation on his eyes ; his son had stone in the bladder, which 
 I have removed. This couple came from a long way off, too. 
 The father felt that it was a very risky business to commit 
 himself and his son to a foreign doctor, but both had 
 suffered so much, and his son especially had been so great 
 a burden day and night to his parents^ that they decided 
 that I could not " any more than kill them anyway," and 
 so he came here. He is one of the most grateful and happy 
 patients I have ever had, for he is already helped by medi- 
 cine, and he sees, almost for the first time in a year, his son 
 absolutely comfortable. He says he will bring his son back 
 to be a Christian, and if we will accept him, too, he wishes 
 to belong to our faith and to share the blessings which he 
 finds to be the inheritance of Christians. 
 
 There are two Kurds here who have just undergone 
 operations for cataract. They are both from Erbil, near 
 ancient Nineveh, and the modern city on the ruins of 
 Arbela, where Alexander last met the Persian armies. 
 Each of these came by a different route, and each brought 
 a man to be eyes for him. One of them, a well-to-do man, 
 first visited the nearest preacher we have to his home, and 
 got a letter to me from him. Then he travelled eight days 
 more, or eleven from Erbil, to the seat of the Christian 
 Patriarch, and there got him to write me a letter, asking 
 me to do what I could for him, and finally he visited a 
 noted Kurd not far from here, and brought the last letter 
 from him ; and so, armed with these documents, he presented 
 himself to me in true Oriental style of doing work through 
 intermediaries. The other man had a longer and harder 
 journey, was robbed twice by other Kurds, and several 
 times travelled by night, and hid with his companions by 
 day in the rocks on the moutains. Both will have their eye- 
 sight restored, so that they say they are already able to 
 forget all the trials and perils of the long way.
 
 282 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 One Nestorian came to us so seriously wounded that we 
 did not think that he had long to remain in this world. 
 He was returning from Russia in a large company of 
 Christians, and had come to within thirty miles of home 
 when the caravan was stopped by government guards who 
 demanded money of them for safe transit. The guards were 
 very rough, and took large sums of money from many of 
 them. When one of them demanded a larger sum of this 
 man he made objections, and, without further delay, the 
 guard raised his rifle and shot him, the ball passing into 
 the body at the armpit, and passing through the trunk, 
 made its exit through the lowest rib on the opposite side. 
 This man, after a long and weary period, recovered. 
 
 There are three men, Mohammedans, who have come from 
 a Province seven days' journey from us. Two of them are 
 almost blind, with old neglected diseases, and have stumbled 
 along, barefooted, knocking against nearly all the stones 
 on the road, one would think from the condition of their 
 feet. The third insists that he swallowed a large snake 
 whose colour and size he describes minutely, and says he 
 has as his witnesses the whole population of his village 
 who came out to see the calamity when the snake was half 
 way in. He says the majority advised him to swallow him 
 rather than to pull him out. I have at last made him be- 
 lieve that he has more snakes in his head than in his 
 stomach, and so he is cheerful now, and likely to go back 
 soon in good condition. 
 
 Another Mohammedan, a lad sixteen years old, has had 
 to have his arm amputated near the shoulder. He was herd- 
 ing the village cattle with his father, and was carelessly 
 sitting on the back of a buffalo when the animal took 
 fright and he fell off, hitting a stone, which broke his arm. 
 The village bonesetter put it up, but bound it so tightly 
 that gangrene set in, and the whole arm was destroyed, 
 necessitating its amputation. We have four or five very 
 serious cases in the hospital, all of them the result of the 
 practice of these ignorant and rough bonesetters. One a 
 disorganized knee-joint; another a destroyed elbow-joint; a 
 third is seriously injured below the knee. 
 
 There is a station of cavalry not far from our hospital, 
 from which one of the men has come to us with an eye
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 283 
 
 trouble that has required an operation on it. This man has 
 to go daily to see whether his horse is cared for by his 
 companions. None of these men are paid anything by the 
 government, either for their own food or for the keep of 
 their horses, except at long intervals, so that they are forced 
 to forage for themselves. Our patient says that we have 
 made him very uncomfortable in helping himself to clover 
 for his horse, and in forcibly taking cherries and mulberries 
 and cucumbers from those who are raising them around here, 
 and yet what can he do? All that he brought with him of 
 food and money has been used up, and there are no pros- 
 pects of getting anything from the government. So often 
 the soldiers of this country are merely legalized robbers, 
 because they are not cared for by the government 1 
 
 This man has promised not to molest any of the neigh- 
 bours in our vicinity, but he says we must not make him 
 promise to keep all of his men out of the fields and orchards 
 that are at some distance from us. In the women's wards 
 there are diseases of all kinds, and the patients have come 
 from near and far. There are Armenians and Kurds and 
 Nestorians at present. One woman is under treatment who 
 has been in her distant village ever since she was married, 
 immediately after graduating from our Mission Seminary 
 in the second graduating class. She, too, has just been 
 operated on for cataract, and I hope she will get good 
 enough sight to enable her to read the Scriptures to her 
 neighbours, as she has done all these years. 
 
 His last letter to the Board was written on July 
 24th, 1905: 
 
 The hospital is booming, and has been ever since our 
 return from Tabriz, to make up for the absence. The 
 schools and higher institutions have all had their closing 
 exercises, all but the Moslem school, which closes this week. 
 We have just purchased a yard for this promising institu- 
 tion with the money given by Mrs. Labaree. 
 
 To-night the great Sheikh Mohammed Sadik of Nochea, 
 Turkey, has sent his daughter and another lady of high 
 rank to the hospital. I have been treating them unsatis- 
 factorily by correspondence.
 
 284 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 The same day he wrote to Mr. Wratislaw: 
 
 The Prince is doing splendidly as a Governor, better 
 than he ever did before, and the country, as a whole, is 
 in a more quiet condition than it has been for a long time. 
 We see nothing of the Dasht Kurds, either the chiefs or 
 their servants. They are chased beyond the borders of 
 Urumia proper whenever his men know of their being 
 around. He has punished severely a number of their serv- 
 ants, and has demanded and secured, also, stolen property 
 that any of them has dared to take. So everywhere his men 
 are on the watch for robbers and thieves, and the country 
 is remarkably safe and quiet. It is as different from the 
 condition of things when he arrived as can be. 
 
 Thursday last, on a pretence, the Jews were attacked in 
 their shops and home, and the bazars closed at the instiga- 
 tion of three of the rather less notorious mullahs. Imme- 
 diately on hearing of it, the Prince mounted a horse, and 
 with such men as were at hand, galloped to the bazar, 
 demanded that the bazars be reopened, promised protection 
 to the Jews, and proclaimed himself alone the Governor 
 of the town. By the new telephone lines all over the city, 
 he ordered out all the prominent military officers with the 
 men they could rally to patrol the bazars and the Jewish 
 quarter, and to make themselves seen of all for a couple 
 of hours or longer. 
 
 I was at the Bala Mujtahid's when the Governor came 
 into the bazars, and later I saw every one of our chief 
 officers, each with his retinue of men, and with them the 
 100 Chardowli cavalry, who are stationed between the city 
 and our premises out here, parading the disturbed portions 
 of the town. 
 
 I have seen many such closures of the bazars, but I have 
 never witnessed a Governor act so promptly and energetically, 
 and quiet the trouble so quickly. There are soldiers sta- 
 tioned throughout the Christian and Jewish quarters. Fri- 
 day night, after bedtime, when no one was suspecting, he 
 visited all the patrol stations in person. 
 
 These letters were written three days after his last 
 illness had begun. On July 21st, 1905, after a delight-
 
 TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 285 
 
 ful Communion Service among the missionaries, he 
 spoke of having a fever and terrible aching. For sev- 
 eral days he would pay no attention to it, for he had 
 a very serious case of typhoid fever under his care, 
 one of the leading Mohammedan ecclesiastics of the 
 city. Under his firm sense of duty he insisted on going 
 into the city each day to see his patient, the Bala 
 Mujtahid, until he fell in a faint in his yard, and was 
 compelled to give up. Even then he declined any med- 
 ical assistance. He said, with a smile, that he would 
 look after himself until he lost his senses, and then 
 others might be called. He diagnosed his complaint as 
 " break-bone fever," and felt certain that it would not 
 be typhoid. But he grew worse, and at the end of a 
 fortnight the available physicians declared that it must 
 be typhoid. Only then he consented to the Station's 
 telegraphing to Tabriz for Dr. Vanneman. Dr. Van- 
 neman did not delay an instant, but came through with 
 the mail wagon in two days, and took charge of the 
 case. All that skill and care could do was done, and 
 on August 13th the fever was gone, and there was some 
 hope of his recovery, although he himself foresaw what 
 the end must be. It is no exaggeration to say that the 
 whole of Urumia, plain and city, with its Moslem and 
 Christian people alike, were hoping and praying for 
 him. On the day that the fever broke, Dr. Coan 
 wrote : 
 
 Nothing has so strongly brought out the force of his 
 character, and the universal esteem in which this most re- 
 markable man is held as this illness. One can say, without 
 fear of exaggeration, that the whole plain of Urumia is at 
 present plunged into deepest grief and solicitude, and that 
 scarcely anything else is talked of than his sickness. Last 
 Sunday nearly all of our congregations gave up their regular 
 services, and with strong supplications and weeping, plead
 
 286 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 with God for his life. Everywhere, all over this plain, Mos- 
 lems as well as Christians are begging to spare his life. 
 Our servant came from the bazars yesterday, and said that 
 he was everywhere stopped by merchants and traders 
 Moslems who most anxiously inquired for the " Hakim 
 Bashi's" health. Some, with tears in their eyes, said, 
 " Would that God would take us and spare him." 
 
 Last week an unprecedented rain and hail storm came up, 
 destroying thousands of dollars' worth of crops. The to- 
 bacco fields and vegetable gardens, orchards, and vineyards 
 that lay in its track were left completely ruined. As some 
 were commiserated with on their losses, they said, " That is 
 nothing; may all our fields and crops be a sacrifice to God 
 if only He will spare our doctor." It is really marvellous 
 what a hold this quiet, undemonstrative man has on this 
 whole country. . . . 
 
 To face the terrible calamity of his possible death has 
 shown us as never before what the man has been in God's 
 providence to this country and its people. 
 
 And Mrs. Cochran wrote: 
 
 It is touching to see how deeply all classes feel concerned 
 in his illness. From the Governor, who sends a messenger 
 three times a day to inquire, down to the poorest Moslem, 
 who brings a basket of his first fruits of grapes or peaches, 
 all come to show sympathy and love. 
 
 A little boy in the hospital says repeatedly, if only he and 
 his mother who is attending him could die in place of the 
 Hakim Sahib, he would be happy. 
 
 Another said to me, " Would that the whole Syrian nation 
 should die rather than the Hakim Sahib." Some one ex- 
 pressed such a sentiment to the doctor's son, Joseph, and he 
 replied practically, "Why should he live if they died? For 
 whom would he work ? " 
 
 The two little girls of Dr. Pera, the native assistant 
 of the hospital, were seen by their mother in a corner of 
 the room, sobbing and acting rather strangely. She asked 
 them what they were doing, and they said, "Praying for 
 the Hakim Sahib to get well."
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 287 
 
 But he was not to get well. The fever had gone, 
 but his heart and other organs had borne too great 
 a strain. The hard work and overwhelming burdens 
 that he had carried, work and burdens that he could 
 not do and bear perfunctorily, but that ate into his 
 life, had sapped his vitality, and he grew weaker, 
 mercifully without pain, until at three o'clock on the 
 morning of August 18th, 1905, the true soul went 
 quietly to its reward. In the days of his delirium he 
 had often been thinking of the Kurds, and once he 
 spoke about Heaven, and added, " And there will be 
 no Kurds there." In the land to which he was going, 
 he was thinking, " the wicked cease from troubling, 
 and the weary are at rest." He would be beyond all 
 Kurdish plots and hatreds and fears then. But there 
 were Kurds there, some of them waiting for him to 
 welcome him whither he had guided them. 
 
 " Two wives of a nobleman have called upon me," 
 wrote Mrs. Cochran, " dressed in mourning for Joe, 
 and told me that all the Moslems in the city were 
 wearing mourning for him. The Syrians wept day and 
 night, and held memorial services in their churches, as 
 they had before held special services of prayer, and 
 many had fasted and prayed for days before, that his 
 life might be spared. A rugged Kurd came yesterday, 
 saying if the sahibs were not here he must see me, 
 and he wept with sobs that shake a strong man's frame, 
 and told how on one hand he had saved his life, and 
 on the other he had saved his soul. He had worked 
 three years over him in the hospital for a wound he 
 had, and while here he had been converted." 
 
 All the Moslems were not, of course, wearing mourn- 
 ing for him, but to say that sorrow filled the whole city 
 and plain is to speak soberly.
 
 288 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 For days [wrote the Rev. R. M. Labaree, who had re- 
 signed his church in America to come out to take his 
 brother's place] the Governor and the principal men of 
 TJrumia had been sending around men to inquire as to his 
 condition; missionaries, and every one connected with us 
 were repeatedly stopped in the streets by total strangers to 
 be asked in regard to him. That night all the people in 
 the college yards assembled about the house, weeping, and 
 slipped up quietly to get one more glimpse of the face they 
 loved so well as he lay on his bed unconsciously breathing 
 out his life. And when the end came every one felt in all 
 this city that he had lost a personal friend and this in 
 every walk of life, from the Governor, who burst into tears 
 on hearing the news, to the poorest beggar, two of whom on 
 the day of the funeral threw themselves upon the ground 
 at the foot of the casket, and in true Oriental fashion beat 
 their heads upon the ground until they were forcibly re- 
 moved. It was this sense of personal loss on the part of 
 hundreds of every nationality and grade of life that was to 
 me the most impressive thing that I ever encountered at a 
 funeral service. What sort of man was this that could so 
 impress himself upon high and low, upon Nestorian of 
 every form of faith, upon Persian, Armenian, Jew, and 
 even Kurd, as his own personal friend. And I could not 
 but think how cheap would have been the reputation and 
 wealth that doctor could have easily attained in the home- 
 land compared with the love and the trust and the almost 
 worship that he has won here in Persia. 
 
 The funeral services were held at the college and 
 hospital compound, without the city. After a simple, 
 private service in the house, the body was borne by 
 six of his former medical pupils, now men of influence 
 in the community, down the long avenue of trees 
 toward the lower garden gate, where a platform had 
 been erected. All ostentation was avoided. Every- 
 thing was in the same modest and undemonstrative 
 spirit characteristic of his life, though it was not easy
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 289 
 
 to restrain the Oriental expressions natural to the 
 people. 
 
 But [wrote one of the new missionaries, Miss Mary 
 Fleming, now Mrs. R. M. Labaree, who had been graduated 
 at Vassar in 1902, and had gone out in 1904 to Persia] what 
 a service of tribute it was, that service of honour to the 
 almost worshipped " Hakim Sahib." There was singing, 
 prayer by Dr. Labaree, Scripture-reading by our chief Kasha, 
 and a glowing address on ministering, and Dr. Cochran as a 
 minister, by Mr. Shedd, followed by words of love and praise 
 and sorrow from three Kashas, two doctors, a member of the 
 English Mission, Mar Eleeya, bishop of the Russians, and 
 Mar Tuma, bishop of the Chaldeans. 
 
 What a tribute, and what a scene! The avenue of white- 
 pillared sycamores arching sixty feet overhead, the sobbing 
 men, women, and children the central mass Syrians, the 
 women in white or black head-dresses, the men bareheaded, 
 grave; near the platform, the Russian ecclesiastics in black 
 robes, towering black hats, with beads in hand, and chains, 
 and holy pictures around their necks; and the Chaldeans, 
 the underlings in white, the chief in a black cerise-bordered 
 robe and broad purple girdle. Around the edge was a crowd 
 of rugged Christians, Moslems, mountaineers, and Kurds, and 
 on the Shedd balcony the Russian consul, telegrapher, chief 
 of post and customs, and Persian noblemen. 
 
 At the close of the two hours' service the body, surrounded 
 by chanting men, according to the Syrian custom, was borne 
 back in front of the house, where the people who had trudged 
 from all over the plain to honour the dead were allowed to 
 file by for a last look at the face of their "father, Hakim 
 Sahib." 
 
 While this was being done, we all went to Mrs. Coan's 
 home for a bite of lunch to sustain us for the ten miles of 
 ride to and from Seir, where the doctor was to be laid to 
 rest in the little Mission graveyard on the mountainside. 
 At last we set out, and you can imagine the four carriages, 
 headed by Dr. Coan's carriage bearing the body, curving by 
 the college wall, driving down the stony river bed, splashing 
 through the channels, then turning into the Seir road, and 
 after a long, straight stretch, winding up through the foot-
 
 290 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 hills and up the long last slope to the village. But we were 
 not alone the Russian consul with his Cossacks, and some 
 Persian gentlemen rode halfway, until, with thanks for 
 their courtesy, they were urged to return; and there were 
 guards from the Prince-Governor, representatives of Moslem 
 lords, and our own people a hundred horsemen in all. And 
 then when we got up to Hyderlui, the whole village 
 streamed over the mountainside to line the road, and the 
 weeping Seir people came down to escort the remains of 
 him they loved, flocking along in groups and lines, but the 
 majority massing themselves around the " Hakim Sahib's " 
 carriage. 
 
 At length we got to the village, and the sobbing people 
 pressed around so that the few minutes that were taken 
 to bear the casket from the carriage and up to us on the 
 rough path seemed endless. But all too soon we were gath- 
 ered around the open grave, and after it was sealed the same 
 dear words of hope and comfort that lay away our dead 
 at home were pronounced the same dear words, though they 
 were in Syriac. Then, with Mrs. Cochran and the boys 
 first, we lined up to have our " heads healed," and several 
 hundred men and women filed by, shaking hands, and mur- 
 muring " Rishokhon hawi basseemi " (May you be com- 
 forted), literally, "May your head be healed!" and all 
 we could do for Dr. Cochran had come to an end. 
 
 After a short delay we drove down to the college, where 
 all was strangely quiet and empty as the house itself for 
 the 700 people who had had dinner in our absence had all 
 departed, and those who had ridden up with us had remained 
 at Seir for the dinner which had been provided for them- 
 selves and their horses. 
 
 I could not pretend to gather up for you the innumerable 
 words of love and praise that come to us these days about 
 our beloved physician; but a great wail is going up from 
 high and low. When the Prince-Governor was told he re- 
 plied to our Mirza, " It is not the sahibs, but I, that am to 
 be condoled with." 
 
 The place he had filled, and the esteem in which he 
 was held among the Nestorians were described by the
 
 " TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 291 
 
 Rev. I. M. Yonan in his address at the funeral service. 
 He spoke in the large way of the East and under the 
 shadow of the doctor's death, but what he said had 
 truth in it: 
 
 My friends, the glory of Urumia has departed with the 
 departure of Joseph P. Cochran. The splendour, the orna- 
 ment of the country is gone, since the greatest, the saintliest 
 man who ever lived in it has gone forever. 
 
 Our last year has been a year of plagues, sickness, and 
 sorrow, but these are like a gentle evening shadow compared 
 with this last sorrow that God has inflicted upon our people, 
 for in taking away from us the man who was a refuge to 
 our persecuted, a shelter to our afflicted, the healer of our 
 sick, and the father of our orphans, we are left desolate and 
 hopeless. . . . 
 
 I wish to speak of him as a true and great man, who has 
 been and ever will remain a worthy ideal to all the young 
 men of Persia. 
 
 He had three characteristics that shone like three bright 
 and lustrous stars in the firmament of his life. First, he 
 was a just man, true and honest to his God, his fellowmen, 
 and himself. His determination was to do right at any 
 cost. He sacrificed expediency to truth. He crowned his 
 conscience as the sovereign of his soul. 
 
 Being a just man he had no cause for fear. In times 
 of adversity or peace he stood against every form of evil 
 that raged about him, as immovable as Gibraltar. Being 
 always an uncompromising hater of wrong and an ardent 
 lover of right, people looked upon him as a tower of strength 
 in our Church and society. 
 
 But it is not enough to be strong and stiff. Ice is strong 
 but cold and cruel. His heart was full of mercy and grace. 
 With his majestic justice was combined the tenderness of 
 mercy. His tears flowed with all who wept. He mourned 
 with the mourners. 
 
 His great heart thrilled with sympathy toward those who 
 were persecuted and wronged in the hands of cruel tyrants. 
 
 He healed our sick and soothed our pains. 
 
 He fed our hungry and helped our poor.
 
 292 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 He forgave his enemies, and prayed for those who hated 
 him and sought to take his life. 
 
 He loved his fellowmen with the tender love of a woman, 
 and, like his Lord, he went about doing good all his life. 
 
 He was the salt of the earth and a shining light among 
 men. Christ was in him, and he lived and manifested 
 Christ in his every word and deed. In these mighty prin- 
 ciples he perfected himself a holy temple, a pure sanctuary 
 where God was to be worshipped and honoured evermore. 
 
 My friends! Dr. Cochran is gone! And he will never 
 return! We feel bowed down, distressed, and discouraged. 
 What shall we do? There is only one thing we ought to do, 
 and that is to have faith in God and in an all-wise Providence, 
 and to pray earnestly that the mantle of Elijah should fall 
 upon an Elisha who will come forth to fill the vacant place. 
 
 Other warm-hearted friends among the Nestorians 
 wrote their estimates to Mr. Clement and to others, 
 speaking after the free and figurative fashion of the 
 Orient : 
 
 He was more than Nehemiah for our people [wrote Kasha 
 Eshoo]. I do not believe that America for a thousand years 
 hereafter can send us a man like Dr. Cochran to be able to 
 fill his place. 
 
 Dr. Cochran was one and the only one in this generation 
 [wrote Mr. John Mooshie]. One of the greatest testimonies 
 given to-day about him was that he was the greatest diplomat 
 that ever came to Persia from a foreign country. No Amer- 
 ican or any other foreigner ever knew Persian " forms and 
 fables," no one ever had such influence over the kings and 
 governors. In all his career, it has never been known in any 
 instance that his word or request was refused from the gov- 
 ernment side. I must not and cannot speak any longer; his 
 death was a very, very untimely one. We never dreamed of 
 his death; we often feared his assassination by his Kurdish 
 enemies, but to die of a natural death, it was far from our 
 expectation. 
 
 And it was not only Christians and Moslem political 
 officials who mourned him. The most influential Mos-
 
 TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES REST " 293 
 
 lem preacher in Urumia at the time, and also one of 
 the most zealous of the mullahs in the city, was Mirza 
 Abdul Kazim Agha. He spoke openly and repeatedly 
 in eulogy of the doctor, not only in various companies, 
 but publicly in the mosque, praising his virtues, and 
 declaring that even from the religious point of view 
 he was to be admired as a believer in the divine unity. 
 His missionary associates knew him best, however. 
 
 I do not think it is possible for any one who has not 
 lived in Urumia [wrote Arthur Longden of the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury's Mission] to realize what Dr. Cochran's death 
 means and will mean to all the Europeans there as well as 
 to the natives. . . . 
 
 It was not, however, until we travelled together that I 
 realized fully the truth of the statements I had often heard 
 of his great unselfishness and continuous desire to give him- 
 self up to the consideration of others. 
 
 I am absolutely unable to express my feelings of sorrow, 
 but I do know what lessons I have to learn from contempla- 
 tion of his life of self-sacrifice. 
 
 One of his own Mission, whose judgment was calm 
 and careful, pronounced him to have been the noblest 
 character he had ever met, and another who had lived 
 in relations of peculiar intimacy and testing with him 
 for many years, declared, " He was the most perfect, 
 Christlike man I ever knew." At its Annual Meeting 
 in the fall, the whole Mission placed on record its 
 measured estimate of his influence and character. 
 
