The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 7

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER 7

Right: School and Living Quarters of
Miss Olive Green.
Left: Residences of Missionaries Buuck and

Werling.

is blind). “My elder brother is watching the house.”
Under his direction we discover, lying in all direc-
tions, head against feet, in narrow, inconceivable
places, the family I was looking for. Tickets were

om "Tued.
A dozen other families — some with men already
t at work as hawkers, some blind, maimed, idiots,

d the like, are investigated, and each family is

€ tated on its merits. Outside the door, in the next
egmpound, we turn to the left, and under some more
=o matting we find some poor, old, and
Tyan. They are Cones out, and some tickets are
gencdas ued.
brought one of the investigating party to grief, and
eh old women, decrepit, make their way up, and
Pa ery out for tickets. Each lot is ordered to a
etched couch, systematic rounds are made, and
One woman here is lying with pallid face on the
C Boston, with apparently no covering as yet,
aiting her babe to be born. We arrange to let
i}

Down the ladder again, and we are called back
the outside of the door where the “witches” are.
the way of imposition by a practised beggar. This

oe nana a tug at the trouser leg of one of our party
r

under one sheet of matting, making a rough shelter

at least on one side, lies a woman. Her face is gray,

ly, witchlike creatures, some children and one
bs Eo Then up-stairs. The crazy old ladder nearly
thers with tiny babes scramble up and are there
ickets are issued.

x neighbor bring her rice.
e have just had some rascally business to deal with
ew our attention to this corner, where in the open,
and her eyes are expressive of patient agony. She

moans out her name, and when asked, “How many
mouths?” she tries to point to something lying at
her back; and the neighbors said she gave birth to
a child in the night. She had no pillow, scarcely
anything to lie on, and although rather better than
the rougher folk about her, she lay, as we discovered
later, in a borrowed garment on the cold stones.
I thanked God that I was the servant of One who
was born of a poor woman in a stable, and I knew
He would pity and help her. We arranged to send
her gruel by the hand of a neighbor, and some little
further help has been afforded.

Farther on we strike almost a colony- of folks
from a tiny hamlet that has been entirely washed
out. Here and there we find among eri
limbed, healthy, stalwart men and strong,
women; but all are reduced to abject ee
yellow flood having carried away all except th
things they stand in. Whilst so far there is nd“epi
demic here, disease growls and threatens, and

©

AL

find terrible cases of unnamable diseases, sin b fo}
ing its own reward. Little children penned im
these places with profligate men makes one eb uF
but we can only push on and work to bring atgut 5
better conditions. We offered to take over the 1g (@)
of the refugee camp; but for reasons best kno vest) Hi
the local authorities the people were sent away. = Be a

“ L/P)

Up on a pile of coffins, thrown rather hur hd)

into the temple-rooms to avoid the flood, mo§io
them “full of dead men’s bones,” are lying gthe
families, the dead and the living divided by a
of wood. Some of them are closer to death {han
that; who knows? Noisome flies buzz agains@@ne
here, ugh! We write the tickets and hurry ont
Here the people are all up, and the place is fill-
ing with people from outside, and the morning’s

CoN

Missionary Theiss’s Residence at Hankow
(at right of picture).