Out Into the Jungles to Help
By MRS. P. GIDNEY
ABOUT five o’clock, on the evening of March 19, Mrs. Wood was called by a tall, urgent Mohammedan to go to see a very sick woman, away off in a small village on the side of the mountain, quite a distance beyond a large river. I was glad for the privilege of accompanying her on this errand of mercy. We had both worked hard all day, had not taken our evening meal, and the Sabbath was approaching. But we were told the poor woman was in a dying condition, and we felt that for the love of Christ and the souls he died to save, we must go in spite of our weariness or the lateness of the hour. The man who came for us promised to take us part way by rowboat, and the rest of the way by bullock cart, and said we should be back by midnight without fail. We started for the village in a pony cart. We had to travel across country over very rough, stony roads for about four miles, and then through jungles until we came to a wide, swiftly flowing, deep, salt river. This we had to cross after dark in an old-fashioned sort of boat, merely a log dug or burned out. We almost held our breath as the man paddled us across, but we were about our Father’s business, and knew his angels would watch over and care for us. We had passed green fields, with all sorts of vegetables. Now and then we saw several poor huts and many children playing about. Then we passed several large, well-painted native houses, and near by were heathen pagodas, and usually a well. The banks of the river were a beautiful tangled mass of palms, vines, and all sorts of wild flowers, sending forth their pure fragrance and scenting the air with heavy perfume. Only the splash, splash of our boatman’s paddle broke the silence as we glided gently on through the twilight. A bullock cart and driver were waiting for us on the other side. To make us more comfortable, the owner had put a15mattress in the springless cart, and we had reason to appreciate this thoughtful act. We found this road much rougher than the first one. The dark, chilly mantle of night was fast settling down upon us, as we were tossed about without mercy from one side to the other of that old country cart. With all our experiences, our muscles were not hardened to such treatment. In this fashion we rode five miles. About nine o’clock we reached the home of our patient. We found thirty-five or forty native women huddled in the small house, and the patient, in pain and anguish, screaming and moaning like a maniac. Mrs. Wood’s first work was to send the people out, and then she turned her attention to the sick woman, the young mother of a child but a few hours old. She had a high fever and was wild with delirium. Mrs. Wood at once gave her some medicine, and then, kneeling beside her bed, prayed that God our Father in the name of Jesus would immediately help and deliver. In a few minutes the woman was soothed to sleep. Truly the Lord blessed the means and answered our earnest petition. Then stepping out into the open air, we found a large company of sick people waiting to be treated at that late hour of the night. Several were attended to, and then we said we must return. The people learned that we had not taken any food, so they brought some milk, eggs, and unleavened bread. When we had eaten this light lunch, it was nearly midnight, and we started for home. The road was dark, and we had to go through that long, lonely jungle without a single lamp. Only the beautiful, bright stars were shining in the dark blue sky. We were grateful for these. We decided to return another way and save ourselves part of the trip by cart. But to our surprise, we had to make nine miles by bullock cart over the roughest kind of road, crossing two rivers in the small hours of the morning, with the bullocks up to their middles in the water. We reached Titralli station at 1:30 A. M. Everything had been dark and dismal, and we were glad to be near signs of civilization again. We were very tired and our bodies ached, so we laid ourselves down and tried to sleep till train time. Suddenly we heard the rumbling of wheels, and grasping our medicine bag and hats, we scrambled into that friendly train. In a moment we were off to sleep again, and slept until we reached Kalyan, at about five o’clock. Then we had to go in search of a pony cart to take us to the mission. We reached our quiet home at 6:30, where friends awaited us with a hot bath and some refreshment. And now the good news comes from that little heathen village, that the poor woman who was so sick is a well and happy mother. All the people of that village know that we love them, and are their true Christian friends.