 It has been many years since this Mission has had to 
 record the death of a medical missionary. In the death of 
 Dr. Cochran, the Mission has lost its most influential mem- 
 ber. We have not known or heard of any other foreigner 
 whose loss has been so widely and deeply mourned in this 
 country. Dr. Cochran was well known all over northern 
 Persia, and many people came to him from far beyond
 
 294 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 middle Persia, eastern Turkey, and southern Russia. In 
 these regions there are many hearts who are sad at the loss 
 of one to whom they always looked in time of illness. 
 
 Dr. Cochran had a combination of qualities which it will 
 be hardly possible again to find combined in any one man. 
 Born in TJrumia, he could speak three languages, Syriac, 
 Turkish, and Persian. He knew better than any other the 
 customs of the people, and along with his Western educa- 
 tion, had combined the politeness and grace of the East. 
 His skill as a physician and surgeon would have given him 
 fame in any land, and he was especially beloved in this 
 country for his loving help to thousands. 
 
 His hatred of oppression and love of the people led him 
 to become their intercessor between themselves and their 
 masters, and between themselves and the government. In 
 this position he was highly respected by the Persian govern- 
 ment and adored by the Syrian people. The amount of good 
 he did in this line alone was very great, and probably much 
 more than we realize. Yet, with all this work upon him, 
 he never lost sight of the chief aim of the missionary cause. 
 His personal work with the people he spoke of very little, 
 but we know he had an earnest and active spiritual interest 
 in all those with whom he came in contact. 
 
 Personally, we shall miss more and more his lovely char- 
 acter, his warm friendship, and his deep interest in us all. 
 We can learn much from his life, his tact, his superior 
 judgment, his great patience, and his devotion to duty. Dr. 
 Cochran's life was a life of devoted service. " Well done, 
 good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful orer a 
 few things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
 
 AS A PEACE MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 
 
 IT is doubtful if any other missionary of modern 
 times, outside of Africa or the South Seas, with 
 their primitive tribes, has won a more interesting 
 position in the political life of the people than came, 
 unsought, to Dr. Cochran. Born in the country, speak- 
 ing the three languages of the people as fluently and 
 beautifully as the people themselves, with an intimate 
 and sympathetic knowledge of all the races, their con- 
 ditions, their customs, their social and political rela- 
 tians, and with a skill at race diagnosis which brought 
 him into touch with their inner life, their modes and 
 currents of thought and motives of action, their ideals, 
 their prejudices, the secret springs of their racial, 
 social, and religious consciousness, possessing a mind 
 of exceptional powers of observation and receptivity, 
 and with a thorough practical training, he began his 
 work at the age of twenty-three. His work lay pri- 
 marily among the Christian people, but it reached out 
 to the Persian on one side, and the Kurd on the other, 
 at whose hands the Christian was ever subject to op- 
 pression and outrage. The role of mediator was, in 
 consequence, early forced upon the American physician 
 whose professional skill and kindness of heart were 
 quickly recognized, and whose services were freely 
 given to all comers without distinction of station or 
 creed. 
 
 395
 
 296 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 The influence he soon gained over men of every class 
 was marvellous, an influence always exerted to allay 
 strife, to right wrong, and to promote good will among 
 men. The peasants looked to him as a friend ever 
 ready to help: he had won the respect and the favour 
 of the mullahs and the mujtahids, while the village pro- 
 prietors, the local rulers, and the predatory Kurds 
 loved, and yet feared him; for his influence grew with 
 the years and, in restraining injustice and exactions, 
 was felt in places of highest authority in the land. It 
 was well understood that he was both a careful and 
 acute observer, and an incorruptible and fearless wit- 
 ness. 
 
 The Governor-General of Azerbaijan at one time 
 asked him to assist in bringing about an interview 
 which he was trying to arrange with an enemy, a noted 
 Kurdish chief, saying that he was ready to take an oath 
 on the Koran to give him safe conduct. " But I would 
 not trust your oath," was the doctor's frank reply. 
 " As soon as you got him in your power you would kill 
 
 him as you killed ." The Governor did not press 
 
 the matter further. 
 
 I was with him once in a little village where a nest 
 of robbers lived. The morning we left, among those 
 who came to say good-bye was the head of the band. 
 The doctor, who was a man of slight stature, looked 
 him steadily in the eyes, and in his calm, even voice, 
 told him in the plainest terms what sort of man he 
 was, and what he thought of him. The Moslems ad- 
 mired a man who could not be intimidated and who 
 was not afraid to speak truth to any man. 
 
 An old tyrannical Governor, who was several times 
 appointed to the district of Urumia, knew how to keep 
 the district in order by his stern measures. A few
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 297 
 
 noses and ears lopped off, and a throat or two cut in 
 the early months of his governorship served as a suffi- 
 cient warning to evil-doers, who kept out of the way 
 thereafter. When the gentlemen of the Station called 
 on this Governor, they were amused to see the servant 
 insert the long stem of the water pipe into the mouth 
 of his indolent Excellency, and take it out at the 
 proper moment, and were startled to hear him swear 
 violently if the servant did not drive the fly off his 
 nose. Everything had to be done for him, and when 
 a violent attack of rheumatism laid him low, life was 
 not worth living for his attendants. Dr. Cochran 
 was in great and constant demand at this juncture, 
 and had to traverse the long distance from his hospital 
 to the palace at least twice a day to attend his unruly 
 patient, whom the missionaries dubbed, " Doctor's 
 Baby." Finally the patient had improved to such an 
 extent that the doctor ordered him out for a drive, 
 an order that was not heeded. One day, the doctor 
 being very busy with operations at the hospital, and 
 knowing that his presence was entirely unnecessary, 
 postponed his call until the latter part of the after- 
 noon. As he entered the large reception room he saw 
 it was filled with callers, noblemen and wealthy sub- 
 jects who were paying their respects to the Governor. 
 The doctor's entrance was the signal for a perfect 
 tirade from his angry patient. " What sort of a doctor 
 is this who comes to see a sick man at this time of 
 day?" etc., etc., with impolite interjections to his at- 
 tendants. Dr. Cochran stood calmly waiting until the 
 torrent of abuse had spent itself, then said with his 
 own unequalled dignity, " I did not come to-day as a 
 physician, but to say farewell. No one is a patient of 
 mine who does not obey my orders, and I understand
 
 298 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 you have not taken a drive, so I bid you good-bye." 
 There was an awful silence, for no person present had 
 ever heard an Oriental despot addressed in such 
 fashion, and what the consequence might be could not 
 be predicted. Suddenly the Governor burst out into 
 a hearty laugh in which all present gladly joined, 
 and the scene ended with a drive in the state 
 carriage, the doctor and the Governor sitting side 
 by side and attended by large numbers of mounted 
 retainers. 
 
 He became the great character of the city and of 
 western Persia. A Moslem lady of high rank in Uru- 
 mia once remarked, as he was starting away, " We al- 
 ways feel that the city is perfectly safe when Dr. 
 Cochran is here." In 1887 Mrs. Cochran wrote: 
 
 AUGUST 4th, While Joe was visiting the Governor the 
 other day, the Governor asked him if he could not help 
 him to find a way to catch Hessu. I think I have written 
 you about that dangerous Kurd, who infests the mountains 
 with his band, and whom the Persian army have been trying 
 to take all the year past. The Governor said, " If the King 
 disgraced and fined a Prince, a son of Fath-ali-Shah, for not 
 taking Hessu and quieting the border, what may not I ex- 
 pect at his hands? You, Hakim-bashi, are wise and well 
 acquainted with the ways of this country; now help me 
 out of this dilemma." Joe suggested that it was no way 
 to catch such a man to send a whole army to sit and watch 
 him. While they were waiting in camp, Hessu came down 
 behind them, robbing on the plain. He asked him why he 
 did not offer a reward to single persons here and there to go 
 and kill him. There is no doubt that the earth should be 
 rid of a creature like Hessu, who robs and kills at his will. 
 The Governor said he had offered a reward, but no one be- 
 lieved that he would really get the money, and would run 
 no risk for it. Then he said to Joe, " You take the money. 
 I will count it out to you now 500 tomans and tell the 
 people they can go to you for pay. They will believe you,
 
 AS A PEACE MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 299 
 
 they won't me." Is not that an edifying speech from a 
 Persian Governor? Joe, however, refused to have anything 
 to do with it, said it was not his business here. 
 
 It is wonderful what confidence these people have in us 
 and even in our people. The Governor gave Joe his gold 
 watch to send to Europe to be repaired. It was just too late 
 for Mr. Hargrave, so Joe told him there was no chance to 
 send it unless by some of our Nestorians as far as Con- 
 stantinople, and there would be several changes of hands, 
 and perhaps it would not be safe. " Oh, yes," said he, 
 " the hands of all your people are good." 
 
 The poor looked up to Dr. Cochran with a great 
 and grateful awe. " I chanced to see in the compound 
 one day," wrote one of the missionaries, " a poor, 
 ragged man reverently lifting and kissing the skirt 
 of the doctor's frock coat in which he had been calling 
 upon the Governor, while he, oblivious of the incident, 
 was talking to another man." 
 
 People knew that he knew the truth. No man in 
 Persia had a better knowledge of the people than he. 
 " What Dr. Cochran does not know about Persia," 
 said Captain Gough, the British consul at Kerman- 
 shah, when he came to know him, " is not worth know- 
 ing." And he knew perfectly how to deal with Per- 
 sians. No one of them was more of a Persian gentle- 
 man than he was. He knew and observed the etiquette 
 of the land, and moved as easily and quietly among 
 the nobles and princes as among the poor of the vil- 
 lages. His brother-in-law, Dr. George W. Holmes, who 
 was in Persia for years on closest terms with the 
 people, from the Shah to the meanest peasant, and 
 who was himself located in Urumia from 1874 to 1877, 
 when ill health in his family compelled a temporary 
 return to America, wrote with full knowledge of the 
 conditions and the man:
 
 300 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Dr. Cochran's relations of friendship, and often of inti- 
 macy, with the higher classes kept him always well informed 
 in Persian affairs, but he had no taste for the arts of the 
 politician. He did much to relieve the oppression of the 
 people of TTrumia, many of whom had come to look to him 
 as a protector. This was accomplished, more than anything 
 else, through his unique personal influence. He had no 
 prestige as the representative of a foreign power; he had no 
 battleships at his command, no Cossacks across the border 
 to add weight to his representations. He seldom found it 
 necessary, in matters within their jurisdiction, to call in the 
 aid of our Legation officials. His success as a mediator or as 
 a diplomatist was due to the justice of the cause he advo- 
 cated, the thoroughness with which he investigated it in all 
 its aspects, the dignity, firmness, patience, and rare courtesy 
 with which he prosecuted it, but, more than all, to the high 
 character and winning personality of the man himself. All 
 who knew him felt it to be an honour to have the friendship 
 of the " Hakim Sahib," and in the presence of such a friend 
 all doors were open. He was diplomatic in the sense that he 
 was courteous and tactful. But he was more the statesman 
 than the diplomat. He realized, more clearly perhaps than 
 any other has done, the points of injurious pressure in the 
 ill-fitting adjustment of Persia's political and religious rule 
 to the industrial and social life of the Nestorian people. 
 He had personal knowledge of much of the evils of that 
 rule, for he saw much, and much that he did not see he felt. 
 For it was true of him in a large sense that in all the 
 afflictions of his adopted people he was afflicted. There was 
 much of the patriarchal in his relations to the Protestant 
 communities of the plains, and the contiguous mountains 
 of Kurdistan. Only with the difference that he levied no 
 tribute, he exacted no obedience, he came to them not to be 
 ministered unto but to minister. This relation was very 
 strongly brought out in the course of two trips to the 
 mountains of Kurdistan on both sides of the frontier, in 
 which it was my privilege to accompany him. At that time, 
 still a young man, and comparatively new to the work, he 
 was destined to develop along lines broad and comprehensive, 
 and he was already accepted by the grey-bearded elders of 
 the villages we visited as a father and a protector, and they
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 301 
 
 came to him with all their troubles, assured of wise and 
 sympathetic counsel. 
 
 He understood at first hand the needs of the people among 
 whom his work lay, and his heart, out of the abundance 
 of its sympathies, responded promptly to their appeals to 
 him to relieve the pressure of some new and unaccustomed 
 burden here, or some removable cause of irritation there, 
 or when possible to bring about some permanent improve- 
 ment in their condition. 
 
 Wherever he went the people came to him to heal their 
 diseases, and the best resources of medical science, admin- 
 istered by the hand of tender sympathy, were placed freely 
 at their command; they came with the story of their wrongs, 
 and his time was at their disposal to listen judiciously to 
 their complaints, to sift the truth out of a mass of often 
 conflicting testimony, and to help them, perhaps by a simple 
 word of advice, perhaps as a friendly mediator between ruler 
 or subject, or between man and neighbour; perhaps as a 
 terror to evil-doers who knew that his representations to those 
 in authority would be accepted as true, and perhaps as the 
 last word on the subject. 
 
 For there were few of the nobility, of the official classes, 
 or of the ecclesiastics who dwelt in, or who visited TJrumia, 
 all of them Mohammedans, who did not at one time or 
 another ask his advice as a physician, and to meet him in 
 that relation was almost invariably to become his friend. 
 With many, this took on the character of strong personal 
 affection, in which all differences of race or religion were 
 kept in abeyance. 
 
 Dr. Cochran was always as ready to help a Moslem as a 
 Christian when the appeal was made to him, and he was 
 careful, also, to see that the help he secured for one should 
 not act to the prejudice of another. I remember one occa- 
 sion where he sought redress of the Governor for a robbery 
 by Kurds, of property belonging to some of the missionaries. 
 This was a case that could be referred to our minister in 
 Teheran, and an order came for the Governor to pay an 
 indemnity for the loss. Dr. Cochran was offered payment 
 for the property, but he had meantime learned that the rob- 
 bery had been perpetrated by a clan of Kurds with whose 
 chief the Governor was in alliance, and that the intention
 
 302 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 of the latter was to make reprisals on the Kurds of another 
 village which chanced to be near the scene of the outrage. 
 He represented the facts to the Governor, but the ruler plead 
 the sanctions of Persian usage from time immemorial, and 
 the payment tendered was consequently declined. 
 
 One important element of Dr. Cochran's influence with 
 the higher classes was his intelligent and thoughtful ob- 
 servance of Persian etiquette. They felt it to be a compli- 
 ment to them that he should care for these things, so im- 
 portant in their eyes, that he should take the pains to 
 familiarize himself with their somewhat complex details. 
 His dignity of demeanour, his unfailing courtesy, his hos- 
 pitality, his thoughtfulness and consideration and sincerity 
 endeared him to them, and often smoothed the way over 
 difficulties which a less engaging manner would have found 
 insurmountable. Few men have met a great opportunity 
 with a finer equipment, a more perfect adaptation of mental 
 and moral qualities to the work they have undertaken. He 
 made it a greater opportunity. He enriched it with his own 
 noble ideals, lifted it out of its narrow environment, and 
 made it an object lesson and an inspiration to multitudes 
 who have known him, or who read the record of his life. 
 He did not have to wait for the grave to make that inspira- 
 tion effective for his fellow-missionaries, and particularly for 
 those of his own profession in the medical work in Persia. 
 Every one who came into any kind of close personal relations 
 with him felt and recognized the stimulus of his personality 
 and was made stronger by it. Much as he was to the people, 
 he was more to his fellow-workers, for after all, as has been 
 said by one of those who dearly loved him, all that he did 
 was of minor importance compared with what he was. For 
 it was the spirit of Christ that was his own inspiration; 
 it was the love of Christ that constrained him, and made of 
 him a lover of his kind. And it was their instinctive recog- 
 nition of this, and their belief in its genuineness that en- 
 deared him alike to Christian and Moslem. For it is a fact 
 which ought to be a more compelling one in the relations 
 of our missionaries to individual Moslems than is always 
 the case, that the Christ-life exemplified in the Christian 
 disciple, if its genuineness be unquestioned, makes the 
 strongest possible appeal to the mind of the Moslem, and
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 303 
 
 elicits his admiration, whether or not he be led to emulate 
 it himself. 
 
 As kas been the case with many others who have wrought 
 great things, Dr. Cochran was indebted to the wife of his 
 youth for many of the formative influences which had to do 
 with the shaping and development of his character. Her 
 well-trained mind, her mature judgment, and her strong 
 and beautiful character constituted her a counsellor whose 
 aid he frequently sought, and to whom his judgment often 
 deferred, while their strong mutual affection contributed 
 largely, doubtless, to the graciousness and gentleness of 
 spirit which so signally marked his advancing years. 
 
 The influence which Dr. Cochran possessed, and the 
 conditions by which he was surrounded, forced upon 
 him the question of the duty of a missionary to im- 
 prove civil conditions, to promote justice, and to pre- 
 vent wrong. He was a man of righteous character 
 and a preacher of a righteous life. Was he not to do 
 justice, and to love mercy, and to see, so far as he was 
 able, that mercy was loved and justice done by others? 
 The situation in which he lived was a tangle of races 
 and religions, of civil and ecclesiastical laws and in- 
 stitutions. It would have been bad enough with only 
 Moslems to deal with, and Turks and Persians and 
 Kurds, but when Armenians and Jews and Nestorians 
 were added, with the network of precedents and com- 
 promises, under which non-Moslems were enabled to 
 live under Moslem law, existence itself, not to speak 
 of missionary influence, depended upon the tact and 
 Christian diplomacy with which a man met men and 
 bore himself as a mediator and friend among them. 
 
 What Dr. Cochran thought on the problem of politi- 
 cal action on the part of a missionary in his situation, 
 we are not left to guess. In 1900 he presented to the 
 Annual Meeting of the West Persia Mission a careful 
 paper on " The Missionary and Native Litigation,"
 
 304 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 which should be quoted in full as a study of the prob- 
 lem by a man who lived in it, and who could not brush 
 aside its difficulties in the easy way of the doctrinaire 
 student or critic of Missions ten thousand miles 
 away : 
 
 This subject which has been given me is one of the many 
 important ones which confront nearly all Foreign Missions. 
 The replies that were received to the nine questions on this 
 subject which were sent out to all foreign countries by the 
 Foreign Mission Boards of the United States and Canada 
 indicate a diversity of conditions, as would be supposed, at 
 the same time that they show that nearly all Missions have 
 to cope with this problem in one form and another, and to 
 a greater or less extent. In our Urumia field the conditions 
 are such that this subject assumes an important position. 
 Twenty-five thousand Syrians dwell together in a compara- 
 tively small area. These people are divided up into a num- 
 ber of sects, while about and over them dwell and rule the 
 Mohammedans. The government is in the hands of the lat- 
 ter, and for the most part the land is owned by them. The 
 Christians, together with the Mohammedan peasants, pos- 
 sess only, if anything, the improvements upon the land. In 
 the early days of the history of this Mission, the relation 
 between the Christians and the proprietors of the villages 
 were materially different from the present. The master 
 looked upon his subject very much as a slave owner would, 
 or in exceptional cases, as an Oriental head of a large family 
 might. The peasant, on the other hand, accepted whatever 
 burdens his lord might be pleased to impose upon him, never 
 for a moment dreaming of seeking redress for any wrong. 
 I am not aware that the condition of the Christian peasant, 
 at that time, was any harder than that of the Mohammedan 
 peasant. In case of any difficulty arising between his sub- 
 jects, the lord of the village settled the dispute. Sometimes 
 he would punish both with a fine and a bastinado; at others 
 he would take the part of one and chastise the other, or he 
 might pay little or no attention to the quarrel. Never would 
 these Christians be brought to the central government, unless 
 they were involved in a case with Mohammedans, or with
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 305 
 
 men of another village. As time went on, however, and all 
 the people became more enlightened, the yoke of their mas- 
 ters grew more irksome, and moreover, they found sympa- 
 thizers with them in their oppressions as they related their 
 wrongs to the missionaries and to the more favoured of their 
 own people, and at last they became bold enough to enter 
 complaints before the Governor against their masters. As 
 the years passed by, this became more general, and when 
 in quarrels with one another these peasants failed to get 
 satisfaction at the court of their master, they would appeal 
 directly to the Governor. This very naturally generated 
 more and more an estrangement between the peasants and 
 the masters of their villages. It undoubtedly produced also 
 an aggravation of the oppressions. These masters included 
 the wealthiest and most influential men of the place. It was 
 no small matter for these noblemen to be forced to answer 
 to charges preferred against them by some plebeian, a subject 
 of their own. So, too, the Governor would often espouse 
 the cause of the nobleman rather than to encourage the 
 peasant in what seemed like a very bold revolt against the 
 rights of the former. It became finally so difficult for the 
 Christians to obtain redress when they had a litigation with 
 a Moslem, no matter what the standing of the latter, that 
 the missionaries joined with the Christians in making repre- 
 sentations to the capital of their wrongs, and of the difficulty 
 of obtaining satisfaction, requesting that a special officer 
 be appointed to be Governor for the non-Moslem sects. H. 
 B. M., minister at Teheran, succeeded in having such an 
 office (the Sarparast) created, and this has continued to the 
 present time. 
 
 Turning now to the Christians themselves, we cannot dis- 
 pute the fact that the Syrians are litigious people. The 
 spirit of contention and quarrelsomeness is developed strongly 
 among them, and alas, of spite and revenge as well. Cases 
 could be given, without number, showing how prevalent this 
 spirit is, and what havoc it is working among the people. I 
 will mention only one of the many cases which are in the 
 courts at the present time: A woman buys a vineyard in 
 the name of her cousin for 480 tomans. She sells one-half 
 of it shortly for 240 tomans, and gives a deed in her own 
 name. The value of the vineyard soon increases greatly, and
 
 306 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 in order to repossess her vineyard she enters suit to recover 
 it again, on the ground that she had no right to sell the 
 property in her name which belonged to her cousin. Already 
 the two parties to this litigation have paid to the courts 
 500 tomans, and the case is not yet settled. 
 
 Some of the apologies which we may make for the people 
 are these: They have always been a subject race. They 
 have been born with the feeling that every man's hand is 
 against them. What they possess has been earned under 
 great difficulties, and their hold upon what they may have 
 accumulated is very insecure. They have never, until com- 
 paratively recently, voluntarily given money to any one or 
 for any cause. When they have paid out anything it has 
 usually been under the rod of the tax-master or the sword 
 of the robber. All this has tended to make them close, and 
 constantly on the defensive, and hard masters when they 
 have it in their power to oppress others. Aside from the 
 oppressions of some of the masters and many of the over- 
 seers, the injustice of all the courts, and the insecurity from 
 petty thieving and open robbery, there is much else in their 
 life here to embitter them against their Mohammedan neigh- 
 bours. They are regarded as unclean by them. They can- 
 not sell any of their moist produce, like fruit, vegetables, 
 molasses, etc., to the Moslems. Their testimony at court 
 against a Moslem is not legally acceptable. A convert to 
 Islam from Christianity can legally claim, not only the 
 property to which he would fall heir had he remained Chris- 
 tian, but all the property of his seventy nearest relations. 
 These and many other things can be said in the way of 
 explanation for this spirit of contention and revenge among 
 the Christians. 
 
