The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 125

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

125

was done. The native Hawaiian churches were able
to govern and support themselves and to carry on
their own missions, both home and foreign. ...

“At a great jubilee celebration, held on June 15,
1870, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of
the mission, the Board formally announced its com-
plete withdrawal from the field. This celebration
was attended by three thousand people, including
the king and queen and other high officials, besides
the representatives of foreign powers. Congratu-
latory addresses were made, and the Hawaiian
Islands were declared to be an independent Chris-
tian nation.

“Fifty years’ work, 156-laborers, and a little
more than one million dollars in money (during
the same period about four million dollars came
back to this country in trade) had sufficed to trans-
form a race of ignorant, degraded savages into a
nation of intelligent, civilized, God-fearing men and
women.” — Selected — Adapted.

A Day and a Night with the Arabs.

On a beautiful April morning the government
doctor of Hums and the writer were to take a trip
out on the Great Syrian Desert, which stretches for
hundreds of leagues to the east, right up to the
borders of Bagdad.

Except a very few villages scattered on the
western border the only inhabitants of this vast
teritory are the Ainzy tribe of Bedewins and occa-
sionally a few parties of traveling merchants from
the large interior cities in the northeastern parts of
Asia Minor.

We left the road and struck out into the open
country. Not a living thing could be seen; the
grass and stunted vegetation had died for want of
water. In two hours we came where the grass and
low bush which had been rich and dense was now
dry and dead. Every blade of grass, weed, and
twig, or low bush was covered with the bodies of
dead snails, from the size of a pin-head to that of
‘a child’s marble. These creatures appear soon after
the winter rains begin and multiply until plant life
dies for want of moisture in the spring. As our
horses walked through these dead creatures scat-
tered all about us, the crunch, crunch was like
passing over the snow of a frosty morning in our
loved America.

An hour past noon the doctor said to Ali, the
muleteer, “My brother, stop, take down the loads,

eras ee mci ee a

and we will lunch.”
answer.

“Yes, my lord,” was the

The doctor and the writer soon were seated on
the ground, waiting for Ali, who was pretending
to be looking for something. “Ali, why do you not
bring the food?” “Coming,” said Ali, who came
and set before us a can holding a pint of olives and
another with about three pounds of honey and then
returned to the loads. “My Moslem friend, where
is the bread?” cried the doctor. “‘At your house in
Hums,” said Ali in a scarcely audible voice. “Oh,”
groaned the doctor with a disgusted look. Olives
and honey may be good in their place, but not satis-
fying to hungry men. The muleteers said, “God
will provide”? when we rebuked them for their
unfaithfulness.

We were in a dilemma; we must find Arabs or
return to Hums. We strained our eyes, but not
a sign of life. We rode on for an hour, then saw
a number of black objects standing out against the
red-yellow of the desert. We were pleased, for we
knew there food was awaiting us. After three
hours’ hard riding we arrived at the encampment,
which proved to be Mosul merchants.

We received a warm welcome from the sheik,
a powerful, majestic-looking man, dressed in long,
flowing white robes, his feet incased in boots that
came to his knees; they were made of red leather,
in front a long tassel of blue yarn. He clapped
his hands, and several young men came running to
him; he gave an order in a low voice, and they
went away. We were bid in a true oriental grace
to enter “your house,” which we did, seating our-
selves on a beautiful rug. Soon a number of young
men came, each carrying something. A large,
round wooden tray was placed in the center of the
tent, on it a copper vessel, on its bottom and sides:
a thick paste of stoned dates about three inches
thick. The center was filled with hot butter;
around the table were about one hundred loaves
of flat bread. “Please partake of our poor food;
you are a thousand times welcome, my brothers,”
said the sheik, handing to each a towel. The keen
desert air gave us a vigorous appetite, and we
appretviated the food. We asked for water; some
was offered, taken from a large skin; it was several
days old, green from the tannin in the skin, and
had a vile odor. ‘The sheik said, “This is all we
have; the boys drink it and do not complain.”
When we had eaten, the sheik said, “I hear you
are doctors. Will you see one of my boys? Ten
days ago he had a quarrel with his cousin and re-