 The evils arising from these litigations are many and ob- 
 vious. I will mention only some of the more glaring ones. 
 Undoubtedly the greatest evil is the damage it does to the 
 spiritual life of those who engage, to any extent, in these 
 contentions. It cultivates the spirit of revenge; it sunders 
 harmony; it breaks up the people into cliques and classes 
 instead of fostering and increasing unity; it weakens instead 
 of strengthens the people; it often breaks up the Church. 
 The baneful effects of this habit, unfortunately, are not con- 
 fined to those who wilfully practise it, for it stimulates the
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 307 
 
 cupidity of the government officials, and, in their minds, 
 magnifies the resources of the people. Every additional fine 
 thus levied makes the office of the Sarparast the more lucra- 
 tive, and therefore the more sought after. This, in turn, 
 begets at headquarters the excuse for demanding a higher 
 price for the position, and consequently necessitates 
 heavier fining and the search after every conceivable method 
 to make additional money. The price in cash which the 
 Sarparast has to pay annually is 1,000 tomans, but, in addi- 
 tion to this, he is called upon freely and often to send to 
 his superiors loads of arrack, rose water, and other per- 
 fumeries, secretaries, and other pieces of woodwork so well 
 made here. He must also share with the central govern- 
 ment all the large fines he levies or those obtained in im- 
 portant suits. Time does not permit me to remind you in 1 
 detail of the still greater evils to which one is led, to the 
 subsequent steps, and the correspondingly larger fees and 
 bribes which the litigant must pay when he is sent by the 
 Sarparast to the Moslem law courts, if his case is one in- 
 volving questions which a Governor cannot decide. In such 
 cases, frequently, the parties to the law-suit find that the 
 expenses at the Sarparast's court were a mere rivulet in 
 comparison with the torrents which now sweep away their 
 possessions. Bribe upon bribe, and fee upon fee has to be 
 given to one mujtahid and then another before the case is 
 settled. The litigant now awakes to the fact that his suit 
 has not only cost him already more than it is worth, but 
 all that he owns has perhaps been mortgaged to secure ready 
 cash for these expenses. In despair, lest it all be in vain, 
 he throws himself in the stable (as asylum) of some great 
 mujtahid or at the feet of some notorious and powerful 
 sayid. He presents his case and all that it involves, and 
 begs that he be protected, and that his property be saved. 
 For a good compensation, in advance, this man promises 
 to secure him his rights. The case is reopened, and com- 
 promises are made with his previous judges and with the 
 opponent, and finally settled. Some of the evils of litigation 
 to our Christian people here have been pointed out. There 
 are many objections, also, to the missionaries having much 
 to do with these litigations before the courts. 
 Oftener than one would suppose it is very difficult to
 
 308 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 obtain the actual facts in any given case. Mistakes arising 
 in consequence of such misunderstanding are, to say the 
 least, very unfortunate. Often where successful redress is 
 obtained for some wrong done to our people, the impression 
 is left that in every case we might secure such redress, and 
 when failure is the result, the people are more likely to 
 attribute it to a lack of interest and a desire to avoid 
 trouble than to anything else. It puts us frequently in a 
 delicate relation to the owners of the villages and to the 
 authorities. It frequently adds to the irritation felt by the 
 authorities against foreigners who interfere in any way 
 with their unrestrained will to do what they wish, rightly 
 or wrongly, with their subjects. It calls forth the sympathy 
 of the missionary as much, if not more, than any other part 
 of the work. What then is the missionary to do? Is he not 
 to show his sympathy with the oppressed and the down- 
 trodden ? Is he not commanded to " relieve the oppressed, 
 judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow"? In the 
 light of events transpiring in China at present, this question 
 becomes more than usually important. Some go so far as 
 to believe that the rising against the foreigners by the 
 Chinese is the direct outcome of the relation which the 
 Roman Catholic missionaries have sustained towards the 
 government and their converts. In China, as in Persia, 
 they have made a general offer to those whom they wish to 
 win as converts, that the missionaries will stand between 
 them and litigations on the part of native authorities. They 
 have in many places in China given out the impression that 
 a sort of protectorate has been established by them over 
 all their converts. No such criticism can be justly made 
 of the methods pursued in this regard by our Mission. At 
 the same time, we have many times made the authorities 
 feel and sometimes say that it was a question whether we 
 had the right to interfere in affairs between themselves and 
 their subjects. The relation existing at present between the 
 authorities of all classes and ourselves is extremely pleasant; 
 perhaps they were never more so. At the same time, what 
 can we do to retain their good will and at the same time to 
 show our sympathy for our people when they are oppressed 
 by their rulers or by public marauders? 
 
 Howsoever interesting the study of the morbid conditions
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 309 
 
 and their etiology may be, nevertheless it is the remedy that 
 we all seek. The missionary must for all time, and probably 
 in all places, show his sympathy in the troubles and trials 
 of the people if he would reach their hearts. He cannot help 
 them by simply refusing to listen to their tales of woe, 
 and declining to exert any influence, in any way, in their 
 behalf. He must in this, as in so many other relations of 
 their life, take the lead, and exert upon them, unconsciously, 
 if possible, an influence that will direct them to the best 
 methods of meeting these difficulties. It behooves us to be 
 mindful of the signs of the times. Many lessons must be 
 learned from the troubles in China. We must take note, 
 too, of the word of the Prime Minister of England in his 
 recent address before the S. P. G. Bicentenary. He speaks 
 there for the English government to the missionaries. It 
 is not an encouraging message that he gives to English mis- 
 sionaries. It may, in our opinion, be a decidedly one-sided 
 statement of the facts. He makes no mention of the benefits 
 accruing to civilization and science and good government 
 from missionary work. He takes no notice of the fact that 
 wars and rebellions have more than once been averted as 
 a direct outcome of Mission work. We may criticize Lord 
 Salisbury for so publicly giving his advice of caution to 
 missionaries, especially in their work among Moslems; but 
 nevertheless, in the consideration of the question of the re- 
 lation of the missionary towards the government and the 
 people in this matter, we must give due consideration to 
 sentiments emanating from the source which they do. It 
 can be said for our Mission that we have always discouraged 
 litigations. We have preached loyalty to the government, 
 and have endeavoured to minimize the friction that has 
 arisen between the people and those in authority. Our 
 efforts along this line have been appreciated by the masters 
 and the civil and religious courts. So far as possible we 
 have kept ourselves in the background, and have appeared 
 directly as little as possible when our people have had suits 
 with Mohammedans. Since the appointment, now nearly 
 twenty years ago, of a civil head by our Protestant commun- 
 ity, the missionary does not need to appear so often between 
 the authorities and the people. It is perfectly natural that 
 this man should be the spokesman for our people when cases
 
 310 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 come before the government, and when he has done all he 
 can, if it seem best, the missionary can add his influence and 
 counsel. 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to the question of finding 
 a remedy for the frequent litigations among our own people. 
 It seems to me that this evil can be greatly modified if 
 we set about in earnest to accomplish it. The steps to this 
 end which I have to propose are not new ideas, but are 
 sufficient, I am convinced, if we all exert our influence 
 together to put them into operation. 
 
 1st. Encourage, in every possible manner, the settlement 
 of all minor disputes in the villages. A small committee 
 can be set apart in the church to attend to such cases. We 
 have Scriptural authority for this, dating from the time 
 of Jethro, in the wilderness, when we see the first institution 
 of the Courts of Judicature. In New Testament times the 
 law is laid down for us : " Dare any of you having a matter 
 against another go to law before the unjust, and not before 
 the saints ? " " Is it so, that there is not a wise man among 
 you. No, not one that shall be able to judge between his 
 brethren. Brother goeth to law with his brother, and that 
 before the unbelievers. Why do ye rather not take wrong? 
 Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded ? " 
 
 2nd. Where this does not avail, encourage and assist them 
 in referring the case to a committee of their own appoint- 
 ment from among the prominent men of their nation. It is 
 a gratifying sign that the majority of litigants are more 
 and more ready to do this. 
 
 3rd. Direct that the next court of appeal be the Legal 
 Board of our own Church. When one party to the dispute 
 belongs to one of the other sects the case should be taken 
 before the general committee appointed to settle disputes 
 among the different sects. Arrangements had been made for 
 this procedure, and it was in successful operation when the 
 Russians arrived and upset it. A new committee has just 
 been appointed, consisting of three men from each sect, 
 and there is reason to hope that this body will accomplish 
 much for the Syrian people here. 
 
 4th. Spare no pains to show our disapproval of taking any 
 case that can be thus adjudicated to the government. This 
 should be preached in the churches, at the helpers' meetings,
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 311 
 
 in the Boards, in the Knushyas, in the " Rays of Light," and 
 constantly thus kept before the people. 
 
 5th. The office of Sarparast should be abolished. Con- 
 ceived with the express purpose of mitigating the troubles 
 of the Christians, this office to-day is a curse to the people. 
 If the above four rules be carried out, we will shortly see 
 that the Sarparast is starved out. As soon as it becomes so 
 profitless a post as to give poor returns to the government 
 as well, it will be possible to have it abolished altogether. 
 In our effort to do away with this office, we will have on 
 our side the masters of the villages, the Governor of the 
 district, while the Courts of the Ecclesiastics would suffer 
 none by the change. I should therefore not look for much 
 difficulty in abolishing altogether this office, as soon as we 
 are able to keep our people away from it, at least to a con- 
 siderable extent. When this court is closed, and when cases 
 arise which have to be settled by the authorities, we will 
 find that the customs of early years are again taken up, and 
 that the masters of the villages will be appealed to. This 
 is the natural and right way. The best friends that the 
 Christians have are their masters (among the Moslems), 
 and we will do well to remember this and to foster the friend- 
 ship. In case of any general uprising against Christians 
 no one will be able to do for our people as the masters of 
 their villages. It will be to the advantage of our work here 
 if we can show to these proprietors of the land that we are 
 using our influence to make their subjects loyal to them, 
 and are advising them to take their litigations to them 
 rather than elsewhere. Sometimes the settlement of these 
 difficulties and law-suits of one kind and another will be 
 arbitrary, but on the whole we need not fear any great 
 trouble, for the cases can be referred to the Governor from 
 the master in cases of importance, and the masters will never 
 assume the authority they once had over their subjects. 
 There never was a riper time to put into operation these or 
 similar rules bearing on this subject. The people generally 
 are at last awake to the ruinous result of taking all their 
 cases to the Moslem courts. The other sects are prepared 
 to join us to a greater or less extent in the endeavour to 
 settle disputes between Christians without taking them 
 before unbelievers.
 
 312 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 In our own Church and community the consciences of the 
 people should be aroused and enlightened concerning these 
 existing evils, and the man who persists in taking his case 
 before the " unjust " should be put under the ban. 
 
 If we in TJrumia agree to adopt such a platform, and put 
 forth our united efforts to carry it out, I am certain we will 
 soon reap a rich reward, and secure to our Church and people 
 benefits which will be difficult to overestimate. 
 
 Dr. Cochran would have rejoiced to be free from all 
 his diwan work that he might devote himself to his 
 medical practice and to personal service for the spirit- 
 ual help of men, but he simply could not refuse to do 
 good. It is true that in trying to do good he incurred 
 the enmity of the Dasht Kurds. If we say that he 
 ought not to have done anything to help the oppressed 
 Christians of Tergawar or to have stopped disorder, 
 we may be prescribing a course which would have 
 saved him the wrath of bad men, but we would also 
 have prevented his accomplishing a work of relief and 
 justice which is almost unique in missionary annals. 
 It may be said that the missionary should not mingle 
 in such matters, and this is a sound principle, but 
 now and then a strong man will arise whose influence 
 in the application of Christian principle to civil and 
 social life simply cannot be suppressed. It is ques- 
 tionable whether any man in Dr. Cochran's place could 
 have been strong enough to refuse to use his strength, 
 and whether, if he had, he could have retained his 
 strength. Moreover, he was working in a serious and 
 complicated situation, where no line could be drawn 
 between Church and state, or religious and civil affairs, 
 because all are one, entangled inseparably. What it 
 would be impossible to do, and unwise to do if it were 
 possible, in Japan, he simply could not escape doing 
 in Persia. And even in Persia his position was seen
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 313 
 
 to be unique. At the first Annual Meeting of the 
 Mission after his death, resolutions were adopted which 
 embodied the recognition of this : 
 
 1. That we record our high appreciation of the unique 
 and eminent services rendered by Dr. J. P. Cochran, both 
 in using his influence to mitigate the oppressions endured 
 by the people of this land at the hands of the rich and 
 powerful and in his wise and tactful conduct of Mission 
 affairs with governmental and diplomatic officers. 
 
 2. That while we sympathize with the oppressed, and 
 would gladly do all in our power to bring relief to them, 
 the change, especially to Urumia, brought about by the loss 
 of Dr. Cochran, the irremovable difficulties attending all such 
 action, and the importance of emphasizing the spiritual aims 
 of our work, require us to exercise the greatest caution and 
 prudence in taking any part in matters between Persian 
 subjects and Persian officials and landlords. 
 
 3. That we approve of the missionaries in Urumia Station, 
 in connection with the Syriac Evangelical Church, taking 
 all practicable steps to strengthen the Legal Board of that 
 Church, to secure the training of its members in upright 
 dealing, to secure the peace of the Church, and to secure 
 the rights of the Protestant Community as recognized by 
 Mohammedan law. 
 
 The position which he occupied was very delicate 
 and difficult. He realized this, and would gladly have 
 escaped from it if he would not have escaped, in doing 
 so, from his plain though perplexing duty. But he 
 bore himself in it with a skill and judgment which 
 were the admiration, not of his missionary associates 
 alone, but of every traveller and official who came to 
 know him. It will suffice to quote two representative 
 testimonies. 
 
 The first is the estimate of Dr. Thomas H. Norton, 
 American consul at Smyrna, who was sent by the 
 American government to Urumia after Mr. Labaree's 
 death :
 
 314 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 It was my privilege, during the winter of 1904-5, to pass 
 five weeks at Urumia, where I found a group of excep- 
 tionally earnest, gifted, and congenial men, superior to any 
 other Mission colony which I have encountered in Turkey 
 or Persia, with the possible exception of those at Beirut and 
 Constantinople. They were the second generation of the 
 pioneers who established and built up the very remarkable 
 Mission to the Nestorians. 
 
 It was soon apparent to me that, amidst the multiplied 
 activities of the Urumia Mission circle, educational, benevo- 
 lent, literary, medical, evangelistic, one mind was dominant, 
 that of Dr. Cochran. During my stay as his guest, and 
 while examining and studying the peculiar situation, which 
 constantly threatened danger to his own life and the lives 
 of the entire American colony, I was more and more im- 
 pressed by the marvellous combination of talents which he 
 possessed, and which were devoted so entirely and unre- 
 servedly to the welfare of an important section of Persia. 
 In every phase of human activity about him, were brought 
 to bear the tireless energy and consecrated talent of a Chris- 
 tian man of science and of a Christian statesman. 
 
 Others can better portray his happy family relations, and 
 his widespread activity in distinctly evangelistic fields. 
 During my brief stay at Urumia, I was much impressed 
 by the medical work which he has created and carried on 
 so effectively. The spacious, well-equipped hospital in that 
 city, so admirably organized, the only institution of its kind 
 in a vast province, is a lasting monument to his memory. 
 The reputation of Dr. Cochran as a skilful surgeon had 
 penetrated to every hamlet in this province, and throughout 
 the wild Kurdish territory, beyond the nearby Turkish fron- 
 tier. A wonderful accuracy in diagnosis, rare dexterity in 
 surgical manipulation, ready adaptation to unusual condi- 
 tions and the lack of facilities, considered almost indispensa- 
 ble for successful modern hospital practice, all these, com- 
 bined with transparent honesty, unwearied patience, mar- 
 vellous tact, and deep-seated sympathy, caused him to be 
 regarded by the untutored, often savage, mountaineers 
 of the region, with a mingled awe, veneration, and 
 love, akin almost to the feeling of a pagan toward 
 his deity.
 
 AS A PEACE-MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 315 
 
 The accessory qualities of tact, sympathy, sincerity, and 
 patience which so enhanced the value and usefulness of 
 Dr. Cochran in his professional career, found expression in 
 another field. Although American educational and evangel- 
 istic work was established at Urumia three-quarters of a 
 century ago, no American diplomatic or consular official had 
 ever visited that section of Persia prior to my arrival in 
 1904. It was inevitable that some one should, in a measure, 
 assume the duties which ordinarily fall upon an accredited 
 representative of the country. By common consent such re- 
 sponsibilities and duties were confided to Dr. Cochran, and 
 he grew to be regarded by the Persian authorities as prac- 
 tically the representative of all American interests. He 
 was the adviser of the colony of naturalized American citi- 
 zens, which has gradually been formed in and about the city 
 of Urumia. In a variety of ways he gained the confidence 
 of the authorities and of the influential men of different 
 creeds and races about him. Even among the fanatic and 
 corrupt, there seemed to be an unquestioned recognition of 
 his sense of equity and his consideration for the rights of 
 others. 
 
 Here was an excellent school for the development of the 
 diplomatic side of his character in the midst of the dis- 
 cordant elements of northwestern Persia, where the native 
 rivalries of Kurd, Turk, Persian, Syrian, Armenian, and 
 Jew are intensified by the effort of the Kussian to gain 
 political ascendency. It was an admirable school, and it 
 produced a finished diplomat. The abilities called into play 
 in a confined, remote region would have done honour to an 
 actor on the broader international stage. 
 
 It has been my privilege to meet several connected with 
 the American missionary effort in the Orient who have dis- 
 played more or less of the elements entering into the make-up 
 of the diplomat. The environment tends inevitably to bring 
 out and develop any tendencies in this direction. No one, 
 however, in my rather extended acquaintance, unless it be 
 the honoured ex-President of Robert College at Constanti- 
 nople, seemed to combine in such admirable equilibrium the 
 various qualifications needed for the successful transaction 
 of business with Oriental officials. I felt personally that my 
 brief stay at Urumia, in daily converse with Dr. Cochran,
 
 316 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 noting carefully his manners and methods in meeting Moslem 
 officials and friends, was of inestimable value. 
 
 The other testimony is from Mr. John Tyler, who 
 for the last sixteen years of Dr. Cochran's life was 
 secretary of the American Legation and charge 
 d'affaires in Teheran during the frequent absences of 
 the American ministers, and who had ample opportuni- 
 ties to learn, both from his own correspondence and 
 from Persians of high and low positions, what Dr. 
 Cochran's character and work were: 
 
 In the exercise of a practical sympathy for the removal 
 of grievances, the righting of wrongs, settling disputes, 
 and protecting the weak against the strong, Dr. Cochran 
 earned for himself gratitude and respect, from the highest 
 in place to the lowest in position. To him life presented 
 many aspects, and conduct many attitudes, but where a 
 necessity for mediation or interference arose, he grudged 
 neither trouble nor time, and bestowed the same care and 
 skill in the solution of social problems as he gave to the 
 treatment of bodily infirmities. The need of his services 
 was the only plea he required. 
 
 For a period now of fifteen years in which I have been 
 actively engaged in diplomatic and consular work, and espe- 
 cially during the many times I have had charge of American 
 interests at the centre of government in Persia, I had fre- 
 quent occasions to invoke the advice and co-operation of 
 Dr. Cochran in the removal of misunderstandings and the 
 settlement of disputes in which American citizens were in- 
 volved; and it was generally due to his tact, prudence, and 
 discretion that friction was prevented and unnecessary de- 
 lays avoided. 
 
 In the absence of direct American representation in the 
 northwestern regions of Persia, and the frequent calls to 
 intervene in questions of a more or less official nature, 
 Dr. Cochran had come to be looked upon as the intermediary 
 of his government; and in transactions to which he gave 
 his attention, he probably wielded a friendly influence greater
 
 AS A PEACE MAKER AND DIPLOMATIST 317 
 
 than would have been accorded to an accredited and re- 
 sponsible agent. His transparency of character, his earnest 
 and diligent search after truth and right, and his undeviating 
 adherence to the principles of justice lent to his representa- 
 tions and pleadings an irresistible claim on behalf of any 
 cause he took up to fair and generous consideration. His 
 accurate knowledge of the Persian variety of human nature, 
 its strength and its weakness, its pleasant foibles and gener- 
 ous instincts, its early promises and late performances, gave 
 him considerable advantage in the method and manner of 
 presenting his cause and reaching the end in view. 
 
 It was to me a source of the greatest satisfaction to have at 
 the important and most secluded field of the Society's work in 
 Persia a gentleman endowed with such qualities of tact, 
 intelligence, prudence, and moderation in dealing with ques- 
 tions of an official character. Trusted, respected, and ad- 
 mired by the authorities, and loved and venerated by Amer- 
 ican citizens, he was a most capable and ideal intermediary. 
 Combined with this, his unfailing courtesy and considera- 
 tion for the religious sentiments and susceptibilities of peo- 
 ple of all denominations of faith, never aggressive, but always 
 ready to defend a just cause, and extend his protection to 
 those who had no claim upon his notice except the plea of 
 need, gave to his representations in whatever quarter they 
 were made, a careful and considerate attention, and made 
 him one of the most useful and successful of colleagues. 
 
 Such services as those rendered by Dr. Cochran with 
 patriotic and unselfish devotion in the cause of humanity 
 will make the Society which sent him, and the country to 
 which he belonged, feel proud, and if the record of his deeds 
 is not inscribed on marble, it is engraved in the hearts of 
 those he loved and for whom he laboured.
 
 XVI 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 
 
 DR. COCHRAN was primarily, of course, a med- 
 ical missionary. The general influence which 
 he wielded was secondary. It came to him, and 
 was used by him as he went about his business of 
 opening the eyes of the unseeing, restoring the lame 
 and halt, and healing the sick of their diseases. The 
 story of his life, as it has been told, has been necessarily 
 filled with incidents of his medical work, but something 
 should be said in a more connected way of what he did, 
 and how he worked as a physician. 
 
 The centre of his medical work was the hospital. 
 The first building was erected in 1880. A mile or two 
 from the city of Urumia, on the banks of the river 
 of the same name, the Mission had purchased fifteen 
 acres of land. Four acres of this were enclosed, Per- 
 sian fashion, by a wall fifteen feet high. It was a 
 beautiful garden, with streams of water running 
 through it. Avenues lined with sycamore, pear, and 
 poplar trees, divided it into four squares, and filled 
 it with pleasant shade. 
 
 On one of these squares [wrote Dr. Cochran in one of his 
 reports] the hospital is built, on another the college, and on 
 the remaining two the residences of the superintendent of the 
 college and of the physicians. The building is seventy-five 
 feet by thirty-five, faced with red brick, and two stories and 
 a half high. Aside from accommodations for the sick, it 
 
 318
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 319 
 
 has drug rooms, operating and assistants' rooms, and store- 
 rooms. It has two large wards, and six smaller wards. The 
 large wards have sixty beds, the smaller from three to six. 
 The beds are of straw on high wooden bedsteads, and are 
 furnished with sheets and quilts made in the native style, i.e., 
 of wool, with a covering of bright calico. The windows are 
 curtained with gay calico; pictures furnished by our friends 
 adorn the walls, and in nearly every window are plants. The 
 floors are either carpeted or of brick. The kitchen is at a 
 short distance from the main building, where the cooking is 
 done in a native oven (a large earthen jar, three feet wide by 
 six feet deep). 
 
 The medical staff, at its fullest, consisted of Dr. 
 Cochran himself, a woman physician, Dr. Emma T. 
 Miller, an assistant physician from the number of 
 Dr. Cochran's own graduate pupils, the necessary 
 native nurses, and also a class of medical students. 
 In the hospital were received those of every race and 
 religion whose cases required long and careful treat- 
 ment or surgical operations, especially those who came 
 from a distance, and the poor whose homes were desti- 
 tute of the comforts needed by the sick. On two days 
 of every week the physicians were regularly ready to 
 see any sick who might come, and to prescribe the 
 remedies called for by their diseases, but on other days 
 the sick were not turned away, and every day there 
 came the pitiable caravan of woe and pain. Indeed, 
 it is safe to say that Dr. Cochran never spent a day 
 without seeing the sick, and never went into Urumia 
 City or to any village without being stopped by some 
 suffering soul. The number of sick seen by the doctor 
 himself was in some years of his life not less than 
 10,000. The number of in-patients in the hospital, from 
 the beginning till Dr. Cochran's death, was, according 
 to the records kept by him, 5,783 persons. Of these
 
 320 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 more than 1,100 required surgical operations, and 
 nearly all of these operations were performed by Dr. 
 Cochran's own hands, besides other operations per- 
 formed at times outside the hospital. Two hundred and 
 forty of these surgical cases were for stone, and one 
 hundred and fifty for cataract. Dr. Cochran's skill as a 
 surgeon is indicated by the fact that of the first one 
 hundred and eight cases of stone only two died, one of 
 them from another disease two months after the opera- 
 tion. Of these one hundred and eight cases, thirty-eight 
 were Persian Moslems, and nine Kurds; and his pa- 
 tients always included large numbers of Moslems as 
 well as Christians. The variety of the work done is in- 
 dicated by the fact that in one year the list of patients 
 kept in the hospital represented about seventy different 
 diseases. One year, besides patients kept in the hos- 
 pital and those who came to Dr. Cochran for treatment, 
 1,145 visits were made to the homes of patients, and 
 still another year 1,208, including visits to thirty- 
 eight villages. Not infrequently he made visits to 
 Khoi and Salmas. Patients came to him from great 
 distances Van, Mosul, Jezireh on the Tigris, every 
 part of Hakari, every city and region of Azerbaijan, 
 and Caucasia. They included every class, but the 
 majority were always the neediest, the poor who lacked 
 the comforts that even a well man needs for his best 
 good, and whose sufferings in sickness were multiplied 
 many fold. 
 
 The character of the work can be indicated best by 
 giving a few specific cases and incidents connected 
 with it. During the last year of Dr. Cochran's life, a 
 patient who came to him in order to avoid a difficult 
 journey to Europe was His Excellency, Saad es Sal- 
 taneh of Kazvin, a nobleman whose services had ren-
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 321 
 
 dered him famous throughout Persia. He was suffer- 
 ing from a deadly disease (cancer) that required a 
 very difficult operation. The operation was entirely 
 successful. Another patient this same year was His 
 Excellency, Bahadur ul Mulk of Sain Kulla. It is 
 safe to say that during the years of Dr. Cochran's 
 presence in Urumia no governor ever came to the city 
 without being under obligations to him for medical 
 services, and also without being bound to him by bonds 
 of love and friendship. Both H. I. M. Muzaffr-i- 
 Din Shah, when Vali Ahd, and his son who succeeded 
 him, when they were in Urumia, or when Dr. Cochran 
 was in Tabriz, consulted with him with reference to 
 their health. Many Kurds of high rank, such as 
 Sheikh Mohammed Sadik of Nochea, either came them- 
 selves to the hospital for treatment or sent members 
 of their families. So, also, among the Christians of 
 different races and sects, none stood higher in honour 
 than the doctor. There was no more welcome guest at 
 the Patriarchate of the Nestorian Church in Kochanis 
 in the Vilayet of Van. 
 
 As has already been indicated, Dr. Cochran's mother 
 was for years both a matron to the hospital and a 
 mother to all who came to it. Here she poured out 
 her warm missionary impulse in unwithholding service. 
 
 Some boxes hare come from America [she wrote to a 
 daughter in 1891]. There is nothing for me, but I am 
 entirely satisfied because there are things for the hospital. 
 I am as glad as if they were for me personally. I have a 
 great deal to do this vacation, getting sheets made for the 
 hospital beds, getting quilts and carpets washed, and all the 
 rooms cleaned, etc. 
 
 I spent all the forenoon in the hospital. After attending 
 to my duties as matron, I helped Joseph get the dispensary 
 in order.
 
 322 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 Two new cases in the hospital. This morning I read a 
 while in the women's ward. I longed to make the room 
 attractive. As I arranged flowers in water, and put a little 
 touch of prettiness here and there, the patients watched me 
 with exclamations of delight. 
 
 Poor Joseph is driven with work, and he is in the midst 
 of all manner of diseases. I am glad to do what I can to 
 help him in his work. I wish I could do more. Perhaps I 
 do as much as I am able. This is the best place seemingly 
 for me. Your father, on his deathbed, expressed the hope 
 that I would remain in Persia. 
 
 The sight of such love and of the tender affection 
 of mother and son in their common work exerted a 
 great influence upon every one who saw it. Mrs. 
 Shedd, Sr., writes: 
 
 The doctor's mother was a lovely woman, and her in- 
 fluence upon the boys of our Station was very great. My 
 son John wrote to me after he had been in America some 
 time, " I would rather call on Mrs. Cochran than any one 
 I have met in America." 
 
 She seemed able to draw out all that was chivalrous and 
 manly in a boy's nature. When I first went to Persia there 
 were six children in the Cochran home, and what a lively, 
 happy group they were ! I think that the doctor owed much 
 to his mother. The perfect courtesy, the tender sympathy, 
 generous helpfulness, and faithful friendship which were 
 marked traits of the mother belonged, also, to the son. When 
 she died, a native mason who worked on the Mission houses 
 remarked, "Mrs. Cochran never made us feel that we were 
 inferior." 
 
 Once when I was teaching a class of young men in ethics, 
 the duty of children to parents was the subject. I spoke of 
 the duty of sons to the mother, which is often so neglected 
 where women are despised. One boy spoke up, "Yes," he 
 said, " what you say is true. The Hakim Sahib every day 
 walks on the roof with his mother." 
 
 The hospital was administered with a conscientious 
 frugality almost incredible. For many years the entire
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 323 
 
 appropriation for the hospital and his other medical 
 work was one thousand dollars. In 1891 he asked for 
 a slight increase, saying in justification: 
 
 The $1,000 which we have had annually in previous years, 
 together with our receipts here, have never been enough for 
 the work which has forced itself upon us. The hospital 
 is the largest item of expense, but we carry on a large dis- 
 pensary and outside practice aside from the Mission circle. 
 Then this estimate must cover the expenses of the care and 
 repair of two large hospital buildings, and all their outhouses, 
 dispensary, physicians' and assistants' residences, stables, 
 and grounds for all these. In this country of need, roofs 
 and mud walls and water courses on the surface, constant 
 and heavy repairs are demanded. Freight is very expensive. 
 This, added to the bill for medicines and a few new instru- 
 ments needed each year, makes an alarmingly large bill. 
 We also have a medical class of six students, for whom we 
 furnish books and furnished room. Considering all that is 
 done in this department, I think all feel we are very eco- 
 nomical. 
 
 In later years the appropriation grew to $1,500, but 
 it required all his economy to compass so great a work 
 on so slender resources., and he did not succeed without 
 making personal contributions that he could ill afford. 
 He helped out by utilizing all available drugs and 
 herbs. Both in the hospital and among the people 
 he always prescribed, if he could, remedies within the 
 reach of the people, and reduced to the minimum the 
 use of expensive, imported drugs. He knew what was 
 obtainable and serviceable in the country, and he 
 taught its use. He was clear in his conviction that 
 it was right to make the work, as far as possible, self- 
 supporting. In beginning it, as he wrote in 1883 : 
 
 I was expected to do everything free or nearly so. But 
 notwithstanding the education of the people in the past in
 
 324 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 this direction, I have always made it the rule to charge 
 every patient something for medicine, unless he was very 
 poor or had done some special favour to the Mission (Gov- 
 ernors, for instance). So in the hospital I have always and 
 do now charge all that I think I can get, and we are daily 
 encouraged by the progress made in this line. As I say, 
 we are daily advancing in this direction, constantly keeping 
 this thought in mind, and for much that is done we get 
 full returns. There are many perfectly penniless for whom 
 we do what we can without charge, and many who only pay 
 in part. I feel quite sure that we can soon support a bed 
 for one year for less than $25, for this year the appropriation, 
 with our receipts for the patients, has enabled us to treat 
 a large number of patients, and to do considerable furnish- 
 ing of the rooms and necessary repairs and preparations on 
 the premises, walks, drains, washroom, etc. All our wards 
 are not yet furnished; our nurses must be increased, and the 
 three students who have just graduated from their medical 
 course must now receive, the two of them who remain with 
 me, about $14 a month. For students or assistants, for 
 nurses, and for drugs and medicines we have asked a certain 
 sum in our estimates, but this by no means covers the actual 
 cost; we look to the bed funds and to the receipts for the 
 balance. As I said before, while we have and will charge 
 all whom we can for services and medicines, you must not 
 expect that we are in a position in Urumia, now at least, to 
 make our institution self-supporting. There are no Euro- 
 peans here, as in China, India, etc., to contribute toward its 
 support. We have received so far $3.00 for it from a native, 
 outside of what individuals in the Station have given and 
 patients paid. If we can get one-quarter of the total expense 
 of running the institution from the patients, we will be 
 doing better than the great majority of hospitals in America 
 and Europe, and this is all that can possibly be expected 
 for the present. You will please bear in mind that it is 
 only to the patients, the majority of whom are very poor, 
 that we can look for money in this country, at present at 
 least. I say for the present because it is our constant en- 
 deavour to advance in this direction, and by slowly educating 
 the people to pay for services and medicines, and with the 
 growing success of our work we may do better soon.
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 325 
 
 In 1901 the question of self-support in medical work 
 was laid by the Board before most of its medical mis- 
 sionaries. Dr. Cochran replied: 
 
 There was an inclosure in your letter from some medical 
 missionary regarding self-support in the medical depart- 
 ment. It has reference to China especially, but it may be 
 equally applicable to many another field. You ask for the 
 opinion of all medical men on the question. I am fully in 
 favour of making the medical work as nearly self-supporting 
 as possible, so far as this can be done without giving the 
 idea of its being a money-making enterprise, and so far as 
 it does provide for the very needy people who would otherwise 
 go without treatment. 
 
 I have also come to the conclusion that it would be wise 
 to adopt the plan already in operation in many Stations 
 of having the missionaries pay for the medicines they use. 
 This I would do, not because a very large sum could be 
 raised for the department thereby, but because it would make 
 it so much easier to charge all the servants and other em- 
 ployes of the Mission. 
 
 Again and again he had to close the hospital because 
 he had no money with which to conduct it. This was 
 not always a loss, for it was the only way in which 
 he could get any rest, and the want of funds was an 
 explanation which the people understood. When he 
 was away on furlough, it was, of course, closed, and 
 he would strive to improve the equipment by the use 
 of what could be saved from the hospital appropriation. 
 Usually there was little or nothing ; other departments 
 of the work consuming it all, with Dr. Cochran's 
 assent, as he was always more ready to yield to others 
 than to claim for himself. He never had any feeling 
 of jealousy of other branches of work, or consented 
 to curtail them for the sake of his own. 
 
 Although he was constantly sought after by the rich, 
 and always responded to their calls, his work was
 
 326 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 chiefly, of course, for a very different class. Most of 
 those in the hospital were always the poorest of the 
 poor. One day Dr. Cochran was passing through the 
 streets of the city and saw a little beggar boy, whose 
 face was flushed with the burning of fever. He told 
 his servant to bring him home. After he had cured 
 him of his sickness, his kindness of heart did not per- 
 mit him to send the boy out to be a homeless orphan 
 beggar. Until he died the doctor cared for him, and 
 after the doctor's death he was placed in an orphanage. 
 He writes in one of his reports, " We are often pained 
 beyond measure by being obliged to turn away hope- 
 less cases that have come to us in the strongest con- 
 fidence that they could be relieved. One night nine 
 Nestorians, most forlorn and ragged creatures, lame, 
 blind, and leprous, turned up at our gates, footsore 
 and weary, after a perilous journey for them of fifteen 
 days. There was but one of the nine that could be 
 helped, and the duty of explaining to the rest their 
 absolutely hopeless condition was nearly as hard a task 
 for me as it was for them to hear it. They had come 
 from the neighbourhood of Van, by a circuitous route, 
 for greater safety, often hiding among rocks in the day 
 time, and travelling by night." 
 
 One of Dr. Cochran's last patients was Mirza Fazl 
 Ullah Agha (Bala Mujtahid), a Moslem ecclesiastic, 
 famous for his learning, and for years a warm friend of 
 Dr. Cochran. The last visit Dr. Cochran made to him 
 was the last one he made to any sick person outside 
 the hospital, and this time he fell in a swoon on the 
 doorstep from weakness. A few days before, as Dr. 
 Cochran was going to see this mujtahid, a poor man 
 in the street was overheard complaining, and even curs- 
 ing his lot. The physician asked what the trouble was, 
 and learned that the man said he was poor and had a
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 327 
 
 sick wife, whom no one would help, while this great 
 mujtahid was able to command the services of this skil- 
 ful physician. Dr. Cochran asked where he lived, and 
 something about the circumstances of his case, and 
 although he was almost at the door of the mujtahid, 
 and the man's home was in another part of the city, 
 he insisted on first going to see the poor woman, and 
 then returning to the house of the mujtahid. A similar 
 incident occurred once when he was starting to see a 
 sick lady of high rank and was stopped by some poor 
 women of a village near the hospital. The servants 
 who had come with the message from the lady, im- 
 patient with Dr. Cochran for delaying, and angry with 
 the peasant women for daring to interrupt, began to 
 speak harshly to them. Dr. Cochran immediately 
 turned on them, and told them that he would first see 
 the women, because their mistress had all the comforts 
 of riches, while these poor women had to work hard, 
 and had but few comforts. He had no higher ambition 
 than to serve the poor with skill and love and devotion. 
 As with all medical missionaries, he had to accept 
 cases of all kinds. There were no specialists to whom 
 he could dismiss his patients and relieve himself of 
 responsibility. Unless he gave help, he knew that no 
 help would be given. He shirked nothing, accordingly, 
 however hard. One year he varied his form of his 
 report to the Board, which usually was full of incident 
 and colour, though absolutely empty of himself, and 
 wrote : 
 
 I have seldom given a report of the diseases which have 
 been treated in the hospital, as such things are not often 
 interesting reading, nor do even the secretaries of the Board 
 care for them, but for a change I will give you a list of 
 the diseases and numbers of same which we have met in
 
 328 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 the hospital since opening it last fall, November 1st. I have 
 brought these figures up to date to make the year right. 
 As you know, the hospital is closed more or less each summer, 
 although the rest of the medical work keeps on. 
 
 Typhoid fever, 4; entropium, 2; frostbite, 2; locomotor 
 ataxia, 1; torticollis, 1; fistulse, 2 (1 in ano, and 1 urethro- 
 rectal) ; otitis, 1 ; abscesses, 2 (1 in foot, 1 in axilla) ; 
 abortion, 1; gonorrhrea, 5; atresia, nares, 1; melancholia, 2; 
 poisoned by arsenic, 1 ; contusion of ribs, 1 ; enlarged prostate, 
 2; anal warts, 1; incontinence of urine, 2; periostitis, 2; 
 hemorrhoids, 9; tonsilitis, 10; valvular lesions, 5; stone in 
 urethra, 1; stone in bladder, 23 (18 lithotomies, perineal, 1 
 suprapubic, 4 lithotrities) ; syphilis, 2 ; ulcers, 5 (legs, hand, 
 cheek, and chin) ; cirrhosis of liver, 5; cystitis, 4; sciatica, 5; 
 trichiasis, 8; conjunctivitis, 9; keratitis, 15; cataract, 24 
 (operations, 23) ; trachoma, 1 ; diphtheria, 5 ; tumours, 6 
 (lipoma 3, cystic 3) ; hemiplegia, 4 ; nephritis, 5 ; sterility, 2 ; 
 tetanus, 1; vomiting of pregnancy, 1; glaucoma, 1; pneu- 
 monia, 4; pleuritis, 10; chronic bronchitis, 16; tuberculosis, 
 16; erysipelas, 5; malaria, 30; mastitis, 7; adenitis, 10; 
 orchitis, 4; neuralgia, 6; tenia, 10; lupus, 1; acute rheuma- 
 tism, 9; chronic rheumatism, 2; dysentery, 11; indigestion, 
 18; chronic diarrhoea, 8; cancer, 5 (stomach 2, breast 2, lip 
 1) ; uterine diseases, 13 (metritis 3, prolapse 4, lac. cervix 
 3, menorrhagia 1, amenorrhcea 2) ; gunshot wounds, 3 
 (femur, tibia, and jaw) ; dislocation of humerus, 1; fractures, 
 4 (fibula 1, ulna and radius 1, comp. tibia and fibular 
 2); amputations, 5 (toes 1, thigh 1, leg 1, arm at shoulder, 
 1, breast 1) ; caries of bones, 48 (maxilla 3, tibia 9, frontal 1, 
 humerus 6, ulna 1, radius 2, ribs 1, femur 6, vertebrae 10, 
 Pott's disease, calcis 3, palate 1, tarsal 3, jaw 2). 
 
 Hospital cases for this period . . 455 
 
 Dispensary cases 3,251 
 
 Outside of hospital and dispensary . 5,031 
 
 Visits to the homes of sick . . . 1,131 
 
 Total seen by me 9,868 
 
 By native assistants, about . . . 4,000 
 
 13,868
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 329 
 
 Adding to these those seen by Dr. Miller since her return, 
 this department has had over 14,000 attendances. Hos- 
 pital cases are, of course, seen one or more times daily all 
 the time they are with us, while the patients treated outside 
 the hospital are for the most part seen but once. This is the 
 report for fourteen months. 
 
 With such a clinic he was able to give the young men 
 whom he always had studying with him in a medical 
 class no mean training. 
 
 As his hospital was the first hospital in Persia, so 
 also he was the first to send out physicians, natives 
 of Persia trained in Western medical science, and so 
 to extend the benefits of his profession to many whom 
 he never himself saw. The services of these physicians 
 have been recognized by honours and titles bestowed 
 on them by the Persian government, and the Governor- 
 General of the Province sometimes counter-signed the 
 certificates given them by Dr. Cochran. At the time 
 of Dr. Cochran's death there were pupils of his prac- 
 tising in the following places in Persia : three in Khoi, 
 one in Salinas, one in Ardebil, three in Soujbulak, one 
 in Kurdistan, and six in Urumia. One other was 
 practising in Gawar in Turkey. Two of these were 
 Moslems, while the others were Nestorians. Besides 
 these, not a few others have doubtless been influenced by 
 the example of Dr. Cochran's work to go abroad, and 
 there gain a medical education, the benefits of which 
 have come back to Persia. It has been a wonder to 
 those who knew Dr. Cochran that he could find time to 
 teach these pupils. They learned much in the practical 
 work of the hospital. Dr. Cochran's associates gave 
 some of the lessons, but their chief teacher, and none 
 was more faithful, was Dr. Cochran himself. He often 
 taught in the evenings when it was impossible to find 
 time in the days, crowded with demands from others.
 
 330 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 Still another way in which Dr. Cochran was able as a 
 physician to accomplish much good was by the exten- 
 sion of the knowledge of medicine and hygiene in the 
 country. 
 In one of his early reports, he wrote of this work : 
 
 My two students who have had instruction during all the 
 year, with the exception of a short vacation, have made 
 praiseworthy progress in their studies. They have at present, 
 in addition to their medical studies, a daily lesson with my 
 sister who will do much to assist in the varied cares of the 
 hospital as well as help the students to more readily under- 
 stand their English text-books by thus giving them this 
 lesson. 
 
 The students are now competent to render assistance in 
 the dispensary service and in the hospital wards. No pecu- 
 niary assistance, more than books, room, and fuel, is given 
 to them. Of course, it is our chief aim to fit them to be 
 missionary physicians. The call at present for good young 
 men, educated in the science of medicine, is imperative in 
 the district contiguous to ours, and if these two young men 
 prove themselves competent physicians and faithful Chris- 
 tian workers, a large field of labour is open to them. 
 
 The training of men for so responsible a position, is of 
 course, a cause of anxiety; time and labour must be given, 
 but we take courage when we remember that all that is re- 
 quired of us is faithful labour day by day, and after that is 
 done, the outcome can be left with the Lord. 
 
 In a later report he writes: 
 
 The medical class consists at present of six young men, 
 the seventh having gone to Teheran to be with Dr. Wishard. 
 We have one studying pharmacy. Of the six, five are Nes- 
 torians, and one a Moslem from Khoi. This man entered 
 the class after the others did, and so will probably be unable 
 to pass the final examinations next July, as the others hope 
 to do. He is a good scholar and a good man. He has asked 
 to be baptized. This is the third year these boys are study- 
 ing, having read each year from eight to ten months.
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 331 
 
 Last winter Dr. Miller gave them lessons in histology and 
 miscroscopy, Dr. Isaac in materia medica, and I in two 
 lessons. Dr. Holmes, who was here for a couple of months, 
 also gave them a course of lectures. In order to fit them 
 for practice, as well as to help them earn something, the 
 work in the hospital and dispensary is so divided that each 
 month one puts up all the prescriptions; one takes charge 
 of the operating room and instruments, and does some of 
 the daily surgical dressings; one has charge of the dining- 
 room, conducting evening prayers there; one conducts re- 
 ligious exercises at the dispensary, and on the Sabbath reads 
 and converses with the sick who can't or do not care to go 
 to church service; one has general oversight of the rooms, 
 the visitors, etc., and one has odd jobs given him. We pro- 
 vide tuition, rooms lighted and heated, and books. 
 
 Mrs. Cochran entered actively into this work, and 
 shared in the training of the young men. In a home 
 letter in 1884, she says : 
 
 I have had the two young doctors to tea two Wednesday 
 evenings. They do pretty well. We mean to train them in 
 English, in table manners, and other points of politeness, 
 and talk about some interesting things that are new to 
 them. Immediately after tea they all retire to the study, 
 and Joe gives a talk on some medical subject, tells them the 
 new remedies and new ideas in the last medical journals, 
 etc. Israel is going over to Salmas this winter. The people 
 will not allow a preacher to occupy the house we rented 
 there for a helper, but Dr. Shedd thinks that a doctor might 
 open the way. 
 
 These evening talks of Dr. Cochran to his pupils were 
 not careless or perfunctory. He made careful prepara- 
 tion, as his notes prove, giving the students accounts 
 of all important advances and discoveries, not only in 
 medicine and surgery, but in general knowledge. 
 
 The annual reports of his work, which he sent to the 
 Board and to the Westminster Church in Buffalo,
 
 332 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 would make by themselves a fascinating book. A few 
 extracts from them, put together as a continuous story, 
 will suffice to show their character and to illustrate 
 the romance and variety and effectiveness of his 
 work : 
 
 We have built additional rooms for assistants, drugs, and 
 waiting rooms, where outdoor patients can be treated. Large 
 numbers come to the office every day. They flock in by sun- 
 rise, some on foot, others on horse, donkeys, oxen, or on the 
 backs of their friends, or else borne on litters. They often 
 throw these sick at our feet, saying, " We shall not take them 
 away until you cure them or let them die here. Our only 
 hope is in God above, and in you as His instrument below." 
 Many are seen in the dispensary in the city and in the 
 villages. In the past six months I have prescribed for 1,603 
 patients outside the hospital, have made fifty calls in the 
 city, and been to fifteen villages. On my way to these places, 
 the sick, as if by instinct knowing that a physician is to 
 pass their way, get their friends to take and lay them in 
 some shade by the road, where they can wait my arrival. 
 Or I am stopped by others, who beg me to turn aside to some 
 hamlet and see some one whom they cannot bring. Many 
 hopeless cases are brought long distances. Last week two 
 blind men were led on foot by a third old man from a dis- 
 trict six days off. Overtaking them, the leader drew them 
 up in line, and as I approached all bowed almost to the 
 ground, then catching my clothes and kissing my shoes, they 
 implored me to give them sight. Examination revealed eyes 
 utterly ruined, and they went away overcome with grief, 
 scarcely persuaded but that I could help them if I would, 
 Baying, " We have seen blind men whom you have cured " 
 (referring to cases upon whom the operation for cataract 
 had been performed). 
 
 One of our patients in the hospital was an old man who 
 had for many years been in our employ as preacher. His 
 home and his field are in the mountains about a day's 
 journey away. His wife studied under Miss Fiske, and he 
 under my father. Freshets last spring carried away his 
 little fields, which he had made with great labour beside
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 333 
 
 the river in the crowded, stony valley, where a field the size 
 of a large room is considered a valuable piece of property. 
 Losing his all at home, and being out of employment, he took 
 his family and came down here in the hope of bettering his 
 condition. On crossing the Turko-Persian frontier, they 
 were attacked by Kurds who stripped the caravan and badly 
 wounded this good man, stabbing him in the back in three 
 places, two of the wounds penetrating the lungs. He was 
 also shot in the foot. This man is now convalescent, all of 
 his wounds being healed except a surface sore on the foot. 
 As he has lain on his bed with his Bible in his hand, suffer- 
 ing with pain and fever, at first suffering for breath, with 
 his back and breast enormously puffed up with the escaping 
 air from his lungs, all patients and attendants have mar- 
 velled at his patience, never complaining, but rather com- 
 forting the other sick in his room, and reading to them. 
 His wife often called on him. She would stand by his bed- 
 side with a roll of wool wound round her left arm, a spindle 
 or distaff in the other, twisting and winding the wool into 
 yarn for stockings, which she sold to help support her large 
 family. 
 
 To get to one of our villages about us you must go on 
 horseback, for carriage roads are few. Being called to a 
 village some fifteen miles away, I mounted my horse, accom- 
 panied by a servant to care for the horses, for you cannot 
 blanket your horse in front of a house and have any positive 
 assurance that when you come out you will find him. Should 
 he be there, the blanket or saddle straps would almost surely 
 be gone, and in the villages along the lake, where flamingoes, 
 ducks, pelicans, and many other birds abound, you would 
 at least lose your horse's tail, a sacrifice to the snare of the 
 fowler. Arriving at the village, we dismounted in front of 
 our preacher's house. The village school, under our Mission 
 care, which is taught on the premises, was just out for noon 
 recess. These children, with the men and boys who were 
 sunning themselves on the low, flat roofs of the closely-built 
 village, made a good body of spectators. To get to the sick 
 man's house we have no clean sidewalks, but had to wade 
 through the mud and snow in the middle of the narrow street. 
 All the men, women, and children who had seen the doctor 
 come, fell in line, and the procession marched upon the house
 
 334 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 of our patient. Stooping to enter the low outside door, and 
 walking in this posture, led by the brother of the sick man, 
 and directed now to turn to the right, now to the left, to 
 avoid a plough or low ceiling, I made my way through a 
 long, dark passage, which was at the same time the entrance 
 to the stables, barns, and house, and reached the only room 
 in the house. Here it was lighter, and there were several 
 openings in the ceiling to admit light and carry off the 
 smoke when the fire was made in the well-like oven. The 
 father and mother and brothers and younger sisters and 
 brothers' wives, and their children, with many neighbours, 
 sat about the sick man, who lay on the floor, tossing in 
 delirium. In about two minutes the large room was packed 
 with people, curious to see what the doctor would do, and 
 especially what prognosis he would make, as well as to show 
 their own sick, or call him to other houses. Our preacher, 
 as well as the priest of the Old Church, begged the people 
 to go out, but it made but little difference. After examining 
 the sick man and leaving medicine for him, many others told 
 their ailments and asked for treatment. Then I went to 
 other houses to see those who were bedridden. After seeing 
 to these, and looking at those who begged me "just to 
 look at them," who stood at the doors, or in the yards, or 
 on the street as I went from place to place, the pastor told 
 the people I would not see any more until I had had my 
 dinner, but that on mounting I would see the remaining 
 sick. The pastor's wife, a graduate of Fiske Seminary, had 
 a good dinner waiting for me, and a number of special 
 friends to be treated. On going out to mount my horse, 
 many new sick had come or were brought. An old paralyzed 
 woman was brought on the back of her daughter. Several 
 blind women were led out to hear me tell if there were any 
 remedy for them. In an adjoining village, through which 
 my road passed, I was forced to dismount and see several 
 sick, and many more came out or were brought out on the 
 street. In such a flying visit little could be done more than 
 to tell them to come to the dispensary or hospital, or suggest 
 some domestic remedy, but it does these people much good 
 just to see them. 
 
 In July I was called to see the wife and son of a chief 
 two days to the south of us. He owns the village in which
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 335 
 
 he lives, as well as a number of others, is the commanding 
 general of a regiment of cavalry, and is practically the 
 governor of the whole plain of Sulduz. He and his tribe 
 hare been placed here by the Shah to act as buffers against 
 the Kurds, and are in consequence not taxed. I could stay 
 only two days and a half at his comfortable home, but during 
 this time, aside from seeing his wife and son often, I treated 
 many others of the higher class in the district who are 
 related to him. After the simple breakfast we had a good 
 time to visit, once alone with him, but the other two morn- 
 ings with other Khans as well. The usual breakfast is tea 
 with bread, cream, honey, and cheese or curds. Sitting on 
 the cool side of the house, and sipping the tea, the conver- 
 sation at this hour was always religious. He had read the 
 Testament, and asked many questions about it, and accepted 
 it as the best book he had ever read. Evenings on the roof, 
 with the full moon shining upon us, and the cool breeze 
 blowing away the heat of the day, he seemed most eager for 
 me to talk to him on all scientific subjects, and espeeially 
 of the strange things in the Western world. About nine, 
 our supper of two or three kinds of meat, rice, and side 
 dishes of pickles, cheese, and fruit, with sherbet, was served 
 on copper trays, a separate one always being given to the 
 Christian. Then we would retire, I to the yard to a large, 
 high bedstead covered with mosquito netting. One day he 
 got up a fishing excursion, or exhibition, for my benefit. 
 He ordered about a hundred buffaloes to be brought from 
 his villages to a point on the river where the water was deep 
 and where a tent had been pitched for us. There were not 
 less than two hundred men and boys with these animals, aside 
 from the Khans and their following. Some twenty men in 
 bathing costume stood in the river where the water was not 
 more than knee-deep, with long poles with a sharp hook on the 
 end. Then the buffaloes were driven into the stream, and 
 forced to wade or swim up to the shallow place to the music of 
 yelling men and drum and fife. At times when the width 
 of the stream was not great, and the buffaloes occupied it 
 all, the great fish, sturgeons, called here whales, would leap 
 up between the animals, and fall on their backs. The cur- 
 rent was quite rapid, and their drivers swimming or riding 
 on the backs of the buffaloes, kept them from turning back.
 
 336 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 One was drowned, and fearing that others might succumb, 
 I asked the general to order them out, as I had seen how it 
 was done. " Oh, don't mind," he said, " I will pay for the 
 buffalo," and so he did. As the fish were driven into the 
 shallow water, the men who were watching for them struck 
 and hauled them out with their hooks. After our dinner, 
 which was brought us on an ox cart from a neighbouring 
 village, we rode home, leaving about thirty fish, from a half 
 to a yard and a half long, on the banks for the Kurds to 
 come and take, both to eat them and extract their oil for 
 lights. The Persian does not eat them. 
 
 A mountain Nestorian, while hunting wild boar, was 
 accidently shot by his friend and companion, the rifle ball 
 shattering his leg. His companion did not dare take him 
 home, for he knew too well that swift retribution would be 
 meted out to him by the wounded man's friends. So leaving 
 his home and family, he puts off to another district, where 
 his wife and children, driven away from their own village, 
 in time joined him. They cannot return, at least for three 
 years. What property they have not been able to take with 
 them is confiscated they must be exiles hereafter from their 
 home. The code of honour amongst these wild Nestorians 
 or Kurds demands blood for blood, without any form of 
 trial, even if the injured party declares that he holds no 
 grudge, and admits that the affair was accidental. The 
 sequel to this story will illustrate another characteristic 
 in human life as seen here. The man's leg was so injured 
 that his mother-in-law was told that he must die, unless he 
 would undergo quite a serious operation, and even then he 
 must be a cripple for life. She took him away, saying that she 
 would prefer a dead son-in-law to a cripple who would only 
 be a burden to her daughter. 
 
 Another patient was a woman whose ankle and foot were 
 diseased. She was very much reduced, a mere skeleton, 
 thoroughly saturated with the poison of her sores. She had 
 just let her infant child smother to death. A short time 
 before she had tried to kill her husband by putting arsenic 
 in his food. He, in turn, had cruelly neglected her in her 
 sickness. We could do but little more than make her com- 
 fortable. Mrs. D. P. Cochran and some of her fellow- 
 patients did much to set her thinking of her evil ways, and
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 337 
 
 afterwards to cheer her in the hopes of a sin-forgiving 
 Saviour. She was taken to her village to die. We heard 
 afterwards that her husband had put her off in a barn, and 
 hastened her death by not giving her enough to eat, and 
 forbidding the neighbours to take her food. 
 
 But Christianity can change the lives and hearts of people 
 as dark and wicked as these. Another patient, the young 
 wife of one of our preachers, was brought tenderly to the 
 hospital by her husband. He came frequently to visit her, 
 always bringing her something tempting to eat or something 
 to add to her comfort. After her long stay in the hospital 
 he took her for a change of air to a distant village, untiringly 
 caring for her till she died, and has deeply mourned her 
 ever since. 
 
 A Kurdish chief came to us in his gay costume, consisting 
 of a bright blue pair of trousers, very full, a broad belt of 
 Persian shawl goods, a coat of striped silk of many colours, 
 and a green cloth skull-cap with many silk and cloth hand- 
 kerchiefs for a large turban. Over his shawl belt was a 
 cartridge belt and another slung over his shoulders. He 
 was escorted by several servants. He brought a horseload 
 of skins of cheese, melted butter, and honey. He was with 
 us a month when word came that his people had gone to 
 war with another tribe, so he hurriedly left. Not long 
 afterward he sent a mule colt in payment of his bill. When 
 here he often expressed his wonder at the motive that led 
 people to come so far and others to send the means to do 
 what is done here for the people of all nationalities. He 
 repeatedly would say, " Great will be your reward in 
 Heaven." 
 
 In the spring a Kurdish lady, with five maid-servants 
 and twice as many men-servants, came to the hospital. 
 She is the wife of Sheikh Mohammed Sadik, the daughter- 
 in-law of the noted Sheikh Obeidullah, who in 1880 invaded 
 this part of Persia. She was gaily and handsomely attired 
 and very ladylike and pleasing in appearance. Her husband 
 is the most influential Kurd for a long way about us. He 
 resides in the mountains about three days' journey to the 
 west of us. To have his favour is to open two Nestorian 
 districts to the safe and free access of our teachers and 
 preachers.
 
 338 JOSEPH PLUMB GOCHRAN 
 
 Another patient of the upper classes is now in the hos- 
 pital, a Khan of 19, whose father, the Mirpanj, is the 
 chief military and civil head of the district of Sulduz. He 
 came to us under an escort of twenty armed men, bringing 
 a letter from his mother to Mrs. Cochran, and from his 
 father to me, commending him to our care. He keeps two 
 men to wait on him. His father and mother are intelligent 
 people who are instructed in our Scripture, and who help 
 us in our work on the Sulduz plain. A few days after his 
 arrival six camels came into our yard loaded with wheat 
 and rice sent by his father for the hospital. We have a 
 Moslem servant cook for this Khan alone. 
 
 Seeing the Khans and their families in times of sickness 
 brings us into a pleasant relation with them, and many is 
 the opportunity offered and availed of to have pleasant and 
 profitable religious conversations. This friendship is help- 
 ful in many ways in our general work. The villages in 
 which are our schools and congregations are all owned by 
 these Khans, and so we are brought into close relation with 
 them. If we are not on good terms they can annoy us 
 very much in our work. 
 
 Among my Mohammedan patients is a lady who by birth 
 and marriage is connected with the first families of the city. 
 Her husband is one of the chief sayids a lineal descendant 
 of the Prophet, while her brother is a noted mujtahid, a 
 preacher of considerable reputation, and one of the famous 
 lawyers of this part of the country. Several years ago this 
 gentleman sent for me to see a nephew who was in the last 
 stages of Bright's disease. The large room, richly carpeted 
 with Persian rugs, but bare of all other furnishings, as is 
 often the case in the reception room in the better houses 
 among the Moslem noblemen, was filled with the male rela- 
 tives of the dying man. There were several other mujtahids 
 present, and many sayids. The water pipe and tea were 
 being passed. I was received very cordially, rather notice- 
 ably so. All rose from their seats on the floor, and showed 
 me to the seat of honour at the upper end of the room. 
 After sitting down on my knees, and making a bow to all 
 in the room, beginning with the chief men, and ending 
 with those nearest the door, I took my glass of tea, and 
 listened to the description of the patient's symptoms. There
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 339 
 
 were no women present, because there were so many men, 
 some of whom were not intimately acquainted with the 
 family. The uncle of the sick lad then turned to me and 
 apologized for waiting until the disease had progressed so far, 
 and explained why he had sent for me just then. " This 
 young man has been treated by our native doctors for a 
 long time, and while we have often spoken of sending for 
 you, or for one of the doctors whom you have taught, to 
 come and take charge of the case, we have never accom- 
 plished it. Last night, however, I had a vision. It was a 
 very vivid one and very remarkable. It is in pursuance of 
 the commands of that vision that I sent for you to-day. 
 I was asleep ; it was just after the moon rose, about midnight, 
 that an angel appeared unto me, and asked me why I was so 
 heavy hearted and so distressed about my nephew. He asked 
 me why I had not called you in to see him, and said that we 
 did not appreciate sufficiently the blessings that we had in 
 having you in this country, and that we were not making 
 the use we should of this gift which God had provided for 
 us. He said, furthermore, that I should not only send for 
 you to come and see this young man, and tell us whether 
 medicine would be of any benefit to him, but that I should 
 proclaim his message regarding you to all my friends, and 
 publicly, in the mosque." This mullah was very sincere and 
 earnest in his account of his dream, often turning to his 
 other guests and repeating some part of it to them, and em- 
 phasizing it. He continued : " It was for this reason that I 
 sent for you, and now please examine our boy, and see if it is 
 too late to do anything for him." After having made a care- 
 ful examination, I informed him that unless God were 
 pleased to make an exception of this case and to work in 
 a manner contrary to the usual course of the disease, this 
 boy must die very soon. He was already unconscious. Not 
 long after, I heard that this gentleman had related his dream 
 in the mosque to a large audience, and when I next saw 
 him he told me that he had repeated it to every one he met. 
 He has sent many patients to me since that time, and was 
 one of the first to welcome me on my return here last fall. 
 I am now, at his request, treating his sister, as I said at the 
 outset, together with some of her children. 
 I have had an unusual number of patients among these
 
 340 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 ecclesiastics the past few months, and it has been a pleasure 
 to get into such close relations with so many of these pious 
 and fanatical people, and see their prejudices gradually 
 modify. 
 
 Returning from Tabriz last fall, along the southern shore 
 of Lake TJrumia, I came to a Kurdish village. I was 
 acquainted with the chief of the village, and knew that it 
 would be impossible for me to make myself known to him 
 without being delayed, and it was now the middle of the 
 afternoon, and I had promised to spend that night some 
 fifteen miles further on with a Khan (nobleman) who was 
 ill. I skirted the village, and dismounted in an apricot 
 orchard at the edge of the town, for our horses needed a 
 rest and to be fed, and we had not lunched. I had told the 
 men who were with me that I did not wish them to inform 
 any one about the village who I was. There were two or 
 three men in the orchard trimming the trees, and others iiear- 
 by were taking in their clover. As I sat under one of these 
 trees and began to eat my lunch, one elderly Kurd came up 
 towards me, and took a seat at a little distance from me 
 and somewhat behind me. He was inclined to be very 
 sociable and full of inquiries, while I was reserved. He 
 finally asked me if my head comprehended any medicine ; and 
 I replied that it depended upon the gravity of the case 
 that he wished to report to me. He told me the symptoms 
 of his son's illness, and said, " Oh, if I could only get him 
 to that American doctor that lives in TJrumia, and have 
 him kept in the hospital a little while, I know he would 
 get well, for I was treated there myself for pneumonia about 
 twenty years ago, and aside from being cured of my disease 
 they did so much for me, and were so kind to me that I 
 should have been willing to have been sick there all my 
 life. Especially was the doctor's mother kind to me. She 
 used to come to my bed two or three times a day (they had 
 fixed me up on a bedstead like a European King) and put 
 her hand upon my forehead and say, ' Khidir, how are you 
 to-day ? ' and I would reply, ' May I be your sacrifice, my 
 great lady, I am in heaven.'" And so he entertained me 
 for some time, with stories true and untrue, about the 
 wonders that he had seen performed in the hospital. As 
 he spoke he gradually approached me, and I noticed that
 
 o 
 L>
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 341 
 
 he was scanning me closely; finally, he caught hold of 
 my shoe, and pressing my foot, he said, " I swear, I half 
 believe that you are that doctor yourself." I put him 
 off, and he went on to tell of the things he said he 
 had experienced there. All the time he was working 
 himself more in front of me, when suddenly, with a cry, he 
 exclaimed, " I swear you are that doctor ! I adjure you by 
 the living God, tell me, are you not ? " He was now cling- 
 ing to me and wringing the skirts of my coat. When I had 
 to admit that I was the man he described, he made me 
 promise to wait until he could bring to me his son. Soon 
 he returned, with his son on the back of another young man, 
 with his wife and his son's wife, and several little children, 
 and four or five neighbours. They came laden with clover 
 for my horses; they brought bread and butter and milk and 
 curds. Although I had eaten my lunch, they insisted that 
 I eat their bread, .so I partook of this gift, and then they 
 took the remainder and made my men finish it, while the 
 horses were made to eat their clover instead of that which 
 we had already bought. I prescribed for their sick, and then 
 mounted and rode off, with five or six of these men as my 
 escort on foot. They wished to come with me all the way 
 to the end of my stage, as they feared I might be robbed, 
 it was getting so late, but I declined their offer and hurried 
 on. 
 
 About a month ago this man came here, bringing the 
 same son, who now is very ill with an abscess of the liver, 
 which is discharging through the lungs. We have been try- 
 ing for some time to close the hospital for the summer, 
 but it is no easy task, for the sick will not get well at one 
 time, and while there are a few patients in the hospital it 
 is very hard to convince others that they cannot be received 
 as well. To meet the retrenchment, one-fifth of our esti- 
 mate has to be given up, and we must close the hospital 
 for several months to meet this. This Kurd and his son 
 have rented a place in the city, and they come and see me 
 from time to time, but five other Kurds from the region of 
 Mosul, after having travelled twenty-five days over a perilous 
 and difficult journey, cannot be refused admittance, even 
 though our funds are so short. Just now six other men, 
 Arabs from the south of Mosul, have come. One of them
 
 342 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 is a man of considerable note, a Sheikh; all six are in 
 need of hospital care, and while they are well off and able 
 to pay all their expenses, we must labour under the same 
 embarrassment mentioned above of keeping patients and 
 at the same time refusing others. 
 
 A number of insane persons have been brought to the 
 hospital this year as usual, but we never receive them if we 
 can help it, for we are not in a position to give them the 
 care and treatment necessary. One man, however, from a 
 wealthy family, was received because his friends made it 
 possible for us to give him a separate room and special 
 attendants. There are no asylums for these unfortunates 
 here in Persia. It is one of the most distressing sights 
 which we have to behold, to see the way this wretched class 
 goes about, without any care, always mocked and teased by 
 the children and grown people as well. Where they are 
 violent, they are chained up to some pillar or post about 
 the house or stable, there to worry themselves to death. 
 There is a popular notion, shared alike by the Christians and 
 Mohammedans, that some of the departed Christian saints 
 have the power to cure those thus afflicted. There is an old 
 Syrian church on the mountain-side a few miles from here, 
 in which there is a hole or dungeon for the reception of the 
 insane and epileptic. The friends take the patient to this 
 church, where he is incarcerated in this damp and dark hole 
 over night, while an offering of a sheep or lamb is made to 
 the patron saint of the church. Probably all the insane of 
 this district have at some time or other been taken to this 
 church. 
 
 There is a Mohammedan woman who has lost her nose 
 and ears. How this came about makes a gruesome tale, 
 but it is one of the many illustrations of the terrible life 
 led by most under the Mohammedan religion. Twenty years 
 ago, when a terrible famine was raging, this woman, as a 
 babe in her mother's arms, was brought to our doors by her 
 parents. The father was swollen and nearly dead, while the 
 mother and children were in nearly as great distress, owing 
 to starvation. They were fed, carefully, daily, until the 
 worst was over, along with many other hundreds who were 
 supported by funds sent from America and England for 
 the purpose. When she grew up, she married a man who,
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 343 
 
 like a good many others in his village, steals and robs when 
 the opportunity offers. Summer before last, he with three 
 companions, broke into the house of an old hospital servant. 
 This woman was alone, so she did not dare move or give 
 the alarm. The men struck a light, and carried off whatever 
 she had of any value to them. This man, a few nights ago, 
 returned to his home, where he has two wives and two 
 children. He was displeased with something they had done, 
 got opium from one of the opium shops nearby, and gave it to 
 them in honey. As soon as they were under the influence 
 of the drug, he tied their hands behind them and cut off 
 their ears and noses. As he slashed off the end of the nose 
 of our patient, he threw it to one side. When the women 
 recovered sufficiently from the effect of the opium and the 
 shock to realize their condition, one of them adjusted the cut 
 nose that was not wholly severed, and ran off to her father's 
 house; while our patient looked about for her lost nose, and 
 found it adhering to the mud wall. She slapped it on her 
 face, and made her way to the hospital as soon as possible, 
 hoping it could be repaired, but twenty-four hours had elapsed 
 since it was cut off, and there was no hope for it. She does 
 not regret the loss of her ears so much, for the head dress 
 always covers them. The other wife was stabbed as well, 
 and died on the succeeding day. The husband is still at 
 large. 
 
 One of our patients, a Kurdish chief, who lives in the 
 mountains two days' journey from here, and who with a 
 number of other greater chiefs has just arranged terms of 
 peace with the government, the latter holding as hostages, 
 or security for peace, several young men or boys, the sons 
 of these chiefs, has just left us. He is a bright and intelli- 
 gent young man for one who has had as little chance to 
 acquire any general knowledge. He was much impressed 
 with what he saw in the hospital and college, of what we 
 are doing for the people of this country. After being here 
 a few days, he often would say, " This is Christ's home, and 
 I have put myself into your care to cure me by His power. 
 I know you ask for His blessing on all that is done here, and 
 I wish you to do your best for me, and to pray to Christ, the 
 Spirit of God, to bless the means." He was especially in- 
 terested in the services held in Turkish. After having got-
 
 344 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 ten acquainted with him, he one day told me that one of 
 the nurses had told him of a robbery that had been perpe- 
 trated upon some of our people, and he said he wished to 
 tell me something he knew about it. One of our mission- 
 aries last summer was making a tour across the border, in 
 Turkey. One night the party camped out at a village, where 
 they were attacked by robbers. They had three horses, 
 which were picketed in front of their tent, taken. Two of 
 them belonged to the government escort of gendarmes, and 
 the third was owned by one of our graduates in medicine 
 who was of the party. The Kurds made a dash, quickly cut 
 loose these horses, and galloped away into the dark with them. 
 One of the gendarmes started to his feet as soon as he 
 heard the horsemen, but was shot down where he stood. 
 This patient told me that he knew where the horse was 
 that belongs to Dr. Alexander, and that if I would send 
 some one to his home as soon as he returns, he would send 
 one of his servants with him to the man who has him, and 
 he would be delivered up. Whether or not it was his serv- 
 ants that made the raid, or only his neighbours, we may 
 never know, but we will give him the opportunity of causing 
 the horse to be returned, and will ask no questions. 
 
 One of our patients was a Kurdish Sheikh, from the region 
 of Mosul, who came here for an operation. After one ex- 
 amination and the recommendation of a simple salve, to 
 allay his distress, this man developed typhoid fever. He 
 himself, as well as his attendants, regarded this new illness 
 as the direct result of the application of the salve, and the 
 man was removed to a neighbouring Kurdish village, where 
 he grew daily worse, and after a few days, all hope of his 
 recovery being abandoned, the poor man was borne on a 
 bier, and the caravan started for their distant home. The 
 friends who had brought this Sheikh did not wish him to 
 die in a foreign land, nor above all, did they wish him to 
 die in a Christian hospital (any more than we did), and so 
 they hurried him over the border, into Turkey, where he 
 died. During their stay in the hospital and in the village, 
 two of the Sheikh's attendants took a course of treatment 
 from us, which so signally helped them that they insisted 
 that it was impossible that we had purposely killed their 
 chief; and Sheikh Sadik of Nochea is reported to have
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 345 
 
 assured them most positively that we would not use anything 
 that would harm our patients, and that he put implicit confi- 
 dence in us, and would at any time trust any of his family 
 in our care and treatment. Among a large number of people, 
 however, we have the credit of being the direct means of 
 the Sheikh's death. Fortunately, there is another side to 
 this story, for I am sure it is the experience of all physicians 
 in these lands that many are most grateful for what is done 
 for them, even if the result be unsatisfactory, and when the 
 sick recover, the physician is regarded as the means which 
 God has been pleased to use, and the people are not slow to 
 show their gratitude and love. In a work like ours, where 
 patients often come from a distance, one cannot travel in 
 any direction without meeting those who have been benefited, 
 and the effort made by these persons to show their apprecia- 
 tion and gratitude is often very touching. The journey 
 down from Tiflis here has been no exception to this rule. 
 In the few hours that were spent in Tiflis, several Arme- 
 nians, Moslems, and Syrians did their utmost to show their 
 gratitude and affection. On the Erivan plain, an Armenian 
 who had been with us was most persistent that I stop and 
 be his guest. At Julfa, the Governor of that district, who 
 is passport officer as well, returned the money which I had 
 sent him as the usual fee for the visee, and called soon after 
 to explain that money taken by the Persian government from 
 those who did so much for the country would be harm. The 
 custom house chief rebuked his men for even allowing my 
 trunk and handbags to be stopped at the custom house 
 office, remarking that surely a doctor should be allowed to 
 bring whatever he desired into a country for which he had 
 done so much. The telegraph operator at the same place, a 
 Urumia man, called to say that the wires were at my com- 
 mand without charge, if I desired to telegraph in any direc- 
 tion. At Alma Sarai, there was a cavalry escort, under 
 orders from the Governor of Khoi, to accompany me to the 
 Urumia borders, and at Saatlu a man whose son had been 
 healed here this spring seemed really disappointed that I 
 would not go and take breakfast in his house, and hastened 
 to bring a large quantity of beautiful grapes; and so this 
 work has its rewards, right along, from day to day, as well 
 as its difficulties and dangers. But the greatest reward
 
 346 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 and satisfaction comes from the fact that this relation which 
 is formed between the physician and patient, and often 
 continues for years, gives, frequently, the opportunity 
 of bringing an influence to bear upon him which is 
 helpfuL 
 
 Dr. Cochran's medical work was characterized by 
 the moral qualities of the man. He was of quick and 
 accurate judgment, very quiet in tone and demeanour, 
 but firm and decided; ready to listen to others and 
 to change his decision, if reason could be shown, but 
 otherwise gentle and inflexible. There were certain 
 moral and spiritual characteristics that were essential 
 elements in his life. First of all may be mentioned 
 his perfect truthfulness. He never yielded to the prac- 
 tice that is generally regarded as perfectly justifiable 
 of deceiving his patients. Once a man of distinction 
 who was his patient said to him, " Doctor, my friends 
 who are near me will not tell me the truth regarding 
 my condition, and I cannot rely upon what they say. 
 What is the truth ? Is my disease fatal ? " The doctor 
 told him the truth that he could not live much longer 
 and then he urged him to prepare his soul for the 
 great change. And so it was with many other patients 
 and their friends. Never, in order to secure an end 
 that he had in view, did he misrepresent the facts. 
 Sometimes it was necessary for him to correct state- 
 ments that had been made by him to the government 
 or others, and he never failed to do so. His anger was 
 slow, but it would be kindled against those who had led 
 him astray. So men believed and trusted him when 
 they trusted no one else. Another element of strength 
 and power was his unselfishness. He sought nothing 
 for himself, but he gained the best things that men 
 can give the honour, the respect, and the love of his
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 347 
 
 fellows, as well as the peace of a conscience clear to- 
 wards men and God. 
 
 He took in the most serious way his responsibility 
 for the care of his fellow-missionaries, and he made 
 conscientious reports to the Board. He was not of 
 those who relieve themselves of their burdens easily 
 by sending cases home. He did not hesitate to do this 
 when there was nothing else to do, but first of all 
 he exhausted every resource upon the field. If an 
 operation was necessary, he performed it if it was at 
 all possible, even if it was an operation new to him. 
 If a change was indispensable, he would not approve 
 of return to America until nearer possibilities were 
 exhausted. In 1885 he presented to the Mission a 
 careful paper on " Missionary 111 Health." He 
 lamented the prevailing ill health of the missionaries 
 at that time. Among the causes and remedies, he men- 
 tioned : 
 
 I. Climate. That of western Persia is in many respects 
 a delightful one, free from the sudden changes of temperature 
 that are so trying to the body. On the other hand, the 
 altitude of our Stations and the dryness of the atmosphere 
 are both exceedingly trying to persons whose work is largely 
 mental, and to persons once suffering from nervous debility 
 a great hindrance to their recovery. Malaria is the only 
 other unfavourable condition in the climate which specially 
 needs mention. The ravages of this poison when once re- 
 ceived into the system are familiar to all, and the effect which 
 the disease exerts upon the nervous system tends only to 
 aggravate any existing trouble there, or puts the person into 
 such a condition that nervous exhaustion more readily super- 
 venes. 
 
 II. Overwork. This is suggested as a cause by some, but 
 when we consider the amount of hard work, physical and 
 mental, done by many even in poor health, we are led to 
 think differently. A man who is interested in his work 
 and at tbe same time can be free from adverse circumstances,
 
 348 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 chiefly of anxiety, can do a surprising amount of work 
 without any injury to himself, but as soon as fret and worry 
 are superimposed the tables are turned. To quote from 
 Dr. Wallace Taylor of Japan, " I would not detract from 
 the labours of any missionary, nor disparage what he has 
 done, while I say of the many whom I have known sent 
 home on account of ill health, none have broken down from 
 overwork, while many have been the victims of worry and 
 fret." It is not the work, but the anxiety, the worry, and 
 the care that wears and kills. 
 
 III. The Character of Missionary Work. In this work we 
 find some elements which render it trying to the body and 
 mind that are not to be found in other forms of labour. As 
 Dr. Taylor puts it, " It is a labour of the sensibilities, a 
 labour in which the sympathy, the emotions, the higher pas- 
 sions are brought to the front and receive the brunt of the 
 wear. It is a labour in which the heavier drafts are made 
 on the sensibilities. Of man's complex psychical nature these 
 are the most susceptible to friction and wear. Drafts made 
 on these are the most exhaustive, and tell the heaviest on 
 body and mind." Then the missionary has to labour at a 
 disadvantage. He is a stranger among strange people. He 
 must familiarize himself with their language, their ways, 
 their customs; until this is done, it is uphill work. The 
 conditions, religious and moral, in which the people are 
 found, born and bred in sin, their consciences warped and 
 blunted, all these tell on the missionary. He has to spend 
 not a little time in settling oft repeated difficulties among 
 the native Christians, bringing peace and Christian love 
 out of discord and envy. Such work as this forms a large 
 part of missionary labour and taxes his mind and burdens 
 his heart to an extent known only to those who have ex- 
 perienced it. 
 
 IV. Worry. Worry very naturally springs up and plays 
 a most important part in exhausting the mind when the 
 work draws largely on the sensibilities, when it is done at a 
 disadvantage, and when the results are but partially under 
 control. The new missionary worries because he does not 
 make more rapid progress in the language, because he can- 
 not take hold of work sooner, and because of the perplexities 
 of his duties and of the difficulty in understanding and in
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 349 
 
 making himself understood. The results of worry, of course, 
 hare different effects, though none the less sure, on different 
 individuals. 
 
 V. The absence of opportunities for recreation or diver- 
 sion. This is undoubtedly one of the most fruitful causes of 
 breaking down. There is no chance to get completely away 
 from the work, the people, the care and anxiety, even for a 
 few days, unless one goes entirely out of our field. Wherever 
 the missionary goes, he is surrounded by his work ; if possible, 
 he is the more harassed by its difficulties when endeavouring 
 to seek a rest in new places than at home. There being 
 even no Europeans outside of the small missionary circle, 
 whenever we meet our minds and our tongues very natu- 
 rally run on the same things which hare engaged our atten- 
 tion all day, and so it is that this constant, perpetual think- 
 ing and planning and talking over the same work from one 
 year's end to the other becomes at last really a dangerous 
 element, and no wonder one's dreams even keep up the 
 same thoughts. 
 
 Remedies and Preventives. Nervous exhaustion, statistics 
 show, is the disease that the missionary is especially liable 
 to, and it is at the same time one of the most trying and 
 obstinate when once it gets a good hold on the system. For 
 this reason, and for the good of the cause, every effort should 
 be made to find any and all means whereby the new mis- 
 sionary can be saved this trying ordeal and to secure a 
 larger amount of effective labour. Admitting that there are 
 adverse circumstances against which the missionary must 
 labour, and that worry and friction to a certain degree 
 always will exist, there are, nevertheless, mistakes into which 
 both Boards and Missions have fallen, according to the ex- 
 periences of many who have looked into this subject which 
 should be avoided, and some new laws or regulations should 
 be put into practice. 
 
 I. More care should be taken in the selection and examina- 
 tion of candidates for the field by the Board and its medical 
 advisers. Dr. Taylor rightly says, " A mistake is frequently 
 made in sending persons to a foreign field who are too young 
 and immature. But few persons under thirty are physically 
 and mentally prepared for the hard, anxious work which is 
 to devolve upon them. Married ladies should not be sent
 
 350 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 out under twenty-two or twenty-four. Especially would 
 I insist that no single lady be sent out under twenty-four 
 or twenty-six. The strain which comes upon a single lady 
 in coming to and engaging in foreign work is much greater 
 than that which falls upon her married sister. Again the 
 mistake is made of sending out men whose health has been 
 very much impaired seriously (though not permanently) 
 from a course of hard study and close confinement. Fre- 
 quently ladies whose health has been very much impaired 
 from years of hard labour as teachers are sent out. The 
 vain thought is entertained that a change and sea air will 
 work marvellously in their cases." " We need men in whom 
 the element of fret is small and the element of patience 
 large." 
 
 II. The length of time given to the study of the language 
 before responsible work is taken up. To look at this sub- 
 ject from a standpoint of health we are led to the same 
 conclusion that at least three of the Foreign Missions have 
 come to, viz. : that much too little time is given to this 
 most important preparation before responsible work is laid 
 upon the new worker. Either his own sincere desire to be 
 at work or the ill advice of his older associates, or the want 
 of the necessary direction from the Board, or all together, 
 launch the young missionary into a sea of duties, be they 
 great or small, before he has acquired enough familiarity 
 with the language and people, which is enough, if the person 
 has any sensitiveness, to cause him or her immediately to 
 chafe and worry, and in all probability, never to acquire 
 the language perfectly, nor to learn calm, easy habits of 
 work. As Dr. Taylor says, " The labour of acquiring the 
 language, and the responsible trying duties of missionary 
 life are too great to be assumed at the same time. They 
 react on each other." In our field in Persia, a number have 
 had to, and will have to, chafe through their entire service 
 because of just this mistake. Two Missions have recently 
 passed resolutions giving three full years to all new mis- 
 sionaries to secure a knowledge of the language and people. 
 For us in this field I am not prepared to recommend so 
 long a preparation, but I would insist that one entire year 
 be given to all newcomers free from any responsible work 
 whatever, and that during the second year, only light burdens
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 351 
 
 be laid upon the beginner, allowing him to get familiar with 
 the people and work, and to obtain a good knowledge of the 
 language before assuming responsible duties. 
 
 III. How often should missionaries be expected to take a 
 furlough? My opinion is that in the West Pessia Mission, if 
 for two years the new missionary devotes most of his time and 
 strength in getting the language and familiarizing himself 
 with the work and people, at the close of the seventh year 
 it will be advisable for him to go home for one and a half 
 years to two years, and subsequently every tenth year. By 
 adopting these two rules together, that of not doing any 
 responsible work the first year, and but little the second, 
 and then looking forward to a cordial invitation by the 
 Board to take a vacation of two years at the end of the 
 seventh, and after that once in ten years, I feel sure, and 
 the statistics and experience of older observers confirm 
 me in this view, that the labourer will do better and longer 
 work, and the Board will be called upon for a smaller outlay 
 of money upon its broken-down missionaries. 
 
 IV. Such rest as can be obtained should be taken yearly. 
 It seems clear that although no real change and rest can 
 be obtained short of Europe or Russia, it is all important 
 that all the missionaries avail themselves of what rest and 
 change of residence for two or three weeks can give by the 
 lakeside or in some high village. This should be done once 
 a year at least. If these four remedies or preventives be 
 accepted, I am sure we will get good results from them. 
 
 The conscience which Dr. Cochran put into all his 
 medical work was a Christian conscience. He was 
 no mere physician and surgeon. He was a Christian 
 man and a missionary. He was very generous and 
 tolerant in his attitude toward the practices of others, 
 but he was very careful and strict in all his personal 
 ways. In the Station he never allowed the hospital to 
 take precedence over forms of work which he deemed 
 even more vital to the development of the native 
 Church. In a careful appeal for re-enforcements and 
 enlargement, he placed first some ordained mission-
 
 352 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 aries, second native preachers, third intermediate and 
 village schools, and at the end of the list additional 
 appropriations for the hospital. Another year he 
 closes a statement of his needs with the words, " I 
 have hesitated to ask for more than we do of the Board, 
 lest it seem too much in proportion to the estimate 
 for strictly evangelistic work." He was no mere phi- 
 lanthropist or healer of men's bodies. 
 
 And he might truthfully have claimed that much of 
 his work was strictly evangelistic. " Dr. Cochran is 
 not a ' reverend,' " wrote Dr. Shedd in 1886, " but he 
 does excellent work visiting congregations on Sunday, 
 and talking to them as a layman." Here is an outline 
 of one of his talks on the men in the Book of Daniel 
 who were faithful and not afraid : 
 
 LESSONS IN CONSCIENCE AND FAITH 
 
 Conscience : 
 
 I. What were the men asked to do? 
 How simple was the request. 
 How easy to escape from punishment. 
 How explicit was their duty? 
 II. Conscience supreme as soon as tested. 
 Supreme above all violence of kings. 
 Supreme over all statutes of men. 
 Supreme over all majorities in public sentiment. 
 Supreme over all personal consideration of safety. 
 
 Faith: 
 
 I. What was the ground of their trust? 
 Sustained by consciousness of right. 
 Sustained by companionship. 
 Sustained because God was with them. 
 IE. Full triumph of faith. 
 
 A great victory to be unhurt by fire. 
 A great victory to disappoint and humiliate the king. 
 A great victory to establish their faith in Jehovah 
 forever.
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 353 
 
 And in the hospital he had no other thought than 
 that he was preaching Christianity, and no timidity 
 deterred him from making the hospital a centre of 
 active and unhesitating effort to win to Christ all who 
 came, Nestorian, Armenian, Jew, or Moslem. In one 
 of his reports he wrote : 
 
 It is the rule to have morning and evening public prayers 
 which, on an average, more than half of the patients can 
 attend. Until this fall, for want of room, we have con- 
 ducted these exercises in the wards, but now we have a good- 
 sized room, formerly occupied by the matron, especially set 
 aside for a chapel, where two services are held every day. 
 Short morning prayers before breakfast are conducted by the 
 medical students, while the evening services, to which more 
 time is given, Hakim Oshana leads. These exercises are 
 in Syriac or Turkish, as the case requires. Both for the 
 men and women special reading of the Scripture and prayers 
 are held every day by the matron or others whom she 
 calls on. On the Sabbath, during the college session, all 
 who can are required to attend the services there, while 
 those who are confined to their rooms have special exer- 
 cises. During the vacations of the college, I have a 
 Bible class in tbe forenoon for the hospital patients, to 
 which all the servants in the yard come, and in the after- 
 noon a preaching service is held. If the service has 
 been in Syriac, and part have not understood it, a sub- 
 sequent talk has been given them in a language they 
 understand. 
 
 It has always been my rule in dealing with individual 
 patients in the hospital, and as far as practicable outside, 
 to conduct the conversation in such a way as to lead them 
 to look to the Great Physician, who alone can heal them 
 and bless the means we use for their recovery. I endeavour 
 to direct their thoughts to God, and give them to understand 
 that our only reliance for their cure is on Him. This 
 has led to many very interesting conversations with persons 
 of the different religions. 
 
 We have reason to hope that the hospital is having a 
 considerable influence for good throughout tbe districts from
 
 354 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 which our patients come. A few instances may better show 
 this. 
 
 Baron Sahik, a dissolute Armenian of Salmas, being 
 badly wounded, remained in the hospital five months. For 
 most of the time some one or other of our helpers occupied 
 the same ward. He daily read the Scriptures, and usually 
 attended all the meetings. On leaving, he testified to his 
 former bad character, and said he believed that God had 
 afflicted him that he might have this opportunity of coming 
 here and learning the true way. He promised, too, to do 
 everything in his power to help along the gospel work in his 
 district. 
 
 Another case is that of a young and warlike mountain 
 Nestorian who was with us nine months, and was at last 
 relieved of a most distressing malady. He has gone back 
 to his mountain home, and we are told that he says to every 
 one who speaks lightly of the gospel work, " I have lived nine 
 months with the missionaries, and I know they are a Godly 
 people. I, for one, will always listen to their preachers." 
 
 Another, a Khan, master of several villages, whose son 
 was operated on, told us while here that he was almost per- 
 suaded to be a Christian, and when the Armenian priest 
 endeavoured to prevent our teacher from getting a school 
 in his village, this master called both to his house, and after 
 examining them as to their motives and purposes, decided 
 in favour of our helper, saying, " I have become acquainted 
 with the missionaries, and desire their men in my village, 
 and shall send my own boys to their teacher." His friend- 
 ship continues steadfast. 
 
 Recently Sheikh Sadik's wife and daughter were in the 
 hospital, and this now insures the safety of our evangelists 
 and teachers in his district. 
 
 Examples might be multiplied, but this will suffice to 
 illustrate the effect this branch of our work may have on 
 the direct evangelistic work. 
 
 Another case may be quoted from a report of one 
 of his associates in 1898 : 
 
 Mirza Ali of Khoi, a member of the medical class, died 
 last week at the hospital. When he came to Urumia about
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 355 
 
 four years ago, he was a very strict Mohammedan, belonging 
 to a family of sayids and mullahs, so strict, indeed, that 
 there was some thought of his not being permitted to return 
 the following year, as it was feared he might report what 
 was being done for his fellow-religionists. He attended Dr. 
 Cochran's Bible Class on Sunday afternoons, however, and 
 especially this year seemed much interested. Lately, he 
 more than once declared quite openly, in this class of Mos- 
 lems, that he believed Christ was the only Saviour, and in 
 Him alone was there hope of life eternal. He was much 
 afraid to die, and before the days of unconsciousness had 
 frequent conversations with Dr. Cochran upon this subject. 
 
 He was greatly interested in temperance. In a 
 Moslem land, he felt keenly the reproach which Ori- 
 ental Christianity suffers because of the use of wine. 
 He knew how deep were the ravages made by opium 
 and alcohol among Mohammedans, and how untrue is 
 the idea of the West that in Mohammedan countries 
 wine and all liquor are unused. But he knew, also, 
 that Christian lands, and the example of supposed 
 Christian peoples were responsible for the growing 
 evil, and he earnestly argued that the Evangelical 
 Church should be clean of all guilt. He realized the 
 sacrifice which was involved where so much of the 
 wealth of the people was in vineyards and their prod- 
 uct. In one report he wrote : 
 
 The question of temperance has been before the Church fre- 
 quently during the year, but we regret to have to report that 
 but few of our congregations have practised total abstinence. 
 Opium and alcohol are the two remedies obtainable in nearly 
 all places and resorted to quite universally for all pains and 
 aches, and it is very difficult to eradicate from the mind 
 of one whose severe pains have been smothered by arack 
 that it is not the necessary cure for pain. But aside from 
 its medicinal uses, it is employed by many of our Church 
 people with the evening meal. The question is a vital one
 
 356 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 with us. The other three large Missions make a practise of 
 drinking, and their followers often drink heavily. Wine and 
 arack are being used more universally by all classes every 
 year. Some feel that total abstinence should be required of all 
 communicants, and that nothing short of this can be safely 
 allowed in this country, while others favour the constant 
 working upon the consciences of our Church members until it 
 shall be a voluntary step. Prayerful consideration of this 
 subject must be given by both the missionaries and the native 
 Church. 
 
 He often made speeches on the subject. Here is 
 one of his outlines: 
 
 ALCOHOL SEVEN FACTS 
 
 1. Affinity for Water. 
 
 Enters every part body. Leaves tissues hard and dry. 
 Osmose. 
 
 2. Enters Directly Into Blood. 
 
 Shrinks corpuscles, lessens oxidation. Effete matter 
 increased. Fatty, bloating, degeneration. 
 
 3. Disorders and Diminishes Working Power of Every 
 
 Organ. 
 Irritates stomach, lessens gastric juice, precipitates 
 
 pepsin. 
 
 Irritates kidneys, lessens elimination. 
 Irritates, congests, thickens liver. 
 Obstructs aeration in lungs. 
 Excites heart, then depresses it. 
 Congests brain, then makes it anemic. 
 
 4. Does not Warm Body. 
 
 Its effects on corpuscles prevent it from wanning the 
 body. 
 
 5. It is Not a Food in Any Sense. 
 Nor does it diminish waste.
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 357 
 
 6. Uses as a Medicine. 
 External, excitant. 
 
 7. Foreigner to the Body. An Enemy. 
 
 Usurped sceptre and throne, through seas of blood 
 
 greater than J. C. 
 
 Blood from every pore and tissue, from within. 
 Blood from feuds without. 
 Blood from wretchedness, misery, starvation, disease, 
 
 and crime. 
 
 Virtues. Yes, but so had Nero, Alexander, and Na- 
 poleon. 
 Nero killed himself. Alexander conquered by it, and 
 
 killed by it. 
 
 Napoleon robbed by his own people, exiled. 
 It will not die. 
 Banish it. 
 I stand before a Christian congregation, in a church. 
 
 Gough's conversion. 
 I do not appeal to you for your bodies merely, but for 
 
 your souls. 
 
 I do not appeal to you as irresponsible individuals. 
 You cannot live in this world to yourselves. 
 Your examples and your lives must affect others. 
 It is a dangerous thing to see a new light, -and make a 
 
 consequent resolve which we fail to conserve in a 
 
 deed done! 
 " True manliness is the quality in any man by which 
 
 he is capable of first receiving into himself, and then 
 
 distributing through himself to others, some part of 
 
 the life of God." 
 
 He pressed the matter on his medical students, also. 
 
 This chapter on Dr. Cochran's life and work, his 
 spirit and aims as a medical missionary, cannot be 
 closed better than by three testimonies from those who 
 saw him closely,, and watched him, not for a few days 
 only, but through many years. The first is from one 
 of the Nestorian preachers, Rabbi Ephrem Orshan :
 
 358 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 Before I was a patient, I knew well Dr. Cochran for many 
 years, but my knowledge was increased while I was a patient 
 in the hospital, and I can say that he was more than a 
 doctor. 
 
 Reasons why he was more than a doctor: 
 
 1st. He was more than a doctor in his profession; that is, 
 he was expert in all the branches of doctorship. For in- 
 stance, he was an oculist, a surgeon, etc. 
 
 2nd. In his treatment of patients he was very pleasant to 
 his patients in his encouragement and sympathy. He suf- 
 fered with the sufferers, was sorry when they were in pain, 
 did not sleep nights, but was ready to go to them, was very 
 glad when they were dismissed cured. 
 
 3rd. Because he had many valuable characteristics. He 
 was faithful when at work, was never idle, was always in 
 the hospital, although he had many assistants and pupils, 
 he tried to visit the patients every day. The patients never 
 complained of him, although they wanted him always with 
 them. He visited them during the night if it was necessary, 
 and in the night he was as pleasant as in midday. More 
 than all, he had patience and forbearance, although there 
 were always many irregularities in the hospital just as in a 
 family in a home. He was quiet always at his post like a 
 courageous man. He was an expert in his dealings with 
 various classes of the sick that came to the hospital, as 
 officials, literary men, and nobility, etc. He knew how to 
 deal with each one properly. Many officials used to come 
 to him, not only for physical troubles, but for advice about 
 other business. They looked upon him not only as an in- 
 dependent physician, but as a king and prince. There came 
 to him the officers of the State, the Chiefs of the Kurds, 
 Sheikhs, Sunnees and ecclesiastics to consult him. The 
 Turkish Vice-Consul Shahbandar said to me, if you want 
 to know perfectly Dr. Cochran, you should visit Turkey as 
 far as Mosul and other places, and then you would know how 
 much honour he has from valis, kaimakams, and pashas. 
 All these characteristics had united to make such a worthy 
 man. 
 
 4th. The other thing which made Dr. Cochran famous was 
 his saintly character, in his treatment always trusting the 
 power of God. He was of humble spirit.
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 359 
 
 5th. In his missionary work he was more than a doctor. 
 He was as a missionary in the hospital preaching Christ, 
 and this was one of his aims there. He advised the sick 
 to trust first Christ. While I was on a bed in the hospital 
 myself, he came to me at first, and said, "Do not put 
 all your hope upon my profession, but remember Christ who 
 is the chief doctor, and I will try by His power to cure 
 you." He had arranged to have religious services both 
 morning and evening in the hospital. So the hospital was 
 a sort of theological school. There was discussion always 
 going on between men of different religions. I remember a 
 sayid once in the hospital when I was there. Dr. Cochran 
 asked me to talk with him about religion. In the end he 
 asked what he should do to be saved. Well, we told him to 
 believe in Jesus Christ, and he left the hospital under this 
 impression. There are many others who left the hospital 
 carrying with them these influences and impressions. One 
 of the officials in Urumia said to me, " If there is a good 
 man in the world he is Dr. Cochran." Yes, he was a doctor 
 and more than a doctor. 
 
 The second is from the Rev. W. A. Shedd : 
 
 I have been out at the college to-day for the Communion 
 service. It was a very delightful time. It is the first time 
 I have been at the college for Sunday since we came into the 
 city, and for a service possibly since doctor's death. At 
 any rate, I don't know when I have felt so keenly doctor's 
 absence. That he rejoiced with us we must believe. I 
 have preached many times at the college, and usually doctor 
 has been in the audience. I could always be sure that 
 there was one sympathetic, humble listener in him. My 
 mind has been going to-day on this aspect the religious 
 of his character, and perhaps a few things I can jot down 
 may be of help. I think the predominant religious trait 
 was his genuine humility. He always seemed glad to hear 
 and to learn. This real humility marked his character in 
 everything. He scarcely ever voluntarily told any one of 
 his medical work, his surgical operations, government work, 
 that in any way displayed his influence, and least of all, 
 religious work. I think he felt more and more deeply the
 
 360 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 importance of following up his medical work with direct 
 religious work, and did more such work himself. He had 
 no taste for theological subtleties, and I doubt whether he 
 ever engaged in religious controversy certainly very rarely. 
 I have at various times made suggestions as to religious 
 work in the hospital or Bible teaching of the medical class, 
 and he was always most grateful and ready to co-operate in 
 such plans. So in every line with this genuine humility 
 there was also real positiveness of religious conviction and 
 influence. He preferred to give place to the other men of 
 the Station in leading our prayer meeting, but he often led. 
 When he did, he always had something suggestive and posi- 
 tive to say, based on the careful study of some Scripture 
 passage. So in relation to the native Church he took a very 
 definite interest in the plans for its work, and was always 
 ready to do all he could to help it on. It was doubtless a 
 wise conservation of strength that kept him from taking 
 any active part in direct evangelization by means of preach- 
 ing. He had no use for physicians who only half learned 
 their profession or who allowed other lines of work to dis- 
 sipate their strength and skill. His deep interest in the 
 Church work was marked in the Station counsels, where any 
 question involving men or measures for evangelistic work 
 always enlisted his heartiest consideration. His knowledge 
 of the native brethren, of the field, even those parts he had 
 never visited, and of the people, made his advice in these 
 matters second to that of no one, even those directly engaged 
 in the Church work. 
 
 He said but little of his own spiritual life, but I am sure 
 that prayer was a very vital part of it. No one can doubt 
 that his private devotions were regular and genuine, as were 
 family prayers in his home. Prayer was also a vital force in 
 his medical practice. At one time, when the question of 
 faith healing vs. medicine was being discussed, it was very 
 noticeable how he never permitted himself to doubt the 
 efficiency or limit the power of prayer. He said once that he 
 himself never undertook a surgical operation without definite 
 prayer for help. In our meetings together as missionaries, 
 and also in more public meetings, he was more ready to lead 
 in prayer than to make remarks. 
 
 But, of course, the great beauty of his religious life was
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 361 
 
 its fruitage in Christlikeness of character and activity. His 
 great aim was missionary, and not philanthropic. I used to 
 feel sometimes that he insisted too strongly that medical 
 work was justified, not by its merciful relieving of suffering, 
 but as a means to the preaching of Christ. So his sympathies 
 and his influence were as broad as the work. And in his 
 religious life and character he grew. I don't know that 
 there were any crises in his spiritual life, certainly there 
 were not as many ups and downs as is the case with most 
 of us, but there was growth which was very perceptible. 
 
 As I have thought of doctor, especially as I have had to 
 try to do some of the work he did, what I have wondered 
 at more than anything else is the degree of perfectness, of 
 real Christlikeness, in the details of his work, his patience, 
 considerateness, and faithfulness. It is hard, but it is 
 also very inspiring to take up any part of such a man's 
 life. 
 
 The third is from his sister, Mrs. Ponafidine : 
 
 The hospital was ever a revelation to the people. Mother 
 made the home part of it so perfect with flowers and pictures, 
 and her own bright, cheery presence, and Joe the physicians', 
 and one could hardly say that one could have worked without 
 the other those first years, in making the institution what 
 it was. There were always many Kurds in the hospital, and 
 to them the contrast between their own homes and it must 
 have been particularly great. I remember one case, a petty 
 Sheikh who, on a robbing excursion, had been wounded in 
 rather a strange way. The bullet had passed through the 
 lower part of the horse's body, and through the man's ankle, 
 crushing the small bones. The horse was able to carry his 
 master safely out of the melee and almost to his home, 
 when the faithful beast dropped dead. The wounded man 
 was attended to in the primitive Kurdish fashion, but after 
 a month of suffering he was at last, like so many of his tribe, 
 brought down to the hospital with a very bad leg. He was 
 accompanied by a large retinue of riders, and a very pretty 
 young wife. He was in the hospital a long time, and finally 
 dismissed quite cured. He suffered greatly, and was twice 
 chloroformed for minor operations. All through it he was
 
 362 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 in most comical terror of betraying himself by a cry or 
 groan. It took a great deal of talking to persuade him to 
 consent to chloroform, as he had heard that people under 
 the influence of the anesthetic often cried out or groaned, 
 and he said if his wife or servants heard him, the former 
 would forsake him for a braver man, and the latter would, 
 on returning home, tell his people, and his influence with the 
 tribe would be gone. We promised him that none of them 
 should be within hearing, and I remember during the opera- 
 tion once or twice the door opened, and we saw the wife 
 peeping in, and she had to be coaxed away. When the 
 operation was over, and the effects of the chloroform were 
 off, one of the first words the chieftain asked was if he had 
 betrayed himself, and his relief was very evident when told 
 that not a sound had escaped him. As I came to know the 
 young wife better, in a moment of rash confidence she slipped 
 down her loose long robe, and showed me her back and 
 shoulders. To my horror I saw she was a mass of bruises 
 and great welts. She explained that when her husband 
 suffered very much at night, nothing so relieved him as to 
 have his men lay her across the bed, face down, and let him 
 pound her with his stick, and listen to her cries. She hap- 
 pened to tell me this, but did not think of complaining of 
 her husband. I at once told Joe of it, for he had already 
 been puzzled by the reports of cries in the Sheikh's room 
 that ceased if any one knocked, and no explanation could 
 be had. I think I never remember Joe so indignant as he 
 was then, for he, like all of us, had learned to admire and 
 like the patient little woman who was so devoted a nurse 
 to her very exacting lord. He at once went to the Sheikh's 
 room, and had a long talk with him, trying to instil into 
 his mind our ideas of the duties of husband and wife, but 
 as none of them seemed to sink in, he declared very decidedly 
 to the Sheikh that if he knew of his touching his wife again, 
 he would be at once dismissed from the hospital, no matter 
 how ill he might be. This made a great impression, for the 
 man saw he was being cured, and he also knew, as every 
 one who came in contact with Joe at once felt, that he would 
 keep his word. So from that time on he had to bear his 
 pain as best he could without hearing his wife's cries to 
 cover his own groans. These were the people among whom
 
 AS A MEDICAL MISSIONARY 363 
 
 Joe worked for years, and however rough and rude they were, 
 they always seemed to be touched by contact with him. 
 
 I remember a journey to Van, Turkey, in 1886, I think. 
 Coming back, we took a cut right through the mountains 
 among the wildest Kurds. Almost everywhere we were asked 
 if we were the people of the Hakim Sahib, and great was 
 their delight when they found he himself was there. One 
 night, after a very bad day of pouring rain, during which 
 the packhorse with the bedding got carried down by a 
 mountain torrent for some distance, soaking the bedding, 
 we at last halted at a little village way up among the clouds 
 and snows, though it was summer. We were nearly frozen, 
 for it was a great altitude, the horses were exhausted, and 
 we ourselves dripping. Now every one who has lived in 
 Persia knows that if there is anything more objectionable 
 to a fanatical Moslem than an ordinary Christian, it is a 
 wet one, and these mountain villagers seemed the most 
 fanatical of the fanatic, and not even a stable was open to 
 us. From hovel to hovel we went, offering good pay, and 
 at last it seemed as if we should have to put up our wet tent 
 and sleep under it, while the poor horses were in the open. 
 Just then a man came along, and peering into Joe's face, 
 gave a cry, and seized his coat, and began kissing it. It 
 was the old story a hospital patient and we knew our 
 troubles were over. The best he had, which was a large 
 room inhabited by his whole family and the animals to 
 boot, was at our disposal, and the shivering horses were led 
 in, too. We found the corner, which was the living-room, 
 swept clean, and with some signs of comfort, and the beaming 
 host explained to us that on his return he had tried to teach 
 his wife to keep things clean as the "great lady" did the 
 hospital. I remember with what trouble Joe persuaded them 
 the next morning to accept at least enough to cover the 
 actual food and fodder used by us they were evidently very, 
 very poor, but they did not wish pay. That evening half 
 the village came in, and many said, in a half-astonished 
 way, "If you had only told us at the beginning who you 
 were, none would have refused you shelter, for many of our 
 tribe have been in your hospital, and have told us of you 
 and your mother, who is as a mother to all the sick." This 
 is one of many, many incidents that those travelling in
 
 364 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHBAN 
 
 the mountains and plains could tell, and always hand in hand 
 with the devotion to the Hakim was the love and reverence 
 expressed for the great lady for her love for them and for 
 her cleanliness. This latter point in connection with Euro- 
 pean hospitals is regarded as a matter of course, but to these 
 miserable, dirty mountaineers, the daily struggles mother had 
 with them to get them to regard the most elementary rules 
 of hygiene and decency, made so deep an impression that 
 they veritably believed that "cleanliness was next to God- 
 liness" in her eyes. To those in hospital work in civilized 
 countries, it is impossible to realize what mother and Joe 
 went through the first years when the nurses and servants 
 and assistants were such only in name, and showed more 
 disgust and disinclination to touch the poor filthy creatures 
 than did they. Twice he visited us in Russia. There he 
 was unknown, and the want of a common language was an 
 obstacle to any real acquaintance, and yet our friends used 
 to speak, and they have expressed it by letter since his death, 
 of the feeling that there was something in him that drew 
 them to him. They felt the goodness and the sweetness of 
 the man even when many words could not pass between 
 them. 
 
 I feel that I have said so little and so badly what I would 
 like to say of the best and noblest life I have ever known.
 
 XVII 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 
 
 "TT REMEMBER him and his brother Theodore," 
 writes Mrs. S. J. Rhea, who lived in Urumia 
 * when Dr. Cochran was a little boy there, " as 
 inseparable companions, always together, emphasizing 
 each other, beautiful, brave, manly, athletic in their 
 plays and struggles, never complaining or crying, never 
 cheating or taking any mean advantage or making un- 
 lawful reprisals, like David and Jonathan. Then The- 
 odore died of typhus fever, and we wondered how 
 Joseph could live without his shadow. But he did 
 live to comfort and help his parents and sisters and 
 us all. His form was dignified, and straight, and 
 strong, and manly. Though a little child he made the 
 very most of his body, developing every muscle as 
 though he had studied his after profession then, and 
 he put every rule into practice. He knew just how 
 to sit, and stand, and walk, and breathe, and hold his 
 head; and there was a special grace in every motion 
 always, such as we expect in courtiers: and perhaps 
 he took in, like the breath of his native air, an Oriental 
 courtesy, so unattainable to us brusque Occidentals, 
 always ready to lift his cap and give most cordial 
 greeting and show reverence, especially to those older, 
 and give up his own plans and convenience to help any 
 one in need, and confer a favour or help a young child. 
 He was like a trained knight of the Round Table, and 
 in purity a very Galahad. Every one who knew him 
 
 365
 
 366 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 will agree to this, and say, * He made the very same 
 impression on me/ and I can see him now with his 
 head up, like a king, and as if he were going on an 
 errand of importance, but never so self-centred and 
 preoccupied that he could not watch for appeals or 
 1 adventures ' on the right and left, and ready to stop 
 and turn aside to attend to any call. He was always 
 ready to give himself; his ears were quick to hear, and 
 his eyes to see, and if he tried to help you he knew 
 how, and you felt that he could help you. He was so 
 efficient and handy; what he undertook you knew he 
 would accomplish. Those little hands were getting 
 ready for surgery by using toys and tools, and making 
 and fixing things. He was always so appreciative of 
 any little favour from us older ones, any invitation or 
 entertainment or birthday party, and afterward when 
 he had motherless children and was so occupied with 
 his varied and absorbing cares, he made it his business 
 to give his own and the other children some little 
 treat every week, such as a ride, or a stroll, or a picnic, 
 giving himself as a boy to the boys, and making their 
 lives to overflow with good cheer." 
 
 What he had been as a boy he was as a man. 
 Courtesy and considerateness were part of his nature. 
 He was a man of clear and quick judgment, and of 
 strong and unhesitating action, but he was not over- 
 bearing or assertive or discourteous. He did not sur- 
 render his politeness or dignity under excitement. No 
 one ever saw his forbearance overtaxed, though there 
 were times when the strain was greater than even those 
 closest to him knew. Jealousy and malice and selfish- 
 ness were qualities of a lower plane than that on 
 which he moved. " Among those characteristics in 
 him, which impressed me most deeply," wrote an
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 367 
 
 American woman, " was his gentlemanliness. He was 
 a gentleman by instinct as well as training." Profes- 
 sor Linden, one of his instructors in the Central High 
 School in Buffalo, said of him as a boy, " He was the 
 most perfect gentleman I have ever known among my 
 pupils. Instinctive gentlemanliness was emphasized by 
 a singular gentleness towards, and thoughtfulness for 
 others. I have never, even under most trying circum- 
 stances, known him to be impatient or thoughtless of 
 others' feelings." 
 
 He made the same impression of courtesy and high- 
 mindedness upon women of all classes in Persia. 
 "When he was last here," wrote Miss Holliday of 
 Tabriz, " two ladies of the Hadji Kalentar house asked 
 to meet him at the hospital, as they wished to see him 
 professionally, but dreaded going to an unfamiliar 
 place to do so. A visit was arranged as requested, 
 at which Mrs. Cochran was also present. The ladies 
 were charmed with his kindness and courtesy, and 
 said, ' We were no more afraid of him than if he had 
 been our father.' They told their families they were 
 glad to have been ill, as it had been the means of 
 making his acquaintance." 
 
 As has been pointed out, he had a thorough knowl- 
 edge of Persian etiquette, and was as much at his ease 
 with the Persian nobility as with the Nestorian Chris- 
 tian villagers or with home people in America. He 
 recognized the good purpose in all earnest work of 
 others, however imprudent, but he always sought in 
 his own work to avoid giving needless offence, and 
 while never discouraging any one's honest efforts, he 
 again and again protected them from unnecessary fail- 
 ure by his tactful adaptations to Oriental ideas of pro- 
 priety.
 
 368 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 He was a delightful conversationalist. His own ex- 
 perience, his knowledge of Persian stories, his con- 
 tact with life in many lands, his exhaustless fund of 
 anecdotes, and his quiet and playful wit, made him the 
 most delightful of companions. He was always ready 
 for any social emergency. When the Vali Ahd, the 
 grandfather of the present Shah of Persia, visited 
 Urumia some years ago, the doctor went out with 
 many others to greet him. The Vali Ahd called him 
 up to the carriage, and held out his hand to him, 
 asking to have his pulse felt and a medical opinion of 
 his condition given immediately. In Persia every avail- 
 able doctor is consulted as a matter of course, and is 
 expected to give a correct diagnosis on the spot after 
 feeling the pulse and looking at the tongue. Dr. 
 Cochran felt the pulse with all due solemnity, and 
 then, with quiet acceptance of the Oriental situation, 
 pronounced the entirely satisfactory verdict, " It feels 
 as though royal blood were coursing through it." It 
 was this light humour which brightened all his social 
 intercourse. In travelling, no matter how great the 
 inconvenience, he would either see the funny side of 
 things in a quiet way, or he would take the hardship 
 and disappointment with stoical unconcern. To one 
 of the secretaries of the Board, tried extremely by the 
 importunity of some Persian scholars and noblemen 
 who had come to America, and who were penniless and 
 would not work, he wrote: 
 
 Your letter of 4th of September came two weeks ago, in 
 the midst of Annual Meeting. It was interesting and amus- 
 ing, and notwithstanding the tone of distress, if not of 
 despair, in it, I confess I had a feeling of a little pleasure 
 at the thought that you were being pressed and perplexed 
 along the lines that we are so often. There is hardly a day 
 but that some one person at least comes with the expression
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 369 
 
 that " I know but God above and you below, and so you must 
 help me," etc. 
 
 In the familiarity of the Station life he was a great 
 tease, and loved nothing better than a good practical 
 joke, although he very much disliked being teased. 
 
 In the spring of 1898 [wrote Mrs. Labaree] Mr. Labaree 
 was to go to Mosul to take over the business affairs of the 
 Station, and was much distressed over the delay in starting 
 caused by the late snowstorms. He had instructed Dr. Yon- 
 atan of Souj Bulak to telegraph when the roads were open. 
 On April 1st Dr. Cochran sent on a telegram in Persian 
 for Mr. Labaree, having written on the envelope, " excuse 
 my opening," and inside what purported to be the transla- 
 tion from the Persian, " New snows, blocked road, im- 
 passable for a month. Yonatan." This greatly distressed 
 Mr. Labaree, and he told a number of natives about it, and 
 then it all turned out to be an April fool hoax! Dr. Coch- 
 ran was always a delightful traveller. He knew how to make 
 the hardest journey as comfortable as possible; he was always 
 on the lookout for the comfort of all the members of the 
 party, and had a fund of interesting stories and information 
 with which to beguile the long hours. When he had been 
 off on an itinerating journey he would spend several social 
 evenings after his return in recounting his adventures to 
 our little circle, and telling of the interesting places he 
 had seen and the people he had met. 
 
 When Dr. Cochran toured in the mountains, he suffered 
 not only from the ordinary discomforts that tired other mis- 
 sionaries, and from the swarms of people who came to be 
 healed and left him no time for rest, but also from a very 
 distressing dizziness at a high altitude or going over the 
 very narrow bridges and past steep precipices. He dared 
 not trust himself on his mule in such places, and often was 
 forced to go on his hands and knees when he feared to walk. 
 I heard him tell of a steep, icy incline down which his 
 party was coming one summer's day up among the high peaks 
 of Kurdistan. All had dismounted, and the doctor's mule, 
 with saddlebags containing the precious medicines and in-
 
 370 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 struments, began to slide down the steep, slippery mountain- 
 side, and could not stop itself. Faster and faster it slid, 
 and suddenly before it loomed up a big rock right in its 
 path. The doctor, watching with bated breath from above, 
 gave up mule, medicines, and all for lost. But just before 
 reaching the rock, the mule gathered its four feet together, 
 gave a bound clean over the rock, came down on all fours, 
 and continued to coast down the mountainside. 
 
 His charm was heightened by his genuine modesty. 
 There was no pretentiousness or boasting of any sort. 
 He always depreciated his abilities. He could write 
 the most fascinating reports, but he spoke of them with 
 diffidence and humility. He shrank from self-adver- 
 tisement of every sort. 
 
 " In 1889," wrote one of his sisters, " when my 
 brother visited my home in Sparta, N. Y., he yielded 
 to my wishes, and spoke in our church one Sunday 
 evening. It was always hard for him to talk about 
 work in which he had taken a prominent part. I 
 wanted him to tell about the circumstances leading 
 to his receiving the decoration from the Shah, and to 
 show the stars to the audience. But with his charac- 
 teristic modesty he went to the service without them, 
 and they were only shown when my husband in the 
 pulpit, against my brother's protest, fastened them 
 upon his coat while he was speaking." 
 
 And it was so also in Persia. He went about in a 
 quiet and unpretentious way, careful always to do 
 what the Persians deemed proper, but with no show or 
 retinue of any sort. Mrs. Whipple tells of the trip 
 which Dr. Cochran and Mr. Whipple took to Bagdad : 
 
 One incident I recall that happened when Dr. Cochran 
 and Mr. Whipple were taking a tour to Bagdad. Whenever 
 they would meet in after years, they would refer with great 
 enjoyment to the difference in the way an Occidental and
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 371 
 
 an Oriental looked upon the idea of greatness. As long as 
 they were in Persia there was no trouble, but when they 
 crossed over the border into Turkey, the custom house 
 officials stopped them, and made such exorbitant demands 
 that Dr. Cochran protested, telling them he was the American 
 Hakim Sahib from Urumia. 
 
 They would not believe him, saying that such a great 
 man must be a tall, fierce person, travelling with a large 
 retinue of servants. They robbed them and let them go. 
 Dr. Cochran warned them that they would be sorry, for 
 they would be compelled to return the goods and pay a heavy 
 fine besides. They would not listen. After finishing the 
 journey to Bagdad, floating down the Tigris on a raft of 
 goat skins, and returning by way of Babylon, and passing 
 many thousands of pilgrims on the way to Mecca, they 
 reached home. Dr. Cochran reported the case to the Gov- 
 ernor, and in some time less than a year most of the stolen 
 goods were returned with many apologies to the great 
 American Doctor. 
 
 With innumerable provocations to lose his temper, 
 he was noted for his calm and tranquil spirit and his 
 patient acceptance of disappointment and thwarted 
 plans. How wonderful such self-control is, those will 
 appreciate who know the strain to which it is sub- 
 jected in an Oriental land. He had come, not to be 
 ministered unto, but to minister, and he did not chafe 
 at hindrances which he could not remove, nor complain 
 because the conditions of service were difficult and 
 trying. The natives never ceased to be impressed with 
 his patience and quietness. By his example he 
 preached as powerfully as any man ever preached by 
 words. One native pastor writes : 
 
 In 1896 I was with the late Mr. Labaree and Dr. Cochran 
 on their journey to Kochanis on a mission of condolence to 
 the Patriarch on the death of his brother, Eshay. Dr. 
 Cochran was known to me throughout my life, but on this
 
 372 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHKAN 
 
 journey were new dispositions and influences seen in him 
 which I was not acquainted with before. When we reached 
 Mawana the people came out to meet us on the way with a 
 salute of rifle discharge. This village had often been saved 
 from plunder and massacre through the efforts of Dr. 
 Cochran. The following day the people accompanied us to 
 the Turkish boundary. Soon afterwards we met the guards, 
 who pointed their muskets to stop us. Dr. Cochran asked 
 me to whisper to the chief as to who were the travellers. 
 As soon as they heard the name of Cochran they lowered 
 their muskets and accompanied us respectfully. 
 
 In Gawar a number of brave riders proceeded to meet 
 us on the way. With them was Dr. Alexander, one of his 
 pupils. In a short while we reached Dizza, the head- 
 quarters of the local ruler. According to the custom, Dr. 
 Cochran and his party called on the pasha, who received 
 him with great respect. 
 
 We were informed that a delay of nine days was neces- 
 sary before receiving any order from Constantinople with 
 regard to our advance towards Kochanis. In spite of this 
 tiresome delay, and the urgent desire of the other members 
 of the party to go forward or return to Urumia, he was calm, 
 quiet, and patient until the time came when we were con- 
 veyed peacefully to the Patriarch. During our stay at Dizza 
 many Kurdish chiefs called on Dr. Cochran. 
 
 Only one person of the party knew the delight the Patri- 
 arch had had in having such a new guest as that. He told 
 me that he owed many obligations to the doctor. One of 
 them was that through his kind efforts he was prevented 
 from going to Constantinople, where he was called by the 
 Turkish government. 
 
 Our journey lasted twenty days. During this period I 
 realized his influence in the Kurdish mountains, his sym- 
 pathy with the poor of our people, his honour by the Kurdish 
 chiefs, and his skill as a doctor, but more than all, I learned 
 the humble spirit and patience of a great man towards those 
 who are uneducated. 
 
 One of the native doctors trained by him bears the 
 same testimony:
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 373 
 
 I have known Dr. Cochran for twenty years, the first 
 five in college, and the next five in the hospital, studying 
 there. During all this time I never noticed in this man 
 any word or act that was not proper, whether in his dealings 
 with his studies, pupils, or patients. I think that I am not 
 mistaken if I say that he was above human, because I have 
 seen no one like him. Whenever, we his students, were 
 wrong in something, he would correct and advise us in such 
 a pleasant way that we felt more pleased with him. He 
 suffered many troubles, but he was always content, satisfied. 
 He spent much time in entertaining his poor, dirty pa- 
 tients. I could not do what he used to do. I was once 
 with him on the way to S almas to visit a sick person; there 
 was also a servant with us, and when we arrived in Kushchi 
 it was night. Early in the morning, while dark, we left 
 the place, and while in the mountains, where are dangerous 
 passes, suddenly a band of horsemen, highwaymen, came 
 upon us, and began to shoot at us I think they shot about 
 twenty bullets, and we were shouting, " It is Dr. Cochran ! " 
 " It is Dr. Cochran." When they came nearer one of them 
 recognized Dr. Cochran, and he came down from his horse, 
 kneeled, and apologized. He was a servant of a chief who 
 had been cured by Dr. Cochran in the hospital. I thought 
 hereafter Dr. Cochran will not travel in the night, but he 
 encouraged me, saying that this is the third time he has 
 been shot at, but the Lord has saved him from all. And 
 he talked with these as if nothing had happened. Within 
 the last ten years I have been working with him among the 
 officials and nobility of the country. The respect and esteem 
 which he had among those people was simply extraordinary. 
 They thought of him as their elder brother, wise and honour- 
 able. They had confidence in him by revealing to him their 
 secrets, and asking his advice when they were in distress 
 and trouble, and he used to help them as much as he could. 
 
 And one of his younger fellow missionaries, who was 
 born in Persia, testifies: 
 
 I used to know Dr. Cochran when I was a young man, 
 and to admire him; but since I came back this time, his 
 character has been a revelation to me of quiet unassuming
 
 374 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 power. He illustrated the repose and calm of real strength 
 more than any man it was ever my pleasure to meet. I have 
 found this year that nothing I have ever known is such a 
 continual strain upon one's temper and nerves as the con- 
 tinual contact with the smallness and pettiness of native 
 character. I thought that I was amiable before I came 
 here; I have had to revise this estimate of myself, and pray 
 daily for patience. In all this the example of Dr. Cochran 
 has been a continual lesson. No one had more to try him, 
 yet no one was more uniformly calm and undisturbed in his 
 treatment of the natives. No one saw more clearly their 
 faults of character, yet no one was more fair and kind in 
 his judgments of them. And it was not altogether due 
 to his natural gentleness, but it was the result of a lifelong 
 communion with the Master. Of that there was no shadow 
 of a doubt. And he had his reward in the love and admira- 
 tion which the people gave him. In spite of the adulation 
 and flattery he received, and the real power he exercised, he 
 was always the same humble, unassuming man -to the end. 
 
 He truly loved the people, Mohammedan and Chris- 
 tian, and they knew that he loved them, and that he 
 was living for them, and that, in a true sense, in his 
 Master's spirit and name, he was bearing their trans- 
 gressions and sins, and giving himself for them. 
 
 But the inner spring of his life was not feeling, but 
 a firm and noble sense of duty and a steadfast devotion 
 to what was right. This unbending conscientiousness 
 showed itself in his frugality and precision in the use 
 of mission money. He would never countenance any 
 extravagance. If it was necessary for some one to 
 undertake the unpleasant duty of scrutinizing another 
 man's accounts and making criticism, he was ready. 
 He wrote long letters to explain the necessity of what 
 many would regard as small expenditures. But the 
 money was all sacred money in his eyes, and an outlay 
 of $200 needed the same moral justification as an out- 
 lay of $200,000. He obeyed with scrupulous fidelity
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 375 
 
 all the rules of the Station, the Mission, and the Board, 
 and he thought that others should do so. He was 
 courteous but perfectly firm in refusing to countenance 
 loose disregard of these rules and all easy-going irreg- 
 ularity. He saw no reason why righteousness should 
 cause bad feeling. " It is news to me," he wrote of 
 
 one whose carelessness he had to check, " that Mr. 
 
 entertained any but the kindest feelings toward me, as 
 I have never had any other toward him." All moneys 
 which came to him in his work he carefully accounted 
 for, and would not regard presents to him for medical 
 service as personal, but always credited them to the 
 hospital, and if he wanted to keep a rug or a horse 
 which had been given him, he would pay its value into 
 the hospital funds. He had a sense of honour in such 
 things, as fine and keen as the edge of the sharpest 
 dagger blade worn by any of his Kurdish friends or 
 foes. He never shirked work or evaded duty, how- 
 ever hard and unpleasant. He never complained of 
 having too much on hand or of being loaded with 
 more than his share of work. The rules of Archbishop 
 Benson were illustrated in his life: 
 
 Not to call attention to crowded work, or petty fatigues, 
 or trivial experiences. 
 
 To heal wounds which in times past my cruel and careless 
 hands have made. 
 
 To seek no favour, no compassion; to deserve, not ask, 
 for tenderness. 
 
 Not to feel any uneasiness when my advice or opinion is 
 not asked, or is set aside. 
 
 But he had no careless hands. His touch was ever 
 gentle and healing, and he threw his whole self into 
 all that he did. " He was so very careful," wrote one 
 of the Anglican missionaries, " at every turn to do the
 
 376 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHEAN 
 
 thing he had in hand, and that only, and had an 
 extraordinary capacity for throwing himself into the 
 work that he was for the time engrossed with. On 
 each occasion he seemed to be a different person, yet 
 through all he was the same. It is difficult to explain 
 what I mean, but I know it came to him on account 
 of his being able to throw himself so whole-heartedly 
 into the task he had in hand, that for the time being 
 he forgot his other gifts. It is from such lives that 
 we learn the meaning of missionary zeal." 
 
 Seeing him in his work of unselfish mediation one 
 would have supposed him to be a high-minded diplo- 
 matist and no doctor, and seeing him in simple social 
 intercourse he would never have been thought of as 
 the great mediator of northwest Persia, and when he 
 was in his wards among his patients he was so much a 
 doctor that one could not think of him as aught else. 
 Whatever his hands found to do, they did with their 
 might. 
 
 Such a man was, of course, a great element of peace 
 and good will and concord in a Mission Station. He 
 could get on with anybody, for the simple reason that 
 he could be unselfish, and he would not quarrel. " I 
 think I am right," he wrote once of certain troubles 
 in other Stations, " in saying that the root of most of 
 this evil is the sin which all of us are in danger of 
 falling into, of not getting on nicely with our asso- 
 ciates a sin which, though difficult to keep out of, 
 after all, we have no excuse for committing. I confess 
 I am tired of it so tired that it will, I know, be easier 
 for me to keep away from it. I believe one of our 
 chief duties is to get on peaceably with those who are 
 working with us, and if we don't do it, we are not 
 worthy to hold the high positions given to us. Look-
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 377 
 
 ing at the least evil which this produces the mission- 
 aries have no right to be the cause of the loss of so 
 much money out of the Lord's Treasury." 
 
 He kept the peace in his own Station always, and 
 though often difficult problems arose, they were cared 
 for with a tact and good judgment and Christian kind- 
 ness which made the Station a model in these regards, 
 or as nearly a model as a Mission Station of human 
 beings is likely to become. 
 
 And there were still more perplexing problems al- 
 ways present in the matter of the relation of the Mis- 
 sion to other Missions. For years the Mission culti- 
 vated the field alone. There never was room for more 
 than one Mission, but first the Roman Catholics came, 
 then the Anglican Mission, then innumerable small 
 ventures American and European congregations or in- 
 dividuals supporting Nestorian preachers, educated, for 
 the most part, in the Presbyterian schools, some honest 
 but others eager for the larger pay and for the absence 
 of all supervision, enjoyed by them as independent 
 missionaries. Dozens of these Missions grew up, many 
 of them of the most fraudulent character, some of them 
 manned by Persians who had married American young 
 women, whom they had brought back to Oriental con- 
 ditions. The problem of self-support, which one Mis- 
 sion undisturbed could have worked out, and the prob- 
 lem of national self-respect among the Nestorians, be- 
 came almost impossible of solution. All of these Mis- 
 sions depended more or less on Dr. Cochran. His 
 shadow rested upon every one of them. The young men 
 who had gone to America and Europe, and had come 
 back with support for independent and divisive work, 
 still went to him when in trouble, and looked to him 
 as the great protector of the nation. He refused none.
 
 378 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 He showed no resentment or ill will, though the con- 
 ditions which came to exist presented the most flagrant 
 violation of the principles of Mission comity and co- 
 operation to be found anywhere in the world. It cut 
 him to the heart to see what was being done in the 
 name of Christ, but he would quarrel with none, and 
 kept the friendship of all, though they knew what his 
 views were and the earnestness of his disapproval of 
 all sectarian divisions. 
 
 His religious life was unostentatious, but it was deep 
 and true. Mrs. Cochran writes: 
 
 He said he never could make speeches and prepare prayer- 
 meeting talks, though perhaps not all who heard him would 
 agree with him. However that may have been, he had a 
 gift for living his religion down to the minutest detail of 
 his daily life. 
 
 From what I learned of his life, I feel that it came from 
 his habit of frequent, I might say, constant prayer. 
 
 He had always a freshness about his public prayer that 
 showed it was not a routine performance. He had none 
 of those set phrases, to one who listened to his daily morning 
 and evening family prayers, as well as joined many times 
 in his private devotions. But one phrase could I ever detect 
 as recurring frequently and that may have been only for 
 those few trying months, " as in the hollow of Thy hand." 
 
 And God kept him so. Once at Tabriz I remember he 
 received a note or telegram while we were at dinner which 
 involved us in serious perplexity, upsetting plans we had 
 made. Directly dinner was over he said he would go and 
 see some one relative to the business in hand. I asked him 
 to come to our room a moment first, and when we were 
 alone I said, "I think we ought to pray about it a few 
 minutes first before you do anything." He turned to me 
 with such wide-open, blue eyes and said, "Why certainly, 
 I've been praying about it ever since I received the letter." 
 And yet to have seen him taking his part in the conversation 
 during dinner, one would not have guessed. Any one who 
 came close enough to know his heart realized how vital a
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 379 
 
 part of his being prayer was. He conducted morning 
 prayers in Syriac and evening prayers with the family alone, 
 without the servants, in English. He had his private de- 
 votions as well, and has told me that he made it a practice 
 the first thing when he awoke in the morning to go over all 
 the duties he had before him in the day and pray over them. 
 He prayed as he walked or rode about the city. When any 
 knotty problem came up, no matter where, his calm, partial 
 preoccupation meant in him prayer, as he has confessed to 
 me. He once said, "I spend very little time on my knees 
 in prayer, but a great deal on my feet." 
 
 " Knowing that we have constantly committed our 
 way to the Lord," he wrote regarding a great dis- 
 appointment, " and believing that He is leading us, 
 although not in paths that we would choose, we yield 
 to His will." This was not perfunctory. It was his 
 life. But his life was not a passive submission. It 
 was an active fulfilling of the will of God. As the 
 Buffalo Express said in a leading editorial after the 
 tidings of his death had come: 
 
 The late Dr. Cochran was an inspired example of the 
 consecrated mission worker. He was earnest and tireless, 
 not only in spreading the faith, but in disseminating a 
 knowledge of health conditions among the masses of ignorant 
 natives in Persia. With the aid of funds from home, he 
 built up a flourishing hospital for the benefit of thousands 
 who had never even heard of such an institution before. 
 He gained a standing which gave him power among the 
 native authorities, and he used it for the material as well 
 as the spiritual welfare of the people among whom he had 
 placed himself. He buried himself in darkness in which a 
 mind so finely educated as his could find no reward but 
 that of seeing his work prosper and seeing his thousands of 
 charges benefit. He gave to this far-away land talents which 
 would have won him distinction and remuneration in civili- 
 zation, and he leaves an indispensable gift to Persia in the 
 form of a well-organized medical institution and a corps of 
 efficient assistants to promote the work.
 
 380 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 In his relations to his fellows his magnanimity was 
 unbounded. He offered once to give up his post in 
 Urumia to another and go to Salmas, or if it would 
 be more acceptable, to have the friend to whom he was 
 writing come to Urumia and take the first place, Dr. 
 Cochran taking a place as his assistant. And the 
 proposition was made in all honesty and sincerity. He 
 was not seeking his own, but the things of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Such a man made a profound impression on all who 
 came to know him. The Engish and Russian consuls 
 were won by him, and took him into their confidence. 
 Whatever was worth knowing about affairs in north- 
 western Persia he knew. Officials all over the Empire 
 knew him and respected him. In Urumia he walked to 
 and fro as a living Christian evidence. " Mingling so 
 freely as he does with the higher classes of Moslems in 
 this town," wrote Dr. Labaree in 1903, " he is creating a 
 deeper impression upon them as to the superior worth 
 of the Christian faith than arguments from the most 
 able controversialists could do." And his work was 
 helping to produce wide-reaching and enduring changes. 
 In religious character, as well as in social and political 
 conditions, the Nestorians, and to no small extent, the 
 Moslems of the field in which he worked were deeply 
 affected by his life. They are not, and never can be 
 again what they were when he came, in 1878, as a 
 young man, to contribute his life to the enlarged work 
 of the " Mission to the Nestorians." " It is a vindica- 
 tion of the American missionary effort beyond cavil, 
 that when their field is lighted up by an event of world- 
 wide interest such a work is revealed, the fruit of two 
 generations of Americans," said the Boston Transcript 
 in an editorial in January, 1907, with regard to the 
 agitation in Persia for a constitution, which it closed
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 381 
 
 with an account of Dr. Cochran, " who played a role 
 to some extent such as the one that other modern hero 
 ' Chinese Gordon ' enacted in China." 
 
 But only in the intimacy of the fellowship of his own 
 Mission Station, where sickness, and sorrow, and com- 
 mon work, and common peril drew men together in a 
 brotherhood closer than a brotherhood of blood, was 
 Dr. Cochran known in his true worth. And Dr. W. A. 
 Shedd writes: 
 
 One of the aspects of Dr. Cochran's character that ought 
 to be mentioned is his great usefulness as a member of the 
 Station in its councils and its community life. It is well 
 within the truth to say that in all Station questions, cer- 
 tainly since my father's death, his counsel has always been 
 depended on as the most weighty of all. This has been the 
 case not merely in his own department, but in every de- 
 partment of the work. He was never hasty or forward in 
 the expression of his opinion, but he never dodged an issue 
 when it came up squarely. We could always be sure in 
 Station Meeting that he would have a well considered opinion 
 on every important subject, and that this opinion would be 
 carefully and clearly expressed. He never pressed the claims 
 of his own department of work at the expense of other de- 
 partments. He always took cheerfully the share of the 
 "cut" that fell to him, and that share was likely to be 
 larger rather than smaller than his proportion. He was very 
 faithful in attending all Station Meetings, regarding them 
 as part of his work just as much as anything else, and 
 just as conscientiously performed. Outside of Station Meet- 
 ing in the more informal but equally important counsels 
 of work, he was just as indispensable. Matters that were 
 complicated by a personal element lie did more than any 
 one else to guide. His reticence and his absolute loyalty 
 to any confidences confided to him led missionaries to go 
 to him in matters that they might hesitate to mention in 
 Station Meeting. This was true in all his work. Every one 
 had confidence in him and had no fear in telling him their 
 private affairs. While his own personal preferences had
 
 382 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 but little weight in the decisions made, he allowed very 
 generously for the preferences of others possibly too much. 
 In all these ways he was a most useful and helpful mis- 
 sionary associate, just as much depended on in private mat- 
 ters as in matters of more public character, and not least 
 in those questions which are most difficult in missionary 
 life because they are neither exclusively private nor wholly 
 public. I remember how emphatically he once spoke of the 
 deference and cordiality with which my father treated his 
 juniors in missionary service. What he said was true, and 
 I have no doubt that Dr. Cochran owed not a little to the 
 wise companionship of my father and mother; and all that 
 he said of my father could just as truly be said of himself. 
 I have many times had occasion to ask his advice, and 
 always got the best, but I have no single memory of a case 
 in which he intruded or insisted upon his opinion being 
 followed. 
 
 While he was such a burden-bearer, he was very chary of 
 placing burdens on others. He carried his own work on 
 alone in very great measure, partly, perhaps, from a quiet 
 and just sense of his own strength, certainly not from any 
 selfish desire to have his own way, and mainly, I believe, 
 from an unwillingness to increase the burdens of others. 
 His reticence as to his own work, and his unwillingness to 
 trouble others were possibly carried too far too far, at 
 least, for the curiosity and interest of some of us. Another 
 reason, I think, for this characteristic of quiet independence 
 was that he was too calm and clear-sighted to exaggerate 
 the importance of incidents. He was not unmindful of the 
 abiding importance of our work, but he did not feel that 
 every difficult question was a momentous one. When crises 
 came, he met them calmly, and asked advice; but he did 
 not anticipate troubles by peering into the future to find 
 them. It may be that he bore his burdens too much alone, 
 that he would have lived longer if he had shared more with 
 others. He certainly had his share of bitterness and in- 
 gratitude and unkindness from others; but these personal 
 troubles he never spoke of, unless some missionary interest 
 were at stake. Most of the occurrences of this nature were 
 never mentioned to any one except, perhaps, those nearest 
 of all; and no personal issue ever entered into his relations
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN MAN 383 
 
 to others. In the social life of the Station, his place was a 
 large one. Genial, refined, and of unusual conversational 
 power, he entered heartily into the little social occasions 
 that enliven and refresh the missionary life. He said that 
 nothing in America was more refreshing than the fact that 
 he could cast off reserve and ceremony. Here he never felt 
 that he could cast off his public position. The servants in 
 the house at least were witnesses. In spite of this real 
 limitation, he enjoyed the relaxation of games, music, and 
 social intercourse. Besides these, his recreations were 
 horseback riding, of which he was fond, and an occasional 
 excursion to some place where the scenery was grand. The 
 troubles of the last two years of his life made it impossible 
 to ride freely on short rides, for even the nearer hills were 
 too near the Kurds. How many times he headed parties to 
 the top of Seir Mountain no one can tell, but it is safe 
 enough to say that there were as many ascents as years in 
 his life, and that his zest for the ride and the scenery never 
 lost its keenness. Much as we loved him as a friend, host, 
 companion, and associate in work, we loved him most as our 
 physician. He was never too weary to respond to a call, 
 nothing was too trivial to gain his attention, and nothing 
 so serious as to disturb his self-control. For years he was 
 an almost daily visitor in my home, and the memories of 
 weakness and suffering are hallowed by his presence. His 
 sense of humour and the quiet feeling of his strength were 
 more marked in the sick room than anywhere else. And as 
 he went with us down into the valleys, dark with the shadows 
 of death, and even to the brink of the river, his tenderness 
 and skill never failed him. As my father wrote on the 
 bed of his last sickness, Dr. Cochran's presence in the sick 
 room was a revelation of the blessings of a missionary 
 physician. What he was to us he was, as opportunity offered, 
 to the poorest and most degraded. We who knew him best, 
 honoured him, trusted him, reverenced him, and loved him; 
 and more than ever, if possible, now that he is not with us. 
 
 There was one in America who knew him as well as 
 his associates in Urumia, one who had known him from 
 his boyhood, and had loved him from the first for what
 
 384 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN 
 
 he was and what he was to be and do. " His was a 
 pure life of consecration to the highest ideals, and an 
 absolutely unselfish devotion to duty," writes Mr. S. M. 
 Clement, of Buffalo. " Here was a man who had 
 put aside the alluring ambitions of a most promising 
 professional career in this country, and was living day 
 by day, and every day, the Christ-life amid the perils 
 and privations of fanatical, heathen Persia. Nothing 
 but the teaching and example of Christ can explain 
 such a life; and he had more of His spirit than any 
 man I have ever known." 
 
 And Mr. Clement has nobly pictured him in the in- 
 scription on the tablet now set in the wall of the new 
 Cochran Memorial Hospital which Mr. Clement has 
 built in Urumia, where Dr. Cochran was born and did 
 his work, and died, and now rests from his toil: 
 
 THIS BUILDING IS ERECTED IN LOVING MEMORY OP 
 
 JOSEPH PLUMB COCHRAN, M. D. 
 
 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN, THE FOUNDER OP THIS HOSPITAL, 
 AND THE FRIEND OF PEOPLE OF EVERY RACE, CREED, AND 
 RANK, SKILFUL IN HEALING, WISE IN COUNSEL, GENTLE IN 
 SPIRIT, DEFENDING THE OPPRESSED, RELIEVING THE POOR, 
 COMFORTING THE DYING. IN LOYAL DEVOTION TO THE LORD 
 JESUS CHRIST, " WHO CAME NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO 
 BUT TO MINISTER," HE HERE GAVE HIS LIFE THAT OTHERS 
 MIGHT LIVE. 
 
 BORN URUMIA, JANUARY 14, 1855. 
 DIED URUMIA, AUGUST 18, 1905.
 
 University of California 
 
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 Return this material to the library 
 
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 A 000 498 862 2 
 
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 1911 
 Speer, Robert E 
 
 "The Hakim Sahim." The foreign 
 doctor; a biography of Joseph 
 Pluirb Cochran, M.D. of Persia 
 
 CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE 
 
 IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92664 
 
 PRINTCD IM U